I actually completed a tutorial!

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 15:34:52 UTC

After dealing with a weird RAM issue on my computer, I finally picked up PICO-8 along with "Game Development with PICO-8 - Issue 1" (see Resources page, thanks packbat for reminding me about this zine!). In just a short amount of time, I was able to complete the first tutorial, making the Cave Diver game. It was an enjoyable process and I even had to do my own troubleshooting, such as figuring out where I made typos in the coding. :O

I have already created my own modified sprite and changed the colors. Later on, I will try doing some additional things like adding music.

One thing I'm wondering about for anyone who's used this tutorial is that the game is similar to Flappy Bird. There seems to be a point where the new cave tables eventually are so close to each other it's impossible to continue. I am wondering what I need to adjust to make it a little more "fair" so that a player wouldn't give up after one or two tries. I'll continue to experiment with how the cave is drawn or added, as well as with player jump gravity. However if anyone has worked on something like this, suggestions are welcome.

Now, as is customary whenever trying a new console, I'm off to search to see if anyone has made Doom on it. After all, someone programmed it to be played on a refrigerator! https://www.reddit.com/r/itrunsdoom/comments/8mv8pt/oc_doom_can_run_on_your_samsung_smart_fridge/

On the cusp of starting!

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 16:57:49 UTC

I've toyed around with the idea of game design, but I've often been overwhelmed with the thought of learning a programming language and using a game engine. I went through most of a C# course on YouTube and played around with Unity and Gamemaker 2. However, I realized that playing around with the systems isn't enough. I need a goal!

PICO-8 got my attention because of the Game Jam version of Celeste. I had a blast, and as I read more about it, I love the fact that you can do so much with so little. The restriction has attracted me because when I have more options just starting out, I feel overloaded. Now I just have to decide what kind of game I want to try to make when getting started.

I have started looking around the carts that are listed. I'd love to see a game that has a Dragon Quest or early Final Fantasy feel. I know those games are probably larger than 32K, but I'd be interested in seeing if something similar could be done. I tried one game that seemed promising, and while I enjoyed my time with it, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. That game was more on the lines of a push-into-the-enemy RPG. I'd still recommend giving it a try! (https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?pid=48757#p)

NoAverageMitch [Lexaloffle Blog Feed]

I actually completed a tutorial!

On the cusp of starting!