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TOY BOX JAM 2020

Hosted by ThatTomHall · #toyboxjam
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TOY BOX JAM 2020 community

First time using Pico8!

A topic by Tyler created Dec 07, 2020 Views: 556 Replies: 5
Viewing posts 1 to 3
Tyler3 years ago(+2)

Hey y'all!

I'm Tyler, a solo dev and student.  I saw this jam and thought it was a really cute idea!  Does anybody out there have any good tutorials for Pico8 beginners?  I've used Unity in the past, but I've never worked with Pico8 (or Lua) so I'm just trying to make sure I have some base knowledge of how the whole thing works before the jam actually starts!

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ThatTomHallHost3 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

Sure, here's the info from the Pico-8 Discord:

Pico-8 is a fantasy console. It uses a scripting language called Lua. All the tools for code editing, sprite and map editing, plus sound and music editing are all built in!  The Pico-8 community is friendly, and there are lots of resources to help you get started!

**HOW TO GET STARTED**

- Play some games!  https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?cat=7&carts_tab=1&#sub=2&mode=carts
-- Controls: arrow keys and Z ( O button) and X (X button). Return for pause menu.
- Peek at the code! Click Code under the cartridge window!
- You can also download the Cart by clicking Cart, then Right-Click on the cart to download it. 
- A great 72-page beginner's guide by @MBoffin#0362 : https://mboffin.itch.io/gamedev-with-pico-8-issue1
- ALSO check out @MBoffin#0362 's great educational toolset, carts covering one concept each! https://mboffin.itch.io/pico8-educational-toolset
- Watch LazyDevs BREAKOUT HERO tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLea8cjCua_P0qjjiG8G5FBgqwpqMU7rBk
- Nerdy Teachers tutorials: https://nerdyteachers.com/PICO-8/
- Consult the official manual: https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php?page=manual
-  The Community Wiki: https://pico-8.fandom.com/wiki/Pico-8_Wikia
- Remind yourself of command syntax with this cheatsheet: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=28207

- Check out Pico-8 Zines #1 - #4 ! https://itch.io/search?q=pico-8+zine
- Also Liquidream's tutorials on Pico-8: https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/pico-8-gamedev-1-getting-started-tutorial/2347
- Cool Pico-8 resources list: https://github.com/pico-8/awesome-PICO-8
- General resources list: https://itch.io/jam/game-jamuary/topic/179831/pico-8-resources

Okay, that's a good start! Now go out there and try to make something!


And welcome to TOY BOX JAM 2!

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ThatTomHallHost3 years ago (1 edit)

Also, though I've been a gamedev for 33 years, I learned Pico-8 from Lazy Devs' BREAKOUT HERO tutorial videos. It helped a lot to see someone slowly add each command and explain their decisions over time.  He even corrects his initial collision function. Good stuff. MBoffin's stuff is great too.

Studying others' carts can help too! The Top 100 of Pico-8 are:


Top 100:

  1. Celeste by noel - 597 likes, 157 comments - (2015-07-21 06:06:51+00:00)
  2. Dusk Child by SophieHoulden - 270 likes, 60 comments - (2015-08-15 11:11:08+00:00)
  3. The Lair - now at a silky smooth 60 fps! by krajzeg - 248 likes, 52 comments - (2016-08-13 13:21:03+00:00)
  4. Just One Boss by bridgs - 217 likes, 43 comments - (2018-02-12 18:59:26+00:00)
  5. Mistigri by benjamin_soule - 213 likes, 58 comments - (2016-05-22 15:46:54+00:00)
  6. PICORACER-2048 by impbox - 209 likes, 68 comments - (2015-08-07 11:42:39+00:00)
  7. PAT Shooter by benjamin_soule - 193 likes, 28 comments - (2015-04-24 12:39:14+00:00)
  8. Dank Tomb is out! by krajzeg - 178 likes, 41 comments - (2017-07-25 13:01:12+00:00)
  9. Combo Pool by NuSan - 167 likes, 60 comments - (2016-05-27 20:37:46+00:00)
  10. Hug Arena by benjamin_soule - 160 likes, 23 comments - (2015-04-19 02:03:30+00:00)
  11. The Tower of Archeos by benjamin_soule - 158 likes, 64 comments - (2015-04-30 16:36:00+00:00)
  12. Pico Fox by electricgryphon - 158 likes, 28 comments - (2016-11-14 22:57:23+00:00)
  13. FUZ by Jusiv - 152 likes, 69 comments - (2019-05-12 19:30:22+00:00)
  14. Advanced Micro Platformer - Starter Kit by mhughson - 147 likes, 35 comments - (2017-02-04 19:18:19+00:00)
  15. Marballs 2 by lucatron - 144 likes, 30 comments - (2017-01-02 18:41:56+00:00)
  16. P.Craft by NuSan - 142 likes, 44 comments - (2016-04-10 09:49:07+00:00)
  17. Tempest by impbox - 141 likes, 74 comments - (2015-07-29 23:46:33+00:00)
  18. Hyperspace 1.1.1 by J-Fry - 141 likes, 33 comments - (2015-10-27 20:34:24+00:00)
  19. ZEPTON by rez - 138 likes, 27 comments - (2017-03-11 19:34:53+00:00)
  20. PICOHOT by pirx_vr - 137 likes, 21 comments - (2020-04-01 13:02:12+00:00)
  21. X-Zero by paranoidcactus - 136 likes, 33 comments - (2019-11-29 12:24:58+00:00)
  22. Ennuigi by joshmillard - 135 likes, 39 comments - (2015-08-05 14:18:43+00:00)
  23. PICOWARE by szczm_ - 134 likes, 40 comments - (2019-07-16 10:49:05+00:00)
  24. Rainmaker by benjamin_soule - 129 likes, 25 comments - (2015-11-23 11:46:56+00:00)
  25. #MiBJam - Stray Shot by benjamin_soule - 128 likes, 30 comments - (2015-05-04 09:56:04+00:00)
  26. Two Hiking Cats Have An In Depth Discussion About Life The Universe And Everythi by solar - 128 likes, 23 comments - (2015-11-03 03:44:56+00:00)
  27. Gryphon 3D Engine Library by electricgryphon - 126 likes, 33 comments - (2016-11-17 01:56:15+00:00)
  28. Shodo by oinariman - 124 likes, 28 comments - (2015-05-31 04:13:18+00:00)
  29. Curse of the Lich King 1.2 by johanp - 124 likes, 24 comments - (2019-05-04 05:09:12+00:00)
  30. Nanoman by FunFetched - 121 likes, 23 comments - (2017-03-21 18:06:34+00:00)
  31. Alone in Pico by NuSan - 119 likes, 35 comments - (2016-07-08 11:23:17+00:00)
  32. Wolfenstein 3D by hungrybutterfly - 118 likes, 34 comments - (2017-01-03 17:12:26+00:00)
  33. Pico Tennis by paranoidcactus - 118 likes, 32 comments - (2018-06-24 10:00:32+00:00)
  34. Pico-8 Tunes Volume 1 by Gruber - 117 likes, 36 comments - (2017-03-20 08:59:32+00:00)
  35. Pico Monsters by hcnt - 116 likes, 30 comments - (2016-08-12 16:31:24+00:00)
  36. Spaceman 8 by kometbomb - 114 likes, 46 comments - (2017-01-08 04:39:05+00:00)
  37. Across The River by benjamin_soule - 114 likes, 26 comments - (2015-05-21 11:09:47+00:00)
  38. Invader Overload by morningtoast - 113 likes, 41 comments - (2016-08-03 21:44:33+00:00)
  39. Mai-Chan's Sweet Buns by Krystman - 113 likes, 27 comments - (2018-09-12 14:00:55+00:00)
  40. Pico Racer by kometbomb - 112 likes, 22 comments - (2016-04-10 03:49:37+00:00)
  41. Puzzle Cave - Raiders Of The Lost Potato by hackefuffel - 111 likes, 40 comments - (2015-06-01 15:31:21+00:00)
  42. Dank Tombs Tech Demo (with full write-up!) by krajzeg - 109 likes, 22 comments - (2017-02-02 12:57:03+00:00)
  43. Demon Castle by Mush - 107 likes, 32 comments - (2019-07-21 13:53:18+00:00)
  44. underworld siege (LD33) by benjamin_soule - 106 likes, 16 comments - (2015-08-23 21:32:03+00:00)
  45. 8 Legs to Love by bridgs - 104 likes, 19 comments - (2017-06-08 23:19:18+00:00)
  46. They Started It by joeyspacerocks - 103 likes, 26 comments - (2016-08-20 11:24:37+00:00)
  47. Little Dragon Adventure by Mush - 99 likes, 26 comments - (2018-07-01 14:39:32+00:00)
  48. Ad Astra by 4mat - 98 likes, 26 comments - (2016-08-13 07:51:48+00:00)
  49. Porklike by Krystman - 98 likes, 25 comments - (2020-03-11 16:43:20+00:00)
  50. PicoBreed by gabrielcrowe - 98 likes, 15 comments - (2017-05-18 17:20:00+00:00)
  51. Pico Tetris v1.1 by Vanessa - 97 likes, 34 comments - (2019-04-02 18:34:28+00:00)
  52. Hydra by scgrn - 97 likes, 23 comments - (2016-04-04 19:05:17+00:00)
  53. Feed The Ducks by kittenm4ster - 95 likes, 39 comments - (2017-05-20 01:33:47+00:00)
  54. Shadows of Dunwich 2.0 by paranoidcactus - 95 likes, 11 comments - (2019-04-25 07:11:07+00:00)
  55. The Stroll by Parlor - 94 likes, 35 comments - (2015-10-12 13:45:34+00:00)
  56. Pico Checkmate by Krystman - 93 likes, 42 comments - (2018-05-01 12:55:28+00:00)
  57. Pico Driller by johanp - 92 likes, 15 comments - (2020-05-23 17:34:44+00:00)
  58. #MiBJam - Mr.Beam by benjamin_soule - 92 likes, 13 comments - (2015-05-07 08:18:01+00:00)
  59. Super Poulet Poulet by Retsyn - 90 likes, 50 comments - (2015-09-01 08:56:07+00:00)
  60. Hybris by benjamin_soule - 90 likes, 18 comments - (2015-12-13 21:21:26+00:00)
  61. Pico-Man by UrbanMonk - 90 likes, 15 comments - (2015-07-03 18:46:26+00:00)
  62. Brutal Pico Race by dhostin - 89 likes, 25 comments - (2018-07-08 04:53:35+00:00)
  63. Tomb of G'Nir by paranoidcactus - 88 likes, 44 comments - (2018-05-10 09:05:11+00:00)
  64. pinballvania! by guerragames - 88 likes, 33 comments - (2019-04-09 06:11:57+00:00)
  65. Alfonzo's Bowling Challenge by kittenm4ster - 88 likes, 28 comments - (2019-08-05 00:13:00+00:00)
  66. Witch n' Wiz by mhughson - 86 likes, 26 comments - (2017-03-09 02:34:25+00:00)
  67. Rolly by Davbo - 86 likes, 23 comments - (2018-07-18 14:14:22+00:00)
  68. UFO Swamp Odyssey by paranoidcactus - 86 likes, 23 comments - (2020-05-27 07:11:37+00:00)
  69. X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter: Attack on the Deathstar by freds72 - 85 likes, 42 comments - (2018-06-23 09:45:16+00:00)
  70. Marballs by lucatron - 84 likes, 27 comments - (2015-08-09 09:21:56+00:00)
  71. Super Mario Bros. by Sascha217 - 83 likes, 33 comments - (2017-03-08 14:17:11+00:00)
  72. U-turn by benjamin_soule - 83 likes, 21 comments - (2017-04-23 21:29:22+00:00)
  73. Earth Was a Bad Choice by zatyka - 82 likes, 25 comments - (2016-01-26 23:22:13+00:00)
  74. SCUMM-8 (point & click engine in PICO-8) by Liquidream - 82 likes, 23 comments - (2017-04-15 03:38:42+00:00)
  75. Picopolis by jeb - 82 likes, 19 comments - (2017-07-04 18:25:35+00:00)
  76. Portal - Still Alive by Liquidream - 81 likes, 29 comments - (2017-08-26 14:11:37+00:00)
  77. Upward by matthias - 81 likes, 29 comments - (2018-06-14 05:20:51+00:00)
  78. Delunky - Endless Descent by johanp - 81 likes, 25 comments - (2018-09-12 05:51:10+00:00)
  79. MetroCUBEvania by FlytrapStudios - 80 likes, 37 comments - (2018-01-23 09:33:55+00:00)
  80. Terrain Renderer by J-Fry - 80 likes, 23 comments - (2015-10-07 19:57:35+00:00)
  81. We Missed You! (LD33 compo) by Rhys - 80 likes, 22 comments - (2015-08-23 21:48:36+00:00)
  82. Low Mem Sky by Liquidream - 79 likes, 21 comments - (2018-12-27 18:36:34+00:00)
  83. A Billion Pale Dots 1.0 by krajzeg - 78 likes, 12 comments - (2017-08-16 15:09:19+00:00)
  84. One Room Dungeon ~ Post-Jam-Updated by TRASEVOL_DOG - 77 likes, 19 comments - (2016-12-11 22:12:21+00:00)
  85. SlipWays by krajzeg - 76 likes, 36 comments - (2018-03-20 13:55:09+00:00)
  86. Quest for the Book of Truth by Mush - 76 likes, 16 comments - (2018-12-27 22:43:32+00:00)
  87. Alpine Alpaca by johanp - 75 likes, 17 comments - (2018-11-21 03:27:49+00:00)
  88. RogueRis: Trials of Dungeonfall by elneil - 73 likes, 19 comments - (2017-11-30 05:06:50+00:00)
  89. Nine Songs in Pico-8 by RobbyDuguay - 72 likes, 29 comments - (2015-10-17 15:03:27+00:00)
  90. Gar's Den by TRASEVOL_DOG - 72 likes, 15 comments - (2017-03-20 00:12:04+00:00)
  91. Frog Home by JTE - 71 likes, 37 comments - (2015-11-21 04:10:37+00:00)
  92. The Slow and the Curious by emu - 70 likes, 33 comments - (2016-06-12 20:06:18+00:00)
  93. 3D Racing Game WIP by Rhys - 70 likes, 27 comments - (2015-11-07 12:39:05+00:00)
  94. SPACETANK 9000 by arnodick - 70 likes, 24 comments - (2016-05-30 00:42:18+00:00)
  95. GET OUT of this Dungeon by Insanus - 70 likes, 17 comments - (2018-07-22 09:40:25+00:00)
  96. Wizards Rule by Gadzooka - 69 likes, 31 comments - (2015-12-06 18:13:55+00:00)
  97. Succer by Reload - 69 likes, 29 comments - (2015-10-16 11:18:52+00:00)
  98. MICRO MURDER: But It's Robots So It's OK by kometbomb - 69 likes, 17 comments - (2017-04-15 03:27:58+00:00)
  99. Wizardish - A First-Person Grid-Based Dungeon Crawler! v2.1 tiny update by Eduardolicious - 68 likes, 57 comments - (2016-06-11 17:04:05+00:00)
  100. PicoKart by electricgryphon - 68 likes, 21 comments - (2015-12-12 21:56:36+00:00)

I would also add POOM because it was just released and is stellar: https://freds72.itch.io/poom

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Tyler3 years ago

Oh wow, this is all great stuff, thanks for the resources!  I followed Dylan Bennett's tutorial this morning and created a small desert adventure game - all of this stuff looks like it's a pretty ideal next step. =]

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ThatTomHallHost3 years ago

Great! Good luck!

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ThatTomHallHost3 years ago

Also, here are last year's TOY BOX JAM games!

https://itch.io/jam/toy-box-jam-2019/entries

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