:QUOTE [quotetype:personal]
PICO-8's constraints are not limitations. They are the design brief.


:INFO
Making a Retro-Style Game with PICO-8
Making a retro-style game with PICO-8 fantasy console. Covers Lua scripting basics, using the built-in sprite and map editors, composing chiptune music with the tracker, and publishing to itch.io or the PICO-8 BBS.


:COUNTER.half
128 x 128 px
|
:COUNTER.half
16 Colors

:PATH
Setup and First Script
Purchase PICO-8 from Lexaloffle. Launch and type EDIT to enter the code editor. Write a simple _update and _draw loop. Print something to the screen. Run with CTRL-R. The constraint of a single file encourages focus.

:PATH
Sprite and Map Editors
Open the sprite editor with CTRL-G. Draw 8x8 pixel sprites using the 16-color palette. Assign sprites to map tiles in the map editor. Use mget and mset in code to read and manipulate the map at runtime.

:PATH
Publishing the Game
Export to a PNG cartridge with EXPORT cartname.p8.png. Upload to the PICO-8 BBS for community visibility. Export to HTML with EXPORT cartname.html and upload to itch.io as a web playable.

:CHECKLIST
Release Checklist
[ ] Game completes without errors from start to end
[ ] Sprite sheet complete and consistent
[ ] Music and sound effects added
[ ] Title screen with controls displayed
[ ] Cartridge exported as PNG
[ ] HTML export tested in browser

:NOTE
The PICO-8 token limit (8192 tokens) is the primary constraint you will hit in larger projects. Optimize code by using single-letter variable names, combining functions, and removing debug code before publishing.