"Nilpotents" is my first serious project with PICO-8. It was made for (and actually won!) the Unremarkable Game Jam 2 on itch.io. The jam theme was Limited Power. A few tweaks have been made to the original version submitted to the jam.
While this game is still very rough around the edges (and still doesn't have music), I think it's time to publish it here and move on with my life. Hope you enjoy!
No generative AI was used at any point in this game's development process.
Controls:
Mouse: Drag/drop to place nilpotents
X: Advance dialogue
Z: Confirm
P: Pause (for main menu and level restart)
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heyo! i've been meaning to make a demoscene in picotron for a while now, and was wondering if i could somehow sync stuff to the music/patterns like SNAKATOR-9 did. i tried reading from the stat() stuff but that didnt work, so was hoping to get some help on this. if it isnt possible, then i'll probably end up just doing it manually and counting seconds lol. thanks!
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a few months back, I did some tinkering to try and get reasonable bowed string instruments, and this was the result (excerpt from my cover of Lace by Christopher Larkin):
[sfx]
feel free to use those, I'd appreciate a shoutout if you do.
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My goal with this project was to explore interesting control/input mechanics that mesh nicely with the UI. Also I wanted to build tension and make something kinda anxiety inducing.
It's definitely more of a toy/proof of concept.
I made this as part of a Game Jam and it is partially based on a previous Pico 8 game I made, however it has been heavily modified.
Let me know what you think!
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W.I.P maze game
OBS: This is my first uploaded p8 file, and is currently work in progress. I'll gladly appreciate any feedback or help in this thread if you know of any techniques that might make the cartridge more effective. Thanks!
You are stuck in a maze. That's all. You can't really do anything right now... ...or can you?
SPOILER WARNING: Oh also, just wanted to point out that this game is subject to change, and when completed, will be intended to be a Metroidbrainia puzzle game. In other words, you progress the game and overcome obstacles with your accquired knowledge. This also means that usually, such a game can only be experienced correctly in your first playthrough, any other playthroughs after your first will likely result into dissatisfaction for the most part. So heed this warning before you decide to datamine this cartridge, if you want to get the full experience when I'm done.
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Trying out couch co-op ideas. Up to 4 players can build in a persistent world. The screen will split if they're on different screens.
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Context
You are a barista in a cafe that sells a varied menu of drinks like matcha latte and taro. Serve your customers colorful, layered drinks according to the Recipe Book and keep your customers happy!
Goal
Serve the entire cafe menu with a score of 70 or more per drink.
Controls
🅾️ - Dispense liquid
❎ - Open/Close Recipe Book
⬅️ / ➡️ - Scroll through liquid layers (while making drinks) or drink recipes (in Recipe Book)
⬇️ - Serve Drink
Note: On keyboard, 🅾️ corresponds to Z/C keys and ❎ corresponds to X/V keys.
About
This is my first programming project and game I've ever made. It's also my first Pico-8 game.
I wanted to make a small cafe game that takes a different approach from traditional cafe games. Typically, cafe games revolve around memorizing recipes and serving customers as many drinks as possible within a time constraint. Although I would be drawn into these games by the beautiful artwork and cozy atmosphere, I felt that the actual experience of the gameplay was stressful and not relaxing.
When Keziah and I stumbled upon idea of making layered drinks, it felt right to make it the core of the gameplay. It felt fun and novel, like making sand art but for tea lattes. We also felt that adding a Recipe Book that is accessible throughout the majority of the gameplay was important to create the cozy gameplay experience.
After you complete the initial goal, I think the game makes for a fun "endless" game. I hope you enjoy creating all of the drinks I dreamed up!
I would love to receive kind and thoughtful comments and constructive feedback from you. I hope you enjoy playing Matcha Espresso as much as I enjoyed making it!
P.S. It's fun to "break the rules" and cram as many different layers as possible into one drink. And try making your own custom drinks!
Credits
Music:
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ZpaceplatformZ is a fast paced arcade game set in the year 4000. No one has a body anymore and you must colour platforms in space to match incoming lasers.
- When a laser fires on a row of platforms they all should be the matching colour
- Each correct match awards points.
- A mismatch damages the platform.
- Money mines that appear should be avoided.
- If too many platforms are destroyed it is game over.
Controls:
Arrows - move ship
Z - press or hold to mark platforms as BLUE
X- press or hold to mark platforms as RED
Playtime:
As long as you can last before GAME OVER.
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Cats & Dogs - "noir"
Overview
John Wick Inspired PICO-8 Cinematic Action Demo.
The player will press a single button to do gun-fu counters on attacking enemies.
It will be a cinematic power-trip in which the player character cannot be hurt because time slows to a halt before an enemy can ever reach them.
There is no fail-state.
Controls
Press X to start, as well as to takedown enemies.
Holding X will basically keep the takedowns going indefinitely, ensuring that time flows at a regular pace.
Features
- Time slow effect.
- 4 unique dual-character takedowns.
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First release of my Geometry Dash demake. No music currently.
Up arrow to jump
Z/X to place/remove checkpoints, or jump in normal mode.
The enter menu also has useful options.
Ship physics is weird, I need to fix that at some point. The other gamemodes have pretty good physics though, but not perfect.
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puffins is a cozy little platformer with some harder challenges built in: if you are a good player you should manage to complete the whole game in < 500 seconds. you can also try a 100% run by getting all the fish - have fun!
this is my first real release, i built this as distraction from my current main project "twine".
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Fury
I made my first Pico-8 game for the GMTK 2026 Game Jam and wanted to share the cartridge with you here. You can find more information about the game on the Itch.io page.
If you like the game, please leave a review on the submission page of the game jam entry.
Enjoy!
Controls
- Use the arrow keys ⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️ to move.
- Press ❎ (Keyboard X) when holding your axe, to unleash a chain of attacks.
- Press 🅾️ (Keyboard Z) to throw your axe in the direction you're looking or walking.
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Wordwell
Spell your way to safety.
Chain adjacent letter tiles to spell real words — the longer the word, the bigger the score. But don't get greedy: short words and shuffling the board risk igniting fire tiles that creep down row by row. Extinguish them by working their letters into a word before the flames reach the bottom, or it's game over. Play it safe for steady points, or push for long words to guarantee a gold tile that doubles your score.
How to play: drag (or arrow keys + X) across adjacent tiles to build a word, submit it, and watch the board shift and refill. Keep an eye on the level meter — the higher you climb, the hungrier the fire gets.
This is a compact PICO-8 take on the game. For the full experience — more words, more polish, the whole board to explore — play Wordwell at:
https://viniciuslima94.itch.io/wordwell
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