Name: Programming Boot Sector Games
ISBN: 9780359816316

Programming Boot Sector Games

"So in this book we are going through a crash course on 8086/8088 assembly language. We will fly fast and try to practice each thing as we learn it. And no example exceeds 512 bytes of machine code! Also you'll see how you can build small games using assembly language speaking directly to the heart of the computer. I've included 4 of my best examples of boot sector games: F-Bird, Invaders, Pillman, and Toledo Atomchess. For learning purposes I've included screen art programs in sections 4.3 (text mode) and 5.6 (Mandelbrot set). For this book I assume you have previous knowledge of programming in any high-level language that includes hexadecimal numbers, like C, C++, PHP, Java, Javascript, etc., and how to use command-line on Windows, Linux or Mac OS X." -- page x.

What Hacker News says

20wentyDec 2025

I've had a goal for the past three years to learn Assembly language. This December, I finally put some real effort into learning the language. I followed the tutorials in Oscar Toledo G's "Programming Boot Sector Games" and used Gemini as a tutor to help explain the concepts I was stuck on. It was tempting at points to vibe code some of the trickiest pieces, but I found resisting the temptation and using Gemini just to be an expert tutor to answer my ignorant questions brought back the joy of coding again. The result is a Christmas-themed Space Invaders clone written in 8086 Assembly.

The code isn't perfect, and neither are my line-by-line comments, but it's a good exercise if anyone else is trying to learn a language.

The game compiles to a .com file and runs in DOSBox. I'm not trying to fit it into a boot sector (512 bytes) like the original tutorial (https://github.com/nanochess/Invaders/blob/master/invaders.a...), so my code assembles to more verbose (around 700 bytes).

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eggyMar 2025

I started programming in 1977/78 in CBM/PET Basic on a Commodore PET 2001 with cassette tape drive and 32k upgrade. I loved those days. My parents didn't understand what the deal was with the costly computer I saved up for at age 13, and why I thought it was so important. It also required many late hours on my part on school nights. I moved on to assembler and C and many other languages over the years. I had a renaissance for the low-level and small thanks to you. Oscar, I worked through your, "Programming Boot Sector Games" with much joy. Your books and writing have brought back some of that nostalgia and fun for me, so thank you for that, and keep it going! It's also resharpened some dead areas and gaps I have sustained from the multiple abstraction layers of today's modern software world.

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wkjagtFeb 2025

Awesome read. I wish I'd started programming when I was a teenager. I mean, I did some BASIC on a Commodore 64, but nothing as advanced as OP was doing in his teens.

By the way, I also have OP's "Programming Boot Sector Games" book, which is an amazing book.

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AlexeyBrinApr 2024

The author has two books about writing small games that can run in the boot sector. First book also has a quick course in 8086 Assembly:

Programming Boot Sector Games

More Boot Sector Games

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wkjagtJun 2023

Oscar Toledo is awesome. I have his book Programming Boot Sector Games, and it's wonderful.

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eggyJun 2023

I have Oscar's 'Programming Boot Sector Games' and I worked through it last summer. Great fun! And having programmed from 1978 on a Commodore PET 2001 in PET Basic and later on Vic-20 and Amigas in assembler and C, I learned a few new tricks from Oscar's book. Constraints hone your skills, so when you are buried in large frameworks and IDEs you can take some solace that not everything needs to be so complicated. It's also why I enjoy APL/J/BQN and April (APL Re-Imagined in Lisp).

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