5 ms·

Can't wait for the 16bit Pico with HAM graphics mode.

mkotowski 5y ago
If someone really wants something with less enforced limitations than PICO, then the TIC-80 [0] fantasy console is fully open source. [0]: https://tic80.com https://tic80.com
- liveoneggs 5y ago
  write your games in fennel!
- trasz 5y ago
  Just wondering… Why use fantasy consoles instead of building something comparable, but physical, based on eg RPi Pico?
  - oneearedrabbit 5y ago
    If I understand your question, it is not mutually exclusive, and there are physical devices that can run Pico-8, for instance, GameShell and RaspiBoy. Certainly, you can build your custom device. Still, it is sort of derailing the original intention if you are making a game or participating in the demoscene and would like to focus on the development (or learning) aspect rather than porting and hardware. Game development is already hard. It could be a nice cherry on top to run it on the physical device; however, emulators are great to get started.
  - II2II 5y ago
    Just a guess: it is a lot easier to focus upon making a game using a fantasy console than it is to use hardware. Using something like a Pi Pico means building out the hardware or buying into a non-standard board that provides suitable I/O capabilities. From my meager experience with fantasy consoles, they also provide a development environment that is more similar to an 80's vintage computer than you would get with a microcontroller. (While it is easy to setup a development environment on a Pi Pico if you follow the instructions, it is rather involved.) That's not to say it can't be done. I have seen demos using everything from custom code and circuits using an ATtiny to people using VGA libraries on higher performance microcontrollers, but that's not everyone's cup of tea and would likely be hard to implement around a game jam.
  - mkotowski 5y ago
    Such fantasy consoles more often that not have a complete programming setup built-in and are mostly free from programming gotchas that can be present on old hardware. They are also much simpler to learn and use than modern platforms, and offer limits that can force you to come up with interesting ideas. Beyond that, I suppose it is also a some way to prototype. Celeste[0] was originally created as a PICO-8 game. [0]: http://www.celestegame.com http://www.celestegame.com [1]: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=2145 https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=2145
  - no_time 5y ago
    I was wondering about this too. Then I realized that the interpreted nature and user friendliness doesn't map to a low power mcu. You either settle on a hardware that's basically an embedded linux that's way overpowered and runs hot/drains battery OR you let go of the ease of use and get dirty with embedded development tools. If you look up some GBA homebrew you can quickly see why this will remain unpopular. The third and most ridiculous option would be fabbing a custom low power SoC that has an embedded gpu specifically designed around the pico8 limitations and some extra opcodes that accelerate luaJIT.
japhib 5y ago
You jest (maybe?) but Zep, the guy that made the PICO-8, has announced something called the "Picotron" that is more from the 16 or 32-bit era: https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php
- cogburnd02 5y ago
  Funny, 'Zep' is also a commercially available Copper Sulfate. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zep-Root-Kill-32-oz-Drain-Cleaner/4383191 https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zep-Root-Kill-32-oz-Drain-Cleaner/4...
- Torwald 5y ago
  Both, thanks for the link.

If someone really wants something with less enforced limitations than PICO, then the TIC-80 [0] fantasy console is fully open source. [0]: https://tic80.com https://tic80.com

liveoneggs 5y ago
write your games in fennel!
trasz 5y ago
Just wondering… Why use fantasy consoles instead of building something comparable, but physical, based on eg RPi Pico?
- oneearedrabbit 5y ago
  If I understand your question, it is not mutually exclusive, and there are physical devices that can run Pico-8, for instance, GameShell and RaspiBoy. Certainly, you can build your custom device. Still, it is sort of derailing the original intention if you are making a game or participating in the demoscene and would like to focus on the development (or learning) aspect rather than porting and hardware. Game development is already hard. It could be a nice cherry on top to run it on the physical device; however, emulators are great to get started.
- II2II 5y ago
  Just a guess: it is a lot easier to focus upon making a game using a fantasy console than it is to use hardware. Using something like a Pi Pico means building out the hardware or buying into a non-standard board that provides suitable I/O capabilities. From my meager experience with fantasy consoles, they also provide a development environment that is more similar to an 80's vintage computer than you would get with a microcontroller. (While it is easy to setup a development environment on a Pi Pico if you follow the instructions, it is rather involved.) That's not to say it can't be done. I have seen demos using everything from custom code and circuits using an ATtiny to people using VGA libraries on higher performance microcontrollers, but that's not everyone's cup of tea and would likely be hard to implement around a game jam.
- mkotowski 5y ago
  Such fantasy consoles more often that not have a complete programming setup built-in and are mostly free from programming gotchas that can be present on old hardware. They are also much simpler to learn and use than modern platforms, and offer limits that can force you to come up with interesting ideas. Beyond that, I suppose it is also a some way to prototype. Celeste[0] was originally created as a PICO-8 game. [0]: http://www.celestegame.com http://www.celestegame.com [1]: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=2145 https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=2145
- no_time 5y ago
  I was wondering about this too. Then I realized that the interpreted nature and user friendliness doesn't map to a low power mcu. You either settle on a hardware that's basically an embedded linux that's way overpowered and runs hot/drains battery OR you let go of the ease of use and get dirty with embedded development tools. If you look up some GBA homebrew you can quickly see why this will remain unpopular. The third and most ridiculous option would be fabbing a custom low power SoC that has an embedded gpu specifically designed around the pico8 limitations and some extra opcodes that accelerate luaJIT.

japhib 5y ago

You jest (maybe?) but Zep, the guy that made the PICO-8, has announced something called the "Picotron" that is more from the 16 or 32-bit era: https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php

cogburnd02 5y ago
Funny, 'Zep' is also a commercially available Copper Sulfate. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zep-Root-Kill-32-oz-Drain-Cleaner/4383191 https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zep-Root-Kill-32-oz-Drain-Cleaner/4...
Torwald 5y ago
Both, thanks for the link.