Paul

New power-up type for my #picotron #gridrunner game.

Extends the play area the player ship can move.

#gamedev #arcade #retrogaming

My #picotron #gridrunner game now has a title screen and a highly original name: grid rider 🙄

Starting to come together. Want to work on the "mystery" mode level generation next but have a few more enemy types I want to get into place first.

Oh, and sfx, can't wait to get those it!

#gamedev #c64

For no reason whatsoever, I decided to name the modes in my #picotron #gridrunner after ice creams!

A bit incongruous with the space-shooter theme but... video games 🤷‍♂️

"popsicle" is a bit of an outlier being an American term but it conveyed exactly what I wanted: beginner mode!

#gamedev #c64

Thank you!

Level selection (data based on my #pico8 levels) in place for my #picotron #gridrunner game.

This is "vanilla" mode (the power-ups are just tests in this mode at the moment).

Can't wait to get some meaty sfx in place!

#gamedev #retrogaming #c64 #arcade

Thanks. Having fun with it

Thank you!

Nice. If you liked pico 8, you’re gonna love picotron. I’d say the biggest thing is the music editor where you have to define different wave forms. Pico 8’s predefined ones definitely make it simpler.

Trying a few effects for my #picotron game. Simple stuff. Nobody compares to Jeff Minter for this stuff so I'm not even gonna try 😃. Thinking of having 2 game modes. One, a kinda classic #gridrunner, the other an enhanced version (power-ups, effects etc).

#gamedev #arcade #retrogaming #c64

Yeah, there’s loads of versions. The iOS one was great but never made it back to the App Store when Apple went full in on 64-bit

Picotron

Thanks but it’s totally based on Jeff Minters 1982 game gridrunner. Which was an amazing take on centipede

Stackable powerups (e.g., ghost ship + rapid fire) in my #picotron #gridrunner game.

#gamedev #retrogaming #arcade

Yup. Certainly was

Thank you. Think I need to play a but of matrix for some inspiration

Poison pods make the centipede segments bounce around the screen in my #picotron #gridrunner game. A bit like Matrix I think. Certainly gets the heart racing! Just need to figure out how the pods turn into "poison pods" now.

#gamedev #c64 #arcade #retrogaming

Yup. Based on Jeff Minter’s game which was in turn based on centipede. Might look at doing a millipede type game when I’ve finished this one. Plus, I’ve got a trackball! Perfect

Testing out "ghost ships" as a type of power-up. Massive increase in fire-power but pretty fragile!

Next, some non-grid enemies. Maybe bouncing segments like Matrix and also some #centipede inspired enemies.

#picotron #gamedev #gridrunner

That's the main grid portion of my #picotron #gridrunner game in place, including full-size sprites that look suitably early 80s (to my eyes).

Have added some of the nicer touches of the iOS version like flashing pods and flashing/pausing trackers at the sides. Can't wait to add some sfx!

#gamedev

#picotron #gridrunner session before work. Firing and variable top-limit line (power-ups or different levels will vary this?).

My #pico8 version was limited to the grid but this one will have both grid and non-grid (free roaming?) enemies hence had to re-do bullet logic.

#gamedev #retrogaming #c64

Gradually scaling up my #picotron #gridrunner to look more like an early 1980s arcade game. Still many place holders and tiny sprites in there at the but I like the aspect ratio.

#gamedev #retrogaming #arcade

My #pico8 version was brutally fast, especially the "pod bombs" so I've slowed those down for a start.

In a bit of a dev slump at the mo so have started porting my #pico8 #gridrunner to #picotron. See if I can build on it. Got the basics over in a single session. Uses cellular automata. No idea if the original did but seems likely since it was so fast!

#gamedev

Player 2. Co op.

Repurposing my #bomberman #picotron project. Reusing bot logic for enemies (they're a little too brutal at the moment 😂).

Will experiment with fixed layouts (everything's been random til now) and see how it pans out.

Graphical style a WIP but def want to go for an early 80s vibe.

#gamedev

Okay, the bomb-spinning mechanic in my new (not #bomberman) #picotron project has some real potential!

Shoot a bomb to spin it. Shoot it again to slide it (if it's still spinning a decent speed).

Experimenting with some warp & warp (NES warpman) style visuals.

#gamedev

Good feedback already! I was wondering what BM mechanics to keep. Sounds like kicking bombs might be popular. OR, maybe you shoot them to effectively “kick” them 🤔

I think @hiulit.bsky.social has that one nailed. But a wizard of wor bomberman crossover? That’s my aim here (not sure if anyone a was ever hoping for that combo though)

Fave #picotron project so far = wor games:
pahammond.itch.io/wor-games

Got a decent bombman engine in place but just wasn't feeling it. Too many copied sprites, already so many BM games. Forked the project and am doing something of a mash-up. Also inspired by warp & warp 😍

#gamedev #arcade

Cool. Yeah, that was one of my early #pico8 games where I wasn’t familiar with the exports.