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Steven Hugg has released something nice for Christmas: The book Making Games for the Atari 2600, which is available as a paperback via Amazon.
The book targets the absolute beginner and builds up the required knowledge step by step. It is very well written and structured, with plenty of illustrations. Starting with the basics of the 6502, assembly language, the VCS, and TV hardware, you gain more and more insight into coding for the Atari 2600. And because the best way to learn to code is not to read about it but to do it, the author also provided a very lovely WebIDE where you can play around with the source code in your browser and run it immediately in the browser-based emulator called JAVATARI.JS. The WebIDE is available for free at http://8bitworkshop.com.
I'm pleased to see this book and hope it attracts more people to coding for the Atari 2600 by lowering the barriers to getting started even further. And once you have become familiar with coding for the VCS, WUDSN IDE can manage more complex projects with multiple files, including graphics conversions, and leverage Stella and its excellent debugger. So I look forward to seeing your first Atari VCS project come alive!
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Thomas Schulz (8bitjunkie) explains the basics of game development for 8-bit home computers in 6502 assembly language. He describes it using modern tools like Raster Music Tracker, WUDSN IDE, and cool retro T-shirts with source code prints. The video is in German and was recorded at the Vintage Computing Festival Berlin (VCFB) 2016
Thomas Schulz (8bitjunkie) erklärt die Grundlagen für die Entwicklung von Spielen für 8-Bit Heimcomputer in 6502 Assembler. Hierbei helfen moderne Tools wie Raster Music Tracker, WUDSN IDE und coole Retro-T-Shirts mit Source Code darauf.
- Um was geht es überhaupt?
- Vorstellung des Spiels "GetUp!" (Live Demo)
- Übersicht über die Vorgehensweise und die Werkzeuge
- Der Hauptprozessor (CPU)
- Die Unterbrechungen (Interrupts)
- Die Grafik
- Die Musik
- Hilfreiche Quellen
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While everything in the world is turning into bits, some bits of WUDSN IDE have turned into some pages in an actual world book. Thomas Schulz illustrated what WUDSN IDE is and how cross-development works in his chapter of the book Time to Play - Zeit und Computerspiel published by members of the Humboldt University in Berlin. When I remember how I started with WUDSN IDE in 2009, I would never have thought of being an enabler for such great things as Dimo's Quest and so many other games and programs. Now, seven years later, my site has crossed the 30.000 views boundary, the IDE has over 130 active installations, and I have become friends with many new Atari users. All this is simply great, and I hope we'll have lots of funs together in the future.
The IDE screen with the project, outline, editor, and message panel.
The rainbow example program explained step by step to learn what "racing the beam" means.
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On the 2nd and 3rd of July 2016, an interactive workshop on programming games in 6502 assembly language will occur in Bad Oeynhausen in Germany. It will be held by Thomas Schulz, aka 8Bitjunkie, the author of Dimo's Quest, on the Amiga (original version) and the Atari 8-bit. WUDSN IDE is used as the development environment for the workshop. The workshop is targeting absolute beginners and will be held in German. If you are interested, sign up for the event's Facebook page. Many people reading this dreamed of writing their games when they were young. So get up and join the workshop. It's the best chance to make your dream come true finally.
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The original "The!Cart" was delivered with a relatively cheap shell to keep the price low. Sven Pink from the A.B.B.U.C. created the first version of a 3D printable shell in 2015, but it was never officially released. Only one prototype was printed back then, which I own. Sven lacks the time, and I lack the skills and equipment to continue the design. So I decided to release the files in their current state. You can download the OpenSCAD (".scad") and stereo lithography (".stl") files for printing your shell for the first version of "The!Card". If you get usable results and maybe create improved versions of the model, I'd be happy to add pictures of your shells here and update the download accordingly. Visit the new "The!Cart" page for more details. You can also visit the corresponding thread on AtariAge for questions and feedback.