A PICO-8 demake of the SCUMM engine that powered most of the classic LucasArts adventure games, such as Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion.
SCUMM-8 is a "demake" of the SCUMM engine (which powered most of the classic LucasArts adventure games, such as Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion) for the PICO-8 Fantasy Console, created by Paul Nicholas.
See below for some games powered by SCUMM-8:
Return of the SCUMM | H A L L O W EƎ N | CODE-8 | Perfectly Normal Apartment |
---|---|---|---|
(Play Online) | (Play Online) | (Play Online) | (Play Online) |
While it is heavily "inspired" by the SCUMM engine, it isn't a true replica (for that you'll want good ol' SCUMM-VM). However, SCUMM-8 attempts to stay as true as possible to the original SCUMM command reference.
"Cool, so does that mean I can play those old LucasArts games in PICO-8?!"
Er... no. SCUMM-8 cannot play those original games, just that it is intended to provide similar functionality within the (very limited) world of PICO-8.
"It don't work mate, waited forever and 'Monkey Island' never loaded!"
Wow, really? You still here?! OK, once again. Think of SCUMM-8 as an even more retro "mini-me" version of the classic SCUMM engine. Most of the features are planned, but the experience will be... shall we say... "cut down".
"Got it. . . . so what about 'Day of the Tentacle' then?"
*sigh* . . . "Look behind you! It's a three-headed monkey!" . . . *runs away*
Please see the SCUMM-8 Wiki for details on how to get started creating your own SCUMM-8 game, as well as the the full API reference.
Using Python 3:
python build.py
This will output scumm-8.min.lua, containing the minified engine code which you can copy to your own cart. It will also output new copies of game.p8 and template.p8, which should be committed to the repository.
A big thanks to Aric Wilmunder (ex-LucasArts developer) for sharing valuable SCUMM documentation. Particularly the SCUMM Tutorial (1991), the example room from which was the first room I actually created in SCUMM-8 (minus the cool Sam & Max gfx, of course)
Thanks also to Dan Sanderson for his picotool - specifically his minifying tool (luamin), which enabled me to squeeze MUCH more code under PICO-8's limits.
Shoutout to @PixelArtM, whose PICO-8 mockup inspired me to wonder whether this could actually be pulled off within the virtual console's limits (and then later used SCUMM-8 to make said mockup a reality!)
Some other great SCUMM resources I found along the way include the following:
As you can imagine, this project has taken MANY HOURS of spare time to develop.
So, if this project helped you out (and you're in a position to do so), feel free to buy me a drink! :coffee: :blush: