Question 1

True or false: PICO-8's default palette has exactly 16 colors, and you cannot change them per cartridge.

Accepted Answer

True. PICO-8 uses a fixed 16-color palette globally. You can remap colors using the draw state, but the palette itself is permanent and shared across all cartridges.

Question 2

True or false: PICO-8 was developed by Nintendo as a modern take on the Game Boy development environment.

Accepted Answer

False. PICO-8 was created by independent developer Joseph White (Lexaloffle), not Nintendo. It's a fantasy console, not an official Nintendo product.

Question 3

True or false: You can export PICO-8 games as standalone HTML files that run in any browser.

Accepted Answer

True. PICO-8 exports self-contained HTML5 files that run in modern browsers without the PICO-8 app. They include the player, and Lexaloffle permits free distribution.

Question 4

True or false: PICO-8 was originally created as a tool to teach children how to code in Lua.

Accepted Answer

False. PICO-8 was built by Joseph White for game jams and retro enthusiasts, not specifically for kids. Its simplicity appeals to all ages, but that wasn't the primary goal.

Question 5

True or false: PICO-8 can play music composed in a tracker, but only in 4-channel chiptune format with no samples.

Accepted Answer

True. PICO-8's sound engine uses 4 channels (square, noise, etc.) and lacks sample playback. All music is synthesized live, similar to classic NES-style audio.

Question 6

True or false: PICO-8 games are limited to 32 kilobytes of code, but can use up to 128 kilobytes for graphics.

Accepted Answer

False. PICO-8's entire cartridge, including code, graphics, and sound, is limited to 32KB in total. There is no separate 128KB for graphics.

Question 7

True or false: PICO-8 cartridges can be shared as PNG images that contain the game data hidden in the pixels.

Accepted Answer

False. PICO-8 cartridges are stored as PNG files, but the game data is encoded directly into the image pixels, not hidden—it's a visual representation of the code and assets.

Question 8

True or false: PICO-8 provides 64 bytes of persistent storage for saving game data between sessions.

Accepted Answer

True. PICO-8 allocates 64 bytes of persistent data (persist) that automatically saves when a cartridge is unloaded, useful for high scores or small save states.

PICO-8 Trivia Questions