Pixel Handheld Starter

Start your next pixel game with the groundwork already done.

Pixel Handheld Starter is a Godot 4 project for low-resolution 2D games. It renders at 400×240, scales up with crisp whole-number pixels, and is built around a gamepad first. Menus, settings, key remapping, save slots, dialogue boxes, screen filters and scene transitions all work the moment you press F5.

▶ Play the sample game in your browser: Uplink R-7

What's inside

• Pixel-perfect display. Whole-number scaling, window size and fullscreen settings, remembered between sessions.
• LCD and CRT filters. Drawn at the window's full resolution, so the pixel grid and scanlines stay sharp.
• Menus that work with anything. Gamepad, keyboard and mouse work in every menu, with sounds and focus handled for you.
• Key and button remapping. If a key is already taken, the two actions swap. An input test screen shows what each button does.
• Button hints that follow the player. Keyboard keys, or Xbox-style, PlayStation-style and Nintendo-style button icons, depending on what the player is holding.
• Save slots. Three slots with play time and Continue. Saving is crash-safe, keeps a backup and catches damaged files, and loading a save never runs code from it.
• Pause menu. It also opens by itself when a controller is unplugged or the window loses focus.
• Dialogue boxes. Text types out page by page and can show button hints inside it.
• Transitions. Fade, dither, wipe and iris, one line of code each.
• Audio. Music crossfades, two chiptune loops and a set of menu sounds.
• Credits screen. Scrolling credits that include Godot's license notice.
• Web export preset. Runs on itch.io without special server settings.
• Automated tests. About 580 checks, including a full playthrough of the sample game.

Uplink R-7, the sample game

A short escape through six rooms, with patrol drones, laser gates, a locked door, terminals to read, ten data chips and an ending. The rooms are ordinary Godot scenes with a TileMapLayer, and the game's code is about 850 lines. Study it, change it, or delete it and start your own game. The README shows how.

Details

• Made for Godot 4.7, and works with Godot 4.4 and newer
• GDScript only, Compatibility renderer, no plugins needed
• 400×240 by default. Change the size in Project Settings and menus, the game screen and filters adapt
• README with a quick start and how-to guides
• Not included: touch controls or translations

License

Use it in any number of free or commercial games and change it however you like. You can't resell or share the template itself, changed or not. The full terms are in LICENSE.md in the download. The Tiny5 font is under the SIL Open Font License, and the credits screen shows that license and Godot's in game.

Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo are trademarks of their respective owners. The button icons are original drawings, and this project is not affiliated with or endorsed by those companies.

Made with Godot Engine.