Welcome to the 4th annual PICO-1K Jam (#Pico1k) 👋🤓

• Make cool things in PICO-8 (or Picotron) by using only 1K (1024) Compressed Bytes of code
• It can be a...
  🕹️ Game
  🎞️ Demo (Animated or Interactive)
  🛠️ 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

📑 Rules

1. 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
                 
     - Alternatively (e.g. for older PICO-8 builds), use the INFO() command to check Compressed byte size
   
   
2. No pre-defined PICO-8/Picotron data allowed
     - No using of built-in Gfx, Map or Sound data (or external files) - ALL content must be created using code submitted
     - Glyphs such as 웃 ★ ❎🅾️ are fine, but note that these other special chars use >1 byte each
     - TIP: Copy+paste your code into a new PICO-8/Picotron instance to test it still works as expected
   
   
3. Have fun & be nice! 😃
    - 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)

❓ 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?
  • Yes! You can use the free, web-based, account-less Education Edition version of PICO-8
  • Just remember to save your code before closing the browser!
• Can I submit an entry created in Picotron?
  • Yes, this is the first year where it is possible to create & submit a Picotron entry.
    
  • Currently, the simplest way to keep tabs on your Picotron Compressed bytes it to use Shrinko8:
    (Mode = "Picotron", Target = "Tiny .ROM file", and "Safe Minification")
  • You can even use Shrinko8 as a quick check of your current Compressed byte usage (see bottom-right).
  • Alternatively, you can paste your Picotron code into PICO-8 and "export -t", then rename output as *.p64.rom
  • (I'll continue to update this section if better approaches to Picotron compressed byte monitoring become available)
• 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.
• Where can I ask more Q's / share my progress / create a team?
  • In the Community tab at the top of this page
  • On the official PICO-8 BBS/Forum, in the Jam category
  • On the PICO-8 Discord, in the #game-jams channel
  • On Mastodon or "Twitter", using #Pico8/#Picotron and #Pico1k hashtags

📚 Resources

• Reference
  • Official PICO-8 Resources, including the PICO-8 User Manual
  • PICO-8 Cheat Sheet (Modern 4K edition) by Liquidream
  • PICO-ATE - Encyclopedia of useful PICO-8 code snippets + templates
• Examples
  • Entries from previous year's jams: 2023 entries, 2022 entries, 2021 entries.
  • PICO-8 Tweet Games collection on Twitter
  • Browse PICO-8 #TweetCarts on Twitter
  • Browse #TweetTweetJam entries on Twitter
    
  • The original #TweetJam thread, started by AdamAtomic
• Tips
  
  • Compression
    
    • Adventures in PICO-8 compression: Mine1k by @pancelor
  • Character-saving
    (These older tips are aimed at reducing character count, but may still be helpful)
    • Optimizing Character-Count by 2DArray
    • PICO-8 size optimization stuff by kometbomb
    • Tweetcart Basics,  Studies & Demoscene basics by pixinop
    • PICO-8 Sizecoding Seminar by Superogue
      
    • PICO-8 Fantasy Console Coding Seminar by Jobe
• Tools
  • Shrinko8 by thisismypassword - Shrink P8 code (pick focus on "Compressed size")
  • PXAVIZ by Carl Chimes - Helpful visualisation of your compressed bytes
  • Tweetcart Sprite Graphics Tutorial by JadeLombax - squeeze sprites+anim into code
  • CHR Printer by JadeLombax - easy copy & paste from PICO-8 extended chars
• Publishing
  • Watch How to Upload PICO-8 Games to Itch.io - created by Lazy Devs Academy

🖨️ P8SCII shorthand

• P8SCII Control Codes are a feature of PICO-8 and they can be helpful for optimising code.
• With a few chars in a PRINT("") - or it's shorthand ?""  - statement, you can:
  • Change colour and position of text
  • Change the size, height, width, border and background colour of text
  • Play Audio - from a single beep to an entire series of notes
  • Draw over previous characters with decoration characters
  • You can even do Custom fonts
• For example, they could be used to draw "sprites" made from chars codes
  • (...instead of pre-drawn sprite data, which is against the rules 🚫) 
• Also be sure to check out the PICO-8 Wiki for good explanation of P8SCII Control Codes.
• Some of the above also work for Picotron - see below for more platform-specific tips...

🖥️ Picotron Tips

• You can have all your init code at the start of the file,
  then put all your main "game loop" code within function _draw()
  (even putting your "update" code in here as well!)
• Use note(pitch) each frame for cheap sfx
• Ignore the "info" command (use Shrinko8 to keep track of compressed bytes, as shown in FAQ above)
• Some of the P8SCII Control Codes also work for Picotron:
  • List of Picotron special characters (P8SCII) by 369px

🌍 "Show me what you got!"

Finally, don't forget to share your creations (or WIP), using the hashtag #Pico1k  🖼️🤳
   - TIP: You can record a GIF in PICO-8/Picotron by pressing CTRL+8 to start and CTRL+9 to stop/save