This course includes
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11 hours on-demand video
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Downloadable resources and exercises
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Full lifetime access
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Access on mobile and desktop
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14 day money back guarantee
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Secure checkout through PayPal
Is this course for you?
If you want to learn how to code using Assembly language and understand the fundamental building blocks that make computers tick, then this course is definitely for you.
We use the simple Atari 2600 architecture to investigate how to build games by poking bits and turning simple electrical signals into moving objects in your screen.
What you'll learn
Course overview and structure
This course is a gentle introduction to computer architecture and 6502 assembly language. You'll learn how the 6502/6507 processor communicates with the RAM memory, how the TIA chip controls the display and the sound, and how everything comes together to create simple games for the Atari platform. We'll start with the fundamentals of assembly language, and evolve to create a fully working game. You'll learn how to poke and set game objects in the screen, move them around, manage input events, sound, and collisions. Learning a small architecture like the one inside the Atari 2600 has proven to help students understand more complex machines and become better programmers. Join us, and discover the beauty that resides inside computer systems.
Reviews
★★★★★
by Nicole Durrant
★★★★★
by Bård Baadstø Ildgruben
★★★★★
by Matt Gallagher
★★★★★
by Joseph Girgis
★★★★★
by Gunnar Karlsson
★★★★★
by Henry Llerena
Course Content
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3
Hardware and Architecture
- Hardware and Specs
- Review of Binary and Hexadecimal
- The 6502 Processor
- Processor Status Flags
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4
6502 Assembly Programming
- The Assembler Flow
- Assembly Language(s)?
- Popular 6502 Assembly Instructions
- List of 6502 Opcodes
- Picking a Code Editor
- 6502 Assembly Syntax Highlight Resources
- Our First Assembly Code
- Clean Memory (Source Code)
- The DASM Assembler
- DASM Assembler Download Link
- Installing DASM under Windows
- The Stella Emulator
- Stella Emulator Links
- The Javatari Emulator
- Javatari Emulator Links
- Our First Assembly Bug
- Clean Memory Fixed (Source Code)
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5
VCS Memory Map and the TIA
- VCS Memory Map
- colorbg.zip
- Memory Map and Page Zero
- Painting the CRT
- rainbow.zip
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6
Screen Objects
- TIA Screen Objects
- Playfield Graphics
- playfieldborder.zip
- Playfield Registers Helper
- Playfield (Exercise)
- Player Bitmap and Scoreboard
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7
Vertical and Horizontal Positioning
- Vertical Positioning
- verticalposition.zip
- Horizontal Positioning
- horizontalposition.zip
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8
Controller Input
- Joystick Input
- joystickinput.zip
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9
Subroutines, Stack, and Pointers
- Subroutines and Hardware Stack
- Pointers
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10
Putting it All Together
- The "Bomber" Game
- bomber-01.zip
- Adding Player Sprites
- bomber-02.zip
- Horizontal Position and Input
- bomber-03.zip
- Generating Random Values
- bomber-04.zip
- Random Numbers Activity
- Collision Check
- Adding Scoreboard and Timer Digits
- bomber-05.zip
- Sound Registers
- Bomber (final version)
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11
Conclusion and Next Steps
- Next Steps
- Moving Forward
Instructor
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Senior Lecturer
Gustavo Pezzi
Gustavo teaches computer science and mathematics at BPP University, London. He researches how teaching game programming can help enhance awareness and understanding of mathematics and physics. He is also a professional software engineer with more than 10 years of experience, with an industry background in 3D systems, games, web systems, databases, and data science. His academic path includes institutions such as Pittsburg State University, City University of London, and University of Oxford.
