Pico 8

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Revision as of 08:37, 6 June 2019 by Admin (talk | contribs) (Adding Pico 8 Plugin)
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Download

You can download Pico 8 from the website below, it costs $15 for a personal copy:

Pico-8

You can also download it from Moodle using the link below, It can be run from your compiled storage folder in college without the need to purchase it. The license means it can be installed on any computer within an educational establishment for free. You will need to enter your moodle login details:

Pico 8 Moodle Download

Coding

It can be really annoying using the code editor in Pico 8, the font is so blocky and can be difficult to read. This also makes it difficult to see very much of your program at any one time. So far i have created the basic code within Pico 8, and then installed 'Sublime Text' and added the Pico 8 plugin. It can then be used to edit the '.P8' file.

Basic Game Structure

Type this into the Pico 8 editor:

function _init() 

end

function _update()

end

function _draw() 

end

Now switch back to the command prompt and type:

SAVE MYFILENAME

It should give you a message to say 'MYFILENAME.P8' has been created.

Adding Pico 8 Plugin

So in 'Sublime Text' you need to:

  1. Open the command palette with ctrl+shift+p.
  2. Run Package Control: Install Package command.
  3. Search for PICO-8 and install it.
  4. Restart Sublime Text.

Now find where your game is saved, You should be able to double click this and choose 'Sublime Text' to open this file.

Tutorials

On the Pico 8 website it does list some documentation, one of them is a large tutorial covering 2 different games and most of the concepts. The direct link to the tutorials is:

Pico 8 Tutorial

Alternative Link for Above Tutorial(ie in college)

Wireframe Magazine also had a Pico 8 special, the link to the pdf is:

Wireframe Issue 12

Basic features and functions tutorial:

Pico 8 Basics

Awesome Pico 8 Resources:

Awesome Pico 8

Eugene Library Tutorials:

Eugene Library Tutorials

Pico 9 Fandom wiki:

Pico 8 Fandom Wiki

Pico 8 Cheat Sheets:

Pico 8 Cheat Sheets