TL;DR at the bottom
Recently I posted a WIP asking for some help on how to better optimize my map/sprite sheet, but I deleted the post after actually reading the terms of use: I used genAI to assist me with the code. For this game I mostly followed the video of Krystman on how to make the movement as in Link's Awakening, but I also wanted to make my player turn around when pressing the buttons briefly(like in the classic pokemon games). That's when I asked ClaudeAI what was the better way to implement this.
As someone with art and illustration background, I hate Gen AI content. But to "talk" with Claude asking for some tips was really helpful at that point. After that I saw myself asking more and more for advice on how to implement more features (like a grabbing action to move furniture around like a sokoban and how to insert the movable furnitures without the map editor).
After reading the terms of use, I felt really really guilty about it. On the other hand, I really understood the code Claude sent me and I wrote everything again trying to match the style I was already using following Krystman. Now I just saw a reddit post from tsarkee saying the following: "if you use AI to assist with music, coding, or art, that is fine. Please just disclose that if you share the art/music/code in your post."
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This game is a remake of the 16-bit game SWAP, released in 1990 by Microids on several computers (Atari ST, Amiga, CPC, ...).
The goal of the game is to clear an array of tiles, mainly by swapping them to bring tiles of the same colors next to each others. If you fail to remove all the tiles, you can select the 'abandon" option in the pico menu to exit the current game (you will loose a few points for each remaining tiles).
You can perform 3 different actions in the game:
- Swapping two tiles,
- Placing a tile from the reserve,
- Triggering an avalanche to apply gravity to the tiles.
There is an embbeded "how to play" page accessible from the main menu that describes the different actions and how points are granted.
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Basic player controller and collision detection and response system (along with a settings menu and map editor).
Controls:
- Arrows keys for moving, navigating settings
- z/c/n to toggle noclip, change tiles, or select either play or make map
- x/v/m to return to settings menu, or select either play or make map
I did the majority of this in VSCode, #include was a lifesaver.
Feel free to use this system for like a platformer or something. I'm already going to be using this system for another game I plan to make.
Feedback will be read, system will be updated if there are areas to be improved upon.
Done in like... a week or so.
v1.2 (token shortening):
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Move using the arrow keys and reach the flag to win; dodge the fire and spikes. This is my first complete game created from scratch in Pico-8.
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Fireworks thing using a userdata particle system.
Source code (MIT License): https://github.com/yournameplease/picotron-demos/blob/main/fireworks.p64
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It was late last night and I guess I just out of nowhere thought about having a physical PICO-8 and/or Picotron manual to flip through while programming.
Honestly sounds like an interesting idea to me, I'd love to see it happen. I might actually mess around with formatting the doc page in some way and do some sort of test print, just so I can have something irl to work with....
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The long-awaited Prototype 2.0 is here! Big changes have been made! Give me your feedback!
Follow the game's development and join our community:
https://discord.gg/Vrp4XuPZvR
This version adds scoring extends(extra lives), new boss phases, and some new mechanics!
(Read the Scoring section below to see how to get more lives.)
Controls
(controllers work but no rebinds yet)
WASD/Arrow Keys: Move
J/Z: Wide Shot
K/X : Melee
L/Ctrl: Focus Laser
Weapons
Wide Shot: low damage, high coverage, recharges your melee slowly
Focus Laser: high damage, low coverage, recharges your melee quickly
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💀 Chaos Land [PICO-8] [ANDROID]
Warning this game has flashing lights
Escape the chaos in this dark, maze-like platformer where there is NO floor — one wrong step and you fall into the void!
Navigate treacherous platforms floating in darkness, dodge skull enemies that fire at you, break through walls and survive 10 increasingly chaotic levels!
FEATURES
10 story levels of dark maze platforming — no floor, pure chaos!
Endless Chaos mode — stomped enemies turn into blocks, how long can you survive?
💀 Floating skull enemies that warn before firing at you
Breakable maze walls — punch through to find new paths
Shooting stars drift across the background
Step blocks and moving platforms to help you navigate
Spikes, monsters and wall mazes at every turn
High score tracking for story and chaos modes
Skull treasure collectibles — collect 100 per level!
Death flash warning — contains flashing images
HOW TO PLAY
Arrow keys — move
Z — jump
X — shoot (with fire power-up)
Stomp enemies from above
Break blocks by jumping into them from below
Reach the flag to complete each level
Don't fall off the edge!
TIPS
Think outside the box, you can jump over walls and go off screen
you will have to break platforms in order to beat the game
you can jump after leaving a platform
Jump when crossing narrow gaps even if there is a platform above you.
Breaking platforms can give you extra lives or firepower.
this version is very hard take you time and master the mechanics in order to beat all 10 levels
Stomp the enemies for bonus points!
Fire power-up chickens may fall from the sky — don't miss them!
Also available free on Android — search Fox Fall Adventures on Google Play!
Part of the Fox Fall Adventures collection — also includes Adventure Land, Lava World, Water World and Space Fall!
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The Cowcatchers from Outer Space
Onwards, brave Graxian!
A strange new world awaits. Your mission is clear - capture as many specimen as possible while the inhabitants of this world try to stop you.
How long will you survive?
Controls
⬅️⬆️⬇️➡️ to move the ship
❎ to use the tractor beam
About
This game was developed in 2,5 weeks for a university course.
Credits
- Lightning sprite originally from: https://www.youtube.com/@GaboxArt
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GREETINGS, EARTHLINGS!
Take me to your leader!!!
My first ever video game is complete. (I hope I haven't broken the rules by heavily editing this post.)
I DID POST THIS MESSAGE BEFORE, BUT THE GAME WASN'T QUITE COMPLETE SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT I DID WRONG - IT'S NOW 100% COMPLETE, WITH HIGH SCORE AND SOUND!!
The game happens to be another Pac-Man demake - written using my 8-bit text editor - the EBM System/800 in its Pico-8 Mode that has the P8 colours and special characters.
If there's interest in my game, I can maybe do SUPER MARIO PLAYS MS. PAC-MAN with the four mazes?
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Explore this town and discover its secrets!
Main Objectives: none
Side Quests: finding treasure chests, cutting grass, and talking to everybody! There are plenty of secret interactions and dialogue to discover! Just have fun!
This is the beginning of a bigger project, potentially involving actual questlines and RPG battles. But for now, it's just a cozy exploration game.
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I kind of feel like I've appeared out of nowhere with this, for which I apologise.
I will introduce myself. I'm Aiden Smith, I'm more from the publishing industry (editor/writer since 1990s), but I have been obsessed with 8-bit computers since our parents bought us a Vic-20 in 1980. Or certainly since when, on leaving school, I was paid minimum wage to type in numbers printed out on smudgey dot matrix paper... using a keyboard with a metal housing sprayed with industrial beige paint.
Clonky, not clicky.
Actually, this obsession dated back to some years before, when our dad brought home a wood-effect box that, like a domestic space alien, took command over our CRT TV, such that you twiddled one of two plastic knobs, and a fuzzy rectangle slid up and down the screen, mathematically batting about a white oblong the size of a washing machine.
It happens that I am typing this post on an IBM Model-M, BTW.
The EBM System/800 has the feel of a late 1970s/early 1980s computer, like the Commodore Pet, or one of those early 80s industrial or business computers I hammered numbers into - yet with the usability of a modern Windows machine. CTRL-C to copy, etc.
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Fox Jump – a tight vertical platformer for PICO-8
A little fox has to climb higher and higher, jumping from platform to platform while collecting apples and dodging (or stomping) enemies.
🍎 Apple hunting gives bonus points
💥 Squash enemies from above for extra score & satisfying confetti
- Monster Mash mode , stomp enemies to climb platforms to reach the flag
- Pressure mode, Race against the rising tide to get to the flag before the foul water reaches you.
- Fishy mode, Ride on a wave of monsters pushing you higher as the tide rises!
Can you find the Easter egg?
Easy to play tough to conquer!
Very classic old-school feel with smooth controls and increasing challenge.
How high can you climb? Let me know your high scores! 🦊✨
Full game available for free on Google Play, just search for FoxJump
Controls:
←→ Move
Z / X / ⬆️ Jump
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