# Thomas Was Alone: the game where the heroes are rectangles

> Thomas Was Alone is a 2012 platform game whose characters are colored rectangles, each with one ability, while a narrator tells what each one feels. It was created by Mike Bithell, a professional game designer, in his spare time from his day job, without AI. According to the author, it sold over 1 million copies by April 2014.

Summary for when you're short on time

- In Thomas Was Alone, the player controls colored rectangles, each with one ability, like jumping high or floating on water, and combines them to get through the levels.
- A narrator tells what each rectangle thinks and feels; the voice belongs to comedian Danny Wallace, who won a BAFTA, the British award, for it.
- The first version was born in a personal 24-hour game marathon in October 2010 and came out for free as a browser game.
- Mike Bithell made the full game in his spare time, while working as a game designer at a London studio, with the studio's approval.
- He did not do everything alone: the music is by David Housden and the narration by Danny Wallace.
- The game came out for computers in June 2012 and, according to the author, passed 1 million copies sold in April 2014, many of them in bundles and sales.
- There was no AI: the game is from 2012, and the author already worked in the industry.

Your first step: Sketch your game idea using only squares and rectangles, on paper, and see if it still works without nice art.

By Daniel Novi. Published October 28, 2026. Updated October 28, 2026. Address: https://www.gamearchitectsai.com/en/stories/thomas-was-alone

## How do you play Thomas Was Alone?

You control colored rectangles, and each one does something different: one jumps high, another floats on water[1]. When there is more than one in a level, you switch between them and combine their abilities, for example using one rectangle as a step so another can reach a higher exit[1].

It is a platform game, the kind where the character walks and jumps between platforms, seen from the side. The levels come in ten sets of ten, and each set usually introduces a new character[1]. On Steam, the biggest store for computer games, the official page says there are 120 levels[3].

The first one is Thomas, a red rectangle. Then come Chris, John, Claire, Laura and others[1].

## Why does a game of rectangles hook you?

Because each rectangle has a personality, and the narration is what gives it to them. A narrator tells what each one thinks and feels while you play[1]. In the story, the rectangles are artificial intelligences that have just become self-aware[3]. That is fiction: the game was made without AI.

The voice belongs to British comedian Danny Wallace, who won the BAFTA, the main British games award, in the performance category for the narration[1][3]. The game was also nominated for story, and David Housden's music for original score[1].

The art is as minimal as it gets. What makes you care about an orange rectangle is the writing and the voice (our reading).

## Who made Thomas Was Alone, and how long did it take?

Mike Bithell, a British game designer, meaning someone whose job is to design a game's rules and levels. The first version was born in a personal 24-hour marathon in October 2010, when he worked at the studio Blitz Games, and came out for free as a browser game[1].

The full game started in early 2011. Bithell wanted to learn Unity, a program for making games, and worked in his spare time while he was lead designer at the studio Bossa in London, with the studio's approval[1]. GamesIndustry.biz put it this way: he made the game while trying to teach himself Unity and holding down a full-time job[2].

The game came out for computers on June 30, 2012[1]. From the first draft to the release, it took about a year and a half of spare-time work (our math, from the dates).

## Did he do it all alone?

No. The code, the art and the levels were his, but he brought in people for what he could not do. In 2013, he told GamesIndustry.biz he was not a musician, so he brought in David Housden for the soundtrack, and that he found his own voice weak, so he hired Danny Wallace[2].

According to Wikipedia, citing Eurogamer magazine, Bithell estimated the game's cost at about 5,000 pounds, not counting his own wage, and raised 2,000 pounds in an online crowdfunding campaign to pay the narrator[1].

## How many copies did Thomas Was Alone sell?

Over 1 million by April 2014, according to Mike Bithell himself. He announced the number on social media on April 25, 2014[4]. The number does not include free PlayStation Plus downloads[1], and the game had been part of discounted bundles such as the Humble Bundle[4].

Before that, the success had already changed his life: in February 2013, Bithell left his job to make games on his own[2].

## By the numbers

| Data | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First version | 24-hour marathon, October 2010 | Wikipedia[1] |
| Start of the full game | Early 2011, in his spare time | Wikipedia, citing Edge[1] |
| Computer release | June 30, 2012 | Wikipedia[1] |
| Cost estimated by the author | About 5,000 pounds, without his wage | Wikipedia, citing Eurogamer[1] |
| Levels | 120 | Steam[3] |
| Copies sold | Over 1 million by April 25, 2014, according to the author | Game Informer, April 26, 2014[4] |

## What does the story show, and what doesn't it?

It shows that a game does not need polished art to be remembered. Thomas Was Alone uses rectangles, and players remember them by name.

**The other side.** Mike Bithell was not a beginner: he was a professional game designer, already worked at a studio and knew how to design levels. He paid a musician and a narrator, and what carries the game is good writing, which is also hard. The game took about a year and a half of spare time and was made without AI. It is one of the cases that worked out among many small games that almost nobody played, and the million copies include discounted bundle sales.

## And what has changed since then?

This part is not about Thomas Was Alone, which was made without AI. It is about the work.

Bithell coded the game while learning the program for making games. Today, that part can be handled by AI: you describe what you want, and it writes the code. What AI does not do for you is what carried this game: deciding what each character does, designing levels that call for cooperation and writing words that make someone care about a rectangle (our reading).

If your fear is not knowing how to draw, read [whether you need to know how to draw to make a game](/en/start-here/do-you-need-to-draw-to-make-a-game). If time is short, see [how to make a game in your spare time, with a day job](/en/start-here/make-a-game-in-your-spare-time). And there are other [famous games that started small](/en/stories/famous-games-that-started-small).

## Related questions

### Who created Thomas Was Alone?

Mike Bithell, a British game designer. He made the game in his spare time while working as lead designer at Bossa Studios in London, with the studio's approval. The music is by David Housden and the narration by Danny Wallace.

### How do you play Thomas Was Alone?

You control colored rectangles, each with one ability (one jumps high, another floats on water), and switch between them to get all of them to the exit of each level. On Steam, the game is described as 120 levels.

### Why are the characters rectangles?

The game was born in a 24-hour marathon as a simple browser game, and the minimal look stayed. Each rectangle's personality comes from the writing and the narration, not the art (our reading).

### Was Thomas Was Alone made with artificial intelligence?

No. The game came out in 2012, years before the AIs that write a game's code. In the game's story, the rectangles are artificial intelligences, but that is fiction.

### How many copies did Thomas Was Alone sell?

Over 1 million by April 2014, according to Mike Bithell himself. The number does not include free PlayStation Plus downloads, and many of the sales came from bundles and sales.

### How much did it cost to make Thomas Was Alone?

According to Wikipedia, citing Eurogamer, Bithell estimated development and legal costs at about 5,000 pounds, not counting his own wage. He raised 2,000 pounds in an online crowdfunding campaign to pay the narrator.

### Do I need to know how to draw to make a game?

Thomas Was Alone shows that a game can have characters made of simple shapes and still be remembered. But the author knew how to design games, and what carried the game was the writing, the narration and the levels.

## Sources

1. Wikipedia, "Thomas Was Alone": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Was_Alone (accessed October 25, 2026)
2. GamesIndustry.biz, "Bithell leaves Bossa to go it alone" (02/04/2013): https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-02-04-bithell-leaves-bossa (accessed October 25, 2026)
3. Steam, official Thomas Was Alone page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/220780/ (accessed October 25, 2026)
4. Game Informer, "Indie Platformer Thomas Was Alone Surpasses One Million Sold" (04/26/2014): https://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/04/26/indie-platformer-thomas-was-alone-surpasses-one-million-sold (accessed October 25, 2026)