In episode 16 of Backbit Impawsible, Lupe Darksnout takes a closer look at character sets—and flips expectations on their head. The topic? Merged characters, and how they don’t have to be bound to the traditional one-cell-per-character design.
Normally, each character in a character set is just a direct copy of a single 8×8 cell from a larger bitmap. That’s the standard setup. But as Lupe points out, there’s room to experiment. With a bit more creativity—and just a pinch of extra effort—the visual gap between characters can be reduced significantly.
Instead of copying cells verbatim, the idea is to adjust the character data so neighboring characters flow together more naturally, creating a smoother appearance across the screen. The result? A more unified, visually pleasing output that pushes the limits of what typical character sets are expected to do.
The episode doesn’t just share the concept—it’s an invitation to rethink how C64 character graphics can be assembled, encouraging tinkerers to get more from every byte.
