_    _           _        _       _                 _                  
    / \  | | _____  _( )___   / \   __| |_   _____ _ __ | |_ _   _ _ __ ___ 
   / _ \ | |/ _ \ \/ /// __| / _ \ / _` \ \ / / _ \ '_ \| __| | | | '__/ _ \
  / ___ \| |  __/>  <  \__ \/ ___ \ (_| |\ V /  __/ | | | |_| |_| | | |  __/
 /_/   \_\_|\___/_/\_\ |___/_/   \_\__,_| \_/ \___|_| |_|\__|\__,_|_|  \___|

A Commodore 64 platform game written in 6502 assembly.

About the Project

Alex's Adventre is a personal Commodore 64 game project built from the ground up in assembly language.

The main goal of this project is not just to make a game, but to finally learn how classic 8-bit games were made. Like many people who grew up with machines such as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, I always wanted to understand how games were created at such a low level. Now, much later in life, I am determined to learn how to do it properly.

This project is about:

• Learning 6502 assembly
• Understanding how the Commodore 64 works
• Building a real playable game
• Working directly with memory, sprites, character sets, colours, input, and screen data
• Creating something that feels like it could have existed on a classic 8-bit computer

Game Concept

The game is a single-screen platformer starring Alex.

Alex can:

• Move left and right
• Jump between platforms
• Travel from screen to screen
• Explore different rooms or areas

The game will not use smooth scrolling. Instead, each room will be a fixed screen, similar to many classic platform and adventure games from the 1980s.

When Alex reaches an exit point at the edge of a screen, the next room will load.

Planned Features

• Single-screen platforming
• Room-to-room navigation
• Player sprite movement
• Jumping and gravity
• Collision detection
• Platforms and obstacles
• Collectable items
• Simple enemies or hazards
• Title screen
• Music

Technical Goals

This game will be written in 6502 assembly for the Commodore 64.

Planned technical areas to learn and implement include:

• C64 memory map
• Screen RAM
• Colour RAM
• Character sets
• Hardware sprites
• Joystick input
• Raster timing
• Interrupts
• Sprite collision
• Tile or room data
• Game loops
• Build automation using Kick Assembler
• Testing in the VICE C64 emulator

Development Tools

Current tools:

• Kick Assembler for assembling the code
• VICE / x64sc for emulation and testing
• Sublime Text code editor
• Git for source control
• Ubuntu as the development environment

Author

Created by Seb Pedley.

Acknowledgements

This initial project leans heavily on the work and tutorials of Bård Baadstø Ildgruben.