Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PICO-8 VS Bitsy

Compare PICO-8 VS Bitsy and see what are their differences

PICO-8 logo PICO-8

Lua-based fantasy console for making and playing tiny, computer games and programs.

Bitsy logo Bitsy

Bitsy is a small, fast, embeddable, durable in-memory graph database that implements the Blueprints API.
  • PICO-8 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19
  • Bitsy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-22

PICO-8 features and specs

  • Accessibility
    PICO-8 provides a user-friendly and accessible platform for beginners and hobbyists to learn and create games with its simple and comprehensive interface.
  • Creativity
    The constrained environment encourages creative problem-solving and innovative game design, sparking creativity among developers.
  • Community
    A strong and supportive community exists around PICO-8, offering numerous resources, tutorials, and forums for collaboration and assistance.
  • Portability
    Games developed in PICO-8 can be easily shared and exported to different platforms, including web browsers, increasing reach and accessibility.
  • Learning Opportunity
    PICO-8 serves as an excellent educational tool for understanding the fundamentals of game design and programming.

Possible disadvantages of PICO-8

  • Limited Graphics
    The intentionally limited resolution and color palette can be restrictive for developers looking for more sophisticated graphical capabilities.
  • Performance Constraints
    The fixed memory and performance limitations might pose challenges for more complex game development, requiring careful optimization.
  • Single Language Support
    PICO-8 primarily uses its own scripting language based on Lua, which can be a barrier for those who prefer other programming languages.
  • Closed Ecosystem
    Being a proprietary platform, PICO-8's development environment and features are locked within its ecosystem, potentially limiting more advanced customizations.
  • Cost
    PICO-8 is not free software, and the licensing cost, though relatively low, could deter some users, especially those just exploring game development casually.

Bitsy features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Bitsy is a small and simple graph database designed for lightweight uses, which makes it easier to deploy and integrate without the overhead of larger databases.
  • ACID Transactions
    It offers ACID-compliant transactions, ensuring data integrity and consistency, which is crucial for applications requiring reliable transactional support.
  • Java Integration
    It is implemented in Java, which allows seamless integration with Java applications and easy embedding within Java projects.
  • Embedded Usage
    Bitsy can be embedded directly into an application, meaning it can run in the same process as the application, often leading to performance benefits.

Possible disadvantages of Bitsy

  • Limited Features
    Compared to larger graph databases, Bitsy lacks advanced features such as extensive analytics, scalability options, or graph algorithms, limiting its use for complex tasks.
  • Community and Support
    Being a smaller project, the community around Bitsy is not as large or active as those around more widely-used graph databases, which can lead to challenges in finding support and resources.
  • Scalability
    Bitsy is not designed for large-scale graph database uses, which can be a limitation for applications that expect to grow significantly in data volume or require distributed database solutions.
  • Limited Language Support
    As a Java-based database, it may not offer the same level of support or ease of integration with non-Java environments compared to language-agnostic databases.

PICO-8 videos

Delightful Game Development with PICO-8

Bitsy videos

Itsy Bitsy MOVIE REVIEW

More videos:

  • Review - Best Strollers | Contours Bitsy Lightweight Stroller Review
  • Review - Itsy Bitsy (2019) Creature Feature Movie review - That's big friggen Spider!!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PICO-8 and Bitsy)
Game Engine
69 69%
31% 31
Graph Databases
55 55%
45% 45
Game Development
75 75%
25% 25
Time Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PICO-8 seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 3 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PICO-8 mentions (3)

  • Asking ChatGPT some questions about GameStop
    The particular game linked in the article is copyright 2014-2022 by Lexaloffle Games https://lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php and reading the FAQ page I see:. Source: over 2 years ago
  • The Piconomicon
    Gander, if you dare, at the book that will teach you everything there is to know about the Pico-8. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Welcome to the iiviiGames Devlog!
    I'm going to teach you a lot about GameMaker Studio, Pico-8, and Love2D. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

Bitsy mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Bitsy yet. Tracking of Bitsy recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing PICO-8 and Bitsy, you can also consider the following products

TIC-80 - TIC-80 is a fantasy computer where you can make, play and share tiny games.

Pyxel - Retro game engine for Python inspired by fantasy consoles.

ArangoDB - A distributed open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values.

LIKO-12 - Fantasy console built with the Love 2D game engine.

WASM-4 - Build retro games using WebAssembly for a fantasy console

neo4j - Meet Neo4j: The graph database platform powering today's mission-critical enterprise applications, including artificial intelligence, fraud detection and recommendations.