Conor [Lexaloffle Blog Feed]

Using the Pico8 Extension for VSCode with Picotron

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 05:47:46 UTC

I've found a way to use the Pico8 language server extension for VSCode while developing with Picotron.

This give you all the "Pico" style changes to Lua as recognized commands that don't throw errors, things like:

a += 1
if (something) action()
a = b \ c

There is some Picotron syntax which will show up as warnings (such as 'fetch' or 'window'), but this is the best we've got until a proper Picotron Lua language server extension is released.

To use it - install the pico8-ls extension by Pollywog Games in VSCode.

In Picotron open main.lua and enter the following:

cd("/projectname")
include ("src/filename1.lua")
include ("src/filename2.lua")
-- etc for every lua file

Your source LUA files go in the Picotron drive (type 'folder' at the Picotron command prompt to open it)
in drive/projectname/src

Save your .p64 file into drive/projectname/projectname.p64

Lastly, to get the Pico8 language server to think this is a Pico8 game and to include all your Lua files, you create a .p8 file: drive/projectname/projectname.p8 and edit it in VSCode. It should look like this:

pico-8 cartridge // http://www.pico-8.com
version 42
__lua__
-- temp file just used for VSCode file inclusions
-- add any .lua files here so that VSCode's pico-8 extension can read them
#include src/filename1.lua
#include src/filename3.lua
-- etc for all lua files

Now your Lua files will be parsed by the language server so that code auto-completion will use the functions and variables from your Lua files.

Ghost Wave

Fri, 17 May 2024 06:46:20 UTC

ghostwave

by Conor

[Click to Play]

How To Play

Z - Shoot
X - Rockets
Arrow keys - Move

Some enemies have a blue outline - when they die, collect their ghost for a large score bonus. Each ghost is worth 50 points times the number of ghosts collected so far - so the key to a high score is to not miss any of the ghosts.

After you've used your rockets 3 times, they take 10 seconds to reload. Save your rockets for difficult situations or blue enemies.

Inertia is on by default, which makes the player's helicopter move smoothly. If you prefer more responsive controls without acceleration and deceleration you can turn inertia off.

With inertia on changing direction takes a small amount of time, the player's movement flows more like a real helicopter. Inertia off feels like a traditional arcade shmup, where you can change direction or stop instantly. Inertia off is also slightly easier. Choose whichever mode you enjoy more.

Credits

Made by Conor O'Kane

Thanks to: Lazy Devs and everyone on the Lazy Devs Discord, in particular:

Louie Chapman for help with Lua and shmup design.
LokiStriker for playtesting and feedback.
GPI for the jaP8e editor.
Trog for the Trog font family.
And of course, Zep for pico8.

This game is free. You can download an executable from the itch page.

Puzstel Storm

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 10:17:07 UTC

Puzstel Storm

by Conor

[Click to Play]

Puzstel Storm
A match-3 puzzle game featuring Pastel Storm and friends.

How to Play

Use the arrow keys to move the cursor and press Z to swap tiles.

Arrange the tiles to create matching groups of 3 or more.

After every 5th swap, the matching groups will break, awarding you 5 points per tile.

The remaining tiles will fall and new ones will enter from the top.

Chaining

If the falling tiles create a new matching group, a chain starts. A 2-chain is worth double points, and a 3-chain is triple points etc...

Egirls

Egirl tiles are worth 15 points each, so try to match them at the end of a chain for a huge score.

The first match in this chain scores +5 points per tile:

The second chain scores double, +10 per tile

The third chain scores triple, and egirls are 15 points each. 15 x 3 = 45 points per tile!

There is no time limit, instead there is a limited number of swaps per game, so take your time and plan your moves carefully.

You can play a short game with 50 swaps, or a longer game with 100 swaps.
The Score Attack 100 game includes rare tiles later in the game making it a little harder.

Here's an example of how to set up a long chain for a high score:

Update!
I added a new mode. In "caffeinated mode" there is a 3 minute time limit. You have unlimited moves, but the first match of a chain doesn't count, you have to trigger a 2-chain or more to score points.

ChuChu Pico

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 12:04:12 UTC

ChuChu Pico

by Conor

[Click to Play]

Hi, this is my first Pico-8 game. It's a remake of the Dreamcast game ChuChu Rocket. This is a multiplayer game, best played with 2 controllers. The game contains 16 levels.

I've tried to make the code easy to follow so others can examine it and learn the techniques.

Instructions

Use the arrow keys to move your cursor.
Press the O button and a direction to place an arrow on the grid. Mice and cats will follow the arrows.
Steer the mice into your rocket (the red or green circle), and steer the cats into your opponent's rocket.
Mice score 1 point, or 50 points for a gold mouse. Cats remove 1/3 of your total score.
The round ends after 3 minutes and then moves to a new random map.
The results of the previous 10 games are shown on the left.

Comments

I haven't included the pink mice which spawn random events and don't plan to. This was made as an exercise to learn Pico-8 and to have some easy-to-understand code to show to students learning Lua and Pico-8.