5 ms·

Programming Games for Atari 2600

79 points by kgwxd 4y ago

RootKitBeerCat 4y ago
I thought there were going to be Atari 2600 games to teach programming concepts but this is pretty close so upvote
- guidedlight 4y ago
  This is the only one unfortunately… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC_Programming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC_Programming The Atari VCS's RAM size of 128 bytes restricts the possibilities for writing programs. That’s not a typo, and also a severe limitation.
  - mysterydip 4y ago
    "Program is where instructions are typed. It has a maximum of eleven lines of code." Egads.
    - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
      I had this as a kid. It was very difficult to enter text. The whole experience was underwhelming, unfortunately. Thank you to my parents who bought it for me. I’m a programmer to this day.
  - wazoox 4y ago
    In modern time people use Batari BASIC which allows relatively sophisticated programming for the VCS.
  - ASalazarMX 4y ago
    AFAIK this is the only programming game on the Atari 2600, so I was excited for a bit reading the plural in the post's title. BTW that cover image is epic.
JoeDaDude 4y ago
FWIW, there is also this online course: https://www.udemy.com/course/programming-games-for-the-atari-2600/ https://www.udemy.com/course/programming-games-for-the-atari...
- MegaDeKay 4y ago
  You can also try your hand at programming a virtual 2600 at 8bitworkshop, along with other consoles and platforms. With my interest in this area, I can't believe I hadn't heard about 8bitworkshop until just the other day: it is amazing! https://8bitworkshop.com/v3.10.0/?platform=vcs&file=examples%2Fhello.a https://8bitworkshop.com/v3.10.0/?platform=vcs&file=examples...
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  Updated this month? Incredible that people still see value in this so many years later!
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- myth_drannon 4y ago
  Pikuma also has a course on Atari and NES programming
29athrowaway 4y ago
Must read article if you like the Atari 2600 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_2600 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_2600
wsc981 4y ago
For people interested in the Atari history, then the following might be interesting "Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration" at GOG [0] > Join the celebration! Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration takes you on an interactive journey through 50 years of video games. > At the heart of Atari 50 are the Interactive Timelines, which combine historical trivia, digital artifacts, over 60 minutes of new interviews, documentary footage, and playable games into one cohesive experience. When you encounter a game in the Timelines, you can immediately play it without losing your place. > The massive selection of over 100 games spans seven different platforms: Arcade, 2600, 5200, 7800, Atari 8-bit computers, and, for the first time ever on modern consoles, Atari Lynx and Jaguar! Play the classics like Tempest 2000, Asteroids, and Yars' Revenge, or dive into some deeper cuts. > Behind every game are the stories of Atari, what was happening at the company, and what went into the creation of the games and the hardware on which they ran, all told by the people who were there. --- [0]: https://www.gog.com/en/game/atari_50_the_anniversary_celebration https://www.gog.com/en/game/atari_50_the_anniversary_celebra...
- kgwxd 4y ago
  I really want to play Haunted House 3D and modernized Yars'. $40 seems a tad high but, it's GOG, I might go for it.
  - morelisp 4y ago
    If it helps, modernized Yars’ is exactly the same game with a new graphical overlay. I played for two levels and then turned the overlay off. (And then played for another hour.) VCTR-SCTR is the standout ”reimagined” entry in the collection I think. Not a problem for Yars’ obviously but a lot of the games suffer from missing a nice paddle. (I’m playing on Switch.)
jader201 4y ago
A bit off topic, but I’ve always thought that relative to consoles that succeeded it, the Atari 2600 hasn’t aged well. The games just aren’t fun to play these days. Compared to the NES, there’s something about the advancements made in tech those few years — and probably even more so game design — that makes many of those games still fun today. Granted, not many younger generations will find the appeal, but as someone that grew up with both Atari 2600 and NES, I still enjoy playing the NES games, where the most I get out of playing Atari 2600 games is a few minutes of nostalgia. To me, the Atari 2600 is where video games hit mainstream, but the NES is where it really took off and solidified video games a place in history.
- musha68k 4y ago
  I personally enjoy all kinds of ambitious / flawed arcade ports on consoles so to me Berzerk, Defender and Joust still are worth playing on the VCS at least from that perspective.
- psyklic 4y ago
  I would characterize them more as "foundational" and "genre-creating" -- modern games build on top of their gameplay. Some classics (often played on cell phones today): space invaders, asteroids, pitfall (side-scroller), and numerous procedurally-generated games which form the basis of roguelikes! I would keep in mind that much of the fun was the controllers, which are all essentially obsolete today (paddle controllers and stiff joysticks). Most atari games feature a "high score" goal due to the limitations of the architecture, which makes you replay the same level over and over -- modern games can have more variety. And, many atari games are _solely_ designed for multiplayer (aka someone sitting next to you!).
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    Adventure does not meet many of the criteria you mention, and yet is one of the best games for the 2600. It also happens to date from the 1970s!
  - Zagill 4y ago
    The 2600 is undoubtedly a pivotal console in the history of video games, but you're right that it's a foundation more than anything. Few people would want to drive a Model T to work every day but skip forward a few decades and you have the type of classic car that most people would want in their garage. For a lot of us the 2600 is something to be admired from a distance, I suppose
tluyben2 4y ago
Any way to get the ebook without using paypal?
wslh 4y ago
Just bought it. At least I know what I will do if I retired or in my spare time.
myth_drannon 4y ago
Steve Hugg has a few nice books on the topic https://8bitworkshop.com/ https://8bitworkshop.com/ Like "Making 8-Bit Arcade Games in C" and "Making Games For The Atari 2600"
- kgwxd 4y ago
  That's the book that got me to deep dive into this world. I never made anything interesting or fun for the 2600 (though I'm hoping nanochess' book will inspire me to) but I'm quite happy to watch, support and enjoy the work the massive community is doing. Imagine if we had something like this[0] in 80's. That's just one of dozens of excellent 2600 games that have come out of the homebrew scene. AtariAge's next batch of releases alone has 24 new games for various Atari system. This weekend ZeroPage Homebrew [1] is playing all of them, while interviewing the developers for every one. It's such a great community. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWtN3bm_Hfw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWtN3bm_Hfw (Galagon) [1] https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1650921299 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1650921299

79 points by kgwxd 4y ago

RootKitBeerCat 4y ago

I thought there were going to be Atari 2600 games to teach programming concepts but this is pretty close so upvote

guidedlight 4y ago
This is the only one unfortunately… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC_Programming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC_Programming The Atari VCS's RAM size of 128 bytes restricts the possibilities for writing programs. That’s not a typo, and also a severe limitation.
- mysterydip 4y ago
  "Program is where instructions are typed. It has a maximum of eleven lines of code." Egads.
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    I had this as a kid. It was very difficult to enter text. The whole experience was underwhelming, unfortunately. Thank you to my parents who bought it for me. I’m a programmer to this day.
- wazoox 4y ago
  In modern time people use Batari BASIC which allows relatively sophisticated programming for the VCS.
- ASalazarMX 4y ago
  AFAIK this is the only programming game on the Atari 2600, so I was excited for a bit reading the plural in the post's title. BTW that cover image is epic.

JoeDaDude 4y ago

FWIW, there is also this online course: https://www.udemy.com/course/programming-games-for-the-atari-2600/ https://www.udemy.com/course/programming-games-for-the-atari...

MegaDeKay 4y ago
You can also try your hand at programming a virtual 2600 at 8bitworkshop, along with other consoles and platforms. With my interest in this area, I can't believe I hadn't heard about 8bitworkshop until just the other day: it is amazing! https://8bitworkshop.com/v3.10.0/?platform=vcs&file=examples%2Fhello.a https://8bitworkshop.com/v3.10.0/?platform=vcs&file=examples...
TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
Updated this month? Incredible that people still see value in this so many years later!
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
myth_drannon 4y ago
Pikuma also has a course on Atari and NES programming

29athrowaway 4y ago

Must read article if you like the Atari 2600 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_2600 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_2600

wsc981 4y ago

For people interested in the Atari history, then the following might be interesting "Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration" at GOG [0] > Join the celebration! Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration takes you on an interactive journey through 50 years of video games. > At the heart of Atari 50 are the Interactive Timelines, which combine historical trivia, digital artifacts, over 60 minutes of new interviews, documentary footage, and playable games into one cohesive experience. When you encounter a game in the Timelines, you can immediately play it without losing your place. > The massive selection of over 100 games spans seven different platforms: Arcade, 2600, 5200, 7800, Atari 8-bit computers, and, for the first time ever on modern consoles, Atari Lynx and Jaguar! Play the classics like Tempest 2000, Asteroids, and Yars' Revenge, or dive into some deeper cuts. > Behind every game are the stories of Atari, what was happening at the company, and what went into the creation of the games and the hardware on which they ran, all told by the people who were there. --- [0]: https://www.gog.com/en/game/atari_50_the_anniversary_celebration https://www.gog.com/en/game/atari_50_the_anniversary_celebra...

kgwxd 4y ago
I really want to play Haunted House 3D and modernized Yars'. $40 seems a tad high but, it's GOG, I might go for it.
- morelisp 4y ago
  If it helps, modernized Yars’ is exactly the same game with a new graphical overlay. I played for two levels and then turned the overlay off. (And then played for another hour.) VCTR-SCTR is the standout ”reimagined” entry in the collection I think. Not a problem for Yars’ obviously but a lot of the games suffer from missing a nice paddle. (I’m playing on Switch.)

jader201 4y ago

A bit off topic, but I’ve always thought that relative to consoles that succeeded it, the Atari 2600 hasn’t aged well. The games just aren’t fun to play these days. Compared to the NES, there’s something about the advancements made in tech those few years — and probably even more so game design — that makes many of those games still fun today. Granted, not many younger generations will find the appeal, but as someone that grew up with both Atari 2600 and NES, I still enjoy playing the NES games, where the most I get out of playing Atari 2600 games is a few minutes of nostalgia. To me, the Atari 2600 is where video games hit mainstream, but the NES is where it really took off and solidified video games a place in history.

musha68k 4y ago
I personally enjoy all kinds of ambitious / flawed arcade ports on consoles so to me Berzerk, Defender and Joust still are worth playing on the VCS at least from that perspective.
psyklic 4y ago
I would characterize them more as "foundational" and "genre-creating" -- modern games build on top of their gameplay. Some classics (often played on cell phones today): space invaders, asteroids, pitfall (side-scroller), and numerous procedurally-generated games which form the basis of roguelikes! I would keep in mind that much of the fun was the controllers, which are all essentially obsolete today (paddle controllers and stiff joysticks). Most atari games feature a "high score" goal due to the limitations of the architecture, which makes you replay the same level over and over -- modern games can have more variety. And, many atari games are _solely_ designed for multiplayer (aka someone sitting next to you!).
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  Adventure does not meet many of the criteria you mention, and yet is one of the best games for the 2600. It also happens to date from the 1970s!
- Zagill 4y ago
  The 2600 is undoubtedly a pivotal console in the history of video games, but you're right that it's a foundation more than anything. Few people would want to drive a Model T to work every day but skip forward a few decades and you have the type of classic car that most people would want in their garage. For a lot of us the 2600 is something to be admired from a distance, I suppose

tluyben2 4y ago

Any way to get the ebook without using paypal?

wslh 4y ago

Just bought it. At least I know what I will do if I retired or in my spare time.

myth_drannon 4y ago

Steve Hugg has a few nice books on the topic https://8bitworkshop.com/ https://8bitworkshop.com/ Like "Making 8-Bit Arcade Games in C" and "Making Games For The Atari 2600"

kgwxd 4y ago
That's the book that got me to deep dive into this world. I never made anything interesting or fun for the 2600 (though I'm hoping nanochess' book will inspire me to) but I'm quite happy to watch, support and enjoy the work the massive community is doing. Imagine if we had something like this[0] in 80's. That's just one of dozens of excellent 2600 games that have come out of the homebrew scene. AtariAge's next batch of releases alone has 24 new games for various Atari system. This weekend ZeroPage Homebrew [1] is playing all of them, while interviewing the developers for every one. It's such a great community. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWtN3bm_Hfw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWtN3bm_Hfw (Galagon) [1] https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1650921299 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1650921299