Pico-8

Overview

Game Path	Supported Extensions
`roms/pico-8`	++".png"++ ++".p8"++

Emulator/Core

Name	Documentation
Pico-8 `default`	https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
Fake-08	https://github.com/jtothebell/fake-08

Instructions

Option 1: Running Pico-8 through the native engine

Pico-8 games are best played with the default emulator as it supports all native features without any limitations. You need to purchase it from Lexaloffle and we do recommend that you buy a copy if you can. Its an awesome piece of software and it also comes with the tools to make your own games.

Setup

Once you have purchased a license; the files you need will depend on the device you are using. These instructions will walk through how to set things up to work on all of our supported devices.

Go to Lexaloffle's download page
From that page download the Linux 64-bit zip file and the Raspberry Pi zip file
From the Linux 64-bit zip file...
- Create a directory in roms/pico-8 called x86_64
- Upload the pico8_dyn and pico8.dat from the Linux 64-bit zip to this directory (you do not need any other files)
From the Raspberry Pi zip file...
- Create a directory in roms/pico-8 called aarch64
- Upload the pico8_64 and pico8.dat from the Raspberry Pi zip to this directory (you do not need any other files)

/roms/pico-8/
    ├─ x86_64/
    │   ├─ pico8_dyn
    │   ├─ pico8.dat
    ├─ aarch64/
    │   ├─ pico8_64
    │   ├─ pico8.dat
    └─ Splore.png

Playing a game

Once the above is set up is you have 2 options for playing games through Pico-8's native engine:

Using Splore
- Splore is awesome as it allows you to browse and play the entire library of user created games with an internet connection.
- To use this method simply launch Splore from the gamelist.
- Note that you will need an internet connection to browse the pico-8 BBS (If you don't have an internet connection you can still use it to launch games you have downloaded previously)
- To exit a game and return to EmulationStation you can either (1) press the ++"START"++ button while highlighting a game in Splore then selecting Options > Shutdown or (2) Press ++"L1"++ + ++"SELECT"++ + ++"START"++
Through .png or .p8 files added directly roms/pico-8 or roms/pico-8/carts
- Browse the list of games (aka. "Carts") on Lexaloffle's website
- Download the .png or .p8 file for any game you are interested in playing and upload it to either roms/pico-8 or roms/pico-8/carts
  - roms/pico-8 is recommended if you want to have your games show up directly when you open the Pico-8 system in ES
  - roms/pico-8/carts is recommended if you plan to use Splore directly and also want to see your downloaded carts in the Splore interface.
- Refresh EmulationStation by pressing ++"START"++ to open the Main Menu then select Game Settings > Update Gamelists.
- You should now be able to launch the game by selecting it from the gamelist.
- To exit a game and return to EmulationStation you can either (1) press the ++"START"++ button then selecting Options > Shutdown or (2) Press ++"L1"++ + ++"SELECT"++ + ++"START"++

Option 2: Running through RetroArch Fake-08

!!! warning "Fake-08 does not support all the native features of Pico-8 so its not guaranteed that every game will work with it."

Set the default emulator for Pico-8 to Fake-08
Browse the list of games (aka. "Carts") on Lexaloffle's website
Download the .png file for any game you are interested in playing and upload it to roms/pico-8
Refresh EmulationStation by pressing ++"START"++ to open the Main Menu then select Game Settings > Update Gamelists.
You should now be able to launch the game by selecting it from the gamelist.

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