Tic-tac-toe with a twist!
Test your reflexes in a game of tic-tac-toe where time runs out faster and faster after each round! Challenge a friend or fight against a CPU that gets more intelligent with every move!
Instructions
- Move your cursor with the D-pad/arrow keys (E/S/D/F keys for player 2).
- Mark your space with the Z/X keys (A/Q for player 2).
- The faster you make your move, the more points you get. The bar in the bottom of the screen shows how much time you have left.
- In VS CPU mode, the skill of the CPU opponent goes up with every round. The bar in the right side of the screen shows how good the AI has gotten.
- In VS CPU mode, game's over when the CPU wins, or when the time runs out before you made a move.
- In P1 VS P2 mode, game's over when one of the players gets three in a row, or when they fail to make a move before running out of time.
- The higher your score, the better the rank you're awarded!
Fight your way to the S++ or PERFECT-MAX ranks! (is it even possible?)
Graphics
This game is mostly an excuse to explore making cool graphics on the PICO-8. Some of the graphical effects include:
- An arcade-style intro/attract screen.
- Vector graphics for the title screen and game marks (X's and O's).
- A couple of demoscene-like effects as game backdrop.
- A funky text printing routine called "locoprint", used in the game over screen.
Notes
My first PICO-8 game! As many people have already discovered over the years, working on PICO-8 games is extremely rewarding and fun. Making a flashy, 16-bit arcade style title screen was my favorite part. Future improvements include adding a full-on attract mode with built-in tutorial. Sound and graphics seem to be more in sync when playing on a non-browser instance of PICO-8. Let me know what you think!
Despite it being Tic-Tac-Toe, it's actually kind of interesting. You have the opportunity to go first and you have can choose the center.
The game goes until you lose a single round, then your score is tallied. While you may win most rounds eventually you are going to make a mistake and that's when it's game over.
Neat 3D terrain as well. Reminds me of the opening to Disney's Black Hole.
Nicely done, @dansggg. Gold star.
Thanks for the review @dw817 !
I like the comparison with Black Hole :D There's a second background that alternates with the grid effect after each round and I'm looking to add a third one for more variety.
Ow, got me. My score at 5323, @dansggg. Loving the background music too.
I can't think of anything more to add. It's a great game and one to challenge the brain in higher levels.
its a real good game i say it should be on Steam or other video game platforms :).
The devs have done the impossible; made tic tac tow actually interesting!
Bumping to announce the 2P version is almost done! It should be a fun addition. I'll update the top post once it's ready.
Also, I'm beginning to notice some slowdowns mid-game even though the performance monitor shows the CPU at less than 60% most of the time. I wonder if it's the garbage collector doing its thing, since I haven't been too careful about allocating new objects (a conscious decision - I wanted to take the functional paradigm to the extreme and see how it turned out).
If anyone reading this has any complaints regarding performance please let me know!
Hadn't seen this cart before. It's good fun and extremely well presented. Didn't notice any slow-down mid game (running in browser)
Two-player mode now available! Grab a friend, pet or other family member and challenge them to a game of weird tic-tac-toe!
Anyone who tries the game, please let me know what you think!
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