Space - Asteroids Game Collection

A collection of three classic Asteroids-style space shooter games, each implemented using different technologies. All projects in this repo target macOS on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4/M5) and were developed with Claude Code.

For a complete HD Asteroids remake written in Swift using SpriteKit for macOS (Intel and ARM64), see AsteroidZ.

Projects

1. spacejunk - Terminal-Based ARM64 Assembly

A minimalist space game running entirely in the terminal using ASCII graphics.

• Language: ARM64 Assembly (1,927 lines)
• Graphics: Terminal output (80x24 character grid)
• Dependencies: Xcode Command Line Tools only

2. spaces - ARM64 Assembly with SDL2

A full-featured Asteroids game written in pure ARM64 assembly with hardware-accelerated 2D graphics.

• Language: ARM64 Assembly (2,163 lines)
• Graphics: SDL2 + SDL2_gfx (800x480 resolution)
• Dependencies: Xcode Command Line Tools, Homebrew, SDL2, SDL2_gfx

3. spacevg - C with NanoVG Vector Graphics

A polished implementation using C and NanoVG for smooth, antialiased vector graphics via OpenGL.

• Language: C (740 lines)
• Graphics: SDL2 + NanoVG + OpenGL 3.2 Core Profile (800x480 resolution)
• Dependencies: Xcode Command Line Tools, Homebrew, SDL2

Comparison

Feature	spacejunk	spaces	spacevg
Language	ARM64 Assembly	ARM64 Assembly	C
Graphics	Terminal ASCII	SDL2 + SDL2_gfx	SDL2 + NanoVG
Rendering	Text-based	Software 2D	OpenGL 3.2
Graphics Quality	Basic	Block graphics	Smooth vectors

Common Features

All three games share core gameplay mechanics:

• 8-directional ship movement and rotation
• Laser firing to destroy asteroids
• Lives system (start with 3)
• Scoring with level completion bonuses
• Progressive difficulty (more asteroids per level)

Controls

Key	Action
Arrow Keys	Rotate / Thrust
Space	Fire laser
Q	Quit game

Building

Each project includes a Makefile. Navigate to the project directory and run:

make

To run the game:

./spacejunk   # Terminal version
./space       # SDL2 versions (spaces and spacevg)

Requirements

• macOS on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4/M5)
• Xcode Command Line Tools
• Homebrew (for SDL2 projects)
• SDL2 and SDL2_gfx (for spaces project)
• SDL2 (for spacevg project)

Purpose

This collection demonstrates different approaches to game development:

• spacejunk: Pure low-level assembly programming with terminal I/O
• spaces: Assembly programming with external graphics libraries
• spacevg: Modern C with vector graphics and OpenGL

All three implement the same game, showcasing how the same logic can be expressed across different abstraction levels.

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Built with Claude Code