awesome-8bitgamedev
github.com/sehugg/awesome-8bitgamedev ↗A curated list of awesome resources for 8-bit retro game development
Use this list with your AI agent
Add the Context Awesome MCP server to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client, then ask:
"Show me sinclair resources from awesome-8bitgamedev"
Installation instructions →What's inside
Home Computers
- 16K/48K ZX Spectrum ReferenceSinclair
- 2513Apple I
- accurately reproducing the Video Output of a Commodore C64Commodore 64
- Acorn Atom Technical ManualAcorn
- Altirra Hardware Reference ManualAtari 8-bit
- ANTIC, GTIA and timing infoAtari 8-bit
BASIC
Hardware
- 6502/6510 Maths6502
- 6502 instruction set6502
- 6502.org Tutorials6502
- Apple2fpga: Reconstructing an Apple II+ on an FPGAFPGA/HDL
- ATARI PONG E CIRCUIT ANALYSIS & LAWN TENNIS: BUILDING A DIGITAL VIDEO GAME WITH 74 SERIES TTL IC’s.FPGA/HDL
A detailed analysis of the PONG circuits by Dr. H. Holden.
- AY-3-8910 DatasheetAY-3-8910
Datasheet for the programmable sound generator.
Misc.
- 8bit-tools
Command-line tools that go along with 8bitworkshop books
- Lou's Psuedo-3D Page
How to draw 3-D roads
- The Digital Antiquarian
Jimmy Maher's blog on the history of computer games and the platforms they ran on
Development Tools
- 8bitworkshopIDEs
An online batteries-included IDE targeting home consoles, home computers, arcade games, and Verilog hardware design.
- 8bitworkshop for VS CodeIDEs
The 8bitworkshop IDE as a VS Code extension, with bundled toolchains, emulators, and a debugger.
- ACMEAssemblers
A 6502/65C02/65816 cross-assembler popular for C64 development.
- ASM6Assemblers
6502 assembler primarily targeted at NES/Famicom development.
- BASIC8IDEs
A fantasy console supporting a BASIC-like language.
- batariBASICCompilers
BASIC programming for Atari 2600 systems.
Books
- 8bitworkshop Books
Books that go along with the
- Retro Game Dev: C64 Edition
Using modern tools, this introductory book guides you through all the elements required to make two mini games: a space shooter and a platformer, and run them on an emulator or real C64 hardware. Uses CBM prg Studio (Windows IDE)
Home Consoles
- AFP MP-1000 ProgrammingAFP MP-1000
AFP/6800 programming tools for Windows, and documentation.
- Atari 2600 Advanced Programming GuideAtari 2600
Paul Slocum compiled this list of Atari 2600 programming techniques, including an HMOVE timing chart. Also see this
- AtariAge Odyssey 2 Programming ThreadMagnavox Odyssey²
Starting point for programming the Intel 8048 and 8244 VDC.
- Bally AlleyBally Astrocade
An archive of all things Bally Astrocade.
- BJARS Atari ArchivesAtari 2600
Steve Engelhardt's site full of homebrew, hacks, online tools, references, and disassembled code.
- ColecoVision.dkColecoVision
Tools and homebrew source code.
Open-Source BIOSs
- Altirra
Contains Atari 8-bit compatible ROM and BASIC interpreter.
- apple2go
The Apple][Go ROM is a public domain Apple ][ replacement ROM that is capable of running most games not requiring Applesoft. This ROM was written in 2006 by Marc Ressl specifically for use with the Apple][Go Emulator
- CBIOS
A BSD-licensed MSX BIOS written from scratch by BouKiCHi (no cassette/disk/BASIC yet)
- open-roms
A project to create unencumbered open-source ROMs for use on selected retro computers
Showing a sample of 177 resources. View the full list on GitHub →