Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Oops, forgot to link to my #pico8 version of missile command: pahammond.itch.io/missile-comm...pahammond.itch.ioMissile Command by pahammondPlay in your browser 051
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 04/10/2026All set to port my #pico8 version of missile command over to #picotron and enhance it. Trackball - check Inspirational book - check 0121
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Wor Games (Eulogy) coming soon. Love you always dad xxx #chiptune #arcade 170
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 27/09/2026New Wor Games mode: Core Defense The anxiety levels are high!!! 😱 #pixelart #picotron #arcade 0100
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 24/09/2026My updated version of Wor Games will have a quick, skippable tutorial before each game (can be turned off). Especially useful for the new game modes and players not familiar with #wizardofwor. #gamedev #arcade #retrogaming 0243
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Haha, #pico8 GIF capture got rid of all the explosions (frame timing I guess). Here they are! 090
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Not sure why, on my itch page, my #pico8 #missilecommand gets most hits and plays. pahammond.itch.io/missile-comm... I became pretty obsessive about learning all about the original when I did this back in 2021. Even got a trackball! Might revisit in #picotron next 030
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Thank you. It plays so completely differently. I’m struggling to balance it but having fun trying! 011
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 08/09/2026"Core Defense", a new #towerdefence mode for Wor Games (#wizardofwor). Defend the core crystals against spawning monsters. Block passages with up to 3 temporary shields. #pictron #gamedev 1124
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 04/09/20261 player "Core Defense" mode (WIP) for Wor Games, my #picotron #wizardfwor based game. Requires proper path-finding so I've used Breadth First Search (BFS) - basically move to the lowest adjacent cell (with a bit of randomness) #gamedev #retrogaming #gaming 1244
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 29/08/2026"Alien Frenzy" mode in Wor Games (#wizardofwor) adds alien eggs and pac-man type power-ups for collecting them. Leave it too long and they hatch into super-fast baby monsters! Totally different and fun experience to the other modes. #arcade #gamedev #retrogaming #picotron #c64 0296
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 28/08/2026#picotron Wor Games (#wizardofwor): "Eulogy edition" dev now underway: * new logo * speech (my voice for now lol) * photo-sensitive mode * more control schemes Keeping it super retro! #gamedev #arcade #retrogaming 0192
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Made Wor Games for #picotron 2 years ago: pahammond.itch.io/wor-games Creating an enhanced version * More controls schemes * Speech! * More modes One thing I dislike when playing games is having to guess/look up the controls. 100% of my games have had zero on-screen help. Fixing that! #gamedev 1192
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 28/06/2026Giant squid, the nemeses of every submarine... ever... #gamedev #moonpatrol #picotron 0162
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 26/06/2026It's not "under the sea" without seaweed and bubbles! #picotron #gamedev #moonpatrol #arcade #retrogaming 1171
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Research in 3, 2, 1... Always great to be made aware of other games for ideas. I'd only come across Sea Dragon. 110
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Haven't had much of a chance to work on my #picotron #moonpatrol mashup recently but have added underwater mines and updated a few sprites which I'm now really happy with. Had a go at animating the mines (something I struggle immensely with) but the results are far better than I expected! #gamedev 1110
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Thanks. There’s some of those classic games that are just begging for a mashup. I’m really enjoying this. No longer just a conversion of my pico8 moon patrol! 020
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Not convinced about the buggy -> submarine transition but I like the idea! More limited weapons, underwater themed. Why not! #picotron #gamedev #arcade #retrogaming #moonpatrol 1151
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 14/06/2026The buggy in my #picotron #moonpatrol now transforms into a space ship for the #scramble type levels. Also did a bit of size reduction which I think makes the buggy a bit cuter and means the size fits well with the ship. #gamedev #retrogaming 092
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Adding #scamble style levels into my #picotron #moonpatrol. Randomly generated landscape (seeded so I can repeat layouts) and rockets. I think it'll fit in pretty well. Nice to mix it up. #gamedev #retrogaming #arcade 6436
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Love listening to music while I'm coding. Now listening to piano versions of one of my favourite video game soundtracks: #cavestory I'll listen to the actual OST after this (not on Spotify that I can find) but this piano version is very relaxing. open.spotify.com/album/1RiAPS...open.spotify.comCave Story (Piano Selections) - Album by Game Soundtrack Cat | SpotifyGame Soundtrack Cat · album · 2016 · 36 songs 030
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 06/06/2026I just make the score ineligible to appear in the hi scores table 000
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Seem like many old games kept the score going but some made hi scores ineligible which is what I’ve done. Some others did zero scores but this was less common. Moon patrol just kept the score rolling so I’m thinking I’ve probably gone with a good compromise 020
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Yeah, I was gonna research that. Makes sense. In that case I can probably take away the hi score ineligibility! 110
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Continues. Something I never even thought of adding to my games until requested a week ago for my #pico8 #moonpatrol. Seems a totally obvious QoL addition! I now give the player up to 3 continues. Hi-scores are ineligible if you use one. #retrogaming #arcade #gamdev 1202
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Gets tricky in later levels of my #picotron #moonpatrol. For the OG mode, I'm converting the layouts directly from my #pico8 version (give or take). 2 more enemy types to do: missiles and plants. Then I can work on enhanced mode stuff! Keeping my mind busy. #gamedev #arcade 0103
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 06/06/20262 weeks today since my dad passed, holding my hand. 40+ hour trip from NZ to Surrey just in time. Not the 7 week stay I was expecting He introduced me to programming in 1983 & I've fond memories playing Wizard or Wor with him Life changes; we just have to adapt to new states of "normal" 🥹😢 0140
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Level 1 done, now mapping level 2 from my #pico8 #moonpatrol to my new #picotron version. I've somehow upped the difficulty, pretty stressful jumping all those holes! #gamedev #retrogaming #arcade 2224
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 02/06/2026I've added the ability to show ceiling (for cave-like levels like #scramble) and for earthquakes to cause to ground to move to my #picotron #moonpatrol game. #gamedev #retrogaming #arcade 0232
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 01/06/2026Really enjoyed my #pico8 version of #moonpatrol and also the excellent music by @notehead.bsky.social pahammond.itch.io/moon-patrol Thinking of doing an enhanced version for #picotron. Experimenting with ideas at the moment. Graphically, I really like the #msx version #gamedev #retrogaming #arcade 1213
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Virus Buster, a #pico8 game I wrote back in 2020 and totally forgot to ever publish on my itch site! pahammond.itch.io/virus-buster From memory, I wrote this straight after bubble bobble as a bit of a cool-down project whist still WFH due to lockdown. #gamedev #chiptune 1549
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 24/05/2026Small update to #picotron "Grid Rider" to warn the player if they accidentally shoot a power-up. Play for free at: pahammond.itch.io/grid-rider #gamedev #c64 #arcade 0124
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 02/05/2026Experimenting with the #NES Little Sampson character for my #picotron #loderunner game. #gamedev #retrogaming 1213
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 01/05/2026No idea whether they'll work correctly yet but I've added "professional" and "fan book" level packs into my #picotron #loderunner. That's 366 levels so far (some look very cruel!) Needed to get multiple packs in place before I start implementing hi-scores and level times. #gamedev 0245
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 01/05/2026Early days so not too worried about presentation in my #picotron #loderunner game. Haven't settled on a style yet. Simon Hung's git repo is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to remake this game. Used it for my #pico8 versions too: github.com/SimonHung/Lo... #gamedev #c64 0283
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 23/04/2026I remember reading that somewhere, years ago. One thing I didn't know (assuming Wikipedia is correct) is that Nigel Alderton's original was for the Spectrum. I always thought of it as a BBC Micro first game. 010
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Yeah, I always think of Chuckie Egg too when I see old-school Lode Runner. 100
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 23/04/2026#loderunner is ALL about the algorithm. Get one tiny thing wrong & the level might not work! Thankfully for my #pico8 version, I'd found & adapted JavaScript code. Trick now is to NOT break it if implement a 2 player co-op mode! Seems to be working as expected for 1p. #gamedev #picotron 0252
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 23/04/2026I know #loderunner's been done a gazillion times (including my own #pico8 versions) but thought I'd start refactoring my old code into #picotron. I feel I can do a no compromises version. Plus there was an arcade 2p version 🤔 #gamedev 1211
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 23/04/2026#picotron Grid Rider (#gridrunner) updated to v0.82 to increase difficulty when having looped through all levels. pahammond.itch.io/grid-rider #gamedev #retrogaming #c64 #arcade 0205
Paul @paulhamx.bsky.social · 17/04/2026Thanks. Was seriously considering leaving the bug in, just to show how difficult the original was 😂 000
