Fewer Octop(i/uses/odes) than I would have expected
March 26, 2021 2:55 AM Subscribe
Game Jams are, of course, not a new thing and there are plenty to choose from[itch.io] if you're looking to participate in one. But it's possible, likely even, that's you've never heard of Octojam.[itch.io] For the past seven years a small group of enthusiasts have spent the month of October writing games for the CHIP-8.
The CHIP-8[wikipedia] is, probably, the world's first Fantasy Console[lexaloffle.com] — a virtual machine designed specificially for writing video games — created decades before the PICO-8 coined and popularized the term.
Designed by Joseph Weisbecker[wikipedia] and first described in BYTE magazine[archive.org] in 1978, CHIP-8 features a simple(-ish) set of 35 machine instructions, including instructions for generating random numbers and displaying graphics on screen. Originally used on COSMAC VIP[wikipedia] 8-bit computers, it boasted a 64x32 pixel monochrome display, input via a 16 button keypad, and a whopping 4kB of addressable memory.
Eventually finding its way onto graphing calculators in the 80's, CHIP-8 interpreters were extended and modified[github] multiple times. The popular SuperChip, or S-CHIP, added a 128x64 pixel, toggleable, hi-res display and extended instruction set enabling programmers to scroll the display left, right, or down.
In 2014, John Earnest created online Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and high-level assembly language, Octo[github.io], for writing and compiling CHIP-8 programs. Along with Octo come the XO-CHIP extensions[github] including: audio buffer, up to 4 colour display, extravagantly spacious 64kB address space, and the ability to scroll UP!
While Octojam takes its name from Earnest's creation, authors are free to write CHIP-8, S-CHIP, or XO-CHIP games using any tools they wish, up to and including custom emulators/interpreters. There's certainly no shortage[github]: programmers interested in emulation[reddit] often tackle CHIP-8 as a first project.
Octojam (originally Octo-ber Jam) has, so far, had seven installments. The most recent offered two XO-CHIP game templates which contestants could tear apart and remix for their submissions: Into the GarlicScape[itch.io], a basic turn-based roguelike and Super NeatBox[itch.io], a simple platformer.
All previous Octojam pages:
And yes, there is a CHIP-8 interpreter in PICO-8[lexaloffle.com]. Because of course there is.
The CHIP-8[wikipedia] is, probably, the world's first Fantasy Console[lexaloffle.com] — a virtual machine designed specificially for writing video games — created decades before the PICO-8 coined and popularized the term.
Designed by Joseph Weisbecker[wikipedia] and first described in BYTE magazine[archive.org] in 1978, CHIP-8 features a simple(-ish) set of 35 machine instructions, including instructions for generating random numbers and displaying graphics on screen. Originally used on COSMAC VIP[wikipedia] 8-bit computers, it boasted a 64x32 pixel monochrome display, input via a 16 button keypad, and a whopping 4kB of addressable memory.
Eventually finding its way onto graphing calculators in the 80's, CHIP-8 interpreters were extended and modified[github] multiple times. The popular SuperChip, or S-CHIP, added a 128x64 pixel, toggleable, hi-res display and extended instruction set enabling programmers to scroll the display left, right, or down.
In 2014, John Earnest created online Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and high-level assembly language, Octo[github.io], for writing and compiling CHIP-8 programs. Along with Octo come the XO-CHIP extensions[github] including: audio buffer, up to 4 colour display, extravagantly spacious 64kB address space, and the ability to scroll UP!
While Octojam takes its name from Earnest's creation, authors are free to write CHIP-8, S-CHIP, or XO-CHIP games using any tools they wish, up to and including custom emulators/interpreters. There's certainly no shortage[github]: programmers interested in emulation[reddit] often tackle CHIP-8 as a first project.
Octojam (originally Octo-ber Jam) has, so far, had seven installments. The most recent offered two XO-CHIP game templates which contestants could tear apart and remix for their submissions: Into the GarlicScape[itch.io], a basic turn-based roguelike and Super NeatBox[itch.io], a simple platformer.
All previous Octojam pages:
- Octojam 7[itch.io]
- Octojam 6[itch.io]
- Octojam 5[awfuljams.com]
- Octojam 4[awfuljams.com]
- Octojam 3[awfuljams.com]
- Octo-ber Jam 2[awfuljams.com]
- Octo-ber Jam[awfuljams.com]
And yes, there is a CHIP-8 interpreter in PICO-8[lexaloffle.com]. Because of course there is.
My dad used to get electronics magazines in the 80s, and I think one of them had a kit for a CHIP-8 machine; it was basically a bare board PC with a DIP-form-factor CPU and a keypad, and could have made a plausible prop bomb for a TV thriller. It didn't grab my attention because it looked terribly primitive compared to, say, Commodore 64s and such.
posted by acb at 8:10 AM on March 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by acb at 8:10 AM on March 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
« Older Canada's climate plan survives legal challenge | "Too toxic to ignore" Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Thanks for posting this.
posted by suetanvil at 7:05 AM on March 26, 2021 [1 favorite]