Popular games built on game engine PICO-8
A hardcore platform game for the PICO-8 fantasy console.
Tutankham is a combination of the maze, action and shoot 'em up genres. Taking on the role of an explorer grave robbing Tutankhamun's tomb, the player is chased by creatures such as asps, vultures, parrots, bats, dragons, and even curses, all that kill the player on contact. The explorer can fight back by firing lasers at the creatures, but he can only cover the left and right directions. The player is also endowed with a single screen-clearing "flash bomb" per level or life. Finally, each level has warp zones that teleport the player around the level, which enemies cannot use. To progress, the player collects keys open locked doors throughout the levels, searching for the large exit door. Optional treasures can be picked-up for bonus points. Each level has a timer; when it reaches zero the explorer can no longer fire lasers, and once a level is cleared the remaining time is converted to bonus points.
For my very final prompt, I wanted to leave the students with one lasting idea: that I make games for enjoyment and want to do it as much as I can, even when I’m limited to a day or two’s work and 8192 Pico8 tokens. I hope that came across in this little game.
To take root Among the Stars is a short narrative platformer. Play as Mei Hashimoto, one of the colonists send to an exoplanet to prepare it for the arrival of the rest of humanity. Explore the colony and its surrounding flora and fauna. Talk to your fellow colonists and send a message to earth via the relay station at the top of the nearby mountain.
Experience a nostalgic throwback with this Pico-8 demake of the classic iOS game Birds and Saws. Dive into the retro charm and challenge yourself as you guide a bird, skillfully avoiding menacing circular saws to rack up high scores.
Portal Golf is a physics puzzle game with portals. Place portals around the level in order to get the ball to collect every gold bar. You have no control over the movement of the ball and can only place portals before you start the run. Try to use as few portals as possible to earn medals, or just fill the whole level with portals and have fun!
In dreams, there are people you often meet, towns you often visit, and places you often die. Wake up in the morning and repeat.
Pico Valley is a Stardew Valley demake for PICO-8.
This is a tiny flight simulator based on a Cessna-172R with a G1000 glass cockpit made with PICO-8.
Colette the mouse runs her own fromagerie after working years as an affineur for other restaurants. But it's a big world for a small mouse, and she's got to make a name for herself. She wants to curate the best cheese in the world. Will her cheese be CHEDDAR than the rest? Or will it BRIE no GOUDA?
A fan game heavily inspired by the early Mega Man series.
Intense and minimalistic Beat'em up made for Pico-8.
Pico Snail is a Pico-8 game inspired by the musician Snail's House You play as Snail-Chan, and are tasked with defending the Dream castle! You can run, jump, thwack enemies, and use stars you collect for special powers!
This is 2018’s assignment, a diabolical puzzle. You’re a monk who has forgotten where his cell is in the monastery, and who must walk the labyrinth in order to remember it. If you can find his room, you’ll find out what the assignment prompt is. I was a bit worried the students would be unable to find the prompt hidden in this one, but about half of them got there eventually. (The rest were expelled from the university.) 2018’s class was 100% Pico-8 so it seemed appropriate that the prompt game should be in Pico-8 too. Pico-8 is so great for prototyping — as a case in point, it builds to a single JS and HTML file which loads quite happily in the browser from a local file, so you don’t get annoying permissions or crossdomain problems.
Crashed on a desolate but mysterious planet you find yourself eye to eye with an ancient civilisation. Explore the planet, find powerful upgrades, and uncover its secrets.
Pico Racer is a new and exciting racing game for your Pico-8 console. Overtake opponents and avoid obstacles! Drive through the night! Race your way through three continents! Enjoy geography that makes no sense!
An action puzzle game with the concept of "recording and replaying movements."
A Touhou fangame made with the PICO-8 fantasy console.
PicoCross is a nonogram puzzle game for the Pico-8 Fantasy Console.
In Astropocalypse you take control of a hotshot meteor bent on destroying the galaxy. Use your directional pad to steer your meteor buddy and ram it into nearby planets in the current solar system. Once all planets are destroyed, it's time to go for the finishing blow... destroy the sun!
The evil Chiro Empire has captured all of the other Dragon Eggs! It's your job to save them!
An explosive homage to the old-time multiplayer classic made with PICO-8! In this game, your goal is to drop bombs on the battlefield to eliminate all other players in time and be the last manbomber standing. The game can be played with up to 4 players battling each other. While in the 2-player mode, both players can use the same keyboard to control their manbomber, a controller for each player is required for all other modes. Any Controller which can be connected to your device will do!
A PICO-8 demake of of the PSP game Every Extend Extra, an arcade game about detonating your ship, causing colourful chain reactions in the enemies, granting you points.
Picopicotron is a toy desktop environment built with PICO-8. Use the mouse to control it like a standard computer from the nineties. Includes a Pyramid card game and a version of minesweeper.