C Programming on NCoT Tech

Exploring Terrain Generation Algorithms

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:30:58 +0000

I’m exploring #programming a bunch of #terraingeneration #algorithm, to see how they work and which ones look nice. So far I’ve tried out the Midpoint Displacement and Diamond Square algorithms…

Agon Light Joystick Interface

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 09:30:06 +0000

I’ve built a joystick interface for my Agon Light, using a PCB I found online. This is an improvement on the last time I did this and just stuck wires in the GPIO ports.

Agon Light C Development

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 23:02:43 +0000

How to write code for the Agon Light (and Console8) using C instead of BASIC, under Linux. It might work with WSL2 in Windows, and it might work on a Mac.

Fixing the PC BIOS Boot Screen Recreation

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:48:31 +0000

Thanks to @hobbified on YouTube, making the EPA logo look correct was quite straight forward…

Let's recreate a 90's PC BIOS Boot Screen

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:48:31 +0000

Because why not, it looks simpler than it really is and we’ll get to fall down a rabbit hole trying to draw the Energy Star logo.

Nostalgic DOS Development Part 1 - FreeDOS, DJGPP, RHIDE and other madness.

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 22:06:11 +0000

Come back to a time when 640k was enough, and when a 486 DX2/66 was considered a fast computer. None of this modern multi-core rubbish or branch predicting exploitable nonsense here. Just you, me, DOS and a C compiler.

Nostalgic DOS Development Part 2 - Writing our first programs

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 21:00:34 +0000

This is part two, go read part 1 first.

Nostalgic DOS Development - Setting up the machine

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 20:35:13 +0000

The modern world is far too complex. Software has become piles of APIs stacked on top of each other, running on virtual machines inside browsers. Even the CPUs themselves are too complex for anyone to understand.

Tilemap Game Engine Development - Agon Light C Programming

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 14:32:42 +0000

In this video, I’ll show you how I built a tilemap system from scratch in C for the Agon Light, and integrated it into my existing game engine. Getting the physics engine to handle collisions with the tilemap was no easy task, but I’ll walk you through how I made it work. On top of that, I explore some game design, sketching out ideas for where the game is heading.

Emulation Sucks

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 21:49:37 +0000

… because it’s so realistic you still have to put up with the same problems you had 30 years ago…

Writing a game the hard way - from scratch using C - Part 2

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 18:54:09 +0000

Join me on a journey as I attempt to write a game for my Agon Light using nothing but raw C programming. In this second episode I figure out how to make a very basic 2D rigid body physics system work.

Writing a game the hard way - from scratch using C - Part 1

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Join me on a journey as I attempt to write a game for my Agon Light using nothing but raw C programming. In this first episode I figure out what kind of game to make, look at some shareware games of the past and get a basic game engine working, using nothing but C code – no external game engines or modern development tools.

Stealing the Secrets of the NES - Agon Light Tilemaps in C

Mon, 27 May 2024 15:19:47 +0000

Early computers weren’t powerful enough to draw full-screen moving graphics, so they had to use clever tricks. Let’s explore how Nintendo’s techniques for creating tile-based games on the NES can be applied to modern hardware. Using these methods, I built a scrolling tilemap system for the Agon Light using C programming.

Programming Bitmap Graphics - Agon Light using C

Sun, 12 May 2024 08:22:13 +0000

The end result is a fairly pretty scrolling text routine that demonstrates how to draw multiple bitmaps to the Agon Light’s display using VDP commands.

This builds on my previous Agon Light C Programming video where I explained how the Agon Light’s screen works, and how to draw lines and shapes.

Programming Windows Screensavers - Agon Light Graphics Programming

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 22:30:02 +0000

My aim is not to simply program the Agon Light by cloning the Windows 3.11 screensavers, but to learn how to program the Agon Light at all. Ultimately I want to learn how to program games for the Agon Light.

Programming Language Easter Eggs

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 12:05:16 +0000

Easter eggs are usually hidden inside our games and software, but did you know there are some hidden inside the tools and languages used to make that software? Come with me on a fun Easter diversion while we eat our bodyweight in chocolate, and look at six programming Easter Eggs.

Agon Light Graphics Tests

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 15:30:06 +0000

It’s the Easter holidays and I’ve got two weeks off work. Amongst highly exciting things like weeding the garden and waiting for a new washing machine to be delivered, I’m doing some programming.

Learning how to draw things on the Agon Light

Sat, 02 Mar 2024 15:21:29 +0000

I’ve been having a bit of a play around with my Agon Light, trying to come up with some ideas for a future video. I’ve discovered it has quite a nice 320×240 64 colour video mode that has just enough pixels to be interesting.

Exploring Hardware Hacks: Joystick Integration, Keyboard Inputs, and Debugging with the Agon Light

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 15:13:25 +0000

Dive into the exciting world of DIY hardware hacking. Join in as I explore joystick integration, keyboard inputs, and serial debugging using the versatile Agon Light platform. Delve into the technical intricacies of GPIO pins, assembly language programming, and C compiler usage for low-level development. Discover the power of computational thinking, boolean logic, and UART serial communication as we navigate through hardware interfacing challenges.

Agon Light Joystick Test 1

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:54:18 +0000

I’m working on getting a joystick port working on my Agon Light. They don’t come with joystick ports, but there is a set of GPIO pins that can be read through assembly.

Agon Light C Programming - An Introduction

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 21:15:42 +0000

Instead of bashing away in BASIC, it’s possible to do some coding in C on the Agon Light. Let’s find out how in this introduction to an ongoing series where I figure out the Agon hardware and work on a game. I have no idea what game I want to make, and I’m not entirely sure how to achieve some of the necessary functions, but it’ll be fun figuring it out and I hope you come along for the ride!

Happy 2024!

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 16:23:08 +0000

Hello everyone! Let’s get on with it, shall we? Last year went pretty well, I released 14 videos and towards the end of the year experimented with releasing more than one video a month. I’ll also experiment with some more spontaneous content on here and maybe the odd Short. YouTube seems to like those, and doing what YouTube likes is the secret to growing.

The Dark Art of Programming - Writing Cursed Code

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 18:03:58 +0000

It’s Halloween, programming is an art form and there’s a darker side to it. Come with me in this fun video as I explore several languages that hate you and are trying to make your life difficult, before we go off down the rabbit hole and find some truly horrific examples of real programming.

Easy C Programming on ZX Spectrum Next - How to set up

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 20:54:14 +0000

How to set up Z88DK to develop C programs for the ZX Spectrum Next in about 20 minutes

ZX Spectrum Next Hardware Sprites Overview

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 12:37:23 +0000

An overview of the Spectrum Next’s hardware sprites

Devlog 02 - Layer 2 Graphics

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 12:37:23 +0000

An overview of the Spectrum Next’s Layer 2 bitmap display

Devlog 01 - Spectrum Next Programming Languages

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 12:37:23 +0000

How to get started programming the ZX Spectrum Next

Odroid Go Graphics Programming

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 21:16:30 +0000

Making a microcontroller produce graphics is very similar to making an old 8 or 16 bit computer draw images. They both have small screens, not much RAM and not enough CPU power to draw all the screen all the time.

Odroid Go Raw Coding

Wed, 25 Jul 2018 20:56:47 +0000

The ODroid GO is a handheld console that sells itself as a device that will run emulators of all your favourite 8bit systems. And it does that job rather well, I spent at least five minutes with mine playing Tetris, and it was a good emulation. Then I installed the Arduino libraries for it, plugged in a USB cable and started trying things out.