From nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqrp70zuzk3lqyyyx723gyqlxwy57n6h5rq0ckd8q9araxzmuc6yfqq4l9w6 (nprofile…l9w6) comes a playthrough of the VIC-20 game "Nosferatu" https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@jdyer/114577769075688136
8k.
The game fit in 8k.
I remember fitting my derpy BASIC clones of games like Dig-Dug into 4k (or maybe 16k; can't remember if I had the 16kb expansion by then).
I don't think my CMake build files fit in 8k, even with comments and whitespace stripped. I can't remember the last time I wrote anything complex and useful that fit into 8k. But it can be done.
Nostalgia is a drug I'd like to avoid. The VIC-20 was not great but it was tractable. There's something about working with a hard and small limit on memory - it's challenging in good and bad ways. Limiting your scope, deciding what to cut, where and how to optimize. I don't want to glorify the hack but to put it in perspective. You did what you had to do within the limits of your ability and your hardware. Bloat had a serious cost but so did structure and documentation. I like to think I've retained some of the frugality of thar era but I don't miss unreadable lines of compacted code, everything crammed together like carry-on luggage.
What can you do with 8k? Try it and see.
Cc nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqgpaqvffj4tmy7nu0ygznk6nfkf66ckec0p4vyj24mt4f2s8fvulsxyhujc (nprofile…hujc)
arclight
npub1qs…ty42h
2025-05-28 12:00:28 UTC
Author Public Key
npub1qs2xm72kzfjvv4prrl5xnnnwmnrxk5tk689kusnwa20hsmu6532qfty42hSeen on
wss://relay.ditto.pubPublished at
2025-05-28 12:00:28 UTCEvent JSON
{
"id": "624e92b5a808966f11d69cebe1bfdfb59d952570dde1fc3a4624762e78a448c3",
"pubkey": "04146df9561264c654231fe869ce6edcc66b5176d1cb6e426eea9f786f9aa454",
"created_at": 1748433628,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"p",
"187cf170568fc04210de5450407cce253d3d5e8303f1669c05e8fa616f98d112",
"wss://relay.mostr.pub"
],
[
"p",
"407a062532aaf64f4f8f22053b6a69b275ac5b38786ac24955daea9540e9673f",
"wss://relay.mostr.pub"
],
[
"p",
"77d2b6e37294138a5e05ec354cfacd08b70f9d2d015539ec1642029cbc3d8f2e",
"wss://relay.mostr.pub"
],
[
"p",
"0ec11b8e4b69cd09a5a9659cdc1c49d356e9c953a3aa097ca1361cd48f8297e3",
"wss://relay.mostr.pub"
],
[
"proxy",
"https://oldbytes.space/users/arclight/statuses/114585346251629059",
"activitypub"
],
[
"client",
"Mostr",
"31990:6be38f8c63df7dbf84db7ec4a6e6fbbd8d19dca3b980efad18585c46f04b26f9:mostr",
"wss://relay.mostr.pub"
]
],
"content": "From nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqrp70zuzk3lqyyyx723gyqlxwy57n6h5rq0ckd8q9araxzmuc6yfqq4l9w6 comes a playthrough of the VIC-20 game \"Nosferatu\" https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@jdyer/114577769075688136\n\n8k.\n\nThe game fit in 8k.\n\nI remember fitting my derpy BASIC clones of games like Dig-Dug into 4k (or maybe 16k; can't remember if I had the 16kb expansion by then).\n\nI don't think my CMake build files fit in 8k, even with comments and whitespace stripped. I can't remember the last time I wrote anything complex and useful that fit into 8k. But it can be done.\n\nNostalgia is a drug I'd like to avoid. The VIC-20 was not great but it was tractable. There's something about working with a hard and small limit on memory - it's challenging in good and bad ways. Limiting your scope, deciding what to cut, where and how to optimize. I don't want to glorify the hack but to put it in perspective. You did what you had to do within the limits of your ability and your hardware. Bloat had a serious cost but so did structure and documentation. I like to think I've retained some of the frugality of thar era but I don't miss unreadable lines of compacted code, everything crammed together like carry-on luggage.\n\nWhat can you do with 8k? Try it and see.\n\nCc nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqgpaqvffj4tmy7nu0ygznk6nfkf66ckec0p4vyj24mt4f2s8fvulsxyhujc",
"sig": "f254fc4ba80ebd94375be5c9f6fad26f6a7ac013832c1be56a69301b0c1b5eecf59021151ff0df9ff2611e1aea34a9d8a0b308957a2c8426ef06128c61e7e0e4"
}