pahammond [Lexaloffle Blog Feed]

Beamrider

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 02:57:27 UTC

Beamrider 0.8

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My Pico-8 interpretation of the 1983 Activision game for the Atari 2600.

How to Play

Shoot all 15 UFOs to clear a sector.

Collect glowing power-ups but, if you shoot them, don't let them hit you!

Controls

[X] - Laser
[O] or [Up Arrow] - Missile

Thanks To

Finn for testing
notehead (@noteheadmusic) for the excellent title-screen music

Version History

0.80 - 18-Oct-2022 - Released

Berzerk

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 04:44:46 UTC

Berzerk 0.82

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My Pico-8 game inspired by the 1980 Stern Electronics game and made possible by the excellent "Speako8 Speech Synthesis Library" by @bikibird - https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?pid=116919#p

How to Play

Shoot the robots. Avoid the walls. Don't stay in a room for too long!

Controls

[X] - Laser (stands still so you can accurate fire in one of 8 directions)
[O] - Laser (while running)

Thanks To

Finn for testing
@bikibird for creating Speako8

Version History

0.80 - 26-Sep-2022 - Released
0.81 - 27-Sep-2022 - Otto now destroys robots
0.82 - 28-Sep-2022 - Updated credits and fixed bug walking through exit door

Demon Attack

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 05:39:16 UTC

Demon Attack 0.8

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My Pico-8 game inspired by the 1982 Imagic game on the Atari 2600 and Intellivision consoles.

How to Play

Shoot everything!

Controls

[X] - Laser

Thanks To

Finn for testing
Paul Niven for getting me on the right track for the player sprite

Version History

0.80 - 30-Aug-2022 - Released

Tutankham

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 04:36:39 UTC

tutankham 0.8

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My Pico-8 version of the 1982 Konami arcade game.

How to Play

Collect keys to access locked areas of each tomb and reach the exit door.

Your laser can only fire left and right so don't get trapped in vertical tunnels.

Collect as much treasure as quickly as possible.

Controls

[Z] and [X] - Laser

[Z] + [X] - Smart bomb (one per life)

Thanks To

Finn for testing
Paul Niven for refining my pixel graphics
jadelombax for logo renderer

Version History

0.80 - 23-Jul-2022 - Released

Zoo Keeper

Thu, 26 May 2022 07:29:13 UTC

Zoo Keeper 0.8

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My Pico-8 version of the 1983 Taito arcade game.

How to Play

Run around the edges of the zoo filling in the brick walls to stop the animals escaping.

Jump over the animals for bonus points.

Collect the net to return the animals to their cage.

Controls

[X] - Jump

Thanks To

Finn for testing
Shane R. Monroe for testing and advice (and suggesting a remake this game in the first place!)

Version History

0.80 - 26-May-2022 - Released

Robotron

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 01:17:10 UTC

robotron 0.81

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My Pico-8 version of the 1982 Williams arcade classic.

Controls

To play with a twin-stick controller in the browser head to https://pahammond.itch.io/robotron

Supports 4 control methods:

Twin Stick

If you have an Xbox or similar controller connected, this is THE way to play (will not work unless playing via my itch.io page)
Keyboard controls are swapped. Arrow keys fire, S F E D move

Twin Stick (Swapped)

Arrow keys to move, S F E D to fire

Auto-Fire

Llamatron style controls. Fires in direction of movement but hold X to move without changing the fire direction

Auto-Fire (Lynx)

Based on the Atari Lynx control system. Z and X rotate direction of fire

Thanks To

Shane R. Monroe (@ShaneRMonroe) for his invaluable advice, testing and feedback
Finn for further testing

Version History

0.80 - 26-Jan-2022 - Released
0.81 - 31-Jan-2022 - Fixed endless loop bug that could occur in later levels

Pengo

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 05:39:33 UTC

Pengo 0.81

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My Pico-8 version of the 1982 Sega arcade game.

Controls

[X] - Push block/ electrify wall

Thanks To

Finn for testing
Paul Niven ( @NiVZ) for creating such a cool logo (for the third time!)
PICO-8 for creating an awesome "fantasy console"

Version History

0.80 - 06-Dec-2021 - Released
0.81 - 21-May-2022 - Fixed crash when pengo spawned on block below diamond

Dropzone

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 06:01:19 UTC

Dropzone 0.81

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

This is my take on the 1984 classic by Archer Maclean.

Not a game I'd really played before so this is purely my interpretation.

Controls

The PICO-8 [O] button is Z on the keyboard.

[X] - Fire
[O] - Cloak or double-tap to use a smart bomb

Thanks To

Finn for testing
Paul Niven ( @NiVZ) for creating such a cool logo (again!)
PICO-8 for creating an awesome "fantasy console"

Version History

0.80 - 29-Oct-2021 - Released
0.81 - 29-Oct-2021 - Camera tweaked to keep player more central etc

Phoenix

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 05:42:22 UTC

phoenix

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

This is my take on the 1980 arcade classic, Phoenix.

Downloadable versions at:
https://pahammond.itch.io/phoenix

Thanks To

Finn for testing
Paul Niven ( @NiVZ) for creating such a cool logo

Version History

0.80 - 23-Sep-2021 - Released

Gridrunner

Sat, 28 Aug 2021 08:52:25 UTC

Gridrunner 0.82

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

My version of Jeff Minter's classic for the Vic 20.

Thanks To

Finn and Lucas for (briefly) testing
Jeff Minter for inspiring my teenage years with his awesome games

Version History

0.82 - 29-Aug-2021 - slowed down and start position of patroller tweaked.

Q*Bert

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 09:57:06 UTC

Q*Bert 0.8

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

WARNING: Contains flashing effects

Controls

Use the arrow keys to jump.

Q - quit game at any point

About

Featuring Classic and Adventure modes, Q*Bert can be played in your browser or downloaded for Windows, Mac, Linux and Raspberry Pi from https://pahammond.itch.io/qbert

Jump on cubes changing their colours.

Avoid all creatures apart from the green ones which can be caught for bonus points.

Use the spinning discs to escape Coily the snake and lead him to his death!

Thanks To

Finn for testing and telling me I should put a "flashing" warning on it :)

Picodroid

Sat, 10 Jul 2021 05:56:37 UTC

Picodroid 0.81

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

Controls

X - fire/ enter influence mode/ enter lift/ connect to terminal
O - back button when connected to a terminal.

Story

It is the year 2521 and a cyber attack against the underground cities has caused all robots to malfunction.

You control a prototype influence device armed with a low-powered laser and capable of taking control of these robots. Your task is to clear the 8 city levels of all rogue robots.

Hold X to enter influence mode and run into another unit to pair with it. This is achieved by fighting for control of the robot's cpu. Failure to do so will result in your own circuitry burning out.

Use lifts to move between city levels and use terminals to access the central database. Power coils are positioned at various points allowing you to recharge.

Be careful of robots with short range 'disruptors' and use the terminals to view robot classes that are immune to disruptor damage.

How To Play

The objective of the game is to clear all 8 city levels of robots.

Here's a YouTube video playthrough, almost to the end.

At the start of the game, your "00" unit is armed only with a low-powered laser. To fire the laser, press X plus a direction key.

The first thing you'll want to do is to take control of another robot. To do this:

Without pressing any direction key, hold down X until you turn orange and a continuous bleeping occurs. You are now in "Influence" mode
Run into another robot. You must be pressing a direction key to do this
This will take you into the grapple sub-game

Grappling

The object of the grapple sub-game is to change more cells of the central CPU (the stripped column in the middle of the screen) to your colour than your AI opponent. Each or the horizontal black lines represents a wire going from the side to the central CPU. Wires may be connected to one or more splitters, joiners, dead-ends or polarity reversers.

You are given a few seconds before the game starts to choose your side. Try to pick a side with more splitters (the ones that turn 1 wire into 2).

You are given a limited number of shots; the higher your robot rank, the more shots you get.

Move your tiny green power generator up and down and press X to fire a shot. The shot will then power that wire for a few seconds and, if power reaches the central CPU, the cell it reaches will be changed to your colour.

Once the counter reaches zero, a winner is decided. If you win, you gain control of the AI robot; if you lose, you will revert to a "00" droid or, if you are already a "00" droid, it's game over!

Lifts

Lifts are used to move between floors and are represented by a solid circle with an X in the middle. Each floor has 2 or 3 lifts. Press X when you are over a lift to enter it.

Lower floors contain more powerful robots so it's not advisable to exit the lift at these floors until you are in control of a reasonably powerful robot.

Terminals

Terminals are used to view robot and city information.

Press X when you are in front of a terminal to connect to it. If you are a "00" droid, access will be denied.

You can only view robots up to and including your own rank. The robot information may include a "-DISTRUPTOR" message. These robots are immune to disruptor weapons (see below) and essential when trying to clear a floor with disruptor-equipped droids.

The "city information" option allows you to see which levels have been completely cleared.

Weapons

There are 3 types of weapon:

Lasers
The majority of robots have lasers of varying power. Some robots have no weapons in which case your "00" unit's own low-powered laser is used instead.

Grenades
Some robots throw grenades. These are useful for attacking robots that are on higher or lower ground to yourself.

Disruptors
Short-range disruptors are shown as a flash of white and will damage any robot nearby that is not immune to disruptor attacks.

When firing a disruptor, you must still press a direction key, even though the disruptor has no particular direction.

Tips

When you have taken control of another robot, its maximum power capacity will gradually drain. Make sure you take over another robot before the maximum power gets too low or you will revert to a "00" droid.

Some droids throw grenades. These are useful for attacking robots from above.

The "disruptor" is the ultimate weapon and only a few types of robots are immune to it. Make sure you control one of these before attempting to tackle a level containing robots with this weapon.

Destroying a robot will increase the "alert level" which increases the number of points you are awarded for destroying further droids. At a higher alert level, certain robots may become more aggressive.

About

Based on Paradroid by Andrew Braybrook and Quazatron by Steve Turner.

All level layouts are as per Steve Turner's ZX Spectrum version of Quazatron.

Testing by Finn.

Many of the profile pictures of the various robot classes (viewable from a terminal) are based on images I found online. Unfortunately, none of these image had details of the original author hence I can't credit them.

Version History

0.81 - 9-Nov-2022 - Fixed "out of memory" issue when restarting

Missile Command

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 07:49:11 UTC

Missile Command 0.8

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

Controls

Trackball (or mouse) to move
A,S,D to fire bases

For a simpler game, just use X (or mouse click) to fire from the center base

Full mouse capture isn't available in the web player but I've compiled a Windows executable on itch.io:
https://pahammond.itch.io/missile-command

Missile Command: A Pure Arcade Game Demade

A think I played Missile Command once in the arcades in the 80s. I remember liking the idea but didn't have the skills ,or an abundance of loose change to improve, so I promptly gave up and moved on to something else.

Early in 2021, a late Christmas present from my wife arrived: Missile Commander by Tony Temple. It was a great read and I became mildly obsessed with Missile Command and decided to work on this Pico-8 version.

First I bought a trackball to get into the spirit or the original. Next I played the MAME version for a few days.

Researching an old game is part of the fun for me and thankfully I discovered this excellent "MISSILE COMMAND DEEP DIVE" article:
http://www.retrogamedeconstructionzone.com/2019/11/missilie-command-deep-dive.html

I'm pretty happy with the result. To me at least, it captures the spirit of the original. In a chunky 128x128 pixel sort of way anyway ;)

Enjoy.

Lode Runner Championship

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 07:01:17 UTC

Lode Runner Championship

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

50 (plus 1) of the most challenging lode runner levels!

WARNING: some levels are untested. The following are definitely achievable: 1, 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 18, 32

Controls

[Z] and [X] dig
Hold [X] if you get stuck to restart level
[Q] to quit back to titles

Thanks To

Finn for testing
Doug Smith for creating the 1983 classic
Mike Dailly for creating the original lemmings sprites
Zep for the confetti tweetcart I used for the game complete scene
PICO-8 for creating an awesome "fantasy console"

Minified using the GEM Minifier:
https://pahammond.itch.io/gem-minify

Unminified code can be downloaded from:
https://pahammond.itch.io/lode-runner-ce

Lode Runner

Sat, 06 Feb 2021 05:34:40 UTC

Lode Runner

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

83 levels - featuring lemmings! - of classic platform puzzler.

Controls

[Z] and [X] dig
Hold [X] if you get stuck to restart level
[Q] to quit back to titles

Thanks To

Minified using the GEM Minifier:
https://pahammond.itch.io/gem-minify

Unminified code can be downloaded from:
https://pahammond.itch.io/lode-runner

Virus Buster

Thu, 14 May 2020 01:48:14 UTC

Virus Buster 0.81

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

A quick post-bubble bobble version of a Dr Mario (or DS Germ Busters) style puzzler.

Controls

Arrow keys to move left and right
[O] and [X] to rotate (Z and X on the keyboard)

Virus Buster Example

Thu, 07 May 2020 23:24:30 UTC

Virus Buster Example

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

Virus Buster Example

A very basic version of Germ Buster or Dr. Mario.

Created as an example that I can work through with my kids.

Turned out to be a bit more complex than I realised but demonstrates a basic game loop and recursion.

Bubble Bobble

Tue, 05 May 2020 07:31:39 UTC

Bubble Bobble 0.8

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

90 levels of 1 or 2 player 80s-style arcade fun.

Windows executable: https://pahammond.itch.io/bubble-bobble

Controls

To prevent [Up] from jumping when using controllers, press either [A] on the controller or the PICO-8 [O] button (Z on the keyboard) to start.

Player 1

[←] and [→] to move
[↑] jump
[X] fire

Player 2

[S] and [F] to move
[E] jump
[A] fire

Thanks To

Finn and Lucas for testing
Many low-res graphics thanks to dwedit.org & @justin_cyr
PICO-8 for creating an awesome "fantasy console"
https://lostcave.wordpress.com/ for providing inspiration and a few level layouts

Minified using the GEM Minifier:
https://pahammond.itch.io/gem-minify

Unminified code can be downloaded from:
https://pahammond.itch.io/bubble-bobble

Pico Frogger

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 05:01:40 UTC

Pico Frogger

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

8 modes, "easy" allows screen wrap on water, "crazy" is, well, crazy fast!

Q will quit back to the titles at any point.

Version 0.9 has an enhanced graphics mode (thanks to @s_yanik)

Invaders 2600

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 18:49:53 UTC

invaders 2600

by pahammond

[Click to Play]

63 modes, fire one bullet at a time. What could be more classic than space invaders on the Atari 2600/VCS.

This is how I remember it, not necessarily how it really was!