Voxatron
Comments
dang
galleywest200
I recommend the Picotron, their newest fantasy software. It is a full fantasy workstation. It has no upper limit on game size and can export native binaries for the big three OSes. You could, in theory, publish a full game with it.
jperoutek
I remember playing this probably 10-12 years ago with Minecraft's creator Notch donated a bunch of money to their HumbleBundle campaign. It was pretty early alpha back then, and it seems like the main pivot has been to make it more of a platform for user-created games, rather than a game itself. Interesting!
avaer
Is it a game, a console, or collection of games? Because the main page and FAQ say different things.
It's probably all of the above; can empathize with pitching something as unconventional as this. But it might make for a stronger presentation if there was a single framing throughout the site.
lynndotpy
You're right, it is confusing. I wrote a whole comment and deleted it because I thought I knew what it was.
Pico-8 is a fantasy console, and Picotron is a workstation for that console.
Voxatron is a (1) fantasy console and (2) a collection of games but also (3) a game with (4) a game named "Voxatron Story" set in the (5) Voxatron Universe (??)
I played around with this years ago but I do not know where I purchased it so I can't say more. I remember playing around a bit but I don't remember Voxatron Story or anything else of that matter, only the cartridges.
egypturnash
It started as a game, and grew into a fantasy console.
It's by the same person who created pico-8, if you're familiar with that.
tombert
I bought the Humble Bundle for this in like 2011, and I played it a bit, but I ended up having a lot more fun with the included Pico-8 that came a bit later.
I think primarily I just found it a lot more approachable than anything else.
onemoresoop
I love PICO-8 too. There are so many games, and they’re all free to play, with the source code available to explore or modify. Games are also reltively easily published online. Some PICO-8 games are genuine works of art. I’m always impressed by how creative people become when working within tight constraints. I wish I’d had something like this when I was a kid. I always recommend Pico-8 to like minded folks, sometimes kids.
cptskippy
I think it was 2013, I bought the same Humble Bundle. It's still in Alpha...
azhenley
Years ago I had hoped Voxatron and voxel-ish games inspired by it would have taken off more. I wonder why it hasn't saturated the indie game scene more.
luckydata
that website is doing itself no favor. I could read the whole thing and still didn't fully understand what they are selling.
socalgal2
> Voxatron is a fantasy console and collection of games made entirely out of voxels (little colourful cubes, kind of). The Alpha version comes with an arena shooter and action-adventure cartridges as well as powerful design tools to make your own voxelly games.
What part of that is hard to understand?
phist_mcgee
What is a fantasy console? Is this just software? If it's just software, is the fantasy console some kind of meta game or emulator?
It's not clear at all.
Centigonal
It is an emulator for a console that does not exist in real life. People make games for this "console" because they are fun to play and fun to program.
The same developer made PICO-8, which is better known: https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
Razengan
I wonder what came of all the cool voxel engines that were in development by indie devs and teams not long ago..
Maybe that space can be revisited with AI assistance now?
Related. Others?
Vision of the future: Voxatron's high-priced gamble (2013) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11189329 - Feb 2016 (1 comment)
The Humble Voxatron Debut - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3178802 - Oct 2011 (39 comments)
Game Preview: Voxatron - voxel-based, destructible environment, 8bit soundtrack - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2070025 - Jan 2011 (65 comments)