11 ms·
PICO-8 – Fantasy Console
- nkssy 5y agoThis console doesn't have network support does it?
- Le_Dook 5y agoAs far as I'm aware, the creator has been testing network stuff over the past few years.
- cogburnd02 5y agoI wish PICO-8 was free (libre) software.
- crispyalmond 5y agoThere is TIC-80[0] and PixelVision8[1] (interesting license) but I agree. It would be awesome for PICO-8 to be free (libre) software. [0] https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 [1] https://github.com/PixelVision8/PixelVision8 https://github.com/PixelVision8/PixelVision8
- meheleventyone 5y agoBut why? It’s so cheap and so much love and dedication has gone into it. I bought my copy literally years ago and it’s provided so much joy. I actually kinda wish the opposite that there were more small projects that could have this kind of humble success. Particularly in a world where much more profit motivated enterprises give free software a shitty stick.
- roywiggins 5y agoOpen source would make ports to more platforms substantially easier, there's a pretty good RetroArch core, but it isn't perfect.
- myfartsarefoul 5y agoBut why not? They can still charge for it and have a FOSS dev model. Nobody who wants this without paying for it is going to have trouble getting it.
- 83457 5y agoSeems like the sort of beloved project with solo maintainer that could go open source in the future. I wonder if there is a common approach to allow this to happen like open source foundation working with him plus community fundraising. I'd support such an effort with 10x the amount I paid for the product.
- lc9er 5y agoA very similar open source project, Tic-80[0], already exists. It has tools for sprite generation and music creation. It also supports Lua, in addition to Fennel (natively), JS, Wren, and Moonscript. [0] https://tic80.com/ https://tic80.com/
- huachimingo 5y ago(micro)Python support is on the way, check their github.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoI could not get tic-80 games to work on my phone chrome browser. Does it work with mobile devices?
- zemo 5y agoI'm bothered by this comment. PICO-8 is one of the most vibrant communities in existence for beginners making games. Thousands of people have made thousands of games with this software. The price point to purchase is extremely cheap, supports the person that created it, and the licensing allows people who purchase the engine to distribute it in their own games. It is one of the most open, empowering, user-supporting pieces of software in games. I think this community has a huge problem with thinking that releasing the source code to things automatically makes them accessible and automatically empowers other people, but there are plenty of open-source projects that are actively user-hostile. The reality is that all too often on this site when people say "I wish this was open source" they aren't saying that out of any interest for how that would make the project better or create a better community, but instead are saying it from a standpoint that only considers how it would benefit them personally.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago> The reality is that all too often on this site when people say "I wish this was open source" they aren't saying that out of any interest for how that would make the project better or create a better community, but instead are saying it from a standpoint that only considers how it would benefit them personally. Or from a philosophical standpoint
- thristian 5y agoI'm sure there's a lot of people who only say "I wish this were open source" because that would benefit them personally. I'm sure there's a lot of open-source projects that are the exact opposite of vibrant communities, and the exact opposite of empowering and user-supporting. However, as a great man once said, "No Taxation Without Representation". People using PICO-8 and writing games for PICO-8 aren't paying taxes as such, but they are investing their time and creative energy, their efforts advertise the PICO-8 platform, and thus they enrich Lexaloffle just as surely as if they'd filled out a 1040 form. Some people want to be reassured that they have some measure of control over a thing before they invest time, money, or energy into it. It doesn't have to be open-source, but for software that's more legally sound and practical than staging an armed insurrection and writing a constitution. A lot of people probably don't care what Lexaloffle does as long as their existing games keep working, many people probably trust Lexaloffle's reign to remain benevolent and just indefinitely, and I don't know any reason (beyond human frailty) why that wouldn't be true. But some people want a better guarantee of future performance than mere past performance, and that's where (some) calls for open-source come from.
- japhib 5y agoWhy? It’d be pretty simple to make a clone of, honestly, just SDL2 with some Lua bindings and some neat tools. The special part about it isn’t the code. It’s the concept of it, the execution, and the community that has grown up around it.
- shoozza 5y agoIf you are interested, there are a few (incomplete) FLOSS clones: tac08, PX8 and picolove. I'm maintaining picolove but it's currently more of a pico-8 runtime than a virtual console.
- rhn_mk1 5y agoYou can get that to some extent: https://github.com/picolove/picolove https://github.com/picolove/picolove
- otikik 5y agoGo ahead and do it then
- cogburnd02 5y agodo what?
- otikik 5y agoCreate an open source version of Pico-8
- ChristopherDrum 5y agoSupporting the developer and getting into the smart, welcoming community are well worth the trivial amount being asked for. There is something to be said about a project that is driven by a uniform philosophy to deliver a unique and singular product. I think a lot of projects suffer from a "too many cooks" problem, and lose sight of their guiding philosophy in an attempt to compromise with naysayers. Zep doesn't do that at all... almost to a fault... but I respect his vision and adherance to keeping PICO-8 a pure representation of his vision. If price is a problem for anyone, you may already own a copy. PICO-8 was (quietly?) included as part of the legendary itch.io mega "Bundle for Racial Justice."
- cogburnd02 5y agoI never said I had a problem donating money to help; what I have a problem with is lack of access to, and lack of share-ability (not sure if that's a word, but I'm going with it anyway) of the source code.
- Hoppetosse 5y agoThere are a few similar open source projects, like Tic-80 and Liko-12. Both can be programmed with Lua, but Tic-80 can also be programmed with others like Javascript and Wren and the porting process can be fairly simple.
- jhbadger 5y agoAnd arguably Tic-80 is even better than Pico-8 because you aren't limited to using Lua, but can write games in a variety of languages including Javascript and the Lisp-like Fennel.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoI just tried tic-80 and don’t see mobile support. Am I wrong? Pico-8 is working for me on mobile.
- jhbadger 5y agoDepends on what you mean by mobile support -- there's an Android version if that's what you mean.
- pull_my_finger 5y ago"Limits" are exactly what makes Pico-8 awesome. I definitely appreciate the changes Tic-80 offers, but Pico-8 and the surrounding community definitely have an x-factor that the "clones" are missing.
- jhbadger 5y agoAt least in TIC-80, the faux retro limits are still there (including the annoying low-res font which is a bit silly -- actual 8-bit computers didn't have fonts that bad). The main thing that it gives you over PICO-8 (besides being free) is the ability to use different languages. I don't think there is anything particularly retro about Lua -- it didn't even exist in the 8-bit era these fantasy consoles are nostalgic for. There's a (paid) fantasy console on steam that uses BASIC, which is at least period faithful.
- keyle 5y agoEvery time I look at this I'm absolutely baffled by the quality of little games, although many being clones. I just wasted 30' in 1 click. Something I can't say about my steam library. I think it has to do with the instant-ON aspect of the games. <click> -> start, immersed. As opposed to many screens, "oh that needs an update"...
- brundolf 5y agoI've heard TikTok described similarly compared with YouTube. Makes me wonder if there's room for a "TikTok for games"
- larsiusprime 5y agoYou mean HypeHype? https://hypehype.com/ https://hypehype.com/ (I'm not affiliated)
- bottled_poe 5y agoThis website shows me basically nothing.
- prirai 5y agoThey had an early access iirc which I joined.
- zemo 5y agohttps://castle.xyz/ https://castle.xyz/ is sorta that concept, but could also be described as "hypercard meets instagram"
- KVFinn 5y ago>I've heard TikTok described similarly compared with YouTube. Makes me wonder if there's room for a "TikTok for games" IMO it's the remixing that makes TikTok work. The equivalent would be every game is open sourced and remixable in easy ways. Like the way you can take one TikTok's video audio and recontextualize the meaning with your own video. Or an audio track can become the format that everyone follows by using the audio.
- Rendello 5y agoAnyone interested in trying it out should check out Tweetcarts[1], they're little PICO-8 programs that fit inside single Tweets: 1. https://twitter.com/search?q=%23tweetcart&src=typed_query https://twitter.com/search?q=%23tweetcart&src=typed_query
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoVery cool!
- xahrepap 5y agoIs there a tool/platform/etc like pico that would allow you to make SNES era quality/style games? I love love pico! But also SNES is my childhood console. I would love something as simple/fun as Pico.
- larsiusprime 5y agoTry Pixel Vision 8 https://pixelvision8.github.io/Website/ https://pixelvision8.github.io/Website/
- whateveracct 5y agoIt's not a platform, but tilengine kinda fits the bill http://www.tilengine.org/ http://www.tilengine.org/
- xahrepap 5y agoOh I like it. Thanks!
- sidedishes 5y agoPICO-8 is fantastic! If you know the platformer Celeste, it started off originally as a PICO-8 game for a game jam. It really feels to me as an exemplar of 'constraints beget creativity'.
- gota 5y agoYou can find a PICO-8 console and play that version within the Celeste game!
- frosted-flakes 5y agoYep, it's in the haunted hotel, at the bottom right behind a laundry room, if I remember right.
- z5h 5y agoIf I read this all correctly, there would be no path to selling games, is that right? Just curious. Looks very cool.
- smoldesu 5y agoPICO-8 lets you export cartdata to standard files, so you could "sell" it just as much as anyone else on Gumroad selling access to files. Or maybe you want to introduce some PICO-8 DRM? It's possible, as far as I know.
- skymt 5y agoCommerical PICO-8 games are a minority but they exist. PICO-8 can export a standalone Windows, Linux or Mac executable, or a web page. The license explicitly grants the right for authors to sell exported games. https://itch.io/games/made-with-pico-8/store https://itch.io/games/made-with-pico-8/store
- newswasboring 5y agoA bit off topic but these fantasy consoles are how I will describe the Dutch concept of gezellig.
- DrSiemer 5y agoAs a Dutch person I would not. "Gezellig" generally implies people physically being together. The spontaneous atmosphere it usually refers to is nigh impossible to emulate in a virtual environment.
- newswasboring 5y agoI never thought Gezellig is about people though. Wouldn't a nice warm sofa with blankets while you consume your favorite media and have nice beer and no responsibilities for the day sound gezellig.
- DrSiemer 5y agoSorry, but no. As someone who is a bit obsessed with language and the exact meaning of words, I have to stress that this is incorrect. "Gezellig" always implies having a good time with other people. Being alone, no matter how comfortable, cannot ever qualify as gezellig.
- newswasboring 5y agoI guess it will take me a bit more time to understand this then
- DrSiemer 5y agoIt's one of the classic "hard to explain" Dutch words. Only the German "gemütlich" comes close. The word contains "gezel", an old Dutch word for companion, which is where the [ multiple people ] qualification comes from. We also find it in "gezelschap", meaning "a group of people", and "metgezel", meaning "close companion". But where those words only refer to the collective itself, "gezellig" indicates more than just being together. It encompasses a specific kind of uplifting atmosphere as well. Like I mentioned before, there is an element of spontaneity. But more important is that everyone involved is either having a good time, or it can be expected that everyone involved will have a good time. It usually implies an event that will bring people closer together. There are hints of an explicit freedom to be yourself (a temporary absence of social judgement) and the clear desire of everyone involved to sustain a good mood all around. For those that are familiar with the concept, the casual playing of a board game usually qualifies as "gezellig" (unless very fanatical players are involved). A plan to go do something with one or more friends can be gezellig. A gathering that turns out to be a lot more jolly than expected is gezellig as well.
- _pmf_ 5y agoThe lack of an official native Android app is kind of holding it back for me.
- pull_my_finger 5y agoZep mentioned in the recent release notes that he's working on a web version if that helps.
- springogeek 5y agoI started making games regularly with the PICO-8, and it's a fantastic tool and community. Eventually I wanted to make larger projects, so I was inspired to make my own engine, for when you want to transcend its limitations. Because of its minimal nature, you can kind of scope up gradually, to whatever kind of project and scale you like. https://domeengine.com https://domeengine.com
- feiss 5y agoPlaying with constraints is always fun, and Pico8 makes it even funnier! Here are my experiments and games from a couple of years ago: https://diegofg.com/projects/pico8/ https://diegofg.com/projects/pico8/
- Le_Dook 5y agoThe creator of Pico8 is already working on a successor called Picotron: https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php Personally quite looking forward to what people make with it, the pico8 community really went to town with games and concepts
- WithinReason 5y agoMy favorite PICO-8 game is a DOOM clone: https://freds72.itch.io/poom https://freds72.itch.io/poom
- MrGilbert 5y agoOn a side-note: How Voxatron does it's rendering purely software-based was something that impressed me the most. Tried to replicate that for a pet project, but failed along the way.
- Waterluvian 5y agoDoes anyone know of a PICO-8 implementation where I don’t need to use their text editor for code (but can still use their sprites and audio editors)? Perhaps the answer is “all of them” and I just don’t fully understand the abstraction.
- sherjilozair 5y agoYou don't have to use PICO-8's text editor. You can just open up the p8 file in any text editor and hack away. VS Code has an extension for .p8 files as well which does syntax highlighting correctly.
- iron_ball 5y agoIt supports includes, so your p8 file can consist entirely of #include statements and you can write all the Lua files with the editor of your choice.
- Waterluvian 5y agoOh. Wonderful!
- Fnoord 5y ago15 USD, a lot cheaper than what I bought for this purpose (Pocketsprite).