@apLundell
I'm a virtual reality and game programmer, who's excited about games, technology, online comics.
Twitter : @apLundell
Mastodon : octodon.social/ @apLundell
World Wide Web : AndyLundell.com
| I love seeing work-in-progress screenshots.
The great thing about keeping these screenshots is that after the game is finished, you can tell in retrospect which screenshots were significant and interesting. Pico-8 encourages screenshotting, with its built-in screenshot and gif capability. And the file size is minimal. ... So I figure a lot of folk probably have cool early screenshots of games that later become great games. So let's see 'em! |
1 comment
I notice the Pico-8 font has some semi-graphical characters, but not quiite enough to make a real retro text-mode UI out of.
I'd love to see some of the old DOS box-drawing characters added to the pico font if there's space for a few more glyphs.
| You are Pat Blastrock, down on your luck space hero. After a particularly ill-fated adventure, you stumble into Space Tavern Station with only 500 credits to your name and a busted up escape pod. (It was a very ill-fated adventure.) Luckily, if there's one thing Space Tavern Station has an endless supply of, besides surprisingly vile synth-ale, it's suckers. You're going take the only option you have left and gamble your way back to fame and fortune. The poker played here at Space Tavern Station is not a fancy tournament. Here, they play tavern-style. You can leave the table at any time, but you can't go "all in". If you get raised out, you have to fold, so make sure you bring enough cash to play a grownup's game. Some of your opponents might be desperate enough to bet the keys to their ship. Don't feel any remorse in taking that bet. It's not your problem how they're going to get home. If you're light on cash, you can go to your inventory and sell something. |
| Controls : Arrow keys and (O) to navigate menus. (X) to go back to the main menu. (Leaving the poker table.) Pause Menu : |
Old Version:
The mobile player on the forum is pretty nice, but it's missing one important feature : It doesn't disable the long-press context menu.
If you hold the d-pad or a button down (as you do) it pops up a context menu, making the games frustrating.
Until this is fixed, I recommend using this bookmarklet to fix it.
javascript:(function()%7Bwindow.oncontextmenu%20%3D%20function(event)%20%7Bevent.preventDefault()%3Bevent.stopPropagation()%3Breturn%20false%3B%7D%7D)() |
The forum strips out JavaScript links, so I can't link to the bookmarket, but make a new bookmark, and copy/paste that code into the URL field. Tapping on it will disable the context menu, making Pico8 a joy to play on mobile firefox.
I certainly don't mean to complain about free games, but maybe a gentle reminder that Pico-8 games are not just played on desktop.
Using the player 2 controls as "extra buttons" makes it very difficult to play on mobile or on PocketCHIP, or even just with controllers. The problem is compounded when you refer to the buttons by however they're bound on your system instead of their 'official' pico-8 names.
Again, I know these are just hobby games, and I haven't paid a dime for them, so I have absolutely no right to complain, but I hope people realize that they're cutting out some potential players when they tell people to press "D" or "Left Shift" or something like that
I decided that the first game I should make for this system would be an homage to the earliest game I have strong memories of playing : “Moon Mine“. Published in 1983, “Moon Mine” was available only on the TI-99/4a, Which means that nobody has ever heard of it. I had it though, and it was a blast. For years this was my favorite game.
So here’s my remake. Made from memory and by closely examining the old game manual I found in the basement.
The original classic was made by Rob F Hendren and John Phillips and I’ve always felt it didn’t get enough nostalgia love.
The instructions are in the system menu. Basically use the arrow keys to move the lasers. O to fire. X to beam down a crew-member to retrieve minerals and water samples.
