Welcome to the 4th annual PICO-1K Jam (#Pico1k) ππ€
- Make cool things in PICO-8 (or Picotron) by using only 1K (1024) Compressed Bytes of code
- It can be a...
πΉοΈ Game
ποΈ Demo (Animated or Interactive)
π οΈ Tool or Utility
...whatever you can fit within 1KB, basically! - It's a relaxed, non-competitive jam, running for a whole month
- See the Rules below for details & check out the Resources for getting started
π Rules
- Your entire entry must be <= 1024 Compressed Bytes in PICO-8 (or Picotron)
- PICO-8 has various code counters available (e.g. Chars/Tokens), but Compressed Bytes is the only official jam limit
- TIP: Use the Compressed Bytes count for ref (added in PICO-8 v0.2.5)
a) Left-click to cycle to Compressed Capacity
b) Then CTRL+Click to show Compressed Bytes count
![](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzk5MTIxNTcuZ2lm/original/IRHStc.gif)
- Alternatively (e.g. for older PICO-8 builds), use the INFO() command to check Compressed byte size
- No pre-defined PICO-8 data allowed
- No pre-created Sprites, Map or Sounds or external files - ALL content must be created using code submitted
- Glyphs such as μ β
βπ
ΎοΈ are fine, but note that these other special chars use >1 byte each
- TIP: Copy+paste your code into a new PICO-8 instance to test it still works as expected
- Have fun & be nice! π
- This is intended to be a fun & relaxed jam, but your mental and physical health should always come first
- Be nice to each other (for more details, see Berlin Code of Conduct)
β FAQ
- Is there a prize for the winner?
- Nope, this jam is non-ranked & non-competitive - it's just for fun (we're all winners!)
- Is there a theme?
- Nope, you can make whatever you want.
- Can I generate Sprite/Map data in my code, then use SPR()/MAP(), etc. to draw?
- Absolutely, 100%!
- Essentially, if your code created the content - it's allowed
- I don't own PICO-8, can I still participate?
- How do I submit an entry?
- Instructions are provided when you click to [Submit your Project]
- Also, see Resources below for help Publishing your project.
- Can I submit more than one entry?
- Yes, absolutely - you have a whole month to play with.
- Can we update our entry after submission?
- Sure, nothing worse than finding bugs later on!
- But please keep any feature updates to within the jam period
- Can I use 1024 Character Count limit instead?
- Sure - 1k in chars will always equate to less than 1k in compressed bytes.
- Can I submit an entry created in Picotron?
- Yes, this is the first year where it might now be possible (albeit fiddly) to create a Picotron entry.
- More details on this should be available shortly, after the upcoming Picotron v0.1.0h release.
- Where can I ask more Q's / share my progress / create a team?
π Resources
- Reference
- Examples
- Tips
- Character-saving
(These older tips are aimed at reducing character count, but may still be helpful)
- Tools
- Publishing
π¨οΈ P8SCII shorthand
- P8SCII Control Codes are a recent feature of PICO-8 and they are perfect for optimising code.
- With a few chars in a PRINT("") - or it's shorthand ?"" - statement, you can:
- For example, they could be used to draw "sprites" made from chars codes
- (...instead of pre-drawn sprite data, which is against the rules π«)
- Also be sure to check out the PICO-8 Wiki for good explanation of P8SCII Control Codes.
π "Show me what you got!"
Finally, don't forget to share your creations (or WIP), using the hashtag #Pico1k πΌοΈπ€³
- TIP: You can record a GIF in PICO-8 by pressing CTRL+8 to start and CTRL+9 to stop/save
Looking forward to seeing what you create. Have fun! π