PICO-8

Not to be confused with PIC microcontrollers or Raspberry Pi Pico.
PICO-8
Developer(s)Lexaloffle Games
Initial releaseApril 2015; 9 years ago (2015-04)
Stable release
0.2.6b[1] / 28 February 2024; 6 months ago (2024-02-28)
Operating systemWindows, Mac OS, Linux
PlatformPC, Raspberry Pi, HTML5 (player only)
Included withPocketCHIP[2]
Available inEnglish, Japanese
TypeVirtual machine, game engine
LicenseProprietary
Websitelexaloffle.com/pico-8.php Edit this on Wikidata

PICO-8 is a virtual machine and game engine created by Lexaloffle Games. It is a fantasy video game console[3] that mimics the limited graphical and sound capabilities of the old 8-bit systems of the 1980s to encourage creativity and ingenuity in producing games without being overwhelmed with the many possibilities of modern tools and machines. Such limitations also give PICO-8 games a particular look and feel.[4]

Coding on the PICO-8 is accomplished through a Lua-based environment,[5] in which users can create music, sound effects, sprites, maps, and games.

Users are able to export their games as HTML5 web games or upload their creations to Lexaloffle's official BBS where other users are able to play the games in a web browser, and view the source code.[6] PICO-8 games can also be exported as executable programs, which will run on Windows, macOS, or Linux.[7]

Notable games released for the system include the original version of Celeste, which was created in four days as part of a game jam.

On March 16, 2024, Picotron was launched as a fantasy workstation that is conceptually similar to PICO-8. [8]

  1. ^ "PICO-8 0.2.6". Lexaloffle. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Next Thing Co. PocketC.H.I.P. Documentation". Archived from the original on 2018-04-20.
  3. ^ Debock, Arnaud (August 2015). PICO-8 Zine #1. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  4. ^ "PICO-8 website". PICO-8 Fantasy Console. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  5. ^ Wawro, Alex (May 3, 2016). "PICO-8 'fantasy console' to become an actual handheld console -- sort of". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Archived from the original on November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  6. ^ "PICO-8 BBS". Lexaloffle. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  7. ^ "PICO-8 Fantasy Console". www.lexaloffle.com. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
  8. ^ "Picotron by Lexaloffle". www.lexaloffle.com. Retrieved 2024-07-09.