5 ms·

Pico-8 was and is one of the most pleasant pieces of software I have used. I can only imagine the wonders the community will produce for this thing. Of course,

Pico-8 was and is one of the most pleasant pieces of software I have used. I can only imagine the wonders the community will produce for this thing. Of course, despite the machine itself (pico 8 that is, and this thing too) being proprietary, all the user-programs are source-available if not open source. It's really educational and I love it. There will be compatible implementations of this thing, but the pico-8 tools were so refined, and pico-8 was so cheap, that I can't imagine not giving the dude 10 bucks. (i.e. the open source implementations might just run the program but not come with all the cute tools like the IDE, the pixel sprite/map/etc editor, or the music tracker), that was well and truly worth the money. Pico-8 is one of the only pieces of paid-for software I haven't hated. Tl;dr: I think pico-8 is wonderful, I think the community and free programs are wonderful, and I think given that, this will also be wonderful. I'm a fan and have been for a while.

Toorkit 3y ago
The Pico-8 is great, but https://tic80.com/ https://tic80.com/ is really cool too.
- PostOnce 3y ago
  TIC-80 is cool, but it's a clone of PICO-8, and like Doom clones, some of them are great, but they're still not Doom.
  - blindluke 3y ago
    I wholeheartedly agree with you that TIC-80 is not as great as PICO-8 is, and I would never recommend it over PICO-8 to someone who wants to start their adventure with game development. But it is not a clone of PICO-8. It offers a resolution that's very similar to that of the Game Boy Advance, so it serves as a nice transition stage towards GBA development. You can then enjoy your games on a console like Anbernic RG351P that's optimized for GBA games (2x integer scaling, same screen ratio). It's a specific use case, but one where TIC-80 shines.
    - dizhn 3y ago
      Just for information. The Powkitty rgb30 is the current defacto pico8 handheld because of it's 1x1 ratio screen running at 720x720 pixels.
      - blindluke 3y ago
        Yep. I bought a yellow one with the intention of making it a dedicated PICO-8 machine, and it is wonderful. It's not as perfect as 351p is for GBA, as 5x integer scaling leaves you with some unused screen space, but still, an absolute joy to play.
kqr 3y ago
Can you – or someone else – write about why Pico-8 is so much better than other fantasy consoles? In particular, I've been intrigued by WASM-4 recently, and someone else mentioned TIC-80 which also looks good. I remember reading about Pyxel and getting inspired. All three of those have the benefit of being free, so why would I pay for Pico-8?
- tmountain 3y ago
  Pay because it’s inexpensive and you are supporting the development of a platform that brings joy to a lot of people (including children). It’s hosted (splore for finding games), a community forum is maintained and is a wealth of knowledge. It’s a hub for learning. Paying for pico-8 is like donating to Wikipedia. Basically, you are putting a few dollars towards a “good thing”.
  - kqr 3y ago
    I don't buy that argument – why shouldn't I donate to TIC-80 instead, since it has the potential of reaching also children whose parents don't have $15 burning a hole in their pockets? I'm not trying to be contrary, I'm really just trying to find what the unique thing about PICO-8 is since nobody has been able to articulate it, yet many people appear to feel it.
    - tmountain 3y ago
      TIC-80 is heavily inspired by PICO-8. Supporting PICO-8 enables the creator of the original technology to continue producing creative works that seem to inspire a lot of derivative projects. Whatever the case, if you don’t agree, then don’t buy it. It’s pretty simple in that regard.
      - igrekel 3y ago
        I think you missed the point, I perceived the question (which I'm asking myself too) how do these differ? What makes one more fun or better than the other?
onemoresoop 3y ago
>Pico-8 was and is one of the most pleasant pieces of software I have used Indeed, but I have a gripe with it that I cannot get over, the editor's font is too damn hard to read, I tried get used to it but to no avail. The games however are very playable, fun, inspiring and the community couldn't be better.
- thesnide 3y ago
  I now only use vscode to code p8 files. And only use the IDE for everything outside code. I'm too spoiled by modern text editors to accept the embedded one for any long time

Toorkit 3y ago

The Pico-8 is great, but https://tic80.com/ https://tic80.com/ is really cool too.

PostOnce 3y ago
TIC-80 is cool, but it's a clone of PICO-8, and like Doom clones, some of them are great, but they're still not Doom.
- blindluke 3y ago
  I wholeheartedly agree with you that TIC-80 is not as great as PICO-8 is, and I would never recommend it over PICO-8 to someone who wants to start their adventure with game development. But it is not a clone of PICO-8. It offers a resolution that's very similar to that of the Game Boy Advance, so it serves as a nice transition stage towards GBA development. You can then enjoy your games on a console like Anbernic RG351P that's optimized for GBA games (2x integer scaling, same screen ratio). It's a specific use case, but one where TIC-80 shines.
  - dizhn 3y ago
    Just for information. The Powkitty rgb30 is the current defacto pico8 handheld because of it's 1x1 ratio screen running at 720x720 pixels.
    - blindluke 3y ago
      Yep. I bought a yellow one with the intention of making it a dedicated PICO-8 machine, and it is wonderful. It's not as perfect as 351p is for GBA, as 5x integer scaling leaves you with some unused screen space, but still, an absolute joy to play.

kqr 3y ago

Can you – or someone else – write about why Pico-8 is so much better than other fantasy consoles? In particular, I've been intrigued by WASM-4 recently, and someone else mentioned TIC-80 which also looks good. I remember reading about Pyxel and getting inspired. All three of those have the benefit of being free, so why would I pay for Pico-8?

tmountain 3y ago
Pay because it’s inexpensive and you are supporting the development of a platform that brings joy to a lot of people (including children). It’s hosted (splore for finding games), a community forum is maintained and is a wealth of knowledge. It’s a hub for learning. Paying for pico-8 is like donating to Wikipedia. Basically, you are putting a few dollars towards a “good thing”.
- kqr 3y ago
  I don't buy that argument – why shouldn't I donate to TIC-80 instead, since it has the potential of reaching also children whose parents don't have $15 burning a hole in their pockets? I'm not trying to be contrary, I'm really just trying to find what the unique thing about PICO-8 is since nobody has been able to articulate it, yet many people appear to feel it.
  - tmountain 3y ago
    TIC-80 is heavily inspired by PICO-8. Supporting PICO-8 enables the creator of the original technology to continue producing creative works that seem to inspire a lot of derivative projects. Whatever the case, if you don’t agree, then don’t buy it. It’s pretty simple in that regard.
    - igrekel 3y ago
      I think you missed the point, I perceived the question (which I'm asking myself too) how do these differ? What makes one more fun or better than the other?

onemoresoop 3y ago

>Pico-8 was and is one of the most pleasant pieces of software I have used Indeed, but I have a gripe with it that I cannot get over, the editor's font is too damn hard to read, I tried get used to it but to no avail. The games however are very playable, fun, inspiring and the community couldn't be better.

thesnide 3y ago
I now only use vscode to code p8 files. And only use the IDE for everything outside code. I'm too spoiled by modern text editors to accept the embedded one for any long time