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Making 8-bit Arcade Games in C (8bitworkshop) Paperback – April 26, 2017

4.3 out of 5 stars 82 ratings

With this book, you'll learn all about the hardware of Golden Age 8-bit arcade games produced in the late 1970s to early 1980s. We'll learn how to use the C programming language to write code for the Z80 CPU.The following arcade platforms are covered:* Midway 8080 (Space Invaders)* VIC Dual (Carnival)* Galaxian/Scramble (Namco)* Atari Color Vector* Williams (Defender, Robotron)We'll describe how to create video and sound for each platform. Use the online 8bitworkshop IDE to compile your C programs and play them right in the browser!
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 26, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1545484759
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1545484753
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.55 x 9 inches
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ 8bitworkshop
  • Best Sellers Rank: #1,613,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 82 ratings

About the author

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Steven Hugg
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Steven Hugg is the author of "Comet Busters!", a popular shareware game for Windows 95. More recently, he created the HeyTell voice messenger app. He's a big fan of retrogaming and the 6502 CPU, and still has his old Apple ][+ computer.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
82 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book well-written and accessible, with plenty of examples to help understand concepts. They appreciate the programming depth, with one customer noting how it explains intricate machine code processes. Customers find the book readable, with one describing it as a fun little info book.

5 customers mention "Accessibility"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's accessibility, with multiple reviews noting its clear explanations and numerous examples. One customer mentions it helped them in interviews.

"Lots of example and different platforms are discuses and all from the early arcade days...." Read more

"...hardware... This is a good book to have, the author does a great job explaining concepts that would otherwise be difficult to understand." Read more

"...This book provides that insight and makes it easy to experiment...." Read more

"...Discussing topics in this book has helped me in interviews, and it is a VERY accessible book to read...." Read more

5 customers mention "Writing style"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, with one customer noting it's written in a fun way and another mentioning it provides hands-on experience with game development.

"The book is well written, just as his last was. The IDE on the other hand is a chore to use...." Read more

"...old arcade games and their hardware, and I am blown away how well this book is written...." Read more

"...books by this Author as they do have decent ratings, and it is written in a fun way." Read more

"...The online tools allow you to write your own code and experiment directly with the web-based emulator or download roms for running emulator locally." Read more

4 customers mention "Programming depth"3 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the programming depth of the book, with one mentioning how it explains intricate machine code processes, while another notes that it's easy to experiment with.

"...This book provides that insight and makes it easy to experiment...." Read more

"...This book goes into depth the intricate processes of machine code and applies it to making awesome arcade games...." Read more

"...No, there's not enough game programming logic in the book. Is it for someone who knows game programming in assembly but doesn't know C?..." Read more

"...This book does a good job getting into the how and why's of the platform before diving into any code...." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one describing it as a fun little info book.

"It’s an interesting read...." Read more

"Fun little info book" Read more

"Good read..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I had fun with this book. But I really think it is because I am in the target audience. I know some assembler but I am not an expert. I work in a language similar to C.

    But most importantly, I have always wanted to know more about the internals of early 80s video games. This book provides that insight and makes it easy to experiment.

    The online tools allow you to write your own code and experiment directly with the web-based emulator or download roms for running emulator locally.
    6 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The book is well written, just as his last was. The IDE on the other hand is a chore to use. The Atari 2600 Emulation worked fantastic, whereas any of the emulations that involve C run terribly slow and force me to reload the page whenever I make slight changes to the code. I tried in both Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. In Firefox the window does not need to be reloaded but instead, fails to provide error notifications and will not run any code. Even the examples will not run. I had none of these problems when running the Atari Emulator.
    6 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I recently got a breadboard and some 8bit processors, naturally i landed on this book while learning what to expect. This book does a good job getting into the how and why's of the platform before diving into any code. Making 8-bit Arcade Games in C Touches on some assembly before abstracting upwards; It's great book overall, if you want to know what goes on deep inside a computer, or if you want to know how to take advantage of limited memory while coding for ancient hardware... This is a good book to have, the author does a great job explaining concepts that would otherwise be difficult to understand.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I have read a lot of books and myself written many web tutorials on similar subject matter trying to demystify old arcade games and their hardware, and I am blown away how well this book is written. This book presents topics in a very accessible way that is downright impressive. I truly believe an arcade hobbyist with just minor programming experience in a high level language like java, javascript, perl, python etc, could pick up this book and understand it.

    I bought this book for the information on the game architectures as I develop hacks for old games and already only after 50 pages I've learned a bunch that I did not know. I have not used the online compiler yet but I look forward to checking that out. Great book!
    10 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    It’s an interesting read. I actually didn’t finish because I enrolled in a course on Udemy Learn Assembly by Making Games for the Atari 2600 by Gustavo Pezzi and pikuma.com. The online course uses the same emulator as this book, along with a couple other cool tools. I just didn’t feel like I was gaining anything applicable by reading the book. I was thinking of trying one of the other books by this Author as they do have decent ratings, and it is written in a fun way.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Android phone and linux desktop user.

    Great book. Very well done. Reads great on my android kindle app but it does not open on kindle cloud in firefox or on a kindle - something about the format. So if you have linux (amazon no longer has a kindle app) and you want a portable copy, order the pdf through the author's website instead.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Solid book. It covers some of the arcade history prior to going into the technical concepts behind the hardware and software.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    As a recent Game Design Graduate this book was an awesome refresher on computer architecture, and organization. This book goes into depth the intricate processes of machine code and applies it to making awesome arcade games. Discussing topics in this book has helped me in interviews, and it is a VERY accessible book to read. I love learning about retro arcade games, and feel it has improved my technical skills and understanding of programming as a whole. Great book!
    20 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Sean Curtin
    3.0 out of 5 stars Just like programming for the Atari 2600 but now in the much more exciting C code.
    Reviewed in Australia on April 25, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Just like the Atari 2600 guide, this is an excellent introduction with more than enough information to get you programming introductory level games. This gets me excited for so many reasons but the main one is that no matter how complex most modern day games get in terms of graphics and sound etc, for me it's always that small crap graphics game with a great idea that wins out Hey just look at the programmers who took a step back and decided to take advantage of classic 8 bit game graphics (Mindcraft) it's huge.

    At the fun level, I believe even games with just sticks and rocks can be fun if everyone gets the idea of the game and has fun. There's the kicker. Make the game fun and exciting. When it's too over the top complex, it fails because few people want that in a game. (I thought Battlecruiser 3000 was amazing back in the day but find anyone that actually saw the joy in that game. Reason? It was too complex and hard to work out.)

    So again 2 stars lost because just like the Atari 2600 programming guide it's all based on a web based development tool not an overview of programming software you can run without a web browser or being connected to the internet. Even that web based IDE was written off line and many programmers don't want to be online when they program. Trust me, there's nothing like being able to go off into the hills, completely off grid and program away in peace without any interruptions.

    Again going from your game being developed and having it burnt to a ROM for the actual arcade machines it's designed to run on, is completely missing. Trust me, it's not finished till it's tested, no emulator can substitute for actual hardware testing. Better to know your game works ALL the way and seamlessly with the actual hardware than to play the 'it worked in the emulator' excuse. No one will be impressed.

    The final point, when writing for a system like the Atari 2600 or an actual arcade machine, your game must run perfectly out of the box with ZERO bugs that can lead to it crashing or causing the user not to be able to use it. This is why I believe it would be a good idea for ALL game programmers to have to write some games for these platforms because it teach them to test and get the code correct before releasing it to the masses. How many games in the last 20 years have you been frustrated if not endlessly ticked off about when you have to download a patch for the game which smells disgracefully of being a complete re-write. To me, this smells of rush to market and that always ends up spelling bad game. It nearly tanked Cyberpunk 2077 for example.

    Well if you fire up an arcade machine and the game simply crashes half way through because it ran fine on your emulator software but for some reason not on the actual REAL LIFE arcade machine, your sunk. You can't declare 'oh that will be fixed in an update patch, just let everyone play it till it crashes.' Nope, that arcade owner will demand a refund and word with players gets around really quickly and it will be avoided.

    Same deal with Atari 2600 games, you sell off 100 cartridges with a bug ridden game then good luck removing the negative stigma now attached with your games and the possibility a gamer will get a dud game they can not fix will again sink you.
  • Martin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Einführung in die Welt der Videospielprogrammierung
    Reviewed in Germany on November 10, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Ein sehr gutes Buch. Es führt in die Welt der Videospielprogrammierung ein.
    Report
  • Mr. A. Mellor
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 7, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is a very well written book, easily readable and entertaining. It does what it says on the cover - shows how to use the C language to program 8 bit arcade games. It goes one important step further. It shows how to do that on classic Arcade hardware platforms, like the ones used for Asteroids, Defender and other 80s cabinets.

    An emulator is provided online for these hardware platforms (so the book says - not yet checked), so you can experiment with writing your own game based on the defender hardware, for example.

    There are a lot of very useful games programming techniques in here as well:

    * fixed point numbers
    * lookup tables for trig functions
    * double buffering
    * racing the beam - avoiding screen flicker
    * Interrupts
    * Driving classic external chips like the AY-3-8910 sound chip and the Atari POKEY chip

    And the book aims at a classics Z80 processor target, using the SDCC compiler. Plenty of advice is given around writing C code while will efficiently map to Z80 instructions.

    Great book. I've really enjoyed reading it.

    I wrote 8 bit games on the ZX Spectrum in the 1980s - for example the RAF Red Arrows flight simulator (co-wrote, at least) - and which this book and dev tools had been available then.
  • Andre
    5.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in retro development
    Reviewed in Brazil on August 14, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Pretty entertaining if you like retro development. Explains how C language works under the hood. I recommend this book and all others of the series.
  • JeanPhi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ce livre est excellent! Transaction Parfaite.
    Reviewed in France on December 4, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    C'est le livre dont j'ai toujours révé d'avoir. Je possedais déjà l'exemple concernant le developpement sur l'Atari 2600 qui est une mine d'or!. Celui ci l'est tout autant!!. Vivement les prochains!!!

    Guys your books are Fantastic!!!... Please publish more!!!!