TIC-80 is a free and open source fantasy computer for making, playing and sharing tiny games.
With TIC-80 you get built-in tools for development: code, sprites, maps, sound editors and the command line, which is enough to create a mini retro game.
Games are packaged into a cartridge file, which can be easily distributed. TIC-80 works on all popular platforms. This means your cartridge can be played in any device.
To make a retro styled game, the whole process of creation and execution takes place under some technical limitations: 240x136 pixel display, 16 color palette, 256 8x8 color sprites, 4 channel sound, etc.
- Multiple programming languages: Lua, Moonscript, Javascript, Ruby, Wren, Fennel, Squirrel, Janet, and Python.
- Games can have mouse and keyboard as input
- Games can have up to 4 controllers as input (with up to 8 buttons, each)
- Built-in editors: for code, sprites, world maps, sound effects and music
- An additional memory bank: load different assets from your cartridge while your game is executing
- Moderated community
You can download compiled versions for the major operating systems directly from our releases page.
Can be downloaded from nightly builds page or from the Github Actions page.
To help support TIC-80 development, we have a PRO Version.
This version has a few additional features and binaries can only be downloaded on our Itch.io page.
For users who can't spend the money, we made it easy to build the pro version from the source code: (cmake .. -DBUILD_PRO=On)
- Save/load cartridges in text format, and create your game in any editor you want, also useful for version control systems.
- Even more memory banks: instead of having only 1 memory bank you have 8.
- Export your game without editors, and then publish it to app stores.
You can play and share games, tools and music at https://tic80.com/play.
The community also hangs out and discusses on Telegram or Discord.
You can contribute by reporting a bug or requesting a new feature on our issues page. Keep in mind when engaging on a discussion to follow our Code of Conduct.
You can also contribute by reviewing or improving our wiki. The wiki holds TIC-80 documentation, code snippets and game development tutorials.
- install
Visual Studio 2017 - install
git - install
Ruby(you can use RubyInstaller) - run following commands in
cmd
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake -G "Visual Studio 15 2017 Win64" ..
- open
TIC-80.slnand build - enjoy :)
- install
mingw-w64(http://mingw-w64.org) and add.../mingw/binpath to the System Variables Path - install
git - install
cmake(https://cmake.org) - install
Ruby(you can use RubyInstaller) - run following commands within a
mingw64context, for example within a MingW64 shell
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake -G "MinGW Makefiles" ..
mingw32-make -j4
Run the following commands from a terminal:
# Need to install the latest CMake from https://apt.kitware.com/
test -f /usr/share/doc/kitware-archive-keyring/copyright ||
wget -O - https://apt.kitware.com/keys/kitware-archive-latest.asc 2>/dev/null | gpg --dearmor - | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/kitware-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
echo 'deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/kitware-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.kitware.com/ubuntu/ jammy main' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kitware.list >/dev/null
sudo apt-get update
test -f /usr/share/doc/kitware-archive-keyring/copyright ||
sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/kitware-archive-keyring.gpg
sudo apt-get install kitware-archive-keyring
sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install build-essential cmake git libpipewire-0.3-dev libwayland-dev libsdl2-dev ruby-dev libglvnd-dev libglu1-mesa-dev freeglut3-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake -DBUILD_SDLGPU=On -DBUILD_STUB=On .. --fresh && cmake --build . --parallel
Install with Install instructions
Run the following commands from a terminal:
sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install build-essential cmake git libpipewire-0.3-dev libwayllrubland-dev libsdl2-dev ruby-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libglvnd-dev libglu1-mesa-dev freeglut3-dev
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake -DBUILD_SDLGPU=On -DBUILD_STUB=On .. --fresh && cmake --build . --parallel
Install with Install instructions
run the following commands in the Terminal
sudo pacman -S cmake ruby mesa libglvnd glu
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake ..
make -j4
run the following commands in the Terminal
sudo dnf -y groupinstall "Development Tools" "Development Libraries"
sudo dnf -y install ruby rubygem-{tk{,-doc},rake,test-unit} cmake libglvnd-devel libglvnd-gles freeglut-devel clang libXext-devel SDL_sound pipewire-devel pipewire-jack-audio-connection-kit-devel pulseaudio-libs-devel
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ -DSDL_ALSA=On
make -j4
Install with Install instructions
Run the following commands from a terminal:
sudo dnf -y groupinstall "Development Tools" "Development Libraries"
sudo dnf -y install ruby-devel rubygem-rake cmake clang pipewire-devel SDL2-devel SDL2_sound-devel SDL2_gfx-devel wayland-devel libXext-devel pipewire-jack-audio-connection-kit-devel pipewire-jack-audio-connection-kit-devel pulseaudio-libs-devel rubygems-devel libdecor-devel libdrm-devel mesa-libgbm-devel esound-devel freeglut-devel
cmake -DBUILD_SDLGPU=On -DBUILD_STUB=On .. --fresh
cmake --build . --parallel
Install with Install instructions
Run the following commands from a terminal:
sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install cmake libpipewire-0.3-dev libwayland-dev libsdl2-dev ruby-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake -DBUILD_SDLGPU=On -DBUILD_STUB=On .. --fresh && cmake --build . --parallel 2
Install with Install instructions
First, add jessie-backports repo to your /etc/apt/sources.list
deb [check-valid-until=no] http://archive.debian.org/debian jessie-backports main
Then run the following commands in the Terminal
# required public keys
gpg --keyserver pgpkeys.mit.edu --recv-key 8B48AD6246925553
gpg -a --export 8B48AD6246925553 | sudo apt-key add -
gpg --keyserver pgpkeys.mit.edu --recv-key 7638D0442B90D010
gpg -a --export 7638D0442B90D010 | sudo apt-key add -
# upgrade system
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
# install software
sudo apt-get install git build-essential ruby-full libsdl2-dev zlib1g-dev
sudo apt-get install -t jessie-backports liblua5.3-dev
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake ..
make -j4
# install software ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS
sudo apt-get install git build-essential ruby-full libsdl2-dev zlib1g-dev
sudo apt-get install liblua5.3-dev
sudo apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake ..
make -j4
Install with Install instructions
Note: If you are using a normal Raspberry Pi image (not Retropie) you may not
have OpenGL drivers enabled. Run sudo raspi-config, then select 7
for "Advanced Options", followed by 6 for "GL Drivers", and enable "GL
(Fake KMS) Desktop Driver". After changing this setting, reboot.
install Command Line Tools for Xcode and brew package manager
run the following commands in the Terminal
brew install git cmake
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake ..
make -j4
to create application icon for development version
mkdir -p ~/Applications/TIC80dev.app/Contents/{MacOS,Resources}
cp -f macosx/tic80.plist ~/Applications/TIC80dev.app/Contents/Info.plist
cp -f macosx/tic80.icns ~/Applications/TIC80dev.app/Contents/Resources
cat > ~/Applications/TIC80dev.app/Contents/MacOS/tic80 <<EOF
#!/bin/sh
exec /Users/nesbox/projects/TIC-80/build/bin/tic80 --skip --scale 2 >/dev/null
EOF
chmod +x ~/Applications/TIC80dev.app/Contents/MacOS/TIC80dev
Make sure to update the absolute path to the tic80 binary in the script, or update the launch arguments.
run the following commands in the Terminal
sudo pkg install gcc git cmake ruby libglvnd libglu freeglut mesa-devel mesa-dri alsa-lib
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nesbox/TIC-80 && cd TIC-80/build
cmake ..
make -j4
Mesa looks for swrast_dri.so from the wrong path, so also symlink it:
sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/dri/swrast_dri.so /usr/local/lib/dri-devel/
To install run sudo make install -j4
TIC-80 can now be run with tic80
You can find iOS/tvOS version here
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