Game 1 64 Units

SID Symphony

Build a rhythm game that makes the legendary SID chip sing. Press keys in time with scrolling notes, watch your health meter, and chase the perfect score.

What You’re Building

A rhythm game. Notes scroll across the screen. You hit keys in time. The SID chip sings. Your score climbs. Simple to understand, satisfying to play, and surprisingly deep to build.

Think Guitar Hero on a machine from 1982. Three tracks, three keys, three voices of the SID chip working together to create music that responds to your performance.

Why This Game?

Every C64 game needs to do three things well: put things on screen, respond to input, and make noise. SID Symphony teaches all three from the first unit.

But more than that — this game is fun. Not fun because you’re learning, fun because rhythm games are fun. You’ll want to play what you build, and that makes you want to build more.

Four Phases

Phase	Units	Focus
Phase 1	1-16	Complete playable game with one song
Phase 2	17-32	Multiple songs, difficulty levels, game modes
Phase 3	33-48	Visual effects, polish, options
Phase 4	49-64	Optimisation, multiplayer, distribution

Each phase builds on the previous. By Phase 4, you’ll have a polished game worthy of a cassette release.

What You’ll Learn

Phase 1 (Available Now):

SID chip fundamentals — voices, waveforms, ADSR
Screen layout with custom character graphics
Keyboard input for precise timing
Hit detection with timing windows
Scoring, combo multipliers, and health systems
State machines for game flow
Complete game: title → gameplay → results → game over

Phase 2 (Available Now):

Song composition and data structures
Menu systems and song selection
Difficulty levels with pattern variants
Practice mode with speed adjustment
Endless mode for survival play
High score persistence
Performance grades and streak tracking
Six complete songs with three difficulties each

Phases 3-4 (Coming Soon):

Visual effects and polish
Advanced SID techniques (filters, ring modulation)
Attract mode and animated title screen
Two-player mode
Optimisation and distribution

Prerequisites

This is Game 1. No prerequisites — just enthusiasm and a willingness to learn 6502 assembly.

You’ll need an emulator (VICE) and the ACME assembler.

Time Investment

Each unit takes 60-90 minutes. The full game is 64 units across 4 phases:

Phase 1: ~16-24 hours
Full game: ~64-96 hours

Every unit produces something that works. By the end of Unit 1, you’ll see the game board and hear the SID respond to your keypresses. By Unit 16, you’ll have a complete, playable rhythm game.