// 09/01/2026 // by Elder0010
Aka: Commodore 64 Character Set Converter
Release date: 01/09/2026
Credits:
C64CC (Commodore 64 Character Set Converter) turns PNG images into ready-to-use Commodore 64 character set data - Hi Res, Multi Colour, or ECM - including the screen (character) map, colour RAM (D800) map, and an optional ready-to-run .prg executable.
It was built around one idea: coders and graphicians should be able to work from the same tool, instead of one side having to hand-convert assets for the other. A graphician can sit down with the GUI, iterate visually on colours, dithering, and cropping, and export finished assets directly. A coder can drive the exact same conversion engine from the command line, wired straight into a build script or Makefile, so a project’s charset regenerates automatically from its source art on every build - no manual export step, and no drift between what the artist made and what ships!
This also makes the tool handy for fast prototyping: a coder can set a maximum character count that fits their demo or game’s budget (Max chars in the GUI, -nchars on the CLI) and drop in almost any source image — the tool automatically adapts it to that limit, reusing characters once the budget runs out, instead of requiring hand-tuned source art from the start
The program is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
