Commodore 64 Full Game in Assembly Language - Starbraze C64: Build and Customize a C64 Space Shooter in Assembly for the Commodore 64 (code&books) - Softcover

Norton, Eric A.; Sallow, Jorah

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798165292347

Publisher: Independently published, 2026

Synopsis

Previously published as Commodore 64 Full Game in Assembly Language - Starbraze C64 by Eric A. Norton and Jorah Sallow.

Build a complete Commodore 64 arcade shooter on your Windows PC. No original C64 required.

Starbraze takes you from your first working screen to a finished space shooter with three sectors, three bosses and original SID music, written in 6510 assembly language. You write the code on Windows, assemble it with the free 64tass assembler and play the resulting C64 program in VICE, the free Commodore 64 emulator. Every milestone is shown in full color, and all the source code, including the complete game, is available for download.

What you will build: the Starbraze Arcade Edition

• An animated title screen with a choice of music, sound effects or silence
• Multicolor spacecraft with animated engines and directional banking
• Four enemy classes with different appearances and behaviors
• Three sectors, enemy waves and three distinct boss encounters
• Scores, lives, temporary protection and a session high score
• Sector transitions, Game Over, victory and restart screens
• Original SID music with laser, impact and damage effects

Understand the code. Make the game your own.

The game grows through playable milestones, so every group of instructions has a visible result on screen. Guided experiments show which values and routines you can change (ship graphics, movement, weapons, enemy behavior, difficulty and audio), what they depend on, what to check after rebuilding and how to return to a working version when an experiment goes wrong.

What is inside this second edition

• 18 chapters, expanded from the 15 of the first edition
• Progressive explanations and selected assembly listings
• Full-color illustrations and screenshots captured from the running game in VICE
• A glossary and technical index
• All the source code from the book as a downloadable package: the complete assembly project of the finished game, ready to rebuild, and the playable C64 program (.prg). Download instructions are in the book.

What you need

• A Windows PC with the tools used in the book: 64tass, VICE and Python 3, all free, plus Windows PowerShell, included in Windows. Their setup is documented in the book.
• Assembly foundations are introduced from the first chapter, together with the tools. Some familiarity with basic programming concepts is helpful.

Development and testing are documented in VICE in PAL mode. The program has not been tested on original Commodore 64 hardware.

Volume 1 of the C64 Game Manual Series

Every volume presents an original, customizable game and a self-contained project. No previous volume is required.

For retrocomputing enthusiasts and programmers who want to understand how a Commodore 64 game really works, and shape one themselves.

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798165292347
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 258