This is a great write-up about one lighting technique: https://hackernoon.com/pico-8-lighting-part-1-thin-dark-line-8ea15d21fed7 Maybe interesting for a post-jam version!
I think there are other, simpler techniques possible, and since 2017 pico8 also added the tline function that’s a gamechanger for textures, so there are probably new techniques to discover!
Thanks! I did find that, but also ran across a very compact version on the BBS that does precisely what I need. It's the "circle map" function here: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=38881 in case anyone else is looking for something similar.
I integrated this into the game and it works great. So that's off the list, as well as the start screen. At this point I feel like the stuff that's left is very doable in the remaining time :)
