Space 8
PICO-8 Arcade Delivery Shooter
Space 8 is a PICO-8 arcade survival shooter. Outlast hazardous rounds, scoop credits, and invest in ship upgrades to push into an endlessly escalating field of comets, asteroids, alien gunners, and black holes—every run ends, and your score is the story.
Space 8 is a PICO-8 arcade survival shooter built under fantasy console constraints (128×128 resolution, 16-color palette, strict token limits). It began as my entry to the Pioneer Valley PICO Jam 2025 and has grown through successive updates since. You survive hazardous rounds, earn credits, and invest in ship upgrades to push deeper into escalating sectors—then reach a Station, spend wisely, and see how long you can outlast the field.
The v3.0 release reframes the run as the whole game: difficulty climbs forever past round 12, ramping both speed and density until the world finally outpaces you. Risk–reward centers on deciding when to farm hazards versus retreating to upgrade. Color-varied comets, fragmenting asteroids, lingering alien gunners, and field-devouring black holes—plus tiered real-time credit drops—reinforce economy decisions and precise positioning.
Core Upgrades
- Fire Rate
- Shield
- Spread Shot
- Hull+
- Repair
- Thrusters
- Shield Shock
v3.0 Highlights
- Endless escalation: speed and density climb forever past round 12—every run ends
- Popcorn alien gunners that linger like turrets and fire aimed bursts
- Reworked black holes that drag in your ship, hazards, debris, coins, and bullets
- New Bomb (screen-clearing shockwave) and Magnet power-ups
- Tiered bronze / silver / gold credit coins with animated sprites
- Redrawn 16×16 ship with banking lean, twin exhaust, and a 5×5 hitbox
- Round Clear summary screen, screen shake, and a remastered HUD
v2.0 Architecture & Foundations
- Multicart build: gameplay cart plus menu/persistence cart
- Easy / Normal / Veteran difficulty tiers
- Per-difficulty persistent leaderboards
- Breakable comets that drop power-ups
- Real-time money drops for clearer economy feedback
Gameplay & UI Screenshots
Stages of a v3.0 run: title, difficulty tiers, the in-game guide, early and mid intensity, the Station and upgrade shop, the Round Clear summary, leaderboards, and game over.
Title Screen 
Difficulty Tiers 
In-Game Guide 
Early Gameplay 
Mid Gameplay 
The Station 
Upgrade Shop 
Round Clear Summary 
Leaderboards 
Game Over
Space 8 Asset Pack
Free downloadable asset pack
A compact, hand-crafted PICO-8 space asset pack featuring hazards, pickups, UI icons, FX, planets, and more!
All visuals were crafted within PICO-8 constraints; limitations guided deliberate pixel choices and readable motion silhouettes. Original chiptune soundtrack created entirely in the built-in sound editor; particle effects accent collisions and pickups.