Doodle Jump

Doodle Jump turned a simple upward climb into an early App Store phenomenon.

Lima Sky released Doodle Jump in 2009, when smartphone gaming was still taking shape. The Doodler bounced on its own, while tilting the phone steered it toward the next platform. A single missed landing ended the run.

That simplicity made the game easy to understand in seconds. As the screen scrolled upward, new platform types and enemies kept the climb unpredictable, while the high-score chase made restarting almost automatic.

Doodle Jump built on earlier games such as PapiJump rather than inventing the format. Its importance came from scale. Millions played it, imitators followed, and the endless vertical jumper became one of the recognizable forms of early mobile gaming.

It also showed how far a small independent developer could reach through the young App Store.