Jump to content

PICO-8

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused withPIC microcontrollersorRaspberry Pi Pico.
PICO-8
Developer(s)Lexaloffle Games
Initial releaseApril 2015;9 years ago(2015-04)
Stable release
0.2.6b[1] / 28 February 2024;5 months ago(2024-02-28)
Operating systemWindows,Mac OS,Linux
PlatformPC,Raspberry Pi,HTML5(player only)
Included withPocketCHIP[2]
Available inEnglish,Japanese
TypeVirtual machine,game engine
LicenseProprietary
Websitelexaloffle/pico-8.phpEdit this on Wikidata

PICO-8is avirtual machineandgame enginecreated by Lexaloffle Games. It is afantasy video game console[3]that mimics the limited graphical and sound capabilities of the old 8-bit systems of the 1980s to encourage creativity and ingenuity in producing games without being overwhelmed with the many possibilities of modern tools and machines. Such limitations also give PICO-8 games a particular look and feel.[4]

Coding on the PICO-8 is accomplished through aLua-based environment,[5]in which users can create music, sound effects, sprites, maps, and games.

Users are able to export their games asHTML5web games or upload their creations to Lexaloffle's officialBBSwhere other users are able to play the games in aweb browser,and view the source code.[6]PICO-8 games can also be exported as executable programs, which will run onWindows,macOS,orLinux.[7]

Notable games released for the system include the original version ofCeleste,which was created in four days as part of agame jam.

On March 16, 2024,Picotronwas launched as afantasy workstationthat is conceptually similar to PICO-8.[8]

Capabilities

[edit]

The PICO-8 program integrates aLuacode editor, sprite and map creation tools, and an audio sound effect and music editor. The program can load games saved locally on a computer, in the form of text or as specially encoded.pngimages. The interface also supports asploremode, where games uploaded to the BBS can be previewed and then played in the PICO-8 program.[9]

PICO-8 games, as well as the program's interface itself, are limited to a 128 × 128pixel,16-color display, and a 4-channel audio output.[10]

As of v0.1.11,[11]users may export Pico-8 cartridges as stand-alone executables for Windows, Linux (64 bit), Mac and Raspberry Pi.

Color palette

[edit]
16-color default palette of PICO-8 along with 16 hidden colors

The PICO-8 palette contains 16 colors. Colors in the palette can be replaced with a different set of colors by inde xing a palette update with a color ID larger than 128. These colors are not officially recognized by the creators; however, they are embraced by the community and given unofficial names.[12]

Development

[edit]
Palette test on LEX500, PICO-8's predecessor

Joseph White, who is better known with hisnicknameZep,has started working on aBBC BASICstyledBASICinterpreter dubbedLEX500.Joseph later returned to LEX500 while working on anothergame enginecalled Voxatron. During development, Joseph switched from BASIC toLua 2syntaxas the latter is easier to use and more capable as a programming language.[13]He added built-in tools to it such as a music tracker and a map editor, and decided to rename itPICO-8.[14]

Joseph got inspired from older system while setting limitations to PICO-8. 16-color palette was inspired fromCommodore 64,4-channel trackers fromAmiga 500and overall aesthetics from other 80s hardware such asApple IIeandFamicom.He coined the termfantasy consoleto describe systems like PICO-8 that have deliberate limitations to fit a hypothetical hardware.[15]

Hardware

[edit]

As a fantasy console, PICO-8 doesn't have an official hardware that its based on and all of its limitations are purely emulated.Homebrew computerand hardware hobbyists in general try to fit PICO-8 in low-end devices. PICO-8 has an official image forRaspberry PiandCHIP(shipped pre-installed in Pocket CHIP),[16]and community managed to directly run the official software or the games via PICO-8 emulators available inRetroArchon othersingle board computers.[17][18][19]

While its not possible to run PICO-8 itself on devices that are not at leasti386/amd64orARM-64due to severallibraries,people managed to emulate p8 games on various low-costhandheld consolesvia open source emulators such asFake-08andtac08,which can function even on devices based on 32-bitmicrocontrollers(most notablyESP32).[20][21]

Adoption

[edit]
Celeste Classic,developed for PICO-8

The release of PICO-8 attracted the attention of programmers and video game developers who enjoyed the challenge of developing under these limitations, and spurred the development of similar game engines with intentional retro-style limitations. These engines are now commonly dubbed "fantasy consoles", based on a definition of the term on PICO-8's website, and roughly simulate the strict limitations of old game consoles and computers. Among these areTIC-80,which styles itself as a "fantasy computer," and Pixel Vision 8, which allows the user to specify the simulated hardware limitations they wish to develop under.[22]The development of fantasy consoles, as well as development of games for them, has evolved into its own, almost exclusively hobbyist, sub-community of game development and programming.[23]

Design process of a 3D truck with textures on picoCAD

PICO-8 gained additional attention in 2018 with the release ofCeleste.Originally created as a PICO-8 game for agame jam,Celeste Classicbecame one of the most popular games on the PICO-8 BBS, prompting the developers to expand the concept into a more expansive, fully realized game. The original PICO-8 version of Celeste is fully playable as aneaster eggin the full version of the game.[24]

Alow polycadsoftware named picoCAD is based on PICO-8 and can be used to make models for use in both inside and outside PICO-8, able to export modelsOBJ/MTL as well asGIFas a rotating model animation.[25][26]Since its release, picoCAD is used in many 3D PICO-8 games in creation of models. The software got popularized in general pixel art and retro game development community due to its unique retro aesthetic.[27][28]

Severalremakesanddemakesof well-known retro and modern games alike are made on PICO-8. Most notable ones include Terra (Terraria), Poom (Doom), Fuz (Fez), Low Mem Sky (No Man's Sky) and unDUNE II (Dune II).[29][30][31]

PICO-8 has also seen interest among thedemoscene,due to its harsh restrictions attracting programmers and musicians who wish to make retro-style demos for the console.[32][33][34]

In March 2024, several PICO-8 games are added ascabinetstoArcade Legend,aVR gamewhere players can play retro arcade games.[35]

See also

[edit]
  • CHIP-8- A predecessor to PICO-8 and other fantasy consoles.

References

[edit]
  1. ^"PICO-8 0.2.6".Lexaloffle.Retrieved28 February2024.
  2. ^"Next Thing Co. PocketC.H.I.P. Documentation".Archived fromthe originalon 2018-04-20.
  3. ^Debock, Arnaud (August 2015).PICO-8 Zine #1.RetrievedNovember 17,2016.
  4. ^"PICO-8 website".PICO-8 Fantasy Console.Retrieved12 March2020.
  5. ^Wawro, Alex (May 3, 2016)."PICO-8 'fantasy console' to become an actual handheld console -- sort of".Gamasutra.UBM TechWeb.Archivedfrom the original on November 17, 2016.RetrievedNovember 17,2016.
  6. ^"PICO-8 BBS".Lexaloffle.Retrieved20 February2019.
  7. ^"PICO-8 Fantasy Console".lexaloffle.Retrieved2020-05-15.
  8. ^"Picotron by Lexaloffle".lexaloffle.Retrieved2024-07-09.
  9. ^"PICO-8 Manual".lexaloffle.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  10. ^Hossam, Mostafa (August 16, 2016)."Alone in the Dark is still creepy in its brightly-colored remake".Kill Screen.Archivedfrom the original on November 17, 2016.RetrievedNovember 17,2016.
  11. ^"about 0.1.11 binary exports".
  12. ^"Nerdy Guide | PALETTES".nerdyteachers.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  13. ^"Voxatron Development Diary 3".lexaloffle.Retrieved2024-05-31.
  14. ^Walker-Emig, Paul (June 2021)."PICO-8: GAMING'S FANTASY CONSOLE: WE SPEAK TO CREATOR AND COMMUNITY TO FIND OUT HOU A 'CONSOLE' REPLICATING RETRO HARDWARE LIMITATIONS IS GIVING BIRTH TO GREAT GAMES SPARKING CREATIVITY AND PROVIDING A DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT LOVED BY VETERANS AND HOBBYISTS ALIKE".Retro Gamer(221): 64.Retrieved21 May2022.
  15. ^Altice, Nathan (January 22, 2016)."The Modest Fantasy of the PICO-8".Paste.
  16. ^"PocketCHIP online documentation".Next Thing Co. Archived fromthe originalon 8 April 2018.Retrieved19 January2017.
  17. ^"PICO-8 for Raspberry Pi".lexaloffle.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  18. ^"PICO-8 For PocketCHIP".lexaloffle.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  19. ^"RetroArch announce the Open Hardware project, plus a new fantasy console core".GamingOnLinux.2021-02-22.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  20. ^"Simple handheld PICO-8 devices (summer 2021)".lexaloffle.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  21. ^Labs, peX (2024-06-01)."PeX Labs: Building my own game console for PICO-8".Medium.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  22. ^"TIC80 - A Better Pico8?".8bitnews.io.Retrieved2024-06-04.
  23. ^Altice, Nathan (January 22, 2016)."The Modest Fantasy of the PICO-8".Paste.
  24. ^"FEATURE: Our favourite Easter Eggs on Switch | Switch Player".2020-04-11.Retrieved2024-04-19.
  25. ^https://johanpeitz.itch.io/picocad[bare URL]
  26. ^Shadows (2021-03-05)."picoCAD:" A tiny modeller for tiny models "".3DVF.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  27. ^"The best low cost tools for game art".gamedeveloper.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  28. ^Diaz, Ana (2021-06-29)."Star Wars podracing looks even cooler as pixel art".Polygon.Retrieved2024-06-03.
  29. ^Wilds, Anastasia (2022-09-01)."10 Best Video Game Demakes".ScreenRant.Retrieved2024-06-04.
  30. ^Jody Macgregor (2020-12-13)."Poom is a pixelated 1980s version of Doom you can play right now".PC Gamer.Retrieved2024-06-04.
  31. ^ChippyGaming (2022-02-11).What if Terraria was Created in 1980...Retrieved2024-06-04– via YouTube.
  32. ^"Puroresu No Seishin, a demo made with Pico-8".Lexaloffle.Retrieved12 March2020.
  33. ^"Ad Astra".Lexaloffle.Retrieved12 March2020.
  34. ^"PICOCHAK".Lexaloffle.
  35. ^"Arcade Legend Indie Update Brings Pico-8 Retro Cabinets Into VR".UploadVR.2024-03-07.Retrieved2024-04-19.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PICO-8&oldid=1242579220"