https://8bitrocket.com/Game development guides and retro game inspiration.enhttps://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=39402https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=39402Canvas drawing starts with a context and explicit state. fillStyle, strokeStyle and lineWidth remain in effect until you change them, so a renderer must…https://8bitrocket.com/books/the-essential-guide-to-flash-games/https://8bitrocket.com/books/the-essential-guide-to-flash-games/A structured game-development study moves from a small program to a complete interaction. Use ActionScript concepts such as events, embedded assets and…https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=3798https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=3798An arcade timeline is a sequence of claims about design, release and public play. These are different milestones, and a useful entry tells the reader which…https://8bitrocket.com/2008/05/16/bill-kunkel-electronic-games-interview/https://8bitrocket.com/2008/05/16/bill-kunkel-electronic-games-interview/Bill Kunkel is associated with the early language of video game criticism. Reading game magazines as criticism means looking beyond scores: how does a writer…https://8bitrocket.com/2010/11/19/announcing-the-8bitrocket-16k-retro-re-make-contest/https://8bitrocket.com/2010/11/19/announcing-the-8bitrocket-16k-retro-re-make-contest/A tiny file-size budget is a design constraint. It encourages procedural graphics, short sound effects and a rule set that can be explained quickly. Begin…https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=6765https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=6765A sprite rotates around an origin. Choosing that pivot deliberately makes turning and aiming easier to control; a corner origin may produce a very different…https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=8141https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=8141An Asteroids-style ship points in one direction while its velocity can point in another. Store angle, velocity and position separately. Rotation changes the…https://8bitrocket.com/music.aspxhttps://8bitrocket.com/music.aspxGame sound works best when it supports an action the player can understand. Short effects confirm input, signal a result and establish rhythm without…https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=6077https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=6077A maze-style game is easier to build when the board is data. Store walls and open cells in a grid, then map a cell to pixels only when drawing. The movement…https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=10248https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=10248A game loop has two jobs: advance the simulation and draw the result. Timer callbacks are opportunities to do that work, not guarantees that exactly the…https://8bitrocket.com/category/podcasts/into-the-vertical-blank/https://8bitrocket.com/category/podcasts/into-the-vertical-blank/Explore Atari and retro gaming through focused reading companions. The subjects include Food Fight, Star Wars, hardware demonstrations and the design choices…https://8bitrocket.com/tag/electrotank/https://8bitrocket.com/tag/electrotank/Multiplayer work starts with a clear local game. Define state, input and a complete round before deciding which information needs to cross a network.https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=7625https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=7625Mid-core is useful only when it describes an audience or a pattern of play clearly. Session length, learning effort and strategic depth can be discussed…https://8bitrocket.com/blog.aspxhttps://8bitrocket.com/blog.aspxRead about the practice of making small games and the ideas that make classic games worth examining. The collection connects technical tutorials with studies…https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=8399https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=8399A player’s available time and appetite for complexity are different things. Short sessions can still contain meaningful planning if the game explains its…https://8bitrocket.com/games/beachblitz/beachblitz.aspxhttps://8bitrocket.com/games/beachblitz/beachblitz.aspxStudy a defense game by looking at aiming, incoming targets and the time available to respond. The playfield needs to make the next threat visible before the…https://8bitrocket.com/2010/03/16/flak-cannon-essential-flash-games-book-demo-2010/https://8bitrocket.com/2010/03/16/flak-cannon-essential-flash-games-book-demo-2010/A flak-cannon prototype is a study in aiming, travel time and feedback. The player selects a direction, a projectile follows that direction and an impact or…https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=5776https://8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspage=5776Define a start state, one action and a result. A moving sprite becomes a game when the player understands what to attempt and can tell whether the attempt…https://8bitrocket.com/2012/04/29/things-weve-learned-the-hard-way-1-what-a-customer-means-when-they-ask-for-html5/https://8bitrocket.com/2012/04/29/things-weve-learned-the-hard-way-1-what-a-customer-means-when-they-ask-for-html5/A request for HTML5 usually names a delivery goal rather than a complete technical specification. Establish which browsers, devices, screen sizes and input…https://8bitrocket.com/2009/01/14/atari-nerd-inter-web-mash-up-jan-13-2009/https://8bitrocket.com/2009/01/14/atari-nerd-inter-web-mash-up-jan-13-2009/Atari research benefits from looking at games, manuals, advertising and player recollections together. Each source answers a different question: a manual…