What is PICO-8? | INTRODUCTION 

Update: There is now a FREE browser version of Pico-8 available here: www.pico-8-edu.com/

Fun fact: the Celeste franchise started on pico-8! no, the 2018 game wasn’t the first in the series. You can actually play the original emulation in the hotel

I was surprised to find out that PICO-8 effectively comes with a music tracker. Incredible!

Great video. I though Pico8 was just a category of free pixel games. Didn't know it was effectively a game engine.

The hobby game dev's toolkit. What a fantastic creation.

Excellent, appealing bird's-eye view for newbies! Probably the closest thing to an "ad" for PICO-8 that I've ever seen. :)

nice video! i was searching the celeste's easter egg but found this instead. i'm glad i did

Loving this channel. Been invaluable since I started my own little Pico-8 journey.

That intro timing. Good job. "What is PICO-8?" *Doodledy doop! * "PICO-8 is what we call..."

Just finding out about pico-8, thanks for this concise and informative introduction. Subscribed!

I'll agree... Best 15 dollars spent, and it is so ADDICTIVE doing stuff!!! Not to mention the Voxel editor and creator that comes with it (at least I got it for free)... I love this. My wife hears that delightful jingle when it starts , rolls her eyes, and says ''Looks like we're not going anywhere after all..'' . Thanks for the video.

u guys need to play POOM its a DOOM remake/demake.

I thought pico 8 was just a fiction console made up by celeste

I'm so happy there are new videos, keep em coming :D

I've always wanted a tool to do quick prototyping with but I'm not a fan of asset-oriented game engines like Unity or Unreal or even Godot so I'm kinda sold on Pico8 after watching this video. There's a promotion going on their website where you can get both Pico8 and their upcoming 3d console for a bundle price, I think I'll bite. Also I've never written anything in Lua but I'm starting to like it after watching some of your Pico8 videos.

Fell down this rabbit hole just a couple days ago. Incredible stuff

You showed many amazing looking PICO-8 games. I'm gonna hunt for them. 0:16 - ??? 0:28 - PICODriller 0:45 - _PICO-8 Game?_ ?:?? - Pico De Pon, Cake Factory, Under Construction (by Eevee) 3:59 - ??? 4:01 - ??? 4:04 - _Cake Factory?_ 4:08 - ??? 4:23 - Dark Tomb 5:55 - Porklike

Wow this is awesome! Definitely useful for making prototypes.

Pico-8 is the most fun I had in the last few years. Palworld and Retro games are the exception. Gloomwood is the other exeption. I only play older games or re-releases with no added fanciness or DRM or whatever degrades games like Alan Wake 1

I am a GodotEngine developper but i love this little condensed soft PICO8, it s so funny !

What! Lexaloffle made this? He* made Voxatron, one of my favorite games! I haven't heard of him* since the Voxatron days and I've heard of PICO-8 for years but I just never looked into it! But it makes perfect sense. The art esthetic is the same. I love Lexaloffle :)

Pretty sure Zep is a Kiwi!

I played a pico 8 game It's a dune theme game Basically you make a empire using spice and defeat other empires

New user of Pico-8 here. Amazing videos Chris!

Please explain how the game code is disguised in the PNG. If you look closely, you see noise, that is where the storage must be.

At first I thought this was a new system, until I was informed this is a software that can run on a computer. Regardless, I really like this ides, as it's a simple yet effective way of making and playing classic video games, both original and demakes of existing ones. It would be nice if there was a console that took advantage of this too, but this is already a good start and it's a wonder I didn't know about this until recently, despite the fact it has been available for quite some time.

do you know the game towerfall ? it's a game on steam and i'm searching for a tutorial to make a towerfall like. i'm pretty advanced and i saw and made all your porklike tutorials. Great job !

this sounds great for me, I am not very tech savy but I hope this will help me learn some coding skills.

You're starting from beginning , nice :)

Good vid explaining the console as a whole!

Pico-8 is in the bundle for racial justice and equality right now on itch.io go check it out

Maybe I missed it in the video, but I am guessing the 8 in the name is for 8 bit? I like to have limitations, but I do feel the sweet spot is to have graphics that can at least match 16-bit consoles. It's pretty amazing what they manage to squeeze out of it though.

Amazing!! - thanks for this!

ZEP made a console that will dominate the world! :)

Spent 80% of my allowance on this and Voxeltron!! So worth it!!!!!!

hey, I got a script created by ai to show what is pico 8! Title: Exploring PICO-8: A Script Introduction [INTRODUCTION] Host (H): Good day, everyone! Welcome back to our tech exploration series. Today, we have something special for you all. We'll be diving into the fascinating world of PICO-8. For those who might not be familiar, PICO-8 is a fantasy console for making, sharing, and playing tiny games and other computer programs. It's a unique platform that allows you to create within limitations, fostering creativity and innovation. So, let's get started! [SHOT: Host standing in front of a computer screen displaying PICO-8 interface] H: Alright, folks. As you can see, I've got the PICO-8 interface up on my screen. Let's break down its key components. [SCREEN DEMONSTRATION] H: At the top, we have the menu bar with various options like File, Edit, Game, and more. Just below it, you'll find the code editor. This is where all the magic happens. You write code here to create your games, art, and music. [SHOT: Host typing in code editor] H: Here, you write in the Lua programming language, which is known for its simplicity and versatility. The cool thing is that you're working within limitations - a 128x128 pixel display, 16 colors, and a tight 32KB of memory. These limitations might sound restrictive, but they actually encourage you to think creatively. [SHOT: Host switching to the sprite editor] H: Now, let's take a look at the sprite editor. This is where you create and edit your pixel art. You have a small canvas to work with, and remember, every pixel counts! [SHOT: Host drawing a simple sprite] H: See, I've just drawn a simple character sprite. It might not look like much, but it's a start. You can create characters, enemies, items, and even backgrounds using this editor. [SHOT: Host switching to the sound editor] H: And here we have the sound editor. Just like with the visuals, you're working with limited resources here. You can compose simple tunes and sound effects to give life to your games. [SHOT: Host creating a short musical tune] H: Look at that, a short musical piece. It's incredible how even within these constraints, you can create memorable audio experiences. [EXPLORING THE GAMES] H: Now, let's take a peek at some of the games that have been created using PICO-8. These games are often small in size but big on creativity. From platformers to puzzle games, the possibilities are vast. [SHOT: Host playing a PICO-8 game] H: I'm playing a simple yet addictive platformer someone created. It's amazing to see what people can achieve within these limitations. [COMMUNITY AND SHARING] H: One of the best things about PICO-8 is its active community. You can share your creations with others, play their games, and even remix existing ones. It's a collaborative environment that encourages learning and improvement. [CLOSING] H: And there you have it, an introduction to PICO-8! This fantasy console offers a unique way to express your creativity, all while embracing limitations that push your innovation to new heights. Whether you're a seasoned programmer or just starting out, PICO-8 has something exciting to offer. H: Thank you all for joining me today. I hope you found this exploration of PICO-8 intriguing. Until next time, keep on creating and experimenting. Goodbye! [FADE OUT]

and currently i would suggest to splurge 5 bucks more and get voxatron too.

This could be the new Adobe Flash

this sees like my fantasy make video game super easy website iv been searching for, if i can pick up lua then i'm definitely buying

-i'm a simple guy. i see celeste? i give the video a like-

Would it be a good idea to start with pico8 before making full games with regular lua?

Looks cool! :D

3:33 but you need some money we all agree with it

Pls make videos on tic80 too brother thanks :]

So much fun

Can you make sellable games with this?

Before I buy myself a mini laptop to start developing my own games on it, does anyone know if pico 8 software can work on android devices? Not just to play games but to develop them as well.

I've been a long-time admirer of Pico-8, but I'm a complete newbie at programming. I still don't understand how you can tell what LUA code works in Pico-8 and what doesn't.

Sorry for my bad written text *For Any One Who New To Game Dev* And Wanna To Start with Pico-8 *Don't* start , or atleast don't think it will be as easy as it seem , other tools like unity are very hard to use , but aren't as hard as pico-8 ; all the great games you seen are made by pro dev , really pro devopers to make something that standout and polished , you can make the same graphics with unity , but the great thing with pico-8 wil restricted to really make pixel art and 2D games , in unity i see myself not felling great while making 2D Pixel art games.

Just learnt about PICO-8 from POOM, a doom fangame. Now I wanna learn Lua and learn PICO-8 so I can make my own POOM-like fps'

Does anyone know if there is any kind of Pico-8 interpreter for OpenDingux? It seems like this would be a great solution for games on the go. Would love to tie this into my Anbernic handheld somehow.

Great video

Celeste on Pico-8 is the best version of the game!

I have a weird question: is there a way you can export the bin files from the games into roms for the gba? I have a rom of create classic for the gba, and it is the exact same game as the pico 8 game from Celeste the full game. I can’t find any tutorials on how to convert the pico 8 roms to gba roms, so any help would be appreciated

Thanks

As a player, not a dev, Is it possible to integrate pico-8 into other emulator OS's or frontends like Retropie or Launchbox? As like another console/emu/core?

Wondering if this could be run on something like the MisTer Fpga (Terrassic DE-10 based)

He looks like one of the guys off silicon valley

Hi I just want to ask you about the name of the game in the minute 3:57

........SO.......NEED TO LICENSE THIS AND SELL CONSOLES.....NOT TO MAKE MONEY....BUT......TO HELP IT EXPAND...... =IT'S THE ONLY WAY FOR THIS TO ACTUALLY NOT BE FORGOTTEN THROUGH SOME TIME

It's not free: ACTUALLY, now it kinda is. There's a free browser educational version available now. It runs entirely on the browser so no need to even download it.

😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😯😯😯😯😯😯😯😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯!!!!!!!

It is definitely the best 15$ I've ever spent

What are those first games, especially the first one?

Is multiplayer possible in pico-8?

WAIT IT'S IN LUA

Best 15 dollars you'll spend. It'll headfake you into game development, appreciation for limited canvas style coding, sizecoding, and the community is as vibrant and diverse as the color pallette (*VERY vibrant). Absolute no-brainer purchase. Less is more.

It was all amazing until i found out this thing costs money Like, are you kidding?

very tempting, it's in beta right? looks freaking done to me