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Scrobins

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  1. Scrobins

    Episode 43: Flap Happy

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 43: Flap Happy

    Introduction:
    I’ve covered a number of homebrew games made by veteran programmers with significant experience developing for modern platforms who are now channeling their nostalgia to bring something new to the consoles of their childhoods. These passion projects represent a bridge between the adult skills and modern gaming sensibilities of the developer now, and their inner child craving the chance to make their own game their way for their favorite console. And often as not, the idiosyncrasies of the developer seep into the mix, whether that means other interests or a particular sense of humor…or all the puns you can handle. But whether it’s chickens or wordplay, this game surely is nothing to bawk at.
    For this entry, I’m covering Flap Happy, a Roguelike platformer for the NES and Gameboy, developed by Ryan Carson aka Refresh Games. As of the time of this writing, the Kickstarter campaign has wrapped up and fulfillment will begin soon. The game’s demo can be downloaded here and future physical editions will be available through Mega Cat at a future date.
     

    It’s just the standard edition CIB art, the sky isn’t falling
     
    Development Team:
    Ryan Carson: programming
    James Gamble (Jayenkai): music
     
    Game Evolution:
    Flap Happy first settled into its roost on NESdev on December 22, 2017, then titled Flap Happy and Fancy Free, based on Flapadiddle by Jayenkai.
    Its Kickstarter campaign first hatched on January 26, 2024, with the help of perennial partner Mega Cat Studios. By the time the campaign was ready to leave the nest, 248 backers pledged nearly $19,000. Mixed into the feed were some tasty kernals for fans, like the game’s rom, cart, CIB, and limited-edition CIB for the NES, as well as a CIB for the Gameboy/Gameboy Color. Among the extras were the digital OST, poster, stickers, postcard, pins, keychain, diorama, decorative wooden cart, golden egg, and your name in the credits.
    In line with its theme, Flap Happy is collaborating with Rent the Chicken, an organization that offers people the opportunity to try raising chickens in their backyards for a trial period, providing them with the necessary equipment to do so, even allowing them to adopt, or hatch chickens so they can gain experience at all levels.

    The cluster fock limited-edition CIB
     
    Gameplay:
    Flap Happy describes itself as a Roguelike platformer. You play as Little Flappy, a carefree bird who inexplicably blacks out and wakes up in a dungeon rife with fireballs and spiked traps. You must work your way through 900+ levels of mazes, landing on all 5 platforms of each level in order to activate the exit platform that will allow you to proceed. Along the way are bonuses, such as fruit that scores you points (3 of which nets you an extra life), and each platform earns a bonus, while completing a level offers a speed bonus in itself.
    But don’t get your feathers in a bunch, the controls are very simple! Use the D-pad to turn and move, press the A-button to flap your wings, and press Start to pause if you ever need to catch your breath.

    Little Flappy in Spaaaaaace
     
    Review:
    Flap happy is a challenging bit of arcade fun, reminiscent of infinitely looping games from NES’ black box era. Despite its simple appearance, this game is aggressively tricky with many ways to die from stupid mistakes that will keep you glued to your screen out of spite. Offering myriad possible paths to each platform and countless strategies for success, the speed-running and high score possibilities of Flap Happy offer all manner of tournament challenges. Each level moves quickly, between the straightforward objective and the concentration needed to achieve it. There is also enough variation across levels, worlds, and the enemies that populate them to keep you engaged in light of the sheer number of levels contained within the game.
    The game’s graphics are simple, but retro charming. A host of colors provides a prettier arcade experience than any comparable NES game. The distinctiveness between Little Flappy’s sprite, enemies, powerups, and environments are sufficiently stark that for all the game’s color, it creates a degree of fairness that ensures the challenge never feels cheap. Meanwhile the game’s music offers cute bops, with different themes for each world that align with their respective vibes, ranging from computer to space. The beats are a gentle rhythm propelling you along, harkening back to arcade games like Joust and Balloon Fight, with a straightforward goal and the drive to get as far as possible.
     
    Interviews:
    Being interviewed can be intimidating, but Ryan was no chicken, even with hard questions he found the sunny side up in his responses. But is he a bird of a feather with other developers? Read on…
     

    Ryan Carson
    @RefreshGamesDev
    -Before we dive into Flap Happy, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer? What is your origin story? What is the story behind Refresh Games?
    Refresh Games came about shortly after I had closed my Web design business in 2016 and I needed a name that would continue on from it, I’ve been interested and thoroughly loved making games since being a child, learning BASIC on a Commodore +4 and later other languages, the best part was playing the games I’d made with friends, in particular making many versions of the light bikes bit in TRON, that passed many a lunchtime break in secondary school!
    It just sorta spiraled out from there to Direct X with Visual Basic, a few mobile games in Unity then back to Gameboy development in C and now, finally the NES!
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    For Flap Happy? Mainly Jayenkai, his support through this project has been great.

    James “Jayenkai” Gamble
    I’m following a few people’s work on Twitter/X quite closely at the moment, but I’m most intrigued by the efforts of https://twitter.com/freeman_HAL that have gone into making an awesome caravan shooter called Habit! It looks like a really good, fun game.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    In 3 words I’d say “challenging, simple, fun” I love the retro aesthetic and that’s come across in most of the games I’ve made, particularly in game jams.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    ·        Programmers Notepad to code
    ·        YY-CHR & Photoshop CS3 for creating tiles and sprites and quick prototyping
    ·        NESASM3 for compiling the code into a NES ROM
    ·        Nintendulator and FCEUX for playing and testing on the PC
    ·        Nintendulator seems to be more accurate frame timing and FCEUX has great debugging inside it so, it makes sense to use both.
     
    -At the heart of Flap Happy is its nature as a roguelike platformer, complete with 900 levels. How did you create so many, squeeze them all onto the cart, and ensure they didn’t feel repetitive?
    With procedural generation from a starting seed, so, in order to reference a level in the game I just need to ask it to generate a screen with way less code overall. There are some dupe levels inside the game all but by using different modes I could happily pick and choose which ones would fit into which game mode, keeping some control over it whilst keeping valuable code space usage low, turns out 32kb isn’t that much!
     
    -What inspired you to make this type of game?
    My love for the NES as a kid, it’s always been the one that I always wanted to make a game for. I also had gotten into Gameboy development before the NES so, the idea of making something that works as a game using the Black Box NES game space limits (32kb for code, 8kb for graphics).
     
    -What about chickens is so resonant that you wanted to make Flappy the protagonist of the game?
    (clucks loudly in your general direction) I have no idea (clucks again)

    ???
     
    -What aspects of Flap Happy are you most proud of?
    That, after a few years it still holds up to the test of me still enjoying playing through it, which is a good sign. Also, when I showed demos to my friends earlier in development, they all seemed to enjoy it also, although some said it was a bit too tough which I’m okay with.
    Of course, it achieves one of my game dev life ambitions which is a pretty major thing, so, that’s really cool too!
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Flap Happy? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Assembly language is like no other language I’ve learnt before, it was quite the struggle initially to figure out some things that’d I’d taken for granted in C, etc. I can remember at the very start of the project often failing to see the correct way to accomplish something so simple in C, but, for me, the struggle is worth it, and I look forward to releasing more games for the NES in the future 🙂
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Flap Happy on Kickstarter. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
    Amazing, I honestly went into this unsure if Kickstarter was the right thing to do but it really has been! In the run up I was equally nervous and excited, so it’s just been great to see the support for Flap Happy! Mega Cat have been fantastic throughout and helped get the word out there as well as assist greatly with my questions and asset creation to make the Kickstarter campaign look as great as it does.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Your site mentions another game in the planning stages.
    Yeah, I want to get some more NES games over the line this year. Bee Happy would be good to get finished and should allow for some interesting co-op and versus modes.
    Again, it’s a fairly simple game, you gather pollen throughout each stage, avoiding obstacles along the way, finishing each stage off by returning to your hive, I’m more excited for the 2P versus mode though where one player controls Beesley and the second player has control over the enemies.


    If I can squeeze in a Gameboy port that would be cool also 🙂
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I really want to play Habit! I love shmups and have been playing a lot of 1942 of late so, I need to get a copy! I need to dig around for more arcade style games that are being released also.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Please check out Flap Happy on Kickstarter:

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/refreshgames/flap-happy-a-rogue-like-platformer-for-the-nes

    and, if you like, follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/RefreshGamesDev Where I’ll be doing my best to post regular updates on upcoming Nes and Gameboy games I’m working on 🙂
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the stories behind the latest homebrews making their way to you. Are you flocking to your computer to buy Flap Happy? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  2. Scrobins

    Episode 42: NESdev Competition/Action 53 Multicart

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    Episode 42: NESdev Competition/Action 53 Multicart


    Introduction:
    Our enjoyment can be found in things of various sizes and levels of “completeness.” For all of the feature-length films and long-running shows we love, some of our favorite movies and tv shows are shorts, miniseries, and anthologies. So too is our love of video games, with favorites found among those experiments in which the developers showed off their skills in a proof of concept, or demos that could whet our appetites with the promise of a larger game in the future. See Exhibit A: Super Bat Puncher. These projects allow homebrewers more flexibility to play with their creativity, free of the pressures to deliver a complete game to paying fans, as they need only provide us a small sample. In the context of a development competition, it’s like coming together for a film festival in the mold of Cannes or Sundance; it becomes an event in which followers watch curiously for the latest from the usual entrants, the fascination for the newcomers, and the art offered by them all.
    For this entry, I’m covering the NESdev Competition, also known as the NESdev Compo, originally known as the NESdev Annual Coding Competition, which offers a wide array of games, demos, and tools for the NES. In the past, cart releases polished from entries were known as the Action 53 series. As of the time of this writing, the programming putting together Action 53, Volume 4 is nearly complete, though ordering information is not yet known, and subsequent compo carts (which will not continue the Action 53 name, but begin as NESdev Compo ’19, and continue as a cart collection for each subsequent compo) are also in the works.

    In the beginning there was Jeroen, and he was good.
     
    Compo Evolution:
    The compo began in the NESdev forum with a July 15, 2010 thread created by Jeroen, who sought to gauge community interest in a coding competition for the NES. The response was immediate, and over the next few months its structure began to take shape with a set of rules and a website. By the time the dust settled on the first compo in 2011, there were 5 submissions for the NROM contest and 4 submissions for the free-for-all contest, in which Twaite and Super Bat Puncher were the winners respectively.
    Following the compo, a cartridge was released which featured entrants as well as other games, and most notably Streemerz, a playful reimagining of Bionic Commando. As a means of funding the competition and preparing for future cartridge compilations, Action 53, Volume 1 was released in two production runs by Infinite NES Lives: first a 50-cart run of clear carts, followed by a second run of 100 standard gray carts.
    With its emphasis on being a community-run effort, the compo continues to thrive thanks to its organizers over the years: Joey Parsell/Memblers, Damian Yerrick/Tepples, M-Tee, Jonathan Roatch/JRoatch, Paul Molloy/Infinite NES Lives, Bradley Bateman/NES Homebrew, and most recently Matt Hughson and Antoine Gohin/Broke Studio. Thanks to their many hours of volunteering for homebrew, a platform exists for fresh talent and cool new ideas. Some of the best games and most exciting new developers made their splash here. Keep an eye out for who dives in next.

    Action 53, Volume 1: rarer and a helluva lot more playable than its namesake forebear.
     
    Interviews:
    There are so many people to talk to about this compo over the years it has been around and bolstered the homebrew community. How do I even approach an interview section? I interviewed Damian recently, and I’m hoping to talk to Joe and Paul for a separate piece, so I decided for this one, I would reach out to those most currently and heavily involved in running the competition. Otherwise I either tried reaching out to other people involved or decided I needed to draw a line somewhere to ensure I could finish this episode when I wanted to. I hope you enjoy these interviews.
     

    Matt Hughson
    @matthughson
    -It’s great to interview you again! Last time, we talked about From Below, I’m excited to talk to you this time about your role in the NESdev Coding Competition. When did you first become involved in the compo, and what is your role? How has that role evolved over time?
    Originally, I became involved in the competition as a participant, when I entered an early version of my game Witch n’ Wiz into the 2020 competition.
    The following year I volunteered to help run the competition when the original organizer didn’t have time to run it anymore. That was in 2022, so 2023 was my second time helping to run the competition.

    Screenshot from Witch n’ Wiz
     
    -In your opinion, how has the competition itself evolved over the years? How has it grown? Where would you like to see it go in the next few years?
    I think the most obvious change was in 2022 when the competition was moved to itch.io where it now lives. This exposes it to a lot more people and has a more professional suite of tools for presenting, submitting and judging games.
     
    -I’ve tried to pay closer attention to the compo’s discord lately, and among other subjects, I’ve noticed some meaningful philosophical discussions, such as whether the name “NESdev Coding Competition” is still fitting, how to structure eligibility rules, and to structure voting. What are your thoughts on these questions, and are there other meaningful questions you’ve noticed that this competition has raised?
    The crux of these discussions seems to center around the ease at which someone can create an NES game now. It is no longer a guarantee that all entries are serious efforts. You can now create a complete Sokoban game in a few minutes, and it isn’t always obvious when that is the case.
    It used to be a right of passage to be able to create anything for the competition, but that’s not really the case anymore, and it causes a bit of friction with what the competition has traditionally meant. I see it as a microcosm of the homebrew scene at large, to be honest.
    My feeling is that we should embrace the inevitable and run the competition more like a traditional game jam. There are more entries than most people would be interested in playing, and there may be lots of “low effort” entries. The final score and the judging will sort it all out in the end though, and the average player will only check out the top entries.
     
    -This competition has a meaningful influence beyond itself. What impact have you observed this competition to have on other compos, on the NES homebrew scene, and the overall homebrew scene?
    I see the competition as a yearly celebration and something for the community to rally behind. I don’t think many people see winning or losing as a big part of it, but rather just see it as a great excuse to create something in a low-pressure scenario (where the expectations aren’t too high).
     
    -Do you feel the competition has been influenced in any meaningful way by other compos, and the wider homebrew scenes?
    Not really, but I certainly look at the NESMaker ByteOff awards as the high bar to strive for, and the GBDev competition comes across as extremely polished and professional. I kind of like that NESdev competition has a bit of a home-grown vibe though.

    This year’s competition is already underway!
     
    -What about the impact of the competition on your own work as a homebrewer?
    I’ve found it super motivating to work on games for the competition. First, the potential to have my game on a physical cart was something that really excited me. And then being able to use the competition as a sounding board for different ideas is valuable.
     
    -Do you have a favorite all-time competition entry? What about a favorite entry that’s gone on to a full game release?
    I think my favorite would be Spacegulls. Maybe that’s a bit of a cope on my part, since it is the game that beat my entry (Witch n’ Wiz) in the 2020 competition, but I pick it because it is such a solid, fun experience start to finish. It doesn’t feel like a game jam, or a demo. It feels like a full project.
    My favorite game that went on to a full release is probably Nebs n Debs, which I consider my favorite homebrew of all time.

    Screenshot from Spacegulls
     
    -What trends have you noticed among competition entries past and present?
    Morphcat are very good at making NES games 😊
     
    -Do you think there are any patterns or common qualities shared by competition entries that tend to score higher?
    I haven’t thought about it too much, but I think the games that feel like complete experiences do very well. Games that require multiplayer tend to struggle.
     
    -Do you have any advice for people considering entering in next year’s competition?
    Just do it! I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who regretted entering, but I’ve met many who regret missing it. You’ll also notice that there are lots of people who come back year after year, so it must be fun!
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences again. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Nope! See you next year!
     
     

    M-Tee
    @mteegfx
    -It’s great to interview you again! Last time, you were one of my first interviews, and we talked about Project Blue, I’m excited to talk to you this time about your role in the NESdev Coding Competition. When did you first become involved in the compo, and what is your role? How has it that role evolved over time?
    My pleasure as always! So, long story short…
    …in 2016, I was hired to illustrate a book on NES homebrew, which led to a few months of research and brainstorming (i.e., digging through forum posts and downloading ROMs). The job eventually fell through, but all that diggin’ led to two things:
         1) me falling in love with a whole bunch of earlier homebrew titles; and
         2) a real hankerin’ to draw them.

    Fan art of Memblers’ Munchie Attack and NovaSquirrel’s Forehead Block Guy
    So, the next year, I illustrated a couple of older compo titles and pitched myself for the next multicart’s cover art. Folks seemed to dig them, welcomed me aboard, and then I got to make the arcade-themed packaging for Action 53 Volume 3.

    Action 53 Vol. 3 print assets (image courtesy of Infinite NES Lives)
    Since then, I’ve handled the graphic design and most visual assets for the competition, its multicarts, and eventually, the Action 53 itch page.
     
    -In your opinion, how has the competition itself evolved over the years? How has it grown? Where would you like to see it go in the next few years?
    The original goal of the competition, I hear, was to encourage folks to bite the bullet and release whatever projects they were working on—which it still does successfully. As long as we keep getting a healthy mix of newcomers and veteran developers participating, compo day will continue to be my Christmas morning.

    Nothing else encapsulates the nostalgia of waking up to a new NES game or two than compo morning.
     
    -I’ve tried to pay closer attention to the compo’s discord lately, and among other subjects, I’ve noticed some meaningful philosophical discussions, such as whether the name “NESdev Coding Competition” is still fitting, how to structure eligibility rules, and to structure voting. What are your thoughts on these questions, and are there other meaningful questions you’ve noticed that this competition has raised?
    To be honest, there has never been any consistent branding to the competition’s title and formatting. Even on official pages, it’s wildly inconsistent, and as such, a nightmare when trying to decide what to put on the cart packaging or promo images.

    rampant title and formatting inconsistencies
    ·        Is NESDEV part of the competition title or not; and if so, is it Nesdev, NesDev, NESdev, or NESDev?
    (5 options)
    ·        Does the year come before or after NESDev?
    (2 options)
    ·        Coding is in the name, but no one ever mentions it colloquially, so Coding or no Coding?
    (2 options)
    So, there have been at least twenty (5×2×2) title format variations I could choose from, all with justifiable precedence. 
    What did I do when I needed to choose one? I combined them all for the mouthful that was The NesDev 2019 NES Coding Competition Multicart, and stylized it in all-caps stylization to gracefully avoid that decision.

    Compocart 2019’s web manual header
    But that only lasted for two competitions. I don’t remember who suggested dropping Coding, but I’m glad it and the redundant NES are gone. Now the title is now much more inline with its colloquial one anyway.

    Assets through 2028 have been produced with this format, so hopefully it won’t change soon!
     
    -Do you feel the competition has been influenced in any meaningful way by other compos, and the wider homebrew scenes?
    In fact, the above naming inconsistency is one of many indicators that the compo isn’t a commercial endeavor. It’s not really branded, polished, or shiny. Its title is literally just a description of what it is, and it’s run with virtually no hierarchy by a fluctuating wave of volunteers. Ultimately, whoever is handling whatever task has the final say on their contribution, often resulting in mild chaos, delays, decision paralysis, and more…
    …but that’s also its charm!
    No one seems to have any motivation (or opportunity) to profit, and as a result, there are no airs put on. Another key element to its appeal is how downplayed the competitive aspect is: no theme and no time constraints (aside from a deadline). But if someone wanted to work on a title for years and submit it, they could!
    So, I guess I’m saying that flashier competitions or bigger jams can be great, but I’m glad that this compo has its niche and is filling it.
     
    -This competition has a meaningful influence beyond itself. What impact have you observed this competition to have on other compos, on the NES homebrew scene, and the overall homebrew scene?
    Confession time! When I entered the homebrew scene, there was a dichotomy of release philosophies: either free ROMs or a costly physical-only cart. I’ve never been quiet about my opposition to physical exclusivity, so it should be no surprise that there was a cheeky little devil on my shoulder, cheering every time an unusually polished compo entry was released for free.

    The devil on my shoulder
    (AKA Lord A’zul from La Patifferie, a title Wendel Scardua, Raftronaut, and myself
    started for a past compo, but sidelined for scope creep)
    These days, affordable digital releases are the norm, so that’s not really a factor anymore. However, I still use the 2016 compo (Nebs n Debs, Twin Dragons, Filthy Kitchen, etc.) as a major milestone when separating eras of NES homebrew history.

    2016: The year in which five potent platformers swept the top of the competition
     
    -What about the impact of the competition on your own work as a homebrewer?
    The social aspect of collaborating on an entry is genuinely one of the high points of my year. Knowing that my teammates would be bummed out if we didn’t get something submitted is quite a motivator (even if it means ditching a larger project, and starting a smaller one, often days before the deadline, which we’ve been guilty of thrice so far 😅). 

    The entries I’ve collaborated on so far:
     Łukasz Kur’s Gruniożerca 2 and Gruniożerca 3 (the latter also with Chip Jockey)
    Wendel Scardua’s Bare Metal 2.0, HBC Phutball, and Miroh Jr. (the latter two with Raftronaut)
     
    -Do you have a favorite all-time competition entry?
    My top five favorite NES games are (currently): Miroh Jr., Megaman 2, Blazing Rangers, Bubble Bobble, and We Are Hejickle. Two of those are compo entries (and one of them I co-designed with literally me as its target demographic, so is that cheating?)

    A totally unbiased look at the five objectively best NES games of all time
     
    -What about a favorite entry that’s gone on to a full game release?
    I typically prefer smaller standalone entries (Böbl or Espitene for instance) to those which tease a larger game. That said, there have been quite a few games that really deserved, but never got, a more fleshed out version. And of those, none has left me hungrier than Nalleland. 

    Nalleland: A superb platformer with DK ‘94-style depth of movement, but only one level… ㅠㅠ
     
    -What trends have you noticed among competition entries past and present?
    Every year, we seem to get:
    Humble projects from first-timers; Exploratory side projects from veteran developers; and… Multiplayer-only (or at least multiplayer-heavy) titles. Those last ones often get less love, but are the ones I look the most forward to because there are so few multiplayer NES releases outside of the competition. Having friends over? You could make a heck of a party cart by throwing the multiplayer compo titles from each year into a folder.

    Just some of the awesome multiplayer titles across compo years (pictured):
    RHDE, Spacey McRacey, No Good Can Come of This, LightShields, Super Homebrew War
    NNNNNN, Spacegulls, HBC Phutball, CatMercs, and Tiny Golf
     
    -Do you think there are any patterns or common qualities shared by competition entries that tend to score higher?
    Because judges are the developers themselves, and that roster changes every year, I think the scores are generally more reflective of that year’s judges than of the games. That said, the feedback is still invaluable. The competition forces a couple of dozen other devs to not only sit down and play your project, but to tell you where they think it could be improved. It’s an extraordinarily rare opportunity, and an aspect that’s often overlooked.
     
    -Do you have any advice for people considering entering in next year’s competition?
    Do it!
     
    -Any news on when fans can expect cartridges for Action 53, Volume 4 or subsequent competition carts?
    There have been a lot of delays (many, but not all of them my fault, I promise! 😅). But now with Broke Studio at the helm, I suspect we’ll get Action 53 Volume 4 soon. After that, we’re currently… four years behind the compo . Each has a planned standalone release, and I hope that they’ll make a very nice set of shelf candy one day. Hopefully we can get them out in waves that’ll eventually get us caught up to the competition year too. Fingers crossed, eh?

    The most recent revision of the Action 53 Vol. 4 cover art.
    It’s a wraparound, so the other 29 titles are shown on the box and spine.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences again. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Next time you almost click an OMG! Hidden NES Gems?! youtube video, save yourself the heartache and dig into past compos. Some of the console’s best and most interesting games are hiding out in there, and a lot of great titles get overshadowed by the compo big guns.

    Mike J. Moffitt’s Karate Kick for instance…
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the adventures behind the latest newest homebrews making their way to you. What are your views of the NESdev Competition as a pillar of the homebrew community? Which of this year’s entries do you hope will get a full release? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     


  3. Scrobins

    Episode 2: Rocket Panda

    By Scrobins,


    The Mega Cat Chronicles
    The Mega Cat Chronicles
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 2: Rocket Panda

    Introduction:
    Working in such a creative industry as video games can bring some fun people together, giving rise to great working relationships. With time and more collaborations under their belts, real friendships develop, as well as a shared idea for a project of their own. The work I’m honored to do with Mega Cat is a fun example, but right now I’m thinking of two developers who have worked together since the days of the first PlayStation. Though they have collaborated on a number of games over the years, coming together to form Space Pants Games represented a new phase in their partnership, one in which the potential of their new games will launch them into the stratosphere.
    For this entry, I’m covering Rocket Panda, a jetpack action-adventure for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive developed by Space Pants Games. As of the time of this writing, Rocket Panda is live on Kickstarter through Space Pants Games, with fulfillment by Mega Cat Studios, and a special VGS variant designed by @T-Pac. You can still pledge for the campaign here.
     
    Development Team:
    Ben Everett: art
    Julian Scott: programming

    That CIB is a sweet treat indeed, just don’t dunk it like a StarTropics letter

     
    And HERE is our own handiwork, which will look lovely next to your copy of Diamond Thieves
     
    Game Evolution:
    VGS’ connection to Rocket Panda began early in its collaboration with Mega Cat. James and I often share games we think would be good projects to publish together. One of them was by Space Pants Games, which had recently released Gunslugs with Retro Room Roo. In this case though, that initial game was Rocket Panda: Into the Unknown, which had a more Space Harrier vibe. The developers were flattered but felt it wasn’t a big enough game to warrant a full release, so instead VGS was included in the imminent campaign for the main game. Space Pants Games initially published the demo for Rocket Panda on itch.io on April 13, 2021, continually working on the game as it neared completion. A few years later it was ready, and on February 15, 2024, the Kickstarter campaign launched in earnest.

    Screenshot from Rocket Panda: Into the Unknown
    With thousands of dollars already pledged from hundreds of supporters, Rocket Panda launched with a full tank of gas. Backer tiers were organized in typical Mega Cat fashion: with tiers sharing the game’s confectionary themes. Fans could receive the game’s rom, cart-only, CIB, a VGS variant with unique cover art, a limited-edition CIB, poster, stickers, postcards, pins, keychain, artbook, decorative wooden cart, and your name in the credits. The campaign also offers a stretch goal, offering a mini game to all backers whose tiers include digital rewards.
     
    Gameplay:
    Rocket Panda describes itself as a jetpack adventure. You play as Rocket Panda, working your way through a series of labyrinthine lands to free your badger buddies who have been kidnapped by the evil Biscuit Head. Collect biscuits for points, tea for dash power, and rescue your friends across 60+ levels set within 7 different worlds in a deliciously themed game.
    Controls are easy to learn: navigate using the D-pad, press the A-button to dash, and press the B-button (or Up) to activate the rocket, noting that not using your boosters will cause you to drift slowly to the ground.

    I’ve heard of strong tea but THIS is ridiculous! (I’ll show myself out)
     
    Review:
    Rocket Panda is a cutesy adventure that will test your precision as you navigate your jetpack through mazes of enemies and hazards. In essence there are two types of difficulty: that built into the levels themselves, and your playstyle, dependent on how aggressively you activate your boosters and finagle Rocket Panda through danger. Of course it’s all wrapped in an adorable package that easily lulls you into a false sense of security. This is a fun for all ages game: players of all skill levels can pick-up-and-play and have a fun time, having high score challenges with each other. As observed in the VGS Discord, this is the rare Genesis homebrew that doesn’t try to be gritty. The game tells you what you need to know, easing you into its controls, and the HUD helps you track items you’ve collected/yet to collect, thus making it accessible to those who may not immediately know what they should be looking for.
    The color palette is bright and sunny, with an art style that emphasizes being silly (how else would you describe a boss battle against grumpy toast?) and probably hunger-inducing. As much as the levels themselves, the various screens, ranging from the title and credits screens to the game over screen boast stunning animations that mesmerize, encouraging players to explore the entirety of the cart’s offerings and the breadth of its developers’ talents. Musically the game is delightful, like the background to a happy stroll rather than a tense rescue mission, further underlying Rocket Panda’s all-ages accessibility as opposed to the Genesis’ reputation as the edgy older brother. This is a game hearkening to the roots and learned backgrounds of its developers, eager to show off once again that the limitless possibilities of homebrew are for everyone.
     
    Interviews:
    I got the developers to spill all the tea behind this game and their backgrounds. For a taste of their sweet stories, read on…
     
    Space Pants Games
    @games_pants
     

    Ben Everett
    -Before we dive into Rocket Panda, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game artist? What is your origin story?
    I started out as a 3D animator in TV and games back in 1996. I’ve always been a gamer and had been studying 3D Animation. Then I moved into games design, which is where I met Julian. We worked on Starsky & Hutch for the PS2, Xbox and PC. After a few years in commercial games, I really wanted to do my own thing and work on smaller projects that didn’t take up years of life. Julian was at that time working for himself making Flash games so I joined him as an artist/designer. Our first game was Driftrunners and did pretty well. A couple of years later we cooked up Rocket Panda (Flash), a homage to Space Harrier. We’re both Sega fans, and Space Harrier is one of my early arcade faves.

    Screenshot from Driftrunners
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Growing up, I always liked the fantasy art of Roger Dean and John Harris and the anime style of Katsuhiro Otomo, Masamune Shirow and Yoshihisa Tagami. Video game wise, I was a fan of all the Sega games and consoles, so Yu Suzuki and Yuji Naka were my influences. I’m a bit out of the loop these days so I’m not watching anyone closely.
     
    -Do you feel your artwork has a signature aesthetic that is uniquely you? How would you describe the feel of your work?
    Not really no. It varies from project to project. I’m generally trying to emulate someone or something else!
     
    -In your opinion, what makes good pixel art and game animation stand out?
    I appreciate a good choice of palette more than anything else. And anything that is bold and visually clear - in a lot of game screenshots I can’t even make sense of what is happening sometimes.
     
    -What tools do you use to create?
    For 2D I use Aseprite and Affinity Photo. For 3D I use Cinema4D. I’ve been doing a lot of little projects in Godot over the last few years, and that’s really robust and fun to use.
     
    -Do you have a preference creating for a particular genre? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations or sense of rules?
    I always like the faux-3D games such as Outrun, Afterburner and Doom. And arcade and racing over adventure and strategy. I think I just like really big pixels! I love the original Gameboy titles, and these days I’m generally playing the Switch. When you’re older you don’t have the time for massive games that take 30+ hours. I do like to wander around and admire the scenery in modern games, but I never progress very far. My process doesn’t change much. Generally it’s sketch it out on paper, then get a decent working prototype for sizes, then start creating.
     
    -Tell me about your creative process while working on Rocket Panda? How did you transform the concept art from the page to the screen for this game? How do you maintain the important details of that art given the limitations of coding for a decades-old gaming console like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive?
    Well, there wasn’t really any concept art. We used the existing objects and characters from our Flash shooter as a base, but I just drew everything from scratch after sketching out a rough plan. I probably spent most of the time with tile sets, trying to get a nice biscuit and candy flavour to things. Limitations are good in my opinion, they keep you focused on what you can or should do.
     
    -Ever since my first episode, artist M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist serves as the player's point of immersion in the game, informing how we understand the game's world. I also believe that the protagonist’s design serves as a reflection of its designer. What is the intention behind the protagonist’s design? Do you see yourself in them? What is it about pandas that resonate so strongly with you?
    Wow. That's quite the question. No intention really. I don't see myself in Rocket Panda. We just like Pandas (and other black and white animals). Flying pandas are amusing to us. I guess from a design perspective, chunky animals make for a better collision box fit too 🙂
     
    -What was the working dynamic like with Julian?
    I’ve been working with Julian over 20 years now so it was no problem. We generally agree on things, and we’re easy going.  It’s just a game so it isn’t worth arguing when we’re basically headed in the same direction. Rocket Panda (Genesis) was kind of an experiment that blew into a full game, so lots of trial and error along the way, but nothing disastrous.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Rocket Panda? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    If anything I was surprised at how straightforward it all was. I think that’s down to good tools and modern emulation. Because we already had characters and a setting, as well as some visual style from the previous Panda games we had made, it was fairly smooth process converting to the limited pixels and colours of the Mega Drive. Getting the palettes right early on will save you a lot of time and effort though!
     
    -Is there another project after Rocket Panda on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
    We are working on a couple of Mega Drive projects, one being a shoot-em-up and the other a ninja action type game. You’ve got to have a go at the classics. I’d ideally love to do an Out Run homage...
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I’ve not been looking around much at the minute as I’ve been too busy.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks for listening. The Mega Drive is alive and well. Blast processing is the future 🙂
     
     

    Julian Scott
    -Before we dive into Rocket Panda, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game developer? What is the origin story of Space Pants Games?
    Like many people I had a home computer in the 1980s, and back then everyone learned to program, mostly because that’s all you had! So I got reasonably good at it and got a job in the industry in 1990. Been doing it ever since.
    Space Pants Games is a brand Ben and I invented purely for Rocket Panda, and we carried on using it for other games.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    My programming influences are mainly the people I worked in the industry. I learned a lot from many other people during my career.
     
    -What tools do you use to create?
    For the Genesis I use a simple assembler for writing 68000 code. I use a variety of IDEs, depending what I need to do. Different IDEs have different plugins available for 68000. I generally use Rider, but I use VS Code when low level optimizing, as there’s a good instruction timing plugin.
    For tools I now use WinForms, but for Rocket Panda I made a toolset using Unity.
     
    -In addition to Rocket Panda, you’ve developed Rocket Panda: Into the Unknown, Gunslugs, The Firebird!, and Super Maximum Overkill, among other games. These games represent a wide variety of genres. Is there an intention behind this variety, such as challenging yourself, or is it more that you are focused on making the games you want to make in that moment?
    Some of these games were made for Game Jams, so they were made to match the theme of the different Jams. Others, like Gunslugs and Heroes of Loot were conversions of other people’s games. These were mostly used as development work for my engine / tooling, as it’s simpler in some ways to make a conversion of an existing game. Don’t have to worry about gameplay!
    I’m happy to work on pretty much any type of game!

    Screenshot from Gunslugs
     
    -Tell me about your creative process while working on Rocket Panda?
    I like an iterative approach. I always try to make tools with fast iteration times. The more times you can change something, and test it, (without getting bored) ... the better.
    I usually freeform draw maps, then think about what could go where. I’d add new enemy types, code them up, and if they worked then Ben could make them look pretty! As time goes on, you get a larger palette of behaviours to work with, and combining these in different ways can often give surprising results.
     
    -What to you are the necessary elements of an action game?
    Not many boring bits. I don’t like too much time when there’s nothing much to do.  If a cutscene isn’t skippable I’m likely to rage-quit 😊
     
    -How did you first connect with Ben? What is the working dynamic like in your collaborations?
    Ben and I worked in the same company in the early 2000s. I think he was working on a game called Sheep, and I was working on Noddy’s Magic Adventure, both for the PS1. We since went on to work together on probably over a hundred games!
    It’s very easy going. I think the main thing for both of us is to *finish* games, so we’re never going to get worked up over small details. There’s no *one thing* which works when making games, there are always options, so we try not to take much time over decisions.
     
    -How did you first connect with James and Mega Cat Studios?
    Sorry, I can’t remember. I suspect we just emailed them blindly!
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Rocket Panda? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Nothing much really. I had to re-learn 68000, but it came back to me quite quickly. Once you’ve made plenty of games, there’s not often much new to do, though I’m always aspiring to make the tooling ever better. We had some issues with palette management, but that’s fixed now going forward. For me, putting the work in is most important. Can’t rely on inspiration, but you can rely on some kind of work ethic.
     
    -Is there another project after Rocket Panda on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
    No dream projects, but we have a number of games in the works. I like doing technically challenging things, trying to bring something new to the Mega Drive, so I sometimes focus on that part of it. But doing tech for tech’s sake can be dodgy. The game comes first! I’m sure we’ll make some kind of Outrun game eventually.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    No, I’m not really aware of many others.
     
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that highlights the latest treats coming to the cartridge, thanks to Video Game Sage’s collaboration with Mega Cat Studios. What are your thoughts on Rocket Panda and its incredibly talented developers? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon in the next tale of…The Mega Cat Chronicles!
     

  4. Scrobins

    Episode 41: Oratorio

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 41: Oratorio

    Introduction:
    Many of the games I’ve written about draw inspiration from classic games of yesteryear, sometimes while reaching into modern generation technology and gaming sensibilities to bring something new to the cartridges we pop into our very old consoles. Rarer though is the developer who ports an entire modern genre to a modern console, highlighting how the limits of the NES lie much further than we thought them to be. The imagination is the strongest breaker of barriers. It excites homebrew fans thrilled to experience something different, but it also introduces fans of the genre, otherwise used to playing such games on modern hardware to explore the wizardry in their midst on circuits of old.
    For this entry, I’m covering Oratorio, a rhythm action rail shooter for the NES by John Vanderhoef, and published by Premium Edition Games. As of the time of this writing, the game can be downloaded on John’s itch.io page here, and the physical game can be ordered from Premium Edition Games here.

    Standard CIB edition, plus challenge card & dog tag
     
    Development Team:
    @johnvanderhoef (John Vanderhoef): programming, design, story
    @Raftronaut (Jordan Davis): sound/music design
    Kacper Wozniak: art
    Anokolisa: art
    RaccoonTruck: art
    Quintino Pixels: art
     
    Game Evolution:
    Oratorio was originally developed for the NESmaker Byte-Off III competition in 2022, where it won the Wombat Award, given to the most surprising, unique, or unexpected game submitted. Following the competition, John set up an itch.io page for Oratorio as early as September 1, 2022 (which is what the site states as the game’s publication date). However, John began to truly tease the game soon after on October 19, 2022. Our feeds were soon shot up with more tidbits of gameplay and evolving box art until the game’s pre-order opening through Premium Edition Games on September 11, 2023. Up for grabs were two options: a regular edition CIB and a limited-edition CIB. While both offerings included the CIB, and Premium Edition Games’ typical challenge card and dog tag goodies, the limited edition came with a silver cart and a foil box. As of the time of this writing, fans eagerly await the game, but pre-orders will be fulfilled soon.

    Stage Select screenshot from Oratorio
     
    Gameplay:
    Oratorio describes itself as a rhythm action rail shooter. You play as Oratorio, a hacker working with Save Organic Life (SOL) on a mission to steal back the copy-protected DNA hoarded by the powerful mega corporation Nu-Li. Nu-Li has made life itself a luxury good in a world falling apart due to climate change. Only in fighting back can you recover what’s been locked away by the few so the many can have it back.
    Through this game, your actions create the music, with the recommendation that you press the B-button to the beat. Use the D-pad to move the cursor, hit the B-button to shoot, and hit the A-button to use a bomb.

    Screenshot from Oratorio
     
    Review:
    Oratorio is a playful challenge of colorful coordination. The game plays like Guitar Hero or Rock Band (or D-Pad Hero for you homebrew deep cut fans) if the notes fought back. A game like this could be especially tricky on an older console, with a limited framerate, color palette, and controls, but John is a practiced hand who has adopted the rhythm action rail shooter to the NES quite well. The game, though difficult, never feels unfair with enemies that are clearly distinct from their environments and ample time to line up your targets. Stages don’t feel tedious either, as the areas draw you closer to their respective bosses with an ever-quickening, tension-building pace.
    The game’s art design is trippy, presenting a mesmerizing bouquet of color that feels like being inside the world of Tron. These graphics aren’t just in service to portraying a shooter, it is clear that the story revolves around nature and being inside a computer world, as though this game was adapting a modern day remake of Hackers, but retaining the deliciously cheesy 90s CGI.

    I mean, everyone else is doing reboots
     
    Meanwhile the game’s music, if you are skilled enough to make it come forth, offers playful romps that propel you forward. As a proper entry in the genre, you quite literally get out of the soundtrack what you put in, but as long as you try to bop along to the beat, there is something to enjoy while you hack the planet.
     
    Interviews:
    I hacked John’s brain to get the real scoop on Oratorio, and connected with Jeff Wittenhagen of Premium Edition Games to steal all the juicy stories for you. Read on for more…
     

    John Vanderhoef
    @johnvanderhoef
    -Before we dive into Oratorio, I would love to talk about your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer? What is your origin story?
    That’s a long story. The first video game I remember playing was probably Super Mario Bros. on the NES. The NES was, subsequently, my first ever game console as well. My ur-console, if you will. So, I’ve always had a certain affinity for the machine, despite moving very quickly, after about three years or so, into the SNES era like most people in the early 90s.
    I’m still not sure how, but I ended up misplacing my childhood NES sometime in the mid-90s, and I wouldn’t own an NES again until 2012. I was in a PhD program at the time at UC-Santa Barbara, and I was taking a media history course. I decided to write about NES homebrew developers for my seminar paper, since I had a passing knowledge of some of the work and was curious to find out more.
    As part of my research, or perhaps as just an excuse, I bought a refurbished NES off of a user on what was at the time NintendoAge. I also picked up Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril. In any case, I wrote my seminar paper and, as part of my dissertation, returned to the subject in 2014 where I expanded on it and turned the paper into a chapter on NES homebrew as part of a larger project on the creative economy of indie game development.
    It’s at this time that I met and interviewed people like Paul Molloy (Infinite NES Lives) and Derek Andrews (Legends of Owlia). It was also around this time that I started to experiment with game-making as a hobby. By the time I finished my dissertation in 2016, I had already fiddled with software like Inform 7, Twine, RPG Maker and Unity. But even then, I never thought I would actually be able to make an NES game. At the end of the day, I’m a creative writer at heart, not a programmer.
    To try to make a terribly long story shorter, everything changed with the announcement of the NESmaker Kickstarter in, I think, 2018 or so, by Joe Granato. I ended up backing the Kickstarter since I was eager to try making games using a variety of software, but even after the initial program became available, I was too busy with work and Unity projects to give it a try. Plus, I just didn’t have an idea for an NES game yet.
    That inspiration would come in December 2018. Some friends and I were having what used to be an annual NES MULE tournament – MULE being the classic sci-fi economic simulator game. For those unfamiliar, it’s kind of like a digital board game. It was really innovative for its time and was one of the few truly great four-player experiences on the NES port.

    Not to be an ass, but MULE is where it began??
    Prior to these tournaments, I never had any particular relationship with MULE myself, but it gave us all an excuse to hangout and drink once per year. Anyway, at one point during that extended play session in December 2018, I joked about making an NES game from the perspective of the Wampus, a creature players can hunt in that game after finishing any necessary work during their turn. I always saw the Wampus as an abused and bullied creature in the game and imagined a scenario where the Wampus could enact revenge on the alien settlers or colonists that players control. My throwaway joke took hold of my mind and wouldn’t let go.
    So, in January 2019, I began development on what would become my first NES game, Wampus, by finally installing NESmaker, following the video tutorials, and befriending the development community in that space. It took several months, but eventually I was hooked. As a result, except for a few side projects, all my development work between 2019 and 2023 has been for the NES. It’s been…an almost surreal journey.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    This is a difficult question to answer. I look to different influences depending on the game project I’m working on. For instance, for Wampus, I was drawing from games like The Legend of Zelda, but also thinking about how to streamline that quest to be something players can fly through in less than an hour. For Wart Worm Wingding, I was inspired by Bubble Bobble and Dig Dug. For Bat Lizard Bonanza, I looked at games like Gradius, Parodius, and other NES shmups. For Leggite Luta Livre, I looked at Double Dragon, and Nemulesis is nothing if not a love letter to Contra and the entire run-and-run genre.
    So, my influences are a case-by-case basis. I am a student of video game history, and I’ve been playing games continuously since around 1989. I take broad inspiration from every generation of games. Some big influences for me, overall, are the Oddworld games from Oddworld Inhabitants and Lorne Lanning, Shigeru Miyamoto’s work, obviously, Fumito Ueda, the designer of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian, the narrative work in BioShock or The Last of Us – the list goes on. I like games that can inspire or evoke myth and folklore, games that invite us into alien or captivating narrative worlds, and games that invite players in with simple mechanics and then build off those mechanics in novel and exciting ways.
    Most recently, for Oratorio, my biggest influences were the games of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, specifically Rez and Child of Eden.
    I try to keep abreast of what’s happening in video games across generations, across genres, across platforms, etc. I might have a Meta Quest controller in my hand one minute and an NES controller in my hand the next. I’ll jump between my Analogue Pocket, my AVS, my PC, my VR headset, and my Switch quite often. There’s so much cultural production in the games space right now – from amazing hobbyist craft to jaw-dropping commercial indie work to the bombastic AAA space which can still manage to wow me now and again – it’s very easy to just keep your nose within even just the NES dev scene and have more than enough to look forward to. But I try to take a peak at everything happening, even if that’s literally impossible today.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    First, while my design changes project to project, I approach most projects from a narrative-first sensibility. I know that sounds silly when you look at some of my NES games. But like I said before, I’m a writer first and foremost. If I can’t crack the nut of what the story is, if I can't imagine the world and characters and stakes, I can’t get excited about building the game, even if the mechanics have very little to do with the narrative shell or framing of the game. That’s just how I work.
    So, in a broad sense, a hallmark of a John Vanderhoef game is the DNA of storytelling. And to add to that, I would say either a world–building sensibility or a poetic sense of intimacy – and sometimes both in rare cases.
    Second, my games have a minimalist approach to mechanics. Part of this is to streamline player onboarding and to create very straightforward, but engaging, interactive experiences. The other part of this, however, is probably because I’m not a very good programmer, despite my years of experience at this point. And since I don’t have the luxury of working with one closely, I try to keep my designs simple enough to be executable.
    Third, as I already hinted at above, I try to create bite-sized experiences that go out of their way not to waste a player’s time. I like letting players jump into the game as quickly as possible. If I include cinematic screens, I make them skippable with a button press. Like many adults, I find myself always busy, so when I get time to play games, I want games that respect my time. Don’t make me sit through your dialogue. If it’s captivating, I’ll read it. Otherwise, let me skip it. Don’t overburden me with tutorials. If I want to know how to play the game, give me the option for the tutorial or I’ll seek it out in the manual or online. Just give me the meat of the thing as quickly as possible. Take the leash off and let me go. These are things I want as an adult player, so this philosophy is woven into all of my games. For instance, you can go from starting up Oratorio to rocking out in any of the levels in less than 10 seconds. I assume. I haven’t timed it or anything.
    Fourth, and finally, despite not being a trained artist, I try to imbue my games with aesthetically pleasing visuals. That doesn’t mean they have the best pixel art. Far from it. But they are pleasing on the eyes – or on my eyes, at least – and have distinct looks. I’ve improved a lot as a pixel artist over the last four years, but I’ve also gotten really good at mixing the pixel art from different artists to create a cohesive whole. Now, not everybody might agree with this point. I’ve even been told one or two of my games are ugly. I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.
    Fifth, and finally, most of my games have something bigger to say about society or culture or life. They are about things. Even something silly like Wampus. Games like Oratorio, if players look at the story, are very much concerned with some of the most pressing issues of our time.

    Screenshot from Wampus
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    My primary developer environment for NESdev is NESmaker. I use Notepad++ to write the asm. I often use the NESmaker pixel editor to draw or edit art, but I also use aesprite. In addition, I use software like Gimp and NESst, among others. I try to find a workflow or pipeline that works for me. That’s incredibly important for me. If I don’t have a clear workflow I can slip into when I’m super tired or even distracted, progress slows to a halt.

    Wish I had more revelations to share beyond that. But once I find something that works, I tend to stick to it.
     
    -You’re also known for your Muleniverse series of games. How has this project compared to working on that series?
    After I moved on from the Muleniverse, which will always have a special place in my heart, I made a game called Orebody: Binder’s Tale, a kind of spiritual successor to Nemulesis but one that takes place in a completely original sci-fi world. I’m still very proud of that game, despite it maybe not connecting with many people. Orebody is also a universe I plan to make many more games within, perhaps just not for the NES.
    But after Binder’s Tale, I was in between projects and talking with Jordan Davis (developer of Space Raft and Storied Sword), who has been the composer on all of my NES games since Leggite Luta Livre. I asked if he would be interested in collaborating on a Byte-Off 2022 entry – a kind of NESdev compo for the NESmaker community. I was thinking about an NES game where everything the player did contributed to the soundscape. Of course, after consulting with Jordan, it was clear that building something like that would be incredibly difficult given how the NES sound channels work.
    Luckily, a NESmaker user – Kasumi, I think – had previously shared a method to mute and unmute individual sound channels. CutterCross might have helped me with this, too. I honestly can’t quite remember. I used this concept to develop a system where players would unmute different sound channels through specific actions: firing the projectile, hitting an enemy, etc. However, the REALLY BIG challenge was how to compose a song that would work with players randomly unmuting, very briefly, different sound channels within it. That’s where Jordan worked his magic.
    I’m going off the rails here, though. I guess I just wanted to share the origins of Oratorio to get at how working on it was so different for me. Every other game I had made previously was based on some preexisting template, some game genre already established on the NES. With Oratorio, I was committed to imagining what Mizuguchi’s Rez might have been like on the 8-bit NES. So, I had to kind of invent the thing myself, while collaborating with Jordan to make the music and rhythm aspect of it work.
    In many ways, it was exciting to be charting new ground, but it also was a big challenge for me, despite having several titles under my belt at this time.
     
    -At the heart of Oratorio is its rhythm-oriented play. Did you find it challenging to program a game with precise gameplay elements for the NES, given Oratorio draws inspiration from games on more modern platforms?
    I find programming any game challenging. Some experienced NESdevs might either laugh at that or nod in agreement.
    But the smoke and mirrors of Oratorio – the trick, if you will – is that it doesn’t rely on precise timing. It’s much more dynamic.
    Part of the design ethos was to create a system that didn’t necessarily punish players for playing the game how they wanted. As a result, there’s no correct rhythm to the game, no exact moment when players should be firing or hitting enemies. They can just experiment and find a shooting rhythm that sounds best to them. The idea is for players to get lost in the interplay between the shooting objectives in the game and the resulting music that explodes from the screen as a result.
    Once again, I have to hand it to Jordan. He composed the only kinds of songs that work in this scenario. While a basic drum beat is always playing, you can unmute the other two sound channels at any time and it’s always complementary rather than jarring or discordant. Something to do with the use of scales, maybe? If I’m not a particularly talented coder, I’m somehow an even worse musician, if you can believe it.
    Now, unfortunately, this “freedom” has alienated some players. They ask, “Am I playing right?” or “How am I supposed to be playing?” My answer is always, find a firing rhythm that works for you. And then just allow yourself to be lost in the syNESthesia of it all. Mizuguchi designed Rez and Child of Eden – and even Tetris Effect – to create a sense of synesthesia, a multi-sensory experience where the interplay between gameplay, music, rumble, and even the player’s own mind/body all blend together, creating a kind of zen zone. I’m not claiming Oratorio achieves that milestone entirely, but part of the pleasure in the game, for me, is being able to just slip into the musical experience and zone out. In many ways, as a result, the game feels a bit like an interactive album.

    Screenshot from Child of Eden for the PS3
     
    -What elements are crucial for a good rhythm action rail-shooter?
    Well, there’s two approaches one might take. The first approach requires precision timing that forces or encourages the player to fire their projectile at specific times or gives them a small window to hit enemies. We might think of traditional rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero, or even the NES homebrew variations like Hyperbeatz or D-Pad Hero. It’s designing the world/playspace and interactive possibilities around the music, in other words.
    But as I said previously, Oratorio isn’t a precision rhythm game. Instead, it adopts a free-style approach to player actions. The soundtrack is designed so that certain channels can be unmuted at any time and it will just work in terms of sounding appropriate. What I didn’t want to do was create a game where players felt punished if they weren’t playing “correctly” or where they had an inferior sonic experience for making “mistakes.” In Oratorio, there are no mistakes. Hell, there’s an entire “No Fail” mode for people who just want to play the game like an interactive album without being worried about dying. Players can shoot when they want and just enjoy the dynamic soundtrack as they attack enemies or hit bosses or destroy power-ups to collect them. Every player might fire at a slightly different rhythm. I always recommend that players find a rhythm that sounds best for their ears.
    To get back to the heart of the question, however – what’s crucial, to me, is to reward players instead of punishing them. To link player actions to sonic and aural rewards, and to create a sense of unity between the mechanics of the game and the dynamic soundtrack. Rez and Child of Eden have a much more sophisticated approach to this design problem, but I was working both within the limitations of the NES and my own limitations as a programmer.
    Outside of that, I tried to create varied environments that expressed a sense of pseudo-3D but also a unique aesthetic and beauty all their own. Area 1 is based on a minimalist, pared back aesthetic where a digital hallway slowly forms around the player as they progress, at times even resembling sound waves. Area 2 has a spider and insect aesthetic where the area’s boss slowly descends as the background gets covered in webs and the track goes from sparse to filled out as players progress. Area 3 is an underwater aesthetic that goes from being made of binary code to an undersea current tunnel full of fish and coral. Area 4 is inspired by Japanese zen gardens and passes through four seasons before reaching a crescendo with cherry blossom petals streaming across the player’s view. Area 5 leans into an alien geometric aesthetic – I was going for very much non-human – and transforms and grows in its own unique way.
    Things should feel good, sound good and look good in a rhythm action rail-shooter, following the mold set by Rez. I was also always striving to achieve a sense of synesthesia. At times, I feel the game accomplishes that, despite not having force feedback support as a third level of sensation.
     
    -How did you connect with Jordan Davis, Kacper Wozniak, Anokolisa, RaccoonTruck, and Quintino Pixels? What was the working dynamic like across your collaboration?
    I first encountered Jordan Davis on the NESmaker forums. But I didn’t actually become good friends with him until Frank Westphal reminded me that Jordan lived in Milwaukee. For various reasons, I moved from Long Beach, CA back to Milwaukee, WI during the COVID-19 pandemic. I reached out to Jordan and we sparked up a friendship. After he agreed to be the composer on my third NES game, we’ve worked together ever since.
    And again, I can’t imagine anybody else pulling off the songs necessary to make Oratorio work. Jordan creates music faster than anybody I know. And he has an incredible ear. He also has a knack for taking my rambling descriptions of what I envision and composing original tracks that somehow nail the assignment. He’s a bit of a chiptunes (and musical) genius. So yeah, great guy, and a great guy to work with.
    I reached out to Kacper Wozniak, a Polish pixel artist (at least I think he’s in Poland), after encountering some of his work on the Itch.io asset marketplace. I purchase a lot of my pixel art on that marketplace and then adapt it to work in specific projects. For all non-artists who might be reading this, the Itch.io marketplace is a great place to look for visual assets. I can sometimes externalize what’s in my head in pixel art form, and I’m always getting better at doing this, but often I need some help in creating the full visual landscape for an entire game. In any case, I reached out to Wozniak and hired him to create more bespoke enemy pixel art for Oratorio based on an asset package he had already created.
    The others you mentioned are other pixel artists with assets I purchased on the Itch.io asset store. They each have very small bits in the game that helped bring various areas together visually, even if it’s a small detail. I dig all of their work and recommend them to anybody looking for visual assets.
    Unlike the majority of my other games, however, the majority of the background art in Oratorio is of my own creation. I just burrowed small elements from existing paid assets for additional art that was needed. Like all of my projects, Oratorio is a chimera, but one I think blends together quite nicely.
     
    -How did you connect with Premium Edition Games, and how has working with them been?
    I think I first met Jeffrey Wittenhagen of Premium Edition Games at Midwest Gaming Classic in November 2021. Maybe? I was showing a very early demo of Orebody: Binder’s Tale there at the time. It was the first MGC since COVID. In any case, Jeff reached out early in 2022 and asked whether I was looking for a publisher for Binder’s Tale. It just so happens that I was. So, we very quickly became partners.
    Premium Edition Games puts a lot of heart into the physical editions they release, although they work mostly on Switch. Binder’s Tale was their first NES release. But I was impressed with how the packaging turned out. One of my best friends, Milwaukee-based artist Matthew Warren Lee, created an original oil painting that became the cover art for Binder’s Tale. Premium was able to incorporate that art into the release and put together an overall package that feels authentic and beautiful.
    They also helped me reach a larger audience than I ever would have alone. As many learn once they start gamedev, the hardest part of the process is often not making the game at all. It’s getting people to know about and care about it. It helps to have a concentrated community like NES homebrew fans, but as you can see by the wildly different coverage and sales of some homebrews over others, it’s still all about a media and promotional strategy. People can’t fall in love with what they don’t know exists.
    In any case, as a result of working with Premium and some other partners, like Nami Tentou, Orebody: Binder’s Tale became my most “successful” game to date.
    The folks at Premium are also just generally peppy and have a genuine love for retro and indie games. They are at most retro game conventions around the country, so many people reading this can probably attest to their friendly attitudes if they’ve ever chatted them up at their tables.

    If the name Nami Tentou sounds familiar, it’s because they’re behind this exciting project
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind Oratorio’s design, do you identify with Oratorio and SOLs’s cause?
    I purposefully left the design of the physical character of Oratorio mostly absent from the game. Players only control a little pulsating computer cursor during gameplay, after all. Now, there is a hint at Oratorio perhaps being female or female-identifying in the game’s story section, but I didn’t put that image in there as necessarily representative of Oratorio. Instead, it’s more of a hint or tease, if anything. Just a general cyberpunk hacker type. Oratorio could be anybody.
    That said, I would say that the politics and existential concerns of the game are very much in line with my own. It’s a game that is very engaged with some of the most pressing problems in our world today, problems that affect everybody. Global warming and climate change. The mass extinction of species. Surveillance. Artificial intelligence. The growing power and influence of multinational tech conglomerates. These are issues everybody should be concerned about.
    As mentioned previously, many of my games are engaged in social issues and a critique of specific ideological persuasions. Of course, they can all be enjoyed regardless of one’s personal beliefs; however, if people look into any of them, they all have something to say.
     
    -What aspects of Oratorio are you most proud of?
    I’m proud of the look of the game, given that it's the visual product of many different artists. I’m proud of the dynamic soundtrack thanks to the base code from Kasumi and the unique compositional work of Jordan. And I’m proud of the unique experience it offers NES players. I sometimes feel like I make games for me, and I’m often befuddled when others do not have the same experience of playing them. I’ve already seen that with some players of Oratorio, even as I’ve seen others disappear into it the same way that I do. One of my favorite moments was at Midwest Gaming Classic 2023 when a kid who was about 12 years old sat down at a demo station for Oratorio and proceeded to play through the entire game, in its current form, over a 60-minute or so period. That kid just connected with the game the way I hope most people do when they sit down with it.
    There’s almost nothing else like Oratorio on the system. The one game that comes close, which is a game Fei at Broke Studios pointed out to me, is Otocky for the Famicom Disk System. I had never heard of the game before he mentioned it to me, and sure enough, it’s doing some really interesting things as far as music shooters go, especially for 1987. So, ultimately, I’m proud for having created a really unique addition to the NES library, especially since it will be the last NES game I develop for quite some time.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Oratorio? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    I’ve shared most of the challenges in answers to other questions. Mostly, the game I had in mind just presented a number of design challenges, not necessarily for the NES itself, but for me as somebody with limited programming skills.
    I had to solve the dynamic music activation problem. I had to try to squeeze pseudo-3D graphics out of the system with limited programming and art skills. I had to make compromises with pseudo-scaling of enemies because of bespoke drawing code I was using to keep the game from slowing to a crawl based on the bloated NESmaker base code. In other words, I would have ideally wanted more versions of my games enemies to create a better sense of scaling and depth. But I had to compromise on that to achieve more varied enemy movements along with the other concerns I just mentioned. I had to figure out a way to spawn waves of enemies, keep track of which wave the player is on, and basically crack the nut that is the core game loop of – destroy several enemy waves and then warp to the next section of the level. As most experienced NESdevs will tell you, it’s all about variables and timers. And my solutions are far from elegant. But they work. They get the job done.
    Every one of my games forced me to learn new things, but I had to do the most “original” problem-solving and work on Oratorio, just because there wasn’t a template to adopt and work from.
    The lessons, if there are any, is to understand exactly what output you want to achieve, make sure that output is possible given the constraints of the NES, and then just start solving each problem, one after the other, making compromises where you must, until the design is more or less implemented in one form or another. Then polish the hell out of it, if possible.
    It’s funny, of course, because we all have those problems we spend weeks on that another developer might have figured out in less than an hour or even 10 minutes. So, the other lesson is, if it’s not already glaringly obvious, don’t be afraid to reach out to the NESdev or NESmaker community for help if you need it. While there are some prickly people – that’s any community – the vast majority are warm and generous.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Oratorio since its pre-order launched on Premium Edition Games. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
    Has there been?
    I mean that honestly. I really don’t know.
    I know some of my usual supporters and NES homebrew enthusiasts pre-ordered a copy. But I don’t know the numbers specifically. But I love them to death for it. This game means a lot to me, and their support means just as much.
    But I often don’t hear directly from players or purchasers. In fact, I’ve gotten very little feedback on any of my games. Maybe the occasional troll. It can feel very isolating. I only go on developing because I’m driven by the creative satisfaction it brings me personally. Sometimes it feels like a sickness. I don’t know. Maybe other creatives feel the same way. I always hope people like what I make, that some even come to love the games the way I do. But it’s just hard for me to ever tell.
    I know a lot of creators go through bouts of depression when they finish projects. I’m not immune to that. But it isn’t the project being over that does it for me. It’s the void of not knowing if anybody else even cares a lick about it. Because that’s the goal when making the thing, besides pleasing myself. The titillation I designed into the thing, that gets me when I play – I want others to feel that same tingle, to get that same tickle in their pleasure center. Sometimes I feel like I’m the best in the world at making games for John Vanderhoef, but maybe not so great at making games for everybody else.
    So, if you’re right, that there is genuine support and enthusiasm for Oratorio, it feels good. And I would offer all of those people my sincere gratitude. And I hope they enjoy the game. Grab a physical copy or go grab the ROM on my Itch page.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES, or otherwise? Any dream projects?
    I’ve now made seven NES games – eight if you count a small box-pushing game I did as an Orebody side story game. I tend to work fast and overzealously when in the middle of a project. I’m not a perfectionist, and I have literally dozens of game ideas for all kinds of platforms. I’m ready to move on from NES dev for the time being.
    The next project out of my studio, Orebody Inc., will be another Orebody project. And it’s going to be a Gameboy game. The game is tentatively called Hammermill: An Orebody Story. It’ll take place on the oceans of the planet Orebody – the same planet where Binder’s Tale takes place – and players will take control of a scrap metal scavenger named Xosha, a kind of deep sea diver who befriends a baby alien squid creature and must help it track down its parents. It’ll be a bite-sized, quirky, yet epic adventure for the handheld system that introduces players to new locales on Orebody not seen in Binder’s Tale. The gameplay will include ship exploration and battles, undersea exploration and scavenging, a gradual upgrade system for your salvage ship and your diving suit, and narrative-focused sections to reveal more of the world of Orebody.
    Everything I just mentioned is subject to change, but that’s the basic design doc, in a nutshell. I thought hard about what kinds of experiences I enjoy on the Gameboy, and this is the design I came up with. Hopefully I don’t end up just creating another game for myself. Haha.
    Beyond that? If there is anybody genuinely interested in the world of Orebody, I encourage you to play the demo for Sporebody: An Orebody Story. I released that demo in 2022 for the PC. Let me know if you’d want a full game. That’s an atmospheric environmental puzzle-game inspired by games like Limbo and Inside. The reception to the demo was so abysmal, I shelved it after the proof-of-concept.
    I don’t like to have “dream” projects – I like to stay practical, so things actually get done – but if I did have a dream project, it would involve a dedicated team of engineers, artists, animators, a few more designers, and a symphonic composer, among many other support positions. Having the collaboration of a full studio would feel amazing after so many games laboring, more or less, alone.
    As a creative, I love to dream, and if I was ever lucky enough to have the resources, I could certainly dream bigger.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Oh, man.
    I’m just going to list some, and I apologize if I forget some from my friends and compatriots.
    The Storied Sword. Courier. Project SKIFF. The Adventures of Panzer III. Mystic Searches. Super Tilt Bros. Get it Together. CrossPaint. Light from Within. Super Sunny World.
    People should also check out some more recently released titles like Skate Cat, Bobby Six Seven, and Gunhawk.
    There are so many more.
    Honestly, I just love seeing what the community comes up with. Whether its NESdev Compo, Byte-Off, and all the games from these and other jams that get developed into full games, the NESdev community has never been stronger. I’ve made some really good friends in this space and, by and large, it has mostly been a very positive community.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    If you like something somebody has created – be it a book, movie, TV show, game, podcast, video, art, etc. – reach out and tell them so. You might not think that it matters or that they might not care, but it would likely make that person’s day.
    We’re all just floating through the void together. Might as well spread a little love.
     
     


    Jeffrey Wittenhagen/Premium Edition Games
    @HagensAlley/@PremiumEdition1
    -Before we dive into Oratorio, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first drew you into the homebrew community? What is the origin story of Hagen’s Alley, the VGBS Podcast, and Premium Edition Games?
    Wow, this is a loaded question as it’s about three major things that I do! 
    Hagen’s Alley Books
    Hagen’s Alley Books started over 10 years ago when I had a website that went under (vgmastersclub.com) due to not being able to afford the server fees with getting over a million hits a day. All my articles disappeared, and I wanted to preserve the articles in book format. No traditional publishers could handle a book like what I do with tons of images and reviews, so I decided to do it myself! 
    My goal with Hagen’s Alley has always been to offer up affordable avenues for passionate creators to get their books and ideas out there. It’s actually never been about only publishing books on video games either, that’s just what I’m most passionate about! Over the years I have referred to myself as a “reverse publisher” as going around to various big industry publishers, they often offer authors insultingly low payouts with the promise of distribution and sales that frequently do not come to fruition. 
    VGBS Podcast
    VGBS Gaming Podcast started with my cousin Kyle Gilbert and I recording our 2-3 hour conversations BS’ing about video games. 100 episodes later, with the series finale interviewing the AVGN himself James Rolfe, the podcast took a long hiatus. Many years later, with the passing of Kyle, fellow author and creative mind Tristan Ibarra joined me on the podcast as a tribute to continue the VGBS formula. We talk about anything and everything video games, focusing on collecting and playing a game for homework to slowly tackle our backlog!

    Which even published a synopsis of each episode of Season 1 on an NES cart
    Premium Edition Games
    Premium Edition came about because publishing licensed games for Nintendo has always been a dream of mine. During 2020, Nintendo approved us as a publisher and the rest is history! The key here is that at Premium Edition we will always go above and beyond and at the beat of our own drum. We will always look to do things a bit differently than your traditional publisher.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    For influences, I always like to say I am the “hipster artist” of the publishing community. I am typically trying new things all the time, so I’m not really looking for what others are doing, but what we can do to raise the bar on what physical games can do. Like with our challenge patches, the cards we include in our physical releases have a developer created challenge where the player can earn a physical patch that is mailed to them for free! This hasn’t been done since Activision on the original Atari and it's really fun to get collectors to actually open and play their games to “complete their collection”. 
    As for game developers, I’m always following tons of indie developers and creators, especially in genres that I love such as Metroidvanias and Action RPGs. While I don’t have anyone I’m specific to shoutout here, I am always looking in all directions.
     
    -Premium Edition Games releases homebrew & indie games across multiple consoles. As someone who plays new games on old consoles as well as retro-inspired games on modern platforms, how do they compare to you?
    Growing up in the 80s and coming into my own as a gamer in the 90s, the “retro-inspired” aesthetic is my jam! While I absolutely love my classic retro games, being able to play new games on classic consoles is a dream and add in the retro-revival on modern consoles with indie games featuring retro aesthetics, we truly are living in a gaming paradise nowadays!
     
    -How would you describe Premium Edition Games’ aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game published by you?
    High quality physical releases with tons of quality upgrades, such as embossing and of course foil! We handpick games that we sign, and the developers have to be as passionate as we are!
     
    -How would you describe the range of services that Premium Edition Games provides to potential clients? Who do you wish to attract with your offerings?
    We offer the best quality physical releases on the planet! So any developer who wants their game preserved physically in the best way possible, that’s who we want to attract.
     
    -Do the permanent members of Premium Edition Games have particular roles or specialties? What does the division of labor look like on a given project?
    We all have our own roles and responsibilities. Some do design, some production, some shipping, some sales and distribution outreach, others marketing. Every part of the business has team members involved with it! A couple of us kind of are a jack of all trades as well, helping keep things running smoothly.
     
    -Is Premium Edition Games hiring? Are you looking to bring on more partners, generally or with particular skills, to expand your capabilities?
    Premium Edition Games is always looking to expand. We are looking for people to bring on with specific skills, especially marketing and sales skills as we can never get our name out there enough! We are also looking for people to join us when we attend conventions to help at our tables. The main thing we consider is you need to be passionate and care about what we do!
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in publishing Oratorio? How did you first connect with John?
    Publishing Oratorio has been surprisingly easy, I’ve known John for a couple years now and he’s always great to work with. We published Orebody: Binder’s Tale, which was the first game of John’s to get a physical with Premium Edition Games.

    CIB offering of Orebody: Binder’s Tale
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in publishing Oratorio?
    John has used a specific way of programming Oratorio and there is a specific board that must be used when programming the cartridge. That’s a new one for us, but nothing too challenging! Publishing NES games is a great time!
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    Oh, we have tons of games signed and on the horizon at Premium Edition Games that we are excited about, including some amazing dream projects with major IPs. However, we typically unveil these at our Premium Directs on YouTube so I can’t really go into details, or my team would hang me!
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Since NintendoAge disappeared many years ago, I’ve actually been out of the loop when it comes to knowing about new “traditionally programmed” NES Homebrew games, outside of NESmaker games. However, with the influx of Game Boy games recently, I am excited to see what’s in store for that community! Of course, I’m also aware of the thousands upon thousands of indie games programmed for modern consoles and it’s exciting to see what is continually created by passionate developers.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    I’ve recently been stepping up my production on books at Hagen’s Alley, so be sure to prepare for The Complete Genesis book coming out, which has been over 6 years coming, along with my newest Bookazine series focusing on my favorite genre the Metroidvania! Of course don’t forget that I’m still creating books, going year by year covering physical releases for the Nintendo Switch!

    Kickstarter concluded, but pre-orders still open!
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the adventures behind the latest homebrews making their way to you. Are you gunning to add Oratorio to your collection? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  5. Scrobins

    Episode 40: The Meating

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 40: The Meating

    Introduction:
    I keep a list of games and developers that I’m eager to write about and interview for this blog in the hope that we might connect, and I can eventually devote a post to them. The friendships I’ve developed in this community have gone a long way toward making some of these hopes manifest at the most opportune moments. People can be busy and may be slow to respond to a message, especially if they don’t know me well, but with good relationships built on a good reputation, others can connect you with people you couldn’t previously access. Or in some cases, they may bring you an opportunity before you’ve had the chance to put the word out; such is my happy friendship with Mega Cat Studios. I have wanted to cover this game for a long time and worried my chance had passed until I received an email from Mina Cat asking if I would be interested in interviewing the game’s developer…so here we go!
    For this entry, I’m covering The Meating, a puzzle platformer for the NES, developed by Alexander Tokmakov. As of the time of this writing, the Kickstarter campaign brought by Mega Cat Studios has concluded, and backers will receive their pledged rewards around February 2024. In the meantime, new pre-orders for physical copies of the game will soon be available for purchase here.

    Standard CIB art & glow in the dark standard edition cart
     
    Development Team:
    Alexander Tokmakov: developer
     
    Game Evolution:
    The Meating first went up on the chopping block with its Kickstarter campaign on October 27, 2023. However fans of Mega Cat may recognize this title as a prime-aged cut of beef, which has been fine-tuned over the years. I’ve played several demos of The Meating at conventions; this game’s development has also been the evolution of my friendship with James and Mega Cat. So seeing this steak come to my plate is a real treat, but I digress.
    By season(ing)’s end, The Meating had 501 orders with more than $33,000 pledged. Backer tiers were organized in juicy meat themes, which included the game’s rom, cart-only, CIB, a limited edition meat cart, a Switch code for the Nintendo Switch port, a Gameboy Advance CIB, a digital soundtrack, poster, and game pin. The limited edition CIB sold so well and had supporters pounding the table so hard, that Mega Cat created a second limited edition CIB to sate their appetites, this one a glow in the dark ghost design.

    The meat slab special edition, which sold out so quickly, a second special edition was created
     
    Gameplay:
    The Meating describes itself as a puzzle platformer. You play as Konstantinos (Kon), a minotaur who won his freedom in the bullfighting world following his victory over the famed matador, El Culo Rojo. Kon spends his newfound freedom in the dating scene, but is ultimately catfished (bullfished?) by a butcher who promptly slaughters gullible ol’ Kon. Fortunately Gyros, the benevolent Greek god of meat, grants Kon a chance to find his scattered cuts of beef and get some reassembled revenge.
    Controls are fairly straightforward, with some grade-A configurations mixed in for a meatloaf mixture of added flavor. Use the D-pad to move left and right, press the A-button to jump, press the B-button to charge attack, hold the B-button while midair to float, press Select to toggle through acquired abilities such as teleportation or telekinesis, and press Up and B to use the selected power.

    Screenshot of The Meating
     
    Review:
    The Meating is the kind of puzzle-oriented platformer that you can really sink your teeth into. I remember being impressed with the game when I played the demo a few years ago, though I struggled with the special abilities. I can handle standard controls, but when a game does something different, I’m both fascinated and frustrated because my intuition is challenged, but I appreciate how more complex gaming mechanics can be incorporated. Truly the controls are where retro gaming can see some real creativity. I’m just a bad gamer. I know this. Once you’ve internalized charging, floating, and using special powers, the puzzle aspect of the game begins to eclipse its platforming. Levels are cleverly designed, utilizing enemies, blocks that can be overcome by your powers, the environment, the environment-changing blue buttons, and the finite amount of spirit energy at your disposal. Sometimes you can visualize your path right away, sometimes you have to feel your way through the level until the end reveals itself, but the taste of this game is never bland, always savory.
    The graphics are colorful, dripping with meaty browns, bloody reds, and other vibrant colors as you progress. The animation is very dynamic from the beginning, as backgrounds flow and skeletons explode. Even items and enemies that are for all intents and purposes “idle” bounce and twist with life in a manner that leaves you questioning every aspect of this universe’s reality, but also nicely juxtaposes what you would expect from a game about being dead meat. The music has an upbeat, adventurous tone, with the title screen that channels the TMNT arcade games’ “let’s go” attitude. Meanwhile the individual levels convey a ponderous bop that combines thinking over the puzzles with fun for existing in this bright, silly place.
     
    Interviews:
    I think I’ve hammed it up enough, so let’s get to the interview. I spoke with the developer of The Meating to learn about his stories behind the game, whether there are any deep cuts, or if there’s any beef after his experience. Alex was a real lamb…
     

    Alexander Tokmakov
    -Before we dive into The Meating, I would love to talk about your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer? What is your origin story?
    Oddly enough, my main inspiration was... games. I was 15 years old when I got my first home computer, it was a Soviet BK-0010, and another one later - the ZX Spectrum. My peers also owned other devices, such as Atari 2600, Atari 800, NES. And all these computers and consoles have enabled us to play games.
    One day I became interested in how these games work from the inside. This is where my home computer came in handy, which allowed me to write programs in BASIC. Also, in my time, computer science was a compulsory subject in our schools, so we could use the school computers to improve our skills and also play games.

    In Soviet Russia, BK-0010 compute you!
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I am a relic and besides the 1st-4th generation consoles, I am a big fan of arcade machines, and I believe that these were the best games, since many of them were created by professional artists and musicians, unlike home computers games. Many games on the BK-0010 I mentioned above were clones of arcade games. Some of these arcade games have been ported to well-known consoles.
    Modern games for modern hardware are not interesting to me at all, it looks like a race for realistic graphics, except for indie games. The romantic period of video games ended in the late 90s due to the increasing of technical specifications. No longer a revelation, they became just another part of everyday life.
    But retro games make your imagination work and if you hear the sound of the surf and feel the warmth of the sun when you play Dizzy-2, then this is your game, and it is really good. The list of arcade games is huge, so I continue to explore arcade romset in the MAME emulator.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a game designed by you?
     At first glance, The Meating is a dark fantasy platformer. But this platformer has some non-typical mechanics. The player must not just shoot the boss but use special abilities.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    I use cc65 for the codeб if we talk about NES/Famicom. This is a great tool for those starting to learn 6502 based platforms. Assembly language can be difficult for beginners, so cc65 is a pretty good C compiler.
    As for graphics, there is an excellent utility called NESST (NES screen tool) allows you to import graphics from any modern graphics editor and work with tiles and sprites. Now a fork of this tool got a new life thanks to one of the retro enthusiasts and is called NEXXT.
    We used FamiTracker to create music and effects.
    Tiled for editing game level maps.
    And a bunch of self-made utilities and scripts for parsing, sorting, converting and packaging data, created with Delphi, Visual Studio, Python etc.
     
    -How did you connect with Mega Cat Studios, and how has working with them been?
     I came across their ad on Upwork. There are usually no vacancies for retro game developers on this site, and I found this strange. Anyway, I couldn't create the code, music and graphics by oneself, because I would burn out quickly. So I contacted them and offered to be a part of any of their projects, and that project became The Meating.
     
    -What was the inspiration for The Meating?
    This game was originally a testing ground. Of course, I know several programming languages, but at the time when we started, I did not know the console architecture well enough. So, to improve my skills, we decided to make a non-release mini game.
     
    -Tell me more about your role in the game’s development.
    I had the idea of creating a game for the NES for a very long time. However, it was very clear to me I can't do this alone, since I would need to create not only the code, but also the pixel graphics and music. Even a small project would take up a lot of my time, and most likely I would burn out before I finished with the last pixel, the last line of code and the last note in the soundtrack. Too many people have tried this way, but only a few have reached the end.
    So, I decided to work on the code, while the musician would work on the music, and the artist would work on the pixels.
     
    -And what has the development process been like?
    At first, we made some very simple puzzle games, coming up with it on the fly. The game no longer fit within the selected mapper (CNROM) fairly quickly and we moved the project to another one (UNROM) and upgraded it to the current one (UOROM).
     
    -How does The Meating distinguish itself from other games of its genre?
    The high storyline. Also, additional mechanics make this game something more varied than the classic shoot-and-jump pattern found in platformers. I think it needs more than one attempt before you defeat some of the bosses of the game, but things will fall into place if you remember what powerups are intended for.
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind Kon’s design, do you identify with him at all?
    To be honest, we came up with it on the fly. This was a simple test project to improve my 6502 skills, and not intended for release. But appetite comes with eating, and at one point we didn’t have enough space on the CNROM cart and moved the project to UNROM mapper, then came up with a storyline, added more mechanics, and upgraded the mapper to UOROM.
    Anyway, we created this character and provided two endings. So every time I playtest a game, I try to complete it until the happy end, because:
    "I and this entire world are nothing but a thought someone is thinking", the bear said in a quiet voice. — Victor Pelevin

    Victor Pelevin, Russian fiction writer & my new spirit animal
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for The Meating’s Kickstarter campaign. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
    There's nothing better than lots of positive feedback. This is motivation for the next projects, working on mistakes that many people certainly make, especially in early work.
     
    -Do you have previous experiences with Kickstarter campaigns, if so, how has this campaign been different?
    This is the first Kickstarter project I took part in, so it's unique to me anyway. I like the idea of a cart shaped like the ossobuco I had for dinner last night.
     
    -Where does The Meating draw its inspiration?
    A bunch of them. From Nuts & Milk to Mega Man. We tried to implement many things that a retro player is familiar with. This includes a password system and a starting script that introduces the player to the plot, attract mode. We learned all this from classic games.
     
    -Do you have any fun stories or wild moments to share from development?
    It was an international team. It's always fun for me to learn how people live on other planet's corners. I learned a couple of recipes for meat dishes and destroyed several myths and stereotypes.
     
    -What lessons have you learned that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    There is nothing wrong with making a game with the help of like-minded people. Maybe not all teammates' ideas will be compatible, but finished project are worth more than vainglory.
    Sometimes it's necessary to hold a game before release, like a steak resting under foil. This allows you to look at your work from a different angle or find bugs that were not found before. I think I would fix a lot of things in this game now. But what's done is done, let the wasted enthusiasm build up again.
     
    -Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?
    I don't think so. If someone these days could create a high class beat ‘em up like Battletoads, it would be cool, despite the old mechanics. Personally, I can play this game until the Second Coming.
     
    -How have your previous experiences in the industry helped in your work on this game?
    I haven't developed retro games before, but like other 80s kids, I'm interested in the demoscene a bit, and have been involved in the development of demoscene stuff a few times. Demoscene geeks are fans of optimization, and if they had their way, they would pack the whole world into one bit. The NES only has 2k of RAM, so I also optimized a few things in this game, like saving the states of the ice blocks in the meat freezer world.
     
    -What’s your favorite cut of steak, and how do you like it cooked?
    Medium well marbled strip steak. It's very simple. I heat the oil in a cast iron skillet and fry the garlic in the oil until it turns golden. Then I remove the garlic, add a sprig of rosemary and fry the meat for five minutes on each side, gradually reducing the heat on the stove from high to medium. Salt and pepper to taste.
     
    -What new challenges do you hope to tackle?
    Besides eating meat and gaming, I enjoy disassembling old games and making them run on different hardware than the original one. I'm currently porting an Arkanoid-like game from the ZX Spectrum home computer to the NES. However, this port will only work for the MMC5 mapper, so real carts are out of the question. But I believe homebrew software for this mapper will encourage people to learn it and make carts based on it. Otherwise, this mapper will be lost on the margins of eight-bit history.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES, or otherwise? Any dream projects?
     It would be great to create a fantasy quest tale like Dizzy, or a really good and dynamic shoot 'em up. There are a lot of very good scroll shooters on the NES, like Recca or Zanac, but no one has reached that level in homebrew games at the moment.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I recently came across a demo of The Trial of Kharzoid for the NES. This is an Arkanoid-like game with extended gameplay. I'll definitely be looking forward to the release of this game.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    I would like to wish everyone to have a piece of meat on a pan, a roof and a peaceful sky over their heads, and many good games for their favorite console of childhood.

    Screenshot from The Trial of Kharzoid, in development for the NES by Pascal Belisle
     
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the adventures behind the latest, newest homebrews making their way to you. Is The Meating on your plate? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  6. Scrobins

    Episode 39: Lion Mancala

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 39: Lion Mancala

    Introduction:
    The greatest gift to our community is the emergence of a new developer with fresh ideas, bringing games to our consoles that make us exclaim “I can’t believe we’re only just now getting a game about X!” I keep an eye out across the internet in order to stay on top of homebrew news, trying to stay apprised of progress to games I'm aware of, and learn about new games as well as people who may mention the arrival of friends onto the scene. And I cast a pretty wide net, though I’m hardly the be-all and end-all of what’s out there. But there’s always the opportunity for a surprise, one where I learn about a developer fully-formed, game ready for purchase, and in-demand. I’m just learning they exist and already I have to worry about missing out; good for them! So for this December holiday post, I want to share this talented dev and her game with you, because she is a holiday treat.
    For this entry, I’m covering Lion Mancala, a board game adaption for the NES by Shallow Enigma. As of the time of the writing, the game is available to download, and physical copies of the game can be purchased from their itch.io page here.

    The Physical Edition CIB
     
    Development Team:
    @tabytha.stryker: developer
     
    Game Evolution:
    Lion Mancala emerged from its den with a gameplay demo shared on YouTube on August 26, 2023. Tabytha then posted on a number of sites, including NESdev, AtariAge, and Reddit on August 31, 2023 regarding the game’s initial release on itch.io. The teaser post also noted the existence of the first CIB physical copy, hinting at the production of more copies, should demand present itself. Well, demand certainly manifested, thanks to Tabytha’s promotional efforts and subsequent word of mouth, as she produced several batches of the game to keep up with continuing demand.

    Screenshot from Lion Mancala
     
    Gameplay:
    Lion Mancala is a video game adaptation of a two-player turn-based strategy board game, While this cartridge brings us kalah, regarded as the most popular modern variant, which gained prominence in the U.S. in the 1940s and which is derived from the congkak variant of the game popular in Southeast Asia. Derived from the Arabic root word “naqala,” which translates to “to move,” mancala is among the oldest known games still widely played today. Evidence of the game has been found as far afield as Eastern Europe, East Africa, and Southeast Asia, and as far back in time as Ancient Egypt and Neolithic dwellings in Jordan circa 5,870 B.C.
    Controls are simple, the challenge lies in your strategy! Use the D-pad to move the hand cursor, and the A-button to select. The goal is to place as many seeds (small dots) as you can into your store (the large pit on the right edge of the game board (Player 2’s store is the large pit on the left edge of the board)). Each move consists of “sowing,” choosing one of the houses (one of the six smaller pits on your side of the board: Player 1’s houses are along the bottom, while Player 2’s houses are along the top of the board), taking all the seeds of the selected house, the “sowing” by placing one seed into each pit (house or store) counterclockwise to the originally selected house until you have sown all of the seeds (while sowing includes placing seeds into your opponent’s houses, you do not sow seeds into their store). You receive an extra turn if the last seed sown lands in your store. Additionally, you can capture your opponent’s seeds if the last seed sown lands into one of your empty houses and is directly across from an opponent house which contains seeds. If there are any seeds in that opponent house, they are captured and placed into your store, along with your last sowed seed. The game ends when one player can no longer move because all of their houses are empty. Whoever has the most seeds in their store wins.
     

    Villagers playing mancala in Nigeria
    Review:
    Lion Mancala is an easy-to-learn strategy game that was a new experience for me. Board games are not a common genre in video games, but are a good way to satisfy fans looking to have a multiplayer experience but cannot field additional flesh and blood opponents. Given its ancient roots, playing mancala also felt like connecting with history; I can only hope this heralds more ports of old historically significant games such as faro. Playing Lion Mancala is straightforward, and I felt the manual effectively explained the rules so even a novice like me could jump in and survive. The various strategies, difficulty levels, and the option to select which player makes the first move ensure an endlessly replayable game.
    The game’s graphics feel like you’re playing in a casino with an understated elegance: the game board is functional and easy to distinguish all of its component parts, but there are enough flourishes (especially at the edges) that communicate a beauty to your environment. The title screen has a fun theme that invites you to play, like a carnival barker luring you into the tent. But once in the midst of the game, you are met with silence so you can focus on your strategy (or perhaps some trash talking).
     
    Interviews:
    I decided to venture out into the jungle and interview the developer of Lion Mancala, and learn how one of the world’s oldest games made its way to our favorite gaming console…
     

    Tabytha Stryker
    https://shallowenigma.com/wp/
    -Before we dive into Lion Mancala, I would love to talk about your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer? What is your origin story? What is the story behind the name Shallow Enigma?
    I have been programming since I was 12, when my dad helped me to buy my first computer, a Commodore VIC-20. He agreed to pay for half if I could come up with the other half. Well, I finally had enough to get the machine and a tape unit, and off we went. I had literally nothing more saved to get games or anything else.  I was working part time playing the organ, and soon had enough money to buy some games, but my dad always claimed he was too busy to take me. Eventually, with nothing else to do, I learned enough Basic to program a game (a clone of Dragonfire for the Atari 2600). Once he saw I had programmed something, he suddenly had plenty of time to take me back to the store lol. I've been programming ever since. I love how my dad handled that situation.

    I was a professional programmer for decades, mainly working in the financial industry towards the end.  One thing I worked on that some people may remember was LimeWire. I mostly worked for another part of Lime though, Lime Brokerage, in Manhattan. We shared the same building. Thru the years, I programmed professionally in FORTRAN, C, C++, Smalltalk, Java and C#.

    Most programmers have a list of things they'd like to program one day. One of those items for me was an asteroids clone, which I did when smartphones were first getting started. Another was to program the AI for a board game, and now I can check that off my list as well! The closest I had come was writing small c++ programs to solve the chess puzzles in 'The Seventh Guest' back in the day.

    I'm retired now, but needed to work a bit to help with medical costs. Shallow Enigma provides me with the opportunity to work 1-2 days a week on something I truly enjoy without any of it becoming too
    demanding.

    I chose the name Shallow Enigma because I find it slightly humorous, and I like being able to abbreviate my company name as ShE!

    Screenshot from Dragonfire for the Atari 2600
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Technically, I am highly influenced by the designers of the Unix operating system and design philosophy, including the C language, specifically Dennis Ritchie, Ken Thompson and Brian Kernighan.  Also the object-oriented pioneers behind the Smalltalk language, especially Alan Kay and Dan Ingalls. Kent Beck has been very influential as well, along with Charles Petzold and his ability to explain complex things
    simply and well.

    Musically, by J.S. Bach, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy Page and Rush.

    I like big chunky pixels I can SEE, lol. I will always love 8-bit computing.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    I try to keep things relatively simple and elegant, with a consistent design, aesthetic and user interface. I tend to like to make games authentic to the time period a console was first designed and released.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    For LION Mancala, I used the C programming language, cc65, emacs, bash, neslib, Mesen, yychar, FamiTracker, NES Assets Workshop, paint.net, Swift Publisher 5, Windows 10/11, Ubuntu Linux, Mac OS 13, Coke Zero and MOD Pizza!
     
    -What encouraged you to make games for the NES?
    My love for the 8-bit era, the availability of tools and parts to make new cartridges, and the relatively large amount of learning material available on the net. I also enjoy playing games on my NES!
     
    -As a woman in the gaming and development scenes, what are your observations on diversity in these communities?
    Well, those scenes do seem to be overwhelmingly male, don't they? lol. That said, the needed tools are free or cheap and everything necessary can be learned online. homebrew game development is accessible to most everyone who might enjoy doing it.
     
    -As you note on your itch.io page, Mancala is the world’s oldest continually played board game, with origins tracing to 3rd Century Ancient Egypt. What about this game resonates so strongly with you? What inspired you to port this game to the NES, and what is the significance of adding the lion?
    First of all, that MIGHT be true, lol. Others point towards Go for that honor. All of the marketing is intentionally a bit over the top and tongue in cheek, to be consistent with what I perceive as being
    typical for the 1980's. I selected mancala because I like it, and there wasn't already an implementation out there for the NES, unlike say chess, which has at least 2 I'm aware of.

    Mancala is heavily associated with the continent of Africa, and so that seemed like an appropriate esthetic theme for the entire package. The lion fits with that, and I just really liked the sound of 'LION
    Mancala'.
     
    -Any tips for players struggling to win at Mancala?
    Take the first move, as it conveys a huge advantage.  Try to end turns putting a seed into your store, as that immediately gives you another free turn. Play against the computer at the easiest AI setting
    (novice) and turn up the AI as you win games. Soon, if you are careful you should be able to beat the computer every time if you have the first move.

    If you want to see if you are really better than the computer at a given AI level, play 2 games taking turns going first. Then, and add up the score from both games to determine the overall winner.
     
    -What elements are crucial for a fun board game? What other board games do you enjoy?
    For me, I tend to like classic style board games that you could write all the rules for on an index card. Easy to learn, hard to master. I also enjoy backgammon, Othello, checkers, Hive and Quoridor.

    A Quoridor game board
     
    -What aspects of Lion Mancala are you most proud of?
    How well the AI plays on the NES, the animation of the moves, the intro screen music, and how I successfully avoided adding too many options to the game!
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Lion Mancala? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    I was surprised at how much support is out there for making NES homebrew! From the documentation, to the cc65 compiler, neslib, nesdoug tutorials, FamiTracker for music, etc. and the easy availability of parts for making physical cartridges, it was amazing to see how much has already been done to make this as easy as possible.

    This is the first time I've written specifically 8-bit chip tune music, and it was fun!

    Most programmers already know this, but I suggest building something complex by making something very simple that works, that touches on all the main areas of risk, and iterating and evolving that simple
    thing until you are done.

    And knowing when to stop is important. In a sense, a game is like other kinds of art, in that it always feels like you could add more, but ultimately it has to be "abandoned" lol.

    And I think it's good to keep in mind there are 2 ways to improve anything - to add to it, or take away from it. More is not always better 🙂

    If you'd like to learn to program in C, I recommend reading and working your way thru the exercises in 'The C Programming Language', by Kernighan and Ritchie.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES, or otherwise? Any plans to publish more board games? Any dream projects?
    I plan on releasing a version of checkers for the NES, and then a game based on the gameplay of Quoridor. After that I want to port everything over to the Atari 7800, which may be a challenge as many of the tools we have available for NES homebrew are not available for the 7800, or if they are, I'm not yet aware of them.  Beyond that, I may work on an original 80's arcade style action game at some point.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I admire the achievements of games like Micro Mages, and From Below, but I tend to spend most of my time programming, or playing games released in the 80's.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    I would like to offer thanks to all who made my game possible, especially Shiru for the neslib game library, and nesdoug for the excellent tutorial blog posts. On the hardware side, Mouse Bite Labs
    and Muramasa Entertainment for their excellent PCBs, and akirzz for the software used to replace the CIC lockout chip with a modern equivalent.

    My partner Donna has been very supportive, and she along with my friend Lorelai have supplied useful comments during development. Thank you!

    And to everyone who has bought a copy, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
     
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that gets deep into the weeds of your favorite new homebrews. What are your thoughts on Lion Mancala and its developer? What homebrews are you hoping to find under your Christmas tree? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  7. Scrobins

    Episode 38: Kudzu

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 38: Kudzu

    Introduction:
    A good adventure is anywhere you can find it, if you know where to look. And a good story can be written about anything, if you’re creative and bold enough to write it. Where some saw obsolete video game hardware and software, dismissing them as relics of the past that gave way to more advanced technology, others saw stories left untold. When some look at kudzu, a species of invasive, coiling vine, they may merely see a field or hillside. But to others, it is a green iteration of the dark shadow that pours menacingly across the kingdom menacingly at the beginning of many adventure stories and video games. For the right storyteller, kudzu, and the world of the master gardener, are opportunities.
    For this entry, I’m covering Kudzu, a non-linear adventure game for the Gameboy, developed by Pie for Breakfast Studios and published by Mega Cat Studios. As of the time of the writing, the Kickstarter campaign has concluded, and backers will receive their pledges soon. The game is available for download here, and once backers have their games in hand, more physical copies of the game will be available here.

    The Physical Edition CIB
     
    Development Team:
    Christopher Totten: lead developer
    Brandon Ellis: sound designer
     
    Game Evolution:
    Kudzu’s Kickstarter campaign first sprouted on May 25, 2023, growing past its initial funding goal within its first 12 hours. By season’s end, Kudzu attracted 866 backers who pollinated more than $46,000. Backer tiers were organized and named with cute gardening themes, which included the game’s rom, a cart-only option, CIB, or a limited-edition wooden cart (a Mega Cart specialty), as well as the soundtrack in a digital file or on vinyl, a poster, stickers, pins, postcards, a keychain, artbook, tie-in comic book, diorama, goat plushie, your name in the credits, an in-game goat named after you, and a custom machete. The campaign also blew through several stretch goals, unlocking a fishing minigame, a second ending, an extra dungeon, and a port to the Nintendo Switch.

    An early title screen for the game, circa 2020
     
    Gameplay:
    Kudzu describes itself as a non-linear adventure game. You play as Max, an apprentice gardener trekking through an expanse of fields, gardens, forests, and mountains overgrown with the globally invasive kudzu in search of your mentor Zoen, who has disappeared into the seemingly sentient labyrinth of vines. Armed with an array of gardening tools, you hack your way into the overgrowth in the hope of bringing the master gardener back into the sunlight.
    Controls are straightforward: use the D-pad to move, the A button to interact with your environment, the B button to use tools and attack (once you’re armed with the machete), the Start button to open the status menu screen, and the Select button to access the map screen. The status menu screen toggles between two screens: one features your health, the healing jelly at your disposal, and collectibles; and the other displays your tools as you acquire them. Throughout the map are allies and objects to assist you, as well as enemies and puzzles that thwart you; though these lines can be blurred as you may need to enlist the aid of some kudzu to solve a puzzle or two! At least there will be moments of respite where you can buy goods, talk to people, and save your progress at campsites.
     

    Screenshot from Kudzu
    Review:
    Kudzu is an engrossing dungeon puzzler that I might have forgotten to put down and give myself a break if I didn’t encounter the save tents once in a while (phew). The game is a cute, enveloping experience, reminiscent of A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening, challenging players to choose their path as they are slowly given the tools to navigate further into an ever-growing mazeworld. The game seems simple at first glance but even at its beginning Kudzu foreshadows the rich gameplay to come as Max takes on the main quest, but is offered/asked/told about tasks and side quests that will come to pass, such as finding goats, pen pals, and assisting other characters, which promise to reap rewards in the future. I especially love the overall sense of humor among the many characters, such as when you talk to a sign outside a closed shop and can respond: “No thanks, sign.” or how characters joke about their behaviors as NPCs, such as when one tells you he can’t leave until you defeat the nearby enemies (and thus open a door), but decides to stay put after you dispatch all the baddies. It’s a tongue in cheek vibe that makes you want to pay attention to each little seedling of silliness. For all its humor though, Kudzu is also surprisingly informative; through its characters and the camp’s library, I learned a lot about actual kudzu, which led me to look up more about the invasive vine when I wasn’t playing and battling the fictional iteration of the plant.
    The game’s graphics offer a lot of personality compacted in such little space. The characters have distinct and silly appearances, which express and match their personalities, while the environments have elaborate textures that make it easy to differentiate. This sounds like an obvious aspect of any game, but for a Gameboy game, with a limited color palette, set among plants, clearly distinguishing barriers, ground, breakable materials, and enemies from each other when all 4 categories are types of plants is a tall order! So for the developers to accomplish this successfully is a real testament to their sprite designs. Meanwhile the game’s soundtrack provides a varied array of music to fit the game’s many moods, ranging from bouncy and friendly when among friends, to tense as you stand amid an ever-encroaching invasive species. There is a tempo behind each track, one which transcends any mood the game conveys, that uses its persistent beat to push Max forward, one more chamber of the kudzu field, one more puzzle, keep going, keep going, you can do it. It is the score of an adventure: no matter how uncertain you feel about what lies ahead, you don’t actually want to stop.
     
    Interviews:
    I decided to hedge my bets and reached out to the developers in the hopes they would let me into their garden of ideas. Don’t worry though, no soilers ahead, keep reading for more…
     

    Chris Totten
    @Totter87
    -Before we dive into Kudzu, I would love to talk about your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer? What is your origin story? What is the story behind the name Pie for Breakfast?
    I got into the game industry soon after finishing my master’s degree in architecture. I had made some small indie projects in college with a friend of mine and started incorporating game design theory into my architecture work. I finished grad school in the recession, when nothing was being built, but my skills both with game design and 3D art landed me a job teaching game making courses at a small college. That gave me the time to build up my resume, portfolio, and network through the local gamedev meetup. Long story short, I’ve been making games now professionally for about 13 years (including in the mobile, indie, and “serious/educational games” spaces) and am a tenured associate professor at Kent State University. Along the way I wrote some books about level design too that people seem to really enjoy!
    I kind of got into homebrew by accident through the GB Studio engine. I saw that there was this engine floating around online that lets you ship to Game Boy cartridges and that seemed really cool - I would say that Game Boy was one of my most played and loved consoles growing up and I really wanted to do a project with it. I just approached it as a regular indie project and had known that homebrew existed, but making something led me to the awesome community of folks who talk about this stuff such as the GB Studio community and the folks at Homebrew Game Club.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I try to pull from things that aren’t games as much as I can: architecture, art, literature. I make a lot of games based on works in the public domain like books or artworks. Kudzu itself was inspired by plants and gardening. In terms of games though, I grew up in the NES/SNES era, so a lot of the games I enjoyed growing up were directed by Takashi Tezuka, things like Super Mario Bros. 3, Zelda: Link’s Awakening, etc. I also really loved Capcom’s action games for the NES like Mega Man and the licensed stuff like Little Nemo and the Disney games. I like how those games take a mechanic or a small set of mechanics and squeeze everything they can out of them. I think that Tezuka is particularly good with that in Link’s Awakening, which got a ton of content into a Game Boy cartridge. This is why later games like Portal and a lot of the early 10’s indie games like Super Meat Boy stuck out to me so much. That late aughts/early 10’s period is around the time that my career in games began so that era was super formative for me.
    I’m also a very big fan in general of games with a lot of exploration. When I was in my early teens, I got into the more exploratory stuff like Super Metroid and the Koji Igarashi Castlevania’s and they’ve really stuck with me. They feed my curiosity a lot through their level design and it’s easy for me to just get lost in that experience. I’m very interested in how game spaces communicate with players to aid in this exploration. Some of my favorites include the worlds of Metroid Prime, Half-Life 2, Dishonored, Marvel’s Spider-Man, William Chyr’s Manifold Garden, Dark Souls/Elden Ring, and the many many indie Metroidvania’s out there.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    This is kind of a funny story: on another project I’m working on, Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends, my development partners and I were starting to plan out the game’s shop, and looked through our overall design documentation to figure out what players could buy. We all came to the realization that each of our individual design aesthetics all included being very resource-light: our games don’t have a ton of items that you have to manage so we had a hard time getting started! We DID work it out so that the shop will have lots of cool things to buy (as do the shops in Kudzu), but I think it speaks to some of the holdovers of a designer who grew up in that NES/Game Boy era. I try to find a good core gameplay loop and then build lots of content from that - the design is very efficient and there’s not a lot of extraneous elements. An example might be with an enemy: you introduce them in one kind of space, but what happens when they’re in a smaller space? What happens if there are two of them? What happens when you pair them with other types of enemies?
    I also like how Metroid games make the inventory a part of Samus rather than involving a lot of item management - this was actually helpful in Kudzu, since I had to be so careful with animation frames in GB Studio. Since I’m a big fan of exploration, I also like doing things like teasing a player with an item and obscuring the path to it, or having a door with several locks, but you can explore to find them in any order (both types of things are in Kudzu.)

    Early sketchbook dungeon designs from a Medium post Chris posted
     
    -You’ve written books on game design and animation. To what extent is your development work informed by your previous writing? Do you find yourself updating your thinking with new projects?
    Part of the whole reason I write is to turn my thinking about design into a vocabulary that myself and others who find the ideas interesting can repeat. That way it becomes a tool that lots of people can use rather than just being something fuzzy that I just kind of intuited and that is only useful to me. This is also a big part of being a teacher: it’s better for me to be able to give my students an idea of how to improve their work through clear and concise language.
    Both Kudzu and Little Nemo have been great laboratories for playing with exploratory design patterns. In Kudzu, working on Game Boy means that I had to think a lot about single-screen design and making puzzles and paths through levels really expressive in the minimum viable space possible. I think this is something that every game developer should try, even if you work on big 3D titles. In both titles, we’re looking for patterns in both our designs and games that inspire us to help us with reducing annoying backtracking, giving players clear goals but also explorable space, etc. Both playing others’ games and prototyping our own have been hugely useful for developing our design language.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    For Kudzu, I used the GB Studio 2.5 Beta engine (the version number is important because I had to work around some of the limitations of the earlier version compared to the more advanced 3.x editions). I made the art in a pixel art program called Aseprite and I made the level backgrounds in an editor called Tiled. For other projects, I’ve been developing in Unity and working in both 2D and 3D in Blender since about 2010.
     
    -One of your prominent previous projects was Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends. Did your work on Little Nemo provide any insight and inspiration for your work on Kudzu?
    Since both projects are ongoing at the same time, and Kudzu was started during the development of Nemo as a sort of weekend side project (Kudzu was done faster because the scope for a Game Boy title like this is way smaller than a modern hand-drawn indie game), they definitely fed one another. There have been a lot of Nemo design meetings where I would report that I started designing something one way in Kudzu or came up with a system for something that might be useful in Nemo. Part of the reason that I keep mentioning them both in this interview is that they’re twins in a way: both were developed in concert with one another (which, I will never try to do again - it’s exhausting to make 2 games at one time!) There were even periods where I was working on similarly themed levels in both projects - both games have mushroomy forests!

    Promotional art for Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends
     
    -What encouraged you to make games for the Gameboy, and how did you discover GB Studio?
    I just kind of saw GB Studio being shared around game development Twitter one day and thought, “wow, that’s really cool - I’d love to do a Game Boy game!” This is covered somewhat in the campaign, but Kudzu is a game idea that my wife and I had about 9 or 10 years ago but that was just tucked away in a folder of “really ambitious game ideas I’d need a big team for and will probably never happen.” When I found GB Studio, I realized that Kudzu was a project that could probably work really well on Game Boy, and which would probably benefit from being forced into a more limited scope of a Game Boy game. It still took several years - because that’s just how long games take - but that I could make something like it was both incredibly freeing and a wonderful surprise, since it’s something that my wife and I have lots of fond memories of planning out together.
     
    -At the heart of Kudzu is its nonlinear, maze-oriented exploration. What about this genre resonates so strongly with you? What inspired you to make this type of game?
    Like I said in the influences section, I love Metroid, I love the exploratory Castlevania games. I love all sorts of indie games like Hollow Knight, Iconoclasts, Cave Story (which isn’t a full Metroidvania but which has such a rich lovely world with great characters), the Ori games, Owlboy, and others that do these things. I also love Zelda and other action-adventures like the early Ys games. These games have such a strong sense of place and reward you for looking under every rock and in every tree. I take painfully long to play other games for this reason because they’ve influenced my play style so much. For both Kudzu and Nemo, I’ve tried to capture that in both the level design and how we think about populating the world with interesting characters.
     
    -What elements are crucial for a good adventure game?
    Oh boy, you could ask 50 designers that and get 50 different answers! My preferences are games that give you a tour of the world but which at some point let you go off and explore on your own more freely. It’s kind of like when you learned how to ride a bike and your teacher (parent, grandparent, guardian, etc.) let go of the handlebars and let you ride on your own. When you can feel cozy just moving around the world and say to yourself “what should I do today?” is when these games get really good. Also I like really interesting characters. They don’t need a ton of dialog or huge backstories, but a line like “I like shorts. They’re comfy and easy to wear!” paints such an interesting picture of that little pixel person and that’s really cool to me.
     
    -How did you connect with Brandon? What was the working dynamic like across your collaboration?
    Brandon and I were connected by the folks at Mega Cat. I had, of course, heard his work in games like 30XX, which I’ve played and have seen at a bunch of indie game events through the years. He’s been wonderful to work with: I made up a big spreadsheet of tracks we needed, how long they had to be, and what kind of feel each should have. He really dove in and got a lot out of the Game Boy sound hardware!
     
    -How did you connect with Mega Cat Studios, and how has working with them been?
    One of my other big projects is the Smithsonian American Art Museum Arcade (SAAM Arcade) in Washington DC, which is an event that is now in its 9th year. I was one of the co-founders along with SAAM staff members. Long story short - when I lived in DC and was part of the indie game scene out there, we wanted a local place to show our games, and SAAM wanted more game events after the success of the Art of Video Games exhibition in 2012. At one point throughout SAAM Arcade’s run, Mega Cat had shown a number of their games at the event, and I would always visit their booth at other events like MAGFest. We basically ran in a lot of the same development circles. Years later, I showed Kudzu to them at the GDEX game expo in Columbus, OH and it seemed like a really good fit, so we decided to work together on it.
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind Max’s design, and are there elements of yourself that you see in him?
    So Max is actually literally my brother-in-law turned into a video game character. The only difference is that Kudzu Max is 16 pixels tall and real-life Max is very very tall. This is part of how my wife and I got to talking about the game idea. I told her about a time in architecture school where my whole studio group designed buildings in a field of invasive kudzu, not knowing what it was (this was nearly disastrous in the end-of-semester review). She talked about her brother fighting back out-of-control vines in their backyard (which was thankfully akebia and not kudzu) in a gardening outfit very much like what Max wears in the game. There are also other characters in the game based on people we know. Our cats are even in the game!
     
    -What aspects of Kudzu are you most proud of?
    I’m proud to have finally made it, and to have been able to do something with this idea that my wife and I had when we were first together (we’ve been married 10 years now.) More broadly, I’m just happy to have made something that people have responded so positively to. My kids get really into it. It’s something to watch someone get pulled in by something you’ve made and think back to the games that did that to you when you were young (or…games that do that to you now!) Making something for a console I really loved has been extra nice. At the same time, I’m proud that I added modern game design elements to it and thought of it as distinctly its own product: I didn’t want to just make something super Zelda-like in setting and have people treat it like a knock-off. I want Kudzu to feel like a brand-new thing that happens to be coming for Game Boy.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Kudzu? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    This is super under-the-hood, but you learn a lot about how both engines and consoles handle memory when you make a game in/on them. These things affect how big your game files are, how the engine behaves when a game gets to a certain size, etc.  I honestly think that GB Studio is the new Twine, which is to say a super-approachable engine that lots of new developers (and many experienced folks) have picked up to make small, expressive projects in addition to some of these big epics. For that reason, I even e-mailed the folks at Mega Cat and said “look, I think you’re going to start seeing a lot of pitches for games made in this, I’d be happy to compile a list of technical surprises that may help on what are sure to be other projects that will come up.” For a publisher, that might affect what cartridges you have to buy, etc.
    Pleasant surprises include how easy the engine in particular made story-based games: it began as an engine for making adventures, so it really shined in a lot of ways. Cutscenes and story content can be a pain in other engines (looking at you, Unity), but GB Studio made it a breeze. It helped make a game of Kudzu’s scale possible for someone who started this as a weekend project (it eventually became a weekday project too, of course). I don’t have any immediate plans, but I’d love to keep making GB Studio games because working with it was just so pleasant.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Kudzu on Kickstarter, and on social media. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
    It’s amazing! It’s really cool, especially since this came from a very personal place of sharing stories with my wife and coming up with this together. I don’t think I’d be at the place I am in my career without my wife Clara and her encouraging me to pursue things like my book or some of these game projects, so it means a lot to make this finally a reality.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Gameboy, or otherwise? Any dream projects?
    Oof. Both Nemo and Kudzu are such big projects that I’m having trouble looking past them. I would like to make more Game Boy games, though I don’t know in what scale. If there is ever a Kudzu 2 (I have some ideas…), I think I’d try to make it with a bigger team. Having this world on modern hardware could be interesting. As for dream games, I mean…I’m literally making a game based on Little Nemo in Slumberland! I love that world and those characters. Nemo is definitely another game I’ve wanted to make forever (I have a design document for it dating back to about 2013), and Kudzu is, in a lot of ways, a way for me to make the Zelda or Metroid games that I’m sure Nintendo would never let me work on. These are projects I really care about and am happy to finally bring to fruition.
    If we’re talking about ABSOLUTELY ABSURD dream games and Nintendo, after Nemo, they should let me hand-animate a remake of Mario 3 in the visual style of Yoichi Kotabe (the illustrator who did a lot of the early Mario promotional art.)
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Super Sunny World is looking really cool. I picked up Fire and Rescue by Skyboy Games at MAGFest this past year and my kids and I have had a lot of fun with it. I also really want to check out Full Quiet - it looks stunning. The GB Studio community’s output has been fantastic, and I have a lot to catch up on that has been released in the time that I’ve been working on Kudzu. I don’t want to name drop anyone in particular mostly because the community is so big I don’t want to miss anyone, but if readers of this interview go to itch.io and look up GB Studio games, you’ll find stuff by a lot of amazing developers. So many in that community have been supportive of this project and I’m deeply grateful to all of them for their encouragement, development tips, and support. The community’s news site, GB Studio Central, has also been wonderfully supportive and is a fantastic resource for not only information on Game Boy development, but also game design in general. And of course, some of the other awesome games from my publisher, Mega Cat Studios (no, they didn’t pay me to say that, I’ve been following their games for years.)

    Screenshot of Super Sunny World, in development by Matt Hughson
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Play Kudzu! Play Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends (we have a demo going up on Steam during June’s Steam Next Fest!) Try out GB Studio! It’s a great tool for both reliving your childhood days of Game Boy games and dipping your toe into game development if you’ve never done it before (and, if you have done it before, it’s a great way to make ambitious projects come to life.)
     
     

    Brandon Ellis
    @cityfires
    -Before we talk about Kudzu, I want to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to be a musician? What led you to compose music for games? What is your origin story?
    My dad was a musician, mostly writing pop and country music! He had a Yamaha keyboard that would let you program a little song, so he taught me how to use it. I was completely obsessed with making terrible little songs on it.
    So eventually I borrowed his audio editing software when we got a PC, slowly learned how to add stuff to my music, and spent all of middle school and high school forcing my friends to listen to my music. I always thought it MUST be possible to get a job writing music for games, and I was extremely fortunate that several opportunities worked out and gave me a chance to do it!
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I was firmly in the era of incredible Sega Genesis and Gameboy soundtracks. So there are an uncountable number of those that are incredible (shout-outs to the Vectorman OST. I never managed to beat that game….)
    But beyond that, I’ve always loved any pop/electronic music that uses a lot of chiptune/8bit sounds. Bands like Anamanaguchi and The Postal Service were huge for me.
    Now I mostly follow all the incredible indie game composers everyone else follows, but off the top of my head it’s: Chipzel, Danny B, Ben Prunty, Lifeformed, nervous_testpilot, Jake Kaufman, and tons more. I’ve also been really into synthwave bands: The Midnight, Gunship, etc.

    It’s time for you to start listening to The Midnight
     
    -In addition to your musical work on video games, you describe yourself as a sound designer and general audio person. Does your breadth of experience provide lessons that carry over to other areas of your work or do you find them distinct from one another?
    I think all those disciplines feed into each other really well. You learn a lot of new techniques for composition by working on sound design. Sound design is less forgiving if you’re messy with your project management, for instance. So it helps you learn ways to manage your works-in-progress.
    And doing things like running sound at a concert venue, or managing a concert hall, they all give you better perspectives: you get to see incredible musicians doing their own unique things, and it helps inspire ideas on how you might change up your own workflow.
     
    -Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    I usually work in genres that allow you to be as big/loud/melodic as you can possibly be, which is a ton of fun. So I usually try to work on having really memorable and catchy melodies. The other thing that comes to mind is that I’ve always been really in love with the combination of classic chiptune sounds alongside piano and orchestral sounds. Something about that juxtaposition is really lovely to me. (“Exciting World” from the Pushmo World is the perfect example)
     
    -What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
    I typically use Logic Pro X as my DAW. I use a plugin called Plogue’s Chipsounds for most of my 8bit sounds when I’m not using a tracker. Otherwise I use a ton of the Native Instruments Komplete collection (Super 8, Massive, Battery, Kontakt, Reaktor, etc.)
    For trackers I’m not hyper experienced with the differences between them. But FamiTracker was probably the easiest for me to jump into and I would recommend that one for beginners!
     
    -What qualities do you look for in order to feel like a game you’re playing has good, engaging music?
    I think I always want to notice the music. That’s probably not always appropriate in every game, but usually if it’s hitting the exact right vibe or emotion it’s going to jump out at you.
     
    -Tell me about the development of Kudzu’s music, what was your composition process?
    The inspirations and references for this style of music made it pretty easy to get a good rough idea! Everyone who has played an RPG from the 90s knows how the music is “supposed to sound” when you’re inside a shop. So you just find your own unique spin on that type of emotion.
    So all of it was taking that core inspiration for a “mountain level” or a “boss fight”, working against the technical and time limitations for the music, and imprinting your own personal take on it.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Kudzu? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    It was really fun! The toughest thing was having to fit into really specific constraints from the technical side: you can’t actually use most of the modern tracker features with your music. The original Gameboy files require a really limited toolset. But to anyone working on a project like this or learning how to write music for the first time, I would ALWAYS recommend forcing strict limitations on yourself. Limitations force you to get creative. If you can’t just slap a reverb on a sound to make it sound “bigger”, you have to get creative with your solutions.
    On top of that, I find that I always struggle to be “done” with a song. So I also recommend setting a timer and saying, “When this clock hits zero, I’m done. Bounce it and move forward.” That’s gotten me out of a lot of jams when I feel stuck on something.
     
    -How did you first connect with Chris and what was the working dynamic like as you worked on the game?
    I was introduced to the team through Mega Cat Studios after working with them on a few projects! Chris and the rest of the team seemed really amazing, and the version of the project I was handed was immediately very fun and very polished! They gave me a ton of freedom to explore the music however I wanted, and considering how tough the technical limitations were for the music, that was really appreciated!
     
    -Is there another project after Kudzu on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
    If I’m allowed to shout out other soundtracks I’m working on, I’ve been fortunate to work on a few others this year! 30XX is a Mega Man-style co-op, roguelike platform shooter that’s coming out summer! That soundtrack was amazing to work on because it’s supposed to be as melodic and catchy as I can possibly make it!
    I’m also doing the music and sound design for Techtonica, an underground factory-building game that’s going into Early Access soon! That game has a completely different vibe to Kudzu and 30XX, but I personally love writing in a variety of styles.
    Aside from projects I’m currently working on, I think I’d love to work on a big, bold fantasy RPG. Something fully orchestral would be a really fun challenge! But aside from wanting to try new genres, I’d love to keep digging into using trackers for more composition. I like the difference in how your brain has to process working on a tracker!

    Album cover for 30XX
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks so much for your questions! To anyone reading this, thanks so much for your kind words and support! You have no idea how impactful it is to see someone tweet or comment on a video saying something as simple as “This music is nice.” It’s easy to get inside your own head as an artist, and that unprompted, external validation can carry us much farther than you might think. So please be generous in complementing the art, music, level design, sound design, or anything you think is cool at all. I promise that the person who made that thing will REALLY appreciate it!
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that gets deep into the weeds of your favorite new homebrews. What are your thoughts on Kudzu and its development team? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

     
  8. Scrobins

    Episode 37: Full Quiet

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 37: Full Quiet

    Introduction:
    I’ve frequently praised new homebrew for both giving us new gems in beloved genres, and for pushing the limits of homebrew closer to the heights of the console’s licensed era. But for all the achievements developers have collectively reached, one peak remained to be summited: scale. While myriad games have proven so addictive, fans will pour hours into them, we have not yet received the games that require hours, days, and more just to unfold the story. Until now. The nature of homebrew and indie games is such that larger projects will take more time, especially without the corporate budgets to propel them, though impatient fans make for a good substitute for screaming corporate executives. But now that the day has come, it was well worth the wait.
    For this entry, I’m covering Full Quiet, a game that defies genre with its elements of mystery, adventure, and puzzle solving for the NES by Retrotainment Games. As of the time of this writing, Kickstarter backers have received their orders, and the game can be played digitally on Steam here, purchased for the Nintendo Switch here, for the Xbox here, and physical copies are available for purchase here.

    Regular Edition CIB
     
    Development Team:
    Greg Caldwell: director, story/lore
    @IBtiM(Tim Hartman): producer, concept design
    Damian Yerrick: lead programmer
    Zachary Curl: lead background artist
    @humanthomas(Thomas Cippollone): lead audio, level design, concept design
    Andrew Burger: lead animator, concept design
    Doug Fraker: additional programming
    Oskar Alvarado: regular edition box & manual art
    Jim Rugg: limited edition box art
     
    Game Evolution:
    Full Quiet’s signal came in loud and clear, launching its Kickstarter on September 1, 2017, and starting a thread promoting the game on NintendoAge that same day. Backer tiers included a Steam key for the game; Steam keys for Retrotainment’s Haunted Halloween games; a swag bag that included a t-shirt, sticker, and pins; a cart-only option; regular edition CIB; limited edition CIB plus test cartridge to help the dev team with debugging; and the ability to have your likeness in the game. By the time the campaign’s broadcast was over and out, 509 backers had pledged more than $32,000. Test carts were sent out in May of 2021, and the completed game began shipping out in December 2022.

    Full Quiet Test Cart
     
    Gameplay:
    Full Quiet describes itself as…well actually it doesn’t pigeonhole itself into any particular genre. Simply put, it’s a new experience, mixing together a little bit of a lot. Like if the Coen brothers made a video game. You play as a resilient man of the woods, whose son has gone missing. You venture into the woods in search of him, all the while solving puzzles, repairing the radio grid, battling monsters, and rediscovering long forgotten secrets & lore, putting your survival skills to the test. A variety of equipment will help you map the area, track your location, communicate, monitor distant movement, and keep enemies away.
    Gameplay consists of exploring the woods and caves, overcoming the enemies and obstacles that would try to slow you. Controls are delightfully complex: the D-pad enables you to move and shift your view of the screen to see higher and lower, aim in 8 directions, and turn dials; the A-button allows you to jump, insert fuses to repair equipment, and adjust radio amplitude; the B-button fires weapons and places lures; the Start button causes you to dive; and the Select button opens/closes your PDA and changes radio wave forms. A creative reinvention of D-pad functionality has you aim downward when you press down, crouch when you double tap down, and place rope. Pressing up can also pick up rope, and when pressed while jumping allows you to grab ledges to climb up or swing to other platforms.

    Screenshot from Full Quiet
     
    Review:
    Full Quiet is a masterpiece from a team that has been impressing the community since they first appeared on the scene. This game reflects what is possible when time, love, and attention are poured into game development. Full Quiet may have won the facetious “race” to release against Mystic Searches, Former Dawn, Halcyon, and Space Soviets, but rushed this was not. The careful detail and complex gameplay make for an immersive challenge that will keep players hooked. We are thrown into the water of its story and learning how to play but are rewarded for learning how to swim. Exploration feels like being in the middle of a sci-fi psychological thriller, wandering from screen to screen, retracing our steps, and realizing that a detail in the background had more meaning than we assumed at first glance. The puzzles are exhilarating challenges that feel enmeshed in the story, with you feeling the stakes imposed on your character. Similarly, the use of a day/night cycle that marks the passage of time further draws players in, conveying the urgency of your mission and the peril of wasting time. At first you stick with the game because you don’t want to put it down until you feel like you know what to do. But then you can’t put it down because you know what to do, and you feel compelled to see how far the latest unlocked secret will take you.
    One would think a game set in the woods couldn’t have much variety in its graphics and color palette, but with Full Quiet you wouldn’t just be wrong, you’d be dead. Careful attention to detail and subtle movement will help you spot what hides among the trees. Offering a lot to see in its scenery, Full Quiet plays with its environment, creating a space where you can get lost but have the means to find your way and survive. The dark colors, save for the ever-changing sky, create a sense of claustrophobia that does not relent until you find safety or a more open space that feels like a breath of relief. The sprites complement this paranoia with its you-against-nature (or unnature?) as you stick out with your outdoorsman garb while many enemies blend in. Many games are content to create enemies that thematically match their environment, but in Full Quiet they are truly incorporated. Meanwhile the game’s music is beautiful but eerie, an atmospheric soundtrack with a classic Nintendo feel. At the beginning of the game there is no music, but a subsequent screen begins to play a tune very low, with a gradual crescendo, conveying your approach to something…safety? Danger? Your entry into this quest? Indeed, the choices of music and sound intertwine to bolster the psychological horror you must endure with each step deeper into the dark.
     

    Can’t stop to admire the view, there’s death in them thar hills
     
    Interviews:
    I opened lines of communication with Full Quiet’s development team to learn more about what may go bump in the night deep in those dark woods…
     

    Retrotainment Games
    @RetrotainmentHQ
    -Before we dive into Full Quiet, I would love to talk about you and your backgrounds. What first inspired you to become homebrew developers, directors, and producers? What is your origin story and the story behind Retrotainment Games?
    Tim and I got into this retro world through chiptunes. We come from a music background, playing in bands together, recording music, etc… Tim found some chiptune artists online who were using LSDJ and we thought it was super cool. We went to our first MAGfest just to check out a few musicians and learned more about the retro world at large. From there we started seeking out more info on how this music was being created, then we learned how NES hacks were done, and finally how homebrew games were made. It captivated us and so we set out to make an NES game about Halloween (our favorite holiday), thinking it would likely just be a one-off, fun project… something cool to hang our hats on. We dug into the Nerdy Nights tutorial to start making the game ourselves and along the way teamed up with super talented people who we formed a team with. We cannot say enough about the importance of the NES homebrew community, without which we would not be here. But now we’re four games in and we’re still working on projects together as a team that we’re really passionate about.
     
    -In addition to being game developers, you previously owned and operated Cash-In Culture Games, a video game store in Pennsylvania, where you are based. Do you feel that your experiences running the store informed the work you do at Retrotainment Games?
    I don’t think there was much crossover other than seeing how passionate others were about retro gaming. We did think we might be able to sell some copies of ‘85 through the store but the reality is that most retro gamers just want the classics. Totally understandable, but we do think we opened some eyes to the world of NES homebrew through the store, at least a little.

    The old Cash-In Culture storefront in Greensburg, PA
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Personally, I don’t really know enough about the gaming industry to have influences. I don’t follow any game dev outside of my friends in the NES community who ask me to playtest or who have games at conventions that I get to attend. I know the rest of the crew is more in tune with what’s going on in the gaming world. I just mostly hear about things once they’re released. It’s pretty sad when I think about it… I wish I had more time to get excited about things.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    The games have to have something unique about them, I guess. We’re always looking for ways to mash up different ideas or create stuff that the NES has not seen before. We love pushing the envelope, testing the limits and challenging ourselves to make new things.
     
    -Though Full Quiet is a very different game from the Haunted Halloween series, they all have a fun, spooky horror vibe to them. What about this genre resonates so much for you?
    Our love of Halloween definitely oozes out into our projects. Also, the NES restrictions sorta keep us in the fun, spooky realm instead of the bloody, horror side of things. We just like weird, interesting things in general and the genre allows for that.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    We have been using Pyxel Edit for the art but we’re transitioning (although I’m struggling) to Aseprite. Outside of that we just use Notepad++, nothing fancy or interesting. We do create our own custom tools for working directly with our game engines to help make the process more efficient.
     
    -Where did the initial idea for Full Quiet come from?
    Two different game idea conversations that happened close to each other in time lead to Full Quiet - one with Zack about exploring a contiguous space set in the forest and one with Tim about hunting bigfoots. Things obviously changed and grew a lot from there, but those two were the initial ideas that came together. Then we brought in our love for other things in the game like the strange creatures, maps, ham radios, Morse code, etc…
     
    -What is the working dynamic like across the whole team at Retrotainment Games generally? How did you first connect with everyone else on the team?
    There’s nothing formulaic about what we’ve done over the years, each game’s dev cycle has been different. The key things are that we try to work through ideas as a team and that everyone understands that things evolve over time. Rarely does anything ever come out of the gates feeling right, everything takes iteration and revision to make it work, especially on the NES where efficiency is paramount.
    The team grew over time as we worked through the development process of ‘85. We started out just Tim and I making audio and graphical assets to learn the ropes, thinking we were gonna make the game entirely ourselves. Then Zack came on board and basically took our shitty art and made it nice. Then Thomas came on and started composing stuff that was so good that we stopped trying to make any more audio ourselves, although a few of Tim’s SFX did make the final cut 🙂 I started programming and got a few backgrounds and sprites implemented into a build and then Damian came on board with his wizardry and that was the immediate end to my programming career. We just rolled from there from one project to another. Along the way we brought in Doug Fraker to do some additional programming and Andrew Burger to do sprite work and that’s pretty much where we’re at right now.

    Screenshot from Haunted Halloween ‘85
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Full Quiet as opposed to previous projects? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Life. Especially when working with a team, hitting deadlines is super important. Once you start pushing past deadlines life starts to really creep in and wreck your plans. We all set aside a year to make the game and after that year passed, life came crashing in and derailed our momentum. After that we just kept chipping away at the project, never giving up on it, just slowly and methodically chipping away at it. Letting the timelines slip was my biggest failure, one that we really struggled to overcome. I take full responsibility for it and have learned a lot from it. In the end we finished what we started, the way we set out to do it, it just took considerably longer than we had initially hoped, but we’re proud of the results.
     
    -I always ask my interviewees whether there is a reflection of themselves in the game’s protagonist. Do you identify with the hunter?
    Not personally in any real way, but I do identify with the lore and Ham radio aspects. My dad was a communications specialist in the army and I had an affinity for walkie talkies and CB radios growing up, so my dad taught my sisters and I how to communicate like radio operators from a young age. My handle was Hurricane because I was an out of control whirlwind that wrecked things as a kid and my dad was Hawk because he had a wild, sorta-pet, hawk when he was young. So that part of the game is near and dear to me.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Full Quiet, from the Kickstarter campaign, to the demos you shared at expos, and the updates you’ve shared online. How does it feel to see so many people excited about this game?
    Really good overall but it definitely put a lot of pressure on us to deliver. Not that we needed the motivation, but we definitely felt like some folks were waiting (patiently) for us to fulfill our promises and make what we laid out in the Kickstarter campaign. We can’t thank backers and fans of the game enough for trusting us with their hard earned money, their patience, and the messages they’ve sent to us, both public and private. It definitely feels great when someone personally thanks you for making a game. Although it feels a little backwards, cause we’re all like, no, thank you for supporting us; but it does feel good when people appreciate all the effort and time and detail that are packed into the game.
     
    -Speaking of the demos showcased at various expos, I was fortunate to play a couple of them and chat with you in person. How did you decide what portions of the game you wanted to feature in these demos? What was the response you received from players?
    This changed over time. Initially we just wanted feedback on the player mechanics and controls to make sure they felt right. But as development lingered on, we started utilizing expos as a way to effectively playtest different things like puzzles, equipment, enemies, etc… The response was always great, overwhelmingly positive. There’s something to be said for showcasing a game live and getting direct feedback from players. Some of the most important things are unsaid… There are things you pick up just watching how a player approaches something or reacts to something, physically emoting in various ways, usually without them even knowing it. There’s so much to be learned from that kind of experience, it’s really priceless.
     
    -What aspects of Full Quiet are you most proud of?
    I think the fact that we finished what we set out to do. Additionally, the fact that we stuck together as a team throughout all the difficulties. We made the game we wanted to make and we’re ok with whatever comes of it.
     
    -Over the past few years, you’ve also launched a number of prominent collaborations, such as the 6502 Collective with Sole Goose Productions, and 8-Bit Legit with Mega Cat Studios. What are your roles in those collaborations? How does it feel to be such a sought after partner? What advice do you have for others hoping to foster collaborations of their own?
    We just want to help get NES games out there. We’ve been blessed with meeting and working with so many great people from the community and we really appreciate all the opportunities that have been afforded to us. We work with others to try to make products the best they can be, from physical materials with the 6502 Collective to digital ports with 8-Bit Legit. We’re dealing with very niche markets, obviously, but we want to push things to be as polished and professional as possible.
    As for advice, I’d say that teamwork is a great thing. Learning to work with others who are willing to put as much effort into things as you are is vital, especially if you don’t have a lot of resources at your disposal to go it alone. Additionally, and maybe more importantly, finish. Just put it out there, whatever it is that you wanna get started on. Feel out the process from start to finish. Everything is flawed. As a creator, you get to learn so much more if you make the decisions and mistakes yourself than if you’re just analyzing things from the outside.
     
    -You’re also working on Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum. How is that game progressing? Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    GPK has been a great project through and through. It was a dream project to get to negotiate the licensing deal for an NES game with Topps for something that we loved as kids. We got to add some cool features like trading cards with GPK NPCs and porta-potty fishing that helped take that game beyond just a traditional platformer and make it feel true to the IP. We really loved digging into the limited GPK lore and filling the game with Easter eggs for those who geek out about the GPK universe.
    Now that we’re freed up, we plan to get back to the Haunted series to finish up that trilogy on the NES. We’ve also got a few internal games in the works that we have to decide on as well as continuing to collaborate with others on interesting ideas. We’re just honored that we get to represent part of the NES homebrew community and continue to work on cool projects as a team and with others.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Halcyon for sure. Courier is gonna be killer once it’s released; I’ve been holding off on badgering Kevin for the ROM so I can play it on cartridge first. Kudzu for GB also looks like it’s gonna be a cool adventure.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    The patience and support we’ve received over the years is remarkable and we’re extremely grateful. We appreciate everyone who is a part of this NES nerd culture - developers, players, streamers, interviewers, hackers, pixel artists, chiptune artists, speedrunners… it’s all important and all part of what makes the community so dynamic and fun. Thank you to everyone involved!
     
     

    Damian Yerrick
    @PinoBatch
    -Before we dive into Full Quiet, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer?
    I had my first assembly language experience on an Apple II in eighth grade. Years later, someone showed me an early NES emulator. I started with simple graphics and text hacks that I never released, such as putting a character in a wizard costume. Later I wanted to cute-up Contra, but after looking at that game's coding, I figured that making something from scratch would be just as easy.
     
    -What is the significance of Tepples and PinoBatch as your usernames?
    "tepples" was generated in 2002 with a random word generator set to the phonotactics of cartoon character names. It replaced a username that my college had assigned to me, which many people had been misreading. "PinoBatch" came from a short story by Frank Thomas Smith.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Influences that come to mind include EGAint author Eric Ng, whose use of the GPL inspired me to read Stallman, Torvalds, Raymond, and other founders of the free software movement. Also Swift, Collodi, and whoever invented the roly-poly toy that doesn't fall down, which Russians call a "nevalyashka."
    There are other fantasy authors and publishers whose work I've come to treat as "look but don't touch". I plead the fifth on mentioning them because I've seen how some of these companies scour fans' work for incriminating similarity to shake down amateurs and startups without a bottomless legal budget.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    I use Xubuntu operating system because I've found it faster than Windows at booting, startup, and file access. Many are available on both Linux and Windows: Mousepad for editing code; GIMP for editing background tiles, sprite sheets, and other graphics; Python to write asset conversion tools; and cc65 and RGBDS as assemblers.
     
    -You could fairly be described as one of the OG’s of homebrew. How has your approach to homebrewing changed over the years? What trends have you observed about the community?
    Prior to fourth quarter 2007, testing software on an NES required soldering EPROMs onto a circuit board salvaged from an existing game. This hassle kept many developers from having a chance to test their work on hardware, leading to widespread software that is compatible with the emulators of the time but does not run correctly on an NES. This became less of an issue in fourth quarter 2007 when the PowerPak came out.
    There was a fairly significant change in 2012. Until then, US courts had proven lenient toward authors of functional workalikes of programs, following Lotus v. Borland. This allowed the GNU project to produce replacements for popular programs that respect the freedom of its users while not requiring these users to spend a lot of time and effort retraining themselves on new software. In second quarter 2012, it became clear from the verdict in a lawsuit about a falling block game that the courts would not afford quite the same leniency to video game developers. It's as if only one company were allowed to make official-size tennis courts, rackets, and balls. This limited what sorts of projects a budding homebrew programmer could build for practice and show to others, and it led me to pull several past projects off my website and pick future projects with a less cavalier attitude.
    Apart from homebrew, the ruling led me to question the viability of esports based on proprietary video games. My conclusion was later borne out by the actions of Nintendo against Super Smash Bros. tournament organizers.
     
    -The breadth of your work includes test suites, templates, tech demos, as well as full games for multiple platforms. Across your development work would you say they have any qualities that seem quintessentially you that you have maintained across platforms? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    One thing often seen in my work is characters with no legs who scoot on their hands and bottom. This began when I designed a fantasy race inspired by the nevalyashka. After this, I went on to design a set of other races to use in games, many of them based on what would happen if a particular genetic difference became fixed in a human population, so as not to derive too closely from any existing product identity.
    At times, I have struggled to balance representing the aesthetic of the game world with accessibility to players in this world. There's a convention in some mediums to use different styles of type or lettering to represent different accents in speech. Some users report disgust at some of the typefaces I use, despite their being perfectly readable to me. One font choice back in 2001 even caused Cowering, maintainer of a ROM cataloging tool called GoodNES, to misspell my name.
    Occasionally I write short compositions to demonstrate various chiptune techniques. The choice of instruments and rhythms in these also reflects musical styles in the game world. There's a banjo-like instrument, sometimes some wind instruments, and an instrument sounding somewhere between timpani and washtub bass, and compound (or swung) time. This can be heard clearly in the music of "Sticks" and "Stairs" videos, which I had originally produced as references for character animation.
    https://pics.pineight.com/tweets/stairs.webm
    https://pics.pineight.com/tweets/sticks.webm
     
    -Do you take a different approach to each type of project, such as a test suite versus a game or tech demo? Which is more fun for you to work on?
    I put test suites and tech demos in the same category. They have a constrained scope, and apart from minor choices in visual design, a test is right or wrong: either it shows or it doesn't show the expected effect. Original games don't have an acceptance measure that is quite as clear. They have their advantages and disadvantages, including a tendency to induce writer's block.
     
    -Your work is also a prominent part of the Annual NESDev Coding Competition, including the 240p Test Suite, Thwaite, Concentration Room, and Zap Ruder, among others. Where do you derive your inspiration?
    Puns. Lots of bad puns. Thwaite is half of the name of the manor in Burnett's The Secret Garden, with an aesthetic inspired by a life simulation game popular at the time. RHDE likewise was a mashup of an early arcade RTS with a life simulator. Zap Ruder compares the light that a Zapper captures from a screen to the light that a man's camera captured as evidence of an assassination. I admit that with my interpersonal disability, sometimes I go too far. Concentration Room was originally a pun in such poor taste that I had to ask online friends to suggest something to replace it. I ended up expanding a 2-sentence pitch by Shiru in the NESdev IRC channel into the present lab accident scenario.

    Zapruder, I get it, evidence of the Kennedy assassination conspiracy…
    Wait…

     
    This looks an awful lot like Dealey Plaza…

     
    IS TEPPLES THE SHOOTER BEHIND THE GRASSY KNOWL?!?
    Another inspiration for the compo in the first place was an old policy in the Fedora operating system's repository against including emulators. Tom "spot" Calloway explained on the fedora-legal mailing list that if Nintendo were to sue, Red Hat didn't have an open-and-shut case for the legality of emulators. The rise of a vibrant NES homebrew scene may have since caused Fedora project leaders to reconsider this stance. I'm not entirely sure how the policy is construed nowadays.
     
    -In fact, as the developer of the Action 53 multicart engine, many rising homebrewers can attribute some of the exposure their games have received to you. Additionally, as one of the admins of NESDev, you serve as a major steward of the homebrew community. What are your thoughts on this role you play in fostering the community?
    I remember watching a documentary about the development of Action 52 by Active Enterprises. It explained that the goal of Action 52 was to replicate the experience of playing a pirate multicart, just without the piracy. It got a bad reputation because the games' development was unduly rushed. I had the same goal in mind with Action 53, with the volunteer effort of the homebrew community instead of a mad crunch. The layout of the menu itself was inspired by later volumes of PlayStation Interactive Sampler, the demo disc included with original PlayStation consoles, as opposed to earlier volumes whose notes Nintendo may have copied for Wii Menu.
    My participation in the compo sort of tapered off in 2015 when Retrotainment hired me to work on the Haunted games and Full Quiet.
     
    -Much of your work is open-source, so others can do what they want with it. Do you have any secret, specific hopes what some will use your projects to create? How would you describe your philosophy about the public availability of creative tools such as your templates?
    Once I drafted something called the Theme License. It'd act as a dual license of the GNU GPL and a more permissive license with some random restriction on the field of use. The GPL is a copyleft license that free OS distributions like and some for-profit companies haven't figured out how to use effectively. The GPL in particular is incompatible with the terms of the app stores of iOS and modern consoles. The other half of the Theme License allows use in proprietary products, subject to one constraint from each contributor. This could be the theme of a game jam, or "do not make erotica of my characters," or "you may use this in any work incorporating a nevalyaska person as a main character." If a lawyer wants to help me finish the Theme License, let me know.
     
    -You’ve worked with Retrotainment Games for several of their releases. How did you first connect with them and what is the working dynamic like as you work together on these games?
    I started on Haunted: Halloween '85 in March 2015 through a job posting on the NESdev forum by a recruiter who was also the developer of the game's Steam port. Every change needed to go through me, big or small, whether it was background art, sprite art, physics, level layout, or enemy placement and behavior. This made iteration tedious. For Haunted: Halloween '86 and later games, we started working more closely as a team, and I was able to train my coworkers on editing things like level color palettes, collision maps, enemy placement, and constants related to physics.
    I'm remote, living two states away from Retrotainment's office. Sometimes I get a lot of work that's steady and straightforward, and sometimes the work comes in spurts and I get a lot of hours in one day and few in another.
     
    -Tell me about the evolution of Full Quiet from a programming perspective.
    HH85 and HH86 had one-way scrolling like Super Mario Bros. This let me cheat a bit with video memory, as if something appeared only at the start of a level, I could unload it once the camera passed by it and load something else as the camera approached it. To achieve a sense of exploration and verticality in FQ, I devised an 8-way scrolling engine with a map format inspired by the architecture of the NES game Blaster Master. This required all the art to be loaded up front, and it was challenging for the background designer to adapt to the video memory constraint. One thing we ended up doing was splitting the background into two images: a playfield and a parallax loop for things in front of or behind the playfield. Because only one of those two images appeared on any line of the screen, I could give them separate sets of 256 8×8-pixel tiles.
    Compared to HH86, FQ has a much larger and more open world, with a bigger set of things interacting with one another. Level designs and lock-and-key placements had to be revised several times to address soft locks and hard-to-understand things discovered during testing. At last count, there were like 16 total game modes, minigames, and menus.

    Screenshot from Haunted Halloween ‘86
     
    -Did you have a different attitude toward developing Full Quiet compared to your own projects? Is the experience of developing them different?
    In some ways, FQ was easier than my own projects, as I didn't have to make all the art, write all the story, and the like. Greg sent me rough GIFs of an enemy interacting with a player, and I translated those into drafts of the action instructions (AI) that the enemy would follow, first in pseudocode and then in assembly language. It was just much, much bigger in scope than anything I'd done in my free time. There was also the issue of using a sound driver whose internals I wasn't familiar with, and I needed occasional help from its maintainer Doug Fraker to add hooks to trigger actions when a song loops. (Doug also did one of the minigames in FQ.)
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Full Quiet? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    I hid a message in HH86 about process lessons that I learned during development. I got the idea for this after seeing programmer rants from Pachi Com and The New Tetris on TCRF. During FQ, we improved on some of those points. At times, I felt we bit off more than we could chew with this project. It also became more difficult to put concepts in front of play testers when trade shows closed during the pandemic.
     
    -What aspects of Full Quiet are you most proud of?
    Mostly that I managed to come up with an engine that gave us headroom for expansion. Over the course of a week, I could take the engine, yank out all the levels, enemies, and event flags, drop new levels in, and have the basis for starting work on Garbage Pail Kids with its new set of player and enemy characters. I'd compare it to Rockstar's reuse of the Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis engine for Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise?
    Garbage Pail Kids and Full Quiet have just come out on NES. GPK also recently came out on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. I'd also like to make a physical release of 240p Test Suite including some of my past games, with a frame story that the TV field tech brings the games to help test the TV with a client.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    It might sound surprising from a dev, but I haven't really been following new game releases.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Don't base your life around a product identity from the entertainment industry. And don't take a job with an employer who insists on a broad non-compete or an anti-moonlighting provision.
     
     

    Zachary Curl
    -Before we dive into Full Quiet, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer and artist? What is your origin story?
    I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember being alive. I always wanted to be an artist growing up, but I don’t think I knew what that meant. My uncle was an artist, but I never had too much of a chance to get to know him, as he died when I was only 2 years old, so I think the biggest thing that appealed to me was the idea that I could make the world be whatever I wanted it to. I was a pretty imaginative kid, which I wouldn’t say is quite the flex that it sounds like, so I pretty much only wanted to draw my ideas. I have been dealing with depression since I was very young and hated school, though I loved reading and learning, so I always wanted to see how things worked so I could draw them.
    I eventually was able to stick it through a tech school and get an associates degree in visual communications focusing more on print design, hoping that one day I would be great at making comics, but I never thought I was as good as I wanted to be, and while I had been doing freelance design work for a while, Greg asked me if I was interested in maybe working on a game and let me know what he wanted. I had known Greg for a few years because he played hockey with my brother, but he actually didn’t know that I drew or anything. I basically said “hell yeah,” and was interested enough to not really give up when I was learning, and it felt like a good fit for me.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I think my first influences growing up was my family. My mom will disagree, but she was a terrific artist, and I would see her drawings that she kept around and really wanted to emulate them. My dad always wanted to be an architect, but like most dads back then, he became an accountant/money related guy. I got to see him work on floor plans sometimes on the weekends, just for fun on graph paper, so that was an impact on me in terms of design.
    I always read comics and watched animation growing up, but as I entered adolescence and my mid-teens, I discovered Akira and the work of Katsuhiro Otomo, who has remained a tremendous aspirational influence to me even today.
    When it came time to make 2D sidescrollers, the two biggest sources of inspiration I looked towards were Noel Sickles and Jacques Tardi.
    Noel Sickles kind of reinvented the way comic strips flow, and it provided me with a way to approach horizontal eye-line on a flat, left-to-right visual plane.
    For me, Jacques Tardi is a perfect cartoonist. He perfectly blends architectural correctness with a loose caricature that never doesn’t impress me, so when I was trying to understand background design for a game who’s hardware leaves very limited room in terms of line variation, it only made sense to look at how he was able to achieve such correct-looking backgrounds with so few lines.
    I’m constantly looking for new art, new films, new music, and I’m a bit of a collector. To put a final point on a very long answer, I think that it’s super important to keep searching for new things because you can learn something valuable from everything.

    “Nestor Burma Paris – 4th Arrondissement” by Jacques Tardi
     
    -Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    Hmmm, that’s actually hard for me to say for myself. When I look at my drawings, I see a composite of basically everything I love, so even when I don’t succeed in a drawing, I feel like I’m just using everything I’ve learned along the way to complete my idea of how something should look. For my own personal tastes, I love finished art in black and white. I love screen tone, and I love doing as much by hand as I can.
    For game art, as I mentioned, the biggest thing I focus on is to create as much as I can with as little as possible. It’s the product of working and reworking levels with the rest of the team; sometimes as a requirement of saving space, and sometimes just making something insinuate more than an exact reproduction could achieve.
    I think I use far fewer colors than most artists working on the NES right now. Because of the limitations in colors and palette restrictions, I tend to reuse the same colors in multiple palettes to create an effect that essentially hides the grid that one normally associates with art on the NES.
     
    -What tools do you use to create your art?
    For game art I have been using a program called Pyxel Edit. It’s a pretty easy to use program that allows for easy tile creation and management. Our programmer, Damian, created us a custom checker tool that lets us manage our tile usage and palettes, and it’s become indispensable in our creative loop. I don’t think Pyxel Edit is supported anymore, so I’m sure that will change in the not too distant future.
    For my own personal work, I love pencils, pens, inks, screen tone, and watercolors. Since I was a kid growing up with comics, I’ve always thought of inking as the final step to a drawing, so much of my consternation in my own work comes from that step and not feeling good enough.
     
    -In your opinion, what makes in-game as well as concept art stand out?
    Ooh, that’s a good question. I think for concept art, there really isn’t any real rule I adhere to or any one thing that appeals to me. I love Syd Mead and how he would find a sense of space for all of his concepts. It lives and breathes and just sets my imagination on fire, so despite whatever style or detail in concept art, I just love anything that makes me tell myself stories in my own head.
    In-game art is a little tougher to define. I can like anything that doesn’t feel illegible. Great design never goes out of style.

    “Downtown Cityscape/Blade Runner” by Syd Mead
     
    -Tell me about the development of the art you created for the game, what is your composition process?
    The initial seeds of Full Quiet came actually really early, even going so far back as before the first Haunted Halloween game was finished. I was basically the only creative member of Retrotainment at the time --I say creative in terms of what you would see visually, because Greg and Tim already knew what they wanted, they just didn't quite know how to achieve that yet. As I understand it, Greg was speaking to a couple different programmers at the time who were trying to get the game to work how he and Tim had envisioned it playing, and I was still pretty early in learning how visuals on the NES worked, so after I had built the first level of HH'85 (which of course would later be redone), we wanted to keep me busy getting used to the workflow we would need. Greg had a kernel of an idea that I then riffed on and we expanded together; all that time I was coming up with a visual prototype for our shared idea. We knew it was a long way off, and actually might not happen, but I was learning what would become my visual language over the course of our games, so by the time we were up and moving on Haunted, I was more or less ready to go.
    After we had completed our first two games, we had been hired to prototype a game for someone else that was put on hold, come up with other small ideas that never fully suited our skill sets we had been developing over those past two games, and were kind of just looking for the next step for our team. We felt like our core unit was pretty strong, if not still pretty green, but we all knew we wanted to keep making games. Greg and I casually mentioned the old idea we had to Thomas, and I had it all in front of me on my computer, so we watched the prototype animations, looked at some visuals, and told the story that we thought our game was going to be about. Our story was picked apart and essentially rewritten as we threw out so many ideas that we originally thought this game was going to be about, and Full Quiet became something almost unrecognizable from our initial ideas. It should hopefully go without saying that we all learned so much after the development of our first two games, so we felt like this was the right time for us to tackle something much bigger.
     
    -How did you first connect with Retrotainment Games?
    I was basically the first member added to the team. I'm sure Greg and Tim have told you their origin story, and in a way, Retrotainment had been there between them in their imaginations the whole time, but after I had met with Greg to talk about what they wanted to do, he showed me his prototype art and I was able to reinterpret it into something that made sense to me. I don't think it's conceited of me to think that that was kind of the reality of what Retrotainment Games was coming into full view; the next steps were finding a composer in Thomas and a programmer in Damian, each of which made Tim and Greg's vision of Retrotainment come true.
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in your development of Full Quiet?
    The way we worked back then was much looser than how we work now, but early on we really all were involved in the development of ideas that would go into our games. The Haunted series was really Greg and Tim's baby; it was a childhood dream and still feels very close to them today. Full Quiet was the first time I think that Thomas and I felt like we were right there in the process from the beginning, and we were really creating this thing together.
    For a long time I felt like I was working alone; I had taken a lot on my shoulders that in hindsight I probably shouldn't have, so the rest of the team had to wait because we had designed a workflow initially that required me to complete a pretty large chunk of the visual world before they were able to move on in a lot of other processes. What was initially supposed to have been a very short development time grew exponentially because of the difficulty I was having managing my work in addition to the rest of my life. I assumed that it would be an easier process than it was, and I couldn't have predicted the mental fatigue and exhaustion that would come from me pushing myself creatively while at the same time dealing with some undiagnosed mental health issues. I think I was really hard to work with at the time, but everyone was really wonderful and encouraging throughout the process. That isn't to say that arguments didn't arise, and certainly everyone was fighting to have their ideas and opinions heard, but in the end, I'm really proud of how we all came out of it, and I really miss those days of meeting every week at Greg's house to share what we had done throughout the week, and drawing on a the massive piece of design vellum that would become the overworld map of Full Quiet.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Full Quiet, compared to, say, the Haunted Halloween games? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Jeez, I feel like everything was a surprise. We were starting with an engine that Damian had built over the course of the Haunted games, but as I understood it, we kind of had to work in a way that we hadn't before to attempt this new, open-world structure we were envisioning for Full Quiet. We had seen NES games that had attempted what we wanted to do, and we knew what didn't work with them, so really it was about trying our hardest to make things make sense not just to us, but to an audience of first time players.
    In terms of my work, I was doing everything I could to make sure our directional system made sense. I studied animation backgrounds, trying my best to make sure each turn the player took made sense visually; whether or not it was completely successful is up to the player, but I know that we kicked and screamed our way through the process on our end.
    To make something as large as we were shooting for, we really had to scale down the detail I was used to putting in the backgrounds. We had to change our visual style to make up for that. Something that was tough at the time was looking at the work of other people and trying to compare myself to them. Frankengraphics is an artist that I really admire. She does unbelievable work on the NES, and is just a terrific artist all around. She is so much more knowledgeable about what she does than I am, and seeing her constantly create in the way that she does made me really feel sad about my own work for a long time. Ultimately, that isn't anyone's fault but my own, but learning to be happy or content with the work that I was creating was also a part of the process of Full Quiet that I didn't ever see coming. It was difficult for me to separate myself from my own expectations of my work when what I should have been doing was listening to the team more. I think that's the biggest advice I could give to anyone aspiring to make games; there are people who can do it all, for sure, but when you enter into a collaborative process, please be sure to listen to and value the opinions of the people around you. It can only make you all better at what you want to accomplish, and honestly taking into account other people's feelings will make you better and more empathetic for your future.
     
    -What aspects of Full Quiet are you most proud of?
    I'm so proud of the entire team. I'm proud to have been even the tiniest part of the lives of the people who came together on this project. It's an achievement that can only make us better people and stronger creatives. Whether we hit every pitch out of the park or not, we swung with everything we had, and I'm proud to say that we tried with all our hearts.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    I've had an idea in my head for a long time now, and I've been prototyping and building visuals for it for while, but we'll see where that goes. I'm on board for our team, so we'll see what the future brings. Other than that, I'm always drawing, and I'm trying to focus on getting a couple fanzines made this year with some other friends of mine.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I've been really bad at keeping up with any new game releases these days, homebrew or otherwise. I've been using my free time lately to play older games that I love; I'm very seasonal in that respect. I've mostly been reading a lot and trying to catch up with all the movies I've been putting aside and meaning to watch.
    I would recommend that anyone interested in Homebrew games just do a quick search on twitter; there are so many wonderful people that share their games and the games of others. The whole indie games scene is really terrific.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    This was really fun to do. Sorry for my unbelievably long answers to such perfectly written questions. Anytime anyone thinks of me makes me feel so nice, so being asked to participate in this was a real joy.
     
     

    Thomas Cippollone
    @thehumanthomas
    -It’s great to interview you yet again! Last time we chatted about Chumlee’s Adventure, and I’m excited to catch up with your dev work. This might be our third interview! How have you been since then?
    I've been doing well! I'm working on a lot of music both for games and just for my own entertainment.  Cannot complain.
     
    -How did your relationship with the people at Retrotainment Games come about? Where did this game begin for you?
    I have been with Retrotainment since Haunted '85. As far as Full Quiet goes, I was there from the start to finish, working on a lot more outside of just the Music and Sound.
     
    -Full Quiet, in addition to the Haunted Halloween games center around horror, either silly spooky or just plain eerie. Are you a horror fan? Where did you draw inspiration from in your compositions for Full Quiet?
    I wouldn't claim to be a big time horror fan but I am into the genre. I just don't like to be jump-scared. For the Full Quiet soundtrack, I wanted to create a lot of atmosphere which is particularly challenging on the NES. The Shadowgate soundtrack is a pretty big influence on this one, which I feel has a really great vibe to it. I learned the pseudo-delay type effect from that game.

    The influence of this game is more than…skin deep
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Retrotainment Games, how did it compare to your other collaborations?
    Greg and I work really closely on all the Retrotainment projects, I am doing level design, boss design, and all types of stuff as well as music and sound effects. With most projects outside of Retrotainment, I'm almost exclusively writing music and nothing more.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Full Quiet’s music?
    The ongoing challenge for me with writing music for the NES is making it as dynamic as possible while using the smallest footprint possible. I re-wrote the soundtrack 2 times to free up more space for the overall game.
     
    -What aspects of Full Quiet’s sound are you most proud of?
    I am really proud of how I managed to capture the atmosphere. We really wanted to make sure that players didn't feel rushed while exploring and wouldn't get tired of the area themes. It came together pretty nicely, I think!
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
    Currently, we are just in the pre-planning stages for the next project. I can't really go into details yet because I don't even know what it is yet, haha.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play since we last spoke?
    Honestly, I am totally out of the loop right now, but please feel free to throw me some recommendations.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Sure thing! I have nothing else really going on so if anyone needs a soundtrack or even just a few tunes feel free to hit me up. Thank you!
     
     

    Jim Rugg
    @jimruggart
    -Before we dive into Full Quiet, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to be an artist generally, and more specifically how did you break into homebrew game art?
    I’ve always loved drawing. When I was 10, I bought a comic book and decided that I wanted to be a comic book artist.
    A friend of mine was working on the game, and I guess he showed my work to the team. They asked me to do some art, their terms sounded good so that is how I got involved.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Most of my influences are comic book artists like Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane, Jack Kirby, and Dan Clowes. I studied graphic design in school so designers like David Carson, Saul Bass, Paul Rand…I also liked wrestling and movies growing up and I think those influenced me as well.

    Frank Miller, a familiar name in art to be sure
     
    -What in your opinion makes art compelling? What grabs your attention? And what kind of video game box art would make you choose one game over another?
    Bright colors, contrast, and being different are the things that grab my attention.
    I’m not a gamer. The last game I remember buying was NHL 94 for the Sega Genesis.
     
    -You've also worked on mammoth projects like Hulk: Grand Design, Street Angel, and more with Cartoonist Kayfabe. Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    One unique part of my comics is that I usually handle the lettering, design, and color myself. Traditionally, those roles were done by a team. By doing it all myself, I think I’m able to create comics where those various elements complement each other and service the story in ways that can’t always be achieved through collaboration.
    My aesthetic…pop art, graphic, direct, colorful.
     
    -What tools do you use to create your art?
    Pencils, markers, ink, sable brush, crowquil pen nibs, rapidographs, iPad, ProCreate, rulers, french curves, templates.
     
    -Tell me about the development of the art you created for the limited edition box for Full Quiet, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you create character designs and illustrations for other projects?
    I did a series of sketches and shared those with the team. Then applied their feedback and revised the sketches into final art. It’s been a while since I did the Full Quiet art…I may have used Photoshop and a Wacom pad. I think it was before I started using an iPad.
    The creative process is different for every project. If it’s collaborative, it may depend on client. The things that stay the same are usually that I create a lot of sketches and ideas – rough, fast, and loose. Then I’ll revise my favorites and share them with the client. That’s true of illustrations, covers, character designs. I try to be as creative as possible in the beginning and then when I’ve spent some time just playing around and thinking about the project from different angles, I switch to assessing the sketches and determining what suits the job. Most of my work is about communication so I’ll look at my sketches and review the original goal. Sometimes a great idea doesn’t fit the project so that is something I try to consider at this stage. Then when I’m happy with a couple of ideas, I send those to the client.
     
    -How did you first connect with Tim & Greg from Retrotainment Games, and what was the working dynamic like?
    A friend of mine was working on the game, Zach Curl. He showed them my work. We were all in Pittsburgh so we met in person. They showed me the game in-progress. Told me what they planned to do. I think they had some of the music so they shared that. I asked them a bunch of questions. They had some ideas for the cover art so I went home and started sketching. Emailed them sketches. Then we talked about the sketches and applied their feedback. Pretty standard.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Full Quiet? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Drawing as if we’re looking in or out of a window was fun and different for me.
    The lesson is always that communication is key in collaboration. Ask questions. Make expectations clear for you and your collaborators. Clear communication is a valuable tool.
     
    -Is there another project after Full Quiet on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
    I just published a comic book called True Crime Funnies. It features 2 wrestling stories, Andy Warhol, and a true crime story about a rookie narcotics cop and his violent first day on the job.
    I also just made a zine called 1986. It’s all about comic books in the year 1986. Dark Knight Returns, Maus, and Watchmen came out. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles inspired hundreds of people to create their own comic books. Marvel created the New Universe (haha). Comic books changed forever that year. So I made a zine that collects articles, art, ads, covers and more chronicling 1986.
    These new works go on sale October 26th jimrugg.com.

    True Crime Funnies by Jim Rugg, on sale now!
     
    -Are you a fan of homebrew games? Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I am not a gamer. Games scare me because I find them addictive! So I try to avoid games unless I’m being paid to play them!
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Make stuff. Create. You don’t have to be a professional to make things. The most inspiring part of working with Tim, Greg, and Zach was seeing their creative process. Because game design isn’t something I do, it gave me a new perspective on storytelling, character design, setting, color…I think there’s great value in spending time making something – alone or with other people. So don’t just play games, make a game or a story or a comic book! If I can do it, you can do it.
    Go subscribe to Cartoonist Kayfabe. It’s a daily YouTube channel about comic books where Ed Piskor and I talk about comic books, artists, how we make comics. We also have guests like Todd McFarlane, Gerard Way, Scott McCloud, Eastman + Laird, Robert Kirkman, Mark Millar, Rob Liefeld…
     
    But wait, there’s more!!!
    Since Full Quiet’s release, something really interesting happened: a Discord channel about the game turned into a sort of help line in which players could reach out to each other and collectively work through the various moments in which they got stuck. This Discord belongs to a fellow set of homebrew fans, the guys of the Homebrew Game Club! As a special addition to this post, I interviewed this club’s members to learn more about their podcast as well as this beloved homebrew hotline.
     
     

    Homebrew Game Club
    @hbgameclub
    -Before we talk about the podcast and its recent significance related to Full Quiet, I would love to talk about you and your backgrounds. What first attracted you to homebrew? What is the origin story of the Homebrew Game Club?
    Nick: I started collecting retro games several years ago as a hobby, but stayed clear of homebrew for a while because I found it difficult to know where to start. Eventually I stumbled across the Assembly Line podcast and got excited about playing the games talked about there, and I built up a reasonably large NES homebrew collection in a short time.
    A watershed moment came when I got my copy of Micro Mages in the mail after backing the Kickstarter for it. I had the game, a NES, a huge old CRT, and a Four Score with enough controllers for it, but I needed friends to play it with. So I invited Conor, Bart, and another friend over for a game night. I doubt they believed we were actually going to be playing a brand-new NES game until we were all sitting in front of the TV. Everybody had a great time, and after that, we started meeting up once a month to play different homebrew games from my collection. Eventually I got the idea to turn our meetups into a podcast, and here we are.
     
    Conor: I was vaguely aware that homebrew console games existed through Twitter and other social media channels. This was mostly as it overlapped with my interest in tech more generally. Looking back I would say I mistakenly believed all homebrews were cracks/hacks of existing games, or very proof-of-concept tech demos.
    Playing Micro Mages at Nick’s was a seminal moment. I had so many questions going through my head from how the cart was manufactured to how Nick even knew about the four-controller attachment 😄 The podcast really felt like a natural extension of our playing together.

    Wow the number of times I’ve heard someone note Micro Mages was a seminal moment for them
     
    -Do you listen to any podcasts, gaming-related or otherwise?
    Nick: I drive a lot for work, so my podcast library is huge. I subscribe to around a hundred podcasts, although I obviously don’t listen to anywhere near that many. Believe it or not, relatively few of those are gaming podcasts! The Assembly Line is always a classic, but I’m also a fan of Hardcore Gaming 101, The Collector’s Quest, Homebrews In Focus, and anything featuring Jeremy Parish. Besides gaming, my favorite podcast topics are media, technology, and politics.
     
    Conor: I used to listen to a lot more podcasts when I had a car, pros and cons of public transport life 🙃 My favourite gaming-related podcasts are those that have a slightly tangential view on gaming. VGMpire is no longer active but was one of the first content creators I encountered taking game soundtrack analysis more seriously. I loved their style of emphasizing their personal connections to the music, with the more technical analysis (whether musically in terms of chord progressions or the hardware instrumentation choices) serving to provide context rather than the core discussion. Tech, politics, business and music are the main categories of podcasts I listen to.
     
    -What makes for a good podcast episode?
    Nick: I think the most important thing is keeping the conversation reasonably organized and moving forward at a good flow, which is the host’s main job. Our first numbered episode (Lizard) had no outline, because we thought it would sound too scripted – we just went in excited to talk about the game and assumed our enthusiasm would make great content. So we got almost four hours of audio, and it was rambling, repetitive, inconsistent, and in the end practically unlistenable. It was an editing nightmare. I managed to get a decent episode out of it by chopping out over two thirds of the audio and heavily rearranging the rest, but I told the guys afterwards that if we wanted to put out more than a handful of episodes a year we would need to go in with a better plan, because otherwise this amount of editing would eventually drive me crazy. So now we have a relatively structured podcast, which I think you can easily hear if you’re paying attention. Now that everyone’s used to it I think we’d all agree this is a better way to record.
    Besides that, I’d say the most important thing is to remember to have fun. It’s a lot of work to make a quality podcast, but if you’re not enjoying yourself, that’s going to come across in your performance. No matter how much work we put in before or after a recording, once the mic is on I try to remind myself that this is a space for hanging out with my friends and talking about games, so it’s time to relax and enjoy it.
     
    -How have your tastes in games changed over the years?
    Nick: My enthusiasm for video games has waxed and waned over the years. I was a console gamer until high school, when I discovered PCs. Throughout the 2000s I only played a few big-name AAA games a year, but the growing indie scene got me interested in the hobby again. Then I started building Retropies for myself and friends around 2016, which (ironically?) got me into collecting retro games, and eventually homebrews.
     
    Conor: I would say that I’ve also had my level of interest in games vary over time. I’ve always enjoyed puzzles, story-heavy or offbeat games, with strategy & first-person shooters taking over my brain a lot in high school. I didn’t play much in college but then I moved to the US and started working in the casual/mobile game industry. It became a new challenge to not just play and win the games, but learning how they get developed and what separates a good game from a great game.
     
    -What tools and equipment do you use to record and post?
    Nick: We record on Shure MV7 USB microphones via Zencastr, which is like a tricked-out Zoom for podcasters. I do all of our editing in Adobe Premiere. I realize that’s probably not typical for audio podcasts, but I already have an Adobe subscription through my job, and it’s an interface I’m extremely familiar with from my days as a media producer. I don’t know if I’d recommend this for other podcasters – Premiere is a professional video suite, so using it for audio podcasting is like the editing equivalent of driving a semi truck to work every day when you’re only a 10 minute bike ride from the office – but it gets the job done. For some last-step audio leveling, I run the final cut through Auphonic before I post the file to our feed on Anchor.fm.
    I probably still do too much editing for a podcast, but as a former professional media guy I can’t help myself. It takes a lot of polish for me to feel satisfied with the final product.
     
    -What lessons have you learned that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Nick: Don’t be afraid to stick to a narrow focus. The potential audience for a game club podcast about homebrew was always going to be tiny. But regardless, we’ve tapped it, and we’ve gathered a small but dedicated group of fans in a very short time. I don’t know if we could have pulled that off if we’d tried going with a more general focus, like a podcast about modern games that just occasionally covers homebrew. There are hundreds of podcasts like that out there, but our specificity made us unique – as far as I know, there’s only one other podcast taking a remotely similar approach to what we’re doing now. That helps us stand out.
    It also helps to have a modest vision of “success”: I told the guys from day one that I’d rather have a dozen fans who listen to every episode when it drops than a thousand casual listeners who only ever listen to an episode or two. And that’s the kind of community we’ve started, so I guess we’re doing something right.
     
    Conor: There is a balance between quality/quantity that is hard to strike when you’re creating content. I like where we have settled on with the “mainline” episodes focused on specific titles that our community can play along with. Then there are “spinoff” episodes where we discuss other topics that people can easily opt-out of. The episodes with other topics are probably a little rougher, but they help us learn how to be better hosts.
     
    -(At the time I’ve interviewed you) [Y]ou have produced 10 main episodes and 13 extras, interviews, and recaps in a little over a year, not counting episodes that are in-development. Have your interests and goals for the podcast changed over time? Has making the podcast had an impact on your interests and goals?
    Nick: Well, I’ve definitely been playing a lot more homebrew, so I guess that goal has been met! I always had modest goals for the podcast in terms of audience engagement, so I’m glad to see them come to fruition. As for future goals, I’d like to make more content – but unfortunately I’m at capacity for what I’m able to produce (I handle almost 100% of episode production myself), so we’re probably going to maintain our current output for the foreseeable future.
     
    -What is something your co-hosts uniquely bring to the table?
    Nick: Neither Bart or Conor were fans of the homebrew scene (or even retro gaming) before we launched the podcast, so it’s been fun to watch them get introduced to new developers on platforms they may not have been familiar with. Conor in particular has an interesting background to me, since he grew up in a different region of the world and is several years younger than Bart and myself. I also appreciate how their professional backgrounds influence their tastes in games – Bart as a 20 year film industry veteran, and Conor as a programmer and casual game developer.
     
    Conor: Nick and Bart are both hilarious to chat with, which straight away makes me so energized for each recording. Bart’s film and media experiences are a great counterpoint to my music interests, so I always like to hear his perspectives on game direction. Nick is a font of knowledge and continuously finds new and interesting areas of the homebrew scene to explore. His appreciation for the hardware in particular, which I saw firsthand when we played in person more regularly, really helped me understand the appreciation in the community for the tangible/tactile parts of the hobby beyond emulation.
     
    -On average, how much time passes between the initial planning for an episode and posting it for listeners?
    Nick: We don’t plan out episodes much – we often don’t know what game we’re picking for the next episode until we actually announce it on the podcast. Once we have our game selection, we budget some time to play it (usually 2-3 weeks), then get a Google doc going to outline the episode and hit some notes that we want to talk about. Scheduling the recording can be a challenge, since Bart and I are in Missouri, Conor is in the UK, and we all have kids, jobs, and all the rest to work around. After the recording comes editing, which is all on me. That can take anywhere from 1-2 days to much longer, depending on my schedule (and how off-topic we got when recording the episode).
     
    -What is your favorite segment to talk about in an episode?
    Nick: I love when the discussion about our Game Club selection ends up going in directions I didn’t expect. I usually assume I can guess what my co-hosts’ reactions are going to be to a particular game, and it’s a lot of fun when I realize I’m wrong, especially when it leads me to look at my own experience with the game in a new and different way. That kind of thing is what the Homebrew Game Club is really all about.
     
    Conor: Whichever section gets Nick the most riled up.
     
    -I’m curious about your thoughts regarding the various people you’ve interviewed and the games they’ve developed, so I’ve got a bit of a rapid-fire gauntlet of questions:
    ·        Favorite interviewee?
    Nick: Well, we’ve only done a couple of interviews so far, so we don’t have much of a sample size to draw from. I will say that I enjoy a sit-down, relaxed interview setting more than the live, on-location, standup interviews like we tried doing at last year’s Midwest Gaming Classic.
     
    ·        Favorite homebrew?
    Nick: For me it’s a tie between Lizard and Twin Dragons, both for NES. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Micro Mages though, especially since it helped spawn our podcast.
     
    Conor: Böbl is probably where my head would go, since the technical achievement in it is often so good you don’t even notice it’s there. Alfonzo’s Arctic Adventure might be where my heart would go. It’s got a unique graphical style, fun to play, and sentimental value as it was another one of the first homebrews that Nick showed me.
     
    ·        Favorite homebrewer?
    Nick: I’m going to turn the question on its head a bit and say my favorite homebrewers at the moment are the folks working with GB Studio for the Game Boy. That tool has lowered the barrier to entry for Game Boy development to such an extent that you’ve got this crazy explosion of creativity happening on that platform right now, and it’s been so much fun to dive into those titles.
     
    Conor: Do fantasy consoles count? Devine Lu Linvega is doing some amazing stuff with uxn right now that always leaves me fascinated at how vibrant a 2-bit graphics display can be.
     
    ·        Best graphics?
    Nick: There’s so much out there worth mentioning. Frankengraphics is doing incredible work on NES. Amaweks has put out some brilliantly surreal visuals for Mega Drive. And I’ve been so impressed with what devs are able to do with the Game Boy’s limited palette that I wouldn’t even know where to start with praising that scene.
     
    ·        Best chiptune
    Nick: Tui! I don’t know how many times I’ve walked around humming a chiptune melody for days that I just couldn’t place, until I realized it was from some soundtrack by Tui. His tracks for Tapeworm Disco Puzzle and Witch n’ Wiz are especially good. (He also did the excellent opening theme music for our podcast.)
     
    ·        Most difficult?
    Nick: We did an episode about Xeno Crisis (for the Mega Drive) that set a new bar for what the three of us consider a “hard” homebrew game. I put around 20 hours into that one before I couldn’t play it anymore – I felt completely demoralized, just ground into the dirt. Before that, Nebs n’ Debs for NES really kicked my butt. A very tough platformer.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Nick: In fact… I’m currently a beta tester on The Storied Sword for NES by Nathan Tolbert and Jordan Davis, and it’s going to be amazing. The entire game is built around tight, fluid platforming mechanics, and I am absolutely a sucker for that kind of game. It’s been a real honor to playtest it.

    Screenshot from The Storied Sword
     
    -On to Full Quiet, how are you guys enjoying the game?
    Nick: Honestly, I’ve barely started it! When I first got the game, I immediately plugged it into my NES to check it out. But after the first couple of hours in, I realized it would be the kind of thing I’d want to clear out my schedule and really devote some time to, and I haven’t been able to do that yet. Eventually I hope to find a decent gap in my calendar to finally park my butt in front of the CRT and take it on.
     
    -On January 10, 2023, you created a new channel in your Discord that began as a discussion thread for Full Quiet, but quickly turned into a sort of crowdsourced helpline. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first helpline for homebrew (aside from some brief conversations on Morphcat’s Discord). What prompted you to create the discussion thread?
    Nick: After my first couple of hours with the game, I knew it was going to be uniquely challenging. Right off the bat it comes off as a very deep, complex experience, and from what I’ve seen of the gameplay I can already tell it’s one of the most ambitious homebrew titles ever created for the NES. I could also tell it was the type of game I would never beat without some help. Nearly every difficult retro game has some way to find tips on the internet, from an old FAQ to a YouTube playthrough, but homebrew fans don’t always have that luxury because the games are so recent and the audiences for them are so small. So I got the idea to start a channel devoted to sharing secrets and advice, in order to help people playing through the game right now. We already start new community channels for every game we play on the podcast, but I knew this one would take longer than the 4-6 weeks we usually allow to play through our Game Club selections, so with that in mind I went ahead and launched it with the expectation that we’ll probably do a podcast on it a few months from now.
     
    -Did you anticipate the channel would serve this purpose of allowing people to work together through its more challenging aspects?
    Nick: That was my hope! I’m sure this game will eventually have other online resources to help folks get off the ground with it, but until then I’d like to think there’s quite a lot in the channel to help already.
     
    -Have you found the advice helpful to your own gameplay?
    Nick: Since I haven’t really started the game myself, I’ve mostly been staying out of the channel and letting it do its own thing. It’s amazing how vibrant the discussion is there without any prompting from myself or the other guys who host the Discord – it’s all grown up organically. I have seen comments from several people who say it has helped them beat the game, which is great!
     
    -If you could award MVP status to anyone in the thread, who would you want to recognize and why?
    Nick: Again, I haven’t been in there enough to award that honor to any one particular user, but I want to give a shout out to Metal Beast for being a huge inspiration to get the channel launched in the first place. I followed his tweets about his initial playthrough of the game, and his comment that it took over 26 hours to complete it was one of the things that encouraged me to start the Full Quiet channel. He even joined our Discord to help other folks get through the game!

    The Metal Beast is one of the coolest homebrew fans I’ve met, props to him!
     
    -Do you think you might create similar channels for other homebrew games? Are there any you can think of that might warrant one?
    Nick: We already have channels for every monthly Game Club selection that serve a similar purpose. Full Quiet was different in that I knew it would take a long time to beat, and that there were already a lot of people trying to take it on now who wouldn’t want to wait until we pick the game up for our podcast. If another game comes along that we know we want to cover, but that would take a similarly long time to complete, we might launch the channel for that game a few months early so our fans have plenty of time to play through it. I can’t think of any game like that off the top of my head, though – maybe a particularly long RPG? We’d love to get recommendations if anyone has one!
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Nick: Yes – subscribe to our podcast so you can hear our Full Quiet episode when it eventually comes out! We’re on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the big ones. You can find all of our podcast info and social media links at http://homebrewgameclub.com, where you can also sign up for our Discord and check out the Full Quiet channel for yourself. Finally, we’re always looking for new games to cover, so if you have one in particular that you’d like to hear us talk about, you post it on the #nominate-a-game channel on our Discord, reach out to us through our forum post on Video Game Sage, or shoot an email to homebrewgameclub@gmail.com. Thanks!
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that adds to the lore of your favorite new homebrews. What are your thoughts on Full Quiet and its development team? Would you play a sequel called Fuller Quieter, or do you want Haunted Halloween ’87? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  9. Scrobins

    Episode 36: Red Moon Lost Days

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 36: Red Moon Lost Days

    Introduction:
    While each generation of video games and the consoles that defined them touch on nearly every major genre, there are some specific associations that endured. For instance, the Sega CD conjures memories of the brief trend of full motion video (FMV) games, and the 16-bit era, between the SNES and the Sega Genesis, was perhaps the pinnacle of console beat-‘em-ups. The early disc consoles brought new prominence to an underrated genre: the visual novel. Lighter on interactivity but heavier on characterization, this genre, with masterpieces like Snatcher ushered in great storytelling to video games while also challenging the conversation of what constituted a video game or even art. As homebrew evolves and the skills of its developers reach the consoles that defined these genres, it's no surprise then that we are beginning to see new games for these old consoles which bring the homebrew flavor to the visual novel.
    For this entry, I’m covering Red Moon Lost Days, a visual novel developed by Neuromage Studio for the Sega Saturn. As of the time of this writing, the game can be downloaded on itch.io here, and purchased from publisher Retro Room Roo here.

    The Physical Edition CIB
     
    Development Team:
    Gabriel Sansigolo: programming, writing, user interface
    Adriano Kitani: game art
    Guilherme Crispim & Freedy Sanchez: music
    Caique Augusto: editing
     
    Game Evolution:
    The story of Red Moon Lost Days waxes on the Sega Xtreme forum most prominently. The game’s earliest presence there can be found in a November 22, 2021 post, introducing the game and sharing a demo in celebration of the Sega Saturn’s 27th anniversary. Another demo was shared to the site less than a year later in an October 24, 2022 post. But it was a January 31, 2023 post that heralded the game’s completion and release for download. Though most Saturn homebrew development stories end there, this lunar cycle wasn’t over. In a May 17, 2023 tweet, Retro Room Roo announced they would be selling a physical release of Red Moon Lost Days.

    Makers of Quest Arrest, fun merch, and publishers of others’ games
     
    Gameplay:
    Red Moon Lost Days describes itself as an RPG visual novel hybrid. You play as Kyou Tan Wa, a pilot and general for a reorganized China, investigating the disappearance of your friend, a fellow general. Serving Chukou base, you are the sword of your region, having come a long way from the old Middle East, between United Europe and Great China. As a visual novel, controls are as straightforward as they come in gaming, as you merely need to navigate the text menu through the story, hitting A to continue the text, occasionally moving the D-pad to make a choice, and twice using the D-pad to move your character around the environment.
     
    Review:
    Red Moon Lost Days is an atmospheric visual novel, deserving of a novelization or encyclopedia to expand its fascinating lore. Jumping between two time periods, the game offers plenty of characterization in bite-sized pieces that keep players not only engaged, but left wanting more story, whether with the same characters, or to explore the world with others. Spanning subjects such as friendship, loyalty, personal growth, and spirituality, this game presents a creative, accessible story, one which stands out for how different it is from the characters we’ve seen before. And for that reason, it leaves a hunger for more content. Fortunately there are two other games set in this universe: Red Moon of April and Alette If. As a visual novel, there isn’t much generally to say about gameplay, though compared to other games of the genre, I would have liked to see more opportunities for how the story progressed, such as with branching paths and multiple endings. Similarly, there were a couple of places where the style switches to a top-down RPG visual, and this could have been a wonderful opportunity for the player to take a more active role, perhaps in having some Final Fantasy-style battles with enemy Metal Knights, much like the shooting gallery asides found in Snatcher. Instead, these respites from the text are a chance to walk around and move from point A to point B.
    The graphics and music together are beautiful, communicating moods from tense and unnerving to ethereal. Though most of what we see are still images, many of the scenes, with vibrant colors and shading could be the meticulously crafted sets of a theatrical production. Meanwhile the scenes pull you into the text, almost hypnotically, unleashing your imagination with the seeds of its own story.
     
    Interviews:
    I wrote to the authors of this novel, and we became pen pals while discussing the story behind the story of Red Moon Lost Days, keep reading for more…
     

    Gabriel Sansigolo
    @G_Sansigolo
    -Before we dive into Red Moon Lost Days, I would love to talk about your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer? What is your origin story? What is the story behind the name Neuromage Studio?
    Besides the RPGs I made during childhood using RPG Maker, I started to develop games in early 2018 using python, at that time I knew few programming languages, I was a programming student, that knowledge supported me to develop whatever I wanted. And what I wanted was to create storytelling experiences through games. Time passed and in 2019 I started what was my biggest project, the game Red Moon of April, months after the beginning of the development I decided I wanted to make a Game Boy Advanced version of the game, it was then that my interest in retro game development began. I began making Red Moon of April for GBA, it was a start menu and an introduction only but studying the SDK (software development kits) and how the old console game programming works made me understand what I was facing. Neuromage studio was born from an idea of mine to direct the studio, a game development studio focused on AI software and games. Because of the focus on narrative games in the first five years of the studio I was not able to get this desire off the drawing board, but who knows in the next project.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    By far the person who most influenced me to develop games for old consoles was Tulio Adriano, one of the developers of Pier Solar, the RPG for the Mega Drive. He is also Brazilian and in an interview for the Brazilian retro gaming podcast, RGB Inside, he talked about how was the whole process of developing the game and gave little tips for those who had the desire to start, it was at that time I decided I wanted to make a game for the Sega Saturn. At the time I had just graduated from college and was in master's Applied Computing, I knew enough of programming I asked myself 'why don't I try, I know how to program'. Other influences of mine are Danilo Dias and Thais Weiller, the Brazilian developers behind JoyMasher, they are behind some great retro aesthetic games of the last few years like Blazing Chrome and Moonrider. Following their work for years has been very inspiring, they are a duo of developers worth following.

    Screenshot from Moonrider by JoyMasher
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    This is a tough question, I don't see myself following a single design aesthetic, for example the Red Moon games, Red Moon of April (PC/Vita) and Red Moon: Lost Days (Saturn) share the same art direction, a cartoonish anime-like direction. I tried to come up with an aesthetic design that matches what I was aiming at, science fiction mecha anime. On the other hand, the game in the Case of Renne Brás series, The Lighthouse of São Bento do Oeste (Saturn) follows a pixel-art plus real photos direction. I have tried to come up with an aesthetic design that combines mystery novels, such as Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    For Red Moon: Lost Days I mainly used the C programming language. The game is programmed entirely in C, to compile the Sega Saturn games I used the JoEngine library and to build gameplay for my games I used the Neptune Engine.  Neptune Engine is what I call all the code that I started writing in The Lighthouse of São Bento do Oeste, my first Saturn game, and that I have used in all my console projects since then. It contains code to facilitate the development, on my end, of narrative visual novel/RPG like games.
     
    -What encouraged you to make games for the Saturn?
    As a huge gaming content enthusiast, I've always heard that the Sega Saturn was a difficult console to program. At the time I had watched a documentary about the Sakura Wars series, the YouTube channel Chronicles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjNeJv1o86A by far one of the best documentaries related to a Sega Saturn game. After that I fell in love with the Sega Saturn, everything around it was extremely intriguing, I joined my interest in the Sega Saturn to my curiosity to make games for the old console.
     
    -At the heart of Red Moon Lost Days is its RPG/visual novel style. What about this genre resonates so strongly with you? What inspired you to make this type of game?
    Some of my favorite games are Sakura Wars 2, Persona 2 Eternal Punishment, VA-11 Hall-A & Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. I love RPGs and Visual Novels, and I really like games that mix genres. I love writing stories through games. I would say that what most inspired me to make Red Moon: Lost Days was the game series Sakura Wars, the anime Evangelion and the manga series Hunter x Hunter and Kingdom.

    Screenshot from Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die
     
    -What elements are crucial for a good visual novel?
    I literally don't know, although almost all my games are visual novels, I don't see myself as someone who understands the genre a lot, I like visual novels more and I like visual novels as a hybrid genre. Forcing myself to answer, I would say that probably characters, for me they are a crucial element of visual novels, it's no wonder that great universes that are born from visual novels become popular because of their characters.
     
    -How did you connect with Retro Room Roo? What was the working dynamic like across your collaboration?
    It’s not such an interesting story, after the digital release of the game, January 31 the game gained a lot of attention, Roo contacted me with the proposal to make a physical version of Red Moon: Lost Days, after two and a half years of development I wanted the game to reach more users and I knew that physical version would help. It was a very good dynamic, Roo seemed to like the game a lot and put a lot of faith in the release.
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind Kyou Tan Wa’s design, and are there elements of yourself that you see in her?
    I would say the effort, I don't see myself as a good programmer or a good game writer, but I managed to start and finish an RPG for Sega Saturn, a game from start to finish, I don't think it was due to skill but effort. Kyou as a character got where she got by effort, her childhood story, presented in Red Moon of April, shows how despite difficulties she brought positivity to Kohime and energy to move forward, I think I put that in her.
     
    -What aspects of Red Moon Lost Days are you most proud of?
    The story, from the very beginning the goal of making games was to create storytelling experiences, I think I achieved that with Red Moon: Lost Days. I managed to tell Kyou's story in a game.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Red Moon Lost Days? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    The memory of the Sega Saturn, making a game for a console with 1Mb of memory is quite difficult, every time I put something in the memory without removing something that was already there, I hit the blue screen - memory limit. Having space on a 700Mb CD is very deceiving, you think that everything flows from CD to memory, from memory to screen easily and no, memory management is everything.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Saturn, or otherwise? Any plans to publish a physical release of Red Moon of April? Any dream projects?
    Yes there are, in February of this year I started studying 3D game development, Unreal Engine 5 specifically, I've been studying since then. My horizon boils down to: continue studying Unreal Engine 5, as soon as I finish I plan to do 3 to 4 small game projects with a friend of mine, to practice 3D game development, after that I will go back to studying, this time FPS development in Unreal Engine 5, and after that start my personal bigger project, the sequel to the story of Red Moon: Lost Days, a 3D platform shooter inspired by DOOM (2016) and Metroid Prime. Related to Saturn there's a project on the horizon, but it's something only Portuguese speakers will be able to enjoy. As for new Sega Saturn projects I don't have any plans on the horizon at the moment, it's been four and a half years developing games for the Sega Saturn, I want to take my time until I come up with something that I feel compelled to do. About Red Moon of April there are talks but nothing solid to announce. And about dream projects, one of them maybe I'll do for smaller game projects I’ll study 3D game development, I would like to make a mystery/survival horror game inspired by Resident Evil, a series of games that I'm a big fan of.

    Cover art for Red Moon of April
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    There are some, one of them is the Mega Drive game by IuriNery (https://twitter.com/IuriNery), another is Affinity Sorrow, the Mega Drive RPG by Second Dimension (https://twitter.com/alteredimension), another is the Dreamcast and Game Gear version of Paprium (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/573261866/paprium-the-16-bit-beat-them-all-coming-to-the-next-gen), 2dreamcorp Samurai game for System 16 and Mega Drive and from Sega Saturn HELLSLAVE from XL2.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    I would like to thank you for the opportunity and leave my social networks for those who want to follow me:
    https://twitter.com/G_Sansigolo
    https://twitter.com/neuromstudio
    https://www.instagram.com/g_sansigolo/
    https://www.tiktok.com/@g_sansigolo
    https://neuromage.itch.io/
     
     

    Adriano Kitani
    @amkitani
    -Before we dive into Red Moon Lost Days, I would love to talk about your background. What first inspired you to become an artist? What is your origin story?
    I started my artistic career making comic strips and cartoons for a local newspaper. It was a side gig while I was working as a graphic designer. In 2015 the place I was working at closed and I decided to try going 100% freelancing, taking more illustration jobs. After some time freelancing, I was hired to illustrate YouTube thumbnails for a Magic: The Gathering channel called MTGGoldfish.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Mostly comic book artists, some of my favorites are Brian Lee O'Malley (from Scott Pilgrim), Angeli (a famous Brazilian comic artist), Mike del Mundo (makes covers for Marvel).

    Arnaldo Angeli Filho , aka Angeli
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of your art?
    I think it's a mix of newspaper comics with some manga/anime influence. It's kind of hard to describe my own art but I always see people pointing out the way I use colors.
     
    -What tools do you use to create?
    Mostly Photoshop and Procreate.
     
    -In your opinion, what makes good game art stand out and attract the attention of a prospective player?
    I think it's art that has a unique flavor or voice. It can be a unique way to work with colors or a very authorial style.
     
    -How did you connect with Neuromage Studio? What was the working dynamic like across your collaboration?
    Gabriel from Neuromancer Studio reached me via email to commission me for the game. We started with an initial set for the main characters and from there I started to work with other elements.
     
    -What aspects of Red Moon Lost Days’ art are you most proud of?
    For me it was the robot designs. It was the first time for me working with mecha and I was really pleased with the results.

    Go go mecha rangers!
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Red Moon Lost Days? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    The most difficult part for me was designing the mechas, it was something I had no experience and took me some time to get it done. During this process I spent a lot of time looking for references and looking at how other artists work with this. The best thing to do when drawing something you're not used to is to research a lot in the beginning.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Saturn, or otherwise?
    Right now, I don't have anything new, but I would love to work on other projects like that in the future.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    To be honest I don't play much homebrew games lately.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Working with Red Moon was super fun and a great experience. I hope people enjoy and appreciate the game. Thank you!
     
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that tells the tales of your favorite new homebrews. What are your thoughts on Red Moon Lost Days and its development team? Do you want to see more games in this genre? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

     
  10. Scrobins

    Episode 35: Sly Dog Studios & The Candelabra Epic

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by Scrobins
    Episode 35: Sly Dog Studios & The Candelabra Epic

     
    Introduction:
    Once a developer decides to make a sequel to follow up on a previous game, there is the inevitable question of whether the next entry should offer more of the winning formula or strike out for new territory? On the one hand, by sticking with what's tried and true, you run the risk of becoming stale, and on the other, by wanting to innovate and stay fresh, you risk alienating fans who liked what you did before. If you’re Sly Dog Studios, you don’t have this problem because your fans love your games because each entry is a different game using a different genre to introduce creative gameplay mechanics that challenge your assumptions about how to play a game of the genre, as well as what can be done with a game of that type on the NES.
    For this entry, I decided to spend the dog days of summer catching up with Rob Bryant aka Sly Dog Studios to see what he’s been up to and share his stories about the famed Candelabra series. Rob’s games are longstanding favorites since the early days of NES homebrew, and I got the scoop of kibble on what’s brewing in the doghouse.

    Not too far off from reality
     
    Development Team:
    @Rob Bryant (Sly Dog Studios): programming
     
    Sly Dog & Evolution of the Series:
    Rob’s games run the gamut, beholden to no genre. Like many early homebrewers, Rob’s first works show off his developing skill as it dovetails with his creativity. One such example, Tic-Tac XO, awards power-ups depending on the outcome of previous games, which makes future matches very interesting. A known presence on NESdev, Rob took Clik!, a mini game developed for the first NESdev compo and expanded it into a complete game. Also a huge personality on NintendoAge, Rob was instrumental in building a permanent reservoir of knowledge for aspiring brewers to access the Nerdy Nights tutorials, in addition to sharing updates on his own work, and answering the questions of others. You might even remember The DogCast, in which Rob posted bite-sized updates on whatever he was working on at the time, alongside snippets of his everyday life. His ever-growing skill and support led him to release what may well be his masterpiece: Black Box Challenge, an RPG in which you collect all the original black box NES games, playing 1k mini games of each to unlock abilities that open more of the surrounding world so you can continue your quest and defeat the Evil Overlord.

    Screenshot from Black Box Challenge
    But Rob is most famous for the Candelabra Epic, an ongoing saga that has cemented Rob as the homebrewer’s homebrewer. The first entry in the series, The Mad Wizard, is a puzzle-based platformer, whose rom was released in 2014, and sold on cart in 2015. Immediately distinguishing itself, its gameplay lacks a jumping mechanic, instead relying on your character’s (Hekl) mystical hover. Your ability to navigate the world, fight enemies, and acquire new abilities opens the wider world in your battle against Amondus, and it all begins with the basic assumption-breaking fact that you can’t jump. The next game, The Rise of Amondus, sees you playing as the previous game’s villain as you collect minions to build your army. Also released in 2015, this worthy follow up is a sort of horizontal shooter with the ability to have a second player join in for some couch co-op. Not content to be a straightforward shmup, this game includes a separate mechanic in which you abduct goblins on the ground while clearing the path ahead of enemies, a true multitasker’s game.
    For the next entry, Estoscerro, Rob teased a twin-stick 3D dungeon crawler in a demo released as early as 2013! Updates trickled out on NintendoAge and NESdev, but Rob keeps many plates spinning continuously as progress on several games edged closer to the finish line. Given the tidbits shared, I hope one day Rob writes a book about all the stories behind this saga; he takes his time on what are clearly labors of love, and when a new game is ready, it lands with a huge bang.
    Whereas the first two entries of the Candelabra Epic were physically released on cart by RetroUSB, with boxes by Uncle Tusk, the third entry reached audiences by a different route. Estoscerro launched on Kickstarter through fellow homebrewer K3VBOT on March 22, 2019. Within 48 hours, the project had met its initial funding goal. By campaign’s end, 301 supporters pledged more than $27,000 toward the game. Backer tiers included the game rom, cart only, CIB, or combination packages with T-shirts, stickers, posters, and a cloth map of the first level. Depending on your selection, you could receive a traditional gray cart or a translucent yellow one. Even more exciting, there was a tier that offered everything plus re-releases of The Mad Wizard and The Rise of Amondus (with new box/cart/manual artwork) since both games were discontinued through RetroUSB a year or two prior. Backers received their games by spring 2020, and Rob released the Estoscerro rom to the public for free on February 4, 2021.

    Estoscerro Kickstarter banner
     
    Interview:
    Like many fans would, I took the chance to hound Rob about his development work, and when he thinks the next games in the series might be let off the leash. I was fur-tunate to hear his tails, er tales…


    Sly Dog Studios
    -Before we dive into the Candelabra series, I wanted to check in. Last year I polled members of the community, and one question asked who they missed hearing from. You were a frequent answer. So for the many who miss hearing from you, how have you been?
    I really had no idea I would be mentioned as someone that others had missed hearing from, so that’s kinda nice to learn. As for how I’ve been, I’ve been alright. A lot of family stuff has had its ups and downs in the past couple of years haha My kids are getting bigger, and they’re amazingly crazy. They are definitely hard to keep up with. I wouldn’t trade what I have for anything, even with rough times. So, life is good overall. None of us are starving, thank God.
     
    -I would also love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is your origin story?
    Good Lord. I’m not really sure what inspired me to create games in the first place, but I always knew I wanted to make games on the NES, if I could. I always loved playing games, but I always really loved the library on the NES, and thought it would be awesome to make games on the same platform that harbored some of my favorite games of all time. One of those things where you’re like, “Yeah, I was able to create a game alongside the likes of Ninja Gaiden, Friday the 13th, etc.” Not that I’m saying they’re as good as those games, but that they are in the same library. You could counter that that very same library has some snoozers. It doesn’t matter though. Take the nostalgia of loving the system, and creating something that would necessarily make it on a list of games that were on the system? Haha Sounds kinda stupid, but I think it’s awesome.
     
    -What is the significance of the Sly Dog Studios name as well as your Roth username on NintendoAge and NESDev?
    This is definitely a double-pronged answer, because neither has to do with the other. Sly Dog Studios is really interesting, because it has something that deals with a game that I envisioned a long time ago, coupled with the guy I used to create games with. So, my friend Shawn and I had “created our own systems,” by which I mean, we came up with specs, didn’t understand them, but ran with them. Then, we each came up with our own games for those systems. In my case, the system I “created,” was the Machina (pronounced mak-in-uh). There was one game in particular that I came up with called Sly Dogs. It was supposed to be something like Mission: Impossible on the NES, but you could switch from each character to the other, and they all banded together to perform certain tasks. This was when we were little kids.
    Fast forward, many, many years later. I was playing in bands a lot, and Shawn was a keyboard player. We never actually played together in any live bands, but he would sometimes record live shows or even practices of bands I was in. At one point, I was in this band called Badge. He recorded some of our stuff, then actually had a CD maker of some sort. He pressed a copy and gave it to me. On the outer rim of the CD it said “Sly Dog Studios.” It was one of the coolest things ever. And then whenever I decided to actually slap a name on programming ventures, I thought it was more than appropriate to use that moniker. Even later than that, Shawn was the one that came up with the logo of Sly Dog Studios.
    The name Roth was something I came up with when I was playing AD&D when I was younger. I just thought it sounded cool. And so, whenever I joined forums in the early days of NES discussions, I used that. The answer about Sly Dog Studios is totally more interesting than the name of Roth haha
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    The more I think about things like influences, the more I believe it’s everything I’ve ever taken in. I could tell you that *such-and-such* is a major influence, but I really don’t think I can do that these days. I honestly believe that everyone influences everyone in some sort of way; that it is difficult to ascertain who is a more readily spoken of in influence than the next. Even random encounters of people you’ll meet only one time seem to sometimes have big impacts in ways I think of things, and perceive things.
    If you want me to talk about who/what I admire? I would say any game that has a story, and whomever the people behind that game are. I couldn’t tell you who worked on The Adventures of Bayou Billy, but holy cow. They took a regular damsel-in-distress story, and built a game with multiple styles of play, with multiple kinds of villains, and mashed it together and made something cool. Same with Golgo-13: Top Secret Episode. Really cool games, and those that worked on them, I tip my hat.

    Screenshot from The Adventures of Bayou Billy
    About people’s work that I’m watching closely… I am not going to lie. I am severely detached from the whole homebrew scene right now. I have no idea about anyone that exists outside of Kevin, Beau, Tim and Joe Parsell, my Yoda. And even there, I have no idea what they may or may not be working on right now. I remember that Damian was working on Full Quiet. That’s about the extent of what I know.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    I used to jam in this death metal band. I remember having a conversation with the drummer about a certain way I approached making riffs much of the time. It was basically something like, “I like to play the same thing twice, then change it up on the third time, and then play the first thing one more time.” So it’s like an A-A-B-A riff, if that makes sense? And I think that is kind of what my design for gaming is like, but not necessarily like that. I haven’t quite figured out what it is that I like to do when making a game, but when I make a certain thing, I know that that is the thing that I want? Basically, I feel like there is a formula that I like to use, but I haven’t quite put my finger on what that is yet.
    If I were to put a “hallmark” on what these games do, it is that the player starts off with diddly-squat, and by the end is over-powered, but the powers are increased in such a way that you don’t realize how great your character is until close to the end of the game. Something like that maybe?
     
    -What tools do you use to code & compose?
    For coding I use a text editor, and build with CA65 and LD65. I also use NESST for seeing how things could look. I use GIMP for all of the graphics work I need to do before transferring it to something NESST could use. I use a modified DragNSF 1.0 for compositions. I also use my bass and sometimes my own voicing on recordings so that I don’t forget something that’s musically in my head.
     
    -You started developing games for the NES around 2008, and playing in assembly for a few years before that. Has your approach to homebrewing changed over time?
    I’m going to say no, but I wish I could say yes haha I’ve noticed that I tend to have an idea, start on the game, and then keep adding ideas. I don’t think I’ve ever had a game where I pre-planned and stuck it out to the end, never changing anything. I always seem to keep building on what I originally saw, and only stopping when I think that it’s “good enough,” which I don’t usually think it is.
     
    -What have you observed about the evolution of the homebrew scene as a whole over the years you’ve been a part of it?
    I once wrote an article called “Why Most People Don't Finish NES Homebrew Games.” It is no longer a relevant writing.
     
    -You are also an avid musician, who composes the music in your games. Tell me about the development of Candelabra’s music, what is your composition process? Is the creative process for developing music different compared to your game programming?
    It’s not different in terms of a “means-to-an-end.” Just like how I program, I kind of write music by the seat of my pants, and don’t have a particular end-point until I feel like I’ve reached it.
    But, I will say it’s different in that, I’m more musically attuned to what I would like to do than I am with a game as a whole. I think music is really great, but it’s a far more simple beast than encompassing a vision of an entire world. The music is only a portion of that world, and I feel like the little bits of music I write are only one part of the tale of a world.
     
    -How would you describe the vibe of your music?
    Rock/Metal Meets *insert game genre*
     
    -How did you first conceive the Candelabra series?
    I originally wanted to make a 3D maze style game that was something that could be beaten in around 20-30 minutes. That was the original vision of Candelabra: Estoscerro. When the game was around 75% or more finished, I really actually got cold feet. At the time, there were people releasing platformers and getting tons of notoriety. I talked to my buddy Shawn, and told him I wanted to make some sort of platformer, but I couldn’t actually make sprites jump at that time, only move them. So he and I talked a bit, and decided to make a game of a wizard that could levitate. The sprite could be moved, but no jumping involved. This would end up becoming The Mad Wizard. As we got more into development of the game, we talked about this wizard maybe being the third character in Estoscerro, and tying it together. And that’s what eventually happened.
     
    -Tell me about the evolution of Candelabra, what led you to decide each entry would essentially be a different genre?
    I used to play all of my RPG video games with a certain character set. So, for instance, I would play Final Fantasy with Roth, Han, Hubs and Hekl. Roth as a fighter, Han a red mage, Hubs white, and Hekl black. I did this with other games too, like Ultima: Exodus. Except Roth would be a barbarian (like my AD&D character), Han a fighter, Hubs a white mage, Hekl a black mage… or whatever it was they were called on that game. So, because Roth was my forum name, I was discouraged from using that due to feeling like I would look like I was being non-humble(?) and putting myself in the games. So I went with Han, Hubs and Hekl as being the main protagonists. Sometimes on these games, I would have a character named Sven, who would be a thief. He worked his way into being the main guy in The Tenth Knight, but not as a thief, and spelled as sVen haha
    There’s even more to it than all this. There was a PS One game called RPG Maker. I never came CLOSE to finishing the game, but I had started trying to make a game with that. But many ideas I thought of have carried over, at least in principle, and I was calling it Candelabra.
    As for why I wanted to make each game different from the last in terms of genre? Just so it wasn’t the same. Each character is different from the other, and I think if you’re going to represent a character in a game, it’s proper to represent them in a state of play that is more conducive to how you would like them to be portrayed.

    Like playing God, but with pixels
     
    -In addition to each game being in a different genre, each has unique control mechanics that expand players’ conception of how NES games can be played, such as Estoscerro’s dual controller format/Virtual Boy controller compatibility. What is your inspiration for such out-of-the-box game design?
    Modern video games. I always appreciated things like Smash TV on the NES, where they went out of their way to make a totally different experience with the controls. It’s not always necessary, but if I can find a modern video game that has elements that haven’t been explored on the NES, I want to try and use those to create something new and interesting for the system. I think people find it refreshing. Maybe sometimes cumbersome, but if they actually put in the work like when they were kids to try and learn the controls for something, ultimately rewarding.
     
    -The series includes a wide array of characters. Do you personally identify with any of them?
    Haha! Not so much identify with them, as much as empathize with them. They all have these traits that I both love and hate, but I can look at them all with a certain regarded mix of admiration or adulation. I hope I can get the series to that point where people can see what I mean by that.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing the various Candelabra games? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Don’t go with the flow of what other devs are doing. Don’t feel like “I need to make *xyz genre* because other people are making *xyz genre*.” Just make your games.
     
    -Which is your favorite Candelabra game?
    Completed? It has to be Estoscerro. I think The Tenth Knight will be my favorite once it’s completed, though.
     
    -Do you have a favorite game of yours from outside the series?
    Definitely Black Box Challenge.
     
    -Currently, The Mad Wizard, The Rise of Amondus, and Estoscerro are out, with mentions at one time or another of The Scarlet Matron, The Warlord Slayer, and The Tenth Knight. Are there any other games planned in the series?
    Yes, there are a multitude of games in the series that are planned. It’s just a matter of actually being able to make them. I would like to, at the very least, have 12 games in the series. There are ideas for each, but we’ll see if they pan out.
     
    -Do you have any updates to share on the remaining games in the series? Are you thinking of launching a crowdfunding campaign? Do you have plans to sell those games? Are you open to someone else handling production & distribution?
    I’m still working on The Tenth Knight. It is a labor of love, because I really want this to be better than Black Box Challenge, which I consider to be my magnum opus up to this point. I will not be crowdfunding, and I will not be selling any games. I will release them as ROMs. If there is anyone that will release my games on cart with no changes to the ROM at all, I may consider that as an okay thing to do. I’m not looking to even try to make money off of my games anymore. Well, unless some big ol’ company offers me hundreds of thousands of dollars hahaha I would change my tune then! We all know that won’t happen though, so it is what it is.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
    Not really. I still want to finish Elusion of the Dead and NES Virus Cleaner+. Besides those, nothing that I feel the need to get out there. Well, I would also like to finish that Golgo-13 port to the NES from the SG-1000.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I really don’t know of any right now. That’s how far gone I am from the development scene. I will still say that Full Quiet looks really interesting. And Neotoxin, but that’ll never happen.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Dear readers: Be a fan.
    Dear fans: Be readers.
    I’ll try to do what I can to finish my work, but no promises. I just hate to disappoint, but I’m trying not to. Life is hectic though.
     
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the latest homebrew essentials and the brewers behind them. What are your thoughts on Sly Dog Studios and the Candelabra Epic? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?

     
     
  11. Scrobins

    Episode 34: HaraForce

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 34: HaraForce

    Introduction:
    It should come as no surprise that the homebrew community spans the globe. I’ve had the privilege of interviewing brewers across four continents. But for all the interconnectedness that makes homebrew a small world, there are islands. Japan, the birthplace of Nintendo and Sega, is also the center of a thriving homebrew, or “doujin” Famicom scene. However, many players in the West are unaware of or unable to order these games, which stand shoulder to shoulder with its peers anywhere in the world. Fortunately, there are a handful of savvy individuals who have fostered relationships with these overseas devs, and built a pipeline of sorts that allows for the wider promotion and distribution of these games. I for one salute these ambassadors of homebrew international relations.
    For this entry, I’m covering HaraForce, a shmup developed by Impact Soft for the Famicom and brought to the NES and the world by Neodolphino Productions. As of the time of this writing, Neodolphino’s NES copies of the game are sold out, but a few NES and Famicom copies are still available from Impact Soft’s own storefront here.

    The Famicom CIB
     
    Development Team:
    Impact Soft: programming
    Justin Orenich (@neodolphino😞NES port
     
    Game Evolution:
    HaraForce follows its two predecessors: Haradius Zero and HaraTyler. Haradius Zero was first available for purchase through Impact Soft’s Booth store as early as November 6, 2018. Neodolphino’s NES iteration of the game went up for sale on September 6, 2020. Meanwhile HaraTyler was first available through Booth and sold at expos on November 27, 2020. Though HaraTyler was already a worthy sequel, Impact Soft played with the possible, releasing HaraTyler MP, a version of the game with a custom audio board that enveloped the game with an enhanced soundtrack.
    HaraForce was in stock through Booth on December 7, 2022. Neodolphino had NES copies of HaraForce (as well as HaraTyler and HaraTyler MP) ready to purchase in his store on January 13, 2023.

    Impact Soft’s other booth shop
     
    Gameplay:
    HaraForce is a shmup in the classic arcade mold. Use the D-pad to navigate your ship in 4 directions, use the A- button to fire bullets manually, and use the B-button to use the auto fire mechanism. You also have guided bullets which have a lock-on capability, enabling them to home in on enemy fleets that cannot be destroyed normally. Your ship and support pods lock on automatically, as indicated by the upside-down pink targets on enemy ships.

    Screenshot of HaraForce
     
    Review:
    HaraForce is a testament to how much a few good ideas and great execution can achieve. It’s easy to be cynical about shmups being a straightforward formula (especially when you’re as bad at them as I am), but in the hands of a passionate developer, one who knows how to play with what works, and poke at ways to make it fresh, the result can be something special. Gameplay is fun, between the vertically-oriented take on the additional bullets from your support pods to the lock-on mechanism. Beyond what’s different, HaraForce is simply a crisp, well-made shmup that is addictive and fluid.
    Graphically, the coloring is bright and playful, offering detailed, iconic sprites that warrant a comic book spinoff or cartoon show. Meanwhile the music pushes epic themes that easily hummable long after you turn off the game, with a pulsing thrum that pulls in your concentration as you blast away each enemy.
     
    Interviews:
    To assess to full impact of this game’s story, I interviewed its developer, as well as the man who helped bring it to the NES. These are their stories…
     

    IMPACT SOFT
    @HD64180
    -Before we dive into HaraForce, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game developer? What is your origin story and the story behind the Impact Soft name?
    I was originally interested in electronic music and playing with synthesizers to make them play automatically. I bought a computer and became interested in programming as well and started making games. My first motivation was that I wanted to add background music of my own compositions to the games I created. I made HARADIUS for MSX as a "doujinshi game" when I was a college student.
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=9AA122jpiZU
    When I released this game, I asked myself if there was a name for a circle that would have an impact. So we ended up changing our name to "impact soft". After that, I worked for a game company, changed jobs at several development companies, and now I am an independent freelance developer. The NES games I'm working on now are more of a side job.

    Screenshot of HaraForce for the MSX
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I just make what I want to make, so I don't have any influences. I check out other people's work, but I just try my best not to mimic them.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    I make what I want to make, the way I want to make it. Since Haratyler, I have been releasing games with my own mapper on boards I have made. The characteristic of "impact soft" is that we are exploring new possibilities not only for software but also for hardware.
     
    -What tools do you use to code, compose, and create?
    Assembler: NESASM; Sound driver: NSDLIB; and Graphics tools: YY-CHR.
     
    -You refer to your games as “doujin”, which carries a meaning of self-produced, much like the word “homebrew” is used elsewhere. What does “doujin” mean to you? What can you tell me about the doujin community that you engage with in Japan?
    I use it to mean the same thing as "indie games". I think the general interpretation is a bit broader than that. I'm not really involved in the Japanese community, so I'm not sure.
     
    -HaraForce is the latest in a long line of games you’ve created. Has your approach to game development or your preferences changed since you first began programming?
    There is no change in the fundamentals. My skills are improving, and I am able to do more, but compared to when I was a student, I have limited time to spend on production.
     
    -In preparing to interview you, I learned that “hara” in Japanese can mean several things, such as someone’s belly, or courage in the way some equate “guts” with bravery, but it also means a unification of a person’s physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. Which meaning were you drawing on when you created the Hara series?
    My current family name is "ICHIKAWA". Before I got married, it was "HARADA". In Japan, it is common for a woman to change her family name to that of a man after marriage, but I was adopted into my wife's family, so my family name has changed. The reason I put HARA in the title of the game is that it is a game made by "HARADA" and has no deep meaning.
     
    -Is there a story behind the meaning of the second half of your games’ names? What is the significance of Haradius Zero, HaraTyler, and HaraForce?
    HARADIUS" comes from "Gradius," which was created by HARADA, and "HARADIUS ZERO" comes from "Gradius," which was created by HARADA. HARADIUS ZERO was added to the name to start over from zero when we restarted our doujinshi activities on the NES. Haratyler is a half-joke name I came up with because there is a Japanese manga artist named "Haratyler". HaraForce is a name I just came up with.
     
    -The Hara series are all shooters. What elements are crucial for a good shooter game? Do you have a favorite shooter that you look to for inspiration?
    I think it's important to have a sense of speed to keep the user interested. Gradius 2 for MSX was a big influence.

    Screenshot of Gradius 2 for MSX
     
    -HaraForce is a vertical shooter, whereas Haradius Zero and HaraTyler were horizontal shooters. What led you to make this change in gameplay?
    I wanted to challenge myself not only with horizontal shooters, but also with vertical ones.
     
    -What aspects of HaraForce are you most proud of?
    The smooth movement of many huge enemies, which is impossible on the NES. The exhilaration of defeating them with lock-on missiles.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing HaraForce? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    In the case of vertical shooters, there are often no restrictions on movement due to terrain. It was difficult to create stages that would not bore the players. The reason we added mines and energy field gimmicks is that without movement restrictions, the gameplay can easily become monotonous. I added mines and energy field gimmicks because I considered the problem that gameplay can easily become monotonous if there are no movement restrictions.
     
    -How did you connect with Justin Orenich/Neodolphino? Were you looking to sell copies of your games around the world or on NES cartridges before you were in contact with him?
    Justin suggested to me that we should release HARADIUS ZERO on the NES. I had a proposal to do so. I was interested in selling it overseas, so I asked him to do so. Before this proposal, I was interested in selling overseas, but had no concrete plan.
     
    -How does it feel to see so many people eager to buy your games from around the world?
    I want people all over the world to play my games because I developed them with a lot of effort. I am trying to make a game that is language-independent and can be played by people from all over the world.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Famicom or otherwise? Any dream projects? Collaborations? What is next for the Hara series?
    Right now I am developing an adapter to add Wi-Fi communication and MP3 playback capabilities to the NES.
    Haratyler MP has already released a cassette with MP3 playback functionality, but this is a form of MP3 playback unit for each cassette, so the manufacturing cost will be high. To cover the disadvantage of high manufacturing cost, we are developing an adapter that can be used as an independent adapter by attaching a micro SD and I2CDAC component to an ESP32 microcontroller. To cover this disadvantage, an ESP32 microcontroller is attached to a micro SD and I2CDAC component so that it can be used as an independent adapter.
    https://impactsoft.booth.pm/items/3315518
    With this adapter, it will be possible to supply extended functions such as MP3 playback and WIFI communication for multiple game titles on an inexpensive cassette. I would like to create communication games in the future.
    Right now I am spending most of my time researching new systems, so game development is something I am making along with my research. So if I can create something in the process of my research, I will release it.
     
    I would like to make an action RPG next in the Hara series, but I am still working on the details.
     
    -Are there any doujin games in development that you are excited to play?
    Recently, I've been working on games that I want to play, including those on the market, but I've been holding back and making time to research and develop them.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    I am almost a one-man operation from programming, graphics, sound, board manufacturing to sales, so I know I am inexperienced in some areas, but I am confident that I can do it because I am a one-man operation.
     
     

    Justin Orenich
    @JustinOrenich
    -Before we dive into HaraForce, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew developer and producer? What is your origin story and the story behind Neodolphino?
    I first really became aware of the NES homebrew scene back in 2013 – thanks mostly to Nintendo Age (and Study Hall by Kevin Hanley/KHAN Games).  Once I realized there was an active community devoted to creating brand new games for the first system I ever owned/played on as a kid, I was hooked.  I was in medical school at the time, but I did what I could to support the scene.  Eventually I wanted to contribute more while learning about how releases were put together.  I had next to no previous programming experience and limited time to learn, so I worked out an arrangement with a newer programmer on the scene to buy one of his very basic games – 1007 Bolts (and 1007 Hammers, as a result).  We made a few changes/improvements to the visuals/gameplay - I made a couple of really basic music tracks with FamiTracker and had them added in with the help of Memblers.   I obtained multiple donor cartridges and taught myself (with many helpful tutorials, plus trial and error) how to process the shells and boards into a whole new game.  The game is extremely simple and has next to no replay value, but I wanted to be sure that even for such a humble release, it had a thought out (even if basic) story and a quality presentation as that was what I could actually control.  I asked Eric of Troy to help design the packaging with just basic guidance on the themes, and the usage of classic Capcom packaging, and he completely blew it out of the water.  This was the basic origin of Neodolphino Productions.

    May lightning continue striking in Neodolphino’s case
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Regarding my earlier releases and trying to make my Limited Edition releases intricate and unique, I'd say Kevin Hanley/KHAN games in that regard.  The Limited Editions of his early works were really cool and took what was being done at the time to the next level.  It also helps that he makes great games!  It would be hard to also ignore heavy influences on myself and the overall scene from all of the old guard that have been there since the early days.  As for who I'm watching, nowadays I try to keep a close eye on the Japanese brewers.  I work closely with Impact Soft as they release games and have watched Little Sound Soft and good_tune as they have produced more and more impressive games.  From a more western perspective, I often follow what Retrotainment (Full Quiet) and Mega Cat are up to and am always interested when KHAN Games puts anything out there (Courier, most recently).  I'm also very ready for Mystic Searches to finally be done!
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    As I am not a programmer, much of what is in a game is mostly out of my control – if the game is not yet completed, or I am commissioning it, I always try to push even simple games to have little extras that I think the player will enjoy (hidden mini games, quality music, etc.).  Regarding the physical release, I want to be sure I am using quality products, and that the designs match the aesthetics of the release itself.  I like using interesting colors/themes for the cartridges and try to make the normal somehow a bit different, especially in the releases I have more control over.  When I was making Limited Editions, I wanted the extras to be meaningful and unique, no matter how simple the game was.  Something you'd want to display, and be able to see and feel the effort that was put in.  It was never enough for me to just release a game to bare minimum standards.  Almost anyone can do that.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    I don't code, so none in regard to that!  As for creating, I use FamiTracker for the occasional sounds or music here or there but haven't put any of the products in a game since 1007 Bolts/Hammers.  For designs and layout, I may rough sketch some stuff in a variety of programs, but it's usually just a basic guide – typically Eric does the rest.  Most of my work comes from connecting with programmers, offering to bring their games to physical release, then conceptualizing how to bring a quality product to the NES from that, then sourcing quality materials and putting it all together.  If it's a project I'm starting, it's forming a team and providing direction and resources to make their work as easy as possible (which maybe I'm not as good at).  Things producers do – I think?
     
    -How did you first become aware of the Japanese doujin scene?
    I believe I first noted there was a Famicom doujin scene back in early 2019 when I saw Game Impact/Habit Soft offering a Famicom portrait cartridge service on Twitter.  The concept was that you would send in a picture of yourself, and Mitsuhiro Yoshida (one of the major creative forces behind the Kunio-kun series of games) would make an 8 bit rendition of your face in that classic River City Ransom/Kunio style.  This was then integrated into a basic Famicom program that was put on cartridge for you to enjoy.  From this project, I then found other Japanese programmers and their amazing projects.  I loved that there was a whole area of the homebrew scene that was largely unnoticed by Western audiences to discover, but I found it frustrating to actually get a hold of the games for many reasons.  I wanted to change that.
     
    -How did you connect with Impact Soft?
    It basically started with me struggling to import copies of their games (as an avid collector of homebrew), and with me reaching out to see how I might do that.  Then I offered to show off a physical demo of Haradius Zero for them at MAGFest.  I think shortly after I floated the idea of me doing a small hobby level release for them (as I knew other collectors were struggling to get these games as well – if they even knew about them), with me footing the cost and dealing with all of the logistics.  It was my hope that they would trust me with their game and with the big risk/unknown if they didn't have to worry about any part of the process, other than the game itself.  Luckily, they were willing to take a chance with me, and here we are, multiple releases and programmers later!
     
    -You’ve brought all 3 games of the Hara series to the NES, which are all shooters. Does this genre have special resonance for you? What elements are crucial for a good shooter game?
    Not that I don't love them, but honestly, it's because Impact Soft keeps making great space shooters, and trusting me with them to be released.  It's been a great and fulfilling partnership, at least from my perspective.  Crucial elements for me are things like smooth/responsive movement (especially with more projectiles), a certain feeling of power and flow while playing, and a great soundtrack.  Something I think it captured very well in the Hara series.
     
    -What does bringing a Japanese Famicom game to the NES and Western audiences entail for you, in terms of the game itself as well as additional parts such as the box and manual? Do you work with anyone else to help you in these efforts? Is there a typical timeframe from agreeing to import to putting the games up in your store?
    I consider what I do mostly just a Western localization of the game.  I may ask the creator to add a little note on the title screen denoting that, but otherwise, the games are pretty much the same.  Text in the games is usually minimal or already in English, so that's not a problem.  I work with Eric of Troy, as already mentioned, on creating the layouts for the printed materials – often using the programmers already made assets in some way, and usually Mega Cat Studios does the printing.  I've leaned heavily on Paul from INL to help with the technical board aspects to be sure we can support some of the more unique projects on his boards.  I make sure to stress to the creators that I do this as a hobby, and I am often at the mercy of others on when I can get components (especially at the height of the COVID pandemic).  Timeframes have honestly been all over the place, but are definitely better now.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in bringing HaraForce to the NES? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Honestly HaraForce was pretty straightforward, as the creator did all of the boards and packaging and sent it to me.  All I had to do was help with translation, choose a shell color, order styrofoam, dust sleeves, and vinyl box protectors, assemble everything, and distribute.  They made it very simple.  One lesson to be learned from this project specifically was to check the boards/details closely, as these were not what I normally used (typically I get boards from Infinite NES Lives).  There was some shipment damage on a few of the boards which luckily I caught most of.  Otherwise, I think we mostly had the process figured out by that point.
     
    -Which other overseas developers are you in touch with? Who do hope to connect with in the future?
    Other than those I have done releases for (Impact Soft, good_tune, and Little Sound Soft), I also occasionally talk with Game Impact and mook-tv.  I have also reached out to some non-Japanese brewers such as Jeremias Babini (PioPow).  I think most of the people I know of that I'd like to connect with in some way, I have – though I guess it would be interesting to get to know RIKI.

    Definitely one to keep an eye on…
     
    -How does it feel to see so many people eager to buy the games you bring to them from around the world?
    It feels great, but mostly because they are getting to play these great foreign releases much more easily, and affordably.  I've always been a collector and advocate first, so helping these brewers access an enthusiastic fanbase/part of the scene they previously weren't a part of also makes this all very worthwhile to me.
     
    -Do you have any reflections on serving as a sort of international diplomat connecting disparate homebrew communities?
    First, it wouldn't have been possible without their trust in me, and their patience working across culture and language barriers (not to mention severe supply line issues, and delays due to my schedule, as I do this as a hobby).  The Japanese brewers have been nothing but understanding and a joy to work with and I am very grateful.  It's also been rewarding to bring new games to the Western community (though I do get orders from all over the world) through networking that are of great quality, and great fun – especially since I'm not a programmer.  Sometimes all you have to do is ask, be willing to (respectfully) ask again, and be comfortable being told no.  It's also important to still be willing to help them get their game released any way you can, even if not with you – I've done this one a few occasions, and it's still extremely rewarding for me.  It's about the people and the games – to me anyway.
     
    -Which game has been your favorite game to import?
    Haradius Zero comes to mind overall as it was the first, and quite exciting in that regard.  Plus I feel like what we did with the packaging and presentation was great, and very in line with a more Western flair (plus it's where I worked out my overall format for subsequent releases – the Famicom KOEI-esque look).  But I have to say that Gold Guardian Gun Girl was also a very fun release, and I think we really nailed that one as well.  The two-tone shell looks amazing, whichever variant you had, and the art really popped.

    Truly
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, importing Famicom, developing for the NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Collaborations?
    From a Famicom standpoint, I'm hoping to do a release of OverObj (a very impressive bullet hell space shooter) by Little Sound Soft sometime in the nearish future.  I'd also love to release one or two of mook-tv's games, though that effort has not been fruitful so far.  From internal projects, we have a few projects on the backburner: a City Pop music cart/album, a physical release of the Grunio trilogy on one cartridge (same for the Cowlitz games), and a picross game.  We also have some projects/ideas on the backburner’s back-burner: the NEoS (media loader/OS), a choose your own adventure creator, and a virtual pet project.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Former Dawn, Orange Island, Project Borscht, Mystic Searches, Super Tilt Bro (with built in Wi-Fi), Courier (or Unicorn, or Beyond the Pins 2, or Sneak 'n Peek 2 – Electric Boogaloo)
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    You the real MVPs!
     
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the adventures behind the latest, newest homebrews making their way to you. What are your thoughts on HaraForce? Do you have the Famicom or NES iteration? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  12. Scrobins

    Episode 33: Sam's Journey

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 33: Sam’s Journey

    Introduction:
    So much of homebrew derives from people making and playing the games they loved as kids, but some of the creators from those nostalgic days are returning to embrace the love fans have for the older stuff. Whether it’s the Oliver Twins dusting off unreleased games decades later or Yuzo Koshiro working on something new, the rising popularity of new games for old consoles is bringing about a return of veterans. Call it resurrection, call it a great time to be a fan, just make sure you call me when it’s available to order.
    For this entry, I’m covering Sam’s Journey, a platformer originally developed by the Knights of Bytes for the C64 and coming now to the NES. As of the time of this writing, the game is available for pre-order through poly.play here.

    Behold the box costume
     
    Development Team:
    Chester Kollschen (@Knights of Bytes) : programming
    Alex Ney: music
    Stefan Gutsch: game design, pixel art
     
    Game Evolution:
    Sam first set out on his journey when the Knights of Bytes were revived by Chester Kollschen in 2015. Sam’s first appearance came about in a prank gif, teasing the game on April 1, 2015. Sam’s Journey then reached the end of his first chapter when the game was released for the C64 on December 24, 2017, selling more than 3,000 copies. The Knights announced Sam would be setting off on a new journey to the NES with a VGS thread created on February 5, 2020, sharing some early screenshots and gameplay videos. The game’s webpage advertises more than 2,000 screens within 27 levels across 3 overworld maps, accompanied by 19 distinct musical tracks.
    Pre-orders for Sam’s Journey have staging pages on Poly.Play’s website but are not yet live. Nonetheless the game’s physical edition will include two main options: a standard edition and an ultimate edition, though posters and the soundtrack on CD, cassette, and vinyl is also available. The standard edition comes as either an NES or Famicom cartridge, complete in box, with a world map, sachet of diamonds from the game, and 7 costume cards (the Famicom edition includes a hologram sticker pasted to the box). Meanwhile the ultimate edition, limited to 100 copies, includes everything from the standard edition, plus a poster, a CD soundtrack, fabric world map, SD card with cartridge image, MP3 soundtrack and other extras, a mini figure of Sam, special magnetic case, and numbered & signed certificate.

    Screenshot from Sam’s Journey for the C64
     
    Gameplay:
    Sam’s Journey describes itself as a scrolling platformer. You play as Sam, a young hero who finds himself in a strange new world, set on an unexpected journey. Sam navigates and thrives in this new world with the help of his many costumes, which not only change his appearance, but afford him additional skills and abilities. Explore many terrains, collect hidden gems, and poke around for secret passages as you work your way through the various environments.
    Gameplay consists of delightfully complex mechanics. Sam’s core movement includes running: in which you move left and right by pressing the D-pad accordingly, and running faster by holding down the directional button; jumping: in which you jump by pressing the A-button, and can jump a little higher by holding down A; carrying objects by pressing the B-button to pick something up, press B again to throw it, or press B and left or right to throw the object farther, or B and down to drop the object in place; and swimming: using the D-pad to swim left or right, B to move closer to the water’s surface, and A to jump out of the water once Sam reaches the surface. Sam also has the ability to peek farther up or down to see beyond the normal screen by holding up or down on the D-pad.
    Beyond Sam’s standard skillset, he can collect costumes that will grant him special powers, not to mention a fetching new look, and most importantly an extra hit point. Ninja Sam uses the A-button to cling to a wall, and again to jump off, or he can also push down on the D-pad to slowly slide down a wall, or use the B-button to drop off. Pirate Sam is armed with a cutlass that he swings with the B-button, useful for cutting down enemies or popping open treasure chests. Pitcher Sam can walk steadily on ice thanks to his cleats. If he is holding a rock or chest, Sam can push and hold up on the D-pad to prepare a pitch, which activates a crosshair to aim his throw. Once ready, push the B-button while aiming to throw the power pitch, which will also pick up any collectibles it hits along the way. Disco Sam’s shades can spot secret passages while peeking. Also, while in the air, Sam can twist, causing him to stay in the air longer, and inflict double damage by pushing and holding the B-button. Space Sam has a jetpack that fires a blast which essentially grants him a double jump by pushing and holding the B-button. Vampire Sam can turn into a bat and briefly fly by holding up on the D-pad and pushing the B-button. He can fly higher by pushing the B-button to flap his wings or push down on the D-pad or land on the ground to return to human form.

    Screenshot from Sam’s Journey for the NES
     
    Review:
    At the time of this writing, I’m unable to play Sam’s Journey, so a review would be incomplete and disingenuous. However, based on the snippets shared on the developer’s YouTube channel, I can at least reflect on what I’ve experienced from the shared updates. The art provides color and life to large levels, lending the game a Kid Chameleon feel, which is ironic since both games are stories that suck the protagonist into a strange new world, and if there is any game where you want art & level design to feel immersive, this is the premise for it. Music is light and playful, conveying a kind of adventure encountering new challenges but excitement for what lies ahead, including the Mega Man-esque feel of the title music. The themes feel well-suited to their respective levels, with an airy quality to the track “Twist in the Sky”, a curious, futuristic vibe to “Space Sam Oddity”, and a gritty melody reminiscent of Mario’s Egyptian levels in “Sam’s Desert Dream”. Based on these pages of the travel brochure, I’m eager to sign up for all of Sam’s Journey.
     
    Interviews:
    I hitched a ride with the Knights of Bytes on their quest to complete this game, and chronicled the stories of development. Read on to hear their tales…
     

    Knights of Bytes
    @knightsofbytes
    -Before we dive into Sam’s Journey, I would love to talk about you and your backgrounds. What first inspired you to become homebrew developers, pixel artists, and musicians? What is your origin story and the story behind Knights of Bytes?
    Chester: I knew I wanted to create video games from the moment I first saw one. That was at the age of six when this brand-new play-on-your-TV thing was presented in a local toy store. The game on display was Nintendo’s Donkey Kong, and I think it ran on a ColecoVision. However, it had been a long way from this epiphany to Sam’s Journey. In the mid-90s, I decided to turn my passion into a profession and founded the Knights of Bytes as a game development label. Although the 16-bit era had already been in full swing, we targeted the older Commodore 64 home computer which my team at that time and I grew up with. Our first game Ice Guys was released in 1995 and caught the attention of the aspiring retro publisher Protovision. In co-operation with them, we also created and released Bomb Mania and later Metal Dust. So, in a way, we have been retro/indie/homebrew developers right from the start.

    Screenshot from Metal Dust for the C64
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Chester: Instead of watching the work of specific people, we’re rather watching gaming itself. From the 8-bit home computer era to the 16-bit console era to the 32/64-bit PC era, we’ve not only seen the hardware evolve, but first and foremost the gameplay and the mechanics. Every time we decide on the genre for our next project, you could say that each classic and modern game of that genre kind of inspirates and influences us.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    Chester: One of our trademarks is to pretend that the classic computers and vintage consoles we develop games for are still in their heydays. And thus, we aim at creating comprehensive, top-notch full-price titles and distributing them physically on real media with printed manuals in boxes.
     
    -Has your approach to game development or your preferences changed since Knights of Bytes was first founded in the 90s? How does Sam’s Journey for the NES compare to your work on older projects such as Ice Guys, Bomb Mania, and Metal Dust?
    Chester: There’s one huge change that clearly stands out: after releasing several titles for home computers, Sam’s Journey for the NES is our first game for a video game console! Developing for home computers was a lot easier as they are open platforms which encourage anyone to create software for it. Consoles, on the other hand, are closed platforms, and they really try to prevent “unauthorized” development.
     
    -Your bio noted that Knights of Bytes took a 10-year break from development, returning after you saw increasing public interest in retro gaming. Was there a particular game that was the catalyst for your return?
    Chester: Metal Dust on the C64, released in 2005, was our last title for a classic system before we moved on to modern platforms. Under a different label, we have been developing mobile games, but after some years in the business, we were looking for a new challenge. Of course, we had been watching the retro segment during our absence, and there was one particular thing we noticed. The world’s largest gaming exhibition called GamesCom is held annually in Cologne, Germany. It’s a huge event where the big studios from the mainstream industry meet and present their new products to an interested audience. However, in 2009, a “retro section” was introduced which was intended to work like a museum for the history of video gaming. It started with a few square meters in a dark, isolated corner of one of the exhibition halls and featured some display cabinets full of old hardware. Well, only 6 years later, that retro section kind of exploded! It had its own exhibition hall, a bright and shiny location, hundreds of private and commercial exhibitors present, and a huge amount of classic computers and vintage consoles actually running with a crowd of people playing old and new games. That was kind of the turning point for us to move forward to classic.

    Photo from gamescom website
     
    -What tools do you use to code, compose, and create?
    Chester: It depends on the project. The game graphics and the level design for Sam’s Journey were done by Stefan Gutsch, our own Knights of Bytes editor. Alex Ney used NinjaTracker to compose the C64 soundtrack and the good old FamiTracker for the NES soundtrack. The programming was done by me in assembly with the ca65 assembler and the ld65 linker.
     
    -What is the working dynamic like across the whole team at Knights of Bytes? How did you first connect with everyone?
    Chester: I got to know Stefan in 1997 during my time with Protovision where we first worked together. It turned out to be a very fruitful collaboration as we had very similar project ideas, and I have always been looking for a pixel artist and he has always looking for a coder. Alex boarded in 2015 when we were planning a huge platform game for the C64 and needed a new audio magician after our long-time composer dropped out. Like many other distributed development teams, we coordinate our work using chats, video calls, and version control systems.
     
    -Where did the initial idea for Sam’s Journey come from?
    Chester: My team and I have always been big fans of platform games like Super Mario Bros 3 (NES), Kirby’s Adventure (NES) or the Donkey Kong Country series (SNES). And we have always been a bit disappointed by the fact that decent platform games like those have never been made for the C64 home computer. If you ask C64 fans for their favorite platform game, most of them call The Great Giana Sisters (released in 1987) or Mayhem in Monsterland (released in 1993). We decided to take the challenge, close that gap, and create a modern console-style platform game for the C64.
     
    -I always ask my interviewees whether there is a reflection of themselves in the game’s protagonist. Do you identify with Sam?
    Chester: That must be the first time we have been asked that question! 🙂 In the course of the game, our Sam can find different costumes which completely change his nature and appearance. So he could be called a multi-faceted person, which is very convenient, as you can pick a side of him that matches your current mood. Being a programmer for low-profile systems with hardware restrictions, I often feel like Ninja Sam, looking for a way to solve a problem, then getting furious as Pirate Sam when running against a memory limit, and finally flying high like Space Sam when having found a solution.
     
    -Sam’s Journey’s journey began as a C64 game. What led you to decide to bring it to the NES? What were the challenges of porting this game to the NES? How does it compare to when you first developed the game for the C64?
    Chester: As mentioned earlier, we created Sam’s Journey to bring console-style gaming to the C64. Sam’s Journey was designed to be a game we would have liked to play on the NES, so in a way, porting it from the C64 to the NES was a bit like closing the circle. Although it’s a port, it felt like making an all-new game. The C64 and the NES only share the same CPU type, but everything else is completely different! So the graphics had to be repainted and the music recomposed. And even most parts of the code had to be rewritten as well because the C64 is a RAM machine whereas the NES is a ROM machine. There are also some subtle details that have great impact: the NES displays fewer graphic tiles in a row. That may sound negligible, but it means that Sam’s viewport is smaller. To compensate for that, we tweaked the camera handling and also adjusted the level design in several places.
     
    -You’ve posted a number of fun updates and teasers as your work on Sam’s Journey for the NES has progressed. You also shared a preview of the game at the 2016 GamesCom exhibition in Cologne, Germany. What has been the response you received from fans so far?
    Chester: The 2016 GamesCom in Cologne, Germany was the very first time ever we presented the almost complete C64 version of Sam’s Journey to the public. People were able to give it a spin and the reactions were overwhelmingly positive! You need to know that we unintentionally announced our new C64 platformer on an April 1st so that many fans thought it was an April Fool! Our showcase at the exhibition kind of made the project real.

    Fans playing retro games at gamescom
     
    -What aspects of Sam’s Journey are you most proud of?
    Chester: We received a lot of feedback after the game’s release in 2017, and what made us really proud were the reports about grown men and women looking forward to a new C64 game like little kids, and then playing it all the way through with juvenile joy.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Sam’s Journey? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Chester: Game development is real work! 🙂 A very versatile and fun work, granted, but like with every other job, challenges pop up all the time. Some of them are harder to solve than others, however, none of them should ever make you doubt your entire project. For example, it seemed like an impossible mission to implement all of Sam’s controls on the C64 with JUST ONE action button! It took weeks of designing, testing, failing and re-designing, but in the end, we finally succeeded.
     
    -Your website mentions plans for a space shmup and an action-adventure RPG on the horizon. What can you tell use about those projects? Any interest in porting Sam’s Journey to other consoles? Or plans to bring any of your other games to the NES? Any dream projects?
    Chester: After creating Sam’s Journey for the C64 and the NES, we think we need a break from platforming! 🙂 That’s why we are evaluating other genres. At the moment, we are actually playing with multiple ideas, doing mockups, and even creating prototypes in order to find our next project. For a long time, we didn’t have a clou of what to do next, but this might be changing very soon. We’re definitely going to update our website when there’s more to tell.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Chester: Thanks for having me in your interview, Sean. My team and I would like to thank all retro gamers out there, not only for supporting us, but also for keeping the entire retro gaming idea alive. We still love to make new games because you still love to play them!
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the adventures behind the latest newest homebrews making their way to you. Have you been following along on Sam’s Journey and its developers? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  13. Scrobins

    Episode 32: Crabbie Attack!

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 32: Crabbie Attack!

    Introduction:
    Playing a new game (hopefully) means we are seeing fun through the developers’ eyes. Hints of their own passions echo throughout the code, reflecting on other aspects of their personality that shapes the overall game. Across the Mario franchise turtles are generally enemies, but for other creators turtles might be the hero. Sometimes playing with those personal preferences can be enough to reinvigorate a genre we’ve seen before because we are sharing in the expansion of a growing universe centered around that brewer and their unique passions.
    For this entry, I’m covering Crabbie Attack!, an arcade challenge by Turtle Time Media aka Gossip Turtle aka Joe Sherman for the NES. As of the time of this writing, CIBs of the game are available for purchase here.

    CIB in both its standard and sand-blasted editions
     
    Development Team:
    @TurtleRescueNES (Joe Sherman): programming, pixel art, music
     
    Game Evolution:
    The tide began rising on the beach for Crabbie Attack! with an October 10, 2022 tweet, which noted the game’s resurfacing at RetroGameCon since last being seen at Midwest Gaming Classic in 2021. Momentum rapidly increased with the February 19, 2023 announcement that the game was complete, and a March 1, 2023 release of a game demo. Alongside that last tweet, Joe told followers that the first run of Crabbie Attack! Cartridges would be available for purchase at Midwest Gaming Classic at the end of the month. Not only that, but Joe announced a high-score competition: players at MGC could compete in a special timed championship edition of Crabbie Attack!, with the winner taking home a rare sand-blasted edition of the game (which also included the championship mode not included in regular copies of the game). Meanwhile, hidden among the regular inventory was another sand-blasted edition, which eluded customers throughout the expo.

    The Crabbie Attack! setup at MGC 2023
     
    Gameplay:
    Crabbie Attack! describes itself as an arcade shoot ‘em up. You play as Toby (and Walton if you’ve got a second player handy), a turtle in need of a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately you went on a pizza binge, and crabbies are invading your dreams. You need to wipe them out if you’re ever going to have sweet dreams.
    Gameplay consists of throwing seashells at crabs to make them disappear temporarily. You clear each stage by making all crabs disappear. However, crabs hit with seashells will reappear after a period of time. Catching and throwing stars at the spots left by disappeared crabbies ensures they don’t come back. Move the D-pad left & right to move Toby/Walton accordingly, push the A-button to throw your limitless supply of shells (being mindful of your limited pace of throwing), and push the B-button to throw stars if you have any.

    Screenshot of Crabbie Attack!
     
    Review:
    Crabbie Attack! is an addictive arcade experience that will bring out your competitive spirit whether you’re playing against others or merely trying to beat your previous high score. The basics of the game are simple enough for anyone to walk up and immediately enjoy. However there are enough nuanced details surrounding the special items and crabbies that will generate numerous strategies. At MGC, Ferris Bueller, Neodolphino, and I compared notes about our shell shooting tactics. Even as we competed against each other (or rather they did, and I also enjoyed playing), our enjoyment of the game pulled us together to talk about it.
    The art and music are bright and playful, conveying a sweet vibe that could be shared with every member of the family. Completing a stage, with its fun celebration music and cute fireworks is an endorphin rush luring you to play just one more level…again…and again.
     
    Interviews:
    I picked up the red phone to open a line of communication with Joe Sherman before his crabbies could attack me. Read on to learn how the story unfolded…
     

    Joe Sherman
    @TurtleRescueNES
    -Before we dive into Crabbie Attack!, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew developer? What is your origin story and the story behind Turtle Time Media?  
    It is your typical story.  I was in a high school science lab when I was bitten by a radioactive turtle.  Hmmm… That doesn’t sound quite right.  Please allow me to try that again…  
    I am a long-time Nintendo fan, and a few years ago, I decided to rebuild my NES collection. Along the way, I learned of the homebrew scene where new games for the NES were still being created.  I never thought I’d be capable of that, but then I discovered the crowd funding campaign for NESmaker.  I bought into it and have been a user of the program since its launch.   
    For a while, I wasn’t sure if anything I’d create would be worthy to take to the next level, but then the first Byte-Off competition arrived. I submitted my first demo, “Turtle Rescue” into the mix of sixty other entrants, and waited to hear how it was received.  To my genuine surprise, Nintendo legend Howard Phillips announced my game as his pick for Best Game!  That type of endorsement and vindication for my efforts really motivated me to keep going, and to make sure that eventually, my final “Turtle Rescue” game lives up to its potential. 
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?  
    First and foremost, I want my games to be open to kids of all ages.  I want younger gamers to see that games created for older consoles can be just as fun as those on modern systems.  I always loved the Mario and Zelda properties, so I have tried to build a series of turtle-themed games that mirrors the charm of those classic franchises. 
     
    -Crabbie Attack! will be your 3rd release. Has your approach to game development or your preferences changed since you first began programming?  
    My skills have definitely grown since I started.  I’m becoming more confident in branching away from the default scripts delivered with NESmaker and doing my own thing.  I’ve tried to make sure all of my projects are different from one another so that I do not get stuck in a comfort zone and broaden my horizons. That’s been very beneficial because I’ve been able to take lessons learned from one game and apply them to others to make them even better.  
     
    -At the heart of your games is an ongoing feud between crabs and turtles. Is this based in reality, or do you just really hate crabs?  
    Not really.  When I decided to base my games around turtles and a beach environment, I needed to think of what type of natural foes a turtle would encounter. Crabs, raccoons and seagulls became the first of the rogue’s gallery.  I do plan on having a “good” crabbie character appear in a future game. 
     

    Raccoons, eh? Hmm, do I smell a crossover?
     
    -What tools do you use to code, compose, and create?  
    As stated, I use NESmaker for all of my projects. Without it, I doubt I would have been able to create a NES game.  It is a wonderful entry point into the world of NES development for someone like me who does have a technical and artistic background, but would fail at understanding all of the complexities of creating a functional program for the NES.  For art, I am very basic and use NESmakers’ pixel editor, and maybe MS Paint. 
     
    -Crabbie Attack! has a strong Space Invaders influence. Is that a game you particularly enjoy? Which other arcade classics do you like? What to you are the critical elements of a good arcade game?  
    “Space Invaders” and “Pac-Man” for the Atari 2600 were some of my first video games, so they do hold significant meaning to me.  Classic arcade-style games have the luxury of getting away with being simple, but they do still have to keep the player engaged. Keep the gameplay fair and slowly increase the difficulty to keep the player from getting bored. The player should be driven by a goal, even if it is as simple as obtaining a new high score. 
     
    -I always ask my interviewees whether there is a reflection of themselves in the game’s protagonist. Do you identify with the turtle protagonist? Is there a particular turtle among your collection that you see as the hero in these games?  
    Before I was developing games, I rescued a plushie turtle from a garage sale and named him Toby. I gave him a quiet personality and said that he enjoyed retro games, so he is absolutely a reflection of me.  When I tested out NESmaker for the first time, Toby was the easy choice to place at the center of attention of my pilot game. His experience gained from playing games has given him the ability to rise to any challenge.  Walton is a fun “player two” because he loves the spotlight and believes that he is the star of anything that involves him. Walton doesn’t see himself as the secondary hero, he sees himself as the best! 
     
    -What aspects of Crabbie Attack! are you most proud of?  
    From a technical perspective, I’m proud of getting two-player co-op mode to behave as well as it does. That took a lot of time to balance out all of the possible objects that could appear at any given time and cause the NES to slow down.  It still can happen, but it is very rare and I consider that an achievement. 
    I was also very satisfied to see how accessible this game is. I had designed it to be, and hoped it would be, but to actually see players of all types quickly learn and adapt to the game’s mechanics was very gratifying. 
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Crabbie Attack!? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?  
    The default physics bundled with NESmaker were providing some challenges, because I was making a type of game that was not foreseen by its author. During the game, items are meant to fall from the sky, but I’d find that the falling items would get stuck in walls, or pass through the floor, or other unforeseen situations. I spent a lot of time refining the speed and creating a “bounce-back” reaction should items hit a solid from the side. All things that the end user would never know was there, unless they played the earlier version of the game and saw how glitchy it was! 
    It was worth it in the end. I think that game developers should never brush off game quality just to rush a game to completion. Sometimes that may add weeks, months, or even years to the delivery date, but NES games don’t have online patching.  A little extra polish does go a long way. 
     
    -How did you like watching people play and compete with each other over Crabbie Attack! at MGC and other conventions? 
    It is extremely satisfying watching players latch on to my games.  I will always remember the young girl who had to stop playing “Crabbie Attack” in Syracuse to shout back to her friend “you should play this game, it’s really good!”  That type of appraisal goes a long way.  It was also stunning to see skilled players outperform my expectations, and in one case, even destroy my own personal best score!  
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Collaborations?  
    There is no shortage of future projects brewing here. I still aspire to release the full-fledged “Turtle Rescue” adventure game to replace the demo I created in 2019.  I’ve made significant progress with it and released a teaser video last year, but there is still more work needed.  “Turtle Party” was a game I started in 2020 that is nearly complete, but I’ve been holding back on releasing because I feel there’s still room for more in that game.  “Ninja Teenz” was a fun nod to Power Rangers, and I remain undecided if I want to take that game beyond the demo.  

    Screenshot from Ninja Teenz
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?  
    I’ve really enjoyed watching the evolution of “Super Sunny World.” That’s definitely the type of game I enjoy playing. 
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans? 
    I’m very happy that I’ve been able to contribute new games to the ongoing NES library. While I still see myself as new to this world, I am proud of what I’ve accomplished thus far, and strive to make each of my publications seen as worthy to players.
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the adventures behind the latest newest homebrews making their way to you. What are your thoughts on Crabbie Attack! and developer? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

     
     

  14. Scrobins

    Episode 31: GunTneR

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 31: GunTneR

    Introduction:
    Homebrew is brimming with tales of nostalgia and love letters to cherished games of developers’ childhoods. Though money changes hands, homebrew development isn’t particularly lucrative, and most brewers will tell you their work is done out of passion for the hobby. But some developers exude such an unfiltered, unadulterated joy in their wizardry, that watching them at work, figuring out how to manifest what they want to make, feels like a look back into what early homebrew development and early game development generally must have looked like. It’s a silliness that reminds us there can be as much play involved in development as there is for the gamer when they pop in the cartridge.
    For this entry, I’m covering GunTneR, a shmup for the NES by Langel Bookbinder aka LoBlast Games. As of the time of this writing, initial Kickstarter backers are receiving their orders, and you can still score a copy of your own through Mega Cat Studios here.

    All the various GunTneR gooDieS
     
    Development Team:
    Langel Bookbinder: programming, pixel art, music
    David Spencer (instantSonic) box art
     
    Game Evolution:
    GunTneR first set course for the 13th dimension when its Kickstarter campaign launched on January 14, 2022. Backer tiers included sticker sheets; a limited (128 copies) hand-soldered cart; an unlimited mass-produced cart; and the option to design an enemy, boss, or powerup. The campaign blew past its funding goal in just over a day, leading Langel to create a stretch goal that would upgrade all cart tiers to CIBs. Needless to say, followers quickly surpassed that stretch goal. By the end of its mission, 235 supporters pledged more than $11,000. Langel worked quickly, with copies ready to ship as early as April 2023, and a few ready to put directly in backers’ hands at Midwest Gaming Classic!

    Pictured: Langel giving a copy of the game to a handsome anonymous Kickstarter backer
     
    Gameplay:
    GunTneR is a shmup. You play as the pilot of the Rudy, a customized Class-C GunTneR. You are such a soft touch that you agreed to transport a distraught alien’s sick pet through the 13th dimension out of the goodness of your heart. You must navigate your path at ludicrous speeds while avoiding obstacles and enemies that would prevent you from reaching the vet.
    Gameplay consists of chaotic shooting and avoiding what’s being shot at you. The D-pad moves you in 8 directions, while the A-button fires your quark cannon and can be held for auto-fire, the B-button fires your chaos cannon which also drains your shields, the Select button varies your speed, and the Start button pauses. Keep a sharp eye out because among the enemies and their projectiles are a plethora of powerups, including batteries for your shields, screen-killing bombs, mushrooms of invincibility, rapid-fire R-bags, external skull shields, and extra lives.

    Screenshot of GunTneR
     
    Review:
    GunTneR is a delightfully madcap adventure that isn’t afraid to be weird. At its core are all the essential bones of a proper shmup, but layered onto that skeleton is a clever irreverence which throws out the rulebook. Like classically trained artists who leverage their mastery of technique to invert convention with challenging evolutions to art, Langel demonstrates his skill and creativity by overturning our expectations. Gameplay moves right to left, and aside from boss battles, levels blur together. Not quite a bullet hell, GunTneR fills the screen with humorously animated enemies that can be a visual overload without being so overwhelming as to make the game impossible or unfair to play. As an example of the good difficulty balance, powerups don’t disappear forever the moment they drift offscreen, instead cycling across the screen several times so players have a real opportunity to grab it. Generally, shmups are too difficult to be fun for me, but GunTneR is always enjoyable.
    GunTneR’s graphics are likewise a silly fun. For every sprite it is apparent what it is supposed to be, but for fans of lore the manual offers a ridiculously overdone explanation of each. Despite the colorful panoply of allies, enemies, and powerups, the screen is full without ever feeling discombobulating. Though maybe seeing the persistent smile and support of Star Glasses just puts me at ease. The procedurally generated sound should be hard to review since everyone’s experience will be different, but the universal vibe is a classic arcade feel: weird, spacey, and never dull, it is a candy for the ears that will summon the 8-year-old in you with its pew pew pews.
     
    Interviews:
    I opened a channel to GunTneR’s 13th dimension wizard creator to learn what magic spells went into his cauldron of development…
     

    Langel Bookbinder
    @b_knox
    -Before we dive into GunTneR, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game developer and musician? What is your origin story, and what is the significance of the names puke7, beefstarch, b-knox, and LoBlast?
    First off, thanks for asking me to be here; it's a real pleasure. An origin story covering my many monickers, eh?
    My parents brought home a Commodore VIC 20 when I was 4 years old. Part of learning to read included copying programs from books into that machine. Between my dad's employment perks, school machines, and many garage sales I was very fortunate to experience many machines growing up. By the time we had an NES I was incredibly aware what a leap in home gaming it was over the Atari, the TI 99/4A, the VIC 20, the C64, an Apple ][, and even a CGA IBM PC. It continued to probably be my primary form of entertainment for many years until high school when I started playing music with friends. I also loved cartoons, movies and sitcom reruns; spent time on the family PC hacking, playing games and calling BBSes.
    My high school had a great computer teacher who earned many grants and built up a very decent computer lab. My sophomore year he let me loose on the technology. I had a lot of fun messing around with HyperCard (now in color!), photoshop, premiere, and PageMaker. He wound up making a lot of lesson plans around my projects. This was also my introduction to the world wide web back in 1993. That spurred a new interest in programming; finding VGA demo tutorials in assembly and trying them out at home on the 286. I still had all that stuff until a few months ago when I had a couple drives fail.
    The name puke7 came about circa 1997 during a frustrating moment when I needed a personal email address and hotmail was adding numbers on the end of everything I wanted. I thought my names were all taken, but it was some dumb convention they had. When I saw puke7 I laughed hard and adopted it as a new hacker alias. Which meant my old hacker alias, aneurySm, didn't have a home any longer, so I started using it for my computer music until about 5-6 years later when I got sick of how many other musical artists were using it. Maybe it was 2004 when I switched to Baron Knoxburry. I don't know where Knoxburry really came from, but I was really excited about it. A friend said it would only work if I put a title on it, so I became the Baron. After a long time of it constantly being misspelled on fliers, I started using the shortened b-knox. I like the connation of "b-movies" and "b-sides" that it may suggest. Beefstarch was from a comic character I made a while ago because b_knox and langel were already taken on Instagram.
    In 2000, after working at McDonald's for 5 years, I got a job at a book factory where I'd be working for the next 7. I moved to Ann Arbor, did a lot of music stuff, and taught myself some basic php so my blog, Firteen, would have some dynamic content handling. There weren't any kind of blogging engines back then. I think I read about Movable Type in '03 and WordPress soon after. If you wanted your content to look orderly, you had to do everything manually or come up with some kind of code-enhanced system.
    As puke7, I've been running Battle of the Bits for 18 years. ...
    LoBlast, originally, was a dive bar hallway event a coworker and I ran about 4 times. We were trying to get local solo electronic musicians together for performance and community, but it was a lot of work dragging our makeshift sound system in and the artists weren't really mingling. I had setup loblast.com with info about our event and sound system. I wound up leaving that site live for over a decade. I'm not sure how I came up with LoBlast originally, but it’s nicely concise and makes me think of underdog fun. Kind of funny I didn't think of using it for a business name until a couple years ago. About 8 years ago I was daydreaming a lot about starting a eurorack synth module company called Brown Wizard. Though, between The Hobbit movies (even if Sylvester McCoy is one of my favorite Doctors) and friends coopting it as Beige Wizard for our synth jam band, I lost a lot of interest in that name. LoBlast, as it is today, is a potential catalyst and vehicle for all my professional dreams and desires.
     
    -In terms of both music and gaming, who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I guess a list of most influential influences in chronological order would go like: Shuki Levy, Weird Al, Metallica, Mr. Bungle, Primus, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher. For video games, haha I don't know, I mostly play old NES games. Most of my modern music diet is mixes of synthwave, vaporwave, russian doomer or a bunch of old tv/film/game soundtracks on shuffle.

    Shuki Levy
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game or music created by you?
    I would say my target aesthetic is somewhere between practical and zany. I think I like to present silly content built on top of a strong foundational context. In some ways the actual process is like throwing a kitchen sink at a problem; fill a canvas with non sequiturs and it has no meaning, but with ordered conflicting alignments there's weight. It definitely needs a tinge of syncopation, asymmetry, and attitude.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and compose? Tell me about your composition process.
    Most of the time, when writing code, I use command line tools like git, vim, tmux, gcc, dasm, xxd, etc. But for GunTneR I actually used 8bitWorkshop. I typically loathe IDEs, but this thing's performance is like none other. I really can't praise this tool enough. GunTneR never would have happened without it. There's this delicious immediacy with every edit where it’s either giving you an error or rebooting the emulator. There is a huge contrast with the NES dev pipeline I experienced back in 2010 that I found very tedious. The debug features in modern emulators like mesen are invaluable too.
    For musical composition I pretty much use FamiTracker and Renoise. My first tracker experience was circa 1998 with Impulse Tracker. It was quite a step up from trying to sequence music with basic on the Commodore machines or Music Construction Set on the Apple ][. I don't find time to compose music like I used to. I feel like I have a few processes: kind of throwing whatever at the pattern editor for an hour, spending many hours creating a winding path of adventure, or actually having an idea before I start and developing that idea. The best part about playing a show or doing a release is leaving all the crappy stuff out of it.
     
    -Your trailer on Kickstarter indicated that you often learn by doing, such as designing your own PCB and making your own musical equipment. What has been your favorite skill you’ve taught yourself? What else is on your to-do list?
    Getting fluent at 6502 assembly code has been a real treat. I've been studying it and occasionally making tiny programs with it for 20 years. Working with it for 6 months and trying to be as optimized as possible led to discovering a lot of tricks and shortcuts. Using the 3 registers really is a juggling act and once you start introducing temporary registers passed around subroutines it starts to feel like five-dimensional checkers.
    The PCB design skill is intrinsic to all the hardware audio gear I want to make. I don't know how much prototyping I will fit in this year, but figuring out that process was a hard requirement for my plans. The present goal is to have a few demonstrable synth modules ready in time for Knob Con in September.
     
    -You’ve also worked as an actor and director, such as with Asshole Drunkard. How did your work on that project inform your work on GunTneR?
    It's hard to say. They both definitely have a focus on being finite, finishable projects. Going into filming Asshole Drunkard, I had never really considered the final run time until it was done and 43 minutes long. I was just happy we had a finished script with some kind of story based around my local regular spots including a lot of ridiculous dialog. With GunTneR the concept was more around the known limitation of 24kb. It was really important to me to maximize the space in terms of both experience and functionality. "Do a lot with a little" is definitely a theme for both. Being entertaining is probably the most important.

    Movie poster for Asshole Drunkard
     
    -What is the significance of the title GunTneR, and why are the “t” and the “r” capitalized?
    When I first started fiddling with 8bit Workshop I titled the new project "gunner". After a few days I did some googling. I could not find a game with that title, but I also realized it would be a horrible string to search for as simple as it was. Adding the "t" in the middle was a quick and dirty trick to create a made-up word while maintaining symmetry. Stylizing it as GunTneR further enhances the symmetry of the letter forms. I did fail, however, at creating a new word as there is a Güntner international heating and cooling business.
     
    -What elements are crucial for a good shmup? What elements are crucial for a good game? Do you have a favorite shmup that served as inspiration?
    I think I'm still looking for some of these answers. Players appreciate tight controls. When they take damage or die they want to see it’s their own fault and not badly implemented mechanics. They want to be challenged but not over-challenged, which is a threshold that varies wildly from player to player. I tried to gradually increase the intensity with a breather period after the bosses. Making all enemy types distinct in both appearance and behavior seems to be a best practice too.
    Galaga is my favorite arcade game of all time. During the Kickstarter, someone described GunTneR as a "weird sideways Galaga". This really took me aback. I was dumbfounded that I hadn't noticed the similarities. I instantly realized I needed both enemy fire and an enemy type that had choreographed flight paths.
    I do like me some shmups, though I do play platformers more. Despite mastering Contra, I still play Life Force with the Konami code. I've never been past level four of R-Type. On occasion I like to play through the Armed Police Batrider experience, but I probably blow through about twenty virtual credits to do so.  Raiden II also comes to mind. Gun Nac is in my regular NES playthrough rotation and my favorite shmup for the system. Blazing Lazers (also by Compile) for the Turbografx is similarly great but I haven't beaten it yet. There are so many titles and I'm not very good at most of them.
     
    -Unlike most shmups, GunTneR is a right-to-left horizontal shooter. You also have some unique touches like powerups don’t disappear offscreen if you miss them, but cycle through a few times so you have more opportunities to pick them up. What informed those decisions?
    The right-to-left thing really was the happenstance of me trying it first and simply thinking the result was mostly unique. There are other games that do this like Sky Kid.
    I spent a lot of time on the powerup behavior including Rudy hit box adjustments. Initially the powerups would wrap the screen indefinitely which felt cheap. Then I made them despawn on the first wrap which made them much harder to catch. Then I gave them a couple hit points and made them lose one on every wrap which gave the player an extra chance to catch before despawn. Then I realized the player could do powerup management if the powerup received an additional hit point for each shot from the player. Then I developed the ricochet behavior of the powerup being hit and wrapping the screen in the opposite direction which turned out to be a great way for the player to pick it up from behind. I know it appears derivative of the bells in Fantasy Zone, but I think it's a very different mechanic overall. Shooting the bell changings its bonus value while the GunTneR powerups can be maintained until needed. I usually wind up accidentally picking them up before I want to, but it's really cool when you save a bomb or mushroom across a few phases for a boss fight!
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. But GunTneR’s protagonist is unnamed, are they meant to be a blank slate that anyone can see themselves as, like the Master Chief in Halo? Do you feel a personal connection to the Rudy?
    I think a key ingredient to early video games is the player gets to fill things in with their imagination. It's silly to think about the ecology and interspecies relationships of Hyrule, but as Link we are on his adventure and not one of our own. I really don't think this stuff matters all that much. Though, if the player takes joy in imagining things about the avatar and/or the environment in any case, then they are more invested in the experience. Not identifying the protagonist in the game was also another way to save space. There's a passage in the manual that states you are hypnotized into saving the dingle if we need any extra motivation.
    The Rudy itself is designed to be a type of underdog. The backstory doesn't mean much given the context of the game's content other than to explain it was once a simple fighter that's been augmented to be really bad ass. The name itself stems from a couple of places. Whenever I see Sean Astin acting, even in Goonies, I refer to his character as Samwise, but if I'm watching Lord of the Rings then I call him Rudy. The real clincher on the name Rudy, however, is a sketch from Mr. Show entitled The Burgundy Loaf.

    Screenshot from The Burgundy Loaf from Mr. Show
     
    -You noted in the trailer that GunTneR’s music is procedurally generated, have any games done this before? What impact do you hope this has on players listening to it as they traverse the 13th Dimension?
    Ballblazer by LucasFilm (pre–Lucas Arts) for the Atari 400/800 series computers come to mind as a video game procedural music legend. In one of the versions of Marble Madness there's a level with algorithmic based music that loops every twenty-some minutes. There's also Otocky for the Famicom Disk System which uses the player's attack to trigger melodic tones.
    Originally, the procedural music for GunTneR had a sort of a constant feel but harmonically was completely aimless. It shared deterministic noise values (pseudo random numbers) with things on screen. At some point I realized that familiar thirty-something second loops might add more value to the overall experience. Regardless, by producing the game's soundtrack with algorithms instead of data I managed to save a lot of space. The only bit of music sequence data is for the boss battle theme bassline which is in 19/16 for whatever reason haha. The entire audio engine, including sound effects and music, is about 1250 bytes in size.
    From a player's perspective, I hope the impact of gameplay on the audio adds to the experience. Many sound effects are tuned around whatever note the bassline is currently playing. As the player's shield capacitor is depleted the bassline notes go from staccato to legato until they are bleeding into each other which hopefully adds some tension. All the sound bending down and up again during mushroom invincibility is obviously inspired by Yoshi's Island's puffballs. And after all this attention to create harmony, I spice it up a bit by using an eight-tone scale for most of the themes.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing GunTneR?
    I think the aforementioned story of complete lack in understanding the similarities with Galaga was a powerful indication that I know close to nothing about game design. This was a troubling observation. So I decided to do my best at a self-assembled video games 101 crash course. I watched a lot of GDC videos, read articles about pacing and state management, and asked questions on the NESDev discord.
    The NES is deceptively simple and full of quirks.
    Space management was a constant concern throughout the project. There was over 2k of code and data that was gutted towards the end to make room for higher priority features. For example I gutted the score system so I could fit the final boss. The biggest surprise was probably realizing that putting mirrored sprites in the character rom instead of programming certain cases to hardware mirror them saved program rom. I tried to create as much opportunity for code reuse as possible. During the last month or so, there was a constant battle and negotiation between the scope of content and functionality.
     
    -What aspects of GunTneR are you most proud of?
    Every time I hear someone ask something like "How did you get so many things on screen without flickering or lag?" it makes me really happy. This is my first fully fledged video game and it’s for an archaic system. I really wanted to play to the hardware's strengths and see if that could inform some design decisions which it did. Later parts of GunTneR have up to 34 objects on screen at a time: 1 Rudy, 5 Rudy bullets, and 28 enemies. It can't handle 28 complicated enemies without lag, but that informed some phase design around enemy combinations. More than 8 sprites per scanline does happen on occasion which can cause sprite tearing, but, for the most part, it seems to be a negligible amount.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for GunTneR, having blown through its initial funding goal on Kickstarter. How does it feel to see so many people excited for your game?
    Kind of a mixed bag originally to be honest hahaha. It was very flattering and wound up causing me to hard pivot on my product road map. Making an NES game is now a checked-off bucket list item. The future seemed more unsure then than it does now so I'm grateful I sort of stumbled into this opportunity. I could have spent another month on it and shipped the lose cart as originally planned. But it made more sense to go all in on it because I had no idea how I would ever afford another chance to do so. Thanks to a lot of hard work and determination and the interest and support of family, friends, strangers and Mega Cat Studios, my business now has a flagship product that showcases a dedication and understanding of retro entertainment tech.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Collaborations?
    I recently got the gig porting Orange Island to the NES which I am very excited about. I haven't done a platforming engine yet, but I'll figure it out. I think game design is just as difficult and Ted has already done the vast majority of it. The graphics are gorgeous, and the scope is large. I'm sure there are all sorts of challenges ahead of me.
    I'm also going to be working as an assistant mercenary on a top-secret future Mega Cat release.
    I'm hoping to work with a couple of very old friends on a beat-em-up demo for NESDEV Compo this year.
    2024 will hopefully be the year of Gun][neR (or GunTneR 2). I have so many ideas I want to see realized. If I can control my own destiny then 2026 would be the year for Worlds of GunTneR which would be very metroidvania with shmup traveling sections. I really want the NES GunTneR trilogy to be a thing.
    Other than that I have a handful of other ideas. I do daydream about a heavily inspired Zelda II randomizer roguelight for modern platforms. And a two-player dual stick shooter for the NES. Porting GunTner to the PC Engine and the Commander X16.
    But I also think it's important for me to focus on my original product roadmap and try to bring some audio gear to market this year. I feel like there's too much on my plate right now, but it's really important to establish LoBlast as fast as possible if I want to succeed.

    Can’t wait to see how this team-up goes!
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I'm at a spot right now where I find the development a lot more exciting than the play. I really enjoy seeing others' projects progress. Most of the time when I play it's old favorites because I want to shut my brain down after problem solving all week. I probably need to relax haha.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Be excellent to each other and share the future universe!
     

    David Spencer
    @instantSonic
    -Before we dive into GunTneR, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to be an artist generally, and more specifically how did you break into homebrew game art?
    First off, it's nice to meet you Sean. Thank you for taking the time to sit down and talk with me! I was inspired to draw by my father. When I was small, he was a musician for the Walt Disney Company, and would perform at Pleasure Island. Every day before school, he would always draw Mickey Mouse the best he could on my brown paper bag lunch. It really made me wonder how he did it, so I started trying to duplicate the art, and eventually I fell into finding books on the subject. The drawing bug just grew from there! As for homebrew game art, I initially started out by editing sprites in the WAD files of Doom. Eventually, that turned into making sprites for the game Sonic Robo Blast 2, and beyond.

    Screenshot from Sonic Robo Blast 2
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    My influences come from a variety of works and artists. I would have to say my biggest influence has been the sprite artists and illustrators out of SNK and Capcom. Absolute genius levels of art.
     
    -What in your opinion makes art compelling? What grabs your attention? And what kind of video game box art would make you choose one game over another?
    Well for me, I would have to say that art is a language. It speaks to people through feeling and senses, without words or boundary. It is an experience to create, but also an experience to appreciate, and for every person, that will be something different. It's very nuanced. My own attention is taken by excited, bold styles that shout confidence in knowing their style is all about graphical presentation. I guess that would also answer the question of what takes my attention on box art- presentation matters through visual communication.
     
    -Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    So, every artist has something about their art that is unique to them, depending on the aesthetic they're trying to reach. Every piece is a project, a construction, of style, like building a house. You start with a foundation and work your way up. As for my aesthetic, I have an affinity for flowing linework that shows thoughtfulness in form, or spritework that uses a minimal color palette and a small resolution, yet communicates form effectively.
     
    -What tools do you use to create your art?
    I am mainly a digital artist. I use a Wacom tablet, model 27QHD. I also use a Surface Laptop Studio for on-the-go production, though I prefer using a larger tablet.
     
    -Tell me about the development of the art you created for the box for GunTneR, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you create character designs and illustrations for other projects?
    I had asked Langel what it was he would like to see for the box art- generally speaking. There were key things he wanted to see around the GunTneR ship. My only reference was the mostly 8x8 sprites he made, along with a short description of what they were. From there, I thought of the placements for each object he wanted, and made a sketch for him to approve, and once approved, I made the painting! I would say that the creative process was no different from the constructive imagination required to make any other piece.
     
    -How did you first connect with Langel, and what was the working dynamic like?
    I connected with Langel through his Discord server for Battle of the Bits. I am an avid listener of music from the demoscene, and chiptunes in general. I showed of some of my pixel art in one of the creative channels there, and from there, I was lucky enough that he took notice and asked me if I would like to make box art for GunTneR. Working with him has been wonderful, as we built a friendship through our mutual appreciation of music, art, and old hardware, haha!
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on GunTneR? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    The real challenge was to pay my rent on time! Hahaha, honestly though, all I can really say is that, allot your time, but also take your time with crafting something you want to attract people to, visually. Creating something like a painting isn't an overnight process, it does take time, trial and error- a lesson in patience.
     
    -Is there another project after GunTneR on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
    There is always "the next big project." Currently I have some in the pipeline I can't speak about, but recently you might have seen the trailer for Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons. I also supplied some sprite work for that project as well, so check it out when you can!

    Screenshot from Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
     
    -Are you a fan of homebrew games? Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I'm absolutely a fan of homebrew games. I grew up in the Sonic fan gaming scene and hosted the Sonic Amateur Games Expo twice. I love the indie gaming scene in general, with Rain World being one of my top favorites. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Sonic fan game "Newtrogic Panic" in its final release.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Relax into your creations. You have the time to make what you want to see, to practice your craft. You just need to make the time to do it, for yourself. You will ultimately be the only person who can be satisfied with yourself, and what you've made, or the potential of what you can make.
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that shares the mythology of the newest homebrews to grace your shelves. What are your thoughts on GunTneR and its development team? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  15. Scrobins

    Episode 26: Alwa's Awakening

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 26: Alwa’s Awakening

    Introduction:
    The deep catalog of 8-bit inspired games has fired up enthusiasm for retro content, leading to the development of similar new games, hunger for the old games that served as the catalyst for this new appetite, and adding momentum to the homebrew games that bridge the gap between them. Some of the most popular of these retro/modern hybrids hew so closely to the limits of the hardware that defined those bygone eras which inspired their work that they could play on those very consoles with a little tweaking. And once in a while, someone decides to make those tweaks, adapting a game so it may cross the bridge from 8-bit inspired to truly 8-bit. Not different enough to be demakes, these adaptations make you question whether there is any difference between the game on modern or older platforms, so smooth and seamless was the work.
    For this entry, I’m covering Alwa’s Awakening, an action platformer developed by Elden Pixels for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and brought to the NES by Brad Smith (of Lizard fame). As of the time of this writing, Alwa’s Awakening is sold out in its physical and digical iterations, but is still available digitally on Steam here.
     
    Development Team:
    Mikael Forslind: game design
    Robert Kreese: music
    Kevin Andersson: programming
    Alexander Berggren: pixel art
    Brad Smith: NES port lead programmer

    Full physical glory
    Game Evolution:
    Alwa’s Awakening first dawned on its creators in 2014. The crew at Elden Pixels worked tirelessly on the game so it could be released in 2017 for the PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In response to the praise Alwa received, Elden Pixels released the soundtrack on a functioning NES cartridge in 2018, which included a guest track by Prof. Sakamoto, and a limited edition 50 cartridge run published by Mega Cat Studios.
    News of an actual 8-bit port of the original game began with Paul “Infinite NES Lives” Molloy livestreaming a series of development sessions in which he worked on a faithful fan port of Alwa’s Awakening. The first session was held on January 17, 2019, continuing for a total of 49 livestreams that concluded on January 30, 2020.

    Screenshot from one of Paul Molloy’s dev streams
    As Paul pivoted to focus on other projects, Elden Pixels officially tapped Brad Smith to port the game. Elden Pixels didn't snooze on their development updates as teasers poured in from Twitter, stirring fans when pre-orders opened on September 14, 2021, through publishers Retro-Bit Publishing and Limited Run Games. Two major options were on offer: a special physical release with a CIB and frosted clear cartridge, an exclusive slipcover, a booklet with developer interview, a mini level poster, an animated lenticular card, and a certificate of authenticity; also available was a hybrid “digical” tier with an 8 GB USB of Zoe containing the game, manual, developer interview, and digital wallpapers with exclusive artwork, and a displayable package for the Zoe drive. The new port advertised new areas and songs allowing players of the original game some new content to enjoy. Over the course of the summer of 2022, fans would rise and shine, finding their copies waiting in their mailbox, while this iteration of the game was released on Steam on July 1, 2022.

    The digical edition
     
    Gameplay:
    Alwa’s Awakening describes itself as an adventure game inspired by forebears such as Battle of Olympus and Solstice. You play as Zoe, a gamer girl who dozed off while playing her favorite game only to wake up in the game itself. Finding herself in the land of Alwa, Zoe is called to answer the people’s pleas for help. She must find and defeat the four Protectors, collecting their items in order to open the path to a final challenge. The people you meet and the items you collect along the way will help you navigate Alwa in your quest to defeat Vicar.
    Gameplay includes you moving from one screen to the next, using your skills to get to the next area (or recognizing which areas are inaccessible for now until you acquire a vital tool). The controls are straightforward: the D-pad moves Zoe, the A button allows her to jump, the B button unleashes an attack or action, the Start button switches to view your map and inventory, and the Select button toggles through your magic. Along the way you will acquire the means & magics to go farther and fight harder.

    Screenshot from Alwa’s Awakening
     
    Review:
    Alwa’s Awakening is an enveloping adventure, the kind that mesmerizes players so well they won’t realize they have been playing all day. I often note that a game would have fit in well alongside the games it emulates, but in truth, Alwa would have dominated the market back then. A stunning, well-balanced game that had it been released in the 80s or 90s might well have pushed out the games it draws inspiration from. In all likelihood a licensed-era 8-bit Alwa would have launched a franchise that would have changed gaming history and probably led future developers to call their games an Alwa-like. Once again, we have an example of the quality that homebrew can bring, when a labor of love can develop independent of profit-minded corporate timetables.
    Gameplay is at its core straightforward for an adventure game, but Alwa pulls its modern game sensibilities into the 8-bit realm. The map details your progress trekking through this fantastical world, helping you find important locations such as checkpoints, warps, and the Protector bosses, and thus identify your path. Upgrades to your magic likewise open more of the world to your exploration, such as the power to break blocks, create blocks, or float on bubbles; abilities which remind me as much of Battle Kid and The Mad Wizard as Zelda II and Battle of Olympus. The world is full of secrets and there is a completion percentage à la Kirby’s Adventure that will delight (and frustrate) completionists. Challenging without being overly hard, you share Zoe’s wonder at this new land and feel a sense of envy for a character living your childhood dream.

    Screenshot from one of Brad Smith’s dev videos
    Graphically Alwa’s Awakening seems like it must somehow be breaking the NES’ color palette limits, such is the stunning beauty of its sprites and backgrounds. Not only do players enjoy a wide range of color spanning the world’s many screens and environments, but the scenery seems deeper and richer than what we’ve seen before. Alwa is such a wonderfully crafted world, that even after you turn off the game, you might imagine the lore surrounding the land, writing a prequel tale in your head as you anticipate playing more later. The soundtrack moves in tandem with the graphics, offering adventurous tunes that prod you along and bolster your sense of epic purpose without feeling monotonous. Long before pre-orders for this 8-bit edition opened, I managed to track down a copy of the soundtrack’s chiptune cart and let me say that I popped that cart in one evening and happily sat back to listen to the entire playlist. The music alone was that enjoyable.
     
    Interviews:
    For the juicy stories about how this game came to be and then was reborn on the NES, I interviewed two prominent members of the development team about their backgrounds and inspiration…
     

    Mikael Forslind
    @MikaelForslind
    -Before we dive into Alwa’s Awakening, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game designer and producer? What is your origin story and the story behind Elden Pixels?
    Well, I've told this story a few times but I've always been interested in creating digital stuff. I made my first "game" back in the late eighties when I created this maze-like Zelda clone where Link was this giant green block and you walked around on this map. The computer I used was so old so there was no way of saving anything so I remember spending a whole day creating the game and then being sad when I had to turn the power off and the game was deleted.
    But fast-forward to 2014 and I got my first job in the gaming industry as a marketing manager at then indie studio Image & Form (makers of the SteamWorld games and now merged into Thunderful) and although I did feel I knew quite a lot about marketing and the art of video games I didn't know how to make them myself. I felt I wanted to learn that skill too so I got a group of friends together and during the span of about two years we created Alwa's Awakening and released it on Steam early 2017. We made the entire game ourselves on nights and weekends and the plan was to release it and leave it at that but the game became quite popular for a small indie title so we knew it had more potential. During the development I kept my regular job as a marketing manager and about four years ago, I decided to go full-time with Elden Pixels so I quit my normal day job and me and two of the original members of the team started full-time and we began working with the sequel Alwa's Legacy.

    Screenshot from Alwa’s Legacy
     
    -In addition to being a game designer, you have a background in business and marketing from such companies as Image & Form and Zoink. In what ways has your past experience informed the work you do at Elden Pixels?
    I worked as a marketing manager for about four years before I started Elden Pixels so I learned a lot being there. I learned different things from the two companies I worked at and one was the importance of brand consistency. We keep making pixel art platformers because that’s what we know how to make and our community enjoys. It wouldn’t make sense for us to delve into something completely different like a mobile city builder game or something like that. Unless we find a large pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, in the foreseeable future we’ll keep on making these types of games. Another nice thing about working in the business a few years before venturing into your own is the friends you make. There’s a bunch of people from Image & Form and Zoink that worked with us on our Alwa games.
     
    -Which do you find more invigorating, level & game design or marketing?
    That’s an interesting question because I don’t really know. A big problem we have is the fact that I’m both producer, CEO, Game & Level Designer and I also run our social media. It worked well when we only had one game to work on (Alwa’s Awakening) but now we have two games we made ourselves, one we published called Cathedral and also the NES version of Alwa’s Awakening. It’s a lot of overhead just making sure all the gears in this company spins in the right direction. Hypothetically if we found a million dollars somewhere and could have more freedom I think I’d hire a biz/producer person and I’d take on a more creative director role. I like creating stuff and I draw a lot of inspiration from movies I love. For example this Summer during vacation I wrote a script for our new game and put together an ending for it and the other day I pitched it to the team and they were all really excited! Stuff like that makes me really happy!
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    We went full-time with Elden Pixels in 2018 and the year after that I became a parent for the first time so there has been a lot of life changing things occur the last couple of years, meaning I find no time to play video games or to do really anything else except take care of my family and my company. Sure, I check Twitter every now and then and I see other cool developers doing stuff but I’m so out of the loop these days. I even took a week’s vacation to play Elden Ring but the same week we moved into a new apartment so the game is still in its plastic wrap. When it comes to influences I take almost all my inspiration from the world of cinema. The game we’re currently working on draws a lot of inspiration from movies like They Live, Jacob’s Ladder, Leave No Trace and The Girl With All The Gifts. If you look closely, almost every name, achievement etc. in our previous games are references to movies.

    Perfect, it’s been awhile since I woke up screaming in the night
     
    -What tools do you use for your level design work?
    We use Tiled Map Editor to make all our levels and we've had it ever since we started making games in 2014. It's such a great tool and I just love working with it. Throughout the years we've also implemented a few middleware tools between Tiled and our game engine that really makes the process of creating a level very quick. The programmer of Tiled is also very kind and he even helped us add a few things we needed for our current game.
     
    -What to you, make for a well-designed and fun level?
    I love playing metroidvanias and I love exploring in video games so a good game with a nice map and something fun to explore is all I need. And also what I want to create myself. I think a lot of the games today are too big so a nice shorter experience in the region of 6-10 hours is great I think, so shorter levels that are fun to explore is my kind of thing!
     
    -What are some underappreciated strategies to marketing a game effectively?
    As I mentioned earlier we’re quite understaffed when it comes to marketing since I never find the time to do anything really, I really don’t know. But what I found in my eight years or so in the industry is that it really helps being a nice guy and to treat everyone with respect and kindness and always help out as much as possible. I remember sending review keys to this guy years ago when the site he worked on had little to no traffic and one time we bumped into each other and had a talk, and now years later he works at IGN.
     
    -Where did the initial idea for Alwa’s Awakening come from?
    I was over at a friend’s house playing video games and we played two games that stood out. One was Battle Kid, which is a NES homebrew where you go through room by room fighting enemies but what’s really cool about that game is that each room is almost like a puzzle and you have to know exactly what to do and do it precisely in the correct order to get to the next room. And the other game we played was Trine 2, which we played from start to finish in one sitting. An idea popped into my head of making a NES game that takes the quick action gameplay from Battle Kid but instead of a robot we have this cute but capable magician that explores the world like in Zelda II or The Battle Of The Olympus.

    An underrated gem in the series
     
    -What is the working dynamic like across the whole team at Elden Pixels generally? What was the working dynamic like in the development of bringing Alwa’s Awakening to the NES? How did you first connect with everyone?
    When we made the first Alwa’s Awakening for PC in 2016 it started with me writing a game design document and then looking for a team. I knew Kreese who made the music from a gaming convention we used to run together so he was on board right away. BG (Alexander) the artist actually had made some artwork for the same convention so I knew he was skilled with pixel art so I just sent him a message and he was also on board! Finding a programmer was a bit more challenging but I found Kevin who was actually a level designer but he learned to program for Alwa’s Awakening, which is really impressive! For the NES game we hired Brad Smith, who’s a skilled NES programmer and we remade the game from scratch so it would work on NES. It was a fun project!
     
    -Alwa’s Awakening was first released in 2017. What is the story behind the game’s evolution from a modern game to an NES game?
    The original game idea was to make a NES game but we quite quickly realized it would be one heck of a challenge so we decided to go with Unity, which is a modern game engine. And we made and released the game, but throughout development we made sure to keep the NES limitations as much as possible because who knows, maybe one day we’ll port it to NES? Well, the years passed and in 2019, a guy called Paul started to make a fan-made NES port and he came really far with the game. Since he live streamed the entire thing it caught the eye of a publisher and they reached out to us asking if we’d be interested in releasing it commercially. We were but Paul wasn’t able to commit to such a task so we put out a job ad and we messaged Brad Smith, which we knew from his previous game Lizard and after going back and forth for a while we signed a contract and he was on board! The rest is history.
     
    -With the NES iteration of Alwa’s Awakening, you’re working on a game for decades-old hardware. How does producing a game for the NES compare to your experiences producing games for more modern hardware?
    From my perspective as a level designer it wasn’t that different. We still used Tiled as our level editor and quite quickly when we first started working with the game we were able to just have all the original levels loaded into the game and we were able to move around. Brad wrote this really cool script that basically took everything we had in terms of levels, art and dialogue and just put it into the game and it gave a warning it it wasn’t compatible with NES so the first time we loaded everything up we had like a thousand warnings and day by day, week by week we remade the levels, edited artwork, reduced colors, edited strings until one day it had zero warnings, it was the best day!
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Alwa’s Awakening (both initially and for the NES) as opposed to previous projects? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Well, you’re not going to get rich making NES games. It was such a cool game to work on but if we cared more about money it would probably have been a better idea to work on something else. And with everything going on with the world right now with the pandemic, lockdowns, war in Ukraine and environmental crisis manufacturing and shipping this game around the world has cost an insane amount of money. I have to think long and carefully about doing another physical game.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Alwa’s Awakening, from the original game, to the announcement that the game would be ported to the NES, to the game’s ultimate release. How does it feel to see so many people excited for this game?
    It feels both great and “business as usual”. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when someone likes our games but I’m coming up on soon ten years in the business and I think almost every title I worked on has become a physical release, so you almost get used to it. But what makes me really proud and happy though, is the fact that Elden Pixels now employs three people full time. We made a lot of games that make people happy, we’ve given money to charity and can continue making quality single player video games in a gaming industry that’s evolving more and more into subscriptions, DLCs and shitty business models. The fact that we can survive and make games makes me really happy and we have our community to thank for that.
     
    -What aspects of Alwa’s Awakening are you most proud of?
    When we developed the original game for Steam a few years back we were really keen on making it very accurate to the NES hardware and we succeeded in that. When it came out most people were really positive but there's always a few that would comment that it "would never work on NES" and "looked too modern". But then years later we were basically able to make a 1:1 port on the NES and it worked exactly like we hoped.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects? Are there any plans to bring Alwa’s Legacy to the NES, or at least another soundtrack cartridge?
    Right now there are no plans to release anything more Alwa related, we’re finishing up the Alwa’s Awakening Evercade release but after that we’re planning to focus entirely on our new game, which is a platformer adventure game of sorts with a killer soundtrack. We have posted a few pics online but we’re hoping to officially announce it next year, can’t wait to hear what people think of it!
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I got a chance to play a cyberpunk NES adventure game called Courier, which I really enjoyed. The art looked great and the hour or so I got to play was really cool, really looking forward to seeing it released! There’s also a fan-made Battle Kid game being played, which I can’t wait to get my hands on. I tried the demo and it was very well-made.

    SOON
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    No worries, thanks for allowing me to rant about our games. I’ve got nothing more to add really. Be kind to yourself and people around you. Thanks to everyone who enables us to keep doing what we’re doing.
     
     

    Brad Smith
    @bbbradsmith
    -Before we dive into Alwa’s Awakening, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game developer and musician? What is your origin story?
    My family's first computer was an Atari ST. I loved a lot of games on it, especially Bubble Bobble, which I played a lot with my dad. At a young age I found at the library a series of books by Usborne on BASIC programming for kids. That's where I got started with programming. I decided I wanted to make video games then, and it's been a lifelong pursuit.
    Music has been my other major interest. My parents encouraged me to take piano lessons early on, but what I really wanted to do was compose music. I especially liked making music with my computer, because I didn't need to deal with instruments or performers, I could just put sounds together. It also tied in with the video games thing. I really loved game music as much as other kinds, and seemed natural to try and make music like that at the computer.
    The Usborne books are now available for free online, in case you're curious or want to link them: https://usborne.com/ca_en/books/computer-and-coding-books
     
    -In terms of both game development and music, who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Some early game experiences that really influenced me: Bubble Bobble, for its unique concept and cutesy style. The original Prince of Persia, for the quiet way it lets you explore space, and its immaculate sense of presentation. Final Fantasy IV, for introducing me to the longer-form storytelling and character development of JRPGs.
    I try to play a variety of games, and maybe more of them are old than new. I don't know if I'm into a specific genre; I think mostly I just try to play something different than the last thing I played. Old games often have strange design decisions that are unpopular in recent games, and they give me a lot of ideas to think about. Recently I've played through Ys I, Blaster Master, and Death Stranding. Currently I'm deep into Yakuza 0 on my PS4, and slowly getting through a strange Amiga sci-fi maze game called Enemy: Tempest of Violence.
    I feel similarly about music. I listen to old and new things, and music is much older than video games so "old" goes back a lot farther. I liked a lot of game music, but maybe "Secret of Mana" was the most inspiring of all for me. It really made me want to write music. I heard "Switched on Bach" as a kid, and the sound of synthesizers being applied Bach was an instant hit for me. Later I found another album by Wendy Carlos called "Beauty in the Beast" which had an incredibly unique exploration of tuning systems and sounds... it gave me completely new ideas about what music could be, and it's a shame to say that it's been out of print for many years. Nine Inch Nails is another artist that meant a lot to me, especially since I knew it was mostly one guy with a computer, it encouraged me to do the same. More recently I've really enjoyed the game soundtracks of Machinarium, and CrossCode.

    Screenshot from Machinarium
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    So, I can't take any credit for the aesthetic of Alwa's Awakening. My work on that game was to make someone else's design into something the NES could run. I probably did have some influence on the design of the NES version, but it's more subtle.
    For my own NES game Lizard, I think the one thing I usually tell people is that they will get lost. I wanted to make a game that doesn't tell you where to go, so that you go explore on your own, lose your way, and then can (hopefully) have the joy of finding it. I don't think everyone likes this feature, but it's a kind of game I felt I hadn't experienced in a while.
    So, maybe the question of what the hallmarks of my games are is something that will have to wait many years, for me to finish several other games that we can look back on and compare. For now I'd say I want to explore game ideas that I feel are under-served. I look at old games a lot because I think there are a lot of cool concepts, and weird ideas, that are worth exploring some more in a new context. I'm interested in a lot of different game genres... but maybe I'm just mostly interested in variety. I want to make a game that I'd like, that someone else isn't going to. What that means will probably change a lot for each game, if I manage to make more.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and compose for your games? What is your creative process?
    For code, I use a variety of languages for different purposes. Assembly code to run on the NES. Python script or other languages for tools used in making the game. C++ for stuff on the PC that needs to run efficiently. There are differences between programming languages, but I just try to find a specific one seems good for the situation at hand. There are a lot of different assemblers, or C compilers, and there are many ways to accomplish the same task. If I need to find a different language or tool, I just try to learn whatever that is and get comfortable with it.
    For music, I probably do the broad level composition at a piano or guitar, or in my head, or on paper. When I have a few ideas, eventually I start to put them together in some form more specific to the end goal. For NES music I mostly use a free tool called FamiTracker. After I get the main ideas in, I need to work on the finer details, and FamiTracker has an excellent simulation of the NES sound that lets me get it right before I go to the real machine to test it out.
     
    -The list of projects you’ve worked on spans decades. Have you noticed any changes/evolutions in your style or game development preferences over the years?
    I started professional game development in 2006 after I graduated from university, though the projects of my own that I learned from go back many more years. At this point I really only have one major finished game that is my own, which is Lizard. The rest which has been published is work done for others.
    The things I wanted to make as a kid are pretty different than what I want now. As a kid, I wanted to make a game that simulated my own life, the daily activities of a young schoolboy. As a teenager, I wanted to make a JRPG, and I dreamed of working for the short-lived SquareSoft USA. In university I wanted to make a rhythm/music shoot-em-up. There were projects for each of these that got to various stages of development, but the only games I finished were small things, like pong or bowling. It took me a very long time to learn how to commit to a big project and finish it, which in a lot of ways is its own separate skill, different from other things I had to learn to be able to make a video game.
     
    -How did you come into the role of working on Alwa’s Awakening as lead programmer? What was the working dynamic like in the game’s development?
    The people at Elden Pixels had played Lizard, so they had seen some of my work. They approached me when they were looking to start this project, and I guess they liked the plan I laid out for them.
    I worked from my home in Canada, and we talked continually as development progressed. In the early part of the project, I focused on getting tools ready for the other team members to make content and be able to test it on the NES. The first major thing was a tool that built the game maps and could view them on the NES. As they were working on building the world map, I could focus on the next thing, like making sprites and animations possible. Later in the project I think the others were working a lot on testing and tweaking things, while I was trying to get all the remaining small features in, or fix problems as they came up.
    As with any project we sometimes had worries and disagreements, but I very much enjoyed working with them, and I'd like to do it again if another opportunity comes up.

    If you made a world as stunning as this, who wouldn’t hire you?
     
    -Did you have a different attitude toward developing Alwa’s Awakening compared to developing your own games, such as Lizard? Is the experience of developing them different? Does making a port of an existing game impose limits on what you can do with it? Was the experience analogous to your work on MOON8 in which you brought Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon to the NES?
    With Lizard, I could spend as much or as little time as I thought any part of the game needed. The decision was always mine. With Alwa's Awakening, I had to continually estimate various things that could be done, and let my employer decide what was important. So... it's a lot different in that way. I'm not free to explore tangents the way I would on my own project.
    I wouldn't say MOON8 was very much like either of those projects. Mostly it began as listening to the music and transcribing it into FamiTracker. I did a lot of music transcriptions over the years, either so I could play something myself on the piano or guitar, or if a band I was in wanted to play some covers. I like rearranging music like this, transforming it into a different sound for different instruments.
    So for MOON8, it was all about exploring how different it would sound if it had to be played through the NES as an instrument. With Alwa's Awakening, instead my main goal was just to make it as close to the original PC version as the NES could manage. Instead of exploring the difference, I was trying to create a meticulous facsimile. We did of course have to make some adaptations for the NES, but we still wanted it to feel like the "same" game. A lot of the more significant ways it had to be adapted, e.g. simplifying the sprite colours, or rebuilding the world for the 4:3 aspect ratio of the screen, were creative decisions made by other members of the team.
    A link to one of my first solo guitar transcriptions, the underwater music from Super Mario Bros.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV7C2wDs9B8
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Alwa’s Awakening, from the initial announcement that the game would be ported to the NES, to the news you were taking over as lead programmer, to the game’s ultimate release. How does it feel to see so many people excited for this game and your work on it?
    It's been a huge relief to see people finally get their hands on it. The physical release took a lot longer than expected, and though my work was long finished, the wait for a release still weighed on me a lot. I felt we had done great work with it, and I was really looking forward to seeing how people felt about it.
     
    -What aspects of Alwa’s Awakening are you most proud of?
    I was really surprised how I felt about the game as it was coming together. I'd figured by now the novelty of getting something to run on the NES would have worn off on me... but as it became more and more complete, and I could sit down and just play it. There's still magic there. Something special about having it run on the real machine.
    I'm very happy with how it turned out. I think we captured everything essential about the original. Maybe I'm most proud of the animation system, which let us keep the entire animation set of the main character. I don't think we had to sacrifice even a single pixel on her.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Collaborations?
    I don't have any concrete things that I can talk about right now, but I am working on things. In the past months I've been spending a lot of time getting to know the Apple II, and the Super NES. You can expect stuff from me on both those platforms in the future. I'm not quite sure what they will be yet. For now I've released a few small demos, experiments, and ROM hacks for SNES.
     
    -Will there be a cartridge release of Famicompo Pico 2 like there was for its predecessor?
    Probably not. I made the ROM for it, but the physical release isn't my project. Given how many years have passed now, I don't know if Famicompo Pico has a current custodian who would make a cartridge happen.
    I'd like to make a ROM for Famicompo Pico 3, at least, which has been in my plans for a very long time, but I will need to set aside some time for it.

    The Famicompo Pico 2014 ALBUM by the bitpuritans, still available at InfiniteNESLives
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    A few months ago I really enjoyed playing through Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl with a friend. I thought it played very well, and it was longer than I expected. Really fantastic game.
    Another recent one I liked a lot was Witch n' Wiz, which is a very pleasant puzzle game, and it had some great attention to style and detail.
    As for stuff that's currently in development... I think I try not to get my hopes up about games that aren't already out. I've seen a lot of great ideas get started, and then disappear. I don't consider it a fault, and my own life has been littered with unfinished projects, so I definitely understand, but I've developed a bit of a callous toward it. I sometimes test in-progress things for friends, and I try to help and encourage people that are working on stuff, but I don't have any expectation that any particular game will make it to release. This applies to big budget games too: I've seen firsthand how frequently these get cancelled well into development.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks for being interested enough to ask. I don't have anything to add right now, but I guess anyone wondering what else I have to say might go to my website, or maybe look me up on twitter.
    https://rainwarrior.ca/
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that explores the new and exciting goings on in the homebrew community. What are your thoughts on Alwa’s Awakening and its developers? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  16. Scrobins

    Episode 30: Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra's Curse

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 30: Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse

    Introduction:
    Franchise opportunities in Hollywood may make us cynical, but when they appear in gaming, we fans still get excited. Maybe it’s a reflection of video games as a younger medium that audiences aren’t yet turned off by the notion of a creator tapping into a winning formula with a new character or gaming mechanic that is immediately fun and which teases hope for more. Even when that formula is an old one, sometimes a new concept can reinvent the classic look and feel of yesteryear, giving us what we really want and need, like the debut of Indiana Jones dusting off the serials of decades before.
    For this entry, I’m covering Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse, a Metroidvania adventure developed by Bold Game Studio for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Turbografx-16, and Turbografx Super CD. As of the time of this writing, Jessie Jaeger is reaching initial Kickstarter backers, and physical copies will be available in their store here soon, with a Game Boy port also on the way.

    CIB plus the all-important dungeon map
     
    Development Team:
    @DarkKobold (Kyle Thomson): programming, game design
    Michirin: pixel art
    TenNoKoe_: music
    RetroStage: production
     
    Game Evolution:
    Jessie Jaeger first set out on her adventure when her Kickstarter campaign launched on September 16, 2020, with an accompanying thread on Sega-16 started that same day. Backer tiers included roms of the Sega Genesis or Turbografx iterations of the game, cart-only options, CIBs, special edition CIBs with reversible box art and a game map, the CD soundtrack that is playable on the Sega CD, combination packages, and the opportunity to design an in-game hieroglyph. By the end of the campaign, 345 backers pledged more than $27,000, receiving their rewards as early as July 2022 for special editions, and December 2022 for regular editions.
     
    Gameplay:
    Jessie Jaeger describes itself as a Metroidvania adventure. You play as Jessie, granddaughter and protégé of famed explorer Dr. Jaeger. Sadly you learned that Dr. Jaeger was turned to stone during his latest journey to Egypt, when a resurrected Cleopatra attacked him. You must take the lessons grandpa instilled in you as you make your way through Cleopatra’s crypt and rescue him.

    Screenshot from Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse
    Gameplay consists of screen-to-screen adventuring. Controls are easy to learn: use the D-pad to move left, right, or press down to duck; the A-button uses a selected item; the B-button makes Jessie jump/dismount from a whip swing; the C-button toggles through items in your inventory; and the Start button opens the game menu, where you can view the crypt map, your coordinates on the map, your inventory, stats, game timer, and completion percentage. Items include weapons, tools to better navigate the dungeon, keys, and artifacts.
     
    Review:
    Jessie Jaeger is an addictive adventure, one that will require you to set an alarm or else risk realizing you were playing far longer than you intended. It’s great to have such a fun game, and wonderful to see a well-made, franchise-able game led by a female protagonist, adding some much needed diversity to the library. The dungeons are well-designed to facilitate exploration, and backtracking never feels tedious as you struggle to identify what you need to do to open more of the map. If anything, there is a burst of excitement whenever you obtain a new key or item that allows you to go back to a place you couldn’t enter before. The various screens offer a good balance of fun and challenging, where death is common but never to the point I felt tempted to rage quit. The placement of statues of the gods as doors to locked areas is a clever touch, and I love the idea of having a statue’s corresponding key appear fuzzily above their head to clue you into which key you need to access the next area. Combined with the placement of switches and whip holds, Jessie Jaeger gives you the ability to explore freely but with enough guidance to give you something to seek in order to progress. This game is also deceptively large: I thought I was about to beat the game, having nearly explored the entire map, only to learn it was merely the “Horus” sector, first of several more areas. Fortunately, there are a few shamans ensconced in the dungeon’s depths where you can save your game and purchase items, so you can explore further. Of course, having the safety of a save point increases the temptation to keep playing; I kept telling myself just one more screen over and over, trapped forever in this crypt.

    Turbografx Super CD Edition with Tomb Map
    Jessie Jaeger’s graphics are colorful and elaborate. The entire game has a cutesy Saturday morning cartoon feel that makes it something players of all ages can enjoy. It’s impressive so many otherwise similar looking gods can be somewhat easily distinguished despite the graphical limitations of the 16-bit console. Jessie herself is well-designed such that her sprite jives well with the controls and her hitbox doesn’t require her more perilous jumps to be pixel perfect. Even the enemies are fun (even when they are chasing you), with bats, snakes, mummies, and more obstructing your progress with their playfully creepy Scooby Doo vibe. The screens are carefully crafted that you always know what you need to do, or whether it is an area you aren’t meant to cross yet. Meanwhile Jessie Jaeger’s music might best be described as charming and atmospheric, effervescently pushing you forward with its adventurous thrill. The music perfectly fits the pace of the game, neither plodding nor frantic, this is the rhythm of someone fearlessly probing the unknown. The bits of voicework feel like hard-earned milestones, like Jessie’s exclamations when you find a key or other important item. You feel her victory and pride as though you were in the crypt yourself on the cusp of saving your family.
     
    Interviews:
    Before I journeyed into the depths of Cleopatra’s tomb with Jessie Jaeger, I studied the folklore surrounding her story, learning from the foremost experts on the subject…
     

    Kyle Thomson
    @DarkKobold
    -Before we dive into Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse, I would love to talk about you background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer? What is your origin story?
    I have been a programmer for years, not a particularly excellent one, but enough to get by when my day job requires it, or I want to code something fun. Around 8 years ago, I discovered a C compiler for the TG16, called HuC. I followed the excellent tutorial on ObeyBrew.com. It’s a “down-to-basics” tutorial that is perfect for getting started, with no nonsense. From that I was able to program a really basic prototype of a boss that will be in Catastrophy, another in progress homebrew for the Turbografx-16.
    If you compare these two videos, you can see how the concept was there early, and eventually became a reality.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol9uKeTwSOk&feature=youtu.be
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxUaDkSGRnQ&feature=youtu.be
     
    -What is the story behind the names DarkKobold and Bold Game Studio?
    I had to come up with a name for a D&D campaign, and I wanted to lampshade the typical 90s usernames which added Dark to cool sounding things to sound badass, like DarkDragon, DarkShadow, DarkSword or DarkBlazeIt. So I took the weakest, stupidest creature out of Magic: the Gathering, the Kobold, and added Dark to it. I didn’t enjoy D&D, and never played again, but the name stuck permanently. It’s really nice, because I can often get darkkobold as a username as it’s fairly unique.   Bold Game Studio was just taking the end of Kobold to come up with a catchy name.

    A name worthy of the Hellfire Club
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    I find Battletoads for the NES to be the pinnacle of gaming. Rash, Pimple and Zitz are my muses. So, in short, my games are difficult, brutally so. The released version of Jessie is considered fairly difficult, and that was after toning down the difficulty many times. Catastrophy has also had to undergo continual revision to remove my preferred difficulty level from the game.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    I’m primarily a C coder, my ASM skills are very lacking. Thanks to the hard work of many people, C compilers are readily available for so many retro platforms these days. I specifically used HuC for Turbografx consoles, SGDK for Genesis, and GBDK for Gameboy. I also want to give a shoutout to Cosmigo ProMotion, which has enabled the pixel art for all of my creations. I know a lot of people use Tiled, but I’ll swear by Promotion for its tile/pixel art capabilities.
     
    -What encouraged you to make games for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Turbografx-16, and Turbografx Super CD?
    For all platforms I work on, there’s two key elements that make them feasible and enjoyable – a C compiler with all required features (graphics, controls, and sound), and a no-nonsense tutorial that gets you coding your first game. I’ve tried multiple times to port Jessie to GBA, but there’s just no easy to digest, get started quick tutorial. The “best” tutorial is a multi-page mess, where the author devolves into programming theory and philosophy. It’s impossible to follow, and it doesn’t build on itself at all.
    Shoutouts to the Mega Pong tutorial https://www.ohsat.com/tutorial/megapong/megapong-1/ and Dan Cox’s GBDK tutorial https://videlais.com/2016/07/03/programming-game-boy-games-using-gbdk-part-1-configuring-programming-and-compiling/
     
    -At the heart of Jessie Jaeger is its Metroidvania aesthetic. What about this genre resonates so strongly with you? What inspired you to make this type of game?
    There’s a phrase “cute’em up” for cute shoot’em ups, but nothing for Metroidvania. Cutieroidvania? I have a particular affinity for games like this, such as Monster World IV, Shantae, Ufouria, and Adventure Island 4. The first two were the inspiration for Jessie as a protagonist.
     
    -What elements are crucial for a good Metroidvania?
    A reward for exploration, shortcuts for forced backtracking, and additional things to be found after you obtain new abilities through items. If anything, I wish I hadn’t forced so much of the map to be completed just to complete the main game. There needed to be a few indirect paths that lead to bonuses, rather than being only a screen or two away from the main path.
     
    -How did you connect with the other members of your development team? What was the working dynamic like across your collaboration?
    Cleopatra’s Curse was mostly my baby, so it was more me recruiting individuals to help with each aspect of the project. I don’t know that I ever had a “team meeting.” It was more just reaching out to talented individuals who accel at different aspect of retro games, and getting their help to turn Jessie into a reality.
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind Jessie Jaeger’s design, and are there elements of yourself that you see in her or any other characters?
    There’s very little similarity between me and Jessie. Her design was more a reflection of Michirin’s tastes. I made her female to pay homage to Monster World IV and Shantae, but the rest of her design was Michirin’s hard work. However, my other homebrew, Catastrophy, which has been in progress for years, is a complete reflection of my cat. Everything in that game is a reflection of her behavior.


    How about a crossover with all 3?
     
    -What aspects of Jessie Jaeger are you most proud of?
    The controls are almost always complimented. Getting the momentum feeling just right, so that you’re not on ice, but you also don’t stop on a dime, or have weird floaty jumps is just so important from the moment you turn on the game. The game is hard, but the player needs to feel it’s their own fault every time, and not the controls. The whip mechanic is divisive, but I do enjoy the learning part, and how by the end of the game, people feel like experts at it.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Jessie Jaeger? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Things always take way longer than you expect. I thought I was going to have everything done in the first 3 months following my Kickstarter, and I thought that was generous. It’s been a few years now, and I’m slowly still getting pieces finished up. I’m doing my best at getting things out, and I’m 100% committed to filling every goal tier, as long as it takes.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Jessie Jaeger on Kickstarter, and on social media. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
    For me, the excitement of making a homebrew is when someone completes your game and enjoyed the entire experience. One player, who goes by turbocr1k3t on Instagram is a huge fan. When you beat the game 100% with all gold coins, it unlocks a NewGame+ mode (sorry for the spoiler!). I intended NewGame+ to just be a speedrun sort of challenge, since it starts you will all the equipment and upgrades. He chose to attempt to 100% that mode, but due to the way it’s coded, 100% in NewGame+ is impossible, since you already have all the upgrades. It’s essentially a bug that I never discovered, but the fact that he played my game to that depth was one of the coolest things to come out of the entire project.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Genesis, Turbografx, or otherwise? Any plans for a sequel? Any dream projects?
    I’m still working on the Gameboy/Gameboy Color version of Jessie. Thanks to GBDK, it should be “fairly simple” to port to Game Gear. Nothing is ever that simple, but at least the tile maps and code should be fully reusable. I’d love to make a Jessie sequel, but finishing these ports and Catastrophy are much more pressing goals!
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I’ve got a stack of homebrew that I’ve purchased but haven’t had the time to dig into. Time is always the limiting factor. I’m a big fan of homebrew like Battle Kid and the Action 53 carts. It’s been too long since a new Action 53 cart was released.

    Soon…
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Watch for Catastrophy, it’s going to be a banger of a Turbografx-16 homebrew!
     
     

    Michirin
    @Michirin
    -Before we dive into Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a pixel artist? What is your origin story?
    I've always wanted to be a game developer, art is just what came to me naturally, it's what I've taught myself and have been doing since age 10, but I can do way more stuff than just pixel art, if anything, at this point I'm most known for my chiptune covers, though I'm not really that active anymore on that front cuz I wanted to focus on game development.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Too many influences I'd say, just about anything I thought looked good on the 3rd and 4th gen systems, and also handhelds up to GBA... And no one? Like, I'm so out-of-the-loop with regards to anything new coming out...
     
    -Do you feel your artwork has a signature aesthetic that is uniquely you? How would you describe the feel of your work?
    Not sure I'd say the art itself is particularly unique, I just try to make stuff look good and cute. It's very cutesy girly anime, with a pinch of fantasy here and there I think...

    Screenshot of Unwieldy Wand by Michirin
     
    -In your opinion, what makes good pixel art stand out?
    It really depends on what the game in particular is going for, I feel readability is pretty important, though I personally tend to go for cramming as much detail as possible into very small sprites and tiles...
     
    -What tools do you use to create?
    MS Paint. You'd be surprised how good it is for pixel art!
     
    -Tell me about your creative process while working on Jessie Jaeger? How did you transform the concept art from the page to the screen for this game? How do you maintain the important details of that art given the limitations of coding for decades-old gaming consoles like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Turbografx-16, and Turbografx Super CD?
    There wasn't really much in the way of concept art, literally just one character design, which was of my own making, everything else was made in pixel art first, and when I started working on the game I had no idea there were gonna be other versions besides the TG-16/CD one, I'm not sure they were even planned, I only started working on the Mega Drive version after the PCE CD version was near completed, and given how many extra palettes I'd been using to cram in loads of ultra-subtle detail into the PCE tilesets, I had to make a few compromises for the MD version, given it's got way less palettes... But I did my best and I'd say I managed to make it still look pretty close!
     
    -Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
    I think the PC engine is pretty easy to make graphics, sound and music for, but right now I'm actually most interested in working with the GBC, it's pretty similar to the PCE, but more limited, and I like to try and push hardware limits with my work. My process is roughly the same on every platform.
     
    -What was the working dynamic like with the rest of the development team?
    I pretty much just waited for DarkKobold to ask for more graphics, and then drew the graphics, that's kinda it... But I also did playtesting on the game whenever he sent me a ROM.
     
    -What aspects of Jessie Jaeger are you most proud of?
    The tilesets, particularly the PCE HuCard version. Not sure if that one is out yet...
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Jessie Jaeger? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    In general it wasn't very challenging, the most difficult part was whenever I had to work with ProMotion NG to make sure all the palettes were right... I'd just say, to anyone making pixel art for homebrew games for pre-3D systems, just make sure your palettes don't exceed the colour count, and also be aware of how many palettes you have to work with...
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Sega, Turbografx, or otherwise? Any dream projects?
    I already worked on another one for the PCE, Strife Sisters (I think that's what it's called), Not sure if it's out yet... But right now I'm hoping to work on my own projects, PC games though (Windows) it's what I'm able to do on my own...

    Title screen from Akumanor Escape DX by Michirin
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Not really, like I said, I'm really out-of-the-loop on anything new coming out...
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Not ready to announce anything right now, but keep an eye on my itch.io: https://michirin.itch.io/ And on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsCaF6H613kkLK4h6pFpJwA That's how you'll know when I actually release a game of my own, Hopefully this year.
     
     

    TenNoKoe_
    -Before we talk about Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse, I want to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to be a musician? What led you to compose music for games? What is your origin story, and what is the significance of the TenNoKoe_ name?
    I've been into art & music as long as I can remember. My parents were always very supportive of my interest in music, and that eventually led me to start Piano lessons at 7, Viola at 8 in school, Electric Bass when I was 13, and drums & guitar at 14. Once I knew I wanted to pursue music school in university, I started taking my music studies a lot more seriously. In high school I'd learn to play my favorite records by ear and play the occasional gig with friends. By the time I was a sophomore, I had developed a really good ear and began approaching video game music from a listening perspective.
    I grew up with consoles and a Gameboy Pocket in the house, and like many other teenage millennials you end up finding sites like Zophars domain and VGM rips etc. to listen to VGM and discover new stuff. Excited would be an understatement!! At the time I wasn't aware of trackers, but I would often come across covers on the web and was fascinated by this "mysterious" process *laughs*. In early 2016 I had renewed interest in trackers and stumbled upon Deflemask. By the end of the year I had messed around with the Genesis a bit but wasn't getting very far. It wasn't until 2017 that I really started to become obsessed with FM sound and digging deeper into sound design.
    There's no special origin story here *laughs*. In 2016 I had acquired a PC Engine Duo with a modest collection of CD-ROM2 & HuCard games. Among those games was a memory card called the "Tennokoe Bank". I just went with it because I though it sounded cool.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    There's too many to list. I'm a big jazz/fusion and soul music fan so that tends to find its way into the VGM. Herbie Hancock is a hero of mine. On the VGM side I really enjoy the music of Toshiya Yamanaka, Keishi Yonao, Tamoyo Kawamoto, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Shinji Hosoe. As far as new stuff, I love to find individuals looking to push FM sound/chiptune capabilities further; people like Savaged Regime, JGVex, Abstract 64 and many others.

    Herbie Hancock
     
    -In addition to your musical work on video games, you are an avid composer. Does your experience performing provide inspiration for your game music, or vice versa?
    I'm into all kinds of musical genres, and I feel that being an avid listener and well-rounded musician goes quite a long way in many different work scenarios. It's definitely more of a symbiotic type of inspiration when I go to write music these days. I'm really fortunate to be musically active outside of chiptune, so my other projects also a big source of inspiration for me!
     
    -Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    I feel like because of my listening background and musical training, my aesthetic involves a lot of Western Classical harmony mixed with more contemporary Non-functional harmony, not to mention Jazz harmony and lots of syncopated rhythm! I consider my approach to FM sound to be a eclectic variety of new sounds, ranging from more nuanced timbres to gritty distorted sounds. Some instruments are intentionally made to approximate the real thing while others are meant to be more of a "hybrid" FM sound.
     
    -What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
    Right now I use Reaper as my main DAW for digital recording/mixing with a set of AKG headphones and Event TR8 studio monitors. For chiptunes I use Deflemask, hugeTracker & Furnace Tracker.
     
    -What qualities do you look for in order to feel like a game you’re playing has good, engaging music?
    In my opinion, video game music itself elevates the art and vice versa. I feel as though having a visual reference early on has a crucial impact on the final product. Pacing and mood is so important to the feel of games. Most importantly, the music itself needs to have a direction and momentum. Exploring different rhythmic meter, changing keys, and developing ideas on a theme are all things I look for and strive to achieve in my own work.
     
    -Tell me about the development of Jessie Jaeger’s music, what was your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose your own chiptune?
    The creative process for this game was quite different compared to most game projects. The soundtrack is usually developed for the cartridge first and then later to other platforms. But with Jessie Jaeger, I was tasked with arranging themes written by the Fietchers, including writing my own original tune for the game. My process began with listening and transcribing each theme, by ear. After the transcription, I'd usually start working on the instruments for each part in Deflemask from scratch. From there it's a matter of putting in the right notes and rhythms in the tracker software. After that I have more freedom to add effects and various techniques to get a bigger sound. Once I'm happy with the arrangement I start to mix it and make tweaks wherever necessary. The mixing process can take a while at times. When I'm composing original music, I have instrument patches (presets) that I can drop in and experiment with. That makes the creative workflow a lot easier.

    Derek & Brandon Fietcher, whose music was licensed for Jessie Jaeger
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Jessie Jaeger? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    As with any new retro game, there's lots of limitations to consider when developing music for these old consoles. I didn't grow up with a Sega Genesis, so I wasn't familiar with a lot of the technical nomenclature when it came to the YM2612 & SN76489. Much of that needed to be learned through research as well as testing on hardware. Another big limitation for me still is the file format in which my chiptunes are typically exported. Each note and effect I add to the music routine takes up a certain amount of data, and with the .vgm format file sizes can get quite big if you use a lot of samples. In Jessie Jaeger I used no samples for the music whatsoever which cut down on file sizes considerably. If anyone's looking to pursue sound programming, be prepared to test often and always double check your mixes, get second opinions. I would say my biggest piece of advice is to stay confident/focused and to not be concerned about comparing yourself to others.
     
    -How did you first connect with DarkKobold and what was the working dynamic like as you worked on the game?
    DarkKobold initially reached out on a Discord server I was in. Once I saw his message, I immediately sent him a replay saying I was interested. Later that week we linked up and discussed the details of the game in its stage at that point. The working dynamic was rather easy going, I would usually take a few tunes and send frequent updates after a week or so. DarkKobold would respond with feedback and we'd go from there onto the next stage themes of the game. He helped me a lot with more system-specific issues and taught me various things throughout development. I'm not really the programmer type so it was very much appreciated!!
     
    -Is there another project after Jessie Jaeger on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
    Yes, I have a few other retro projects on the horizon. One of them is a Genesis/Mega Drive First-Person Shooter engine called PortalView by Erik Haliewicz and the other is Pigsy's Castlevania Symphony of the Night demake. Another chiptune project is a music release for my duo called Intelligent Terminal which will be released on music platforms later this year. The last project and certainly not least is Astebros, a roguelike spinoff for the Genesis/Mega Drive/Switch/Steam. So be on the lookout for that!

    Screenshot from Astebros by Neofid Technology
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Sure! I'm really looking forward to playing Final Fight MD, Darkstalkers MD, Demons of Asteborg and ZPF from my friends JGVex & Gryzor! There's others I'm forgetting but this is one of the best times to be playing homebrew.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks so much for having me! Keep on gaming and support indie games and your favorite artists 🙂
     
     

    RetroStage
    @RetroStage_PCB
    -Before we dive into Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to design circuit boards and manufacture cartridge shells. What drew you into the homebrew community? What is the origin story of RetroStage?
    "RetroStage" started as a project between my brother and I, where we were making stages for a fighting game called MUGEN, that I'm sure many people are familiar with. We started a website that users could download our stages from, and since our stages were all from the retro era, we coined "RetroStage". It just stuck, and transferred over into my love of retro game consoles. I got drawn into the homebrew and dev community through the NESDEV and NintendoAge (RIP) forums, where many users helped me throughout the early days as I was learning how these classic consoles worked.
    My first inspiration into circuit design was about 15+ years ago when I stumbled across a "Secret of Mana 2" reproduction cartridge at a second-hand game store. I was perplexed, as I'd never actually seen a reproduction game at that point, and had no idea how they'd managed to get a translated game into a SNES cartridge. That kick-started my interest in designing my own SNES boards, which then lead to my dabbling in just about everything from NES to N64. Eventually that led me into creating easy-to-program cartridges - the Blaster series of products - so that people can make their own games playable on real hardware even if they don't have any electronics knowledge.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    My influences are probably RetroUSB, Kevtris, and infiniteNESlives, all of whom were deep into developing for retro consoles before I was. I view them all as giants in the field, and something to aspire to. I still keep my eye on all of them, but infiniteNESlives is probably the one I keep track of the most. He's an all-around awesome guy, easy to talk to, and I can bounce questions off of him from time to time. Plus, he's always dabbling in something new, mainly for NES, and I always like seeing what he comes up with.

    The man, the infinite legend
     
    -What tools do you use to create?
    I use Eagle and KiCAD for my PCB design work, and a mix of Altera/Intel, GOWIN, and Xilinx (and their corresponding IDEs) for the FPGA/CPLDs that go into some of my products. I don't code actual games myself, but I use VS Code for when I need to cobble a test app together.
     
    -Your range of products spans consoles, including the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, N64, and Turbografx-16. Do you have a favorite console to design for? How does your work compare across consoles?
    My favourite console to design for is SNES - it's always been my favourite console. The actual PCB design process doesn't vary that much between, and I try to use similar parts across my product lines so that I can keep my inventory levels in check easier. The real differences lie in what parts are required for each, voltage levels, mappers (like for NES), different configurations in memory layout, etc. That varies for every console, with some being nice and simple (NES NROM boards), and some being super complicated (N64 boards).
     
    -You are one of few platforms for the production of others’ homebrew games, helping to grow the community and with all new parts. How did you develop those relationships, both in term of building a customer base for your products, as well as establishing the supply chains to make your store possible?
    Relationships with other members of the homebrew and dev community have taken years to form, and even then I feel like I'm not really a household name yet. A lot of my connections started out as a simple email, and grew into partnerships and friends. One of my closest partners is Mega Cat Studios, who I've worked with for a number of years now, providing them with hardware and know-how for a lot of their own projects. It's been a lot of fun!
     
    -Have you ever taken on any additional roles in game development beyond hardware? Would you ever want to create your own game?
    I'd love to create my own game, eventually, and even have some ideas on what I want to make! The problem is that I just don't have the time to devote to it, at least right now. Perhaps in the future I'll be able to sit down and actually put together some of my ideas. Until then, I'm happy to just be the man behind the hardware.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing new HuCard molds for the Turbografx-16 edition of Jessie Jaeger, as well as the cartridge shells for the other iterations of the game? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Developing the HuCard mold, and the mini PCB that holds the game data, was a real challenge. I'd never done 3D modeling before, so jumping in with both feet was a bit daunting. However, as with all my projects, I just continually threw myself at it until things finally started to take form. A dozen revisions later, and then another dozen once the plastic injection mold company was brought in, and a brand new HuCard was made! The PCB itself was another story, because the requirements for sizing didn't leave any room for error. The PCB is less than 0.3mm thick, and has very limited room for parts to go, so designing and routing everything was VERY time consuming. In the end, I'm extremely happy with the final product, and can't wait to see Jessie Jaeger get a HuCard release. I don't manufacture the cartridge shells myself, I have a supplier for that, but the PCBs in the Sega Genesis/MD version of Jessie Jaeger were designed and manufactured by me, though I did outsource some of the assembly to another local company.
     
    RetroStage’s Turbo Blaster: the first reprogrammable HuCard
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects or experiments in hardware you’re willing to share?
    Future "dream projects" I'd love to make would be inexpensive USB development carts for all of the consoles I support. I know that lots of people in development use Everdrives, but the cost of those can be a bit much for someone just starting out. I've also experimented with integrating new tech into retro games - but I can't say more on that yet!
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I'm very excited to see "Former Dawn" for the NES by Something Nerdy Studios. The game looks incredible, and from what I've seen it's going to push the NES to the limit!
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks for inviting me to this chat. For all the great people that have bought RetroStage products, and to all the folks that have helped me out over the years, I express my deepest gratitude and appreciation. I wouldn't be where I am today without their support, and I look forward to creating more new and fun things in the future!
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that explores new games for old consoles that are the latest adventures you seek. What are your thoughts on Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra’s Curse and its development team? Are you eager for a sequel? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  17. Scrobins

    Episode 29: Life on Mars

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 29: Life on Mars

    Introduction:
    When you create something special, something you are proud of that others enjoy, you might feel the urge to bring your work to as many outlets as possible in order to spread it further. In recent years, we’ve seen this as great homebrew games make their way from the NES and other older consoles to the Switch and other modern platforms. This has enabled games like NEScape to spread from the homebrew community to mainstream gaming audiences. Sometimes a homebrew’s trek works its way not only to modern gamers, but to other far-flung corners of homebrew, where some fans of one area of homebrew may not be aware of the exciting development emerging from another. By porting their games to other consoles, developers are helping to highlight the broader work of the originating scene as much as their own project, perhaps inspiring new ideas and collaboration.
    For this entry, I’m covering Life on Mars, a Metroidvania developed by Kai Magazine Software originally for the MSX2 computer, remade for the PC & Steam, and now adapted for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. As of the time of this writing, the initial pre-orders of the physical edition of the game have been fulfilled, and can still be purchased here.

    Life on Mars’ American edition box art in its seriously edgy glory
     
    Development Team:
    Oscar Kenneth Albero Ingles: programming
     
    Game Evolution:
    Signs of Life on Mars were first spotted as early as December 6, 2015, when Kai Magazine Software posted game footage on YouTube for its original release on the MSX2 computer. Life found a way to reach modern platforms when more YouTube videos of the game’s PC port began to appear on February 5, 2017. Kai Magazine Software then breathed new life into the game’s presence on retro consoles with a YouTube teaser for its Sega Genesis/Mega Drive adaptation on June 2, 2022.
    When pre-orders for this latest iteration of Life on Mars opened on their website, 4 box design choices were available for its release: a classic black-check European design, a blue-spined modern European design, a red-spined American design, and a black-spined Japanese design. All choices were for a CIB copy of the game, with a reversible cover, and 4 game postcards.

    Screenshot from Life on Mars for the MSX2
     
    Gameplay:
    Life on Mars describes itself as a Metroidvania, with an open map and upgrades to your skills, weapons, and shields, scattered throughout the landscape. You play as Sam, a recently hired maintenance worker for the Mars Scientific Colony 001. Traveling from Earth aboard the U.N.S.S. Barcelona, you are also investigating what happened to the colony since it broke off contact with Earth several months earlier. Maybe it has something to do with the life forms discovered in the Martian ice, which scientists mentioned in the colony’s reports just prior to breaking contact?
    Gameplay consists of exploration and repairs, using the Genesis X680000 computer terminals to report your progress back to the Barcelona and save your progress. Controls are straightforward: use the D-pad accordingly to move left/right, duck down, or aim your weapon above your head (either straight up, or at an angle); press the A-button to shoot your primary weapon (a plasma rifle), the B-button to jump, the C-button to fire your secondary weapon (grenade launcher or flame thrower, once acquired), press Start to toggle between your secondary weapons, and hold Start to access the status/map screen.

    Where you going? U.N.S.S. Barcelona. Oh.
     
    Review:
    Life on Mars is an atmospheric joy, delivering a fun adventure that is equal parts tense mystery and fun exploration, baked in good Metroidvania design. The only real flaw is that there isn’t more of it all. Gameplay follows the Super Metroid archetype: shooting, platforms, and upgrades that enable you to explore your environment more. The Martian colony is somewhat nonlinear, as some areas are technically always accessible (just brutally difficult without upgrades) while others do require a certain upgrade to proceed beyond the entrance. There is also an easy to reach workshop where you can upgrade your energy and the power of your plasma rifle, paid for with the energy cells you pick up from blasting baddies. Within some areas are also hidden areas with more upgrades, nestled behind obstacles, which can then open previously unreachable regions of previously explored levels. Taken together, the open map limited by your strength and upgraded stats, provide strategy to your exploration and a soft rail to your path. As someone who likes some sort of path to follow, this nonlinear-ish organization feels like a nice balance, like Dragon Warrior placing significantly stronger monsters in areas you aren’t supposed to venture yet. Your character will also wonder aloud that maybe they should leave, in case you don’t quite get the hint. And it’s this text that is another virtue of the game. Life on Mars includes entertaining, PG-13 edgy dialogue that fans of Kai Magazine Software’s other games will recognize. Meanwhile the game’s bosses bring a sort of bullet hell aspect to the platforming that will keep you on your toes. Fortunately, the infinite continues and save points make the frustration fun rather than tedious since losing your shield doesn’t mean you start over.

    Finally, the good guy respawns!
    And a climactic race against time imparts a thrilling punctuation mark to what is hopefully just an opening chapter.
    Life on Mars’ graphics are colorful, but have a certain corroded look, conveying a world that feels lived in and neglected due to the menace inhabiting the colony. The environments are well-developed, clearly distinguishing accessible terrain from the background, with subtle variations in texture and coloring that encourages you to poke around and explore. The music likewise communicates a creepiness that channels Resident Evil and Martian Gothic with a less-is-more approach. Combining a tense uncertainty with tones of militaristic confidence, the soundtrack offers a sense of lonely discomfort across the tracks, which are unique to each level, including the more upbeat rhythms that drop in for boss fights with stark escalation.
     
    Interviews:
    I don’t dare venture out with this game until I’ve gotten a full briefing from the developer on what to expect, here’s what he had to say…
     

    Oscar Kenneth Albero Ingles/Kai Magazine Software
    -Before we dive into Life on Mars, I would love to talk about you and your various backgrounds. What first inspired each of you to become homebrew game developers, pixel artists, and chiptune musicians? What are your origin stories? What is the story behind Kai Magazine Software?
    We grew up with the MSX and MSX2 computers. That system was developed in Japan, and it had incredibly colorful and playable games from the best Japanese companies of the era (Konami, Compile, Capcom and many others) so we became huge fans of the Japanese game style and playability.
    All the Kai Magazine components and collaborators share this same past.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    The 8-bit Japanese games from the 80’s from companies such as Konami, Capcom, etc.
    When the 16-bit era arrived we enjoyed the upgraded visuals and music and we got influences from the Japanese developers from that era, but personally I also grew to like some of the occidental 16-bit and 32-bit masterpieces, music style and graphics. 
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    Well, we designed all kinds of games (more than 20) with all kinds of aesthetics. Personally I love to experiment and mix things together, I like to include a bit of everything I like on each game.
    The main aesthetic we use is Japanese style (different kinds as needed) but for Life on Mars we went with a completely different aesthetic, more serious and darker in order to enhance the mystery and sci-fi horror.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create the overall game as well as its music and art?
    That depends on the system (MSX2, Intellivision, Genesis/Mega Drive). Each system requires its own tools, but the most commonly used are Notepad++ to code and Jasc Paint shop Pro 9 for the pixel art.
    For the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive we use DefleMask for the music.
     
    -How did you first connect with each other as the team came together?
    Through the MSX scene. We shared the same interests, and we had some need to express our creativity, so we tried, and it worked.

    Now you’re typing with power!
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration?
    We communicate via a WhatsApp group.
    We share ideas and give feedback; we usually vote on subjective matters.
     
    -Life on Mars and Metal Dragon are a recent expansion of your work to Sega Genesis/Mega Drive development. What encouraged you to make games for this console, and how does it compare to your work on the Intellivision or MSX?
    Making the jump to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive was something that I had in mind for many years, but the tools were not mature enough.
    Once the SGDK was mature enough with all the features that I needed to make my life a lot easier, we jumped in.
    It’s not that different code-wise. The main difference is that it is a lot more of work to make a full game. The console has many more resources, and the cartridges have more capacity so that tempts us to make bigger and better things, but that translates into 2 to 6 times more work than other systems.
     
    -At the heart of Life on Mars is its Metroidvania genre and mildly horror aesthetic, adapted from your release of the game for the MSX2 computer and the Life on Mars Remake for PC on Steam. What about Metroidvania games resonate so strongly with you? What inspired you to make these games and focus on these themes and game mechanics?
    I always loved Japanese RPGs and action RPGs. So when I played Castlevania Symphony of the night, I fell in love with that style of RPG.
    I am also a huge fan of the Metroid saga (the 2D ones) since I love the futuristic sci-fi settings, but I always missed an RPG element and currency.
    So the idea was easy: To create a game that would have the things I like about Metroid (sci-fi) the ones I like about Symphony of the Night (the RPG element), and I also added a handful of Aliens and a few drops of Dead Space for the setting and... TA-DA!
     
    -What elements are crucial for a good horror movie? What elements are crucial for a good game?
    What is a good movie or a good game? It’s subjective, so there are as many answers as there is people.
    Therefore I can only speak of what I try to add to our games and hope other people will like it:
    -A WOW factor on any aspect of the game, so it quickly catches the people’s interest such as a nice cover, nice graphics, humor like in the case of Metal Dragon, sampled music and dark backgrounds such as in Life on Mars, etc.
    -An interesting story (either because it is funny or mysterious)
    -Good playability and replayability. The player must want to keep playing.
    -Lots of explosions per minute ^_^
    -The game must feel familiar but also new and original at the same time, so we use old formulas, and we mix them with new elements and with the things we like.
    -Passion and love for the project you are working on. That shows into the final result.

    Screenshot from Metal Dragon by Kai Magazine Software
     
    -How would you say this iteration of the game differentiates itself from its previous releases on other platforms? Which version is your favorite?
    Each version has been made years after the previous one, with more experience and polish, correcting the things that didn’t work well in the previous ones and adding new things that will improve the final experience, so without a doubt my favorite version is the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive one, by far.
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind the protagonist technician’s design, and are there elements of yourself that you see in him or any other characters?
    We didn’t want the typical hero. We wanted a normal guy who would react like a normal guy in those situations and freak out, ask for help, use humor as a defense mechanism against the fact that his life is in danger and he is on a situation that no one has been before and he doesn’t understand, etc.
    I guess he is a bit like us.

    Now I’m just imagining Oscar driving around in this singing: “If you wanna go and take a ride with me,
    wanna blast some bots at the colony, oh why do I feel this waaaay? Ay, must be the monay!”
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Life on Mars in its various iterations? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Each version was for a completely different platform, so it was a challenge every time.
    With the Genesis/Mega Drive version the biggest challenge was to fit the 200Mb PC game inside the 4096Kb of the cartridge, with sampled music and sound effects, and still make it look very similar to the PC version, and in some respects, even better.
    The only thing I can share with others is:
    Things are not as simple or easy as we think before we start. Things are A LOT harder than anyone thinks (even me) so it requires a HUGE amount of perseverance and motivation not to give up. You REALLY must love what you are working on, otherwise you will end up quitting when you realize things are not as easy as you expected.
    So, work on a project you love, with friends or colleagues that respect you and help you instead of giving you problems, and never, ever give up.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Life on Mars. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
    It’s really great! Literally a dream come true.
    We are very grateful and full of optimism and good energy to put into our next project!
    I deeply thank everyone for their support!
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Genesis/Mega Drive, Intellivision, MSX, or otherwise? Any dream projects?
    Yes, we started working on 2 projects for the Genesis/Mega Drive, a shorter one and a longer one which is our dream project.
    The shorter one will help fund the longer one.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Too many to count!
    I almost exclusively only play indie games and homebrew games.
    There is a lot of talent out there and not many people can appreciate their work and talent the same way I do, because I know firsthand how difficult things are and the amount of work that something takes.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thank you everyone for your support and I hope you will keep supporting us with our future projects.
    We will do our best to get better and better and to be able to give you better games every time.
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that takes the deep dive into latest games for old consoles that are the newest essentials of your collection. What are your thoughts on Life on Mars and Kai Magazine Software? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

     
  18. Scrobins

    Episode 28: Copper Jacket

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 28: Copper Jacket

    Introduction:
    I try very hard to stay informed of what’s happening in homebrew. Keeping tabs on a number of developers’ pages and social media sometimes causes my phone to buzz nonstop. But for all my dorky vigilance, several devs often suddenly pop up on my radar with very fleshed out projects, and it’s all I can do not to break my devices hitting refresh for any news. Homebrew can be a very diffused community, and identifying newcomers hoping to attract attention and support can be difficult. Which is all the more reason to spread the word of good games and talented devs whenever possible.
    For this entry, I’m covering Copper Jacket, an action-shooter developed by Monsoon Studios for the NES. As of the time of this writing, Copper Jacket has fulfilled its Kickstarter pledges, and the availability of additional runs is unknown.

    The limited edition Silver Bullet and Copper Gold carts
     
    Development Team:
    Nicholas Monson: programming
     
    Game Evolution:
    Monsoon Studios first teased their work on Copper Jacket with a thread on NESdev, beginning December 29, 2019. A virtuous cycle of feedback and updates ensued, as the game became more polished with the input of the community.
    After a brief quiet period, Copper Jacket launched on Kickstarter on November 16, 2021. Backer tiers, cleverly organized by military rank, included soundtrack files, a rom of the game, cart-only, regulation edition CIB, limited copper gold and silver bullet cartridge editions, early delivery, and the ability to have your name featured in the game & manual. By the time the campaign concluded its mission, 244 backers had pledged more than $16,000 toward the game’s production. By October 2022, Monsoon Studios began fulfilling orders.

    Early demo screenshot of Copper Jacket
     
    Gameplay:
    Copper Jacket describes itself as an action-shooter in the vein of Ikari Warriors. You play as Ivan and Anatoly, two highly trained soldiers determined to defeat Commander Zaslavsky, your former boss who foolishly thought he could blackmail you into doing his bidding after kidnapping your fiancé, Khristina. You must infiltrate Zaslavsky’s defenses across five zones and a multitude of enemies to stick it to your old boss and save your blushing bride-to-be.
    Gameplay consists of run & gun dynamics, upgrading your weapons as you progress. Controls are easy to learn: the D-pad moves you around accordingly with 8-direction movement, the A-button places/detonates bombs, the B-button fires your primary weapon, Start pauses the game, and Select toggles 1-2 player mode.
     
    Review:
    Copper Jacket is an engrossing adventure, daring you to get farther without taking damage in order to hold onto your preferred weapon. Every time I got hit, I would curse and rededicate myself to playing a little bit better and avoid dumb errors just so I could have my spread shot longer. Copper Jacket sets you on your way baked in its Final Fight-esque story with a Contra Frosting. I may be hungry, but this is still an apt metaphor. And what else could one ask for? As much as homebrew may push the boundaries of what is possible on the NES or elsewhere, there’s always an appetite for games that competently add a new entry to a genre underserved by homebrew’s existing library.
    Gameplay follows a vertical-oriented run & gun format, with a strong emphasis on the running. Enemies are designed to reward those who barrel forward and past them rather than tentatively tip toe into the ideal position to shoot. A possible idea for a hard mode might be to enable baddies to turn around to shoot you. That’s not to say charging ahead is easy, as the varied terrain can impact your speed and bog you down. Especially the bogs, which force you to think on your feet. With splitting paths you have variations to each level that nicely enhance the game’s replayability. Not that I have any concerns on that front, because this game’s difficulty puts it alongside Contra and other hallmarks of the “NES hard” pantheon. Thank goodness you don’t die from a single hit! And extra thank goodness there are infinite continues that will drop you back at the beginning of the level segment in which you died. If I haven’t said it enough throughout this series, I am a TERRIBLE gamer. So I died. A lot. When it wasn’t the Contra-inspired wall miniboss, it was the actual first boss who has an easy enough to remember pattern, but who is still a challenge to hit without taking damage yourself.

    Screenshot from a later draft of Copper Jacket
    Copper Jacket’s graphics are reminiscent of mid-era NES offerings like Ikari III, with big sprites and bright colors with well-designed tiles that make levels pretty without being distracting. As much as I like to praise levels that look like pieces of art, in a fast-paced game such as this, the detailed, functional design of sprites and levels ensured I never felt stuck coming around corners, unable to take cover, or fall prey to the ever-hated oversized hitbox. The soundtrack loops its level’s song, propelling you forward with its adventurous melody, but repeating in a way that makes you feel compelled to always advance and not get bogged down in place. And while I don’t ordinarily comment on sound effects, I can’t not appreciate the default single shot weapon’s Dick Tracy gun sound, that just plain makes me happy. This game gets points from me just for that.
     
    Interviews:
    For the full mission report on Copper Jacket, I debriefed its developer…
     

    Nicholas Monson/Monsoon Studios
    @MonsoonStu
    -Before we dive into Copper Jacket, I would love to talk about you and your various backgrounds. What first inspired you to become a homebrew game developer, pixel artist, and chiptune musician? What is your origin story? What is the story behind Monsoon Studios?
    I have always been interested in graphics and visual aesthetics. Looks are very important, after all, there are studies that suggest that more than half of the human brain is involved with processing visual information in some manner. For me, I not only love looking at art, but I also love making it. For instance, I love drawing in my free time (and during times when I should have been paying attention in school). That said, what initially got me interested in pixel art, oddly enough, was working with fuse beads as a kid. I find the limited nature of bead art dovetails nicely into making pixel art. 
     
    As I grew older, I eventually switched over to making artwork in MS paint 98 – a program I still use today. During the 2000s I made several sprite animations (videos) and developed a closer relationship with pixel art in terms of background development as well as sprite character development. That said, I didn’t have a deep appreciation for pixel art until I was in my early 20s. It was then when I started to replay some games I had as a kid – like Batman for the NES – that I came to love pixel art. I bought several books on the subject and began to look at the work of various artists (Fool, Helm, Made, Jamon, Big Brother, and Alien to name a few). This inspired me to improve my skills in this domain.
     
    As for becoming a chiptune musician, I was mainly inspired by the demoscene and listening to keygen music. There are countless musicians I love listening to, Pink, Emax, Dultrax, Estrayk, Ghidorah, Maktone, and Strobe are a few – look them up on the Modarchive! Growing up I played the trumpet, piano, and various percussion instruments and began composing music in FruityLoops around the time I got into sprite animation. Having this background allowed me to transition into writing MOD and XM (MODule and eXtended Module) files somewhat easily by the late 2000s. I then joined a demoscene art group called NERVE and wrote songs for them. I also did some freelance work as well as some collaborative work with a few other artists (Peak, LHS, and a few others) around this time as well. Eventually the demo group I was a part of died out and I then started working on chiptunes for other platforms – like the Gameboy, NES, SNES, C64, and Genesis.

    Manfred Linzner aka Pink
    As far as games go, what first inspired me to make games was really the desire to combine a lot of my interests together. Making games is a great way of combining pixel art, retro computing, and chiptune compositions into one form. In addition to this, I liked the idea of making video games because, as a kid, I thought it was nearly impossible to do. A game is a fantasy world that you can experience in this world. To have the ability to conjure up a world in your head -- the characters, the scenes, the music, the mechanics -- and bring it into reality, especially through assembly, is an empowering experience and invokes a feeling that I really can’t put into words.

    As of now, I would say my predilection for 1980s and 1990s aesthetics and technology is what drives me the most. The fondness I have for this era’s cultural artifacts is fueled in part by nostalgia but more by a sense of awe. Vintage computers, printers, electric motors, cameras, color CRT monitors, tape players, synthesizers, these devices are astonishing if you really stop and think about what they do, their impact on art and society, and how they work. For me, having a deep understanding of these “obsolete” devices, among others, instills in me a sense of wonder. This inspires me to continue to make art for these relics. Needless to say, I am interested in the preservation and continuation of older tech. Producing new media for these devices gives me the sense that I am continuing their life. On a personal note, I find the idea of “continuing life” or “survival” to be deeply meaningful -- it’s one of my core principles.

    As for Monsoon Studios this principle of “continuation” is more focused on entertainment media. More specifically, it’s centered on continuing the life of retro video games and other associated artworks (by "associated artworks" this refers to vintage ads made with old tech, airbrush and acrylic cover art, etc.). I started Monsoon Studios in the mid-2010s with this mission in mind. The first game Necrolance was a step into the world of retro, and Copper Jacket is the first full commitment to the studio’s values.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    When it comes to NES game development, I must say that the works of Konami, Natsume, and Sunsoft are my biggest influences. As for who I like to watch closely now, I’d say it would be the folks over at Morphcat Games. The work they produce is certainly high quality.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game designed by you?
    Well as far as visual styling and design goes, I like to make things that are detailed, but not too detailed. For early NES games this is not an easy thing to do, and I've certainly learned my lesson on this the hard way. As of now, I can't say that any of my work has some distinct excellence. Maybe one day this will be the case. Currently, I'm mainly experimenting by mixing various game mechanics together.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create the overall game as well as its music and art?
    The tools I use are for the most part simple and are ones that I've been using for decades now. I use a large MS paint canvas for pixel graphics, Adobe Photoshop (2007) for logos and other artwork, Notepad++ for ASM, FamiTracker for music, Eagle PCB for PCB design, and for level design I use an old version of GameMaker. In addition to this, I have a collection of programs that help glue all the media these tools produce together. For instance, I wrote a program that reads level data files from GameMaker and converts it into a compressed format that is digestible by the 6502 assembler I use.
     
    -Copper Jacket is a recent expansion of your work to NES development, following Necrolance, a Gameboy Color-inspired adventure for the PC. What encouraged you to make games for this console, and how does it compare to your work on the PC?
    There were several things that pushed me towards the NES world. Firstly, I wanted to make something that was physical, not just digital. In addition to this, I wanted to develop something simple to see what challenges came with producing a cartridge as well as the game. Originally, I wanted to make this game for DOS, but later set my sights on the NES after learning more about 6502 assembly and the NES’ architecture.

    Screenshot for Necrolance, released for the PC by Monsoon Studios

    As far as PC development vs NES development goes, I'd say the high-level fundamentals are the same, but the low-level design is completely different. How to handle memory, sounds, and graphics for instance, these are worlds apart.
     
    -At the heart of Copper Jacket is its action-shoot aesthetic, reminiscent of Metal Gear, Commando, and Ikari Warriors. What about this genre resonates so strongly with you? What inspired you to make this type of game?
    Playing Metal Gear definitely inspired me to make Copper Jacket. I wanted to make a game that was a bit of a fusion between Metal Gear and Contra. I had the idea when I was replaying Metal Gear a few years back. I suppose what resonates with me here in this genre is the fantasy of one man (perhaps accompanied with a friend) going into a huge military base and overthrowing it with sheer will and skill, in order to save a loved one, the planet, or something of vastly great importance/value.
     
    -What elements are crucial for a good action game?
    Well, I'd say the most critical element is action with a bit of variety, I say this sincerely. For me, there should always be some type of physical challenge you must face. You don't want to be meandering around in a level facing only a handful of enemies and challenges. This would make the action game plodding; instead, the player should be forced to take action as they advance. In addition to this, the challenges should change. New enemies should be introduced, and different combinations of enemies and obstacles should be presented to the player in order to keep them engaged. Now, when it comes to making an action game on the NES, especially in the early days, I believe that the difficulty bar should be raised. This is mainly due to the small size of the game. If the game were made too easy, then you may only get 25 minutes of play time. The challenge here for the developer is recognizing what the proper amount of difficulty is needed. This is where play testers come in.
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist, who serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind Commander Zaslavsky’s design, and are there elements of yourself that you see in him or any other characters?
    I must admit that I’d like to see some of myself in the game’s protagonist, but realistically I’m not so daring. For those who don’t know, the story behind Copper Jacket is that you were formerly a top operative for the ruthless Commander Zaslavsky. At some point, Zaslavsky tries to make you do his dirty work in which the protagonist refuses, you don’t wish to compromise your values. It’s at this point Zaslavsky kidnaps your wife-to-be in order to manipulate you. You, however, reject the commander’s demands and go on a rescue mission to save your beloved. Zaslavsky, manipulative as he may be, is also a bit arrogant. He completely dismisses the possibility of defeat, after all, what is a few men compared to an entire military base? The problem here is that Zaslavsky’s men have no real motivation, they are just blindly following orders, whereas you, the protagonist, are highly motivated to save your love and to seek justice. In summation, the fantasy here involves taking on an absurdly prodigious force – through will and determination -- and overcoming all odds and challenges. This is all done to preserve your values and save someone close to you. This type of narrative is old as time itself and is one that I am personally fond of. It’s simple and heroic. In addition to this, I think the moral here is something that a lot of people can easily understand and can relate to. For this reason, I think it makes for a good NES game plot.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Copper Jacket? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    I certainly learned a lot, and was definitely presented with many challenges, such as inflation and the supply chain crisis. These two events made everything more difficult on the physical side of things. In addition to this, getting the correct box materials, labels, and booklets was also not so trivial. I must have gone through 4 different label types for the NES cartridge. The problem here is that you don't want a label that flexes up after you apply it, and it should resemble the style of original NES cartridges. For boxes, the company I went with incorrectly printed the artwork several times. Some came out with white streaks, others had too low of a DPI level, some were the wrong dimensions and were made of a material that was too flimsy. I also had some orders that were just lost in shipping and never came. If someone were to attempt to make their own carts, be sure to order proofs. Never pay for a large quantity of something until you've seen it physically with your own eyes.

    As far as the digital side of things goes, I was presented with a different set of challenges. The main hurdle here was just size. PC games can take up a lot of space, but CNROM NES games do not have such a luxury. The small size of a game forces you to make certain design decisions, and the challenge here is to make something that's fun out of the limits you've been presented with.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Copper Jacket on NESdev, Kickstarter, and on social media. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
    It certainly is exciting! It's nice to know that there are others who are enthusiastic about the NES in this day and age.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Your site mentions another game in the planning stages.
    Yes, there is another game currently being developed as of now -- spoiler alert -- it's another NES game. The plan for this project is to use a mapper based off Nintendo's MMC3 ASIC; that is to say, a TxROM game. This will allow for better graphics and more gameplay. Personally, I'd like to develop several NES games with this type of mapper. I have a collection of assets (music and art) that I've been working on intermittently over the past 8 years and I'd like to eventually use them in a few different NES games.
    As for dream projects, I certainly have a few. One dream project of mine is to develop a Dreamcast game -- maybe something that resembles Deus Ex or Resident Evil. Such an effort would probably take 10 years to finish though.
    Another project I have in my to-do list is a 3D adventure game, although I'm on the fence for what system -- either N64 or Dreamcast.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I am looking forward to playing Full Quiet – looks like it’s going to be something special.

    It’s a good time to be a fan of this game
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about my background and Copper Jacket. In addition to this, I’d like to give a shoutout to Airbrush Asylum for producing a wonderful airbrush render of the game’s cover art. Finally, I would like to thank everyone for the support!
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that takes the high dive into those new games for old consoles that will soon be the classics of your collection. What are your thoughts on Copper Jacket and Monsoon Studios? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

     
  19. Scrobins

    Episode 27: Dangerous Demolition

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 27: Dangerous Demolition

    Introduction:
    If nebulae are the cradles for new stars, game jams and other compos often serve as the cradles for promising new homebrew. Though it is uncommon for jam games to continue into full-fledged productions, it is rarer still to see any new games receive the physical treatment. Nonetheless these challenges and competitions bring out the best in retro console love, demonstrating the creativity of devs, and highlighting the depth of even the most obscure console’s homebrew library. Therefore, it is all the more important to recognize when a game jam (or in this case, two!) gives rise to a physical release for a vastly underrated system.
    For this entry, I’m covering Dangerous Demolition, a hybrid top down shooter & block breaker developed by Dr. Ludos for the Sega Master System. As of the time of this writing, a digital release of the game is in the works, and a CIB physical edition is available from Coté Gamers here.
     
    Development Team:
    @Dr. Ludos: programming
    @Jaden (Jaden Houghton): music

    CIB with the sweet hang tab action
     
    Game Evolution:
    For the full story behind Dangerous Demolition’s development, you might enjoy reading the Dangerous Demolition Making Of booklet, also available for purchase from Coté Gamers. But to highlight some of its important moments, this game’s story begins in 2018, when Dr. Ludos developed the first iteration of the game as his entry into the 2018 Ludum Dare game jam, which challenges participants to create something from scratch in 48 hours. The jam’s theme that year was to combine two incompatible genres. Deciding to meld shoot ‘em up and Breakout’s style, Dr. Ludos created Shootanoid, in which your character shoots lasers to charge up balls in order to break bricks.

    Screenshot of Shootanoid from Ludum Dare 41
    Two years later, Dr. Ludos adapted his game for the 2020 Coding Competition hosted by SMS Power!, which emphasizes 8-bit Sega consoles. Dr. Ludos ported Shootanoid from its original TIC-80 software to the Game Gear, taking six months to transform the game into what he now called Dangerous Demolition. Though the game placed second to last, it was notably the only Game Gear entry in the compo that year. As such Dr. Ludos was undaunted, hoping to bring something to the underserved Game Gear homebrew community. Dr. Ludos continued working on the game, carrying it over to the Sega Master System, and teaming up with Raphaël and Coté Gamers to bring Dangerous Demolition to physical release in mid-2022.

    Screenshot from Dangerous Demolition (Game Gear) from SMS Power! Coding Competition
     
    Gameplay:
    Dangerous Demolition describes itself as a mix of top down shooter and Breakout-style brick breaking. You play as D.D., the fearless protagonist tasked with shooting at balls in order to charge them up and use them to break bricks across 30 levels. Gameplay is very detail-oriented, so be mindful of the environment. Each level provides balls you will use to break walls, however you cannot touch the balls directly. Instead, using either button to shoot and the D-pad to navigate, you use your laser to charge up the balls, turning them from gray to red. Strategy and precision are important as your goal is to break a certain type of brick: orange bricks are your typical targets, and gray keyhole bricks have to be hit with your laser before you can access what’s behind them. Meanwhile you have to work around the unbreakable blue bricks and completely avoid the insta-death skull bricks. Now I know why demolition is so dangerous!

    Screenshot from Dangerous Demolition for the Sega Master System
     
    Review:
    Dangerous Demolition takes a number of familiar elements and reinvents the genre to provide something refreshingly addictive. You might go into this game thinking you know enough from playing Breakout, but if you rely too much on your assumptions, it’s you who’s about to get broken. Gameplay seems easy enough as you shoot & avoid balls in a relatively large space, especially considering how adorably tiny your sprite is. However the screen suddenly feels much smaller when you have to contend with multiple balls at once.

    Avoiding all these double entendres is the real minefield
    While it would be easy to charge the balls and stand back (since once charged and turned red, the balls stay that way), the fun of a stopwatch tracking your time, allowing you to set speed records means you want to continuously enter the fray to redirect balls again and again. I wonder what gameplay would feel like if there was a mode in which balls reverted back to gray after a certain period of time, forcing you to essentially pay closer to attention to each ball to ensure it’s working for your benefit. With infinite continues and a save system, the game encourages you to go bold. The funny explosion that results from you getting hot by a ball might also be another reason to go for broke. Dangerous Demolition had the potential to be a tedious clone of a genre done to death by devs trying to demonstrate their burgeoning skills, but fortunately Dr. Ludos shows off why he’s the good doctor, giving new life to an old classic.
    As I said earlier, the sprites are 8-bit tiny and cute, but not so small you can’t see or distinguish blocks. Your character has a jaunty step as he walks; I wish I could be so consistently perky at work. Meanwhile Jaden’s musical accompaniment brings a bubbly yet tense ambiance to gameplay that I think of as a happy focus: you’re intent on getting the job done and no force on earth will pull you from your task, but also maybe you whistle merrily while you work.
     
    Interviews:
    For a behind the scenes look into the game’s development and the stories that led to its creation, I interviewed the two members of the development team about their backgrounds and inspiration…
     

    Dr. Ludos
    @Dr. Ludos
    -Before we dive into Dangerous Demolition, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Dr. Ludos and Ludoscience? Is that your actual name or does it have relevance to your work or background?
    As many readers of this blog and forum, I grew up playing video games. I have a lot of nostalgia and passion for games in general, and more specifically retro video games. So my first inspiration to become a homebrewer was to fulfil a childhood dream: creating a game for the consoles of my childhood :). I actually achieved this dream with my first projects (Sheep It Up! for Game Boy and Yo-Yo Shuriken for SNES). But the fun thing with homebrew is that while fulfilling a childhood dream I learned a lot about how retro gaming machines work under the hood. This is a very captivating topic in itself, and it somehow boosted my interest in making homebrew games. I love to discover how “new” machines work, and I try to use their limitation to make some fun games.

    Screenshot from Yo Yo Shuriken for the SNES
    Making games for machines released before the mid 2000’s is a very different experience from making games for modern consoles or computers. Today, you’ll use a lot of engines and tools that provides a lot of (necessary) abstraction from the machine. But with gaming machines from the 70-80-90’s you don’t have an operating system or some fancy abstraction layer: you often work “on the metal” and program the hardware directly. And that is a very fun experience :)!
    So yes, I think my motivation is a mix of nostalgia for consoles of the past and a thirst of a new knowledge for how these machines work, and the fun you can have programming them.
    Regarding the Dr. Ludos “pen name”, it’s simply a nod to “Ludoscience.” Ludoscience is an associative R&D laboratory gathering a few researchers from various Universities interested in the scientific study of games in general. We have worked together since 2006, and we made a lot of work dedicated to Serious Games (using games for education, etc.) for example.
    Although this is not my professional job, I have been an amateur game designer & developer since my youth. Under various pen names, I always loved to create some small games in my spare time, for the PC, for the Web, and since 2017 for retro gaming machines. I’ve also always been very interested about the history of video games, so being able to make games for old machines is pure joy for me!
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I think I first discovered the idea of “homebrew” (as “making new games for old consoles”) back in 2008, with a series of articles published in a Retro Gaming magazine I was subscribed to: Pix’N Love. Those articles delivered news about all those new cool games for our old machines, and were written by RayXambeR. In my country, RayXambeR is a legendary figure and longtime supporter of the homebrew scene. Nowadays, he is working for Coté Gamers, and manages their “homebrew games” publishing division, while still writing news about the latest homebrew games. So I’m very grateful to RayXambeR for his articles, and I’m very honored to work with him on a few of my current homebrew projects.
    Regarding homebrew creators themselves, I’m a huge fan of Sebastian Mihai (http://sebastianmihai.com/). Over the course of several years, he created homebrew for almost all retro gaming machines, often using “modern SDK” to do so. I really love all the projects he did, and how he shared all of them open source on his website. He was, and still is, a big inspiration to me. Being able to create games for so many different systems is outstanding. Although I’m far from reaching his technical excellence, I also share most of my projects as open source and I try to write “post-mortem articles” on my projects. I think it’s important to help other people to create games for their childhood machines. I feel that it’s a very important part of the homebrew communities: people there are all driven by a passion for these awesome machines, and they are always very helpful for those who want to start making their own games.
    And for the homebrewers I’m currently watching, there are too many to name them all: half of my Twitter feed features other game developers sharing their progress on their current project for old consoles or computers! 
    🙂
     
    -You’ve released a number of homebrew games, how would you describe your aesthetic?
    I’m not sure if we can say that I have an “aesthetic” per se, but I always try my best to design games that are fun to play while being original or unique.
    For example, the Dangerous Demolition project actually started in 2018 as an experimental web game project that I created for the Ludum Dare 41 game jam. I participated in the “compo” category, where people had to come up with a new original game from scratch in 48 hours under the theme “Combine 2 Incompatible Genres.” So I decided to try to mix “Breakout/Arkanoid” gameplay with a top-down shooter. The result, titled “Shootanoid”, can be played from here: https://drludos.itch.io/shootanoid
    About 2 years later, I decided to revisit this game concept for homebrew, and created a (very limited) prototype of Dangerous Demolition for the Game Gear, that entered the SMS Power Competition 2020. I then spent about 2 years to improve the game (remaking basically everything from scratch), while porting it to the Master System too. I try my best to make it suitable for a physical release.
    Although there are some exceptions, many of my projects follow a similar pattern: trying to come up with an original and fun game for a game jam or development competition, with limited time. Then, if the project shows some potential, I’ll spend as much time as needed to improve it and make a “full game” worthy of a physical release. So I don’t know if it’s an aesthetic per se, but an approach or methodology to creating homebrew that I use very often.
     
    -Have you noticed any changes in your style or game development preferences over the years?
    Yes, the more I create homebrew games, the more ideas for other games I have - but sadly I lack time to work on all of them! Honestly, many ideas wouldn’t lead to good games in the end I guess, but still it’s somewhat frustrating to not be able to pursue all the game concept I have in mind.
    Regarding style, even if I work on different machines, many of them have some similarities (e.g. all the tile-based display games consoles such as the Colecovision, SG-1000, NES, Master System, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, Neo-Geo, etc.). So my technical knowledge tends to grow over time. It enables me to attempt to more “ambitious” projects - or at least to be able to program game concepts that I wasn’t skilled enough to make a few years ago.
    I’m a hobbyist at core, so I don’t have a plan or a set trajectory defined. I often decide to try a project for a new machine because I’ve been inspired by another fellow homebrew project or write-up. Honestly, I don’t think I have some kind of real “changes” to share with you for this question, as I’ve been working like that since several years now :).
     
    -Another fascinating aspect of your work is that you develop games across multiple consoles, including the Gameboy, SNES, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, and Atari 2600. What has led you to transcend consoles when many other brewers prefer to stick to one console?
    Thanks for the kind words! As I said, my main inspiration for this is Sebastian Mihai. When I discovered that a single developer could make games for tens of different retro machines, it was very cool and inspiring. I have a lot of respect and admiration for homebrewers who focus on a single machine, and I usually lean a lot on the documentation and open-source projects they have released to get started on each “new” machine I work on. But personally I have too much fun learning new thing to focus on a single machine, and I prefer to try my hand at all the machines that I have some nostalgia for :).

    Screenshot from GB Corp., a Gameboy game recently funded on Kickstarter
    I think part of the “secret” to being able to work across different machines is to rely on modern tools to make games, such as cross-compilers for high level languages like C or Basic (e.g. CC65 for the 6502 machines like the NES, the Apple II and the Atari 8-bit computers, or SDCC for the Z80 machines like the Colecovision, the Master System, the Game Gear and the Game Boy, etc.). That way you can leverage the programming skills from one machine to another, even if they use different CPU architectures. It also allows you to focus more on the game design part, as most of the modern libraries do a lot of the low level work for you, like managing VRAM, driving audio hardware, etc. For example, GBDK-2020 is a godsend to make Game Boy games (and GB Studio, the wonderful “code-less” tool to make GB Games, is actually an extra layer on top of GBDK). SGDK is magical when it comes to program SEGA Genesis Games, and PVSNESlib does the same for the SNES. Last but not least, DevkitSMS (with PSGlib audio driver) makes the creation of games for the Master System and Game Gear much easier. That’s what I used to make Dangerous Demolition. Thanks to its author Sverx (https://github.com/sverx/devkitSMS) for creating such a wonderful tool!
     
    -Do you have a favorite console you prefer to program for? What are the unique joys and challenges of programming for each?
    That’s a tough question. Honestly, I enjoy programming for all the consoles I’ve tried so far. If I were to rank them in the difficulty I had to create games for them using current modern tools, the list would be [easiest to hardest]: Game Boy, Mega Drive, Game Boy Advance, Atari Lynx, NES, Game Gear, Master System, Neo-Geo, Atari 2600, SNES and Atari Jaguar. Some machines are more difficult to use than others, but this is part of the fun! 
    🙂
    But if I have to pick only one, I’ll go with the Game Boy. First of all, it is a powerful machine, but simple enough for a solo developer to make really great games, sometimes rivalling commercial productions of the 90’s. The console has a very iconic aesthetic with its 4 colors graphics and unique audio chip. The hardware is also very well designed IMHO, and is a pleasure to program for. Last but not least, this is arguably the console that has the best selection of modern tools to make games for it:
    - If you don’t know how to program, you can use GB Studio and make very great games without writing a single line of code: https://www.gbstudio.dev/
    - If you want to program the game in a high-level language, you can use C with the wonderful GBDK-2020 SDK: https://github.com/gbdk-2020/gbdk-2020
    - And if you want full control over the machine, there are also modern assemblers like the awesome RGBDS that will allow you to fully master the console: https://github.com/gbdev/rgbds
    - There are quantities of solutions to test your game on real hardware (GB Everdrive, BennVenn flashcarts, loads of different “EEPROM” based solutions, etc.) and on your development computer (BGB is my favorite emulator thanks to a very high accuracy and powerful debugging tools, but loads of great GB emulators exists for almost all platforms).
    - Besides the tools, the community also has produced a large quantity of documentation to help you make game on the machine, like the reference “Pan Docs”: https://gbdev.io/pandocs/
    - And speaking of community, there are a lot of homebrewers working on the Game Boy right now, and you chat with them using a wide variety of tools (Discord, Forum, IRC... or Twitter!): https://gbdev.io/chat
     
    -What tools do you use to code?
    It depends on the projects, but I usually use a SDK or library allowing me to program in a high-level language (mainly C, but I love other languages too!). They usually come with some tools to convert graphics and audio assets too. For Dangerous Demolition, I used DevkitSMS. It relies on C and provides you with everything you need to make SG-1000, Master System and Game Gear games.
    Regarding code typing, I’m a huge fan and user of Scite since about 2006. It’s very lightweigtht, yet it provides me with everything I need to program. 
    🙂
    For testing, I obviously use flashcarts to test my games on real hardware (Everdrive). But I also use emulators a lot, especially in the “gameplay fine tuning” stage of development (level design, difficulty curve balancing, etc.). It allows me to try new ideas very quickly, and when they seem to work, I put the ROM on a Flashcart to test it more extensively on my console.
     
    -Your games have been published by several major distributors, including Catskull Electronics, Yatsuna Games, and most recently Côté Gamers. What qualities do you look for when choosing someone to publish your games?
     
    Well, the first quality I’m seeking for each project is that they are able to produce a physical release for a game I made! 
    🙂
    I’m an amateur / hobbyist, so I tend to work with likeminded publishers, who are not afraid to take risky or niche projects. For example, when Coté Gamers agreed to work on Dangerous Demolition with me for the Game Gear and the Master System, there were very few homebrew for these systems. Parts to manufacture carts were not widely available, meaning the few available releases sometimes had to “recycle” part from commercial games of the 90’s. We are all game collectors at heart, so we prefer to avoid destroying existing games to produce our own. So the first thing Coté Gamers had to do was to hire a technical wizard to design a Master System PCB (and later a Game Gear one too!), so we could build the game without destroying or recycling commercial games from the 90’s. Then they had to source new cartridge shells, new boxes, and print all the manuals and covers.
    They did all that knowing that the Master System is a very niche system. Thus, it would take them more time and effort to produce a physical release for my game, and resulting sales would be very limited compared to other platforms like the NES for example. But they were and still are very excited about the project because they are huge fans of the Master System. They prefer to invest in making new games for the machines they love than focusing on earning money. That’s very rare, and I admire them for that. Only in the homebrew or hobbyist communities you can find people willing to produce / release projects putting passion over money.
     
    -How did you connect with Jaden to use his music for the game? How did you connect with Côté Gamers to handle publishing?
    I love to listen to chiptune music, especially music composed to run on retro consoles or computer hardware. So I tend to browse Battle of the Bits from time to time, and enjoy discovering new (chip)tunes. That’s were I found Jaden’s track titled “On the Run” that you can hear during gameplay. I managed to get in touch with him and I asked permission to use his music in my project. He happily agreed, and even offered me another SMS track he composed, titled “I Dunno”, that I used for the title screen. I really love both music tracks, and I’m grateful that Jaden let me use them for Dangerous Demolition - thanks again Jaden!
    Regarding Coté Gamers, I was already in touch with them as they made a physical release of my three SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games on cartridge: 30 Years of Nintendon’t (main game), alongside Break an Egg and MeteoRain (bonus games). We worked well together, and I knew they were hardcore SMS fans. So when I started a Game Gear project, I contacted them. Indeed, Dangerous Demolition prototype was originally developed for Game Gear - this console is basically a portable Master System. We discussed and they agreed to publish the Game Gear version. But they were also very interested in a Master System version, so I worked hard on making a full game for both consoles! 
    🙂
     
    -What went into the decision that Dangerous Demolition would be a Sega Master System game instead of a different platform?
    As I said, I started by developing a Game Gear version of the game, out of my personal love for the console. For whatever reason, the Game Gear doesn’t seem very popular among retro gamers, but it’s a very good handheld with loads of interesting games (my personal favorite being “Popils”). Having already completed games for the Game Boy, the SNES and the Atari 2600, I wanted to try my hand at another console I loved, and it was Game Gear’s turn! ;).

    Screenshot from Popils for Game Gear
    The Game Gear is basically a portable Master System: the main differences are the smaller screen area, 160x144px instead of 256x192px, and a larger color palette. As I love the Master System too, I figured this would be a nice project to port the game to the Master System too. So I developed both versions of the game in parallel. The core gameplay code is identical between the two, but I redesigned all the levels to use the larger screen area in the Master System. The block layouts were modified. I also had to rebalance difficulty on all the levels, for example by setting different numbers of maximum balls on screen for each level.
    That way, you can enjoy the game on the Sega 8-bit machine on the go or at home depending on the consoles you have in your collection! 
    🙂
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Dangerous Demolition? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Although the Master System and the Game Gear don’t have the same level of popularity as the NES and the Game Boy, they are actually not that different from Nintendo’s machines from a game developer perspective. If you have made a game for the Game Boy, you’ll have no issue making a game for the Game Gear. And once you have a Game Gear version, it’s very easy to adapt it to the Master System.
    Despite being less popular, the Game Gear and the Master System have very good development kits and other tools to make homebrew. They don’t have “code-less” solution like NESMaker and GB Studio (yet!), but they have high level language programming kits on par with what you can find for Nintendo’s consoles. DevkitSMS is arguably as powerful as GBDK and NESLib when it comes to developing a game in C for the Master System and Game Gear! You also have excellent and accurate emulators (Emulicious, MEKA, Kega Fusion, etc.), and very good Flashcarts to test you game on real hardware (Krikkz’s Everdrive GG and Master Everdrive).
    Compared to NES and Game Boy, the SEGA 8-bit machine has a few particularities that I discovered while making the game:
    - For one, unlike the NES and the Game Boy, the Master System and Game Gear sprites can display up to 15 colors at once! (15 color + 1 transparent to be exact). This is a huge game changer compared to the NES and GB limit of 3 color per sprite (+1 transparent color). Same goes for the background. That’s why Master System and Game Gear titles are usually very colorful.
    - The console can rotate background tiles, but not sprites tiles (the opposite of NES and GB). If you want to make a game with a hero character who can walk to the left and to the right, you’ll have to draw the “walking left” and “walking right’ animations separately. On Nintendo’s machines, you only draw it once and the console can flip the sprites horizontally or vertically if needed.
    - The audio chip offer three channels: 3 square wave channels (to play sound effects) and 1 noise channels (to make explosion sounds). But a very strange limitation is that you can increase the quality of the noise channels (allowing it to play more noise frequencies) if you sacrifice one of the square waves channels. Musicians usually do that to be able to use the noise channels as a “drum” instrument. So it means you only have 2 sound channels for sound effects in games, and these channels are shared with the other music notes! This was much more constraining that I expected at first.
    - One last funny thing to know (for homebrew makers) is that while the Game Gear display is only 160x144px , behind the scenes it actually process images at a 256x192 px resolution like the Master System. Basically the Game Gear is creating and displaying “full screen” images like a Master System, but the Game Gear hardware is altered to display only a small part of the “full screen” images from its video memory. So basically, to display a game on the handheld console, you are drawing stuff in the center area of an actual home console display resolution. It took me some time to get used to, especially if you are making a game for the two machines in parallel. For example, if you set a sprite at the 8,8 position it won’t show on the Game Gear, as it’s “offscreen” for the handheld. But the same coordinate are “onscreen” for a Master System and you’ll see it on the home console. But once you are familiar with this quirk, you realize that the Game Gear is actually better suited to scrolling background as it uses quite a large “offscreen” area compared to the Master System!
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    I have a few projects nearing completion that should all be released in 2022:
    - First of all, the Game Gear version of Dangerous Demolition! The game development is completed (with extensive beta testing on real hardware) since quite some time, and we’re working with Coté Gamers to make the physical release. But everything is more complex than the Master System version sadly, so it’s taking us more time than excepted.
    https://cotegamers.com/shop/en/accueil/124-dangerous-demolition.html
    - I’m also working on an improved physical version of my Game Boy game “GB Corp”, that will be published by Yastuna Games. GB Corp. is a game that rewards you for owning more than one Game Boy model in your collection. A core mechanic of the game is to plug the cartridge on a different console each time you play (for example first a GBC, then a DMG, a GB Pocket, a Super GB, a GBA and they a Super GB2...). The final version of the game will also support 2 players with a link cable so you can have two of your consoles running in parallel :)!
    https://yastuna-games.com/en/14-nintendo-game-boy
    - I have completed the development of Yo-Yo Shuriken for Neo-Geo. The game will be available for MVS, AES, and Neo-Geo CD. It was a childhood dream of mine to make an actual arcade game, and seeing the game running on a Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet is a very unique feeling! The game is an enhanced version of a game that I first created for the SNES. It’ll be released physically for the Neo Geo CD by Coté Gamers (we are working on the designing the manual, cover and CD jewel box right now). I’d also love to have the game available physically on MVS and AES, but this is going to be very difficult as the cartridges are very expensive to manufacture (around 150-200€ per cartridge from the quote I had so far, and that’s without any printed material). But if some people like the game and are interested, we’ll see what we can do :).
    https://cotegamers.com/
    Regarding dream projects, I have lots of them, but they are way beyond my skills and available time sadly. They would be more “indie” projects for a full time team of 3-4 professionals, and not “hobbyist” projects for a solo developer working in his spare time. For example, I would love to make a beat’em up game, or an action-rpg like the 2D Zelda games. But maybe one day, who know what the future holds... 
    😉
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I’m really looking forward the 2022 entries for the NESdev competitions. People always come with very impressive and fun games each year, and it’s always a moment I enjoy as a gamer (https://itch.io/jam/nesdev-2022). Same goes for the annual SMS Power competition that bring us cool news games for the Master System and sometimes for the Game Gear and the SG-1000 too (https://www.smspower.org/Competitions/Index).
    For more specific projects, I’m very hyped by the Atari Jaguar games from Phoboz, especially his realtime 3D shooter (“Unnamed 3d Game: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/333087-new-3d-homebrew-game/) and Hammer of the Gods, a very promising beat’em up: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/333594-announcing-hammer-of-the-gods/)
    Oh and can I mention OpenLara too? This project is literally jawdropping - seeing the first Tomb Raider game running so great on the GBA is my latest “wow” moment. I’m also very hyped for the 3DO, 32X and Jaguar currently in the works! https://github.com/XProger/OpenLara
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks a lot of interview me on your blog, and for your continued support and coverage of the homebrew scene! 
    🙂
    If you want to play all my released games, there are available here:
    https://drludos.itch.io/
    And if you want to get early and private access to beta and prototypes, you can support my work on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/drludos
     
     

    Jaden
    @Jaden
    -Before we dive into Dangerous Demolition, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to be a musician? What led you to compose music for homebrew games? What is your origin story?
    Well, I'm 19 years old. I was born in the US. I've loved video games all my life, which is what inspired me to get into game development. I've been making stuff on the internet since 2012, which is when I first made my YouTube channel. However at that time, I was a little kid with no talent. And I also had no interest in music. So, it wasn't until much later, like around my middle school years, that I got into making art and chiptune. I was listening to a lot of C64 music at the time, and I wanted to make music that sounded as technically impressive as some of those tracks I loved. That's when I really first got into making music. I started off with FamiTracker, and I still use it today to compose my music. Really, I just wanted to help people with their games by providing music for them. And I was also really excited to hear my stuff in an actual game project. So, I did some game jam stuff and some music on Battle of the Bits, a chiptune competition website. And then eventually, a dev noticed my work and put it in a homebrew game. It was cool because that was the first time my music was used for a game on an older piece of hardware. And cartridges were being made of it. It was an achievement for me because it felt like a bigger kind of production, even if the game is very simple.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I don't follow any chiptune artists right now. If I'm listening to chiptune, I'm going to listen to some classic stuff. Rob Hubbard, Ben Daglish, Jeroen Tel, the Follin Brothers, and many more were huge inspirations for me. I also like a lot of NES soundtracks. All the Mega Man and Castlevania games have classic music. These days, I'm not listening to chiptune much anymore. I usually listen to classic and progressive rock, with Pink Floyd and Yes being two of my favorite groups. However, they don't really do much anymore. So, I'm still listening to old music, even if it's not chiptune.

    Rob Hubbard, my new spirit animal of style
     
    -Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    I feel like a lot of my music has a very simple style. It sounds like it would be in a cheap computer game. However, I also feel that it's deceptively simple. Some of my other chiptune work features a lot of different effects and changing time signatures and chords. This particular track is very simple and doesn't represent my work at all. However, some of my other work has that kind of style. They sound like they could fit in an action game, but they're more complex underneath the surface. World War Chips is a good example of this, which is a track I made on Battle of the Bits. It goes through many different movements as the track progresses. I guess that just shows how much my style has developed over that time. And it's still changing even today!
     
    -What is your composition process? Is the creative process different when developing something for something in particular like Battle of the Bits compared to when you compose for yourself for fun?
    My creative process isn't different for any specific situation, but it does change on a per song basis. Sometimes, I'll have a particular riff in my head that I build off. There may be a certain story or theme that I want my music to represent. It all depends on the track being worked on and how I'm feeling about it.
     
    -What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
    I use FamiTracker for almost all of my music. However, I did use DefleMask for Dangerous Demolition, since that tracker supports the Master System sound hardware. It's a bit of a mess to be honest, and I'm glad I stopped using it. For mixing my music, I actually use Sony Vegas a lot of the time. I could use Audacity, but it's a bit clunky to me. The layout of Vegas just works better for me, and it has a lot of potential for audio production. I've been satisfied with what it's given me, and I'm going to keep using it.
     
    -Tell me about the development of the track “On the Run”. You mentioned to me that it was something you originally composed several years ago for Battle of the Bits, for the Winter Chip XII competition. Any interesting stories on its evolution? Tell us more about your experiences in the Battle of the Bits.
    On the Run was one of the first songs I made for Battle of the Bits. It was during a time when I didn't know anything about how to compose music. So, I just rushed out a bunch of songs in as many different formats as I could. And naturally, all of these songs sucked. I can't remember a single thing about On the Run's development in particular. I just felt like I had to make a Master System song. I really just wanted to win the competition and I didn't make music for the fun of it. Eventually, I stopped using Battle of the Bits because I wasn't winning anything. However, I think my music has gotten a lot better since then. Maybe it's because now I actually have *gasp* PASSION for what I'm doing.

    Album art from Battle of the Bits’ Winter Chip XII
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in creating the music? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    The main challenge with creating the music was learning how to use the Master System sound hardware. I had never used it before, and the resulting song from the day I spent learning the sound chip is about as good as you would expect. One important lesson I learned is that music takes time. You're going to compose a Monty on the Run or Cybernoid II with your first chiptune song. Just keep practicing and really learn the hardware inside and out. Don't rush things and expect them to be amazing. You just have to be patient and accept the fact that you will fail. All those failures and mistakes will make your actually good music all the more impressive and worthwhile.
     
    -How did you first connect with Dr. Ludos, and what are your thoughts on your track’s use in Dangerous Demolition? Have you had a chance to see the game and hear your music accompanying it?
    Dr. Ludos contacted me first about using the song in their game. I didn't ask for it to be used. Dr. Ludos just really liked the song and asked if it could be used, and I said sure. There's not much more to it than that. I have tested the game a bit and I like how it's integrated, with it gaining more of its sound channels as the game progresses. I think the concept of the game is solid and I like how my music was worked into it.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Master System or otherwise?
    Nothing else is planned for the Master System. That's a system I have no interest in, to be honest. I'm much more interested in Atari 7800 homebrew right now. I was working on a port of Dig Dug 2 for the 7800, but I haven't made much progress on it. Maybe I'll get back to that soon.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    There's a lot of great Atari 7800 homebrews that I'm looking forward to playing. There's a really cool port of Qix being worked on, and some amazing ports of Pengo and Popeye have been finished that are awaiting a physical release.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    No problem, dude! I'm glad that I could share some of my experiences with all of you. All I have left to say is that if any readers want to see how my music has evolved, check out the album I released earlier this year. It's called Where to Go, and I think that album is currently my peak musically. Just look for Jaden Houghton as the artist. It won't come up if you look up DaJoshy. So yeah, if you got $10 to spare, I highly recommend giving it a listen. Thank you for your interview, and I hope that this will inspire readers to make music of their own.

    Album art from Jaden’s Where to Go
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that explores the new and exciting goings on in the homebrew community. What are your thoughts on Dangerous Demolition and its developers? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  20. Scrobins

    Special Episode: The State of Homebrew 2022

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Special Episode: The State of Homebrew 2022

    The evolution of homebrew has collected an enthusiastic mix of developers and gamers, all of whom draw on the love of something meaningful from their pasts to dream of what might be possible in the years to come. Though we may bring to bear the skills we have cultivated as adults, in this realm it is done to feed our inner child. Homebrew has come a long way across several decades, with the past few years witnessing an exponential increase in the number & scale of games made, the technology that supports them, and the size & reach of the community that enjoys them. There have been growing pains, a perhaps inevitable rise of difficult questions and personalities. What is homebrew? Is it a monolith, or a loose assembly that falls across a broad and malleable definition? Who represents homebrew? What lessons have been learned, and what cautionary tales should be remembered?
    There is no definitive answer to any of these questions; there probably shouldn’t be. Instead they present an opportunity for us to lift our heads and consider where we are at this moment in time. To look back, to look forward. To ask where we are, and where we want to be. To measure how much has changed since the last moment marked and assess the state of things. But by any measure, one thing on which we might agree: the state of homebrew is strong!
    Homebrew’s origins, both in terminology and community, trace back to 1975 when Gordon French and Fred Moore founded the Homebrew Computer Club, initially meeting in French’s garage in Menlo Park. Attracting such future luminaries as Jerry Lawson, John Draper, Steve Jobs, and Steve Wozniak, the club would trade parts, circuits, and knowledge in DIY personal computer construction over its 11-year run. Over the ensuing years, homebrew came to encompass a number of subcultures including video games, where curious hobbyists traded knowledge of coding and circuitry to program new games for their favorite old consoles, and even transform their work into tangible, playable cartridges.

    Gordon French, Co-Founder of the Homebrew Computer CLub
    Since joining the staff at VGS on its homebrew team, I wanted to organize a symposium on homebrew. I wanted to ask questions about the community and spark conversation between several prominent members, hoping a lively, ongoing discussion might ensue from their varied perspectives. Perhaps if this piece is well-received and becomes a regular tradition, some future iteration might include a live online panel discussion. In the meantime, I am excited to sift through the thoughts of more than 20 people throughout the homebrew dev community who took the time to share their insights.
    When deciding which questions I wanted to ask, two categories came to mind: questions that take a snapshot of homebrew, how far it’s come, and where it seems to be going; and questions that I personally wanted to ask based on moments I’ve observed, or debates (even arguments) I wanted to unpack without reigniting any antagonism. Rather than directly ask questions that might imply an effort to provoke, I sought to ask the question behind the question and contextualize the responses with why I wanted to ask it. Whether you agree or disagree with the responses, the questions, or my overall approach, I hope to see how these conversations continue.
    Nonetheless, not every question was answered by every respondent, and on a few occasions I was chided for missing the point. I welcome better, more probing questions to build on this for future years. My hope is to foster conversation that members of this community feel has value, and may help them articulate their own thoughts. It’s also worth noting that this article and the survey responses that inform it are heavily oriented toward NES homebrew. Though I shared this survey across the forums and Discords I am involved in, my own engagement in communities for other consoles such as those surrounding the Atari and Sega is limited and thus the responses to my outreach were likewise limited. I aspire to be more informed of the wider scene but want to recognize my limits and biases for the sake of being forthright.
    There are some very compelling thoughts shared in the responses. More than once I have rewritten several sections of this blog post because something I read among the surveys had such a strong impact on what I thought I wanted to say. The arena of public discourse is a powerful thing, not because it is some combative venue for intellectual gladiators, but because taking the time to hear others can further color our opinions with the nuance afforded by other perspectives and thus collectively evolve.
    So to begin the discussion on the state of homebrew, a good starting point is its underlying definition. What is a homebrew game, and has that definition evolved over time? Have new developments challenged our understanding of what a homebrew is, and have these developments necessitated the use of updated or additional terms to define what exists? DefaultGen made an excellent video breaking down what, to him, constitutes a homebrew as a subcategory of aftermarket games, similar to but distinct from bootlegs, reproductions, and hacks.

    DefaultGen’s Diagram of Aftermarket Games
    When I first watched the video, I disagreed with Tyler over a point that focuses on who is a homebrewer rather than what is a homebrew game: namely that I would include larger publishers such as Mega Cat Studios more solidly within homebrew, since I think the nature of the game as a homebrew is not negated because it was developed or published by a company with staff and resources. But the fact that the boundaries of homebrew are so fluid and subjective is exactly why this conversation is interesting and worth having. Homebrew began with a mystique of curious programmers and engineers tinkering in their garages. Does the arrival of professional developers with backgrounds working on AAA games and the promise of big(ish) bucks through Kickstarter broaden what it means to be homebrew, exist in contradiction to it, or simply create a new category?
    Damian “Tepples/PinoBatch” Yerrick pointed me to some interesting early discussions of this question. In a thread on Slashdot, one user noted homebrew “generally refers to software for systems that do not provide any kind of native programming capability, i.e. games consoles.” Meanwhile a conversation on BootlegGames Wiki distinguished homebrew from bootlegs, arguing: “homebrew games aren’t published by other companies like bootleg games can be. They usually don’t infringe on copyrights in an attempt to make a profit off of them either. They’re usually games that are made just for fun with programming on the console.” The amateur aspect was regarded as especially important by some brewers. When NovaSquirrel observed that “keeping things unprofessional is really important to me”, Sumez and Antoine “FG Software/Vectrex28” Fantys agreed wholeheartedly that the homebrew spirit comes from “fun one-man projects where I have complete creative freedom over it.”
    Respondents were generally in agreement in their definitions of a homebrew, emphasizing that it be: 1) an unlicensed game; 2) developed for a closed system; 3) by an individual or small team; 4) in a hobbyist/amateur setting. Some people were quite adamant about the setting, insisting a homebrew had to be made at home. Most weren’t nearly as strict but touched on the sentiment that a homebrew should be developed on a small scale, without corporate backing, and wouldn’t be the dev team’s primary source of income. In this way some facets of a working definition are focused on the game, while others center on the developer. This can create some interesting gray areas, such as Tomas “Spoony Bard Productions” Guinan’s self-observation that “Eskimo Bob would be properly defined as homebrew, while Mall Brawl is better described as an indie game.”
    When asked how their definition had been challenged in recent years, several points were raised. One respondent noted the release of retro homebrews on modern platforms, such as Haunted Halloween ’86 on the Nintendo Switch. Originally a homebrew release for the NES, does the game’s appearance on the Switch mean it is also a Switch homebrew? At the very least it provides a bridge across console generations, allowing the work of retro devs to reach a wider audience, and showing off what is possible with actual 8-bit games that work within the limits of the original hardware rather than merely be 8-bit-inspired.
    Another interesting point someone raised reflects the closed system criteria several brewers noted. The rise of the PICO-8, an open hardware console has sparked an explosion of creative games, including several ports of NES homebrews such as The Mad Wizard and Alter Ego.

    A homebrew port of a homebrew!
    The creative opportunities that surround developing within the limitations of a fantasy video game console aligns with the hobbyist spirit of homebrew. When the PICO-8 appeared it was like the announcement of a new game jam, but instead of a prompt based on a genre or narrative theme, the challenge was a new set of graphical and sound specifications.
    The two most common challenges that were discussed however were the rise of professionally developed & profit-oriented homebrew games, and the development & release of tools, especially NESmaker and GBStudio, which lowered the barriers to entry of retro game development. These advances highlight the expansion of the homebrew community from both ends of the skills continuum as industry veterans and newcomers joined the scene.
    In its earlier days, developing homebrew games was notoriously difficult: brewers noted how the work on their own games moved in tandem with their education in learning how to program for the NES. In time, Brian “RetroUSB/bunnyboy” Parker’s Nerdy Nights Tutorials, Shiru’s neslib, and Stef’s SGDK, among other tools, would provide the means to make developing games more accessible. With each new tool created and shared, homebrew’s momentum increased from a walk to a sprint. As the barriers to entry lowered, more people with the ambition and creativity to make their own games were able to bring their ideas to life because the inability to code was less and less insurmountable.
    And NESmaker pulled down those walls exponentially faster. As they worked on their own game, Mystic Searches, Joe Granato, Austin McKinley, and Josh Fallon collaborated to develop a tool that would facilitate testing without diving back into the code to make every single revision. Recognizing the commercial potential of this tool for other aspiring brewers, this tool, dubbed NESmaker launched on Kickstarter and received more than $250,000 from more than 2,500 backers (with even more support after the initial campaign concluded).

    Mystic Searches Title Screen
    Whether it serves as the primary tool of game development or a sandbox to play in and eventually explore beyond, NESmaker has had the biggest impact on NES homebrew development since the Nerdy Nights Tutorials. These programs have become important flintstones to spark the imagination and allow more people to put pixel to palette and share the stories they’ve held onto since they were kids dreaming of making their own game. The tool has brought great talents into the community, including Jordan “Raftronaut” Davis, Dale Coop & his son Seiji, and incredible games like Dungeons & DoomKnights, Doodle World, and someday soon the game NESmaker was originally created to help develop, Mystic Searches.
    And it’s important to note that NESmaker in many ways mirrors the Nerdy Nights in its value as an educational resource that runs in tandem with its role as a development tool. The conversations found in its dedicated Discord revealed that as often as not, NESmaker devs find the software useful as an onramp to learning how to code, bumping up against the tool’s limitations, and using its framework as a structure on which new code can be customized and added, like working on a hot rod piecemeal in your garage.

    This feels like a return to homebrew’s roots as a tinkerer’s pursuit, in a very rock ‘n roll way. A lot of new people are entering the scene, and we are watching them grow through their efforts to express themselves. But support can take many forms, and we can be welcoming and inclusive, and still be discriminating in our tastes, discerning what is worth our money without rejecting a segment of games wholesale. I will confess that in buying every physical release I can in order to be a good patron of homebrew, I’ve grown disappointed that I’ve paid the same amount for unpolished first efforts as I have for more carefully crafted releases from established devs.
    But anything that might serve as a “game changer” will come with its share of controversy, and that’s especially true in the gaming community. NESmaker sparked fears of a wave of shovelware that would saturate the homebrew market, either crowding out games developed by more familiar names or leading less-informed players to paint all homebrew with the same brush and cause all homebrew to rise or fall with the reputation of NESmaker, regardless of whether a game was developed with the tool or not. Several rebuttals in the homebrew community argued that NESmaker was merely the newest among a multitude of tools and shouldn’t be the reason a game is judged one way or another. Instead each game should be considered on its own merits, and to dismiss an entire generation of homebrew because of its association with a particular tool constituted unfair gatekeeping.
    Did these fears come to pass? It depends. Have we seen shovelware games made with NESmaker? Sure, but there was shovelware homebrew beforehand, and a surge of inferior games made with NESmaker hasn’t saturated the market. Have some gamers had a knee-jerk reaction to a new homebrew game, dismissively asking whether the game was made with NESmaker? I’ve read some anecdotal evidence of this happening when NESmaker was new, but it doesn’t seem to be a widespread problem as much anymore. Instead, like homebrew more generally, NESmaker games have stratified as some games ride a virtuous cycle of support that encourages devs to create more, while other games have given the impression of low-effort cash grabs by opportunists who took their money and seemingly vanished, or who found the weight of criticism discouraging and quit developing. But its potential continues to attract new people and ideas, such as ManiacBoyStudio which is considering developing its NES iteration of Skeler Boy with NESmaker. NESmaker has also generated its own devoted communities, with outlets for engagement through a dedicated forum, Discord, and Facebook group where devs and fans can share their work, collaborate, and help each other. Amidst these outlets Joe and Austin continue to evangelize NESmaker games through their annual Byte-Off Competition.

    Mockup Image of Skeler Boy for the NES
    Now that NESmaker has been around for a few years, are there still concerns? The success of a number of homebrews on Kickstarter has led to a surge of homebrews seeking funding through crowdfunding campaigns. This in turn has created a saturation problem specific to Kickstarter in an area with higher mainstream exposure, risking backer burnout with “new games for old consoles” that are not all necessarily going the extra mile to ensure the satisfaction of its backers. Instead, Ellen “Frankengraphics” Larsson noted: “following the wave of NESmaker users, right now we’re seeing a bit much of ‘my first game’ games posing as market-ready releases.” Case in point, when backers received their copies of Ooze Redux, many knew before even opening their packages that they had received a crushed product inside their bubble mailer. Upon opening the package, supporters found a flimsy, uncreased box that was too long to fit into standard box protectors. Manuals were printed on generic printer paper and folded unevenly. Cartridge labels were also cut unevenly and then affixed crookedly. While the homebrew vibe rests on amateur production, even the earliest homebrewers made sure that physical aspects of their releases had a level of polish that justified the cost.
    Meanwhile, sometimes devs revisit their work to add polish, incorporate new ideas, or even show off how much their skills have improved in the interim. It’s sort of the Star Wars Special Edition treatment of homebrew. Remasters are nothing new, KHAN Games released the Engagement Edition of Larry and the Long Look for a Luscious Lover about 6-7 years after the original edition’s initial run. The newer edition changed the graphics in a few places, input new music in others, and added new animations and cutscenes. Fans who missed the game the first time around and variant collectors gobbled up copies.

    Working Title: Larry and the Even Longer Look for a Luscious Lover
    Demand reflected a degree of support and trust in Kevin Hanley, based on his overall body of work as well as the popularity of the first edition of the game from several years earlier. In 2020, Spacebot Interactive developed Dragonbourne for the Gameboy. The following year, Incube8 Games announced Dragonbourne DX for the Gameboy Color, taking advantage of the console shift to update the game with enhanced graphics, improved gameplay, and remastered the soundtrack. Aside from the compatibility with the Gameboy Color, how did all these advancements come to pass in barely a year that the developers couldn’t put this content in the original game? More recently CrazyGroupTrio announced their intention to rerelease Shera & the 40 Thieves, which Kickstarter backers received last fall. When asked why they would make a remaster of the game instead of a sequel, CGT replied: “because I always hated the original and it deserves better.” My question then is, if you hated your original work so much that you’re taking another crack at it less than a year after delivering the original, why did you release that first version at all? Plenty of homebrewers choose delay and would suffer the inevitable criticism in order to release something they were proud of, as we are seeing with highly anticipated games like Full Quiet, Orange Island, and Mystic Searches. As an investor in Shera & the 40 Thieves who pledged $80 for a copy, how am I supposed to feel that I paid a premium for a game which the developer “hated” and will soon release a “better” version? At the end of the day, it’s the dev’s game and they should be able to do what they want with it. My objection stems from what to me feels like too short a period of time between original and remaster. There is no bright line that marks the ideal amount of time before a remaster is appropriate, however I think support indignation is understandable where a “definitive version” comes out so soon that it makes me question backing any future game from the dev, since a better remaster may be just around the corner. But if all fans adopt such a wait-and-see approach then that first version will not garner enough support to be released and potentially discourage the developer from finishing the game at all.
    How then does the homebrew community overcome these concerns in order to be welcoming and inclusive, but also put its best foot forward at every step? Jordan “Raftronaut” Davis” recognized the balance to be struck: “I understand the fears of established developers who are worried about the market flooding with shovelware, but also understand the importance of 1st time developers opening the doors to new audience[s] for homebrew. I can tell you firsthand that my dumb game resulted in quite a few record nerds getting introduced to homebrew and starting their own collections. Which means more interest in the overall community.” Nonetheless Jordan notes his biggest concern in homebrew today is a lack of beta testing and quality control. He offered a recommendation that would perhaps be a rising tide for homebrew: “It would be nice if there was a normalized routine for community games to go through. It’s obvious that this gets leveled at NESmaker games most often, but these are usually people making their first games, who don’t have a regiment for debugging and testing, or even making proper changes based on beta feedback. It would be nice if there was an unofficial seal of approval awarded to games that have been rigorously vetted, maybe also give insight to first timers in order to encourage improvements.” Such a space could provide any interested devs with a ready-to-play team of testers to improve the game, as well as mentorship from more experienced brewers who could guide newcomers through their tried-and-true processes and connect them with other valuable resources which would take the guesswork out of consistent, high quality physical production. However a seal of approval may be a trickier prospect, as we’ll discuss later.
    As homebrew has grown and gained wider attention, it has attracted the interest of veteran developers and large companies eager to create, produce, and distribute new games. In the past, referring to someone as a veteran in the homebrew community meant someone who had been a longstanding and engaged member; including well-known developers and collectors like Kevin “KHAN Games” Hanley or Christian “Ferris Bueller” Deitering. Similarly, early companies that developed some of their own games yet were largely known as publishers for others may have pushed the boundaries of what made a game a “homebrew”, nonetheless stood with both feet firmly in the homebrew scene, such as RetroUSB and InfiniteNESLives. However respondents noted that being a “veteran” in the community is growing a second definition: professional game developers trying their hand at creating games for older consoles. Recent examples include the SNES game Unholy Night: The Darkness Hunter, developed in 2017 by a team of former SNK members, or Orange Island, an upcoming game (that will include an NES port) by Ted Sterchi, who is a former designer for Sega. Likewise, retro gaming behemoth Limited Run Games has leveraged its publishing muscle and massive following to bankroll and release a handful of homebrew games alongside its modern and retro-rerelease offerings, including Alwa’s Awakening, Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, and Witch n Wiz.

    Screenshot from Unholy Night: The Darkness Hunter for SNES
    There seems to be some consensus among respondents that these arrivals challenge the hobbyist aspect of homebrewing, introducing a level of existing skill to a place where people were previously using their projects to develop themselves and learn over time. This prompted the sense that passion and personality were being joined by a new quality: profit. While no one spoke negatively about the arrival of industry vets and corporate backing, other than to say that these projects may not technically be homebrews, there is a tension to this trend: will these developers and companies, with their larger mainstream followings, bring more attention to homebrew as gamers get curious to see what else they can play, or do these names become monoliths eclipsing hobbyists and leaving gamers to wonder if a game is worth it if it isn’t associated with these larger brands? These questions are hardly new to the community, the same conversation referenced earlier on BootlegGames Wiki noted how “the lines can blur a little bit when homebrew game makers start selling their games on cartridge,” feeling that selling a handful of carts at a convention was still a hobbyist having fun, but wondering how many copies sold marked the line between the hobbyist’s homebrew and a professional’s unlicensed game.
    Or perhaps this niche of retro gaming has simply grown so much that different terms are necessary to conceptualize it all accurately. So far, I’ve been using the word “homebrew” and its fluid definition, but other words might be more illuminating. “Aftermarket games” has proven to be a useful umbrella term that includes homebrews, hacks, bootlegs, repros, etc. The word “indie” has appeared with increasing frequency to promote new games for old consoles. Can/should “indie” and “homebrew” be used interchangeably, or should the former refer to more professionally developed games, while the latter is reserved for hobbyists?
    I wanted to ask this question based on a conversation in VGS’ Brewery Discord in March 2021, in which Jared “jekuthiel” Hoag stated that he "take[s] the term 'homebrew' as an insult, given what [he] is trying to do" in reference to his project (the upcoming Former Dawn), noting the size of his team and the intention to release the game on modern platforms as well as the NES. My initial reaction was defensive: how can you enter a community, engage with its creators and fans, share your work with the goal of marketing your game to this demographic, and be insulted that your game would be associated with the terminology the community uses to define itself? To me, it implied a sense of superiority over those who were comfortable applying the homebrew term to their own work.

    Image from Former Dawn by Something Nerdy Studios
    This is another point where reading survey responses added some nuance to my feelings and helped me broaden my understanding. I can appreciate how other terminology might be more fitting. But I personally think it’s insulting to other devs and the community at large that one might react so strongly that their game would be called a homebrew while simultaneously promoting their game throughout the homebrew community. This is the terminology that the wider community has evolved for itself, can someone be a part of that community while rejecting the term as beneath them? Perhaps that is a reflection of the gray areas at the edges of the definition of homebrew. Sumez made an interesting point how a game came be a “product of the homebrew community, even if it maybe can't really be defined as a homebrew product.”
    The sentiment returned in a post to the NESmakers Facebook group in which the publisher of Cool Sh#t Magazine stated his dislike for the term “homebrew”, writing how he felt it cheapened the work of those he considers “indie developers.” At the end of the day, our feelings about proper terminology in contexts such as this may say more about what we individually bring into the conversation than reflect any real argument, but I do think it odd (and off-putting) for someone to enter a longstanding community and reject the terms it has used to define itself for years, making normative judgments about the implied quality associated with particular terms compared to others.
    The vast majority of respondents felt creators should be able to categorize their work however they want; that “homebrew” or “indie” or some as yet uncoined term is a matter of self-identification. Several excellent quotes emerged in response to this question. Nathan “Bite the Chili/gauauu” Tolbert felt there was “no need to draw lines as a community…but we should respect everyone’s individual interests,” expressing less interest in a game with substantial funding behind it. Nicolas Bétoux of Morphcat fame believes homebrew is perhaps “a word that we maybe lost the initial sense [of]” as it has become blended with the larger concept of a “neo retro game,” of which “homebrew” is a part of it as much as “indie.” Ellen “Frankengraphics” Larsson believes “homebrew encompasses all levels of skill and previous merit. It’s more about the authenticity of the thing which often gets lost in too big teams.” Donny “Toggleswitch” Philips doesn’t believe someone who considers themselves an industry veteran or is well-funded should be called a homebrewer, but “if somebody takes issue with being called a homebrewer, then in my opinion it’s up to them to push the quality of their project in a way that stands head and shoulders above the rest.”
    Turning now to a thought exercise that emerged on the VGS forum several months ago, a member asked how NES homebrew today compares against its licensed forbears. As subjective as that question is, I asked the community where they thought the homebrew scene right now matched the licensed era. Many respondents rejected this question as superficial, silly, and uninformative. Nonetheless 5 people felt homebrew is currently on par with the 1987-1989 segment of gaming, while 5 others believed homebrew reached equivalence with games from 1990-1991.

    Two prominent games from those respective time spans
    Other interesting ideas argued that homebrew has passed the original NROM era, as well as the first wave of Capcom and Konami games. But the truth is, with the benefit of being influenced by all that has come before, brewers are able to make games that capture the essence of a particular moment in time. While their skills match one era of licensed gaming, their passion delivers games reminiscent of another, which will color our perception and blur technical ability with intentional aesthetic. Adam “Artix” Bohn proposed a better question: where are the top homebrew games compared to the 1985-1995 range? Brad “NES Homebrew” Bateman also offered a more meaningful metric: that we should compare each dev’s releases over the years against each other, to truly observe a dev’s progression.
    A question asking if there is a benchmark at which homebrew has “made it” and whether that point has been reached was similarly panned. Most respondents felt that the spirit of homebrew cares little about mainstream appeal, so “making it” is an irrelevant consideration. However, some noted a few developments which have marked meaningful growth in the community. Lower barriers to entry have been facilitated quite well by NESmaker and GBStudio. The expansion of homebrew’s reach onto PC and Switch releases, and the growing assortment of Evercade compilation carts has carried homebrew onto modern platforms. The scale of the Micro Mages Kickstarter’s success represented an explosive epiphany regarding the demand for homebrew games. For all this success, one respondent continues to look over the horizon, feeling the benchmark for him will be the arrival of a game on par with Super Mario Bros. 3 or Kirby’s Adventure. A day hopefully not too far off.
    Perhaps rather than focus on amorphous notions of where homebrew stands as a whole, we can marvel at the new places homebrew is going, and where it might venture next. I asked what is on the cutting edge of homebrew right now, and what is capturing the community’s imagination. Answers spanned a host of specific games as well as more general developments. Among the games that have caught the community’s eye, Astro Ninja Man, Alwa’s Awakening, and Micro Mages stood out as impressive recent releases (with Micro Mages getting plaudits for its incorporation of modern gameplay attributes). When considering games in-development that has fans salivating, Former Dawn, Orange Island, Halcyon, Full Quiet, Space Soviets, and Rally Rally Rally Rally were front of mind. Respondents expressed enthusiasm for upcoming new hardware such as the Rainbow Wi-Fi cart, and the MXM cart, while continuing to sing the praises of music carts, flash save memory, and expansion audio. One respondent shared their anticipation for homebrew’s expansion to the N64, raising the prospect of more 3D homebrew. But above all, what is fascinating devs and fans is seeing more people pouring their love and creativity into games.

    Broke Studio’s Rainbow Wi-Fi Cart
    With the myriad new games and developments to hardware that have come or are visible on the horizon, I also asked where respondents want to see homebrew go in the next few years. Glimpsing what soon will be, what long-term aspirations do we hope will emerge in the distance? One grand ambition shared by multiple respondents was recognition from Nintendo itself, alongside more mainstream attention. This might seem to conflict with the previously mentioned feeling among devs that mainstream popularity is an irrelevant consideration to homebrew. But part of this hope may emanate from the longstanding existential fear that Nintendo or Sega might quash homebrew with cease & desist orders. So while larger appeal isn’t top of mind for devs in how they measure the success of their games, there is a certain security that devs want that would make them feel able to continue to create. But with the arrival of homebrew games like Haunted Halloween ’86 and Battle Kid to the Nintendo Switch, devs can breathe a little easier.
    Another common sentiment was that we might simply see more of what we have: more games and more devs, especially in areas ripe for growth such as the SNES. Observing a sort of generational gap, M-Tee issued a challenge to veteran brewers, wanting to see them rise to the quality we’re seeing from newer devs entering the scene. Hoping to foster more cohesion and echoing Jordan Davis’ attitudes, Adam Bohn would like to see more support between veteran and new devs, enabling a passing and preservation of knowledge will be the catalyst for a virtuous cycle.
    But speaking of inclusivity, an anonymous respondent expressed hope that the homebrew community will become more accepting of marginalized communities. It’s no secret that the homebrew community isn’t particularly diverse, overwhelmingly populated by cis white men. That’s not to say the community is devoid of women, people of color, or people from the LGBTQIA+ community, but, as in so many other areas of life more could be done. In an un-diverse space, sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia can easily take root. In un-diverse spaces, the majority can lack empathy for the marginalized in favor of their own comfort. I’ve noticed strong defenses of “free speech” on forums and Discords in response to criticisms of slurs and offensive jokes, and a disrespectful refusal to gender people in accordance with their identity. The lawyer side of my brain bristles at such widespread misunderstanding of the First Amendment. These are not public spaces and moderators are not government actors; the freedom of speech is not unlimited here, and in order to foster a wider, more inclusive community, one in which everyone feels seen and safe, we must realign our priorities and prove it every day by protecting the security of the few over the entitlement of the many.

    Because respecting people is a matter of human rights
    Which leads me to my next big question, asking what concerns respondents had about the homebrew community. Some concerns grew out of recent phenomena. The pandemic’s effect on supply chains generally, and chip shortages more specifically have hampered physical releases. Its inconsistent impact has allowed some games to move forward, while releases such as Action 53, Volume 4 remain delayed. Hopefully the restoration of global commerce to its pre-pandemic state will slowly unclog these backlogs, though the marketplace’s fragility will always find a new problem. Meanwhile the large-scale adoption of Discord revealed new concerns over the accessibility and attention of the homebrew community. As developers seek to cultivate devoted followings and promote their work, they’ve noticed that the multitude of Discord servers has fractured the community and exhausted fans as each additional server becomes a burden leaving fans hesitant to join. The knee jerk solution was to suggest consolidating Discords or designating one as a hub to others, but to point to any one server and say “this is the Discord” would be obnoxious and presumptuous. What do we do then?
    Much of what has been voiced previously continued into this portion of survey responses: the insularity of the community itself, fears that Nintendo or Sega will use litigation to collapse homebrew, concerns that shovelware on Kickstarter will diminish homebrew in the eyes of the larger gaming community that is less familiar with the homebrew subculture, and whether tools making game development easier are diminishing the sense of accomplishment that comes with releasing a game. With regard to the latter, my observations suggest that is a concern we need not worry about. The sense of accomplishment derived from making your own game is a personal feeling and shouldn’t be threatened by what might allow another to obtain that feeling for themselves. And if a dev worried their own choice of tools would ruin that sense of accomplishment, they can simply follow their own heart and preferences and use whatever tools will preserve that feeling they seek. More importantly, I feel that so much focus has been placed on tools like NESmaker and GBStudio as a means to develop games, and not enough on their value as educational steppingstones to learning how to develop games “from the ground up” if that is something the user aspires to. The Nerdy Nights Tutorials and existing literature, fantastic resources that they are, can be indecipherable if you don’t already have a passing familiarity with coding in C or 6502 Assembly. Exploring the NESmaker Discord revealed illuminating discussions that many users found the tool helpful in learning to code in a defined sandbox, but quickly found themselves bumping against its limitations. The evolution of several rising brewers can be found in their popping the hood of NESmaker and learning to develop beyond what the tool itself provides. Much like Chris “Optomon” Lincoln’s description of learning to code through his hacks of existing games, a number of brewers learned and grew through figuring out how to make something specific happen in their game that the initial set of tools could not provide. Perhaps then a better conceptualization is not whether a game is lesser for what helped make it, but an outward-looking sensibility: who is rising to prominence thanks to their start with these tools? As Yoda observed: “we are what they grow beyond.” May we appreciate this tool through the lens of the talented people it has forged.
    Jordan Davis and others noted their concern that the homebrew community lacks access to efficient beta testing and quality control resources. On the other hand, created a centralized hub of willing beta testers and devs interested in providing close mentorship would foster community among its members while increasing the quality of any game that participated. Some advocated for a substantive seal of approval to denote a sense of objective quality. Two lively debates emerged on the subject at NESdev and on the NESmaker Facebook group, weighing the general value of a special mark, the considerations behind any standards that might be created for its use, or even whether a mark that would be freely available had value. Ultimately the homebrew community, which generally lacks the funds to establish, nevermind defend a registered trademark, would be ill-served by a logo that at best would be widely stolen without repercussion, and thus rendered meaningless, and at worst serve as a gatekeeping stamp that would amplify polarization among brewers.

    Matt Hughson’s (left) and Yan Ian Hook’s (right) homebrew seal designs
    In thinking of ways to expand the community, I asked if there were any roles or services beyond traditional game development that respondents felt could be an asset to the community. Admittedly there was a degree of self-interest in this question. As a practicing attorney who will probably never learn to code, I was curious to know if the community thought it could use the skills of someone like me, but also anyone else whose day job and skills could be leveraged in service of homebrew. The question first popped into my head a few years ago during the debate over who held ownership rights over Black Box Challenge. I would rather not relitigate this matter, but interested people can find one segment of the argument here on the VGS forum, and other relevant information on Jeffrey “Hagen’s Alley” Wittenhagen’s podcast here (around the 20-minute mark). At this time Rob “Sly Dog Studios” Bryant has deleted his Twitter account and therefore his posts on the subject are not available. In response to the ensuing argument I wondered if homebrew had outgrown handshake agreements, even between friends. Was there demand for someone to draft contracts and agreements so every member of a project was on the same page regarding expectations, and could point to the same document to resolve disputes or ambiguities? Although I’ve gotten some work drafting various agreements for homebrew, the jury is still out whether the larger community has any interest in my skills, though I’m loathe to be too aggressive in advertising myself.
    But enough about me! Respondents offered a plethora of suggestions for roles that would make homebrew development more robust and facilitate their own efforts. One role that has been requested already here is game testing. Devs are eager to have an army of beta testers who might identify bugs and offer feedback that will elevate the game when the time comes for its release. A reliable source of available and genuinely interested testers would offer fresh eyes for anything devs overlooked or wouldn’t think to poke at. I say “genuinely” because I’ve noticed in some Discord channels people eagerly sign up to beta test a game or proofread text, only to note afterwards that they never had the time to contribute anything (if they say anything at all), or people who try to join after the fact, but whose words imply their interest is more in getting a free rom. The latter reeks of piracy while the former reminds me of those people who spam YouTube/Twitch streamers to be moderators despite not knowing the person and demonstrating limited engagement with the channel because they like to feel important and collect titles. A ready-to-play reservoir of reliable beta testers would be a boon to homebrew’s efforts at quality control. The question then is what standards to set to ensure only reliable people are recruited.
    The most common stated need from respondents was for marketing and promotional assistance. Just about every dev who has sought crowdfunding for their game also lamented how exhausting the promotional work can be in order to build, and maintain hype for their game. In the same way many devs were happy to delegate publishing their games to companies like RetroUSB, InfiniteNESLives, Broke Studio, and Mega Cat Studios, brewers are expressing an interest in finding people who are willing to take responsibility for marketing their games, creating promotional content, and engaging with fans to maintain excitement until the game’s release.
    Among the other roles respondents said would be valuable, several highlighted the difficulty of finding people to collaborate with, as well as resources for obtaining physical materials. Respondents noted the need for help publishing their games, including identifying box and manual printers. Although options exist, such as Frank Westphal who is well-known for his box production work, he isn’t active in major homebrew spaces and therefore can be hard to find if you’re new to the community. So what is the best means for getting in touch with him, or anyone else who providers these services? Is there a menu of products and costs people can consult ahead of time? Similarly, respondents mentioned how hard it can be to find pixel artists, illustrators, chiptune musicians, and other programmers who are available, or they know a few places where collaborators can be found, but the culture seems hostile and cliquey toward newcomers. It makes me wonder how many great games may be languishing because the team to bring it to life is having trouble getting assembled. This sounds like a great opportunity for VGS to help. In response to concerns that conversations and opportunities to showcase their work were getting fractured, we created additional channels in our Discord, adding #brewery-graphics and #brewery-music to the mix, while the existing channel was renamed #brewery-general. In a similar effort to help brewers highlight their portfolio and collaborate, we are creating a new subforum on the website: Brewer Portfolio/Help Wanted. Members can create their own threads as a sort of profile to highlight their work and advertise their availability to work on new projects. Members can also make job postings, soliciting others to reach out if interested in collaborating.

    Apply within!
    Beyond some of these deeper conversations on the future of homebrew and working through questions that might be provocative, I also wanted to ask if the community itself wanted to recognize any of its members and celebrate them. Not everyone responded to this section, leaving me to assume there was reluctance to single anyone out and stoke tension and competition. It is not my intention to make anyone feel less than, but to celebrate the wide array of talents and styles this community is blessed to include. To that end I asked who is the best programmer, pixel artist, and chiptune musician? Who is underrated? Who is new to the homebrew scene that everyone should be paying attention to? Who has been dormant that you would like to see active again? Is there a shelved project you want to see return to active development? I tried to include real names and well-known handles where possible, but was unable to learn both for everyone.
    Starting with the community’s overall favorites, those for whom we are always drooling over their latest update, Julius Riecke (Morphcat) was voted best programmer, Frankengraphics as best pixel artist, and Tuï as best chiptune musician. They are each known for a host of games, both released and still in progress, but worth highlighting is Morphcat’s work on Micro Mages, Frankengraphics’ upcoming “Project Borscht”, and Tuï’s work on From Below. Other programmers recognized by respondents include Damian Yerrick (Thwaite), Zeta0134 (RusticNES), Brad Smith (Lizard), Bitmap Bureau (Xeno Crisis), Dustmop (Star Versus), Łukasz (Gruniożerca), Valdir Salgueiro (Roniu’s Tale), Dale Coop (Zdey: The Game), and Fernando Fernandez (Chaos Between Realms). Other pixel artists who were recognized include Surt, Nicolas Bétoux (Morphcat), Fernando Fernandez, and Clarion (Dungeons & DoomKnights). I made the mistake of getting ahead of myself and posted on Twitter that Ellen was the only pixel artist named in the survey responses, when it would be more correct to say that she was named by every survey I had read so far. I apologize for my incorrect statement. Other chiptune musicians recognized include Richard “Kulor” Armijo (Alter Ego), Julius Riecke, Thomas “thehumanthomas” Cipollone (Unicorn), Chip Jockey (Gruniożerca 3), and Thomas “Zi” Ragonnet (8-Bit Xmas series).

    Kudos to Miau, Frankengraphics, and Tuï!
    When asked to name an underrated member of the homebrew community, Joseph “Yoey” Provencio and Pubby stood out, known for Project Chocoblip and We are Hejickle respectively. Others recognized for their talents include Kasumi (Indivisible), Jordan Davis (Space Raft), Chris “Dullahan Software” Cacciatore (Nebs ‘n Debs), Valdir Salgueiro, RetroSouls (Misplaced), Antoine “Broke Studio” Gohin (Twin Dragons), M-Tee (The Cowlitz Gamers 2nd Adventure), and Adam “Second Dimension” Welch (Eyra-The Crow Maiden). As the underrated talents of the community, you should look into each of their portfolios now and get excited for what they have brewing.

    Cheers to Yoey & Pubby!
    As the community grows, new talent continues to be attracted to the scene, and their fresh ideas fire our imaginations. Asked to identify their favorite newcomers to watch, Matt Hughson was the consensus pick. Matt has been exciting fans with his work on Witch n Wiz as well as Blades of the Lotus for this year’s NESdev Compo. Other recent additions to the community who have gotten people talking include Wendel Scardua (Fire of Rebellion), Alastair Low (Tapeworm Disco Puzzle), Fernando Fernandez, and Skyboy (Fire and Rescue).

    Great to have you Matt!
    But for all the people who are sharing their work and whose games have excited us lately, we also want to recognize those people from the past who inspired us, and who for one reason or another have gone quiet. Some have taken a step back to focus on their families and primary careers, others are coping with hardships, and some have moved on to new challenges. We don’t mean to pressure them to return but want to offer tribute to those from yesteryear whom we miss dearly. Respondents shared how they are pining for news from Joe “Memblers” Parsell, Tim “Orab Games” Hartman, Derek “Gradual Games” Andrews, Shiru, Rob “Sly Dog Studios” Bryant, Frank Westphal, Neil Baldwin, Alp, and Sivak. We miss you and hope you’re doing well.
    Not only do we wish to express our love for dormant brews, but also several specific games we hope will rise out of limbo. If Kickstarters were announced today for Dimension Shift or a completed Super Bat Puncher, respondents might empty their bank accounts on the spot. In a wonderful bit of self-deprecating humor, a number of devs voted for their own games when asked what shelved projects they wanted to see resume development. But also included among their answers were Celestar, The Gift of Discernment, Eskimo Bob 3, Isolation, ROM City Rampage, and SNESmaker.
    Since joining VGS’ Homebrew Team I have enjoyed playing around with the kinds of projects that were important to me. I already had my Homebrew Almanac and Homebrew on the Horizon threads, I developed my blog about new games, I helped organize a homebrew leaderboard competition with Chris/Deadeye, and I try to connect fans with games on their wish list. I’ve even launched a collaboration with Mega Cat Studios to release homebrews on cartridge, starting with Diamond Thieves (and launched a blog to cover those new games as well). But this survey felt like a meaningful opportunity to ask the community what VGS could do to serve as a worthwhile platform and resource. We don’t want to replace or disparage existing outlets, but we do want to fill gaps and be of value. The consensus among respondents was that we should try and build something unique that doesn’t try to replicate NESdev, but then again most felt we couldn’t if we wanted to anyway, since VGS is more a platform to connect with fans. However we received praise for our Discord becoming one of the go-to places for homebrew discussion. We are happy to have this space which has fostered community. Recommendations included developing a space where devs could share progress on their games and engage with/market to players. Sumez requested dedicated spaces where devs could show off their work, such as a revamped profile page that could be a mix between existing profile pages and something informational like LinkedIn. We have also been asked to work to be more inclusive and protective of marginalized communities, respond to bad behavior, and remove bad actors. The staff has tried to be more active in curtailing prejudice and casual slurring, but as always, we need your help in spotting it so we can be as responsive as possible.
    The last question on the original survey asked the tongue in cheek question whether the homebrew bubble had yet burst. Most respondents either answered “not yet” or made a much-appreciated Böbl joke.

    I tried to pick a screenshot that would really pop
    But as with the rest of his responses, Jordan Davis offered a wonderfully insightful answer I want to share. Reflecting on the longevity of the homebrew scene, and the particular appeal of coding for the NES over other consoles that came before or since, Jordan observed: “Video games themselves are a young medium, going backwards for inspiration into a young medium is a rare phenomenon. Imagine if film directors of the 30s and 40s decided to go back and start making silent films, just because they saw Dr. Caligari in junior high or something. There is an appreciation of history of the medium that goes along with the homebrew and retro game scene, it’s often very academic.” For all the advancements in technology and storytelling we have seen as video games evolved from the 80s to today, there is something persistently fascinating about the nostalgia that drives us to reach back to collect these older games, but which also inspires some to create new games reminiscent of that time.
    In the time since I sent out my initial survey, new questions came to mind. As homebrew sporadically gains mainstream attention, how does the community feel about engagement with the media? Should journalists observe from a distance, like a documentarian covering wildlife, or should they engage the wider community so when their article comes out, community members aren’t wondering where this person or their impressions came from? What can devs do to promote engagement? In response to this question, the consensus was that while there is an expectation that journalists writing a piece on the community are talking to its members, no such responsibility exists when the written piece is merely the author’s observations or is simply a review of the scene’s offerings. Nevertheless, M-Tee noted that as members of this community, we have a responsibility to each other to be ambassadors who do not present this community as a hostile environment to anyone. If anything, engagement should be encouraged and where possible aided by searchable and digestible information, ideally generated by the non-developers of the community (to, in his view, minimize pulling brewers from their dev work).
    As homebrew draws larger audiences, should homebrew be guided by the passion and preferences of creators, or should the interests and convenience of customers prevail? And given players’ desire for convenience and ease of access, what are the ethics surrounding pirated roms and repros? Should players respect the publication choices of creators if a game they want to play is not available through their preferred mode of play or is too expensive, or in the absence of a legitimate option, may they turn to illegitimate ones to play the games they want to play? The consensus on these questions reflected a sense that players can express their preferences regarding homebrew games that appeal most to them, whether that’s a matter of favored genres or the availability of released games on physical cartridges, digitally available as roms, or made compatible with mobile devices. However at the end of the day, because homebrew is at its core a hobbyist passion, it will always ultimately be creator driven.
    Despite this dynamic, the ethical questions surrounding player access to rarer homebrew games persists. A handful of VGS members have made clear their beliefs that if they want to play a particular game and cannot obtain it legitimately, illegitimate means are acceptable, and it is the creator’s fault for not doing enough to make it so that player could have the game. Rejecting the creator’s preferences and pointing to the admittedly opportunistic greed of some resellers with no connection to the original developers, these players justify using pirating roms and repros because they feel they shouldn’t have to pay a premium or go without if they don’t want to. M-Tee noted that social acceptance of pirating creates an uphill battle for establishing and respecting creator rights. Spacepup echoes the importance of respecting the devs’ wishes, and those players are not entitled to content just because they want it. Just because a game’s sale no longer connects to and benefits the creator, doesn’t mark its entry into an acceptable pirating free for all. Considering the nuances of this issue, Nathan Tolbert feels that while honoring a developer’s wishes regarding distribution is ethically correct, it is up to the individual regarding the download and use of pirated content, but that selling and redistributing it is unethical.
    In an October 2021 conversation in VGS’s brewery Discord, several people shared their opinions on the dumping, reproduction, and sale of pirating homebrew games. Specifically, community members wondered what (if any) amount of time was enough for it to be acceptable for someone to share a rom they have? What if, at some point in the future, someone wants to play a play that is unavailable and they are unable to reach the creator to get permission to reproduce a copy despite a good faith effort? From her perspective, Ellen Larsson felt that “not as a homebrewer, but as an author. It doesn't matter if I write a novel or make a game. Hands off unless it's the intention to distribute it freely or if the author decides to change the license.” However she adds that she would make an exception for the preservation of otherwise endangered files or if something made was freely distributable. Sumez believed it is “super disrespectful towards the author to just throw their stuff out as piracy no matter how many years have passed, 1, 2, or 60, but if they are genuinely impossible to get in contact with or in any way warrant any kind of new release of authorization of free distribution, then I guess fair. But no matter how much someone can go ‘gee, it's an old game, it should be free, because people deserve to play it’, it's up to the author. If it should be free, let the author give it out free.” Nathan Tolbert emphasized the point about being unable to reach the creator: “Personally, if I've disappeared from the scene for a few years (3?), and nobody knows how to get ahold of me, I'd be fine with folks releasing dumps of my games. But that's definitely not what I think everyone has to agree to.” Brian Parker agreed, noting that if “a few (3-5?) years after honest contact efforts get zero reply, do whatever.  If its legit preservation (VGHF) take everything at anytime.” Meanwhile NovaSquirrel had a more open stance, believing “if someone doesn't want to give me the ability to buy a game anymore then it's on them.” Josué “Trirosmos” Oliveira disagreed, believing “that the free sharing of files and information are and should be central pillars of the internet. I'm not necessarily gonna make it easier than it has to be to get access to things I've made that I'm trying to sell... but if you go through the trouble and literally spend your own time and money so that other people can freely access it, I'm not gonna stop you.” Josué expanded on his position, noting that without piracy of PlayStation games, the Brazilian gaming and dev scene might not exist. That said, he does believe there are behaviors which are relatively more/less acceptable, feeling the “selling of bootlegs of homebrew games feels a lot worse to me than just having the ROM on some website.” The variety of opinions on this subject are as numerous as the number of people in the community, given the different backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and motivations it encompasses. Perhaps a deeper conversation will be a good place to ground another survey next year.

    I’ll just leave this xtreme PSA as a placeholder
    Homebrew has come a long way. It’s come so far and evolved to such heights that the word itself has begun to give way to other terms that describe related spaces of this ever-growing community. It is not without its growing pains though, as the community encompasses more people and raises new questions, some of which are likely unanswerable. The point is not that every question be put to rest, but that asking it yields a worthwhile, respectful discussion. This discussion aspires to bring as many perspectives as possible into an open space where the community can witness the diversity around them and understand the variety of experiences which give rise to the games they enjoy. Such is the marketplace of ideas. I hoped the surveys supporting this piece could generate a sort of symposium on the state of homebrew, sourced from a variety of creators whose talents have built this scene. This community is in many ways the literal stuff dreams are made of, and the imagination on display with each new game inspires the next person, and so with each passing moment the possibilities are somehow even more endless. This place isn’t perfect, but by understanding and appreciating what brings us here, and creating the infrastructure that safely enables us to create or support these games is what makes this space great. The state of homebrew remains strong! So I hope you continue to love these games, and tune in to this blog because when you see each post, you know that…
     

  21. Scrobins

    Episode 25: Homebrew Magazines

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 25: Homebrew Magazines

    Introduction:
    Nearly every gaming fan, new or old, modern or retro, has or had a regularly published magazine they eagerly awaited, which often contained news on upcoming games, tips for improving their luck/skill at existing games, and shared a general love with the magazine’s creators and fans. Inspired by institutions like Nintendo Power and Game Informer, several enterprising members of the homebrew community have brought this fun to our niche corner of gaming. Where bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers usually focus on one or a few games at a time, homebrew magazines touch several games from different angles, and include other interesting, related content that rounds out its pages. As a result, I’ve developed a Pavlovian response to any news of an upcoming new issue.
    For this entry, I’m covering several magazines that have dedicated all or part of their content to homebrew news and related subjects: Dev Cart Magazine by Lexington Alexander, Cool Sh#t Magazine by Yan Ian Hook, Retrobrew Magazine by Matt Hughson, and Mali’s Cash by Dave Allwein. As of the time of this writing, all 4 magazines have at least one issue that can be purchased: Dev Cart digitally here & physically here, Cool Sh#t here, Retrobrew here, and Mali’s Cash here. And for those in the know, the recently Kickstarted magazine NES PRO is working on its first issues, with homebrew reviews by Retro Death Row and content from our friend @ecmyers!
     
    The Magazines:
    Each magazine, despite a shared interest in homebrew, has carved out a distinctive corner for itself, cultivating a unique personality. As a result, these magazines do not compete with each other so much as they create a chorus of voices, whose collective harmony provides richer insight and a wealth of content for fans to enjoy.
    Dev Cart began with its introductory Issue 0, released in August 2018. Up to this point, Lex has published five more issues, selling digital editions on Amazon and physical copies through Mega Cat Studios. Declaring a focus on 6502 Assembly, the NES, and cartridges on each cover, Dev Cart focuses on the NES side of homebrew, promoting both available and upcoming games either with detailed write-ups or imagery styled after advertisements. The magazine also includes other fun content like interviews with creators in its DEV Chat segment, and coding tutorials for aspiring developers. Ultimately offering readers a little bit of a lot in each issue, Dev Cart provides a snapshot of what is exciting at the time of each issue’s release, with helpful resources to hopefully give rise to new homebrewers and games that can populate future issues.

    I know a good interview when I see one
    Cool Sh#t Magazine is the edgy older brother to the gaming magazines you grew up with, taking a tongue in cheek playfulness to its content that connects more adult humor with our childhood nostalgia. Debuting in early 2020 and going strong with a prolific nine additional issues to date, Cool Sh#t covers a lot of ground. Sharing hot takes on homebrew games on older consoles, new games on modern platforms, toys, and all things wrestling, Cool Sh#t lets out a primal scream in appreciation of growing up during such a cool time (and living in a rockin’ renaissance). These are the dedicated folks who have the courage to remind you that Michael Keaton is the definitive Batman, and they have the good taste to back up why you should listen to their opinions on all things pop culture and yesteryear.

    Truth
    Retrobrew debuted in April 2022, and though it remains the only published issue to date, fans are clamoring for a follow-up (as might be expected regarding anything with author Matt Hughson’s name attached). Available digitally or in print form from its dedicated site, Retrobrew is devoted entirely to games in development across multiple consoles that excite Matt (plus the exclusive comic 72 Pin Connection by Joey “yoeynsf” Provencio). Rather than provide reviews or lengthier write-ups, Matt lets these upcoming games speak for themselves, limiting his voice to the juicy tidbits he has gleaned from social media or directly from the developers. Retrobrew provides an enthusiastic focus toward the horizon, helping to bring attention and support to well-deserving projects, highlighting features that exemplify homebrew’s place on the cutting edge. Characteristic of Matt’s desire to share data, he has also released his write-up on the first issue’s profit and loss, so others who might create their own magazines (and the generally curious) could learn from his experiences.

    What is it with homebrew and reptiles?!?
    Amidst more traditional magazines, Mali’s Cash strives to be the quirky cousin. First released in May 2022, Mali’s Cash published two additional entries, all available on Amazon. For the most part, Mali’s Cash shares its love of Taiwanese culture, including legends, movies, and good places for coffee or beer. As a center of fun unlicensed games (not to mention the home of Dave’s homebrew game publisher ITG Soft), Mali’s Cash celebrates Taiwan as a capital of fascination, overlooked by too many. Ensconced between its slices of Taiwanese life and your monthly horoscope, Dave includes detailed write-ups on interesting Famicom hacks and homebrew games, as well as retrospectives on older homebrews still deserving of praise.

    When you want to put the BREW in homebrew
     
    Interviews:
    For the exclusive scoop from some fellow homebrew fans, I interviewed the minds behind these great new magazines to learn more about their fandom and what inspired them to take the extra step to publish a magazine…
     

    Lexington Alexander-Dev Cart Magazine
    @DevCartMagazine
    -Before we get into Dev Cart Magazine, I would love to talk about you and your background. Tell me about yourself.
    I started out in game development as an intern and then a production coordinator for HER Interactive. They had a proprietary script and the production coordinators used that to build game environments. It was a good job. I took a certificate program at the University of Washington for 3D modeling and animation for games, but went on to produce casual games for the major casual game portals. I transitioned to Flash, but once it was no longer supported, I didn't do much in games after that.
     
    -What about retro gaming and the homebrew scene in particular resonates so strongly with you?
    I didn't know that development for the NES was possible until the NESmaker Kickstarter. I knew it was possible to make a game for the Sega Genesis, but couldn't really figure out how to get started. That was around 2009. The NES was the first video game console that we had in the house, but we got it right before the Super Nintendo came out, so we kind of forgot about it. Now, I like to go back and see what could have been produced on the NES had the platform continued and developers had the time. I like NES games because they're simple and you can get right to playing around without much orientation.

    The Kickstarter heard ‘round the world
     
    -Do you feel there is any particular phenomena driving the nostalgia for retro games? Is there something inherent in what Nintendo, Sega, or others did during these old consoles’ lifespans that is having this effect? Or is it simply that our generation, having grown up with these games, is excited over something that was a big part of that moment in our lives, and we could just as easily be nostalgic for something else?
    Well, there were so many people playing Nintendo games at one point, that many people referred to all video games as 'Nintendo'. There was little fragmentation in the market around 1989. So, there are many of us that have the shared experience of playing the same games at the same time and on the same console. There was almost no competition or market diversity.
    Today, I could ask ten different people what they are playing and they might all say something different. It wouldn't be surprising to me. Or, you might hear a major online title. It was similar with television. There was little diversity and availability in programming and no Internet. People had to watch things at the same time while broadcast, so people had shared experiences. My mom, dad, sister, and I don't even watch the same stuff on Netflix.
    The retro game console in homes was fascinating because it was the one toy that one child could play with while all of the others sat there and watched – without fighting. Other children watching their friend play a game was the original version of the Let's Play in homes. Fighting of course happened, but the basic pixels moving around on screen practically hypnotized people, especially children. It seemed to, anyway. I like to watch old television broadcasts that covered the NES being played in homes because you can see it plainly.
    NES and other retro games are often simple and people like things that are easy. They don't always like to think. A lot of my friends will not play a game that they think is hard – or work – or requires some instruction.
    Otherwise, I'm not sure. It could be cyclical for my / our age group and our 'turn'. I see people from every decade collecting things from their eras – their childhoods, especially – when they might not have been able to afford them or couldn't find them. Thirty and forty-year-olds have money now. Has there been some regression or retreat into what was familiar or simpler at some earlier time? I would say, probably. You see other industries experiencing similar trends. In fashion, we've seen cottagecore rising, and in collectibles, there is the grandmillennial trend. In media, Stranger Things has been really popular. In fiction, vintage dystopian books are certainly up.
    I don't know whether enthusiasm for 6502 Assembly will continue to be a thing. A lot of developers in their thirties and forties – and twenties – didn't or don't do much with low-level programming in school. I took one computer architecture course that had one lesson of assembly programming and the other students had nervous breakdowns and existential crises over it. Some even thought they couldn't be programmers because they didn't get assembly code! I probably would have, too, but I had been studying assembly code because of the NES, so it was easy for me and definitely fun to be on the other side of it. And I of course helped them. Some people consider C to be lower level, but I don't really feel like it is, mid-level, maybe. I notice … a lot of high-level developers don't know much about low-level programming, hardware, and counting bits.
    Assembly code for the NES is on the metal with no operating system. I think this appeals to some programmers with traditional backgrounds in computer programming. It is interesting to people who are only accustomed to programming for and on operating systems. Many of these people probably have trouble figuring out why their programs are inefficient. Working within the constraints of the NES helps us to start thinking about these things. I know that when I was porting games to Flash, the games didn't run well on web because they were too inefficient. I didn't realize why until I started reading about assembly code and dealing with memory constraints. Going back to these NES games as programming adults helps us to understand how they worked, and this is of interest to people.
     
    -What kind of collector are you (cart-only, CIB, sealed, graded)?
    I pick up whatever, but I don't keep much for long. I try to get rid of sealed as quickly as possible because I know I'll never be able to have much of a sealed collection. I like to pick things up, be done with them, and share them with other people. Though, I do try to make a dollar in the process. I don't make money on Dev Cart and have to make money in other ways. I do have some favorites that I keep duplicates of in case one breaks.
     
    -What first inspired you to launch a magazine? What is the origin story of Dev Cart Magazine, and how did you decide on the name?
    I follow some of the major games news sites, but they copy each other and don't do their jobs, so a lot of stories don't get told and therefore aren't getting heard. There are a lot of stories I would like to read about, but they simply don't tell them. They probably think the readership for such topics is too small – too few clicks for their ad revenue, or something. Likely, this is correct. I saw this as a problem and believed that more people would come into the space if they knew it existed. It is hard to get started developing on the NES because the information and tutorials are fragmented, jump steps, and feel out of sequence if you don't have the background knowledge. It doesn't flow in any form that is consumable for the layperson.
    I wanted to focus on cartridge games because the playability of a cartridge game on an original console validates that such a program was possible – that it could have existed. Emulators are good, but there are some rare behaviors that don't necessarily translate to console. A development cart or dev cart is what programmers used to produce and test games for market. It is something that was commonplace in console game development, but no longer necessary, given that executable files can be played and tested on an OS without physical parts as part of the development process.
     
    -What do you feel makes Dev Cart Magazine unique in terms of both aesthetic and content?
    I wanted to have a retro 90s cartoon style without the drag of poor and unoriginal layouts. I like the style of early 90s cartoons like Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, and Doug. I don't see stuff like that anymore without a reboot, and a lot of cartoons today are just Flash-compatible graphics or 3D. Actually, are there any cartoons left?

    THE golden age of animation
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I'm all in on the NESmaker and #nesdev crowds right now. I don't want to leave so many people out, but I do interact with @DaleCoop for NESmaker stuff a bit. I think Gustavo Pezzi and Nathan Tolbert are interesting players and rising stars in the vintage console space. Pezzi is an educator and Tolbert is active in the NES and Atari 2600 spaces – others, too.
     
    -Dev Cart Magazine includes coding lessons, teasers, news, interviews, and reviews for a host of games. How do you decide what to include? What jumps out at you? Do you have a preference between the types of games you want to cover?
    If I see a game that is not getting (much) coverage, but I think should – I will generally prioritize that. Why would I write or talk about something that everyone else is already covering? What would I add?
    I don't have a preference for the type of game because I'm more concerned about what readers want to see and play. The priority is to create news and lead on stories. Admittedly, I will try to avoid content that cannot be easily explained over a two-page spread. Some things require a demo. I often start by asking people to submit news and content requests to me via Twitter. This helps me to get a beat on what might be happening that I'm not aware of. I then try to go after stories that I think other people are not covering. A lot of people don't need help; they already have established platforms. I have little to provide to such established developers because they already have audiences bigger than mine. Some overlap is inevitable, but it would be nice to avoid many redundancies. If there are questions about a well-known project that are unanswered, I might go after it, but approach it from another angle. Some news might be too big to avoid. I generally try to include people who express interest in being in the magazine because it's easier to get material and questions answered, etc. A lot of it comes down to time. I also need to produce content that people cannot find elsewhere for free. People with completed and publicly available press kits do get priority. (The average reader does not ever see press kits).
    I don't review games. I think I've stuck to that rule, anyway. I try to post that the games exist and describe them, but I stay away from saying whether or not they're good. I don't think there's much value in that and there's extreme sensitivity to what is good or better than something else. It's not a winning topic for content and just makes the tone of the magazine disagreeable and or inaccurate to those who do not agree. I try to stay away from opinion pieces, but I do review films on indie games. This is mainly because people try to compare indie films to blockbuster titles. These are not fair comparisons.
    I initially reached out to the Nerdy Nights' author and asked if I could reprint the tutorials in some format. He said that it would be okay and hoped that it would help more people to learn assembly code, or something to that effect. I try not to change the tutorials too much outside of the order in which the lessons are introduced. This allows people to read and work ahead. Though, I've tried to break things down, I wonder whether NES development without NESmaker will ever be easily accessible for non-programmers. I have not quite figured out how to do this yet.
     
    -What to you are the essentials to making a magazine such as Dev Cart Magazine compelling reading?
    Again, I have to produce content that is not readily available online for free. Though, people have mentioned that they like being able to read about the NES scene in one place. Is it really compelling? I don't know. The reader can discover content without having to read much of the magazine. Some people might just buy it because they want it to exist – to place a dollar vote, or two. I know beta readers often go on to purchase a copy of the magazine. I know there are a few people that really like it because they've told me. Otherwise, I really don't know what people think about it. I would imagine that most people still don't know it exists.
     
    -What is your favorite section of the magazine?
    I still don't quite know who the magazine is for. It was primarily intended to be for new NES and 6502 developers, but the readership might consist of more homebrew gaming fans than anything else. The tutorials are my favorite part as a developer. Is it just a record of my working through the Nerdy Nights' tutorials? It very well could be. Well, I guess a few people have asked me about them or said they learned something. XD
     
    -How do you obtain the information you publish? Do you reach out to people or do your own research?
    I often type #nesdev and #nesmaker into Twitter and scroll. This leads me in various directions. And I will reach out to people, mostly asking for a press kit or press release.
     
    -What qualities do you look for when choosing someone to publish your magazine?
    Well, the magazine is self-published. I previously published the printed version through Amazon, but they made it impossible after they ditched Createspace. They would reject anything that looked like a white edge or image that didn't bleed into the edge, even if that's not what was happening or intentional. It got to the point where I couldn't get the file approved and asked James for help at Mega Cat because I saw they had printed some instruction booklets. Now, I send the file to James and he prints it. It's a huge time saver and it looks how I / we want it to, not how Amazon's A.I. robot demands it is laid out.
     
    -What is the breakdown of your magazine’s physical versus digital viewership?
    I would estimate that 60% of sales are digital and 40% are physical. It varies from issue to issue. The magazine sells long tail, but there still aren't a lot of people reading it yet. I generally don't have a lot of upfront sales, but the products have staying power. People often pick up all issues at one time – once they're aware that they exist.
     
    -Dev Cart Magazine generally serves as an evangelist for the homebrew community, sharing support and enthusiasm for the games that interest you. Would you ever cover a game that didn’t excite you just because it was garnering a fair amount of attention? Are there any controversial subjects in the retro game collecting world that you would want to discuss in Dev Cart Magazine at some point?
    Well, I wouldn't publish anything that I thought might get me banned from Amazon and Kindle Direct Publishing. If something was controversial, I would probably post that something was happening, but not take a position on whatever the issue was. If the issue was widely known and already being discussed, there would be little benefit in pushing in or advocating for or against it. I don't want the magazine to be for or against anything or anyone, rather – a source of news. One of the good things about the NES – I don't think it was ever political or anything like that. I did write about the cannibalization of game parts at one point, but I don't think I ultimately took a position, rather explained what people were considering before destroying a vintage game.
    Again, I might avoid covering games that don't need help because it creates too much overlap. I did include Micro Mages more than once in the magazine because I thought it was important from a business angle. I do not know the developers. I wanted people to see the sales potential by using international reach, one-screen multiplayer, the YouTube algorithm, and Kickstarter money. Though, maybe those things were not what was so important, I thought it might help people to think about what the next sales record might be – how it could be achieved.
     
    -Did anything you learned from working on your magazine meaningfully change your thinking about any aspect of retro game collecting or the homebrew scene?
    The cannibalization of vintage game parts, yes. I think Emceemur is an important person in the retro / vintage game collecting scene. I interviewed him for one of the issues. He kept many of his video game receipts – pre-Internet when people had to buy games in stores. He held onto games for years and made some surprising profit margins, higher and lower.

    I genuinely tried to find a flattering photo of Emceemur, I swear!
     
    -Did your direction or focus change at all between initial planning and putting the first issue together? Have any new revelations emerged since the first issue?
    Initially, I published a 'lite' issue – issue 0 – just to see if people would read it. I was surprised how excited people were over a few pages. However, since the shutdowns in 2020, people have gone back to work. I feel like people aren't thinking about the NES as much, but it might not be true.
     
    -What was the most surprising thing you discovered while making Dev Cart Magazine?
    There are many more homebrew games for the NES than I originally realized. It's also shocking to discover how anybody ever got their game working on an NES without a dev kit and instructions from Nintendo. I often ask people, “How did you even start? How did you get anything working?” I've never gotten a satisfactory or believable answer for this – from anyone.
     
    -If you could go back in time, knowing everything you know now, would you do anything different with your first issue?
    Well, there is a banner on the first issue that says 6502 Assembly code. No assembly code was written in the first issue, so that confused people and they might have given up on future issues because of that. I thought that because the games and hardware in the issue used 6502 ASM … it might still make sense to have that on there. I wanted to have a consistent banner across all issues. I would just change that.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Yes, but I don't know if they all have titles yet. There is one game that I'm watching called Former Dawn by ... I think Something Nerdy Studios is making it. The graphics look more like SNES graphics. That always impresses me.

    Screenshot from Former Dawn by Something Nerdy Studios
     
    -If you could make your own homebrew game, what would it be about?
    I am working on two NES games. One is aliens, kids vs. parents, 90s neighborhoods, and adolescence. The other is a traditional JRPG, but no random battles. It's similar to Secret of Mana. I have to work, so I generally get little done.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    I wish we could have a monthly magazine, but I just don't think there's a way to make it work in any form. The fans shape the content of the magazine, so it helps to know what they want to read about. If they don't like it, I would like to hear that and I would not think it was rude. Otherwise, I don't know. Some of the content requests are beyond my skill level, so there's a bit of a wait on some things. I'd be interested in getting some help from other NES devs, but I know we're busy with life. Everyone I know just had a new baby. XD
     
     

    Yan Ian Hook-Cool Sh#t Magazine
    @YAN_COOL_MAG
    -What about retro gaming and the homebrew scene in particular resonates so strongly with you?
    We're all lucky enough to have been children of the eighties and nineties, and in that we got to experience the greatest decades, and changes in video game history. Those consoles and their games become part of who you are, your DNA. We all share such incredible memories and experiences playing those games, that for us, it's something that will never leave you. When you come to today and people are still making new games for those systems, it's not only an incredible feat in and of itself, but it gives you the chance to relive that feeling of holding and opening a new game, and that something special.
     
    -Do you feel there is any particular phenomena driving the nostalgia for retro games? Is there something inherent in what Nintendo, Sega, or others did during these old consoles’ lifespans that is having this effect? Or is it simply that our generation, having grown up with these games, is excited over something that was a big part of that moment in our lives, and we could just as easily be nostalgic for something else?
    Several factors are driving this in my opinion. Firstly, they're for the most part fantastic games, and they represent a time when hardware was limited, and programmers had to be creative, not only in design but in how they relayed that story to the player. Nostalgia is obviously a huge part, games, toys or anything you enjoyed from your youth are always just hovering in the back of your mind, and when that curiosity becomes too intense, a collector is born. Supply and resellers are obviously going to affect all markets constantly, there is only so much of this stuff floating around the planet, and those peaks and troughs will also dictate or push someone to purchase that game or action figure they've been thinking about for possibly too long.   
     
    -What kind of collector are you (cart-only, CIB, sealed, graded)?
    I don't own a single graded anything, that's just not in my atmosphere, or my budget. I collect almost exclusively CIB, but in the last couple of years have picked up the odd loose cart here and there. When that does happen, I will usually make my own box for it at some point, just to keep it nice, but my collection is probably 98% CIB. I actually have this habit of remaking boxes when I feel the artwork didn't do the game inside justice.
     
    -What first inspired you to launch a magazine? What is the origin story of Cool Sh#t Magazine, and how did you decide on the name?
    Well, we had all done little bits of terrible writing for other people's magazines and blogs etc., over the years, and I think making something physical, or at least for us was the dream. When the Covid lockdown came into force in 2019, it was a mere month or two before we all lost our jobs, and in some cases businesses. I was in a pretty low place and wondering what my next move was going to be, armed with some savings and little knowledge of magazine production, COOL Sh#T was born! When it came to the name, we wanted something that covered the wide spectrum of topics that we intended to cover, and all of us seem to say "That is some COOL SH#T" when referring to video games or toys, so that just seemed like the perfect fit. It's funny because some people have really taken offence to the name, and refused to be featured because of it, which we just found hilarious.
     
    -What is the breakdown of roles working on the magazine, and what does the working dynamic look like?
    Myself 'Yan', I do all the design, all the page layouts and all the publishing duties. As we go about our lives, and we see new toys coming to market, or games that we are playing, or that have caught our eye, we make little notes on them. That all then gets put into a bigger pile, and we begin breaking it down into articles, reviews etc. Those are then shared out, between who is really buzzed up about whatever it might be. It sounds a little chaotic, and at times it definitely can be, but we just let our passions lead us. Everything about this magazine truly comes from the heart. There's no pretense. 
     
    -What do you feel makes Cool Sh#t Magazine unique in terms of both aesthetic and content?
    I truly, 100%, don't think there is anything else like COOL SH#T on the market. We put so much into every aspect of its design, and what you'll find inside. And what you do find inside is unlike anything else out there. From cover to cover, it is dripping in creative, beautiful pages of information and articles. Our aesthetic is truly our own. Yes, we take influence from things we read as children and young adults, but we morphed that into our own thing. We love video games, but we also love skateboarding, and music, and movies and toys. This magazine serves as a one-stop-shop, for everything that's hot! We're a tiny team, and we think our product stands head and shoulders with publications created by teams five times the size of ours, and bigger. We don't have the budgets, or resources of most outfits, but we'll still give you an incredible read.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
     I get inspired by everyone and everything. My Mum inspires me, my girlfriend inspires me, as do my friends. The world around me every single day makes me notice and see things a little differently, or perhaps where I didn't previously at all. There are so many talented people out there, creating so many types of art, it truly blows my mind. To shout out a few: Luce Gray tattoo, Martin Varbarro, Skinner, Mike Winterbauer, Rob Mccallum, Ezkimo 6, Tolbooth10. All of these guys have a different outlet of artistic delivery to the world, and my morning socials feed usually contains something from them.

    Mike Winterbauer
     
    - Cool Sh#t Magazine includes tips, teasers, news, interviews, and reviews for a host of games, toys, TV, movies, and more. How do you decide what to include? What jumps out at you? Do you have a preference between the types of games you want to cover?
    We just keep our eyes open. We either have a gamepad in hand, or eyes on the internet. There is so much great stuff out there to cover, that the magazine could be two hundred pages an issue, and still never run out of new content. As far as games go, we tend to lean toward new indie games, whether it's on a classic system or a modern one. We like new games that are created with a vintage aesthetic. Blazing Chrome, Panzers Paladin, Steel Assault, that kind of thing. But, if it's good, we'll cover it, we've just done an article on Elden Ring and we always cover V.R games. 
     
    -What to you are the essentials to making a magazine such as Cool Sh#t Magazine compelling reading?
    keeping one foot in familiarity, the other in individuality, and package that in a style that punches you in the face!
     
    -What is your favorite section of the magazine?
    I always enjoy putting the news together, as it is lots of snapshots joined at the hip. It makes it fun from a design perspective, and I always just let go and get creative. It's the first section of the magazine that you find, so I always think it really has to pop.
     
    -How do you obtain the information you publish? Do you reach out to people or do your own research?
    For the most part we do our own research and collative work, but if it's about a new game or specific project then we'll reach out to the producers of whatever it may be to get the finer details.
     
    -What qualities do you look for when choosing someone to publish your magazine?
    We self-publish, but if you're pertaining to the specific print side, then price and quality are the priorities. Our profit margins per magazine are much smaller than they could be, purely because we choose high-quality paper, printing and binding. How it looks and feels in the hand are crucial to us, and we listened to what our customers wanted in the early days as far as finish etc.
     
    -What is the breakdown of your magazine’s physical versus digital viewership?
    Zero digital, 100% physical. We offered digital in the early days, but almost nobody was interested in it. We aim to add a little free pdf taster to the store, for anyone who is curious about a purchase.
     
    - Cool Sh#t Magazine generally serves as an evangelist for the retro gaming community, sharing support and enthusiasm for the games that interest you. Would you ever cover a game that didn’t excite you just because it was garnering a fair amount of attention? Are there any controversial subjects in the retro game collecting world that you would want to discuss in Cool Sh#t Magazine at some point?
    Great question. I think my answer to that would be yes. A game could be fantastic, but not excite any of us personally. You need to be open-minded to other people's creations, and artistic vision. However, if a game isn't good, has clearly had little care, and is overall badly executed, we won't feature it. In the eighties and nineties, the magazines were your window to a possible retail decision. The fact that people reviewed bad games, saved countless people from wasting their birthday money, and that served a purpose for that time, now though things are a little different. If somebody sends us a game for consideration, we'll check-it-out first. If it's terrible or not a fit for us, we'll politely decline. We want our magazine to stand as a bible for all things great, so anything inside is immediately worthy of your attention, should it appeal to you. Writing a review of a bad game is a waste of our time, of paper and print and ultimately paints someone's dream in a publicly bad way, which we don't want to do. There is always the chance that they'll develop it further, and it could end up being wonderful. If there are obvious things that could be better, we'll always point that out to somebody, whether they care for our opinion or not. Sometimes another person's eyes are the one thing that you're missing.
     
    -Did anything you learned from working on your magazine meaningfully change your thinking about any aspect of retro game collecting or the homebrew scene?
    I was under no illusion that making games was easy, but from talking to programmers and creators within the scene, it definitely opened my eyes to the levels of dedication, and work that it requires. Just like making a magazine.
     
    -Did your direction or focus change at all between initial planning and putting the first issue together? Have any new revelations emerged since the first issue?
    The overall focus has remained the same, but what you'll find internally has been bettered, every time. We continue to push ourselves further and further to create the absolute best product that we can. We keep thinking there is a plateau that we'll reach in a minute and that will become our blueprint, but it doesn't happen like that. Furthermore, we're continually learning, adapting and improving.  We know it isn't perfect, but it's as close to perfect as we can make it. We just hope that people enjoy it. If people turn the pages and are captivated for a moment by the art design, or a little humour, or a game they now want to go and play, then we've done our job. We're passionate, and we hope that is relayed in our output.
     
    -What was the most surprising thing you discovered while making Cool Sh#t Magazine?
    That I was capable of working a twenty-hour day. That people you are trying to help will let you down. Delivery companies are never on time, and the term '24hr delivery' should be grounds for immediate compensation, when not met. For the record this has just happened again, as I write. 
     
    -If you could go back in time, knowing everything you know now, would you do anything different with your first issue?
    Pretty much everything. It's not perfect. The writing is sloppy, we didn't have any proper editing software. Some articles are questionable. There are far too many adverts. The text is often too big, but we're still extremely proud of it. It stands as the perfect reference for development, when compared to our latest efforts.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I recently backed The Cursed Knight, and Astebros for the Mega Drive, I would dearly love a copy of Montezuma's revenge for the NES, but I'm a little spent out, and not ballsy enough to beg for a review copy. I'm really looking forward to Copper Jacket, Adventure of Panzer 2, Roniu's Tale. I really want a copy of Haratyler MP, if that the right name's version, I know there are several different one's floating about. Essentially, the one with the enhanced CD music, it looks like you're playing a Pc engine Cd game, but only on the NES. That looks like a really fun and groundbreaking experience. I love to see old systems doing new things. I always keep an eye on Matt Hughson and what he's got going on over there. The fact that he develops triple-A games, but has now turned his hand to classic systems, really interests me. The style of his output is always great.  

    Screenshot from Copper Jacket by Monsoon Studios
     
    -If you could make your own homebrew game, what would it be about?
    Well, I released a game on Collectorvision some years ago for the Atari 2600 called 'Super Trash Truck', it was created with my friend Jason. I am extremely keen to someday remake this for the NES, as the Atari's limits couldn't quite deliver what I envisaged. I have also been working on a couple of arcade titles for literally years. I hope one day to see these through to completion. I planned an NES title based around the magazine, which was a hybrid of styles, but mostly a collect-athon.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    It was my pleasure, thank you for asking me. YES, YES there is. We are taking a little break from Cool Sh#t after the next issue releases, to give us time to work on other projects. I cannot say too much at this point, but if you love video games, you're going to want to know about it. The best thing to do is go to our store page 'COOLMAGAZINE.UK', scroll to the bottom and subscribe to the newsletter. We won't spam you with anything, you'll just get a little note when something is happening, and you will also receive discounts and sales information.
     
     

    Matt Hughson-Retrobrew Magazine
    @matthughson
    -It’s great to talk to you again, and about a very different project. Before we get into Retrobrew Magazine, I would love to talk about you and your background. Tell me about yourself.
    Hi! I’m a professional game developer by day, and a homebrew game dev on the side. So far I’ve released 2 homebrew games, both for the NES: Witch n’ Wiz and From Below.
     
    -What about retro gaming and the homebrew scene in particular resonates so strongly with you?
    I grew up with the NES, and it was a real cornerstone of my childhood. It was what we talked about a recess, it was on TV, in cereal, at McDonalds; it was everywhere. So I have a strong nostalgic connection to the platform. The homebrew scene itself is really fun because you can easily connect with all of the developers, both big and small, and it really feels like everyone knows everyone. There’s a real sense of community, and helping each other succeed.
     
    -Do you feel there is any particular phenomena driving the nostalgia for retro games? Is there something inherent in what Nintendo, Sega, or others did during these old consoles’ lifespans that is having this effect? Or is it simply that our generation, having grown up with these games, is excited over something that was a big part of that moment in our lives, and we could just as easily be nostalgic for something else?
    I would guess that it’s mostly just people my age growing up and now having money to buy all the stuff they loved as kids. I think you see this in all media right now (movies, tv, etc.). I think that’s also influenced by how massive these things were when we were kids, which might explain why NES stuff is so big now, but things like Atari didn’t really have that same kind of cultural resurgence.  I suspect in 20 years we’ll be looking at Minecraft and Fortnite reboots.
     
    -What kind of collector are you (cart-only, CIB, sealed, graded)?
    For homebrew it’s CIB or nothing. I open everything and don’t worry too much about “resale value”. For licensed stuff, I buy cart-only, and I only buy what I actually want to play. I’ve been collecting since the late 90s, but a few years ago I sold most of my collection off, and just kept “the best of the best”. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made!

    Sonic is relieved to hear that
     
    -What first inspired you to launch a magazine? What is the origin story of Retrobrew Magazine, and how did you decide on the name?
    I’ve been wanting to create a homebrew newsletter of some sort for a while now. I’ve had a few false starts and could never really get things looking how I wanted. A few months ago I came across a random zine on this site called “Flipsnack” and it was really close to what I wanted to create.
     
    -What do you feel makes Retrobrew Magazine unique in terms of both aesthetic and content?
    I tried to make sure everything in Retrobrew cannot be found online already. It focuses 100% on up-and-coming games that are either unannounced or are flying under the radar. I treat the magazine more like a “catalog of upcoming releases”, and avoid opinion pieces.
    The digital version is pretty unique. I tried to channel the visual style of Game Shrines and NES Fan-Sites of the late 90s. It’s very image-heavy, with animated gifs all over the place. It celebrates the pixel art of the games it covers, in all their big chunky glory.
    I also commissioned an original comic book, inspired by the Zelda & Metroid comics in Nintendo Power. The story is reminiscent of the 90s cartoon Captain N, where kids are sucked into their NES and need to survive in the worlds of their favorite homebrew games.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    2 of the magazines I really like are Retro Gamer Magazine and Cool Shit Magazine. Both are gaming magazines focused on retro gaming. Where RETROBREW is laser focused on homebrew, these magazines are much broader in their coverage, and much closer to a traditional gaming magazine.
     
    -Retrobrew Magazine includes teasers and news about a host of upcoming games. How do you decide what to include? What jumps out at you? Do you have a preference between the types of games you want to cover?
    It’s really all about what I find interesting, and what I think other people might not know about. Pio Pow (the cover story for issue #1) was a bit of a catalyst for getting the magazine started actually. The creator of that game reached out to me for advice on finding a publisher, and asked for feedback on the game itself. I suddenly had nearly-exclusive access to a finished, extremely polished homebrew, and the magazine was built around that centerpiece.
     
    -What to you are the essentials to making a magazine such as Retrobrew Magazine compelling reading?
    I’m still figuring that out! I think the key part is to keep the content 100% focused on homebrew. I’m not interested in competing with the larger magazines out there, so I need to make sure every single page is of interest to my audience.
     
    -What is your favorite section of the magazine?
    I think the coverage of Pio Pow is probably the part I’m most proud of. It really hits the target I set with the magazine: to feel like a late 90s game shrine, celebrating the videos and character of the game. On top of that I lucked out that the developer, Jeremias, is a fantastic graphic artist and was willing to create a custom cover image for the magazine. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull that off for every issue…

    Screenshot from Piopow by Jeremias Babini
     
    -How do you obtain the information you publish? Do you reach out to people or do your own research?
    I already had a relationship with pretty much every developer covered in the magazine. I’ve been following their work, and in some cases having private conversations about what’s going on behind the scenes with development. When it came to publishing the magazine, it was more about asking permission to share some of the work sent to me in private, and getting formal descriptions of some of the features, release dates, etc. It was all pretty organic.
     
    -What qualities do you look for when choosing someone to publish your magazine?
    Everything is self-published, but I used 2 main companies. For Print I used a company called “MagCloud”. I choose them because they do “print on demand”, meaning when you order a copy of the magazine it is printed right then and shipped shortly after. This means that I don’t need to pre-order a bunch of copies and sit on any stock. I also don’t have to do any of the shipping myself. On top of that, they use printers local to the person who ordered the magazine, reducing shipping costs and time.
    For the digital version I used “Flipsnack”. I chose them because they allowed me to do the mix of animated and static media that I was really after. They have a free version you can check out, but you will likely need to upgrade to a paid account for most serious efforts to make a commercial product.
     
    -What is the breakdown of your magazine’s physical versus digital viewership?
    It’s almost exactly 50/50. Feedback for both has been really positive. People seem to really love the animated nature of the digital version, and on the physical side people seem to just enjoy getting a gaming magazine delivered to their doors again.
     
    -Retrobrew Magazine generally serves as an evangelist for the retro gaming community, sharing support and enthusiasm for the games that interest you. Would you ever cover a game that didn’t excite you just because it was garnering a fair amount of attention? Are there any controversial subjects in the retro game collecting world that you would want to discuss in Retrobrew Magazine at some point?
    I think I’m going to really try hard to stick with only covering games I personally care about. Once I start covering everything, I think the magazine loses some integrity. I want people to know that every game covered is going to be something special, and the only measure I can really use is was I think is cool. Obviously that’s subjective, but at least it will be somewhat consistent.
    I would never be tempted to cover a hugely popular game, as that’s kind of the opposite of what I’m trying to do (bring attention to unknown games).
    In regards to covering controversial subjects, I’m not against it really, but I am against injecting too much opinion in the magazine. I don’t really know why, but I want RETROBREW to have an almost entirely a positive tone. It’s about stuff to get excited about!
     
    -Did anything you learned from working on your magazine meaningfully change your thinking about any aspect of retro game collecting or the homebrew scene?
    Not really. I think this experience was a lot less about growing and learning myself, and more about sharing what I know and love about the homebrew scene with the world. I have heard from a lot of people from outside the homebrew world, who maybe grew up with Nintendo Power and are getting exposed to the homebrew scene for the first time. That’s really cool.
     
    -Did your direction or focus change at all between initial planning and putting the first issue together?
    Not a ton to be honest. I had some pages that cut. Originally I was going to do a big collage of the NESdev weekly art challenge happening on the NESdev discord. I was also really hoping to do a short tutorial of Retro Puzzle Marker. But in both those cases I just couldn’t put together a layout I was happy with, so I cut them. I definitely learned that have a great art content is key to making a pleasing layout. I’m not very artist myself, so I rely on the devs to supply great stuff that lets their games shine.
     
    -What was the most surprising thing you discovered while making Retrobrew Magazine?
    It took a lot longer than I expected. I was thinking originally it might take a week or so, but it ended up being months of work. I guess that’s something that changed after initial planning. Originally I imagined the magazine being much simpler. Each page would just be a collection of screenshots and gifs, with a title at the top. But as I continued to work on it, I felt like that wasn’t go enough, especially for print, and spent a LOT of time of layouts.
     
    -If you could go back in time, knowing everything you know now, would you do anything different with your first issue?
    I would be more careful with my spending. I experimented with advertising on Twitter, but it wasn’t worth it at all. I also spent more than I needed to on Flipsnack, which ate into my profits.
    I learned a lot about layouts, designing for print, etc., but I think that’s just stuff you need to go through to learn. Next issue should hopefully go smoother.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Yah for sure. Everything I covered in RETROBREW! Beyond that I’m especially excited for Alwa’s Awakening, Full Quiet, Halcyon, Orange Island, and probably a bunch of others I’m forgetting about. I’m really hoping to hear more about Genesis and SNES homebrew though, so if you know of any great ones coming up, let me know!
     
    -Speaking of homebrew games, how is From Below Pocket coming along? Any other projects you’re willing to talk about at the moment?
    From Below Pocket is very close to entering Beta. I just a few more lingering tasks, and then I’ll start the process of testing and getting a physical version up for sale. I think I will likely put out From Below NES again at the same time, so if you missed the original release, you’ll hopefully have another shot.

    Teaser for From Below Pocket
    I’ve also started a new NES game project for the 2022 NESdev Compo called “Blades of the Lotus”. It’s a side scrolling platformer, reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden, Vice Project Doom, and Shadow of the Ninja. It’s super early, but I think it’s going to be pretty cool!
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    If you are working on a homebrew game, please reach out! Especially game on systems other than Game Boy and NES. I’m out of the loop on the other consoles, so I would love to learn what’s in the works out there, and hopefully find some more games to cover in Issue #2 of RETROBREW!
     
     

    Dave Allwein-Mali’s Cash
    @familybits1
    -Before we get into your new magazine, Mali’s Cash, I would love to talk about you and your background. Tell me more about yourself.
    Well as you know, my name is Dave, though a lot of people know me by the name fcgamer. I was born in the mid-eighties, and by chance, my older (step) cousins had introduced my brother and I to the NES. As I can remember, I had gone up to the bedroom to play NES with my cousins, and I thought it seemed really amazing. My brother, who is five years older than me, thought that the NES was some sort of music machine, and he had no interest in it. I then went back downstairs and somehow managed to convince him into coming upstairs to play as well, and we would then ultimately get a NES machine for Christmas. Ironically enough, this is honestly my first memory on this green earth, as I was only three years old when the whole ordeal occurred.
    Unlike many children, my parents never really wanted us to sell our previous gaming machines to raise quick funds to purchase a newer machine. Doing chores and receiving good marks on our report cards at school allowed us to purchase games occasionally, and we’d also generally get something for birthdays and Christmas.
    Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, my family was pretty strait-laced, and as there wasn’t a lot going on, gaming was a very important aspect of our lives as kids. With the NES, we never stopped playing it, and then by 1998 or 1999 a Funcoland moved into a strip mall in a small city near us. My parents had been taking dance lessons there, and so my brother and I would always tag along and purchase these old games, primarily for the Nintendo, and then we’d wait out the rest of the time for my parents to finish up their lessons by eating pizza and drinking Mountain Dew at a nearby pizza shop. This was when my interest in collecting NES games came about, though by the time college came about, I sold off most of my collection, aside from my favorites and my childhood games, to purchase CDs and later, beer.

    A true 90s destination
     
    -What about retro gaming and the homebrew scene in particular resonates so strongly with you?
    I never ever stopped playing these old (Nintendo) games, aside from a very dark period in the mid-nineties when we couldn’t get our NES games to run due to faulty pin connectors and dirty games. We were forced to play SNES, or we had to do without games. I think this has actually subconsciously made me have little interest in the SNES now, and it might also be one reason why I much prefer the Famicom console’s overall design. But yeah, these games have always just been a part of my life.
    As for the homebrew scene, as I had maintained a website back then, I remember when all of this first started! I was actually on the list to purchase a Garage Cart, but I backed out for one reason or another. Knowing where the scene had started, and watching it as it has grown into what it is now – it blows my mind, honestly.
    Additionally, I view the homebrew and indie games now as a form of art. We have people making chiptune music albums, and then there are others working tirelessly attempting to create games that push the graphics capabilities of the gaming machine. On the other hand, I also remember there being some contests in the earlier days of homebrew NES games, where the idea was to create a game within a very limited amount of memory. In this way I can draw parallels between the homebrew scene and the art / music scenes, in which I’m also involved, wherever I am living. It’s a lot of fun meeting others that have a passion and interest in your hobby, and I like supporting these types of people anyway that I can.
     
    -Do you feel there is any particular phenomena driving the nostalgia for retro games? Is there something inherent in what Nintendo, Sega, or others did during these old consoles’ lifespans that is having this effect? Or is it simply that our generation, having grown up with these games, is excited over something that was a big part of that moment in our lives, and we could just as easily be nostalgic for something else?
    Story time! It’s a bit anecdotal, but I have three stories to share from here in Taiwan, and I think this can demonstrate how these games really are something special.
    For the first several years after moving to Taiwan, I didn’t have a smart phone, so I’d always carry my old Game Boy Color in my bag, so that I’d have something to do when riding the bus or while on break at work. Anyways, one day, some of my fifth and sixth grade ESL students had seen me playing my Game Boy Color, and they all crowded around. I finally let one of them have a turn, and before long, everyone was taking a turn playing. A few of these kids even had smart phones with games, but they all wanted to play my Game Boy Color, and if I didn’t bring it, they were disappointed. This was back around 2014 or 2015, and the kids were born probably around 2002 or so. Needless to say, my mind was blown.
    Then in 2018, I had the opportunity to meet up with the former owner of a game clone company. His company used to make clone machines, though they’d also extensively hack some of the classic NES games, such as the original Mario Bros., which they had turned into a “game” titled Roge Brer. I asked the boss if he enjoyed gaming himself as well as why he had decided to hack the classic NES games to release them as updated, “new” games. While the boss was ultimately motivated by money, he said that the classics all still hold the test of time and are fun for kids, and that his reason for updating them was just so that the kids who had these clones as opposed to the modern games, could still feel as though they fit in with their richer peers.
    Finally, I was at a cultural antique market just today. I ran into a guy that had a stand dedicated to classic games, primarily Famicom. Before I knew it, a pair of brothers, aged about three and five, came over with their mother and they asked to play, settling on Mario Bros., Twin Bee, and F-1 Race, and they really seemed to be enjoying themselves.
    Unlike earlier home console machines, such as the Atari 2600 and Colecovision, the games developed for the original Nintendo and Sega Master System, and subsequent machines, although dated, still look quite nice. The enemies, characters, and backgrounds are mostly recognizable for what they are, and then of course with the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, things become even clearer. Combine this factor with the initial, inherent simplicity of the games compared to modern offerings, and it is no wonder why everyone is feeling nostalgic for these games.
     
    -What kind of collector are you?
    Beginning my collecting adventure in the late nineties, I’m a product of the times, where there’s no way of collecting aside from that of the so-called “full set”. After collecting more or less a complete Famicom full set, I eased up on the rules, and while I still have the full set mentality in mind when purchasing gaming machines, it’s not something that I actively chase anymore.
    These days my larger focus is on collecting Taiwan-region games and homebrew games. For the Taiwanese games, I am not concerned about whether they are licensed or bootlegs, rather were they produced specifically for the Taiwanese market or not. I’m quite interested in the gaming landscape over here, as it sits somewhere between the Japanese and American landscapes, and my collection sort of illustrates this. As for the homebrew games, it’s just always so exciting to be playing a new game that was made for one of the older machines.
     
    -In addition to Mali’s Cash, you’ve published the guide that accompanies Hungry Ghost Night, the book that accompanies your own game Hot Pot Runs, and Family Bits. What was the inspiration for those projects, and how did your company ITG Soft come about?
    Let’s tackle these in chronological order, and therefore we must start with Family Bits. I moved to Taiwan in 2011 for work, and I quickly ended up fired from my job, through no fault of my own. Worried about my visa expiring and getting kicked out of the country, I ended up taking a job in a small town situated along the coast of western Taiwan. I didn’t speak any Mandarin Chinese, and even if I did, most of those people also throw a lot of the local language (Taiwanese) into their speech. As a result, I started becoming very nostalgic for my past, and this led to me asking one of my colleagues if she could help me purchase a Famicom machine to entertain myself on weekends and weeknights.
    One thing led to another, but I quickly realized that the games we westerners used to refer to as “Hong Kong originals” were actually mostly developed and manufactured in Taiwan. My interest in gaming from pre-2004 started creeping back into me, and I then decided that I would try to collect all of the unlicensed and bootleg Famicom games. The only problem was that all of the sources I could find online were horribly incomplete. This ultimately led to me creating my own lists, which I shared with other collectors, though I always felt that these games deserved their own guide. The project went through many transformations and was canceled multiple times, but then just last year I realized that I could make the project viable, and I just recently released the first volume.
    I guess it was towards the end of 2018 when ITG-Soft was born, and it was a whole string of events that led to the whole company forming.
    I guess one could say that the tale actually started back in 2016. That July I had switched jobs and moved to downtown Taichung, as things had taken a turn for the worse at the job I had been working for the past five years. Basically a new manager had been hired, and she had brought her own crew to teach some of the hours, giving them preferential treatment and leaving me with fewer teaching hours (and less pay), as well as the less desirable shifts and classes. I hate to sound crude but as the owner of the school had been shagging the manager, he couldn’t care less about the treatment until I left; shortly afterwards the manager quit as well as her buddies, and the school had trouble finding reliable teachers. One of my former colleagues actually mentioned that the owner’s daughter wondered why they let me walk, but it was too late to get me back as I had not only switched jobs, but had also moved an hour away to downtown, to be closer to the woman I had been seriously dating at that time. After the move, things wouldn’t work out between us either, but there’s no need to get into that.
    The point is that when I moved, I rented a post office box at a post office near the school where I now work. In those days I frequently bought games online from local sellers, but as I had just moved, I wasn’t buying anything as I didn’t have time to update my shipping address. Lo and behold, one day a random parcel showed up in my P.O. box. The incident was strange enough as I hadn’t ordered anything, but to make matters even odder, the parcel had contained a copy of Super Mario Kart, for the Super Famicom, along with around $12 worth of money.
    I was never a big fan of the original Super Mario Kart game, so it wasn’t something I would have ordered anyway. As Taiwanese can be a bit superstitious, when I got home, I added up the money and it turned out to be something like 331 or 311 or something. It really freaked me out as after looking the number up, it was supposed to be some sort of angel number. For the rest of the night I felt a strange presence in my apartment and even the cat was weirded out, I slept with the lights on that night. Later I looked up the return address of the game and according to Google Maps, it was located at a cemetery.
    This whole incident reminded me of another creepy story that I had been warned about. When giving money in Taiwan at weddings or for Chinese New Year, the money is placed inside a red envelope. I was told never to pick up a red envelope lying on the ground in the street, as likely the envelope would contain some money, along with fingernail clippings and locks of hair. The catch is that these items came from a young, unmarried woman, who had died an untimely death. By picking up the envelope, you are unknowingly agreeing to marry the woman and generally the daughter’s parents would be hiding around the location to wait and watch if any passersby picked up the envelope or not. A wedding would then be held with a picture of the deceased woman and the man, and I found the whole thing to be quite unsettling, especially as it still occurs in some rural areas of the island.
    Because of these incidents, I decided that I wanted to create a Nintendo game based around the theme of Chinese horror. The idea was that the protagonist would pick up a red envelope and be forced to marry a ghost bride, but he makes an agreement with her parents that if he avenges her death, he is left off the hook. I contacted Frankengraphics about doing the game, as she does amazing pixel art, but she was really backed up on her schedule, and for the kind of money we were talking, between graphics and finding someone else for programming, it just wasn’t going to happen. I then thought about trying to do it as part of a Kickstarter campaign to go along with my Family Bits book, in a similar way to Jeffrey Wittenhagen and the Black Box Challenge game, but again, I was struggling to create an appealing video to pitch my Bits book, so I just scrapped the whole idea entirely.
    Sometime in the autumn of 2018, I heard about NES Maker, and after watching a few videos, decided that this might be the way to feasibly create the game I had initially conceptualized in 2016 / 2017 about the red envelope. I was certainly late to the NES Maker party, but I guess I still joined earlier than a lot of people.
    After watching some of the tutorial videos that Joe Granato had done for the different NES Maker modules, I decided against making the Red Envelope game, and I instead opted to do a shooter. To be honest, platformer NES games are easily my favorite genre of all time. I grew up playing the greats, such as Castlevania, Marios, Mega Mans, the Disney games, etc. The platformer module just didn’t look like it was where it needed to be to create a game that I would be personally happy with, and something like a shooter just seemed like it would be less complex to make, i.e. you just dodge obstacles and shoot planes. I still needed a theme though, and without much deep thought Cross Straight Independence was decided upon.
    Going into the game, I knew it wasn’t going to be good by any means. When I had first entered university in 2004, I had studied to be a comp sci major. This was my first experience with programming and I had a lot of trouble wrapping my head around java and C++, so I eventually switched my field of study after about a year and a half. As such, although I had some knowledge about how to break down “problems” and “think” like a programmer, it was very basic, and in terms of assembly, I had no knowledge at all. So I might have had a slight leg up in this department compared to some people who were going in completely blind, but it wasn’t a huge advantage either.
    In a similar manner, I had been classically trained in piano, and also play guitar and had learnt music theory as it relates to guitar and songwriting, in part thanks to a personal friend of mine who is also a professional musician. That being said, although I love playing music, I am not a *great* musician either – the only reason I have the skill I have is because I’ve been muddling through it for over fifteen years. Also, I never did anything relating to chiptune music in my life, and I don’t play drums or any rhythmic instrument.
    Finally, although I’ve been quite into creating art and painting abstracts over the past five years, I am not a great artist by any means, which is why I focus on abstracts. Are you starting to see a pattern here? Due to my knowledge and interest in art, music, and programming, I knew I could make something that didn’t look or sound half bad, but it was destined to be average at best, right out of the gate.
    Since around 2014, China has been getting a lot more aggressive towards Taiwan. I’m not particularly a political person, but Taiwan is a free, safe country, and genuinely a nice place to live. Over the years my dislike towards China’s politics has grown, as I suddenly have a dog in the race. It’s not a good feeling to be teaching a class of five-year-old children how to read, when you suddenly hear fighter jets flying overhead, for example. After almost a decade of this sort of unnecessary aggressive behavior, it was quite easy for me to decide upon creating a shooting game where the locals try to prevent an invasion.
    When I first had the idea to make a game myself, I knew I wouldn’t be able to compete with experienced developers, the likes of Sivak, KHAN, etc. in terms of quality, and it was then that I realized I would need to take a different approach to make the game memorable. And so I decided to make the game as ridiculous as I could, basically also as a nod to the notorious Super Nintendo Hong Kong ‘97 game.
    I sketched out a title screen of the leader of both Taiwan and China facing off against each other, with the island nation centered between them. I believe I had also started working on the first stage, and I took a few screenshots and shared them with OptOut a month or so later, when we had met for a boys trip up to Taipei one weekend. I remember we had talked about the game and some things relating to the game and the feelings of the time. Here were a few of the things we had discussed at length, while on the train and at the station.

    Screenshot from Never Say Die/Cross-Strait Independence by ITG Soft
    As I’m sure you remember, it was around 2019 that NES Maker finally started coming into the public’s eye, and there was a lot of discussion about the utility at that time. A lot of the old-time developers seemed to have felt threatened by the tool, as obviously it would lower the bar of entry into the homebrew / indie market, and as we both can attest to now, with so many games coming out now (made from scratch, by NES Maker, etc.), it is almost impossible to purchase everything, or even track down everything. I felt the hatred and fear towards NES Maker was unfair, as I was around and remember when people first started making homebrew NES games back in the Solar Wars days, and while it wasn’t until 2010 or so when some of the games actually started being sold in any decent numbers, commercially, some of those games were...well...simplistic. I don’t mean any disrespect towards anyone, but if a company such as American Video Entertainment or Color Dreams had done the game, as opposed to someone from within the community, I honestly believe some of the titles would have been viewed negatively.
    What does this have to do with NES Maker, you might ask? I’m one of those guys that understands that sticking something out long enough just to finish the project can be a big accomplishment in and of itself. So I felt it was unfair that some developers were trying to raise the expectations or standard to a level beyond what they had been creating when they got in, as I believe everyone needs to start somewhere, and hopefully projects get better as people get more experienced.
    OptOut didn’t think the fear that NES Maker would pollute the pool of homebrew NES with garbage titles to be warranted, as it would require a lot of time, money and dedication that most people wouldn’t have, if they were truly just after a cash grab. Either way, I wanted to distance my game from NES Maker due to the whole controversy.
    The other big thing that had been discussed was any potential safety issue relating to the game. Although it sounds silly to talk about it, politics in the mainland are quite serious, and China tends to go off the deep end over anything that tarnishes their image. My family back home were against the creation of the game full stop, for fears that I would “disappear”. Furthermore, I do have some collector friends on the mainland, I mean, the game was going to be quite provocative, and I really didn’t want to have trouble from that angle either. The girl I was dating at the time also wasn’t fond of it, though it was more about using the Taiwanese president’s image in the game, without permission. Taiwan has some odd laws relating to defamation and privacy, so she thought I was just asking for trouble and might get sued. So even though the project wasn’t particularly serious, it was something I definitely didn’t want to risk putting my name on. Safety was definitely the number one concern though, and it seemed like a serious concern back then.
    I figured that things would seem more legitimate if the game had a team of people credited in it, so I had come up with a whole team of people, and gave everyone a bit of a backstory. I was Kiki Wang of course, and Richard Miao was famously my cat Richard. I always wondered if anyone would actually stop and realize that Miao and Meow are the same. Although Richard Miao just worked in marketing and doing graphics or programming or whatever, he always had a “bad temper” and would start getting destructive if progress wasn’t made to his liking. Once my cat had bit one of my rare game boxes, and when OptOut found out about it, he mused something along the lines of “I told Richard Miao to do that, since you weren’t working as hard on the game as you should have been.” OptOut is even credited in the game, albeit again under a different name.
    As for the company itself, I named it ITG-Soft, which although never mentioned, was short for Independent Taiwan Games Software. I imagined it to be situated near the one local university, which is situated near a night market, as well as a place known as “art street”, where there are some cafes and curio shops and things like that. I know this area quite well and am fond of the area, and always saw the devs of ITG being out of university, yet still young enough that they haven’t had their spirit broken by the cold, harsh realities of the working world, with ITG-Soft just being a fun project that they did on the side for hobbyist reasons. I guess in some ways, it was the mirror opposite of a lot of local friends here in Taiwan, who gave up on their dreams years ago.
    I could go on forever discussing interesting tidbits and the thoughts that had gone through my mind, but I’ll spare you the details...for now, and I’ll try to focus primarily on a few interesting points regarding the first release and things directly afterwards. If there’s anything else that you’re particularly curious about, then feel free to ask!
    As I mentioned earlier, CSI was quite a provocative game. In some of the stages, the player shoots down communist flags off of buildings. In the final Taipei stage, the player literally fights against a huge enemy that is literally just the Chinese characters which read “One country, two systems”, which of course is a reference to China and their failed system for ruling Hong Kong in a so-called democratic way. And at the end of that stage is the leader himself, depicted as Winnie the Pooh. His manhood is hanging out and that’s where the hit detection box is. When you shoot him in the groin, he smirks, before giving it a yank and continuing on with his attack. This would be seen as highly offensive, and I became so concerned about safety that when I sold the game locally, I changed the plot and removed all references to politics. I even changed the name of the “company” publishing the game, in an attempt to add distance from the projects.
    As it was the first game I designed, Independence has a lot of design flaws. Ignoring issues with poor animations and what not, the stage designs are just too difficult for many, though as I had been playing the game constantly to test it, I couldn’t really gauge this. OptOut didn’t fare well at it, but he’s not particularly a NES gamer, so I couldn’t really judge if it was him or the game itself. So while the game is horrible in many ways, I have a soft spot for it in my heart.
    The stages themselves are somewhat accurate of the actual topography of Taiwan. I did some research into possible invasion points too, and there are landmarks that can be recognized such as the lighthouse in Kenting, the Buddha in Changhua, and Taipei 101. Some of the non-offensive enemies are quite funny, culturally, such as the monkeys that spit betal nuts at the plane. Oh, and the music track of the first stage has ties to Taiwan too, as I had sampled it from a local expat band here, called the Peaks. The song I borrowed is titled “Bring the Devil Out”.
    From a development standpoint, I had a lot of fun making the game. Sometimes I would play test it or work on the stages while at my day job, and my (former) students were really excited to help and watch, as any six-year-old would be. I added a lot of hidden paths in the game, and I even referenced this via the map in the instruction manual, though I doubt too many people actually found the secret path leading from Chiayi across Alishan Mountain, eventually having the hero approach Taipei from the East via the port at Keelung.
    There’s also a warp at the beginning of the first stage, which takes you to the “tester’s” room. There are a bunch of secret messages and if you can find your way out of it, you’ll find yourself at the beginning of the final Taipei stage. As a child, I loved the idea of secret stages and brand new areas that were referenced somehow in the game, yet so obscure that they remained nothing more than rumors to most. So I had to do the same with this game, and I also added a few secret rooms to the Peace, Love, Trippy Club game, though not to the same extent as with Cross Strait Independence.

    Screenshot from Peace, Love, Trippy Club by ITG Soft
    As I mentioned earlier, I paid a professional to do the artwork for the game. It’s funny, that artist and I run around in the same circles locally, but he’s quite eccentric, and can be hard work sometimes. I also paid another guy I know to advertise the game in a local magazine he publishes. The magazine is a bit offensive and controversial, so it was a perfect fit for the game. It was funny, I just wanted the guy, Ross, to design up an advert for me and I’d pay him – this guy loves making and editing videos and graphics and what not. Well, he insisted on me coming over to the school that he owns, one Monday evening. In reality, he is friends with the artist that did the box art, and he just wanted to see the original artwork as opposed to the low-res image.
    So against my better judgment I had gone over, and we sat there, him rambling on and on about various conspiracy theories while designing up the advert. He also insisted on us drinking whiskey and as the hours dragged on, I had wanted to escape but I just couldn’t find a means of doing so. I finally got out at around 4 AM., and I overslept and made it into work about an hour before my lunch break. My manager was so angry, but as she is friends of Ross, I just told her to speak with him if she wanted details on the ordeal, and it smoothed things over. Oh and regarding the game, not once did anyone ever message inquiring to buy the game based on seeing the magazine advert.
    When it came time to actually produce the game, I was once again diving into uncharted territory. I asked a Polish collector friend of mine to help design PCBs for me, and he did – the PCBs for all of my games are custom, only ITG-Soft uses them. As this guy is an engineer, I paid him in the form of old bootleg Famicom games, mostly non-functional carts. He enjoyed reverse-engineering the games, and then sometimes he was able to fix them and sell them or keep them. He even sent them back to me repaired one time.
    Originally I wanted to buy Taiwanese components to build the games, so I went down to the old computer components district in my town but let me tell you, it was a ghost town. Aside from IC sockets (which I used to make a cartridge to test individual chips when making protos and demos), I couldn’t find any of the components I desired, and all of the guys were shocked I was even trying to find these parts anymore. Frustrated, I was delayed again, and the Polish friend then helped me find the components I needed on AliExpress, and I ordered them from there.
    This wasn’t smooth sailing either though, as one of the orders had been canceled, and for another one of the orders, the seller shipped by private courier, despite me paying for local service. As a result, they couldn’t deliver the parcel to my P.O. Box, and so I had to drive my scooter all the way out to the science park area of the city, which is located in the middle of nowhere, to pick up the parcel directly from UPS or DHL or whoever it was. As for the order that was canceled, I found a local seller selling the item, but I had to buy it in bulk and I still have tons of stock that I’ll probably never use.
    There used to be a toy store in my city, which had a lot of old stock from the nineties, and I cleared him out of good stuff years before I decided to make Independence. I went down there to buy the remaining junk Famiclone titles to harvest for their shells, and I did the same with the junk Sega bootlegs (for the cases). I bought him out of everything, and had about 100 pieces of each, but I had planned on doing a 200-piece run of CSI, so I figured I’d do 100 to begin, then after they sold, worry about sourcing more cartridges and boxes from somewhere. Then OptOut helped me print out the artwork and manual, and I took those proofs to the local print shop to make copies. Soon it would be time to start assembling these games.
    I sold a few games on Nintendo Age and received payment, then that weekend I would try to assemble everything. I had never soldered before, so I was hoping I would even be able to do so, but at worst I figured I could pay someone locally to help me out. I watched some YouTube videos to learn how to solder, and then I attempted to assemble a cartridge. Tears filled my eyes when I powered the machine on and saw the title screen for my game on the television screen, and heard the music that I had composed coming from the TV. It all felt so surreal, I mean this was every boy’s dream, right?
    As an aside though I will just mention that those times were weird times. Against my better intuition, I had been set up to date my good friend’s sister, and the woman I was seeing had decided to take a course on the weekends to get trained in architecture design. To make matters worse, the time we did have together was generally spent at the hospital as my friend’s mother has had serious health issues for the past ten years or so, and the problems had gotten really bad around the time that I was doing Independence. I guess I bring this all up as I think in some other way, Independence really was a coping mechanism for me, a way to deal with the stress in my life at that time. As my ex had taken the class late in the evening on Saturday nights, and the class was close to where I live, she’d always rather crash at mine than drive an hour back home. As a result, I couldn’t really travel or go out and do things, and then Sundays were spent traveling with the family to visit their mother in the hospital. Independence gave me something to focus on though, during those incredibly bleak times, and ironically enough I had a fight with the woman I was seeing the day I had fabricated the first copy of my game. I told her, “I’m having an amazing day and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of that”. Obviously she wasn’t happy by my cavalier attitude, and I felt really sad inside, as I had wanted to share my project with someone and I couldn’t really do so, but that’s just how things go sometimes. Things weren’t meant to be in that relationship for a lot of reasons, but she’s a great person and we managed to become friends, so it’s just one of those odd points that I think about whenever I remember making my first CSI cartridges.
    In the end, I sold probably around fifteen or twenty copies of the Independence game, and I gave copies away to a few friends as well as my parents and brother. I actually kept track of who I was selling the games to, again for the sake of being able to track them should there be some sort of issue with safety, and IIRC, I only sold one single copy of the Never Say Die hack, it might have been to you or Neodolphino. No one had bought it locally. One of my local (former) collector friends had come across CSI at one point, and he and his friend had each wanted one, so I burned them each one, but somehow I had lost the final ROM of the game, so their copy is just near final, with one or two minor graphical changes.
    That brings up one final point, in this legend. I honestly have no idea how you had gotten the impression that the game was out of print (and thus you marked it as such on the VGS list), but as far as I had been concerned, it still was in print, as I had planned on doing a run of 200 games. When I saw you had marked it as out of print, I decided to just go with it and let sleeping dogs lie, as the game was horrible, and I just wanted to remove all ties of myself to it, once again just for safety reasons, so that had given me an out. If someone really wanted one, they could get the censored version, and the other version would just be something of legends, a legend which you ironically enough had even contributed to.
    That brings up one other point. I recognize that there might be some revived interest in these games, and as such I know that some people might want to own a copy of the game. On the other hand, with so few cartridges having been produced, and as a collector myself, I thought about the best way to handle the situation, and this is what I intend to do.
    I plan to occasionally auction off “original print” versions of Independence in auctions for charity, along with other ITG-Soft games as a set. For example, I will throw a set of ITG-Soft games in the auction I am currently doing for donation to VGS, and I also plan on sending KHAN a set to auction for his NES Game a Thon fundraiser for Autism. On the other hand, I am never going to sell any more original print versions of the game for profit, for myself. For those who want a copy of the game, I am planning on doing a reissue, changing the copyright date, adding the missing cover to the manual, using brand new shells instead of recycled ones, possibly including an insert detailing the history of the game, etc.
    Being on both sides of the coin, of wanting to play a homebrew game legally and not being able to purchase it, and also being a collector and watching as a game that I have paid $$$ for plummets in value, I think this is sort of the happy medium, and as for the charity bit, I’m definitely not rich working as an ESL teacher, but if I can help raise some money to help people and for good causes, then that makes me happy too.
    I think that more or less sums up the story of Cross Strait Independence, and the early years at ITG-Soft. When I went into it, I thought it would be a one and done, or possibly a test project that would give me experience enough to create that Red Envelope game that I had wanted to do since 2016. The further I got along with Independence though, the more I realized that it would be a looooooooong ways off before I could create a game that met my personal expectations for Red Envelope. And that’s when I started playing around with other projects and ideas, with the hope of someday fulfilling the Red Envelope dream.
    You might have noticed, but ITG-Soft’s slogan is “Simpler Times”, and I already explained to you the way that I imagined these characters saw life. In some ways I think I might also be just crying out for homebrew / indie gaming to get back to its roots. And Piss the Fish is an example of that.

    From ITG Soft’s homepage
    Piss the Fish is weird, it’s silly, it’s stupid, and it’s slightly vulgar – but its artsy. I got the idea from when I noticed I was holding my Micro Genius Famiclone controller almost vertically, quite similar to a Wii remote, one evening while playing a game. Peace, Love, Trippy Club was also a bit vulgar, but it tried to push the envelope, in terms of sexuality, drug use, etc. With Hungry Ghost Night one got the guide, plus there were two totally different games released at the same time. Dragon Boat Fest was a holiday-themed game.
    Even some of the ideas that haven’t made it yet to fruition are out there somewhat. I have a quiz game planned that I might try to do for the NES Maker contest this September. Basically Richard Miao is the host and he quizzes you in radical facts based around felines. The Hot Pot Runs game my brother and I are doing, it was supposed to be the way that I could “go legit” and start doing some games away from ITG-Soft. It had the novel to go with, which documented the “creation” of the game that people were playing. I even have a murder mystery game planned, and I’ve been trying to collaborate with a friend from Argentina and a bodybuilder buddy from New York to do some chiptune albums, as well as some custom mini-games. Oh, and although it never happened (at least not yet), another idea I had was titled “Taiwan in Pixels”, basically each cartridge is a photo album from a single region in Taiwan. I might actually revisit that one and sell it with the Taiwanese snack boxes that my friend and I sell.
    I guess what I am trying to say is the following: NES homebrew has very humble beginnings, which I try to showcase and dive into when I write my homebrew history articles for my Mali’s Cash magazine. I remember when Chris Covell first put up instructions on how to burn Solar Wars onto a game cartridge, I was on the list for a Garage Cart when Memblers was selling them (though backed out at the last moment, I was just a poor teenager). When I received an email about Hot Logic, I just about shit myself, it looked amazing compared to any homebrew games previously, and then there was that amazing-looking NeoToxin game, or the forgotten Time Conquest that had always intrigued me.
    By now, we have ex-programmers from back in the day using Kickstarter as a means of presenting ideas and gathering capital to create commercial-level NES homebrew / indie games. From a gaming standpoint, I absolutely love this, as I get to experience more amazing games designed for my favorite gaming machine. On the other hand though, I sometimes do miss the quirkiness and originality of the earlier homebrew, where creators didn’t have to worry about pleasing backers and had free reign to experiment and make games how they saw fit. In some ways, I guess ITG-Soft is a nod to those times. We’re always looking to do something out of the box or slightly controversial, for the sake of having fun, seeing where things lead, and going back to earlier times.
    Regarding Hot Pot Runs: Originally, I didn’t even intend to make a game for it, rather it was just to be a book. Over the years, I’ve read a lot of novels and literature, as it came with my studies as an English major. That being said, two books that have oddly stood out to me were Herman Wouk’s The Lawgiver and Thomas Glavinic’s Das bin doch ich.
    I had read Das bin doch ich years ago, I am not sure if it was ever translated into English or not; however, I found the book to be oddly entertaining, as we followed the author and his attempt to get his book onto the short list of books. Actually, I had read the book back in 2008, so I am really stretching my memory about the plot, though I remember that I had really enjoyed the book. As for the other book, my father had left The Lawgiver at my apartment after visiting me in Taiwan, and after many months of it just sitting there, I had picked it up and fell in love with the book immediately. If you read that book, you can see that I completely stole the format when creating Hot Pot Runs, and I guess one could argue that these books both are just a modern form of the epistolary novel, i.e. Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

    From the game’s accompanying book (or rather the book that accompanies the game)
    Anyways, I think in terms of gaming companies, we always tend to romanticize companies such as Active Enterprises. Even today, people suggest that the company was just one or two guys creating games out of their basement, though it was a much larger organization then that. The same could be said for Color Dreams, Sachen, or likely any of the independent gaming companies from the NES era.
    Hot Pot Runs is therefore a direct tribute to the romanticized idea of the two or three entrepreneurs with the get rich quick plan of creating a kick-ass triple A game title, despite not knowing anything about games or game development. I wanted to make sure that all of the characters in the story had their own voices, so I made an email account for each character, and then my brother and I corresponded over the course of several months, to create the story. We even had a few Google Meets calls and transcribed everything. You might see some mistakes in the emails, either grammatical or spelling, but I left them in as it creates a sense of realism as people sometimes do make mistakes when corresponding via email or whatever.
    My brother actually wasn’t onboard with the project at all, initially, but I eventually was able to bring him around and then he had a blast!
    We decided to do a Hot Pot Runs game simply as a tribute to those in the gaming community. It’s sort of like if a movie or book features a fictional product, and then the item is eventually produced. I know that the Hot Pot Runs game is not particularly good, which is why we are only selling it to those who have bought (and hopefully read) the book, but then again, Raj did a terrible job with the game in the book, so if the real game was an amazing title...well that would be a whole different issue. So it’s just a fun item for the fans.
     
    -What first inspired you to launch a magazine? What is the origin story of Mali’s Cash, and how did you decide on the name?
    Unbeknownst to me, everything happened around May or June last year. COVID-19 had finally reached Taiwan, although not to the same extent as it had the rest of the world; however, I will never forget that fateful Tuesday afternoon. My supervisor came into the classroom and said to me, “After you go home today, don’t come back for two weeks, no pay. Enjoy your holiday.” Two weeks then turned into four, and before long, we were all wondering how we were going to pay the rent and bills. I guess I shouldn’t complain, as we had it easier than many people in the States or elsewhere, but I was out of work for about three months, unpaid, and as a foreigner, the government had also hung me out to dry, refusing to offer me the same assistance that the locals had. These were very dark times, and my average day went something like this. I’d wake up around ten o’clock, and I’d lift weights for an hour. Then I’d walk half a mile to the supermarket and purchase a six-pack of beer, or maybe a bottle of wine or spirits if I were feeling particularly low. I’d snag any frozen pizzas, bags of french fries, or bags of chicken nuggets that I could find, then head to a second supermarket to load up on more frozen provisions. Afterwards I’d head home and talk to my mother via the internet before taking another nap. I’d wake up again around eight at night and call my parents and brother again, before going to bed sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Aside from any brief interaction at the shops, the only human contact I had during this time was a cat, and well...oops, he’s a cat, hahaha.
    Although I didn’t realize it then, this situation had a profound effect on me. I realized that even after working for a school for six years, despite having my visa tied to this school – well, when push came to shove, they wouldn’t be there to help me, if circumstances had turned out poorly. If you’re interested in my experiences, I wrote a memoir about it titled Always a Painted Smile.
    These experiences had led me to start thinking about my future and what I had wanted to do, and I decided that I wanted to focus more on writing, something that I had enjoyed back when I was in university. Sometime around January or February this year, I had been taking the above-ground subway in the city to link up with the main train station, and from there I had planned to head south and go game hunting. I was chatting with an American friend of mine from Buffalo, and I told him that I wanted to do a print magazine about unlicensed, pirated, and homebrew video games. He sort of laughed, and then told me that if anyone had the contacts to pull it off, I did.
    A few weeks later I was in a junk shop and I heard a familiar voice on the radio. Apparently Avril Lavigne had released a new album, and it sounded basically the same as her older albums. I was dumbfounded, I mean this is 2022, right? It was at that point that I sat down and decided to make Mali’s Cash a reality.
    As for the name, that’s a whole other story. Originally I was just going to run copies out at the local print shop, and then cut and assemble them myself, in an attempt to make the magazine feel really underground. To keep with the vibe I decided to use the name “Mali”, which is a romanization of the Chinese word for Mario. In my mind, I had the idea of the ugly “fortran” Mario from the bootleg TV Mario game as being some sort of unofficial mascot for the magazine. As for the cash part, I thought it sounded a bit edgy, but admittedly enough there’s a female character in a Hong Kong drama I like who is named Cash. The drama translates into something as Hitman or Killer, and it is quite action-packed. I thought the two words sounded quite good together, and the rest is history.
     
    -What do you feel makes Mali’s Cash unique in terms of both aesthetic and content?
    I think to start a print magazine now is quite a difficult undertaking, and therefore it is critical to create a unique personal brand. For me, I really wanted to use a lot of bright colors in the magazine, such as “hot” pink and green, as perhaps I wanted to invoke either a punky feel or an eighties / nineties feel. As for the writers, well of course they are avatars for real people, and I’m the lion guy, Renny Lions, though I’m not from Brisbane, nor do I smoke, but I wanted to create a bit of an edgy feel to the magazine. Maybe this goes back to my days of undergrad studying English lit and determining hidden meanings.

    Oh hello Renny, rawr
    As for content, I’m trying to draw from several different angles, namely homebrew / indie games, bootleg / unlicensed games, and Asian culture. My goal is to write about niche genres that I think other people will find interesting. If I can get more people to become interested in homebrew games, for example, it would be a dream of mine, as more support generally equates to more projects, and the fact that I know a lot of these folks in one way or another is just gravy on the top.
     
    -Mali’s Cash includes reviews, teasers, and news about a host of games, as well as cultural pieces centered around Asia, and Taiwan more specifically. How do you decide what to include? What jumps out at you? Do you have a preference between the types of games you want to cover? What about Taiwan and your experiences are you hoping to share with others?
    Let’s address Taiwan first. From a gaming standpoint, I see it as being a wildcard, lying somewhere between Japan and the States. For example, about one third to one half of the NES game library was never released in Japan; however, it was released in Taiwan, albeit as bootleg versions. The brightest Taiwanese often go abroad to live and work, yet they maintain ties to the island. I know many people here who have relatives living in California or Texas or wherever. As a result, I guess some of these people were related to the gaming industry, and brought back North American exclusives to Taiwan, where they were copied and then released unofficially.
    Then there are the official items, such as that Pokémon-themed 7-11. There’s also a product being sold here at the convenience stores where it is herbs or plants, which grow in Pokémon-themed planters. I even have a few official Pokémon displays that were never released in Japan or the west.
    Taiwan will never be the gaming mecca that Japan is, though it comes in second place. We get a lot of official merchandise from Japan, but we get the best from the States as well. This is what I want to share.
    There’s a stationary shop near me, for example, and it has PC keyboards for sale, including one decorated with Snorlax and another with Pikachu. These are official items, released for this region by Pokémon / Game Freaks themselves. I think it’s so neat seeing these things.
    For the articles, I try to include things that will interest others. That’s why we’re doing a three-part special on Mario hacks – I always found these games to be interesting, even back in 1999 or 2000. As for the homebrew games, I want to cover those which I personally found interesting, for one reason or another, as well as those that I find to be culturally significant. Let’s take Solar Wars: it’s not the type of game that I generally play, but to me, it is the most significant homebrew NES game, historically. Garage Cart would be number two, and then for three and four, I’d throw Hot Logic and Sudoku in there somewhere.
     
    -What to you are the essentials to making a magazine such as Mali’s Cash compelling reading?
    Don’t make it dry! With my Family Bits books, I am trying to be objective as an encyclopedia, but for Mali’s Cash, I hope to be a bit more subjective.
    We also decided to latch onto things such as the Super Jeff – if you respond to the advert, you’ll get a response, lol, and the name should look very familiar to a certain someone in Hot Pot Runs.
    My dream is to make the magazine both fun and informative, something that the gaming mags of yesteryear were.

    Cover from Family Bits
     
    -What is your favorite section of the magazine?
    Oh that’s an easy one, definitely the Sachen horoscopes! Sachen had made a horoscope “game” and released it on one of their multicarts. Basically what I do is I run each sign through the game, take the message, and then we add a bit of flare to make it unique. I know it’s really silly, but who knows, maybe one of these readings will resonate with someone and lead to something big!
     
    -How do you obtain the information you publish? Do you reach out to people or do your own research?
    Honestly, we do both. I learned long ago that without the assistance from others, it is sometimes unfortunately too easy to overlook something or get all trapped up in one’s own personal thoughts and opinions. Due to this, we do our own research though we also reach out to others hoping that we can make Mali’s Cash a top-tier magazine on the market.
     
    -What qualities do you look for when choosing someone to publish your magazine?
    For us, the biggest factor is a publisher that grants us the freedom to write about the things that we desire. For example, a lot of publishers refuse to publish books or magazines that include articles on bootleg games. Although I don’t condone bootleg games, I personally feel that there is a difference between providing links to modern PS5 bootlegs, and bootlegs from thirty or forty years ago, which are being discussed primarily for historical purposes.
    I take a similar stance with bad language and nudity. I’m definitely against censorship, but similarly, I realize and recognize that some people, my brother included, don’t enjoy f-bombs or naked bodies. Therefore I am trying to toe that line, where I can please everyone. I want a publisher that allows me to post a few racy pictures, if necessary, though similarly I am trying to create something that is appropriate for everyone. I know that these two objectives may be at odds with each other, but I am trying to meet somewhere in the middle.
     
    -Do you have any interest in offering a digital edition of the magazine in addition to its printed format?
    You know what, I’m honestly not a fan of digital at all. For starters, the very idea of a print magazine is somewhat nostalgic in and of itself. It’s sort of like creating a homebrew and wowing people by breaking out original hardware, versus playing a modern game that was designed to “look” retro. Having a magazine that covers new games for old machines, yet is digital, just doesn’t do anything for me at all, personally, as the idea behind Mali’s Cash is two-fold, namely that content, but secondary that I believe physical media is going to be making a comeback within the next ten years or so.
    Never say never though about a digital version of Mali’s Cash – if it did show up digitally, it would definitely be exclusively for monetary gain; I guess I’d be selling myself out to my constituents giving them what they wanted and going against my personal tastes, just for money. Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point, but who knows!
     
    -Mali’s Cash generally serves as an evangelist for the retro gaming community, sharing support and enthusiasm for the games that interest you. Would you ever cover a game that didn’t excite you just because it was garnering a fair amount of attention? Are there any controversial subjects in the retro game collecting world that you would want to discuss in Mali’s Cash at some point?
    As I mentioned earlier, my coverage of Solar Wars in the first issue was not out of any personal interest, rather a decision spearheaded by historical significance. I have a feeling we are going to be going down this route again and again as the magazine progresses. I am trying to cover games and items that I think the readers will find exciting and interesting, while ignoring my own preferences.
    Not game related, but it’s definitely a cultural point that I’ll be throwing in one of the later issues. There’s a chain of convenience stores here, originating from Japan, named Family Mart. Did you know that some of these stores have washing machines inside, where one can wash their clothes? In the same shop you can buy slabs of frozen meat, such as steaks, chicken breasts, etc. I’ve been away from home for way too long, so this doesn’t have the wow factor that it once did, but it’s honestly incredible, and who knows, maybe some entrepreneur with cash might read one of these articles and then bring the concept to the States.
    About the controversial stuff, I think I mentioned earlier that the single deal breaker for me, in terms of a publisher, would be one that censored me. When I first envisioned Mali’s Cash, I saw it as some sort of tabloid, a rag that one might pick up near the till at a supermarket. At that point, I was still planning on just leasing a copy machine and printing the magazines myself, taking it truly underground from the safety of Taiwan.
    I then decided to tone the magazine down a bit, around the time that I decided that I’d let others handle the printing and shipping. I still want to cover controversial topics in the magazine though. I’d love to talk about the whole sealed market, the NES Maker versus from scratch debate, dumping versus not dumping games, or even the concept of repros. On all of these issues, I’ve probably been on both sides of the debate, personally, and at the end of the day I think most of the arguments stem not from protecting one’s best interest, rather stem from one single thing: fear.
     
    -Did anything you learned from working on your magazine meaningfully change your thinking about any aspect of retro game collecting or the homebrew scene?
    A pivotal moment for me was when I decided to write Family Bits. I had posted a few sample images, and the text was a bit subjective, and while most people liked it, a single person told me that I should try to be more objective in my writing. This was influential to me, as it forced me to look critically at whole libraries of terrible games. I spent whole weekends playing games that were not to my liking at all, and to make matters worse, I had to write something about them afterwards!
    How does this relate to Mali’s Cash? I guess it’s changed the way that I look at games as a whole. I’ve begun to look at games critically, trying to determine which games might be significant culturally and why. I then use this knowledge to help determine the games that I write about in the magazine, as I want to produce a magazine that is informative and interesting now, yet also has relevance in the future.
     
    -Did your direction or focus change at all between initial planning and putting the first issue together?
    Yeah, definitely! I decided to tone things down a bit to make the magazine more friendly for all audiences. Initially I wanted the magazine to be like a tabloid, and I had the idea to include a lot of trashy articles in each issue, though most of that got removed, aside from the Piss the Fish article and the Sachen horoscopes section. I’ll probably still reuse many of the initial ideas in later volumes of Mali’s Cash, but I’ll limit it to keep things fun for everyone.
     
    -What was the most surprising thing you discovered while making Mali’s Cash?
    Writer’s block is real, even for seasoned writers as myself. There were many nights when I didn’t get anything of use accomplished, simply because anything that I put to paper read terribly. I also realized just how expensive it was to make copies at the local print shop!
     
    -If you could go back in time, knowing everything you know now, would you do anything different with your first issue?
    I wouldn’t change a thing! I’m the sort of person who realizes that there’s no point looking backwards in life, and overall I was quite pleased with how things turned out.
     
    -In recent months, some of your posts here on VGS have referenced your work with TV Game Foundation Formosa, describing articles on classic gaming and a reference library. Tell us more about this project: its origins, its goals, and your work on it. How do you feel it complements your other projects?
    The TV Game Foundation Formosa is the end result of my collecting habit. As mentioned earlier, gaming and subsequently game collecting has been a large part of my life, something that even resurfaced after moving abroad. I was basically in the right place at the right time, as the locals generally didn't start feeling nostalgic about these old games until about five or six years after I had begun collecting here; as a result, I ended up building contacts with old shopkeepers and amassing a really amazing set of classic games, consisting of Japanese imports, Taiwanese originals, and Taiwanese bootlegs.
    Gosh, I've spent thousands of dollars over the years on this hobby, and my family and friends are quick to point this out; however, as we both can recognize, the values of these games continue to climb and if I sold everything off tomorrow, I'd be a rich man, haha.
    That's sort of where the idea for the TV Game Foundation Formosa came into play. I own more games than I ever care to play, or even want, but somewhere along the line I had decided that I'd just start keeping any game that I could purchase locally, which cost me $3 or less. As I grow older, year by year, I come to realize that I am gaming less, and although I still care about gaming immensely, similarly I can't just keep blowing tons of cash on old games that I don't even play, to complete full sets, and think that at the same time I can establish meaningful relationships with a loving partner, start a family, save for retirement, etc. So I began to think of something that my father had said long ago, simply that if you have a hobby, is there a way to make it viable, i.e. to turn it into a career somehow? Thus the TV Game Foundation Formosa was born.
    Although we have just started, our focus is to research, preserve, and document everything related to gaming here in Taiwan. For example, we started compiling a list of the Asian version Xbox games released. We scan boxes and cartridges to preserve them, of course the Family Bits series of books is being endorsed by the TV Game Foundation Formosa, and although it isn't really mentioned, we also dump and release ROMs. In the future we hope to write some articles about games and gaming here, and similarly, the content in Mali's Cash coincides with the aims and goals of the TV Game Foundation Formosa.
    I have a few friends, who are in the coffee business, and I am trying to get them onboard with my vision. What I eventually see is for us to have a few coffee shops situated in some of the cities across Taiwan. I'll donate some of the rare and historically significant pieces for the shops to display, and we'll also have gaming stations set up. Think something like a cross between Hard Rock Cafe and an arcade. Then continue to do the writing, the scanning, the dumping, while also working with other preservation groups such as Gaming Alexandria. That's where I want to take things, within the next five years - I don't think I need to hold onto 80% of my collection forever, but similarly, I think it's a damn fine collection and to just part it off isn't fair either, so I'd like to see some good come from the whole thing, as I progress into a later stage of my life.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    There are four titles that are currently on my radar. The first is Orange Island. Ever since I saw the Kickstarter and trailer for the game, I felt that it looked amazing. The graphics looked so detailed, yet colorful and cute, and I’m a sucker for that sort of thing. I know the game is supposed to be an action-adventure RPG, but in some odd way it reminded me of Gimmick. And what about the moon? I’d love to know what’s on it!
    I’m also interested in ITG Soft’s Leopard Cats and that What Remains game. Both seem to have been more or less finished, so I’m just wondering what the holdup is to an actual release. Finally, Bitca Games’ Sun Wukong versus Robot looks VERY interesting to me. Not only does the game look extremely fun, the idea that it draws influence from Chinese mythology is another selling point that personally jives with me.

    I’ve heard of that one…
     
    -Speaking of homebrew games, you’ve been working on your own game, which has an accompanying book: Hot Pot Runs. How is that project coming along? Any other projects you aspire to develop?
    As you know, the book is done, and the game is about 80% complete. I was hoping to finish it this weekend, as I had three days off, but one thing led to another and I have got almost nothing done this weekend. The Hot Pot Runs game should be finished pretty soon though, definitely sometime early in June.
    Regarding other projects, I had an idea for a game years ago, which came about after several experiences. As I mentioned earlier, I used to live along the coast, but then in 2016 I moved up to Taichung city center. I rented a new P.O. box, and randomly one day a package arrived for me, containing a copy of Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo. There was also a substantial amount of money included in the envelope, I think it was around 221 Taiwan dollars, okay that’s not a lot, but it definitely wasn’t a refund for being overcharged on shipping or something.
    Anyways, Taiwanese are very superstitious, so I counted up the money and it turned out that it was an “angel number”. This had freaked me out, and it brought my mind around to a story I had heard years ago, which is honestly the creepiest story I’ve ever heard in my life.
    In Taiwanese culture, money is given out for special occasions, such as Chinese New Year, and it is stuffed inside a red envelope. I was warned early on though that I should never pick up a random red envelope that has been dropped on the side of the road, not under any circumstances.
    These red envelopes include money, as well as locks of hair, fingernails, and sometimes a picture of a beautiful woman, namely someone’s daughter who had died an untimely death before getting married. By picking up the envelope one basically consents to marrying the woman’s spirit, so that the dead woman’s spirit can find rest. They’ll even have a wedding ceremony, the whole works! It’s not so common in the cities, but in some rural areas, it still occurs.
    This story had led me to the idea of creating a game based off of this scenario. A beautiful, popular woman was raped and murdered in an untimely fashion, and then a random guy ends up picking up the red envelope; of course he doesn’t want to marry a ghost, so he makes a deal with the family, namely that he avenges the daughter, and then he is let off the hook. I had pitched the idea to FrankenGraphics years ago, as they do beautiful artwork, but it was obviously out of my price range. I later pitched the idea to ITG Software and while not a reality now, it may become a reality at some point in the future.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Tell me what you would like to see in Mali’s Cash! The same goes for my Family Bits series of books. Constructive criticism is always necessary, if we want to achieve our full potential.
    I’d also like to thank everyone for the support that has been offered. My aim is to become a full-time author in a year and a half, yet similarly, my other goal is to create something that resonates with others. I mean, I believe I was put on this earth to help others, so why not? I guess we’ll see what happens.
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this special episode of the series that explores the new and exciting goings on in the homebrew community. What are your thoughts on Dev Cart, Cool Sh#t, Retrobrew, and Mali’s Cash, and their dedicated publishers? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  22. Scrobins

    Episode 24: Super Tilt Bro.

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 24: Super Tilt Bro.

    Introduction:
    Homebrew first caught my eye when I sought to build out my game collection and I discovered new games for old consoles. Some games that stood out reinvented accessories like Super Russian Roulette’s use of the Zapper and Tailgate Party’s use of the Power Pad, while others applied modern gaming ideas to the old hardware like Candelabra: Estocerro and Spook-o’-tron’s use of both NES controllers in a way that mimics the Wii’s nunchuck dual joysticks. In this spirit homebrew continually evolves, and sometimes that growth breaks through a once-impossible barrier. The nights of couch co-op gameplay grow longer as the next must-have homebrew comes in riding a technological leap that could only have come from the creative wizardry of this community. And yet more than anything else, all you can do is wonder what might come next along the path laid here.
    For this entry, I’m covering Super Tilt Bro. and the Rainbow Wi-Fi chipset, a fighting game for the NES developed by Sylvain Gadrat and going global with Wi-Fi-enhanced NES power thanks to the mad science of Antoine Gohin of Broke Studio fame. As of the time of this writing, the development of the game and the chipset continues in earnest, but the current build of the game is available to play here with the capabilities to play others elsewhere in the world.
    In the meantime, VGS recently hosted a Super Tilt Bro. tournament last month. I certainly got my butt handed to me, but if you start practicing next year and hound the staff, we might do it again next year!
     
    Development Team:
    @RogerBidon (Sylvain Gadrat): developer (Super Tilt Bro.)
    @Broke Studio (Antoine Gohin): publisher (Super Tilt Bro.) & developer (Rainbow Wi-Fi chipset)
     

    Cart and Instructions from initial sale
     
    Game Evolution:
    Super Tilt Bro.’s origins track all the back to the era of Nintendo Age. Sylvain first created a thread for the game on NESDev on December 29, 2016 as his entry in the 2016 NESDev Competition. Described as a demake of the Super Smash Bros. series with the goal of being accessible, yet something to master, Sylvain noted he had been working on the game since the previous April.
    Following the competition, Sylvain created a thread on NintendoAge about the game’s continuing development on May 15, 2018. Copies of the existing build were sold on cartridges to excited fans. The development thread continued to Video Game Sage on October 31, 2019, but its association with the Rainbow Wi-Fi cart in development from Broke Studio first appeared on VGS on March 18, 2020 in its own dedicated thread. Something especially notable about Sylvain’s posts is the abundant sharing of his programming notes, offering an educational resource alongside his development updates.

    Screenshot from Super Tilt Bro.’s entry in the 2016 NESDev Compo
     
    Gameplay Overview:
    Super Tilt Bro. describes itself as a versus platformer or brawler, channeling the Super Smash Bros. entries of more modern consoles. You have your choice of characters: Sinbad, the scimitar-wielding, high-jumping, nimble one; Kiki, the slower, but stronger squirrel who can draw new platforms; Pepper, the versatile, teleporting witch; and what’s this…a new challenger approaches…VGS’s own mascot, The Sage, a heavy fighter who wields a long staff. Play against the computer, a friend, or see what you draw in the game’s online mode, duking it out across a host of arenas.
    The development of the characters reflects Sylvain’s love for the open-source community, with Sinbad drawn by Zi Ye and popularized in Ogre3D; Tyson Tan’s Kiki the Cyber Squirrel, famed as the mascot to KDE’s Krita; and Pepper from David Revoy’s Pepper&Carrot comics.

    Definitely check out this witchin’ comic
    Controls are simple, but there’s nuance and fast finger work to be mastered. Left and right on the d-pad move you accordingly, while up makes you jump, and down creates a shield. The A-button is your normal attack, and the B-button unleashes your character’s special moves.
     
    Writer’s Review:
    Super Tilt Bro. is a fighting game that manages to be a fun NES game and yet somehow doesn’t feel like an NES game. Controls and movement are so fluid, and the sprite animation is so detailed that the game could be mistaken for an “8-bit inspired” game taking advantage of more modern tech, but no, Super Tilt Bro. is built faithfully within the NES’ limits. I’m not averse to crediting some of this to sheer black magic. Focused on doing a few things incredibly well, this game highlights where homebrew outshines the licensed era with its labor of love development, progressing at its own pace rather than some artificial corporate calendar.
    Gameplay is fun, and the various playable fighters have very different stats and skills. There is enough familiarity inspired from a similar famed franchise to orient you to the basic mechanics of Super Tilt Bro., which is good because the fights move so quickly that you won’t have more than a moment to get your bearings before crossing swords. And getting your bearings is important. At the moment there isn’t an easy way to identify which player you are in online mode, so it is conceivable you sacrifice a life thinking you are a different player than you actually are, and accidentally walk yourself right off the edge of the stage (cough, cough, Deadeye). Between standard attacks, combos, jumping, shielding, and whatever you call the sorcery some players summon to recover from going over the cliff, there is a lot to do that makes this game a fast-paced frenzy that will pull you into the screen with intense concentration. Despite all that I’m still laughably terrible at this game, getting my butt whooped over and over during VGS’ recent tournament. Whatever, it’s not losing if you’re having fun, right?

    RIGHT?!?
    The graphics are colorful and detailed despite their small size, which serves to make the arena as large as possible, which are themselves scenic delights (at least before blood is spilt). Each of every sprite’s pixels are functional, with smooth animations such that you are never at a loss to understand what is happening during the fight. Meanwhile the music carries an addictive, pretty intensity that communicates a fierce battle is at hand, but it’s with cute characters so it’s actually charming instead of gruesome, and therefore it’s all ok (though the 8-bit gladiators may disagree).
     
    Interviews:
    For the dual stories behind Super Tilt Bro. and the Rainbow Wi-Fi chipset and the dream of bringing them together, I talked to the developers of both…
     

    @RogerBidon
    -Before we dive into Super Tilt Bro., I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is your origin story?
    Computers always have been a part of my life. Here is a photograph before I even had a beard!

    My dad always has been into computers and programming. Being always around him to ask what he was doing, he showed me the Pascal programming language. I was more than enthusiastic! I rapidly got the bug, and figured I could dive in the family's library. There were two books of interest: a Pascal manual, and an assembly one. I learned Pascal reading the first manual, and reprogramming assembly examples in Pascal.
    As a teenager I knew enough to make small windowed applications, be it fun little tools to help with homework, small games to play with friends, or "virus" to display dumb error messages on professor's screen. I rapidly knew that I wanted to pursue programming studies, which I did, studying mostly algorithmic, software engineering, and C++.
    On the side of my studies, I discovered Linux and the free culture. The idea that software should be free to share, study, and improve greatly resonated in me. I am now convinced that sharing the software we write is the good move. Trying to "protect" it wastes time and forbids people to come to help but does not prevent plagiarism. There is a reason Blender took over 3DSmax, OBS took over XSplit, ... This software allows their users to contribute in the most direct way.
    With my degree in C++, and good knowledge of Linux, I easily found a job in the Video over IP industry. I developed server software that serves television, and video on demand. Typically, the servers behind the TV offer of internet providers or the web VOD of TV channels.
    I worked 11 years full time on this industry, and now ... here I am! Since January 1, 2021, I changed my status to work freelance. I take contracts in the Video over IP industry to pay rent, while saving most of my time to work on Super Tilt Bro. I am not sure how much time it will last, but 2021 is definitely the homebrewing year.
    Of course, I began homebrewing before leaving my salary for that. It actually came by itself. When I found my childhood NES dormant in a storeroom, I couldn't resist the urge to try to program something on it. It began by going on Wikipedia to learn that the CPU was a 6502, I then learned the basics of the 6502's assembly, and finally found the incredible resources that are the NESDev wiki and forums. With this newly acquired basic knowledge, I wanted a big project. Something to learn. Something that I would not finish, just leave when it would bore me or when I would have nothing more to learn. Spoiler: developing on the NES is not boring, and there is always something to learn! It's been five years, and there is no plan to stop soon.
     
    -Your name is Sylvain, but your online presence revolves around the name Roger Bidon. What is the significance of that name?
    Haha! You know, online games tend to give you small rewards for following them on social media. New colors for your characters, small in-game money, things like that. "Roger Bidon", which in French means "Roger Fake", was a fake Twitter account I created to "follow" a game. The thing, is that one day I really needed a Twitter account, and the platform wouldn't let me create a new one ... "Roger Bidon" is my screen name since that day 😃
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    In the programming world, my first passion, there are so many people. Mike Acton, Jason Turner, Herb Sutter, and Glenn Fiedler are some of the stars. The truth also is that a lot of great essays simply come from anonymous blog authors.
     
    Mike Acton
    Of course, working on a platform-fighter game for years, I went deep in the genre. Super Tilt Bro. draws mechanics and inspiration from Super Smash Bros., Rivals of Aether, Brawlout, and Brawlhalla.
    Also, reading articles or watching talks from game designers as I found them, but I would have no specific name, just watching what's hot at the moment. I try to focus on game designers working on current games though. I view Super Tilt Bro. as a modern game on an old system, and so it should follow modern game-design concepts.
    Finally, there is not only gameplay anymore. Super Tilt Bro. is a game, a network of servers, a website, and a community. Thanks to online connectivity everything is linked together. There, other online games are the best inspiration. For example, the "private" game mode, to play with friends without lobby, directly comes from Antihero, full leaderboard on the website is what Starcraft II and League of Legends do, physical edition "whishlist" is obviously derived from Steam's concept, ...
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    Knowing there is only one (non-game jam) game by me, it may be extrapolating a little bit.
    A friend of mine once said, "the game is like you, real technical skill in a facetious package." As a programmer-first, I love to write original code and I naively go head-first in the most feared challenges. "8-bit rollback netcode? Sure, couldn’t be THAT hard!" That's, for me, the best way to learn. On the other side, when I make a game, I don't want it to be a technical demo. I avoid, for example, to market the game as "written in assembly", it is true, it impresses people but is actually of no value for the player.
    All things considered, I'd say a game by Roger Bidon has a highly technical code base but tries to be a good game first. That said, I am without doubt better at programming than any other game-making skill.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    My workstation is a Linux PC, with VIM as text editor, and The Gimp for pixel art. Nothing fancy here, your typical open-source workstation, except for The Gimp which is a bit outdated, this choice is just because habits are hard to change.
    My main emulator is FCEUX, with Mesen as a backup when its fancy tools are needed. Nowadays, people tend to prefer Mesen but I had to patch the emulator to support the Wi-Fi mapper by Broke Studio, and FCEUX happens to be easier to hack into (it is fully developed in C++ instead of a mix of C++ and C#.) FCEUX also is the base of the HTML5 emulator, that eases maintaining Wi-Fi patch on both. Also, FCEUX development is steady while Mesen needs a new champion.
    Of course there are a lot of home-made helper scripts. Be it debug/profiling scripts for the emulators, or scripts that convert images to assembly code. I also use The Gimp as a character editor, by respecting some layer-naming convention I store all my animations in a graphic file and convert them at build time.
    Language-wise, the game was originally fully written in assembly, I then integrated C parts for the menus. The C is compiled with 6502-gcc which is a bit tricky to setup but gives largely better results than the common cc65. The assembler used is xa6502, it is an older assembler than ca65 and is more direct: there is no linking, binary code is directly output, meaning that it can directly output NES ROM files (or anything else really) by itself.
    Finally, the server is developed in C++. It notably integrates a 6502 CPU emulator to be able to run the same game logic as the NES, and output savestates. It is used to help the NES with the rollback netcode, and since recently to produce replay files of games played online.
    Whoops, it is quite a lot of tools-listing here. The main takes are that I use very little common tools (no NES Screen Tool, nor ca65 for example), and a lot of weird choices. Why? Mainly, because they are fun to work with 🙂
     
    -Super Tilt Bro. debuted as an entry in the 2016 NESDev Coding Competition. What inspired you to participate that year? Do you plan on creating something again in the future once you’ve finished Super Tilt Bro.?
    In 2016, I was a complete tourist in the NESDev community. Even retro gaming was new to me, as I started programming on the NES before falling in love with retro gaming. So, I just discovered the scene and saw there was a NESDev compo, I asked myself "why not register?" I happened to start development at a good time to be eligible. And I regret nothing, it was a very nice introduction to the community: having something to show while watching the work of more qualified devs, it was really a nice experience!
    Participating in another iteration of the NESDev compo after Super Tilt Bro. is finished always has been in the plans! Sadly, Super Tilt Bro. is not made to be finished one day. There is always something to improve, to work upon. I'll have to plan to allow myself some time to participate in another edition, without abandoning my main project.
     
    -When you created a thread on NintendoAge for Super Tilt Bro. in May 2018, you noted your desire to create an iteration of the Super Smash Bros. genre for the NES. What about that series resonates so strongly with you?
    We played Super Smash Bros. for hours every day with my brother. When we were bored, we played. When we had something to celebrate, we played. When sad, nothing like a game to feel better. Disagreeing? Let's settle it in a game! ...
    Super Smash Bros. saw us grow-up. Adding this to the fact that it is a genre mostly absent from the NES, it was the perfect project to work on.

    Super Smash Bros. for the 64, where dreams began and childhoods ended
     
    -Interest was so strong on NintendoAge and at gaming conventions that you released a small run of cartridges of Super Tilt Bro. version 1.0 (approximately 59). Was this version different from the game found on Action 53, Volume 3, which published entries from the 2016 NESDev Coding Competition?
    The full history is that there was the version for the competition, the one on the Action 53, Volume 3. Later, in October 2018 the 1.0 was burnt on nine cartridges intended to be sold at retro gaming events as a humble curiosity. The interest surprised me, so I asked publicly and discovered that 50 more carts were needed to satisfy everybody. This second batch actually had the version 1.1 which slightly improved NTSC compatibility. Since then, I am working on the version 2 with intermediate versions being released digitally only (for free).
    The compo version was terribly incomplete. Did you know that it was ranked just before the last place in the compo? The last place was for a game that did not had sound ... In Super Tilt Bro. I rushed sound integration at the very end of the deadline ^_^' The IA present on the Action 53, Volume 3 was also a post-competition addition, before that it was exclusively a two-player game.
    From memory, notable additions between the Action 53, Volume 3, and Super Tilt Bro. 1.0 are a better IA, with difficulty setting, four stages instead of one, and the possibility to choose your character's colors.
    The version 1.1 was also re-published as part of the Action 53, Volume 4. So it can easily be compared. Gikkman did exactly that at the beginning of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH30VykY3Ow
    Fun fact that I don't know if it is documented anywhere: cartridge version 1.0 was translated in French, and for 1.1 some are in French others in English, depending on who ordered it.
     
    -What went through your mind seeing people so many excited to play Super Tilt Bro. that they were asking for a version 1.0 cart release while you were still working on the game?
    Actually, I thought I was done with the game when preparing the 1.0 release. It was a fun experiment, I was releasing the game I had in mind, and having fun playing it.
    But, in the middle of releasing it, Broke Studio revealed plans to bring Wi-Fi connectivity for the NES. This completely changed my mind. Going on the internet with the NES was a thing I dreamed of back in the time. I had to be involved! "Super Tilt Bro. online" was now bound to happen.
     
    -Those cartridges have become collector’s items. One recently appeared as a donation to Kevin Hanley’s NES Spectrum Marathon as part of a raffle prize. Do you think you might ever make more to whet fans’ appetites while development continues?
    Oh! I just learned about Super Tilt Bro. being in a prize pack of the marathon by reading the question ^_^' That's neat!

    Speaking of which, this year’s marathon is coming soon on September 16-18!
    I won't produce more version 1 cartridges by myself. Firstly because many are waiting for the Wi-Fi cartridges, I cannot produce other carts without causing some serious misunderstanding. Some may be lured, expecting the Wi-Fi cartridge and feel let down when receiving an old version of the game. Also version 2 is far superior in all matters, if new cart had to be released I would encourage going with the version being developed.
    That said, if you really want a version 1 cartridge, it is possible. It always has been, and will always be. It takes some efforts that I am no more disposed to do myself, but you can re-build the ROM from the source code, flash it on carts, print labels and manuals. I even published a Super Tilt Bro. do it yourself guide (in French only, sorry) here: http://www.yaronet.com/topics/188767-devlog-super-tilt-bro/2#post-43
    That's the whole point of the free and open-source culture: as an author I am not here to prevent usage, or own the game. I am producing this game to be enjoyed however you want, and explicitly not limiting its usage to what I have in mind.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Super Tilt Bro.? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    Do not follow my footsteps, create your own!
    I did absolutely everything that is recommended beginners avoid in game development. On any gamedev community, we say again and again: begin with a small project, put deadlines, finish your game, have a budget, publish small games before starting anything serious, and most importantly, we insist, really, DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB!
    All these are wise recommendations, really. I did not follow them because I have safety nets, and life is too short to miss the opportunity to work on such a dream project. The thing is coding day and night is my conception of fun, certainly not yours, and this project is my own dream.
    So, really, do not follow my footsteps. The one thing important in game development is to have fun. That's the whole point of this industry, right? So, find what is fun to you! (And setup safety nets when it is risky.)
    The major lesson learned is that developing a game is far more than coding it. Graphics, sound, game design, marketing, community management, publishing, manufacturing, developing tools, and there are more on the list! All these take very different skills, going solo-dev you will inevitably have to learn some. That's cool, the work is multifaceted, just don't think you will be improving your game 100% of the time, and do not underestimate the task.
    The big surprise that I'd never thought when I started hacking in assembly, is that it would push me to meet formidable people. Going to game events with something to show, it is unavoidable to meet a lot of passionate people and make some friends.
     
    -I always ask my interviewees whether there is a reflection of themselves in the game’s protagonist or other characters, do you identify with any of them? Sinbad, Kiki, and Pepper are all also characters from open-source graphical software. Is that in tribute to their creators’ efforts to help other artists develop? What made these three characters stand out so much that you included them in Super Tilt Bro.?
    Licenses are important to me. I am convinced that open-source licenses are superior but the point is freedom. If some entity puts restrictive license on their creation, that's in their full right. This messages me that I am not allowed to work on their creation. Nintendo is notably vocal about not appreciating infringement. With that in mind, I could not use their characters in an homage-game, that would make no sense if they took it as an insult.
    Starting an open-source game, being sold to the open-source culture, what made sense was to create a game starring open-source mascots! The first one was Sinbad. Here the choice is purely practical: Sinbad is badass and wears scimitars; he is perfect for a fighting game. He is also very simple, green torso, white pants: perfect for the limited NES' palette!
    When adding new characters, I searched for mascots with a strong personality as they are inherently more interesting. Who wants to play a sitting penguin? Bonus points if the project deserves more awareness, if the character balances protagonists' genders and is appropriate for a playstyle I want to add to the game. Kiki and Pepper checked all the marks 🙂

    Kiki, Krita’s lovable mascot who is bolstering homebrew’s robust squirrel community
    These characters are completely a reflection of my view of the world while being a tribute to their respective authors. Now that I am more involved than ever in homebrews, who can say, maybe a homebrew character will join the roster one day.
     
    -How did you first connect with Broke Studio to work together on a Wi-Fi-enabled Super Tilt Bro. cartridge that would connect players over vast distances?
    As soon as I heard of Wi-Fi for the NES, I wanted that for Super Tilt Bro. I immediately patched an emulator with my ideal view of how it would work, coded a minimal server, implemented a naive netcode in the game, just to see if it would work. And it worked! Limited to the local network, and full of glitches, but with unlimited potential!
    I do not remember how I contacted him but from that point we worked in a joint effort to make it a reality. In the early days Broke Studio invited me to join a chat room about internet on the NES, with very notable members of the community. I was humbled, I just found the gurus of the internet, and by some miracle was part of the group!
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with him?
    I am implementing a game with strict requirements, and he is developing a cartridge that must fit the most possible uses. Our projects are mutually beneficial. Also, thanks to my career in Video over IP, I bring experience of network protocols while he teaches me the realities of electronics.
    When any of us needs something from the other or has progress to share we simply contact online. No real formality or precises dynamic, depending on the subject it can be a simple discussion or we can remotely work together for days.
     
    -What is the reaction at game events when people try your game and experience a Wi-Fi chipset working on an NES?
    The pandemic hit at exactly the wrong time for showing progress on Wi-Fi at events. Luckily, as I answer your question, I am back from the first event where I was able to show two networked NESs.
    There are two kinds of audiences: some come for the game itself and play it, with the network being a fun little fact. Others come for the Wi-Fi demo and are completely blown away to see it running really smoothly (when it does not crash ... there is still some work 😅)
    That's stunning to be animating such a stand, as both reactions are heartwarming. People that come to play have fun with the game, which is the most authentic compliment I can receive. Those that are interested by the Wi-Fi have tons of questions and want to know everything, which is touching praise 🙂
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Super Tilt Bro., thanks to your hype-building on social media. How does it feel to see so many people foaming at the mouth to play your game?
    It is incredible to see. The big event was the release of the trailer, with my little following I was not prepared to see it going viral. I actually posted it and gone to the grocery. When I returned, thinking it would gather something like 20 likes, I received one message from a friend: "Damn, your twitter!", the trailer already gathered ten thousand views! I was like: I need to park my car before the heart attack!
    That's definitely something to live. Day to day reality is quieter though, it boosted my Twitter account and helped to get attention of the first community members, but the hype around the game shows indirectly. Great feeling when you present your game to somebody, and the person already heard about it!
    What is really heart-warming though is to hear of people actually playing the game. When a review appears saying that a group of friends plays once a week, or when two players get excited when disputing a tournament match on Discord. Each time, that makes my day!
     
    -You mention in your press kit that the game engine has a WTFPL license, which is France’s closest equivalent to releasing it into the public domain, so others can do what they want with it. Do you have any secret, specific hopes what some will use your engine to create?
    I just do not want to limit creativity of anybody. Super Tilt Bro. is made for the community and to bring joy, not to be mine.
    I openly hope that this codebase helps someone out there one day. Special gratification points if it is for technical reason, like the 8-bit netcode 🙂
     
    -What about Super Tilt Bro. are you most proud of?
    Succeeding in making a game that people actually play. Making a game is easy, making a fun game is doable, making a game that people are willing to spend more than a handful of minutes on is surprisingly hard. There are always much better alternatives to your game, and people's time is precious.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
    Dream project: Super Tilt Bro.
    Thanks to self-updatable Wi-Fi cartridges, the physical release does not necessarily signal the end of development. The crazy dream would be to gain enough following to start a Patreon for continued development. That would make Super Tilt Bro. a living game, evolving as time passes.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Anything from Morphcat games is always a gem! Can't wait to put my hand on Witch n' Wiz also.

    They do seem to be up to something lately…
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Have fun, play your games, and tell the creators that you played. They love to hear it!
     
     

    @Broke_Studio
    -Before we dive into the Rainbow Wi-Fi chipset cartridge and Super Tilt Bro., I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer and publisher/distributor? What is the origin story of Broke Studio?
    This is a fun story. My father, who is an electronic engineer now retired, started to work on a project to automate and remotely control his house heating system. A few years ago, I was staying with them and asked him about how the project was going and what was new since last time. The more I asked about it the more I was interested in it, to the point where I ended up participating in the project and learned how to program a microcontroller and work with hardware stuff. I have a classic web programming (PHP/SQL/HTML/CSS) background so that was quite different!
    Once the project was over (~mid 2015), I wanted to extend the experience and apply it to video games. So I looked for an old system that would be great to work with (even if they’re really all interesting!). On one side, I grew up with an Amstrad CPC 464 at home and I have a lot of great memories with it (I learned how to code in Basic with it). On the other side, I have great memories playing the NES at a friend’s house. After looking for some information on both systems on the Internet, I discovered the NESDev website, NintendoAge website, and the wonderful community around the NES, and I decided that I’d try to make something for the NES.
    I slowly learned how to code for the system using 6502 assembly and made small projects. One of them was Pair the Pets, my first real game, even if it’s a very simple one. I released it in July 2015. I also learned more complex things like scrolling (including multi directional scrolling), scanline IRQ, bankswitching etc.

    Shot of screen of Pair the Pets
    At the end of 2016, someone on the NESDev forums was looking for a dev that could code a Super Mario-like platformer for a very specific project. I asked for more details and learned that the project wasn’t 100% sure and that the timing to do it was very short. I started working on a simple platformer prototype to save some time, using Twin Dragons assets from Surt. In the end, the project didn’t make it, but I ended up with a platformer prototype, so my time wasn’t wasted after all.
    That’s when I remembered that the 2016 NESDev Compo was still running and ended 2 months later, so I thought I’d participate with the prototype. Of course I needed to improve it, polish it, and most of all, finish in time. Such a challenge… Anyway I worked hard on this Twin Dragons/platformer prototype, my friend Martin helped me with some pixel art additions, and my other friend Matthieu from the brilliant chiptune band Please Lose Battle composed some music and sound effects. We submitted the entry in time and finally discovered a month later that Twin Dragons’ demo won the 2016 NESDev Compo. If I am honest, I knew I had a good shot at it, but I didn’t think I could win, there were very strong contenders (I’m looking at you Nebs ’n Debs!).

    Screenshot from Twin Dragons demo in the 2016 NESDev Compo
    Winning the competition was very exciting, and I didn't want to stop here. So I convinced Martin and Matthieu to work with me on a full version of Twin Dragons and we launched a Kickstarter campaign for it in May 2017. This was meant to finance the cartridge production because I wanted to make the game no matter what.
    A bit less than a year later, the game was ready, I had all the cartridges on hand ready to be shipped, but I also was in the middle of redoing the house we had just bought with my girlfriend. So my parents came to help, my father with some house work, and my mother prepared the packages for the backers.
    After that, I was so thrilled by the experience, I thought that it could be nice to offer to help other developers releasing their game, and that’s really how Broke Studio began, besides releasing Twin Dragons.
    And then Micro Mages joined the party, then Nebs ‘n Debs, then Lizard etc. I’m so happy to work with so many talented devs/people. It may sound a bit naive/idealistic/demagogic/you-name-it, but that’s really how I feel about this adventure.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    Tough question, there are so many great and talented folks in the NESDev community. At the very beginning I discovered Kevin (KHAN Games), Vectrex28 (FG Software), Beau (Sole Goose Productions) miau6502 & Nicolas Betoux (Morphcat Games), and many others and they were all an inspiration. A lot of great folks joined the community since and unfortunately I struggle to find enough time keeping up with all the NESDev news and the work I have with Broke Studio, so I won’t try to name anyone, but I’m very happy that the community keeps on growing!
     
    -You burst onto the homebrew scene with Twin Dragons, which won the 2016 NESDev Coding Competition, and have since worked on an array of homebrew games. How would you describe your aesthetic?
    Twin Dragons was really my very first real video game, the idea with it wasn’t to try anything new but rather do something very classic, straightforward, and easy to apprehend. I’m not a good gamer so I wanted a game that anyone could play (well at least the first levels O:).
    So no specific aesthetic here, at least nothing I’m aware of, just the pleasure of doing a project I would enjoy as a gamer. I have some ideas for new games, I just need to find time to make them...
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    I use Visual Studio Code to write code, the CC65 suite to compile it and FCEUX or Mesen to test it. I also use Shiru’s tools, NES Screen Tool and NES Space Checker. I used Tiled to create Twin Dragons and Basse Def Adventures levels and custom tools to convert them to data usable by my code. I don’t compose music/SFX myself, but the artists I worked with usually use FamiTracker or FamiStudio, both great tools with great communities.
    All of these tools are available for free and most of them have been released by the community which is awesome, I cannot be grateful enough for this.
    -Another fascinating aspect of Broke Studio is that you are involved with homebrew games across multiple consoles. What has led you to transcend consoles when many others prefer to stick to one in particular?
    Curiosity I guess 🙂 Famicom was a logical step from the NES for me because the game code remains the same (with sometimes an additional Japanese translation).
    I love adding new consoles to the catalog and discover how other systems work. I started working on Mega Drive/Genesis release with Arkagis Revolution when Sik was looking for a publisher. I thought it’d be fun to try to publish a Mega Drive game. That’s how it started. I’m currently trying to set up a production chain for Gameboy games. Hopefully it won’t take too long…

    Screenshot from Arkagis Revolution for the Sega Genesis
     
    -Do you have a favorite console you prefer to program or publish for?
    Of course the NES because that’s where everything started, and it’s the one I feel the most comfortable with (at least for now!) But I have to admit that I’m also attracted to other systems and hopefully one day I’ll find time to play a bit with these.
     
    -In addition to programming games, you also publish games from other developers. What services does Broke Studio advertise to potential clients? Who do you wish to attract with your services?
    After the release of Twin Dragons, I thought it could be interesting to offer my services to other developers since I already had a supply chain in place and some knowledge.
    That could be a one-off all-in-one service, from physical game production to shipping to the customers. That’s what I did for Project Blue, Flea!, Tapeworm, Turtle Paint, The Adventures of Panzer, Shera, KUBO, From Below, and others. There’s not really a minimum quantity required but I can get decent prices starting at 25/30 copies, so I think that’s pretty cool. I think this service is interesting for people who handle the funding part themselves through a crowdfunding campaign, eBay, Etsy, or whatever and don’t want to handle the physical production and shipping themselves.
    The other option is to add a game to Broke Studio’s catalog but I have to admit that I can be a bit picky on the game quality for this option. I try to offer a good and consistent selection of games. That may sound stupid or unfair to some people and I respect that, but that’s how it is.
     
    -Is Broke Studio hiring? Are you looking to bring on more partners, generally or with particular skills, to expand your capabilities?
    I’d love to, but unfortunately, I don’t have the money to hire anyone. Since this year I’ve been working with a freelance community manager because that’s something I’m really bad at doing and don’t like doing. I think that if I were to hire someone it would be a person who could handle shop orders, game assembling, customer service etc., so I can focus on creating a new game 🙂 Maybe one day?!
     
    -How difficult is it managing supply chains to publish games for different consoles given the unique challenges inherent to the NES, Famicom, and Sega Genesis?
    It’s not always easy, especially during these times because of chip shortage, increase of shipping fees and raw material. I try to keep prices as reasonable as I can, but it’s getting harder and harder. I may have to increase the prices a bit at some point. Also, I try to offer good quality materials, so sometimes you have to pay a bit more for this. Of course I have to work with manufacturer in China for some parts, but I try to work with local suppliers or at least suppliers located in Europe as much as I can.
     
    -It seems just about every new homebrew includes an announcement that you’re the game’s publisher and distributor. How does it feel to one of the go-to people for the physical releases of homebrew games?
    Ahah I’m not sure that I publish every new homebrew 😉 A friend of mine (@OriginalFei on Twitter) has been into homebrew games for so many years now, and not only for the NES, so he’s helping me find new cool projects that would be nice to publish, and sometimes devs directly contact me. I really don’t feel like one of the go-to people for physical release and I feel so small compared to some other much bigger (retro) publishers, but I love what I do so I'm always flattered when a dev agrees on having their game published by Broke Studio 🙂

    Fei, a pretty cool dude in homebrew
     
    -What first inspired you to develop a Wi-Fi chipset that would enable Internet connectivity for the NES?
    My dad (again!) talked to me about this cheap Wi-Fi chip, the ESP8266. Thinking about it I thought « that could be fun to connect the NES to the internet through this thing ». I also wondered if other people had already tried something like this for the NES, I couldn’t be the first to think about this! I discovered the amazing work of Rachel Simone Weil: the ConnectedNES project. This project is so cool, it was a huge inspiration and motivation for me to make my own. I know Memblers worked on some device to connect the NES to a computer through the controller port 2 and USB, which was pretty cool too. Definitely a lot of inspiring people in the NESDev community.

    Rachel Simone Weil’s ConnectedNES
    Naturally, my first prototype was a Wi-Fi module that could be plugged into the controller port 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK1qEAI-mGE) but it was very slow, and not super stable/reliable (especially when you try to get something PAL/NTSC compatible). It was early 2018. After some time, I moved on to a cart-based solution for speed and ease of use dev-wise, and the very first prototype was made around August 2018.
    The idea of having a game that could update itself to fix bugs or download new content to add some maps/levels/puzzles, or even offer online gaming for an old system is really exciting!
     
    -You’ve named this project “Rainbow.” What is the significance of that name for you?
    There are two reasons for this name.
    The first one is because when I was learning Verilog and was playing with my CPLD dev board, I wired it with a lot of colored floating wires as you can see in this Tweet (https://twitter.com/Broke_Studio/status/1031836021976170497), and it looked a lot like a rainbow.
    Second reason is because Kevin Hanley (KHAN games) is working on a game called Unicorn, which is based on an old BBS game called Legend of the Red Dragon, and therefore needs a connection to the outside world to be played online. This project would be a great opportunity to help him, and as everyone knows, unicorns love rainbows 🙂
     
    -In researching the history of Internet connectivity in console gaming, I learned about a number of projects, such as the Famicom Computer Network System, Sega Meganet, XBAND, Sega Channel, and the Teleplay Modem. Had you heard of these projects before? Did any of them serve as reference points in your work on the Rainbow Wi-Fi cartridge?
    I heard about some of these projects, but I had never looked more into it. I really started everything from scratch, and I was learning at the same time. That’s why the project is taking so long 🙂 But today it’s pretty stable and I’m very happy with its current state. Hopefully I’ll have more dev cart ready soon for curious NESDev-ers. I can’t wait to see what people will make of this!
     
    -How did you first connect with Sylvain to work on this iteration of Super Tilt Bro.? What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration together?
    I heard about Sylvain from the 2016 NESDev compo (his entry was the very first version of Super Tilt Bro. at the time IIRC), and I met him for the first time in 2017 at a really cool retro event in France which is called « Retro Gaming Connexion » (or RGC for short) where he showcased his game Super Tilt Bro. Early 2018 he made a custom FCEUX version with network support to see what could be done to get Super Tilt Bro. playable online. I guess it was another motivation for me to create a device that could help. Since then we’ve been working together to improve the Rainbow mapper/protocol to be easy to use and efficient. Really happy with the result of this collaboration so far. He also helped me a lot porting the mapper to FCEUX so we can test on computer before real hardware.
    Since his game should be the very first one using the Rainbow mapper, the mapper and the Rainbow protocol is really tailored to its needs, but we tried to keep everything as generic as possible so it will be easy for other devs to use it for their own projects. And of course, I’m really open to feedback/remarks from new devs who want or need a new feature or something like that.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing the Rainbow cartridge as opposed to creating a game such as Twin Dragons? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    That’s a tough one. Twin Dragons was the first real game I made, so I learned a lot of stuff (almost everything I may say) all along the way. Be it level design, assembly tricks to improve performance, but also team management since we were 3 to work on the project, find suppliers for physical production, learn how to design our own PCB... I learned a lot on every aspect.
    The Rainbow project is a totally different beast since it’s not a game and it’s mostly hardware oriented. It’s an all new journey here. I had to learn Verilog language which is a hardware description language to “program” those CPLD/FPGA chips we see more and more now. I had to learn how to code for the ESP8266 to make its firmware. I had to learn some hardware aspect to make everything interact correctly. I have no specific knowledge in the hardware domain so it has not always been easy, but I had people around I could count on. A huge thanks to Paul Molloy from Infinite NES Lives who gave me great advice/insights and also for his great INLretro flasher. And thanks to my dad who has helped me designed the PCB and also helped me fix some weird hardware issues I could never have figured out alone.
    Both projects are very different and I learned a lot with both. One of the lessons I learned is to try not to give up too soon when you face an obstacle/wall. Sometimes you really want to stop because it’s too hard, or because you think you’ll never make it anyway, and I think I proved myself wrong most (all?) of the time. It wasn’t easy that’s for sure, but it was worth it. Don’t give up and take the time you need!
     
    -As one of the few people heavily involved on both sides, which is more fun or fascinating to you: the hardware or software side of homebrew?
    I love both sides, I guess it depends. I’ve spent a lot of time working on hardware stuff lately, and today I really miss coding a game. But at the same time, I have other hardware ideas I want to make too. Life’s too short 😉
     
    -With Super Tilt Bro. to demonstrate the capabilities of the Rainbow Wi-Fi cartridge, do you have any further aspirations for other games that might take advantage of the technology?
    I have some game ideas, but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to pull them off (at least not all of them). Making an online game requires a game server, and that’s really a daunting task depending on the kind of game you’re making. Sylvain did an outstanding work in this regard for Super Tilt Bro. Playing a real-time online game on the NES without lag. It’s just insane when you think of it! Some would even call it witchcraft! 😉 So I have ideas but who knows if I’ll ever code them…
     
    -What about the Rainbow cartridge are you most proud of?
    Making it work! As I mentioned above, I had to learn a lot of things to get all the pieces to work together, so there’s definitely not one thing in particular that I’m proud of. I’m proud of the project in its entirety, and most importantly to be able to offer this tool to other devs so they can make awesome projects with it!

    The Rainbow WI-Fi chipset
     
    -Do you have any plans to adapt the Rainbow to other consoles such as the Famicom, SNES, or Sega Genesis/Mega Drive?
    Yes of course, that’s a part of what I meant above about the other hardware ideas 😉 Famicom and Genesis/Mega Drive are on top of the list indeed. And of course I’d love to port it to other consoles like SNES, Gameboy, why not Neo Geo. I tried to make the protocol as agnostic of the NES as possible so it can be easily ported to other platforms. I’m pretty sure Genesis/Mega Drive will be next on the list.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    Main project for now is having the Rainbow NES cart released and probably Super Tilt Bro. Soon after that. I have two dream projects: one would be a point and click game with a twist for the NES, and the other one would be an online game exploiting the potential of the Rainbow cart.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Sadly, I already have a big backlog of NES homebrews I want to play (Rollie, NEScape, Anguna, …) BUT, I’m always looking for new KHAN games releases, FrankenGraphics also works on some very interesting projects I’d love to try when they’re out, of course the next Morphcat Games hit too. Again; I can’t name everyone, there are so much cool stuff I see on Twitter!
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Well thank YOU for your interest and for being so patient, waiting for me to answer all the questions, I’m so sorry it took SO long. Thanks to all the people who enjoy Broke Studio’s work, that means a lot to me, sorry for not naming every nice people in the NESDev community, you’re all awesome, keep on making games and don’t give up!
    Also, I’m always open to suggestions, comments, ideas, so feel free to send me a message if you feel you need to. Sometimes it takes time for me to reply, but I usually reply to everyone.
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that continues to take deep dives into promising homebrew games coming across the finish line. What are your thoughts on Super Tilt Bro., the Rainbow Wi-Fi chipset, and the talented developers revolutionizing NES homebrew? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  23. Scrobins
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 23: Rarity: Retro Video Game Collecting in the Modern Era

    Introduction:
    For most of my life, I haven’t been someone who enjoyed documentaries. Even behind the scenes specials about subjects I liked had a hard time keeping my interest. But in the past few years, something unlocked in my brain that appreciated the stories behind my favorite interests, which sometimes offered a level of drama that rivaled the subject matter it was covering. This is especially the case for films about retro game collecting, where the breadth of stories highlights the fun of collecting and the people we meet in this pursuit. These movies, when done well, are fun because they share moments that resonate with us in the community, and help communicate to others why we are so passionate about this hobby. And Edward Payson is the kind of filmmaker who knows how to bring together a broad group of personalities who could talk for hours about the stories that animate them. Good thing there’s a follow up in the making.
    For this entry, I’m covering Edward’s film Rarity: Retro Video Game Collecting in the Modern Era, a documentary about the retro game collecting community and the nostalgia which drives it, bringing together a host of prominent gaming personalities and collectors to discuss their nostalgia and what about this hobby so fascinates them. The film recently won a Telly Award, as the Gold Winner in the General – Non-Broadcast category. You can watch the film on Prime Video here, on Tubi here, or buy the Blu-Ray here from Mega Cat Studios here.
     
    Writer’s Review:
    Some potential viewers may pause at another documentary on collecting and retro gaming, following Nintendo Quest (2015), The New 8-Bit Heroes (2016), The Bits of Yesterday (2018), and other related productions, but this is not just another collecting film. Rarity is about collecting as well yes, but it’s more about nostalgia. The difference lies in its stories. Where Nintendo Quest focuses on the drive of its (unsympathetic) protagonist trying to obtain the full licensed NES library in an arbitrary period, and The New 8-Bit Heroes follows the resurrection of one man’s dream of completing the game he conceived of as a kid, Rarity more closely parallels The Bits of Yesterday in sharing insights, stories, and memories that helps articulate why we love collecting what others might minimize as obsolete technology. Rarity provides a collection of thoughtful voices that create an almost academic discussion on collecting and nostalgia, asking where it comes from and why it has evolved as it has with regard to retro video games. The tales shared throughout the film highlight the wide range of experiences that gave rise to a love of retro games, with different games, consoles, and even collecting goals resonating with different people, including the director himself. Whether it’s reliving the rush of some magical Christmas morning years ago or a means of bonding with and remembering loved ones, Rarity dives into the deeply personal details that might go unnoticed if people like Ed didn’t make the effort to learn.
    Interviewee’s insights touch on some major debates in the collecting community today, such as the rise of graded games. This is something of a one-sided conversation that features several people supporting graded games, and could have benefitted from the inclusion of more critical points that addressed its impact on pricing, even on the ungraded market. I think one can be critical of opportunistic investors without being blanket labeled as greedy.

    Graded game collecting: to some the next stage of collecting,
    and to others a speculator-induced nightmare
    Some stories also reflect potentially unethical collecting practices, such as when one subject recalls getting a great deal on an item by holding up the item to ask for the price, but pretending he didn’t hear the seller asking what it was. He does at least acknowledge that what he did was problematic and expressed some regret. Though I don’t agree with everything said by Rarity’s subjects, it’s because of their inclusion that I think this film stands out as worth watching. Rarity demonstrates how its subjects, and collectors more broadly, are human. The personal narrative that might drive our collecting or the adrenaline rush from unexpectedly happening upon a grail can create a tunnel vision that leads us to justify ourselves into prioritizing our wants over others and ignore the common courtesies we might otherwise follow. That is not to say that Rarity has a particular agenda in its presentation, but rather allows its interviewees to be as expressive as they want so they can speak at length about their experiences. This film recognizes that this is a niche community that’s gotten the documentary treatment several times over, so it is fair to say that Rarity knows it is joining a conversation already in progress, and is using its time to share its opinions rather than set the table all over again to explain what the community is to an audience that already knows. Rarity wants you to think and engage.
     
    Interview:
    For the story behind this story collecting endeavor, I interviewed Edward Payson, and got to learn about all the other interesting projects he has in the hopper…
     

    Edward Payson
    @anAntiHero
    -Before we get into Rarity: Retro Video Game Collecting in the Modern Era, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a filmmaker? What is the origin story of Edward Payson?
    I knew I wanted to do something creative from a really young age actually. I had so much fun at family holidays using the family camcorder to make short skits with action figures (while I should have been recording the event) I joined some screenwriting classes in high school and that solidified that I wanted to make movies but, growing up in New Hampshire I was met with either confusion or ridicule from most people. It wasn't until I became serious about it and packed up and moved to Los Angeles for film school that I really learned what was possible.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    I'm actually more heavily influenced by the filmmakers who made something worthwhile without having bloated budgets. People like Robert Rodriquez or George A. Romero come to mind. It's a rebel way of filmmaking where you don't take “No” for an answer and make your film by any means necessary. My influences today are people like Jeremy Gardner and other indie horror producers most people have never heard of. 

    Poster for The Battery, directed by and starring Jeremy Gardner
     
    -Your resume boasts shorts, documentaries, and films across genres. Do you have a preference among the types of films you make? Do you have a particular aesthetic across them?
    While horror has always been my bread and butter, I love the whole process of documentary filmmaking, especially when they are about subjects or people I enjoy.
     
    -What to you are the essentials of a compelling film or an informative documentary?
    I think they are one in the same. I think the only sin when it comes to a film is that it can' be boring.
     
    -How did you make James Deighan’s acquaintance? Does he know everybody?
    So when preparing for my film BITS we had to think outside the box a little bit. It’s a film about a haunted Sega Genesis game that no doubt would be a HARD -R rating. That meant Nintendo and Sega wouldn't let us license actual games in a film that takes place 70% in a Retro Game Store. To get around this, we reached out to many indie companies making 8- and 16-bit games. Mega Cat was the most responsive (essentially giving use access to their library) for the film. We got to talking and the idea was to release the haunted game in the film, through Mega Cat when the film releases.
     
    -You’re also finishing work on a horror film about a haunted video game called Bits. What are the unique challenges of making a documentary compared to a film such as Bits?
    Documentaries are a lot more laid back. Typically they cost a lot less to make and don't require 8–12-hour days with giant crews. Also when you are making a narrative feature with more money, that means more cooks in the kitchen and in case you are very lucky, you don't get the final cut of your film without approval from multiple heads.

    Teaser image from Bits
     
    -Any thoughts on hiring James to adapt Bits into a playable video game?
    See above 🙂
     
    -What was the catalyst that inspired you to make Rarity?
    I myself am heavily into the Retro Community. I'm going for a full Sega Genesis set myself and have over 100 Nes and SNES games as well. This day and age I just want to work on cool projects with cool people and the Retro Community has been my favorite community to work with thus far.
     
    -Rarity enters a sort of conversation among retro gaming, following other documentaries such as Nintendo Quest (2015), The New 8-bit Heroes (2016), and The Bits of Yesterday (2018). What do you want your audience to take away from Rarity and the story it tells?
    Really Rarity was made to quench the thirst of a side of the Retro Community that doesn't get much coverage when it comes to documentaries and that is the collector side. With the introduction and divisiveness of graded games etc. It just felt like the right time to make a documentary that celebrates collecting, rare items and the stories behind them.

    Also for your watch list
     
    -Rarity is about retro game collecting, noting some people collect cart-only, some pursue CIBs, others liked sealed games, and still others want graded games. You yourself are a collector. What kind of collector are you?
    I collect everything, it really depends. I always try for CIB with my Genesis set. NES, I go mostly loose carts, but I also collect sealed and graded games. I'm all over the place.
     
    -You show off some of the grails of your collection, like the Blockbuster Game Factory carts. What grails are you hoping to add to your collection someday?
    I would love to someday add Outback Joey, the QVC Maximum Carnage box set, the New Leaf carts I'm missing. I've also been trying to acquire a lot of Genesis prototypes.
     
    -I noticed a copy of Pier Solar behind you when you speak in Rarity, and some light Instagram stalking revealed you have Haunted Halloween ’85 and ’86. Do you have any other homebrews in your collection?
    I have a ton of homebrews, whole shelfs full actually. The newest being John Riggs Yeah Yeah Beebiss. I also just ordered a weird porno game for Genesis called Mega Casanova 2 just for the rarity of it (about 40 carts made) I also try and contribute whenever a new Retro game is made on Kickstarter. Other than that I have Beggar Prince from Super Fighter team, a bunch of Mega Cat stuff, some Piko stuff, lots of hacks.
     
    -Did you have pre-existing relationships with the various people you interviewed? For any that you didn’t, how did you connect with them?
    I’ve learned with working on various projects in the past, its best to start with interviewing people you know. If you are kind and cool to work with, they will be excited to tell their friends about your project and it just gets easier from there. This started a project with just 4 interviews planned.
     
    -If there was one more person you could have interviewed for Rarity, who would you want to include?
    Well anyone we weren't able to interview we are trying to interview for Part 2 so I will keep you posted.
     
    -Would you say you have a technique to your interviewing? How do you get the best out of your subjects?
    Usually when you are interviewing people who are well versed in a subject it is easy to get them to talk about it. Sometimes general stage directions are all that’s needed like “hey it looks like you’re frowning” or don't slouch. Also the more well researched your questions usually leads to better interviews.
     
    -Rarity touches on some controversial subjects in the retro game collecting world, such as the ethics of getting a good deal from a seller who may not appreciate what they have, and the rise of grading games & the corresponding rise in prices. Do you have thoughts on these topics, both as the director and as someone who speaks in front of the camera?
    I honestly think something in all communities not just Retro Games, but in all humanity, we suffer from toxic tribalism. Everyone thinks they are right, or the way they collect is right. When people feel a certain way about something, they seek people with the same mindset which furthers the thought they must be right. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to collect. When it comes to graded games, every collectable has a graded market. When it comes to the ethics of getting things for a steal, it really depends on the situation. I think most people like to get things for a deal and put the responsibility on the seller to tell you what they want for something.
     
    -As the director, do you try to be objective in your presentation of your interview subjects, or do you try to present them in a particular light?
    I try and present them at face value. What they are willing to say on camera is fair game as to what ends up in the documentary.
     
    -There are some great collecting stories borne out of people tapping into their nostalgia, did any especially resonate with you?
    Tyler Esposito and his stories about collecting with his father and having his father tape most of those experiences is very special to me. I lost my father around the same time Tyler lost his. Not only are Tyler's videos on My Retro Life YouTube channel compelling, I also relate in a lot of ways.

    Check out Tyler’s YouTube channel
     
    -Do you feel there is any particular phenomena driving the nostalgia for retro games? Is there something inherent in what Nintendo, Sega, or others did during these old consoles’ lifespans that is having this effect? Or is it simply that our generation, having grown up with these games, is excited over something that was a big part of that moment in our lives, and we could just as easily be nostalgic for something else?
    I honestly think being an adult is hard. For a long time there was kind of this thought built into us that we are born to live, work and die. I feel like the Millennial generation and late Gen X are on to something with bringing back moments of their childhood to enrich their present.
     
    -Did anything you heard from your interviews meaningfully change your thinking about any aspect of retro game collecting?
    I didn't know much about graded game collecting at first but feel like I have a good grasp now from both sides of the argument.
     
    -What was the most surprising thing you discovered while making Rarity? Did your direction or focus change at all between initial planning and putting the final product together?
    Honestly it surprised me just how much easier it is to work with people in the Retro game community than with actors. There was a little ego from anyone and people all just wanted to make the best product possible.
     
    -According to IMDb, there’s a Rarity Part 2 in post-production. What can you tell us about what to expect next?
    Rarity is actually in production right now. Chapters will continue just as if it was part of part 1, starting with Chapter 6. We will have a wide range of subjects and a lot more interviews.
     
    -Have you given any thought to a follow-up devoted to the homebrew scene?
    There is a full chapter devoted to homebrews and hacks in the new doc.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks for reading. Please check out the Rarity page on Facebook for any updates. Also got to megacatstudios.com to pick up an amazing NES style Blu-ray full of extras. Thanks so much for your time.
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of a series that covers the latest homebrew games that should be on your wishlist. I’m taking the time to engage with other great resources in the retro gaming community and promote their hard work. Also in the mix will be a post about retro gaming magazines that cover homebrews among other topics. What are your thoughts on Rarity and what do you hope to see in Edward’s follow up? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

  24. Scrobins

    Episode 1: Diamond Thieves

    By Scrobins,


    The Mega Cat Chronicles
    The Mega Cat Chronicles
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 1: Diamond Thieves

    Introduction:
    In the beginning, homebrew was the hobby of mad scientists experimenting with their own limited resources. There were no supply chains. Donor carts were the norm. But the community’s potential increased dramatically with the arrival of publishers offering molds for new cartridges, technical expertise to polish a game’s code, and a range of services including the printing of quality labels, boxes, and manuals, and distribution through their online storefronts. Homebrewers were no longer constrained by their own means, but could tap into the resources of others such as RetroUSB. InfiniteNESLives, Broke Studio, the 6502 Collective, and Mega Cat Studios.
    Sibling to the defunct 8 Bit Evolution, Mega Cat Studios has grown to become one of the biggest platforms for homebrew, as well as games for modern consoles. In addition to its own passion projects, the Mega Cat portfolio includes a number of commissioned projects as well as the initial or follow-up releases of other devs’ games at a greater scale. It is in that spirit that Mega Cat has cultivated new collaborations to expand its presence and broaden homebrew’s reach with partnerships such as 8 Bit Legit with Retrotainment Games, and a brand-new opportunity with Video Game Sage!

    It IS the game
    That’s right, VGS is teaming up with Mega Cat Studios to release homebrew games and promote their developers. Mega Cat combines its thick rolodex of developers and its publishing & distribution muscle with the talents of VGS’ staff, including my writing, and @CasualCart & @BortLicensePlate’s artistic prowess, and our collective promotional reach to help bring new physical releases to gamers that might not otherwise see the light of day.
    And to think it all began with a miscommunication.
    On September 22, 2021, nemezes tweeted about a limited release (just 5 CIBs) for a new game from Mangangá Team: Ladrões de Diamantes, or Diamond Thieves. I messaged him about getting a copy for myself, unfortunately international shipping costs made worldwide distribution prohibitively expensive. Nemezes hoped to find someone who could distribute his game beyond his country. That search was apparently fruitful, because on October 27, 2021, no less than James “Mega Cat” Deighan emailed me, saying amaweks (another prominent member of Mangangá) mentioned I was interested in buying a small run of Diamond Thieves. I was confused at first, I just wanted a copy for myself. It’s worth noting here that James and I were hardly strangers at this point; we have met in person and emailed back and forth over a number of projects. So I think it’s safe to say we were already good friends. And like our many other emails, this email wasn’t just a quick transactional back and forth, but a full-on conversation, catching up with each other on top of talking about the game itself. Eventually the conversation pivoted to an interesting idea: what if VGS partnered with Mega Cat to release Diamond Thieves and other games in our own joint series?

    Retro Homies
    A flurry of emails, forum threads, and video calls followed, as the excitement of what we could do to play with this opportunity was fleshed out. We would have a lot of leeway to put our mark on these releases, and both we and Mega Cat could draw on our respective staffs’ talents and communities to encourage brewers to release games they might like to publish but for whatever reason never took that step toward Kickstarter or any of the other publishers.
    This collaboration has been such a blast! James enjoyed CasualCart & BortLicensePlate’s new art so much, he asked them to put together a storyboard for the release trailer. And Diamond Thieves, with its premise of aliens and robots fighting over gems, you can imagine how much we sank our teeth into making fun art and text for the box. We are excited to launch this series, and are proud for Diamond Thieves to be the first game to herald what more there is to come.

    BortLicensePlate’s Box Design with CasualCart’s Cover Art
    To help shed light on the games getting a physical release through our collaboration, I’m also launching a spin-off to my homebrew blog A Homebrew Draws Near! To highlight the publisher who makes it possible, I’m calling this series The Mega Cat Chronicles. So let’s get started: for this entry, I’m covering Diamond Thieves, a platforming adventure for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, developed by Mangangá Team. As of the time of this writing, CIBs of the game are available through Mega Cat Studios here.
     
    Development Team:
    nemezes (Laudelino): programming
    amaweks (Paulo A. M. Villalva): background art & logo
    Casemiro Azevedo: music
    Filipe Brizolara: cutscenes
    Saruzilla: original cover art
    Fernando Dias: original manual/poster art

    Original CIB Design by Saruzilla
     
    Game Evolution:
    Diamond Thieves first popped up on our radar with an October 31, 2020 tweet, in which nemezes teased the beginnings of an “alien game.” Its title was announced in another tweet on November 8, 2020. More news entered our orbit over the course of the following year, sharing gameplay mechanics and occasionally crowdsourcing input on sprite design, such as how best to distinguish the various keys needed to complete each stage.
    On September 22, 2021, an initial CIB run of 5 copies of Diamond Thieves was announced. Given the shipping/export costs associated with mailing out of Brazil, the reach of these carts was understandably limited. Enter the Mega Cat, with an assist from VGS.

    Early Development Screenshot from Diamond Thieves
     
    Gameplay Overview:
    Diamond Thieves is a platformer with a pinch of puzzle work. You play as an alien adventurer, locked in the eternal struggle against robots in a race to scoop up the diamonds scattered throughout the universe. You must make your way through each stage, collecting diamonds, finding the keys needed to unlock your path forward, and defeat the robots who would enslave you. Climb ladders and boxes, jump on springs, push buttons, do whatever it takes to reach the checkpoints that mark your progress. Every step counts but watch out for the creatures and pitfalls of each level because these worlds won’t give up their gems too easily. At least there are hearts to replenish your health, and coins galore (10 of which will grant you an extra life)! You aren’t completely defenseless; armed with your laser pistol, you have a fighting chance in such hostile territory, but be careful not to waste your shots or you might be caught in a sticky situation while waiting for it to recharge.
    The game’s controls are intuitive. Left and right on the d-pad moves you accordingly, while up and down will help you climb any ladders. The C button allows you to jump and jump off ladders while the B button shoots the laser pistol, but only when the laser bar in the HUD is full. Start pauses your game. And of course you can reconfigure the controls to your liking in the title screen menu.

    Screenshot from Diamond Thieves
    Writer’s Review:
    Diamond Thieves is a hefty scoop of colorful cuteness that easily could have been the genesis of a 90s Saturday morning cartoon. This is a game well-suited for players of all ages, serving as the kind of simple platformer one can turn to as a relaxing escape. Reminiscent of family-friendly forays like Kid Chameleon and Toe Jam & Earl 2, Diamond Thieves is a light, fun adventure that knows some homebrew fans want to pass their nostalgia on to younger generations and will need games with low barriers to entry to appeal to them. Adding to its low-pressure ambiance, Diamond Thieves offers a password system so you can pick up & play, then drop it down & return at your convenience. But don’t interpret this to mean that the game is easy. The limits of your laser attack make you especially vulnerable if you aren’t judicious with its use. And more than once I fell into the trap of assuming that because each key has a distinct color and number that is consistent across each stage that means they are to be obtained in that order every time, forcing me to backtrack to obtain a key I thought I was supposed to leave for later.
    As I’ve mentioned, the graphics are cute and colorful, despite the landscape’s tricky terrain. There’s something amusing to how the platforms hovering above water wiggle to warn you they’re about to plummet. The backgrounds add an other-worldly layer to the landscape, and its parallax scrolling adds the sense of depth only found while galivanting in deep space. Meanwhile Diamond Thieves’ music taps into the sounds players love that only the Sega Genesis provides. Those deep bass riffs we’ve come to expect from this 16-bit console, paired with the music’s higher pitched twangs and sound effects perfectly articulate the soundtrack defined by the keywords “cute”, “spacey”, and “fun.”

    Interviews:
    So who are the devs behind Mangangá Team, entrusting VGS and Mega Cat with their work? I interviewed several members to learn more about their backgrounds and of course their passions, which have given rise to this fun game.
     

    Nemezes/Laudelino
    @laudelino7
    -Before we dive into Diamond Thieves, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of nemezes?
    What inspired me is the opportunity to use software that facilitates to coding, especially for the Mega Drive. Also, that I had a Mega Drive in my childhood. The origin of nemezes is simple, it is an anagram of Menezes, my surname. A friend once called me this way and I liked the idea.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    My influences in game developing are all the games that I played. I mainly focus on simple mechanics, puzzles and what’s fun to play.
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a nemezes game?
    The design aesthetic of simple games, but with a lot of workarounds to deal with the Mega Drive limitations.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and create?
    I once used BasiEgaXorz (also known as BEX) and SecondBASIC, but now I am using SGDK to code games for the Mega Drive.

    SecondBASIC, the gift from Adam that keeps on giving
     
    -How did your relationship with the other members of Mangangá Team come about?
    All the relationship came about through the Internet on social networks. First I met Paulo ‘amaweks’, then Luiz Felipe, as he is amaweks’ brother. Casemiro I met through an intermediate on Twitter.
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in the development of Diamond Thieves?
    First I made the basic dynamics of the game. Then I asked Casemiro to compose the songs, which he did very well. Amaweks appeared in the last minute to make all the background art, the logo of the game and the cover art. Everything just fit well together.
     
    -How did you first connect with Mega Cat Studios?
    I do not remember well how this happened, but I think that amaweks had the first contact, then I get in touch with Mega Cat Studios. It was when we were making Devwill Too game for Mega Drive, around 2019.

    Screenshot from Devwill Too for the Sega Genesis
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on the game? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    I can recommend that if you are an independent game developer, you should focus on simplicity for your games, so it’s something you can finish, as it really is difficult to make a game, because it has a lot of things to be made: code, music, all the art, etc. Keep it simple, but fun, and finish the game, so everyone can play it.
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Diamond Thieves in the leadup to its release, in collaboration with Mega Cat Studios and VGS. How does it feel to see Diamond Thieves serve as the launch title for this new collaboration so people can play your game?
    That is awesome, we hope that the game gets a good reception from the community.
     
    -What aspects of Diamond Thieves are you most proud of?
    The puzzle mechanics: find the right order of keys to open doors, the box mechanic to activate buttons that open doors, the runaway stages, the design of bosses; all aspects of the game.
     
    -With the rest of Mangangá Team, you have also developed games such as Devwill and Capoeira Boy, as well as other games you’ve worked on independently. Do you have a favorite game that you’ve programmed?
    All the games are my favorite, because in each game we try to improve our skills in general, make a new coding challenge, a new graphic feature and other good effects.
     
    -Are there any other games of yours you would like to see released through this Mega Cat/VGS partnership?
    Arapuca would a good game to be released through this partnership. It is a puzzle game, like Sokoban, but with Mode 7 rotation on the Mega Drive.

    Screenshots from the upcoming Arapuca (Trap) for the Sega Genesis
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    We are finishing the Devwill Too prologue.
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Yes, I am looking forward to seeing the final version of Phantom Gear.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks for the interest. I appreciate the attention and I hope people keep giving good feedback on our games. Thank you all!
     

    Paulo Villalva
    @amaweks
    -Before we dive into Diamond Thieves, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer and artist? What is the origin story of amaweks?
    Long story, but I think that everything I’ve learned as an artist in my entire life lead me do develop games. First, I was a kid in the 80’s and 90’s, playing games from Atari 2600 to N64. Drawing since childhood, I’ve done a lot of things in about 20 years like learning playing musical instruments, recording songs, doing comic books, studying visual arts, narrative, pixel art, and many more (see some of my productions on my personal blog www.diarioartografico.blogspot.com). As a teacher in schools I’ve helped my student classes to make a total of 11 PC retro games, that can be downloaded for free here https://gameartesescola.blogspot.com/.  I finished my first solo game project in 2014, and since then I have done a lot of other games on my own (www.amaweks.com), and games as a member of Mangangá Team (www.mangangateam.com). I’ve worked on several NES projects for Mega Cat Studios as a freelance pixel artist too.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    As a game maker, Locomalito is one great influence.  For narrative, Alan Moore, and old silent movie film makers, like Chaplin or Fritz Lang. For pixel art, strangely, I’ve come to admire and follow some artists only recently. Old 8-bit and 16-bit games’ pixel art are surely my main influence. But I love to look close to the work of Arne https://twitter.com/AndroidArts, and FrankenGFX https://twitter.com/FrankenGraphics, and Surt https://twitter.com/not_surt .

    Durandal by Arne
     
    -Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
    I think that my pixel art is very retro inspired, and does not look like modern pixel art. But I love to find the limits of pixel art restriction on old systems. Right now I’m testing my limits as an artist doing 1-bit (1 color + transparency) sprites. Making a good and well animated (with few frames) 1-bit sprite is such a challenge, and it all depends a lot on the character design. As a character design I think I’m always around with a mix of “cute” but “creepy” little monsters. Almost all of the main characters of my games are like this, they are cute and have a kind look, but at the same time are a little creepy and strange.  And as a game maker I’m trying to make games that looks like 80’s and 90’s games, but with a twist on the narrative content: adding ethnic, cultural, or philosophic elements that makes them a bit more “adult” than the games from my childhood.
     
    -Have you noticed any changes in your style or game development preferences over the years?
    I really do not know, I still try a mix of things, it all depends on the game concept. I may try to make a game a colorful as possible, or I can try to make the graphics look more minimalist. The target system can influence that decision. I think I’m becoming more experienced and better at choosing the art style for each project.
     
    -What tools do you use to create your art?
    For pixel art, old Paint Shop Pro 9, and WinXP software that is almost a simplified version of Photoshop. For music, any tracker that supports the system I’m working on, but mostly Deflemask and vortex tracker II.  For anything else, good old PC notepad, and a lot of real pen and paper.
     
    -In your opinion, what makes good game art stand out?
    I really do not know, for me all kinds of art can stand out, depending on the whole game. Some games will need a style of art, others will shine with another style. As a general rule, the art must be synthetic, it must reduce and represent things of the real world (or from our dreams) in an aesthetic way. A game, and pixel art too, must be understood as an aesthetic language, with its own rules, like any other language.
     
    -Tell me about the development of the art you created for the game, what is your composition process?
    In fact I did not do much on Diamond Thieves. Mostly sprites and tilesets. Laudelino/nemezes took from a free repository, and was made by Surt. I’ve done the background artwork, helped with some ideas for the game and level design. I created the title screen too. And that’s most of it for this one.
     
    -How did you first connect with Mega Cat Studios?
    My first contact with Mega Cat Studios was when I asked them to publish our first Sega Genesis game, Devwill Too. Then we established a very good relationship, and I started to work freelance pixel art jobs for them. I like their projects, and I’m very proud of the work I’ve done for Mega Cat Studios’ projects, mostly NES games. I think all good relationships need mostly confidence, and I really have that about them and it looks like they think the same.
     
    -How did your relationship with the other members of Mangangá Team come about?
    Laudelino came to me on a forum, asking for partnership. I was doing my own PC games, learning, so it looked like a good opportunity for us to learn together. We really have grown together as a team, we know each other’s limitations and make realistic projects scopes, that we can start and finish before getting bored or quit the project. Lots of good projects just do not get finished because of a too ambitious scope, and we want to avoid this. So while we do bigger projects, we like to have some time on small ones to keep things going.
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in your development of Diamond Thieves?
    Diamond Thieves was one of those small projects made between pauses on the big projects. So we work very freely on it, with not much of a general scope. The engine was made as an experiment for the new engine for Mega Devwill (some of the mechanics are the same: the player jumps, shoots a small projectile, has to wait a time to shoot again, and have to find keys to open doors). Since this project was mostly Laudelino’s creation, I worked in my spare time when needed help.

    Screenshot from the upcoming Mega Devwill for the Sega Genesis
     
    -Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist serves as the player's point of immersion in the game, informing how we understand the game's world. I also believe that the protagonist’s design serves as a reflection of its designer. What was the intention behind the design of the alien protagonist, and do you see aspects of yourself in him?
    Well, the character design and sprites are not mine, all I can say is that “charisma” for a character can be reached in many different ways. I like “silent” characters, like “mimics” who express themselves with minimalist talk and expression. Like 16-bit Sonic and Mario, most of the charisma comes from the fact that they do not talk. They are just there; other characters talk or interact with them. But, they react. They say that the more minimalist the “avatar”, the more easily a person can identify with them and play in their skin. I think that applies here and in our other games.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Diamond Thieves? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    I think that we learned how to do proper parallax scrolling with Diamond Thieves. That a small game can work and be shared with the public too. And that making small projects while doing bigger and longer ones helps us to “stay alive”, to have a bit of that sense of accomplishment to keep motivated.
     
    -What aspects of Diamond Thieves are you most proud of?
    I liked my title screen. The backgrounds are made dark to make the foreground and level design pop, and I think that works, and it has parallax 😉
     
    -With the rest of Mangangá Team, you have also developed games such as Devwill and Capoeira Boy, as well as other games you’ve worked on independently. Do you have a favorite game that you’ve created art for?
    It’s hard to tell. I love all my games and games I’ve done with Mangangá Team as they are my children. I think that I’m very proud of the sprites and character design I did for Arapuca, a small puzzle game for Sega Genesis that was Laudelino’s idea. And I’m really proud of myself for the stage graphics of Devwill Too Prologue, our new game in the series. I did a lot of parallaxes, and my palette usage is very mature there, very colorful. I’ve animated a spinning tower that was really hard work, but it looks great.
     
    -Are there any other games of yours you would like to see released through this Mega Cat/VGS partnership?
    Of course, I think Arapuca is a good small puzzle game that deserves a small cartridge run. Devwill Too Prologue, the new chapter on the series, will look great on the shelves alongside the original, that’s for sure. And, when we finish it, Mega Devwill, which is a remake of the first Devwill game, that I made for PC back in 2017.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    Lots, and lots, and lots of projects. The ones I’ve already told, Devwill Too Prologue, almost finished, and Mega Dewill, that needs a year of development still.  I personally have dozens of projects, some with a lot done on pre-production and even narrative and pixel art production. But time is short, and we always have to choose priorities.  I like to say that on Mangangá Team we work like a rock band. We share everything, money, work, and projects. Some projects start as someone’s idea, then it opens for other members’ contributions.

    Screenshot from the upcoming Devwill Too Prologue for the Sega Genesis
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Every new homebrew game for my childhood systems always makes me excited to play. Recently I’ve played Xeno Crisis a lot; it’s a hard game, I’m not good at it, but I love it. I love Tanzer, and I’m excited for the sequel. And every game or project that challenges the limits of any retro systems are always eye candy and I want to play them all.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks for everyone that supports our work. As an independent and homebrew game maker, we cannot survive without a sense of community, because we are niche. But I’m glad that we have, year by year, reached more people that support our work. If you want to develop a game, for any platform, aim for a small scope first. A too big first project will easily drain your energy and make you quit. So, start small, to build your whole picture brick by brick.
     

    Casemiro Azevedo
    @Kazemyers
    -Before we dive into Diamond Thieves, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to be a musician? What led you to compose music for homebrew games? What is your origin story?
    Music has always been a part of my life. My father plays the acoustic guitar, and my mother is an avid music listener. So even though I started working as a lighting designer (And still do. Seems like two very different things, but I they are actually quite similar in many areas), I never stopped developing and studying my composing/producing/sound designing skills. My brother Vitório O. Az is also a composer/sound designer, we are very close, we both started roughly at the same time, and since then we always share our experiences and discoveries in the field, helping and growing together so much so that we ended up composing many soundtracks together.
    When DAWs became accessible, I started producing, and never stopped since. Until one day a friend of mine invited me to compose for a game he was making, and I accepted. That was 8 years ago. Since then I got into dynamic audio, chiptune, and have worked in many game projects. 
    I grew up with 16-bit consoles, so composing for homebrew retro games was something of a bucket-list item. Actually composing for a specific sound chip, and having it released in a physical cartridge is something I’m very happy I can be a part of.
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    My main influences for chiptune are probably Hiroyuki Iwatsuki for his amazing work on Wild Guns and Ninja Warriors Again, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yuzo Koshiro among others. For general music influences I would say I’m very influenced by movie and theater music and soundtracks, I love leitmotivs and designing music and audio with strong narrative/dramaturgy. Also I love heavy sound design in music, so, Trent Reznor, Pink Floyd, Makeup and Vanity Set, Moses Sumney are all things I really like to hear and take inspiration from.
    And, lastly the things I’m watching closely lately: I’ve being listening to Mr. Bill a lot, and Roosevelt. Chiptune/game-wise I cannot stress enough how incredible the works of Saria Lemes and Fernanda Dias are. They are incredible artists and worth checking out.

    Hiroyuki Iwatsuki
     
    -Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic? Has your style changed or evolved over the years?
    I think I have this “visual” and narrative focus. That’s why I produced much more soundtracks for games, films, theater etc. than original albums. I like to have design flows for audio as well, like using a concept/technique and go as far as I can with it to create an involving narrative in the track/soundtrack and to guide the production and the story it’s trying to tell.
    My style developed over the years through the tools I’ve come to use.  I went through a very orchestral phase, and then very synth focus, chiptune, heavy post-processing and sound design, etc. Through these tools I’m exposed to a lot of new material, music, and then I research it and try to add to my audio tool belt.
     
    -Tell me about the development of Diamond Thieves’ soundtrack, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you might compose more traditional music?
    It really depends on the project. Some chiptune projects are more loop heavy than others, which makes things a little different in the planning and production phase. Or they are much more retro feeling which also changes the way I think of themes. Others are more experimental, so I think more outside the box. Despite all that I think chiptune is not just a tool for creativeness in the scope of nostalgia or retro alone, I think it is a tool that can be ripe for experimentation and new sounds, music and artistic designing, so it all very much depends on the project.
    The Diamond Thieves soundtrack is very short, so I aimed for the bouncy sounds that are possible with the Genesis FM chip, but the game is still about “thieves” so I tried to give it that little edge of danger and stealth.
     
    -What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
    I used Flstudio for many years, but since 2019 I’ve been using Ableton as my main DAW. For chiptunes I use Deflemask, SNESGSS, hUGE tracker and milkytracker. Also I use FMOD for dynamic soundtrack.
     
    -Your discography spans a wide array of music, including soundtracks for games, films, and theater. Does composing the soundtrack for a video game have different demands compared to composing compelling music for film or a play?
    It definitely does. In terms of structure, at least. In games you don’t have a set timeline in which events are going to happen no matter what (Unless it’s a cut scene). Much of the timing is given either through dynamic audio and player input or, as is the case for less dynamic retro games, you need to convey an entire atmosphere/narrative through a well thought out loop, while in films and podcasts you can use the events of the never changing narrative timeline to your favor when composing.
     
    -Tell me about the evolution of Diamond Thieves. Any interesting stories on the games’ development?
    Laudelino has this very unique way of developing, where he always comes up with the games and then with it almost finished, he sends me a ROM, and goes “this is the game, this is the art design, you want to compose for it?” And then he gives me full freedom to come up with the soundtrack. I really like to work with them. So I’ve only seen the final stages of development. 
     
    -How did your relationship with the other members of Mangangá Team come about?
    We started to hang out on the same developers Discord server, then I started posting some chiptunes, because I was studying deflemask, and then Laudelino, Paulo and Luiz got in touch, and we started developing together.
     
    -What was the working dynamic like in your development of Diamond Thieves?
    We talk about how the track is going to playout, if it’s the menu soundtrack, if it is a level one, etc. On Mangangá everyone has a lot a creative freedom, so I compose something, send a file to the team, receive some feedback, correct stuff, and off to the game it goes! It’s a very horizontal approach where everyone respects each field of work while adding to the end product.
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Diamond Thieves? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
    With Diamond Thieves I think the challenge was that we had some music from other projects that we would like to implement in the game, so for the rest of the soundtrack I had to follow a few guidelines to make it work as a whole, borrowing from the old soundtracks, and incorporating them in the new tracks. I think that a good lesson to learn is that the artistic process is always developed in the constraints of our tools and scope, which is actually a great thing that can be twisted into artistic creativeness. Boundaries and limited options can be a strong help when creating, so embrace those constraints and make them shine through!
     
    -What aspects of Diamond Thieves are you most proud of?
    I think the visuals-audio-design aspects are working together in a very nice and tidy artistic package.
     
    -With the rest of Mangangá Team, you have also developed games such as Devwill and Capoeira Boy, as well as other games you’ve worked on independently. Do you have a favorite game that you’ve created music for?
    I think Mangangá (The game) was a very fun one to compose for, because I got the idea of sampling a berimbau (A Capoeira Instrument) in the Genesis sound chip, chopping the percussive and tonal parts and using it as a beat element.

    A Berimbau
    Arapuca I also liked very much, as I was inspired by electro swing for the Soundtrack. I guess swing music reminds me of cats?? I don’t know, maybe because of the Aristocats movie.
     
    -Are there any other games of yours you would like to see released through this Mega Cat/VGS partnership?
    Hopefully Mangangá team will have more games coming and we can make more of this great partnership with Mega Cat Studios!
    There is also a GBC game that might be in the minds of the co-op gamedev that I’m part of, and maybe going into development soon. A partnership with Mega Cat/VGS would be awesome.
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
    Yes, we are about to start the sequels for “Bem Feito” a game by the co-op team: OiCabie, Yukooh, Breno Dias and me. Also a little short film which I can’t talk about it yet, and hopefully more Mangangá games.
    As for dream projects, I’d love to work on more Genesis and SNES games. I also have this dream to compose/sound design for a 16-bit horror game, something like Clock Tower! That would be awesome.  I would also like to tackle a very dynamic soundtrack for an investigation game. I have many dream projects that hopefully will come to reality some day!
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    I’m really looking forward to playing “Repugnant Bounty” for the GBC.

    Screenshot from Repugnant Bounty by Starlab
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    Thanks for playing Mangangá games, thanks for being part of this crazy homebrew community, and check out the team’s other projects!
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this first episode of a new series that will bring attention to some deserving homebrewers and their games, and heralding the release of a special physical run of their games thanks to the collaboration of Mega Cat Studios and Video Game Sage. Like my other blog series, I hope to  take deep dives into the stories behind the game and its creators. What are your thoughts on Diamond Thieves and the Mangangá Team? Are there any completed or in-development homebrews that you are praying get a physical release? Maybe that will be the next entry in…The Mega Cat Chronicles!
     

  25. Scrobins

    Episode 22: Fire and Rescue

    By Scrobins,


    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A Homebrew Draws Near!
    A blog series by @Scrobins
    Episode 22: Fire and Rescue

    Introduction:
    Among the many homebrewers I have been privileged to interview, several were also academics: professors who teach game design and development by day, and by night put into practice those same lessons into their own passion projects. Their expertise is expressed through their style, and sometimes traces of the teacher are apparent in their games, either highlighting the lessons they value most or serving as a piece of learning material in itself. Homebrewers often are eager to draw connections to the games that influenced them and to which they wish to pay homage, but there is something different we can eagerly expect when a brewer teases they hope for their full panoply of games to serve as a history lesson, highlighting the idiosyncrasies of their favorite games' features, reflecting the evolution of the NES’ offerings with each new game of their own.
    For this entry, I’m covering Fire and Rescue, a Black Box-style arcade game for the NES, developed by Skyboy Games. As of the time of this writing, the game is complete and available for purchase as a rom here, and a full, physical CIB is available here.
     
    Development Team:
    Skyboy Games (Robbie Dieterich): programming & music

    Better call 911, because this game is on FIRE
     
    Game Evolution:
    Fire and Rescue first teased its existence as early as June 6, 2021, when Robbie tweeted a brief clip of gameplay. Skyboy Games began work on the game in the wake of their previous game’s success: Orphea placed 2nd in Lost Cartridge Jam 2020.

    Screenshot from Orphea
    From that moment onward, Skyboy Games unleashed a veritable river of updates highlighting their progress, from the creation of the first test cartridge on September 16, 2021 (and a sample box 4 days later) to the confirmation of an eventual physical release on October 12, 2021. Before the year was out, Skyboy announced that pre-orders for the game were open on December 6, 2021 (closing 10 days later), with an option to pick up your own copy in person at Super MAGFest. Confirmation that the first copies were en route to players went out on December 17, 2021.
     
    Gameplay Overview:
    Fire and Rescue describes itself as an arcade-style game in the spirit of the NES’ early Black Box releases. You play as the brave firefighter trusted with saving your city and the innocent civilians who inhabit it from the host of fires ravaging your town. Using your water tank, you can go into each building and extinguish the fires within. Eventually your tank will run low, so you’ll need to hurry outside to refill it at the nearby hydrant. It’s a careful exercise in resource management, because fires can grow and spread over time, even shooting unextinguishable fireballs. And of course you must consider your own safety because you only have 2 hit points. In a fun nod to Ghosts ‘n Goblins, after the first hit you lose your helmet, and the second hit will kill you. In addition to fighting fires, you will need to save anyone trapped in the burning buildings by touching them and carrying them out one at a time to the waiting ambulance’s rescue point. Grateful citizens will leave power ups that can automatically refill your water tank or restore your helmet (and thus your health).

    Screenshot from Fire and Rescue
    The game’s controls are simple. Use the d-pad to move left and right, as well as up and down ladders. You can jump using the A button and spray water with the B button (you can spray water downwards by jumping and then pressing down and B while in midair). Select toggles options at the title menu, and Start chooses options at the title menu and pauses during gameplay.
     
    Writer’s Review:
    Fire and Rescue is a captivating arcade game that serves as a refreshing reminder of the kind of simple fun Nintendo delivered to pull the video game industry back from the 1983 crash. While we may also ooh and ahh over the latest development to push the hardware to its limits, Fire and Rescue exemplifies how the more recent games that populate our list of all-time favorites stand tall because they stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before. Fire and Rescue would fit in perfectly among the Black Box originals it emulates, but for all its stripped-down simplicity, it’s a stunning gem.

    Screenshot from NES Black Box classic Balloon Fight
    Gameplay includes some fun little details that add nuance. For instance, the entrance to each stage’s house includes a small set of stairs that you have to jump on in order to enter the house, otherwise you’re just walking in front of the building, and you cannot just jump up into the ground floor from standing outside in front of it. In addition to the layouts of each house and the distribution of the fires and civilians within, the placement of the ambulance and the hydrant relative to the entrance adds a dash of difficulty that will mess with your intuition. In similar touches that will challenge your assumptions and toy with speedrunners, you can jump off ladders while climbing them, but you cannot jump onto a ladder and start climbing in the middle of it to save time. This is cleverly balanced with strategic use of the dropped powerups to limit the number of times you need to go outside to refill your water tank. I had a laugh when I discovered you could jump out a window or off a balcony to take a shortcut to the street, and the fall didn’t take a toll on your health. This is all to say that Fire and Rescue has easy to learn basics, but interesting and helpful nuggets that pepper your experience, which you can only learn by getting your hands dirty…or reading my blog.
    The game’s graphics take a less is more approach, but still giving players everything they need. As the cute 8-bit firefighter you can see the entire layout of each house, identifying the animated fires and the people trapped among them. Perhaps like a real firefighter, all you see are the elements that matter: the people, the fire, the paths to get to either. Anything else is superfluous. Robbie plays with the negative space, incorporating furniture and appliances into the background to add a sense of art to the otherwise functional design. Meanwhile Fire and Rescue’s music lays a soft but intense tune over gameplay. Rather than the monotonous tones of some early Black Box outings, Fire and Rescue’s chiptune conveys mood: one of focus, as if the firefighter was in the zone and concentrating on getting through another day at the office, saving lives and literally putting out fires.
     
    Interviews:
    Unlike Billy Joel, Skyboy acknowledges they started this fire. So I reached out to interview them with all the burning questions that I love to ash all my subjects. Ok I’ll stop now.
     

    Robbie Dieterich
    @skyboygames
    -Before we dive into Fire and Rescue, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game programmer? What is the origin story of Skyboy Games?
    Okay, I'll try to give you the short version of my background (if such a thing even exists.)
    First things first, my name is Robbie Dieterich and I'm the sole member of Skyboy Games and also an Assistant Professor of Game Design at George Mason University (GMU) in Virginia. Before coming to GMU, I was a game programmer in Tokyo where I had been working for roughly a decade working on games like Elite Beat Agents, Lips, and the Black Eyed Peas Experience. Before Tokyo, I lived and worked in Virginia (where I also went to college.) If you're wondering how exactly a college kid from VA ended up working in a Japanese game development company in Tokyo for a decade, well that's a whole other story (that involves more than a few late nights of drinking.)

    My Black Eyed Peas Experience: “Where is the love?” “Where is your shirt?”
    As far as inspiration to become a game programmer goes, you can thank a couple of magazines for that. One was early in Nintendo Power, I think in the first or second year where they had a game design contest. I didn't enter, but I remember seeing the winning entry and being enraptured with the idea of making my own games. I was probably around 8 or 9 at the time.
    The second inspiring magazine article came much later in an issue of Next Generation mag around '96 or so. The article listed jobs in the industry, and I fell in love with the idea of working in games. Ironically enough, I assumed I would be best suited to be a producer because I didn't think I was smart enough to be a programmer.
    Anyway, while I was inspired to work in games, I didn't think it could ever really happen. So, I put the thought away in the pipe dream section and ended up getting a degree in Computer Science. I didn't like CS that much per se, but I had picked up a knack for programming by doing all sorts of personal projects (usually making broken little games.)
    So, maybe we will get into the Tokyo connection here. After graduating college, I spent a year on the JET program teaching English in Japan. Living in Japan had been a goal of mine for a while (my mother is from Okinawa), and I studied Japanese all through college with that goal in mind. After the year in JET, I came back to the States and worked as a programmer at a government contractor.
    Working at the government contractor was, honestly, pretty dull. It was so dull that I ended up quitting that job to help some friends work on an arcade rhythm game. It was an... interesting time. It didn't end well however since Konami got wind of what we were up to and... applied some indirect pressure on our funding source.
    In a bit of a funk, I went to stay with a friend in Japan for a while. It was there that I had a chance to attend an industry party thanks to another friend I had become drinking buddies with while I was on the JET program. It was at that party that I met the guy who would become my boss for the next 10 years. I introduced myself as a freelance, i.e. unemployed, programmer, he suggested an interview and things went from there.
    Skyboy Games is a side business I started towards the end of my time in Japan, mainly as a vehicle for indie games that I was making. The Skyboy in Skyboy is my son. 🙂
     
    -Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
    This is a tricky question since I'm not super conscious of strong direct influences. I do pick up influences, of course, but I think of them being more diffuse in my work and way of thought.
    For example, Keiichi Yano, who I worked for the most in Tokyo, is certainly an influence on how I design games. It's not, however, because I try to ape the way he approaches design, but the way he approaches making games have certainly colored the way I approach making games.

    Keiichi Yano
    As far work I'm watching closely now, I watch the work of people I've worked with before. In a way, I tend to watch projects when I have a direct personal or professional connection with the developer in question.
    For example, Adam from Second Dimension was a great source for PCBs and cart shells, so I've been watching Affinity Sorrow like a hawk. I grew fond of some of the developers at MIVS, so I watch their projects (like Crescendo, Unbeatable, and Noisz). Vi Grey and Justin Orenich were super fun to talk with (and Justin helped A LOT with getting me started on physical cart production) so I'm watching what they're up to next.
    What can I say, I'm a softy who watches other projects for soft, personal reasons. 🙂
     
    -You are also an assistant professor at George Mason University, where you teach game design. Do you feel your academic work informs your approach to game design, or perhaps your video game work informs your teaching?
    Yes, both ways!
    Most of my work in academia is teaching students how to create games which forces me to constantly organize and vocalize my understanding of how best to make games. This encourages me to apply a more rigorous process to problems I might otherwise be tempted to solve by sheer intuition.
    In the other direction, working on games provides concrete object lessons I can use to illustrate ideas in class. NES games are great for this since they have such tight scope. One of the benefits of working at the art school part of the university is that creating games is my art and the university encourages faculty to practice their art.
     
    -You mention in your newsletter that you spent about a decade in Tokyo programming games for a wide variety of platforms, such as the Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, iOS, and Android. Did you originally go to Tokyo for that purpose? What kind of games did you work on? What lessons have you carried from those experiences to your development work now?
    The biggest titles I worked on were Elite Beat Agents (Nintendo DS), Lips (Xbox 360), and the Black Eyed Peas Experience (Xbox 360 + Kinect). I also did a bunch of mobile games which I'm pretty sure are now all defunct.

    Under the Gloria Estefan Act, we are the rhythm and we are here to get you
    I think I've internalized a lot of what I learned developing games there. To unpack it a bit, I think we placed a high premium on subtle polish in what often seemed like minute areas of games. For example, the timing fraction of a second pause breath you might put between a fade-out and a fade-in.
    Even though I work on games mostly by myself nowadays, I find that I sometimes imagine myself in the roles of various past co-workers depending on what I'm doing. When I'm thinking about fine-tuning variables I imagine I'm working with some of the planners I've worked with (Fuji-san, Nakao-san). When I'm tuning pixel art, I'm getting imaginary feedback from former artist co-workers (Saito-san, Nakai-san, Umeji-san). When I playtest, I'm taking on the almost sadistic (to the game, not people) nature of some of the best QA managers (Hayashi-san and, the living TCR manual, Sawada-san) I've worked with. When I fix a thorny bug, I still imagine how I might explain it to my programming lead, Okada-san, back in the day.
    Gosh, when I say it that way, I sound like a lonely old hermit.
    I have in-person friends too! I swear!
     
    -How would you describe your design aesthetic, what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
    My rule for when something looks good comes down to intentionality. Does something look the way it does on purpose?
    When something is lo-fi, the difference to me is whether I'm convinced that any given sound or graphic actually sounds/looks how the author intended it to.
    Going forward, since I'm likely to be on a hands-on tour through the technological history of NES games, my aim is to produce games that feel authentically like games of the era I'm seeking to emulate, in terms of tech, design, look and feel.
     
    -What tools do you use to code and compose for your games?
    Visual studio and c65 for code. I code mostly in C and roll a little bit of assembly when I need an extra performance boost.
    Graphics tend to be done in GIMP and then transferred into tools like YYCHR so I can arrange them in CHR memory.
    I compose tunes in FamiTracker. Although, "compose" isn't really the right word for it. If you listen closely to the music in FIRE AND RESCUE, you may be able to recognize it as a transposition of portions of a Sousa march.

    I knew beats could be fire but this is ridiculous!
     
    -With your background in more modern platforms, what inspired you to develop a game for the NES?
    My first game system was a NES, so I've always had a distinct love for the system.
    On a more programmery side, I used to read old game programming books that were centered around mode 13h PC programming. I never got to do much of that myself since when I started doing games more seriously DirectX and friends were already a thing. So, doing low-level, "dirty" coding was something I always wanted to do myself.

    I wanna code DIRRTY
     
    -What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Fire and Rescue?
    This may sound like a humble brag, but the development of FIRE AND RESCUE went pretty smoothly. To be fair, I've been around the block a fair bit with a lot of projects, so I had a pretty decent sense of the scope I wanted to aim for, and I tried to front-load the most troublesome parts of development so any ugly surprises could hit me early.
    For example, my original concept for the game had the player picking up and dropping their water tank and stretching a limited length hose to put out fires. Convincingly rendering the hose within the limits of NES sprite rendering (even with some BG tile trickery) proved more costly and bug-prone than I wanted, so I pivoted away from that feature during the prototyping phase of the game. I think this was a lucky choice since picking up and dropping the tank was also the drag (though the idea of having P2 move the tank while P1 sprayed could have been kind of fun.)
    Not that the end of the project was necessarily smooth sailing. Managing code size is a challenge and figuring out what code used up more bytes versus other code was not always intuitive. Measuring the effect of changes was super important.
    Optimization for performance was fun though. On modern platforms, micro-optimizations of code are rarely where you get significant wins for improving performance. On old platforms, however, those micro-optimizations can be huge. I finally got to use some of the techniques I learned from old game programming tomes and have them make a useful difference. 🙂
     
    -I always ask my interviewees whether there is a reflection of themselves in the game’s protagonist. Do you identify with the firefighter character in some way?
    I don't see myself in the characters per se, but there is some of me in them. Namely, the sprites for the firefighters are based on the sprites from Balloon Fight because BF was one of the two games I first got with my NES.
    FIRE AND RESCUE is kind of an homage to my feelings playing Balloon Fight for the first time (and opening the box for the first time, too).
     
    -Although unnamed in the game and manual, do they have a name in your head canon?
    They do!
    In my head canon, FIRE AND RESCUE would have been developed in Japan, so I imagined the characters having names written next to them somewhere in paper design materials.
    Originally, the names would be Ken and Satoshi (for P1 and P2, respectively) but I imagine the American localization team changed "Satoshi" to "Jay" to be more relatable in the States. Of course, the names never got used because marketing decided they weren't needed.
    I write fanfiction in my head for the games I make and have imaginary co-workers. I swear, I'm okay!

    No no, a different Jay (I hope)
     
    -There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Fire and Rescue, with people enjoying the game at MAGFest earlier this year. How does it feel to see so many people excited for your game?
    It rocks soooo much. I especially love how many people seem to get what I was going for with this game.
     
    -What aspects of Fire and Rescue are you most proud of?
    The aspect I'm most proud of is what I'm talking about when I talk about people "getting the game".
    My primary goal was to make FIRE AND RESCUE feel authentically like a Black Box NES game that was part of its original line-up. Every time someone said that the copyright message was the only thing that gave it away as a modern creation or when someone said they didn't know why, but the game just felt right for the era, I was on Cloud-9.
     
    -Your third newsletter highlights just how detail-oriented your game design is. You mention intentionally excluding “quality of life” features found in more contemporary games such as using Select and Start buttons to navigate the menu on the title screen (in line with games of the era) rather than also allow option selection via the D-pad and A button. Were these touches something you knew about from your game design or academic backgrounds, or was this the result of research prior to developing Fire and Rescue?
    A lot of that was instinct and memories from the game's I grew up playing. I wish I could say I had researched this carefully, but in reality, these were decisions largely based on my intuition, where adding certain things didn't feel right, didn't feel authentic to the era.
     
    -We had a chance to meet and chat in person at MAGFest this year as well! You told me something really interesting: that in addition to having much of Fire and Rescue’s design pay homage to the older black box releases, that you plan having future releases follow a design pattern that traces the history of the NES’ lifespan. Where did this idea come from, and which patterns should we be on the lookout for?
    That was an awesome chat, by the way! I loved talking with the "good Sean Robinson"!
    At the moment, I think what you'll likely see from me is me essentially unpacking my game history by making games that speak (to me at least) of the games I remember from my childhood.
    I didn't get to play all the NES games, but I did play quite a few, so we'll likely see me tracing through a history of NES games with a bias to games I have strong memories of.
    So, some examples of how that bias might play out in future projects might be having more Hogan's Alley influences than Duck Hunt or more Metroid than Kid Icarus because the former games in those two examples are one's I have more personal memories about.
     
    -Your newsletter also teases an upcoming project that will be Zapper-compatible. Given your interest in tracing the history of the NES that we discuss in an earlier question, are there other technologies you hope to incorporate at some point, whether that’s other accessories such as the PowerPad or U-Force or cartridge developments such as using a battery save feature?
    Oh yes, indeed. As I mentioned before, my project plan is essentially a playable homage to my personal nostalgia.

    Some initial research into that Zapper project...
    My tech choices will likely be driven by the tech requirement of the games I want to pay homage to. So, for example, I have a Metroid-ey game I want to make and it would likely be an MMC1 project with no save battery because... nostalgia (and also the chance of adding a 'Justin Bailey'-esque easter egg.)
    Were I doing something Zelda-inspired, I'd probably have non-password saving.
    (If I were to do something as an homage to the first Dragon Quest/Warrior I'd be torn on the battery save issue since the Japanese version actually used a password system!)
     
    -Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Collaborations?
    Yes!
    So, next project I'm working on, Saru Kani Panic, is a collaboration with some people I've worked with before. This game is not part of the Skyboy Games brand, so its aesthetics don't hew to my NES history idea we have running.
    Saru Kani Panic will be running alongside with the Zapper game I hinted at in the newsletter.
    Later on, I want to start climbing up the NES memory mapper tech tree with a Metriod-ey or Zelda-ey game. I actually have some artist friends I'm hoping to woo for concept art for this one. (And I have a friend I would LOVE to have cosplay as a character from a game I make.)
    Of course, like many nerds, I do have an RPG burning a hole in my brain, waiting to come out. I might try doing a version of that someday specced to NES so the NES tech constraints can keep my project in scope.

    Screenshot from Saru Kani Panic in development with Work3 Studio
     
    -Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
    Well, as you may guess from my earlier answer, I'm getting pretty excited for Affinty Sorrow. I have some waiting to go however.
     
    -I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share your experiences. Is there anything else you would like to tell readers and fans?
    You are awesome!
    I wasn't sure what to expect when I jumped into the homebrew community, but everyone I've met has been welcoming and wonderful.
     
    Conclusion:
    Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that showcases the latest and greatest homebrew games that deserve a place on your shelf. What are your thoughts on Fire and Rescue, and Skyboy Games? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
     

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