# Nyan Cat game: fly the rainbow cat

Source: https://roam.new/nyan-cat-game/

Nyan Cat is a pixel cat with a pop-tart body that flies through space, leaving a rainbow trail. Artist Chris Torres drew it in April 2011, and a looping song made it one of the biggest memes of that year. Its natural game is a flying runner, and you can make one yourself.

## How Nyan Cat happened

Chris Torres, who goes by prguitarman, posted the animated Pop-Tart Cat on his comic site on 2 April 2011. A few days later, a YouTube user set it to "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!", a song by the Japanese producer daniwell, in a cover sung with the UTAU voice Momone Momo. That video named the cat "Nyan Cat" and spread everywhere.

The loop was the joke: the same few seconds of song and pixel art, forever. Fan sites counted how long people could watch it. In 2021, for the tenth anniversary, Torres sold a remastered version as an NFT.


## A Nyan Cat runner, step by step

- **The run**: The cat flies right on its own. You tap to rise and let go to fall, like a flappy game.
- **Pickups**: Collect stars and sprinkles. Ten in a row makes the rainbow trail longer.
- **Hazards**: Floating space junk and comets. Hit one and you lose a heart.
- **The twist**: The song speeds up the longer you survive, so the run feels faster even when it is not.
- **A reason to return**: Unlock new cat bodies: waffle, sushi, pizza slice.

## Build it on Roam

Type the runner in a sentence and Roam builds it playable, with art and sound. Then talk to it: "add a boss comet every minute", "make it two-player, race to the furthest star". Use a photo of your own cat as the flyer. Pick your own snack body too, since Nyan Cat itself is Torres's art.


## Play it on Roam

- [Outrun Extinction](https://roam.gg/play/outrun-extinction/): Same dino idea. Now in 3D.

## Make your own rainbow cat runner with Roam

Describe the runner and drop a photo of your cat. Roam turns it into a game you can play and send. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.

Try: "space flying runner, my cat with a waffle body leaves a rainbow trail, tap to fly up, collect stars, dodge comets, 3 hearts"

[Get Roam on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6745489251?pt=126889634&mt=8&ct=rnew-nyan-cat-game)

## Questions people ask

**Who created Nyan Cat?**
Artist Chris Torres (prguitarman) drew the animation in April 2011.

**What is the Nyan Cat song?**
"Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!" by daniwell. The meme used a cover sung with the UTAU voice Momone Momo.

**Why is Nyan Cat a pop-tart?**
Torres drew it that way. The pop-tart body is part of the original art.

## About Roam

Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play. https://roam.gg