Socrates: An Open-World Philosophical Adventure in Ancient Athens

Devlog

• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #25: Game Manual
  May 25, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Manual, #Game Manual, #Cover Art, #Art, #Artwork, #Quick Reference, #Quick Reference Guide, #Reference, #Reference Guide, #Back Cover, #Front Cover

  Work on our "Socrates" game manual continues! I hope folks are enjoying the transparency and the window into our development process! Each new page of the manual is presenting its own challenges, but... Continue reading

  
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #24: Manual Cover Art & Game Map
  May 22, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A Cartridge, #TI-99/4A Cartridges, #Canva, #Game Map, #Game Manual, #Manual, #Artwork, #Art, #Manual Cover, #Game Development, #Game Dev, #Publishing, #Retro, #Retrocomputing, #Retro Game, #Retro Games

  We're in the process of creating various assets for the "Socrates" cartridge manual. Yesterday we created an updated version of the manual front cover artwork and the first version of the game map to... Continue reading

  
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #23: Creating a Cartridge Binary (BIN) File
  May 14, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Cartridge, #BIN, #Binary File, #BIN File, #ROM, #Cartridge ROM, #Compiling, #Compiler, #XB Compiler, #MAKECART8, #MAKECARTG, #MAKECART, #Compiled BASIC, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #BASIC Game, #BASIC Games, #Retrocomputing, #Retro, #Retro Games, #Retro Game

  Yesterday we reached quite a milestone: We were able to create a TI-99/4A cartridge ROM/BIN file from the current build of our "Socrates" game, making it loadable and playable as a cartridge both in a... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #22: Delay Loop Timing, Sound Effects, and Compiling
  May 11, 2026 by Spark Gap Games

  Yesterday we made some additional tweaks and adjustments to delay timing and sound effects in the compiled version of our “Socrates” game. The compiling process is running smoothly now, and the co... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #21: Experimenting with XB256 and the XB Compiler
  May 08, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #XB256, #XB Compiler, #Compiler, #Compiling, #Assembly, #Assembly Language, #Retro, #Retrocomputing, #Game Development, #Game Dev, #User-Defined Functions, #DEF, #TI

  Yesterday we experimented with better control of our time delay loops using the DELAY routine in XB256 and with using the XB Compiler to create an assembly-language version of our "Socrates" game. We... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #20: Finishing Touches (SFX, Title Screen, NPCs)
  May 01, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #XB, #BASIC, #BASIC Game, #BASIC Games, #Retro, #Retro Game, #Retro Games, #Retrocomputing, #Game Development, #Game Dev, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Plato, #Plato's Dialogues, #NPC, #NPCs, #Sound Effects, #SFX, #Title Screen, #Finishing Touches

  Yesterday's programming session was all about putting finishing touches on our TI Extended BASIC "Socrates" game: NPC spawning order, title screen text alignment, dialog icon sound effects, etc. We're... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #19: Player Input Routine Fix & Title Screen Music
  April 28, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #XB, #Retrocomputing, #Retro, #Seikilos Epitaph, #Player Input, #Player Movement, #Title Screen, #Music, #Title Screen Music, #Game Development, #Game Dev

  On Sunday we worked on improving the player input routine in our TI Extended BASIC “Socrates” game. We also managed to squeeze in some new title screen music, a slightly modified version of the Se... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #18: Dialog Spacing and Color Scheme Adjustments
  April 27, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #XB, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Color Scheme, #Color Schemes, #Dialog, #Plato, #Plato's Dialogues, #Open World, #Open-World Game, #Open-World Games, #Edutainment, #Educational Game, #Educational Games, #Athens, #Ancient Athens, #Retrocomputing, #Retro

  This week we spent a lot of time doing some polishing on our TI Extended BASIC "Socrates" game, mainly cleaning up the dialog spacing and adjusting the room color schemes. Our to-do list is getting mu... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #17: More NPC Placement, Dialog Spacing, Room Colors
  April 20, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #XB, #NPC, #NPCs, #Text Wrapping, #Dialog, #Plato, #Plato's Dialogues, #Retro, #Retrocomputing

  Yesterday we finished positioning the NPCs in the remaining map screens in our TI Extended BASIC "Socrates" game, rewrote the dialog typing-effect routine, and began editing the dialog lines to improv... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #16: NPC Positioning and Room Colors
  April 17, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #Retro, #Retrocomputing, #Retro Gaming, #NPC, #NPCs, #Color Scheme, #Colors, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #XB, #BASIC, #BASIC Game, #BASIC Games

  We've begun adjusting the positions and colors of the various NPCs and interlocutors in our Extended BASIC "Socrates" game, a slow process. Despite the minimalist aesthetic, the arrangement of each ro... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #15: Completed Dialogs Counter & Improved Title Screen
  April 13, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #XB, #Title Screen, #Dialog, #Dialog Engine, #Plato, #Plato's Dialogues, #Variables, #Variable Names, #Memory, #Memory Management, #GameDev, #Game Dev, #Game Development

  Yesterday we added the "Completed Dialogs" counter display into our "Socrates" game, which gives a much better sense of progress and direction to the game, and we somehow managed to squeeze in some im... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #14: Endgame Map Screens and Drinking the Hemlock
  April 10, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #XB, #Endgame, #Apology, #Crito, #Phaedo, #Hemlock, #Plato, #Plato's Dialogues, #Dialog

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #14: Endgame Map Screens and Drinking the Hemlock Yesterday we worked on the endgame sequencing in our Extended BASIC "Socrates" game, including gating/loc... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #13: Locked Doors & Solid NPCs
  April 08, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #NPCs, #NPC, #Doors, #Locked Doors, #Game Development, #Game Dev, #Memory Management, #Memory, #TI

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #13: Locked Doors & Solid NPCs Yesterday I did some solo work on our "Socrates" game, adding locked doors for the courtroom and prison cell to keep players... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #12: Dialog, Code Consolidation, and Title Screen
  April 07, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#TI-99/4A, #TI, #Texas Instruments, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Retrocomputing, #Retro, #Retro Programming, #Dialog, #Code Consolidation, #Title Screen, #Memory, #Plato, #Plato's Dialogues

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #12: Dialog, Code Consolidation, and Title Screen Our "Socrates" game is coming together nicely. This week we added the majority of the dialog, started imp... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #11: Dialog Engine
  April 05, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Dialog Engine, #Dialog, #Open World, #Open-World Game, #Open-World Games

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #11: Dialog Engine Work continues on our open-world Extended BASIC “Socrates” game. On Sunday we created a working dialog engine allowing Socrates to i... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #10: Populating the Map with NPCs
  April 01, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #NPC, #NPCs, #Open World, #Open-World Game, #Edutainment, #Educational Game, #Educational Games, #Plato, #Plato's Dialogues

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #10: Populating the Map with NPCs Still more progress on our Extended BASIC "Socrates" game in TI Extended BASIC: This week we populated the relevant map s... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #9: Adding NPCs to Map Screens
  March 23, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #NPC, #NPCs, #Educational Game, #Educational Games, #Edutainment, #Exploration Game, #Exploration Games, #Open World, #Open-World Game, #Open-World Games, #Retro, #Retro Game, #Retro Games, #Retrocomputing, #Game Development, #Game Dev, #Memory Management

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #9: Adding NPCs to Map Screens Yesterday we worked on creating an NPC engine in our TI-99/4A “Socrates” game, allowing us to place up to eight NPC char... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #8: Text Box, Map Updates, and Bug Fixes
  March 20, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Retro, #Retro Games, #BASIC Game, #BASIC Games, #WASD, #Keyboard Control, #Joystick Control, #Bug Fixes, #Bug Fixing, #Text Box, #Player Movement, #Dialog Box, #Athens, #Ancient Athens, #Plato, #Screen Border

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #8: Text Box, Map Updates, and Bug Fixes We made more progress on our "Socrates" game yesterday. We changed the size of the play area to accommodate a new... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #7: Building Our Map of Ancient Athens
  March 16, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Retro, #Retro Game, #Retro Games, #Retrocomputing, #Map Engine, #Athens, #Ancient Athens, #Map Building, #Educational Game, #Educational Games, #Exploration Game, #Open World, #Open-World Game

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #7: Building Our Map of Ancient Athens... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #6: Improved Player Movement and Map Building
  March 14, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Open-World Game, #Open World, #Player Movement, #Movement, #TI, #Athens, #Ancient Athens, #Map Building, #Map

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #6: Improved Player Movement and Map Building... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #5: Map Engine with DATA and READ Statements
  March 09, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Retro, #Retrocomputing, #Map Engine, #DATA Statements, #READ Statements, #Socrates, #Socrates Game, #Educational Game, #Educational Games, #Exploration Game, #Exploration Games, #Adventure Game, #Adventure Games, #Edutainment, #Athens, #Ancient Athens, #Ancient Greece, #Greece, #Greek

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #5: Map Engine with DATA and READ Statements... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #4: Greek Wall Tiles Design
  March 03, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI994A, #TI Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #TI, #Retro, #Greek Wall Tiles, #Greek, #Athens, #Ancient Athens, #Socrates, #Socrates Game

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #4: Greek Wall Tiles Design... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #3: Preventing Movement Through Walls
  February 28, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #TI-99/4A, #Texas Instruments, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Open World, #Open-World Game, #Map Engine

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #3: Preventing Movement Through Walls... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #2: Screen Borders and Color Scheme
  February 21, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #BASIC, #Open World, #Open-World Game, #Ancient Athens, #Athens, #Retro, #Retro Game Development, #Adventure, #Adventure Game, #Plato

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #2: Screen Borders and Color Scheme... Continue reading
• TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #1: Player Movement and Map System
  February 20, 2026 by Spark Gap Games#Socrates, #Texas Instruments, #TI-99/4A, #BASIC, #TI Extended BASIC, #Extended BASIC, #Open World, #Player Movement, #Map System

  TI-99/4A: "Socrates" Game Development Devlog #1: Player Movement and Map System... Continue reading