Atari 2600 Programming Page

Updated June 26, 2006 Converted to use CSS for some reason. Fixed a few dead links, many more to go.

Updated August 4, 2002 - Getting rid of the Intro page, in favor of putting 2600 101 at the top of the Docs page.

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The Atari 2600 is one of the simplest video game systems ever invented, yet it is one of the most complicated for which to program. Even the simplest games have required programmers to write tight code to fit in the 4K of address space, fast code to account for many timing considerations, and smart code to squeeze as much as possible out of the primitive TIA chip. For this reason, very few new Atari 2600 games have come out despite the availability of the Supercharger and all of the development tools designed to work with it.

The items of most probable interest in this site are probably Piero Cavina's Oystron, a relatively new and completely home-brewed Atari 2600 game, and Playbin for the Commodore 64, which brings the world of 2600 development to those who are most familiar with the 6502 and raster tricks of all kinds.

• Introduction to Atari 2600 Programming: A quick overview of what you'll need to know in order to tame the TIA.
• Programming Tools: Compilers, converters, disassemblers and emulators. For Commodore 64/128, DOS, Amiga, Mac, and Linux.
• Disassembled Games: See some of your favorite Atari games as you've never seen them before.
• Homebrewed Games: New games and demos programmed by hobbyists in the last few years.
• Technical Documents: Manuals and how-to files regarding the intricate details of the 2600's hardware.
• VCS Links: Mine isn't the only page out there with useful information.
• Miscellaneous Links: Links related to, but not pertaining to VCS programming.

Next: Tools

Note: This page does not mention Archimedes Plutonium.

© 1997-2001 Nick Bensema