Still Programming the Commodore 64: Building the Game Cave Diver 2 – The Sequel Step by Step Book 2

Build a Complete Commodore 64 Game in Assembly

If you’ve ever wanted to create a full game for the Commodore 64 using 6502 assembly language, Still Programming the Commodore 64 is the hands-on guide you’ve been looking for. Written by Jens Christian Ingvartsen Thomsen, this second volume in the Commodore 64 assembly programming series walks you through every step of building Cave Diver 2 – The Sequel, a scrolling action game with sprites, sound, and interactive gameplay.

What You’ll Create

You’ll start by setting up a project in CBM Prg Studio and then build the game piece by piece:

• Design a large 100 x 100 character multicolor map with CharPad
• Create and animate player sprites
• Read joystick input for smooth movement
• Shoot bullets and handle collisions
• Manage lives and pickup prisoners
• Scroll around the game world
• Add music and sound effects
• Optionally add an enemy that can be shot (with optimization tips)

Learn by Doing

The book is structured as a practical coding journey. Each chapter builds on the previous one, and the author explains his reasoning while providing plenty of commented code. You don’t need to understand every line immediately—the full final code is listed later in the book for reference. The add-on enemy section encourages you to experiment and optimize on your own.

Who This Book Is For

Whether you’re returning to retro computing or diving into 6502 assembly for the first time, this guide assumes some familiarity with basic assembly concepts but not necessarily C64 game development. The clear, project-oriented approach makes it accessible to hobbyists and programmers who want to see a complete game come together.

With a foreword by John Dale aka OldSkoolCoder, this book captures the spirit of typing in games from magazines—but now you’ll understand every line you write. 🕹️