Programming Retro Style!

Big fan of electronic video computer games.

s tupid head @siddikinz

Age 19, Male

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Joined on 10/4/17

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Programming Retro Style!

Posted by siddikinz - 1 month ago

I haven't been active on this site for a long time, but I have been active in the retro programming and homebrewing scene lately!

Over the past few months I learned BASIC as well as 6502 assembly and got busy making some cool games for the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 systems.

So far I did the programming for Good Deal Games' new cartridge release "Lava Trip", made ports of Duck and Cover for the 2600 and C64, and programmed multiple mini-games for the C64.

You can find footage of Lava Trip in action here, as well as the source code for my other games here and here.

I made my Atari 2600 games using an awesome programming language called batari Basic, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in retro game development.

As for my Commodore 64 games, I designed and implemented a custom Lisp-like programming language that compiles to 6502 assembly. I programmed Duck and Cover as well as my mini-games entirely in this language, and the source code for the compiler is available here.

Here is a photo of Duck and Cover running on my real Commodore 64:

And here is a GIF of one of the mini-games in action:

I've been having a lot of fun programming for these retro systems, and I plan on publishing some homebrews to Newgrounds using Javascript emulators in the future!

Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

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KittyhawkMontrose 2024-12-18 20:56:11

Super cool stuff! And yesssss, video pinball.

siddikinz 2024-12-18 20:56:11

Thanks! There are some awesome pinball simulators on retro systems, my personal favourite is "Midnight Magic" on Atari 2600.

alsoknownas1 2024-12-18 21:00:10

Dude! You gotta find a way to post at least some of this stuff here (embeded emulator or the like), This is excellent!
So good to see more retro stuff here on Newgrounds and even better to see some of it is in Lisp!

siddikinz 2024-12-18 21:00:10 (Updated 2024-12-18 21:19:18)

Thanks, I'm currently in the process of setting up a Javascript C64 emulator so I can upload some homebrews to the games portal. Stay tuned!

Also it's nice to see another programmer that appreciates Lisp! It's been my favourite language for a while now, it's just so much fun to use.

EDIT: I released an original C64 homebrew for Newgrounds!
https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/961450

KittyhawkMontrose 2024-12-18 23:24:43

@siddikinz Aw yeah, Midnight Magic. Love that one. I love Pinball on NES, which Iwata worked on and ultimately perfected in Kirby's Pinball Land.

Cyberdevil 2025-01-01 14:36:04

Very cool! Though I'm curious, you seems too young to have grown up with Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 games, however did you get into brewing for these particular consoles?

Hope stuff like this gets an upswing in popularity though, it doesn't get more storage efficient than this. :P Fun too. Nice works.

siddikinz 2025-01-01 14:36:04

Thanks! I actually grew up with a lot of retro tech at my grandparents place, so these old systems are still nostalgic for someone like me.

Cyberdevil 2025-01-01 17:54:58

Ah that's cool. :) From the generation before the generation before your generation even... didn't realize these consoles were THAT old either! XD

Generational interests are interesting really. Seems the norm to want to deviate from the old ways and do your own thing; to grow up in the next iteration of our constantly evolving cultural environment... yet some of us get an affinity for things from a totally different era anyway. Like we're just born in the wrong decade, or reliving a past life, or yeah... just get introduced to the right things at the right place and time by the right people for there to be that timeless connection. XD

I grew up on old Mac OS 7 myself, not quite as old as this but similarly simple; just fun and innovative games all over... feels like devs make the best things when they're posed with limitations, golden era of games back then, cool to see stuff like this still.

siddikinz 2025-01-01 17:54:58

I remember back when my only PC was an ancient Windows XP desktop computer. The only things it could play were flash games here on Newgrounds, and retro console emulators!

Only recently have I had the means to play modern games (which are super fun too, especially VR games) but I always have a soft spot for the classics.

Cyberdevil 2025-01-02 16:35:05

Ah man I remember when Windows XP was the newest of the new, truly revolutionary compared to ME and 98. XD I had that one a long time. How different times we've grown up in! Though what a good OS to get started with.

Amen to that. I haven't tried any VR yet, any particular title you'd recommend? I love both new and old otherwise but: old really is gold. Just like with early Internet there's something special about that initial time of innovation, before we started having standards for everything; more grind than purity. Fo shizzle.

siddikinz 2025-01-02 16:35:05

I highly recommend Superhot VR and Resident Evil 4 VR. Superhot lets you feel like a badass action movie hero, and Resident Evil 4 in VR is the only horror game that made me scream out loud!

Cyberdevil 2025-01-03 06:39:11

Oh I love Resident Evil! Played through pretty much the whole series up to 7 or so, didn't know they'd started working with VR! Definitely trying that one! Superhot looks fun too. Thanks for the recommends.

Programming Retro Style!

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