# Red vs. Blue: an annotated Atari 2600 multi-sprite demo disassembly

> A labeled and commented 6502 assembly listing reconstructs Red vs. Blue, a 1981 Atari 2600 multi-sprite demo that later became RealSports Football. The listing labels the vertical sync and timer loop, the display kernel for the red and blue animated players, eight animation frames of player graphics, and the horizontal-position and sprite-copy tables. A comment marks a frame-timing counter that has no effect on the animation rate.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-09
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-10
- Original resource: <https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/redblue.asm>
- Primary source: <https://web.archive.org/web/20251114052829/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/redblue.asm>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/red-vs-blue-atari-2600-disassembly-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/red-vs-blue-atari-2600-disassembly-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/red-vs-blue-atari-2600-disassembly-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** A 6502 assembler and the vcs.h header that the listing includes.
- **Scope:** Covers the Red vs. Blue multi-sprite demo, the program that became RealSports Football.
- **License:** No licence stated on the project page.

## Primary sources

1. <https://web.archive.org/web/20251114052829/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/redblue.asm>
2. <https://web.archive.org/web/20260714091141/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/>

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.