Episode 13: What Remains

By Scrobins, April 23, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 13: What Remains

Introduction:
Video games can aspire to be many things. They can be a playful escape from the world, and they can be a new lens for seeing the world and how we exist within it. Not many games use their medium to weigh in on substantive political discourse, but today’s game, with its themes of health & environmental policy, truth & disinformation, and archival institutions and the protection of knowledge, reflects the maturity and imagination of its developers, and the pervasiveness of the political in modern society.
For this entry, I’m covering What Remains: a visual novel adventure game developed by Iodine Dynamics. With Earth Day having recently passed, What Remains seemed a perfect fit to reflect on the significance of the day, given the game’s themes of protecting public health and conserving the environment. As of the time of this writing, the rom is available for purchase here, and a limited run of 80 CIBs has been reserved, with a recent update as of April 19, 2021 that Iodine Dynamics will be partnering with perennial production savior Broke Studio to produce carts.

Initial cart/box design, or corporate leak?

Development Team:
Arnaud Guillon: design (maps, sprites, and mazes)
Dustin Long: programming
Aymeric Mansoux: hardware, music, and writing
Chun Lee: music
Marloes de Valk: design (cutscenes), writing, and research

Image from What Remains’ first tweet

Game Evolution:
What Remains began teasing its existence through its dedicated Twitter account, which posted its first tweet on August 25, 2016. Updates flowed on followers’ feeds, sharing progress on aspects such as sprite development and circuit board work. The end was in sight when a May 15, 2017 tweet noted the team had started “Day 1” of a sprint to the finish line.
In an August 30, 2018 tweet, the dev team announced the release of the game, with an invitation to a release party in Rotterdam on September 27. Soon after, pre-orders for a limited physical release of 80 CIBs opened on September 5, 2018. As gamers played the released game, the dev team continued to improve it, fixing bugs and sharing updates. On May 24, 2019, the final rom was released.
Given the significance of the themes permeating What Remains’ gameplay, it is no surprise that What Remains found places of prominence within multiple exhibitions, including the New Archive Interpretations exhibition at the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam in September 2017, the UN/GREEN exhibition at the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga in July 2019, the ZKM│Center for Art and Media in Karlsruche starting in February 2020, and the Sonic game space II exhibition at Visningsrommet USF in Berge through April and May 2021.

What Remains at the ZKM│Center for Art and Media. Finally an art exhibit I can touch!

Gameplay Overview:
What Remains is a visual novel adventure game. You play as Jenny, your typical skateboarding gamer, living her best life in Sunny Peaks circa 1986. On the way home from an afternoon on the halfpipe, Jenny observes a car chase and the driver of the front car tossing something out the window: an NES cartridge!

Cart only, very good condition, some scuffing resulting from high-speed car chase
Bringing it to your friend Michael, together you learn this isn’t the latest game, but a sophisticated tool for leaking the secrets of shady corporate conglomerate DNY Corp. It’s up to you to open your community’s eyes to the misinformation they’re being fed by DNY Corp.’s puppets.

Between the 80s graphics, green coloring, and lollipop eyes, you know he’s bad news…until he pulls an Elphaba and gets a redemptive book/broadway musical
What Remains’ controls are simple: move around town using the D-pad, talk to people and open doors with the A button, and blow the whistle (when you learn an important secret) with the B button. Additionally, when playing the mysterious NES cartridge, you are treated to a mini game that hacks DNY Corp. with a mechanism that bears a striking resemblance to Arkanoid.

Is this what showed up on the screen for those kids in Hackers?
Sunny Peaks is a bustling community, with more neighborhoods available to you as the story progresses. And the streets are filled with people that are fun to talk to. Each person has 2-3 different things to say in each level, whether it’s relevant to the plot or a silly non sequitur. Each level revolves around a new morsel of information gleaned from the cartridge and finding a way to counter DNY Corp.’s misdeeds. How you play the game from one level to the next is largely consistent, but includes some variances to keep things fresh, whether that’s trying to talk to as many people as possible, or carefully avoiding certain others…

Stranger danger!

Writer’s Review:
What Remains provides a fun adventure, bolstered by themes which render the story as relevant today as it would be in its actual setting. One might find it easy to dismiss some of the subject matter as dated, with debate over the dangers of cigarette smoking and pollution long settled; and one might be cynical and tired over the meaning of truth when today’s political discourse has become saturated with discussion of “fake news” and “alternative facts”, but standing on the bridge between them may be precisely where this game becomes timeless with a resonance that rises above the specific subject matter we may be fighting over then or now. Here is a game to remind you of the adage that "all politics is local" and that even the most daunting challenges can be overcome when individuals recognize their own agency and make the effort to be the catalyst for change.
The straightforward gameplay allows the player to become more immersed in the story, running around Sunny Peaks to spread truth and enlist allies. As Jenny you meet a wide array of helpful, hostile, and hilariously benign characters, from talking pigeons to step aerobics enthusiasts.

Personally I think it’s making a comeback.
Talking to them all is an entertaining aside, even when it doesn’t advance the plot, but then again some of the most amusing moments of my favorite RPGs were the jokes found in talking to NPCs (such as the couple in Dragon Warrior’s Rimuldar who never seem to find each other for their date).
Interspersed among your efforts to fight corporate megalomania are cutscenes that add drama to keep you tethered to the game for just one more level (including one that might fool the impatient and easily frustrated), and the brief Arkanoid-like needed to hack the next tidbit of industrial espionage, which gets a little more difficult with each level. Put together, What Remains is an enjoyable adventure that can be beaten in a single, brief sitting because it believes its challenge lies not in difficult gameplay but recalibrating how you digest information and weigh the sources from which you obtain it when you go back out into the real world.
The game’s graphical art is ornate and colorful. The streets of Sunny Peaks are not an ongoing pattern of urban tiles, but a labyrinthine environment with character of its own across the streets and within each shop. The detail is incredible from the light reflecting off windowpanes to the readable titles on the arcade cabinets. Scattered throughout the city are the dozens of people you can talk to. Unlike most games where you can explore and chat up the locals, these NPCs are all unique sprites, an impressive effort given their number. On top of the overworld art, the cutscenes provide a comic book feel to the story that keeps you inside the action.

The diner before & after the smoking ban
Meanwhile the game’s music elevates gameplay by bolstering the tone of each level. Whether it’s the “urgent” theme to alert you to a new development, or the nighttime music that conveys a sleepy, creeping mystery as you skulk from block to block, each track reinforces the moods that carry you from chapter to chapter in this visual novel. Each chiptune begins simply enough, with a distinct vibe that sets the emotional tone to keep you grounded in the story, but if you take your time and wait for the tracks to really get going, you can enjoy them for the elaborate songs they are. And yet What Remains also effectively uses silence to bring tension to a rolling boil, giving players a sense of dread for what lurkis just around the corner. But if there is a classic game that I can point to that in my opinion bears some similarity to the overall feel of this soundtrack, it would be StarTropics with its balance of thrilling and entertaining, tense but bubbly.

Both games even have volcanoes!

Interviews:
Well, what remains now but to talk to the development team? Yuk yuk yuk…(crickets)…anyhoo…for this interview, the development team opted to answer my questions together, creating a great conversational feel to their responses, so let’s see what additional insights Iodine Dynamics can add to supplement our experience of the game.

Iodine Dynamics https://iodinedynamics.com/ Twitter @remwhat
DL = Dustin Long https://github.com/dustmop Twitter: @dustmop
AG = Arnaud Guillon
MdV = Marloes de Valk https://bleu255.com/~marloes Mastodon: @l03s@post.lurk.org Twitter: @l03s
AM = Aymeric Mansoux https://bleu255.com/~aymeric Mastodon: @320x200@post.lurk.org Twitter: @320x200
CL = Chun Lee

Before we dive into What Remains, I would love to talk about you and your various backgrounds. What first inspired each of you to become homebrew game developers? What are your origin stories?
DL: Having always been interested in games and gamedev, I was really pulled into homebrew by witnessing the creativity in the chiptune scene, particularly by visual artists at shows in the New York area. A lot of them were using custom software on old consoles like the NES / Famicom and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, which inspired me to learn how exactly that worked.

AG: I've been a gamer for a very long time and I've always had the desire to participate in the making of a game. When Aymeric and Marloes asked me to join the project, it was just the right opportunity.

MdV: I stumbled into it through a collab with Aymeric and Dave on a game called Naked on Pluto in 2011, and discovered I love writing dialogue and content for games.

AM: Next to what Marloes said already, Chun, Marloes and myself were also part of an artist collective active in the 2000s, called GOTO10, working on experimental net/software art and music performance with Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS). Throughout the years we were increasingly drawn to using so-called obsolete computers and consoles to mess around with. For me it was also a way to reconnect with past interests in computer/platform centric subcultures and alternative modes of publishing/distribution like the demoscene.

Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
DL: Aside from chiptune, I'm a big fan of many classic to modern games. I probably should give special thanks to Battle Kid, which was the first homebrew game that really caught my attention and pushed me to start making my own.
There are too many great developers that are out there right now to mention them all, but I'm especially impressed by the work coming out of groups like Mega Cat Studios, Broke Studio, and Morphcat Games.

AM: For the DIY/homebrew scene in particular, I'm always inspired to learn about projects that depart from nostalgia and try to build upon, expand, subvert existing computer/video tech that have lost their original commercial relevance. People/groups that inspire me in this context are Viznut's permacomputing principles, Little Scale's hardware hacking, the whole GB chiptune community, and communities like scanlines.xyz.
For the more political motivations/influences, the political theorist Chantal Mouffe is a big inspiration for me. For the art aspect, mostly artists and writers from the field of software art, culture jamming, and tactical media to some extent.

MdV: I'm going to throw in some interactive fiction. I loved You Are Jeff Bezos, by Kris Ligman and Queers in Love at the End of the World by Anna Entropy. Super inspiring how much you can do with so little: text and a counter for time or money.

How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are hallmarks of a game designed by you?
MdV: The combination of quite disturbing topics with a good dose of humour, silliness mixed with critical observations and totally absurd dialogues.

No caption I write could improve on this perfection (chef’s kiss)

AG: For the in-game graphic part, I would describe the graphic style as "do as you can" ^^ I really started pixel art on this game, discovering in the process the specific constraints of the NES. It was initially very frustrating because all my initial graphic intentions had to be abandoned. Of course I knew these constraints would be very important, but I was far from it. So from my point of view, in-game visuals reflect more my learning than a clear and assumed direction from the beginning to the end. If I could work on a game again today, with the experience I gained on What Remains, I would approach it very differently.
Before I even started working on the game, my fear was mostly about the top view of the game because I had the feeling that it would be more complex to get something visually appealing. Such a view needs a minimum scale to work and therefore a greater diversity of scenery elements in the image (to be successful in my opinion). Something sounding even more complex to achieve on a platform like the NES. I had in mind the old RPGs (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest...) that I found particularly "stark" with differences in scale between characters and scenery that I didn't like at all, and scenery looking like maps. One of the few games that did the job very well in my opinion on NES (graphically) was TMNT, and it was my main inspiration for the scenery and the scale represented. For characters, I wanted to avoid SD or outlined designs. So they are very thin, and I was a little afraid that they were not visible enough in the picture. Generally speaking, I didn't want to imitate old games, even if quite often, after a few unsuccessful attempts, you find yourself applying proven recipes.

Screenshot from TMNT

MdV: For the cutscenes and the cartridge PETSCII-style graphics I can only echo Arnaud's words. It was a (really fun) learning process. The constraints on resolution and palette felt brutal at first but triggered a lot of creativity as well.

DL: I enjoy when games develop a central theme, either narrative or mechanical, then perform acts that twist or subvert it in clever and interesting ways. I feel like What Remains has quite a bit of that, which is especially fun!

AM: I also like games with a twist, with a little something that manipulates the player's expectation! Design wise, for What Remains specifically we also tried to make sure the overall design was not flat and uniform. By flat and uniform I mean that we worked very hard to make sure there was diversity in the visual language for each part of the game (cutscenes, top down views, non-interactive animations, faux-PETSCII interface for the "in-game game" sequences, etc.), and same for the music (making sure the soundtrack is there to set the mood and that sometimes less is more, whether it means that the composition needs to be more subtle, or that a location or scene simply works best with no music at all). This required a constant attention to detail and some extra work to make sure the overall experience remains fluid (an example would be how in some places the background music does not restart when you change location, but actually resumes from the last measure before you left its location).

What tools do you use to code and create the overall game as well as its music and art?
DL: The game software was created using a language called "co2", a lispy language that was started by Dave Griffiths, which I picked up and developed further. It has some nice features that help with writing larger homebrew projects, and the source is available on github for the curious. It's not yet documented well enough to be easy to pick up use, which is something I'd love to fix in the future.

Dave Griffiths

MdV: For the cut scenes I used Gimp, for the secret cartridge PETSCII-style graphics I used NES Screen Tool.

AG: YYCHR for sprites and tiles design, NES st for level design.

CL: for music, we used FamiTracker to make all the compositions. By breaking down the game into sections, we were able to make the necessary arrangements, as well as working out some of the main themes that may be heard throughout the game.

AM: Let's not forget Dustin's makechr! This helped so much when working on the cutscenes. And maybe a nice anecdote, it is through this tool that we first met, Dustin gives more details in the next question 🙂

MdV: Yes!!! makechr saved my life multiple times 🙂

How did you first connect with each other as the team came together?
AG: I’ve known Aymeric for more than 20 years (and then Marloes :). We were students at the same school. I met Dustin and Chun on this project.

DL: Aymeric and Marloes contacted me asking about NES graphics, which I believe was shortly after I had released The Wit.nes (a demake of Thekla's 2016 game "The Witness"). After chatting for a bit about what they had been working on, I agreed that working on What Remains sounded especially exciting, and the rest is history.

Screenshot from The Wit.NES

AM: Ten years ago, I had been working a lot with Chun making and teaching live electronic, experimental music with a software called Pure Data. Since then whenever one of us is busy with a sound or music project we try to collaborate on that. So I told him about the project, and the rest is history.

MdV: I knew Arnaud, Chun and Aymeric already, and met Dustin for this project. We organized a week when we'd all be together in The Netherlands to brainstorm, start the project and get to know each other (and the local cats). The rest of the project we collaborated remotely. But the history of the game goes back a little longer. It was Aymeric and Arnaud that started dreaming of making a game all the way back in art school. The first prototype of the game was made together with Dave Griffiths, who we worked with on Naked on Pluto. This was back in 2014 when we were commissioned by Annet Dekker to make a demo for Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. Unfortunately Dave was unable to continue working on the project, and that's when we asked if Dustin would be interested. The knowledge and experience (and cats) he brought to the project were invaluable!

What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration?
MdV: It was so nice to work in this team, it was a pity we couldn't meet IRL more often though. We had quite a good workflow and ways to coordinate through a self-hosted wiki, bugtracker, git repository and XMPP chat.

AG: We all have a job that we were doing at the same time, which logically led to more or less pronounced phases of involvement. But the project has never had a major downtime in memory. We had a whole pipeline set up so that everyone knew what they had to do, what elements were ready, what needed to be reviewed... it worked pretty well.
It should also be noted that we benefited greatly from Dustin's experience on this project.

DL: It was a great team for making What Remains! Everyone was able to bring something unique to the project, and with everyone's individual perspectives and ideas we were able to make something that I feel is really quite special.

AM: It was just great. The discussions were super generative, everyone was committed and dedicated. I hope we can find a framework one day to work together again. Everything clicked.

At the heart of What Remains’ story are the efforts of Jenny and Michael to make a difference in health and environmental issues plaguing their community and the world writ large. What inspired you to make this game and focus on these themes?
MdV: There were two parallel tracks happening back then. Aymeric and Arnaud were thinking about making a NES game together, and I was researching the origins of today's climate change disinformation campaigns and ended up with a lot of links to the campaigns of the tobacco industry in the 80s. These two tracks merged beautifully once we started brainstorming for the game. The plot is heavily inspired by the characters and events that surfaced during my research.

AM: I think for all of us this led to this great balance between doing something very indulging and exciting to hack on, yet not gratuitous at all. It captured our excitement and joy to make something playful, technically exciting to produce, all at the service of telling a story about issues that we all deeply care about, using a medium and format that resonate with our concerns.

What Remains takes place in 1986. Beyond the nostalgia factor, do you find looking to the past offers a meaningful resource to advance conversations about the future, or is the look backward more to highlight our lack of progress?
MdV: Both, what we had in the back of our minds was this Chinese proverb: "What's the best time to plant a tree? 30 years ago. What is the second-best time? Now." It's no use crying over spilt milk, best take action now, so that we do not have any regrets in 30 years’ time. We can look back and learn from the roots of the problems we are now facing. People are being distracted with disinformation and clever PR tricks from the oil industry (and other industries for sure), many of which are featured in the game and were first tried and tested by the tobacco industry in the 70s and 80s. The strategy of the game is to "inoculate" people against fake news, to let players experience disinformation campaigns so that they become more recognizable. This approach was inspired by research at the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Laboratory (Jon Roozenbeek and Sander van der Linden), who have tested if so-called 'pre-bunking' helps people resist disinformation and fake news with positive results.

Jon Roozenbeek (left) & Sander Van Der Linden (right)
For additional reading of their academic work, see Inoculating the Public against Misinformation about Climate Change & Good News about Bad News: Gamified Inoculation Boosts Confidence and Cognitive Immunity Against Fake News

DL: The context of the past informs our understanding of the present, and hopefully teaches us how to approach the challenges we face now. Especially at a time like this, where the world's future is so uncertain, and in a large part due to the internet's ability to research history, there's a lot of interest in connecting what has come before to help comprehend how we got here.

Your interview with Annet Dekker is a fun read: a sort of choose your own adventure interview covering environmental issues, archival institutions, and access to information, among other issues, with readers getting insight into themselves based on which answers they selected. Have you found that people who read that interview fall into a particular category? What next steps do you recommend to people when they learn what kind of archivist they are?
MdV: Hmm... we haven't reviewed experiences of readers I must admit. The multiple choice was more a way to discuss different aspects of our thinking on the topics of the questions by Annet. We'd recommend people to be content with whatever type of archivist they are. All archivists are committed to long-term thinking, which is what is needed to limit the damages done by <whatever flavor> of capitalism.

Annet Dekker

The Iodine Dynamics website features the essay “How to Escape Reality in 10 Simple Steps”, originally published in 2017. The past few years have certainly brought this issue of everyone trying to manage their own narrative into higher profile between “fake news” and “alternative facts” overwhelming substantive policy discussion. How does this essay inform What Remains?
MdV: The essay describes 10 strategies used by the tobacco and oil industry to delay regulations aimed at curbing the harmful effects of those industries. We used a few, still used today, in the game. The essay draws parallels between disinformation campaigns from the 80s to those we can witness today, such as the overarching strategy: emphasizing scientific uncertainty. "With the idea of doubt in place, both public and government start to assess the costs, financial or personal, of taking action in a different light. Why take costly measures now, when there is still no conclusive evidence?" This works, we are still hearing so-called experts talk about the costs, economic costs and the cost of personal freedom to drive an SUV and fly all over the planet, combined with tiny seeds of doubt about the severity of the problem and if we puny humans can even influence the climate that has been changing throughout the existence of Earth. We can, and we are, in a speedy 100 years instead of thousands of years.

Do you have any new thoughts on the essay’s arguments in the years since it was published?
MdV: I think the arguments are still very relevant. With the urgency of action getting clearer every hurricane, flood, forest fire and drought, governments are still taking microscopic and sometimes simply symbolic steps. There are very well funded lobby groups and think tanks spreading propaganda and disinformation through a network of alternative media, with talking points also leaking into mainstream media, spreading doubt about the severity of the climate crisis and the economic costs of attempts to mitigate it. If all else fails, xenophobia and Islamophobia are incredibly successful distractions fueling white supremacy and hate. My interactive fiction Villains and Heroes deals with these issues. Currently the pandemic provides all the distraction needed to grind action to a halt, with ever wilder conspiracy theories thriving. Who has time to care about a transition to a world running on renewable energy, to fight for degrowth, when theories about 5G spreading coronavirus, Bill Gates lacing vaccines with a microchip and the world being run by a sect of satanic pedophiles, are gaining widespread support?

The onesie makes me feel safe and happy, but the font tells me I should be frightened.

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 Jenny and Michael’s design, and are there elements of yourself that you see in them?
AG: They wear lycra clothes! 🙂

DL: For me at least, they're both kids having a good time playing games and bonding over them. Definitely something I can identify with!

AM: Hard to go in-depth without giving spoilers, but let's just say that for me, Jenny and Michael represent the bitter-sweetness of activism. In that sense the game ending can be interpreted in different ways. And I think that this ambivalence is at the heart of the paralysis, lethargy, apathy we're often facing when it comes to responding to the many systemic societal and environmental issues we're confronted with today, and that may be linked to the increasing appeal of accelerationist ideologies, left or right, that are seen as a magical fast-forward that would allow us to escape problems we failed to solve as a society, so far. And yes, lycra too!

Lycra: TNG

What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing What Remains? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
DL: We originally had plans for more content in the mid-game, that was cut due to concerns about development time, but I think the game we ended up with is better for it! It tells the story it wants to tell with exactly the right amount of time that it needs.

AM: Another thing we're taking away is that shipping hardware is a whole different story than shipping a ROM file! We have completely underestimated this. One of the important aspects of the project was that we would not use new parts. We wanted to recycle existing abandoned carts to demonstrate the potential of this approach and give a better purpose to many unpopular or overproduced cartridges rather than eventually becoming e-waste. This led to two issues. First is that with this approach we ended up bumping into bugs and compatibility issues that were never documented and unknown so far (namely how mapper chips, from the same type/model, but from different manufacturers, behave differently). Those are the kind of things that are hard to investigate and are slow to debug.

Second, and this is unrelated to the fact we're recycling parts: logistics, logistics, logistics. We did not factor in properly the time for this. As it turns out, packaging, management of bills of materials, shipping, etc., takes an awful amount of time, even for a such a small scale as ours. We thought we could do that on the side. Not at all. Lesson learned. The good thing though is that early on we knew a delay would occur (even though we did not think it would be that much), so we decided to not ask for any money, we just opened a reservation list, to avoid the usual situation where you advance money and may never get anything in return, or maybe only your grandchildren may get something. Another thing we learned, and we were partly surprised about, was the strong split between those who totally understood the cart recycling concept and saw that as a natural extension of working on old computer tech outside of consumerist concerns with a strong position on environmental issues, and those who somehow struggled to see this effort as legitimate, or the right way to publish a new title, because it was not made of completely new parts, as if this was not worth engaging with as a result, somehow. We're still puzzling on that 🙂

There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for What Remains on social media. How does it feel to see so many people excited about the game?
MdV: That means a lot to us! The whole team put a lot of effort into the game, next to day jobs and throughout different time zones, spread over 4 countries. It is so rewarding to hear positive responses!

DL: It's great to hear folks' feedback and witness their excitement! It makes all the hard work that went into it feel that much more rewarding.

AM: Amazing. I can say without a doubt that this has been the most rewarding project I've been working on so far, precisely because of all the encounters, chats, discussions, IRL or online, this has created.

Some of the continuing enthusiasm comes from people hoping to purchase a physical copy. Do you have any updates on the cartridge release?
AM: The current pandemic has made our terrible handling of logistics even worse, and we really had to put everything on hold for a while. The good news is that we're going to get help from Broke Studio to produce it all, and that we're all motivated to make sure 2021 is the year where these cartridges are finally out 🙂

I’m starting to think that yellow part might be a halo for this saint of a company.

Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
AG: I would like to work on a shoot'em up !!!

DL: Recently, I've been heavily involved with a group in NYC called Death by Audio Arcade (see https://www.deathbyaudioarcade.com/). We make new arcade cabinets of locally developed games, and have lots of exciting stuff coming up in the near future!

Now THAT is how you logo

AM: I'm enjoying working on LURK quite a lot recently. This is a small collective of sysadmins/artists/hackers interested in promoting alternative network infrastructures for groups and individuals active in the field of art and culture production. We offer email discussion lists, real-time chats, streaming services, and a federated social media platform, as a means to move contemporary discussions and production of net and computational culture outside of surveillance capitalism (see https://lurk.org). Chun and I are also slowly working on a small music software for the Game Boy, and like Arnaud, working on a shmup *with a twist* would be a cool thing to do! Maybe we can convince the others to make that a new Iodine Dynamics game 😄

MdV: I'm continuing my quest in text-based games and I'm looking into illustrating with ANSI art but haven't started anything new since Villains and Heroes. If the shmup requires any creative onomatopoeia or dramatic cutscenes AND has a mega twist, I'd be happy to help 🙂

Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
DL: Dullahan Software has some projects coming in the future that I'm really looking forward to!

AM: Not all game related but, curious to see what will come up from Broke Studio + Sylvain Gadrat prototyping of networked games for the NES. Impressed by the sound and graphics effort put into the ZPF shmup on the Mega Drive. Wondering if the Hologon demo from TEK on Amiga is the beginning of new disk swapping and computer assisted correspondence art revival. Amazed by standalone devices like the MegaGRRL. Eager to try the LSDJ inspired M8 from Trash 80. Excited to see all the recent efforts to update GBDK.

Screenshot from ZPF

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?
MdV: We will do the physical release, we promiiiiiiiiiiise!!!!! :)))

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the series that takes deep dives into promising homebrew games coming across the finish line. What are your thoughts on What Remains and the folks at Iodine Dynamics? What are your thoughts about its themes on conservation, public health, truth, and protection of information? 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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Special Episode: The State of Homebrew 2022

By Scrobins, June 30, 2022

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…
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Episode 2: KUBO 3

By Scrobins, July 14, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 2: KUBO 3

Introduction:
Homebrew development can be as stressful as it is fulfilling. Between writing code, designing sprites, and storyboarding, all to produce a game that will appeal to a small, but devoted community, it’s an impressive feat when a homebrew crosses the finish line. Many homebrewers balance their passion projects with primary careers, families, and a host of other responsibilities that demand their time and attention. Sometimes the stress of it all means turning away from a game until the time is right to resume. And sometimes a game exists because the brewer bridged programming with another sphere of their life.
For this entry, I’m covering KUBO 3, an adventure game developed by the father & son team behind SJ Games: Dale Coop and his son Seiji, who have bonded over homebrew development since Seiji was just 6 years old. As of the time of this writing, the rom of KUBO 3 is available here, a cartridge-only release is available for purchase by PM’ing Dale, and you can also PM Dale to reserve a limited edition CIB to be released later this summer.

Minty CIB

Development Team:
@dale_coop (Dale Coop): programming
Seiji: game design
@Raftronaut (Jordan Davis): music

Game Evolution:
To discuss the development of KUBO 3 and appreciate the enthusiasm that flows through it, I must begin with a history of its predecessors.

The KUBO Trilogy
Kubo’s story begins in the summer of 2018 when Dale and 6-year old Seiji created the first KUBO game as a fun summer project for them to work on together. Seiji learned to use the NESmaker interface while his father helped with coding. When they were finished, they could boast they had made a real NES game. The following September, Dale surprised his son with a birthday gift: a cartridge of KUBO that he could play on his NES console!

Pictured: a very happy birthday boy
The story was simple enough: battle monsters as you pursue a mystical gem. But ever since Dale and Seiji‘s code first gave rise to Kubo, they felt the itch to expand the four corners of his world.
When the New 8-Bit Heroes team announced the first NESmaker Byte-Off Competition in early 2019, Dale and Seiji seized the opportunity to create KUBO 2: L’Adventurier Courageux (as well as Underground Adventure 2019). By this time Dale had become a celebrity as a result of the tutorials and modules he created for the NESmaker community, in addition to helping others working on their individual projects. It’s therefore no surprise that Dale’s overall efforts were recognized by Joe Granato, Austin McKinley, and Josh Fallon when they awarded Dale with The New 8-Bit Hero Award.

Oh my gosh, it’s Nix! Nix, whose code are you wearing tonight?

And the Byte-Off Award (Bitey?) goes to…

It’s an honor just to be pixelated…er, I mean nominated!
Between the myriad ideas spilling out of Seiji’s imagination and the limits imposed by the Byte-Off Competition’s deadline, a third KUBO game was all but inevitable. Over the course of the next year, Dale and Seiji continued the story of Kubo’s adventures, finishing KUBO 3 in time for their visit with Joe Granato and Austin McKinley in Florida, where they played a cart of the finished game in the studio of NESmaker HQ.

Joe Granato & Dale Coop at NESmaker Studios

Gameplay Overview:
KUBO 3 blends genres, combining an overworld open to exploration with side-scrolling dungeons, creating a gaming experience reminiscent of Zelda II or Dick Tracy. The dungeons themselves represent a variety of themes, with layouts and hazards specific to each theme as you swim through underwater caverns and bounce between clouds in the sky.
KUBO 3 picks up where players last saw the heroic cowboy turtle in KUBO 2. The Evil Mole kidnaps Kubo’s friends and neighbors, demanding four hidden crystals as ransom. To save the villagers, Kubo must venture into the Kingdoms of the Sea, Sky, and Underground, as well as a spooky cemetery, in pursuit of the ruby, sapphire, amethyst, and peridot.

‘Cause this is Kubooooooooooooooo, Kubo night!
You might wonder what manner of cowboy turtle would set out on this quest unarmed, but that is no accident. This game favors the patient and curious player who wants to explore the overworld before diving into the dungeons. By that token you might argue the game begins on a more difficult setting, and the burden is on you to find the means to make it easier.

Now if I only had a compass…

Writer’s Review:
KUBO 3’s world, like Zelda’s, gives you the freedom to explore its colorful world on your own terms, allowing you to decide which levels to tackle first. In addition to the four dungeons and final castle (all conveniently marked with signposts), the overworld holds a few secrets, ranging from hearts and medicine to Kubo’s pistol.

KUBO 3 Overworld Map
The dungeons themselves offer their share of challenges without being unfair; patience and persistence will carry the player safely through to the level’s boss, though you will take a few hits before learning the patterns of the enemies and obstacles you see, as well as the location of a few you can’t.
KUBO 3 controls well, and you’ll rely on those controls to jump across some wide chasms and shoot a few pesky monsters blocking your path. The graphics are cute, with a few clever touches to the animation such as when Kubo dips into the water when crossing a lake, or his swimming animation generally. But then again, he is a water turtle.
The game’s soundtrack has a wonderful story behind it, which I’ll let Dale and Seiji share, but the tracks themselves are fun and well-woven into the game’s environment. Seiji’s melodies may well earn him the distinction of being a rising Mozart of homebrew.

I don’t envy whoever might be the Salieri of this analogy
But significant credit goes to Raftronaut for taking Seiji’s inspiration and transforming it into the engaging set of chiptunes we hear. If KUBO 3’s soundtrack is any indication, Raftronaut’s own upcoming homebrew, Space Raft should be another homebrew to keep on your radar (and hopefully a future entry in this blog series)!
KUBO 3 is the kind of game many of us envisioned when we were Seiji’s age: pulling together our favorite elements from a number of NES classics to make something new and fun. And I can’t express how jealous I am toward Seiji for accomplishing it three times over. Considering NESmaker emerged as an extension of Joe Granato’s development of Mystic Searches, his own childhood dream game, it is hard to imagine a more fitting example of what the program was meant to inspire than KUBO 3 and the father & son who created it.

Interviews:
Kubo’s world is colorful and inviting (as long as you steer clear of the Evil Mole), but I can’t begin to appreciate this series of game without talking to the SJ Games team. Dale Coop is certainly an effective hype man, but his young son Seiji is the creator of this universe. To learn more about the heart and creativity poured into KUBO 3 and its predecessors, I spoke with Dale and Seiji to learn more…

dale_coop (DC) & Seiji (SJ)
-Let’s get to know you and Seiji better. Tell me about yourselves.
SJ: I'm Seiji, I'm 7 years old, I'm French-Japanese and I live in France. I've been loving video games since I was 4 years old. I started playing on the family Wii U and on the Arcade cabinet we have at home. I like to live adventures and discover new worlds. My other passion is drawing and building origami, paper objects. Since 2018, I have been creating homebrew games for the NES console, with the help of my dad.

Fun fact: Dale saved an old European arcade cabinet from destruction, and made a MAME cabinet with a Dreamcast inside
DC: I'm dale_coop, Seiji's dad. I'm French and I have a love for video games from the 80s. I grew up with an Atari 2600, my dad bought one when I was around 4 years old. When I was teenager, I received the NES for my birthday. Those are my favorite consoles. At that time (we're talking about the early 90's), I also played a lot of Arcade games: Xevious, 1943, Shinobi, Final Fight, Street Fighter 2…
I always wanted to create games. After high school, I studied software engineering to become a developer. I have been working as a developer since 2000 for a few companies. Every day, I use development languages like PHP, Javascript, SQL and especially Pascal Objet. In the last few years, I rediscovered NES games and especially learned that new games were still released for the NES. It's in 2018, while I was bedridden for several months for health reasons, that I plunged in my turn in the creation of small games for my favorite console. Soon, my son was joining me in that hobby.

-Which video games did you both enjoy playing before you started designing your own?
SJ: The games I've played the most are Splatoon on Wii U, I like the idea of doing a battle with paint guns, also, Zelda Breath of the Wild; there's adventure, the freedom to go wherever you want in the game. And also, I will say Kirby on NES, I like his mechanics to absorb the abilities of the monsters and especially the mini stages where Kirby has to shoot like a cowboy!

DC: I guess you can find some aspects of these games in KUBO. On my side, it's the Arcade games of my childhood, like Xevious, Pacman, Moon Patrol, Adventure, Galaxian, Galaga; it was a time when graphics weren't everything, the game universe was in our imagination. There's also Street Fighter 2, my favorite fighting game, I spent countless hours on Arcade cabinets and, later, on SNES (one of the only games I had on this console was Donkey Kong Country, my favorite SNES game).
On the NES, The Legend of Zelda, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Super Mario Bros are still my favorite games, even if I'm not good. But they represent what I remember from my childhood, and these games are fantastic.
More recently I loved Zelda Breath of Wild, the huge size of the world, the feeling of freedom you get when you play it, without feeling lost. I hate when I'm lost in games and don't know where to go/what to do.
Finally, I'll say that Micro Mages, Twin Dragons are recent games that are models for me: excellent gameplay, great graphics, and very addictive. Very good examples of what you can do nowadays on this old console.

-What inspired you to develop games with your son?
DC: I think Seiji wants to reply first to that question.

SJ: I've always wanted to make video games. When I found out that my dad knew how to make them, I wanted to make one right away.

DC: When I started making my first NES projects (prototypes or demos), Seiji got interested and watched how I was doing it. He naturally wanted to do the same. So we started to organize small NES dev sessions together, 1-2 hours, during some weekends or the holidays. It's a very fun and, at the same time, instructive activity.

Seiji knows work doesn’t stop for the holidays

-What is the significance of the name Kubo?
SJ: "Kubo" comes from the combination of two French words "cube" and "eau" (pronounced "o", which means "water”) because NES games look very cube-based (like Minecraft) and the character is a turtle (a water turtle). So, "cube" + "eau" became "cubeau"/"cubo", then "Kubo" to have a more Asian look and sound (my mom is Japanese).

A young Kubo leaving home to set out for video game stardom

-Did you create Kubo for the game, or did he already live in your imagination?
SJ: Kubo's character is a fusion of several ideas: he used to live in my imagination in a slightly different form than he does now. He's always been an adventurer living adventures, discovering treasures in various worlds, populated by monsters, which he has to fight with his weapon. But he wasn't a cowboy turtle in the beginning. I developed him as I worked on video games. And he will continue to evolve with future episodes.

-Tell me about your creative process and how you created this colorful world and the cowboy turtle at the center of it.
SJ: First I imagine the different characters, the monsters I want to see in my game. Then I draw them on sheets of paper, or in my sketchbook, with some indications about their main characteristics (movements, attacks, or weak points). And finally, I try to reproduce them in pixel art with my dad's computer.

-Did you have any prior experience in programming, or did you and Seiji learn together?
DC: Before 2018, I had never coded a video game. I started being interested in the NES dev. It wasn't very easy at first (and it still isn't, I consider myself a beginner, as I still have so much to learn). My professional experience helps me for the programming logic, the algorithmic part. It's fun to experiment and share my code with others. Seiji is still a bit young to understand the code. He gives me instructions, actions, or reactions he needs for his game and I code them for him.

Seiji supervising game testing

-What tools did you use to develop each game?
SJ: To create KUBO I used my notebook and pencils, and a software program called NESmaker (created by Joe Granato and The New 8-bit Heroes team).

DC: I discovered NESmaker at the end of 2017, a tool that claims to allow you to create a game without having to write a line of code. The reality is a bit different. It's a great tool for drawing sprites, designing objects, designing screens, but with the modules that come by default with NESmaker, you can only make basic games, such as tutorials. It's great to start with, I took it as a learning tool.
When you want more features for your game, like cutscenes, or a custom AI for your monsters, or different physics per screen, you have no choice but to code those things yourself. But on that note, I'll start. The advantage of NESmaker is that you immediately see the results of your coding experiments. All scripts are open for modification, you can completely modify and even add your own scripts.
The other strong point is its forum, animated by many enthusiasts who help each other and share everything to a lot of handy resources. In addition to NESmaker, we also use FamiTracker for music. But being a pretty bad composer, I prefer to ask for help for this part. Seiji has better basics in music than me, he composes some music on his piano or vocals, I record it with my smartphone and send it to my friend Raftronaut, who will transpose it to 8-bit for us. I also use Paint.net and Shiru's Screen Tool sometimes for title screens or some cutscenes screens.

-When you were developing the KUBO games, what were you drawing on for inspiration?
SJ: My main inspiration is nature, especially landscapes to draw the general atmosphere of my levels. I'm also inspired by some games I've seen or played on conventions I went to with my dad (games I didn't know but whose visual or mechanical universe I liked more).
You'll probably find some Zelda in KUBO, as well as some Super Mario and Ninja Turtles. But also some inspirations from movies and cartoons.

-Which aspects of development were the most challenging?
SJ: Pixel Art is the most difficult part. I am limited by the size of the drawings and the number of colors I can use. It's really hard. Several times, I've had to do a sprite over and over again because it didn't work. My dad gives me his opinion and a lot of advice.

Sprite design is nothing without a metric ton of graph paper

-Did your creative and development process change between KUBO, KUBO 2, KUBO 3, and Underground Adventure?
SJ: The first KUBO was a simple level, just a few screens with monsters, no bosses. It was my first game, I was just starting to create video games and learning about the software.
KUBO 2 was created in 1 month, for a NESmaker competition. We worked faster, we knew more about the software and my dad had more skill with the code. Moreover, the software had been updated, it had more default features, which gave us more ideas.
For KUBO 3, I knew the steps to make the game I wanted. NESmaker worked well, and I spent more time working with Dad. It took about a year, working on weekends and holidays from time to time.

DC: With each new game, Seiji was learning more, and his projects were getting bigger and bigger.
During the development of KUBO 3, after school or while I was at my desk, he would design new monsters or new screens. Another example, while for KUBO 1 and 2, we used music that comes with NESmaker, for KUBO 3, Seiji wanted something unique for his game and even had melodies in mind.

Seiji in development mode
For my part, I understood the ASM language a little better than I did at the beginning, which allowed me to help Seiji a lot more by integrating the features he wanted. I learned a lot during the year 2019.
I also took part in the NESmaker competition, submitting "Underground Adventure", a small arcade game where the player has to collect all the gems before the timer goes off. The main interesting point of this game is that you can play it with 2 players. NESmaker does not offer any module or script for multiple players, it's single player only. I wrote everything myself, the code to read the second controller, to manage collisions with the second player, when he is hurt or dead, ...This development has been very instructive. I also created a 2-player module for NESmaker and shared on the official forum. This module is now used in some projects.
I won "The New 8-bit Hero" award in that competition, for the help I gave to the community.

The alt text suggested by Word for this photo of the actual Byte-Off Awards was: a band performing on a counter

-In your VGS thread about KUBO 3, you wrote that you and Seiji visited Joe Granato in Florida. Tell me how that came about, tell me about your visit.
DC: We went to Florida last February, invited by a dear friend Artix I met while collaborating on NESmaker projects. How beautiful and warm Florida is! More than 30°C when we arrived, it's a change from the west of France where temperatures do not exceed 15°C at this time of the year.
As Joe Granato has his studio not far from where we are staying, I took the opportunity to ask him if we could come and visit the NESmaker studio. I know Joe a little bit. I have chatted with him several times by email, Messenger or via the forum. Seiji and I are big fans of Joe's work. Seiji has wanted to meet him for months, the excitement of coming to Florida and meeting him was so intense.
Seiji was determined to finish KUBO 3 in time to hand it to Joe! So one Saturday morning we went to Tampa where the NESmaker Studio is located (brought by my friend Artix and his son. And soon joined by Gilbert another member of the community). We were welcomed there by Joe and his son, and Austin and his wife. After a few minutes of greetings and introductions, he showed us around the studio, the office where they work, the classroom, and most importantly the 80's room: a shooting studio with an 80's lounge look, old CRT TV, couch, VHS, video games and vintage decor. A really awesome place! We spent a few hours there, playing, chatting, and shooting interviews. We all went to lunch together. And in the afternoon, we played again and finished with more interviews (especially about The New 8-bit Hero award and the next competition). A very nice meeting for me and Seiji.

SJ: Yes, it was an amazing day! My favorite moments: testing Mystic Searches (which is still in development) and of course, meeting Joe.

From one new 8-bit hero to another: Joe Granato and Seiji in the 80s room, complete with authentic wood paneling

-How did you connect with Raftronaut to collaborate for the game’s soundtrack?
DC: I met Raftronaut via the NESmaker forum, I helped him on his project (coded some scripts and fixed some bugs) and we quickly became very good friends. So, when Seiji expressed the wish to have an original soundtrack for KUBO 3, I immediately thought of Raftronaut. He's a talented musician (member of the band named Space Raft), I admire him. When I asked him, he immediately accepted. I explained to him the imagery of the game, sent him the recording of the melody that Seiji had imagined for the theme of KUBO, and an early-build rom of the game. And the result was beyond our expectations. Great soundtrack! Raftronaut and I talk every day about dev, NES games, or our lives (as well as his NES game "Space Raft" which should be released soon). He has become a very good friend.

Space Raft, an upcoming homebrew and future featured entry? Call me, Jordan!

-Who among your family and friends have you shared your games with? What have they said about your games?
SJ: After I created my first game, KUBO, I had a few family members, my uncle, grandfather, cousins, and some friends try it out. Everyone was amazed and very impressed by the fact that I created a game and a NES game. It was very nice to see that this little game, my first game (which is quite basic) could appeal to people.
It gave me a lot of motivation to continue making more games. A few friends played KUBO 3 and I got a lot of good feedback and congratulations. I smiled when I saw them falling into traps or when they had trouble beating the bosses. I'm very happy and also proud that I managed to do what I wanted (even if all my ideas could not be integrated in KUBO 3).

-Are there any plans for a KUBO 4?
SJ: I can already tell that there will be a KUBO 4. I have some drawings in progress and ideas for this project. It's possible that Kubo will do a little walk in space in the next episode...well, nothing is really decided yet.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you’re excited to play?
SJ: I'm looking forward to the release of Artix's NES game "Dungeons and DoomKnights", which is a knight's adventure game, and also "Space Raft", Raftronaut's game.

Adam Bohn aka Artix, developer of Dungeons and DoomKnights

DC: As for me, I can't wait to get my hands on my physical version of "Project Blue". I also backed "Trophy" which looks to be an amazing game. I'm very interested in "Eyra-The Crow Maiden" and "Sam's Journey", which are still in development. Otherwise further on, "Orange Island", "Project Violet" and "Micro Mages 2" are already on my wish list.

You might have heard of Project Blue; I can’t imagine where

-Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?
SJ: Creating your own video games is possible (with tools like NESmaker for example); small games or big games, I think they will all be perfect.
I would add a tip: every time you play a difficult NES game, try the Konami code, just in case.

DC: These are great times, there have never been as many great NES projects as there are now! My small message for everyone, keep supporting all these beautiful homebrew projects, financially or just by sharing them on social networks. Thanks to all of you!

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of a series that takes a deep dive into promising homebrew games coming across the finish line. What are your thoughts on KUBO 3 and the father-son team behind SJ 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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Episode 1: Project Blue

By Scrobins, June 16, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 1: Project Blue

Introduction:
Promoting a new homebrew game must be exhausting, especially if you are maintaining hype and anticipation while continuing development of the game itself. Each tease must generate enough curiosity and excitement to stoke conversation while saving enough detail for the release, which has its own rules to communicate an engaging, persuasive pitch.
As a new game crosses the finish line, destined perhaps to become the next essential gem, here is an opportunity to learn the story of the heart behind the homebrew.
For this entry, I’m covering Project Blue, a new action platformer brought to you by the combined talents of toggle_switch, FrankenGraphics, and M-Tee. As of the time of this writing, the rom of Project Blue is available for purchase here, and the cartridge release is currently being assembled. If you missed out on the Kickstarter, you can e-mail pragmaticfanatic@gmail.com to get on the mailing list.

Development Team:
@toggle switch (Donny Phillips): programming, music, level editing, game & level design
@FrankenGraphics (Ellen Larsson): graphics, cutscene music, game & level design, campaign video
@M-Tee: cover art, illustrations, manual

Screenshot from Original Tech Demo
Game Evolution:
Though set in a dystopian future, Project Blue’s story can be traced as far back as 2017, when Donny and Ellen submitted a demo version of the game to the Annual NESDev Coding Competition, where Project Blue placed 2nd in its category.

Screenshot from Demo Submitted to NESDev Competition
Buoyed by effusive praise, Donny and Ellen brought M-Tee onto the development team and continued working on Project Blue, preparing all the materials necessary for an effective crowdfunding campaign. By late 2019 the team was ready, and Project Blue launched on Kickstarter on October 17, 2019 with an initial funding goal of $10,000. To help promote the game and show off the dev team’s sense of humor, the campaign’s trailer features a taste of gameplay in the guise of a VHS-quality “personnel training video” from OmniCorp’s Quality Control Dept., starring Ellen’s roommate.

OmniCorp takes quality control super seriously in its trailers, thank you for your service, Alonnika

The alt text suggested by Word for this picture was: a person wearing a hat and smiling at the camera
Before the campaign had been live for a full 24-hours, Project Blue exceeded its initial goal. Ready to ride that momentum, the dev team announced a slate of stretch goals such as demo releases of Project Blue (including the original tech demo Donny used to pitch the game to Ellen, as well as an updated demo), a retro desktop icon set, a graphics patch to gender swap the protagonist Blue, a game-themed winamp skin, enamel pins, a “heartless” mode difficulty setting, and a chiptune album by Ellen. Each of these stretch goals was quickly surpassed as the campaign ultimately received more than quadruple its initial goal.
UPDATE: On June 24, 2020, First Press Games launched a new Kickstarter aiming to bring Project Blue to the Famicom, potentially opening new avenues for expanding the reach of homebrew games.
ANOTHER UPDATE: On September 8, 2020 Broke Studio began taking orders for Project Blue, lowering shipping costs for gamers outside the U.S.

Gameplay Overview:
Project Blue describes itself as an action platformer, which is perhaps an understatement with an environment as dynamic as Project Blue’s. At first glance, you would be forgiven for noticing a lot of similarities to the Battle Kid games. However while fans of that infamously difficult homebrew series will find much to enjoy in Project Blue’s familiar gameplay, Project Blue offers a range of challenges all its own where you can fire projectiles, bounce on springboards, float on hover decks, glide with parachutes, fly with the aid of roto-caps, climb, swim, and more. In an early room of the game, a trampoline seems out of reach until you notice an enemy’s fire slowly breaking the block on which the trampoline rests; meaning a little patience will drop that trampoline right at your feet.
You play as Blue, a “volunteer” for OmniCorp’s experimentations capable of releasing bursts of bio energy from your forearms. Having escaped confinement, you trek across Neo Hong Kong to exact revenge against OmniCorp’s boardroom directorate. Don’t be misled, the board members and their interns are no armchair villains; their drive for power will give new meaning to the term “think tank”. Along the way, Blue will encounter an assortment of OmniCorp bots, security devices, and other hazards that will challenge players to consider how to pass between 256 different rooms across 4 levels. Don’t worry though, there are ample checkpoints as you progress, though you won’t know you reached one until you use it. Blue will also find heart containers to restore life, energy boosts to temporarily power up his bio energy bursts, 1-ups and credits (100 of which will buy you an extra life).

Gameplay screenshot
Writer’s Review:
Project Blue’s setting applies a thick layer of grit and grime to Neo Hong Kong’s concrete jungle, creating an engaging, lived-in cyberpunk world, reminiscent of Robocop, Blade Runner, and Dark City. Even the game manual stays in-character, playing the role of an OmniCorp investor portfolio while teaching you the game and building the sci-fi horror mythology that surrounds it.
Controls are tight and generally intuitive but contain subtle tricks that will benefit the player patient enough to learn them. For instance, jumping in place will allow you to jump fairly high but not as high as jumping while in motion. As stated earlier, the environment is incredibly dynamic, affording multiple avenues to passing from one room to the next, inviting creativity from practiced speedrunners as well as unskilled, but enthusiastic fans such as myself. The checkpoints are invaluable for a game as challenging as Project Blue, but I think the fact that the player doesn’t know where they are is a fun, if devious touch that raises the stakes for the player and adds a little anxiety to gameplay. A variety of enemies and hazards that would be cute if they weren’t so deadly offer more color and personality, further distinguishing Project Blue from its peers and forebears.
And of course, there’s the level editor. On the one hand I’m ecstatic that Project Blue follows in the footsteps of homebrews such as Spook-o’-tron and The Incident with the inclusion of a level editor so people can design their own levels and carry Project Blue toward infinite replayability. But on the other hand, if I’m already struggling with normal mode, what hope do I have with the inevitable Project Blue kaizo hacks? First Grand Poo World, next up Grand Blue World??? In all seriousness though, releasing the level editor is a clever way to excite players, expand the mythos of the game, and lower barriers to future homebrew development.
Project Blue is an excellent example of just how much the NES still has to offer gamers. And as one of the latest homebrew games, Project Blue raises the bar both in terms of style and substance. The physical cartridges have not even been released yet, and already Project Blue is taking its place among the pantheon of aftermarket gems. Bottom line: get this game. And if you are one of those people who plays a game like Project Blue then talks a big talk about making more challenging levels yourself, fire up the level editor and throw down.

Interviews:
For all we’ve seen thus far, there is more to Project Blue than the final product and the effective PR that keeps this game at the front of our minds. Behind Project Blue are 3 people whose skill and style give it life. To better appreciate the passion that went into its development, I spoke with Donny, Ellen, and M-Tee to learn more…

toggle_switch
-Before we get into Project Blue, I'd love to talk about you and your background. What was the catalyst that pulled you into coding, and what inspired you to develop a homebrew game? What is the origin story of Toggle Switch?
I used to 'design' video games as a little kid, circa 1987 or so. Mostly just coming up with enemy ideas or sketching levels on graph paper, stuff like that. So it's always been an interest of mine since a very young age.
I got into programming after watching Hackers a bit later in life (an extremely cheesy movie that I still have a soft spot for). I was probably 13 or so then, and even though it was obvious that programming computers wasn't nearly as fun as it looked in the movie, it hooked me anyhow. Demoscenes were big at the time, so I mainly learned by downloading snippets of code with our new 14.4K dial-up modem and dissecting them.
The first time I tried to make an NES game, was probably 2001 or 2002. I was able to find one tutorial by a kid that taught how to set the color of the screen. The only other stuff I could find was just lists of technical data, so I gave up. I tried again around 2006-2007 and again wasn't able to find the resources that I needed - I'm not sure if I just didn't find them or if they still didn't exist at that time.
As soon as I became aware that making NES games was a possibility, I started trying to learn the necessary skills to do so. I think that would have been around the time that Lizard, an NES homebrew by Brad Smith, was on Kickstarter - that was the first game that I found out about.
After reading the forums and wiki at NESDev for a few years, I started working on Project Blue in 2017. It's my first NES project of any real size.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
In the homebrew scene, I've been inspired by the success of several projects, I think the reception that Twin Dragons and Nebs 'n Debs got really made me want to put out a game that could be mentioned in the same sentence as those two. And of course I mentioned Lizard above, that was the game that got me interested in making my own game.
I try to keep a close watch on the whole scene, but it's getting so big now that projects seem to come out of nowhere! Watching the homebrew scene really coalesce into what feels like a new golden age in the last few years has been amazing. I feel really lucky that it happens to coincide with our game coming out.
In the broader world of video games, I found that Edmund McMillen, developer of Super Meat Boy, has some really good advice on level design that I did my best to follow while making Project Blue.
This discussion with the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto on how they made World 1-1 in Super Mario Bros also shaped the way that I approach level design.

-Your work on Project Blue spans the game's coding, music, and level design. In developing it would you say it has any qualities that seem so quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic? What was the evolution of your signature style?
For my part, the aesthetic of Project Blue is strongly influenced by cyberpunk and post apocalyptic media - including things like Fallout, Johnny Mnemonic, Blade Runner, Elephantmen, etc.
Honestly the game world was pretty thin before Ellen started making art. Once I saw the art she had made for Level 1, the game evolved from more of a plastic-y, sci-fi future, to a dark, grim, corporate nightmare.

-What tools do you use to code and compose?
For coding, I swear by NESICIDE. And for composing, just regular old Famitracker.

-Tell me about the evolution of Project Blue, what was your process for taking an idea and manifesting it? How did Blue himself evolve from your initial tech demo to the final game?
Project Blue is my first attempt at doing anything on the NES, really. So it began with me seeing if I could put graphics on the screen, then adding sprites, then adding code for the controller, and so on and so forth. So I was really just learning as much as I needed to complete the next step at any point in time. In the end, this meant a lot of decisions that I made were locked in before I had fully understood their ramifications, which was pretty frustrating on occasion. But overall it was a great learning experience and the engine I'm designing for my next game is going to fix a lot of those errors.
As for Blue, he started out as an avatar of myself as a young child. As the world around him formed, he went from being a Platonic ideal of a heroic figure to having more of a tragic backstory. On the gameplay side of things, he's modeled after both Mario and Mega Man - he moves like Mario, but shoots and has a health system like Mega Man. And he's smaller than both of them, which makes him harder to hit!

Portrait of the artist as a young 8-bit man
-I think it's fair to say that the protagonist represents the player's point of immersion in the game, and how we perceive and understand the protagonist contextualizes how we perceive the game's world. You said that the design for Blue's character began as an avatar of your younger self, what qualities were at the front of your mind when designing with that intention? Was the evolution of Blue's sprite from your tech demo through the NESdev compo entry and ultimately to the finished game, cover, and manual a rapid or gradual process? How did that conversation with Ellen and M-Tee unfold?
When I was a kid I used to dream about making Nintendo games so it just felt natural to have a little version of me in the game. The graphical restrictions on the NES make it hard to include much detail, so my original mockup was just of me with brown hair wearing jeans and a denim jacket, which was a fairly common outfit for me in the 80's.
Initially Blue was a hero breaking into Omnicorp's facilities to stop some evil plot, eventually we changed him into a victim of Omnicorp, escaping from a testing lab. This changed pretty much everything and provided the character with some actual adversity to overcome. And really the rest of the world began to take shape around that.
The rest of the character was fleshed out when Ellen and I asked M-Tee to do some illustration for us. He began asking questions about the game world to inform his art, which in turn meant that we needed to invent answers and create a more cohesive game world.

Gender-swapped protagonists demonstrate OmniCorp does not discriminate in its experimentations

-What was it like working with Ellen and M-Tee? How did you connect with them for this project? Is there Rolodex for finding game development talent?
Honestly it was a great experience. Not having any skills when it comes to pixel art or illustration made it very hard to start on a project.
The first thing I did was just start the game by myself using some free pixel art I found online. That allowed me to start working without a partner. I had been eyeing Ellen's work from a distance on NESDev, and it just so happened that she posted a thread looking for collaborators at the same time that I was finishing up a demo I'd made specifically for her.
We brought on M-Tee later in the process to do the illustrations for the box art and manual, and I've been very pleased with the results. I've honestly been very hands off and allowed them both to have a lot of freedom in developing the world as they see fit, only stepping in if something strongly contradicts my own ideas.
So it's been a very collaborative process between the three of us.

-Project Blue has a fun setting and premise to immerse the player: battling an evil corporation in the midst of a post-apocalyptic hellscape (do I detect an homage to Snatcher?)? How did this engaging universe coming into being? Was this a story that always fascinated you, or did the gameplay come first and you then built a world around it?
Never played Snatcher... the main inspiration for OmniCorp and the general world (or at least, the parts that I have a hand in) is an indie comic called Elephantmen, wherein the MAPPO corporation designs armies of genetically modified animal/human hybrids in effort for global domination. But instead of being about all that, it takes place decades later as the hybrids are attempting to integrate into a normal society. Another large inspiration is Fallout, and the corporate antagonists Vault-Tec.
The first iteration of Project Blue took place in an obviously fictional city named Pixel City and involved the player breaking into an OmniCorp facility to stop some sort of vague plot that was never really fleshed out in any way. So while there was an evil corporation and the same protagonist, the world itself was much more childish and whimsical.
At some point we didn't have enough art for a scene of Blue breaking into the facility so we just decided to have him breaking out instead. To accommodate this, the world slowly became darker and grittier, which ultimately I think was a change for the better. The original 'plot' was very boilerplate - it didn't have a lot of character or originality, because it wasn't something I put a lot of thought into. Through our collaborative process I think we developed something that feels a lot more fleshed out and compelling.
As for the last question, gameplay absolutely came first. One thing that I really wanted to nail was strong controls. As I mentioned above, the controls are loosely based on Super Mario physics, which ultimately ends up affecting how you design the rest of the game, because you have a player character that is immensely agile and fast. And for me, I would think of what game mechanics I wanted first, and then how we could accommodate those mechanics within our world. I think Ellen might do it the other way around though, so it might be a bit of both as she had a hand in developing the mechanics for levels 2 and 3 in particular.

Breakout!
-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Project Blue? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who follow in your footsteps?
The biggest problems I had all stemmed from designing engines that weren't flexible. Like, for some unknown reason I hardcoded in that sprites could a maximum of 4 tiles - which repeatedly came back to be extremely annoying. So always design flexible systems that can be used for as many things as possible.
Second, I made a lot of mistakes at first in trying not to waste ROM space. But then we ended up switching to a mapper that had way more memory than we needed anyway. So my second piece of advice is that ROM is the easiest limitation of the NES to "cheat" on, and you should take advantage of that as necessary.

-Social media is aflame right now with praise for Project Blue! How does it feel to bask in such support?
Honestly it's such a relief to have it out there and for people not to be disappointed! So far I've actually only received positive feedback, which has been incredible.

-Is there another project after Project Blue on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence?
Right now I'm working on a new engine for the next few games I want to make. It has a ton of substantial improvements over the Project Blue engine - 4 way scrolling, DCM support, more flexible sprites, more space for graphics, cutscenes, and so on and so forth. I'm really excited to be working on a new engine after being sick of the old one for well over a year!
Ellen is onboard to make our next game, Project Violet. Violet is Blue's older sister - she's bigger, faster, stronger, and she does wall jumps and other neat tricks. So right now I'm building a level editor and the engine for the game side-by-side.

-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 all for your support!

FrankenGraphics
-Before we get into Project Blue, I'd love to talk about you and your background. What was the catalyst that pulled you into coding and pixel art, and what drew you to the NES in particular? What is the origin story of FrankenGraphics?
It started early. Me and some other kids used to draw our own level designs on paper back then. For me it was bubble bobble, Castlevania and blaster master. It was all a creative fantasy. But one summer day, my grandma pulled out all her old cobol and fortran programming sheets and showed me. I didn't understand any of it but was immediately retro bitten; back when retro would have been something wholly different, because kids still played the NES and SNES at home like it was something current. This was sometime in the early 90s. From there I took every chance I got. Sometimes I’d wait at dad's workplace, I’d find myself pixling patterns all zoomed in on paint for windows 3.11. Eventually, I got a decommissioned 286 laptop from my moms' job. it only had what amounted to 16 ega colours through a monochrome display, but I started using qBasic for manually putting in bitmaps and drawing simple things. My older brother got a mac, and with it came resedit, which is a hex editor with some graphics editing capabilities. that meant I started doing 16 by 16 pixel objects in 256 colours. I hacked some of my own graphics into a shareware game called Realmz. At this time though, I mostly played the NES because that's what we had. The SNES was already out and then came PlayStation but I mostly played NES games throughout my upbringing. We never got any other console and I wasn't particularly interested in upgrading either. I remember trying out Nintendo 64 at the toy store and deciding then and there that this wasn't my cup of tea. It was either the NES or PC gaming for me.
At some point in 2008 I was looking for a way to tap into my nostalgia; primarily qBasic for DOS. I was looking for equivalents on modern platforms but nothing suited me. Then I started googling for NES development instead and found the NESDev boards. I didn't put any commitment into it then, only went there for reading some threads occasionally without ever registering. That happened in 2016, I think, when I saw the works of a few other pixel artists and decided I wanted in on it. I was serious this time.

-It sounds like computing and programming skills run deep in your family, and they were a great influence on you, can you talk a little bit about their line of work?
It's sort of the opposite... grandma used to program in her day, back when administrative work meant programming. But I’m definitely the technical support for my parents. they didn't show any interest in us picking it up as a hobby so I once again have my grandma to thank for sending me a yearly subscription of a computer magazine when I was growing up, haha. Mom used to be a city planner and dad used to be a school teacher, mom doing a lot of technical drawing for traffic, parking lots, parks and rec probably had a big influence on me being more interested in the where the artistic and technical side of computing meets. I never pursued learning programming in any professional capacity, but I’ve mostly been in tangential fields of work, like interface design and such.

-Who are your influences? And whose work fascinates you today?
I grew up particularly liking the style of games like Castlevania III, Batman, Metal Gear to name a few. I think you can see that most of my pixel art for the NES uses the same "fade to black" technique. Black has this fantastic property that it leaves it to the perception of the viewer to fill in the blanks, which is very useful when you've only got so many tiles to work with. It doesn't need to be black really, you'll find this in a lot of art. Shades and shadows are often a lot less detailed, which both gives the eye some rest, orientation, and at the same time leaves things to the viewers' subconscious imagination.
I decided to join NESDev after seeing works such as the pixel art of thaddeus, who'd made new fan graphics for Simon's Quest that looked lovely. At the same time I was exposed to "Super Bat Puncher" by Morphcat and thought that just maybe, there was a possibility to make something for this old console, even for me. So that's the turning point for me, I think. I decided I wanted to do original works only. No fan games or hacks. I had done a little bit of that before; changing the roster and looks of Volleyball for example. But I wanted to do something to call my own.
For influences, I look a lot outside pixel art, to be honest. I particularly like other forms of forced formats, such as pointillist and impressionist paintings, stained glass, what tends to be called "the golden age of illustration" (think novel illustrations for Arabian Nights, King Arthur, folktale stories), woodcuts, and east bloc mosaics.
Within pixel art, I particularly like the palette animated 256 indexed colour works of Mark J. Ferrari.

Jungle Waterfall – Morning, by Mark J. Ferrari
-I remember back in the NintendoAge days you sold a few copies of your concept cart, which you also give to young girls at workshops to pique their interest in computing and game design. Tell me more about these workshops. What are your observations on diversity in the game design community?
I used to hold a few workshops a few years back. It wasn't expressed as exclusively for girls, but I particularly addressed them because I’d like to see the game industry more diverse than it is now. They'd spend half a day making graphics for the NES and then actually put it on cartridge. One of the workshops was held at a museum, so their works would be displayed on an NES and tv screen over that summer. If they liked it, they could burn a cartridge and take it home. Maybe, some day, some of them might continue that journey, is my hopes. I haven't had much time to put together new workshops lately.
My thoughts on diversity? Too little of it, still today.

Box art for FrankenGraphics Concept Cart
-Your work on Project Blue covers pixel art, level design, and putting meat on the bones of Donny’s initial idea. In the words of your Kickstarter page, how did a vague idea transform into a fully fleshed out world?
When Donny contacted me, he simply wanted me to replace the placeholder art for his tech demo; especially redraw his sprites. The game then already felt about the same in terms of player physics, but the story was something like "pixel guy in video land shoots pellets". Not an exact phrase from anywhere, but that was the kind of feel. I felt it could use a setting. At the time, I had just read Cixin Liu's The Three Body Problem which is about a lot of things, but one particular passage was about an experimental computer lab deep in the woodlands of china in the 70s. The first level set was clearly inspired by that and the rest kind of just evolved. For the second zone, I did a lot of research on illegal housing in big cities around the world and eventually decided to go for a dystopian, future version of the Hong Kong peninsula. The "dezone" as we call it in game was made to imply some history without telling exactly how and when. But you can note details such as some places looking like squats in deteriorating high rise buildings, and the squats themselves are also mysteriously abandoned.
Eventually when M-Tee came on board for the box and manual illustrations, we fleshed out the finer details together in a group chat; most of which doesn't directly show in the game. But M-Tee came to author the text of the manual, so a lot of the information about the world of Project Blue comes directly from his pen.

-Given your work on the pixel art, how would you say Project Blue reflects your particular style? And to take a step back, how would you describe your aesthetic generally?
There's hardware limitations and there is software limitations. I think I managed to get a lot of my style into Project Blue; especially the backgrounds, but it is in many ways a very constrained game making some strict assumptions about game objects and level layout. Although I tried my best to hide it, you can often tell signs of the metatile compression which has a very special "look" many associate as the "NES" style, although it's not necessarily a mandatory trait of the system. (I try to remove that trait altogether in my gothic romance project, tentatively called "Borscht" for the lack of a good name, to show what the NES can really do, given enough storage spent on levels). The bonus of this is that we managed to fit three completely separate versions of the 256 screens into ROM memory of the game, which ultimately means there's 768 level screens in total in that game. I can't safely say every one of them is unique, and some changes are very subtle, like nudging enemy positions a few pixels to make them shoot oftener and such, but that has got to be some kind record on the platform. One thing I’m proud of is that the art helped make Project Blue a platformer game with an 8x8 granularity, which especially shows in the more organic environments of "the dezone" and "underground". Most NES games stick with a 16x16 collision grid because that is a convenient coincidence with the coarse palette grid. But 8x8 collision gives you a lot of finesse in terms of platforming and challenge design. The height axis is especially important.
I think I’d describe my style as dirty, fuzzy, maybe organic. I'm not great at sharp lines, bold strokes, simple design or cartoony clarity, and I’m not too good at character concept art either - but I’m pretty good at hiding patterns, attention to details above all, and also colour management and figuring out ways to get the most out of the technical limitations. For the end screen, we're using a very rare trick that sets the Red and Green emphasis bits together, which shifts the whole palette towards tan and yellow or otherwise warm colours, while blue colours tend to lose saturation. This was never done before in an actual game, to my knowledge, so emulators vary wildly from each other and an actual original NES. My hope is that emulator and clone developers will pick up the challenge to get the hues, saturations and slightly dimmed brightness correct.
For my own sake, I don't like when things are too clean, but can sometimes appreciate it in the works of others.

Project Borscht teaser shared on VGS
-What tools do you use to code and create?
Not that I did any coding for Blue other than making some data tables - that's all on Donny's side of the table. But for my own projects I use sublime (text editor) and ca65 (a 6502 assembler; part of the cc65 suite). For graphics, I almost exclusively use shiru's NESST (NES screen tool). Occasionally I use other tools such as aseprite and photoshop but they're not as platform specific, and generally too slow to work with.
On one hand, I think we're in a golden age, at least for the NES, because we've got a lot better documentation, tools, and community support than the devs of the historical NES library had at their disposal. On the other hand, pixel art in general is in a bit of a dark age because the old tools that professionals used to use don't work anymore. New tools are often either very specific, or have clunky interfaces. Indexed colour animation is not a feature in any of them. There's no concept of position animating an object separately from the pixel animation cels, unless you take the detour and montage still frames in AfterEffects. At least, if you batch export your frames from your pixel editor, AE would update its assets automatically.
Many seem to recommend pro motion, but you have to accept a very particular workflow that is definitely geared towards modern bitmap works, and while others seem to have success with it, I can't seem to gel with it.
What's really great about NESST, if you're only making NES graphics, is how direct the interface is. Everything you do a lot is one click away; sometimes with a modifier key. That's twice as fast as toggling tools with a hotkey (the photoshop/aseprite way) and then clicking, and you never have the headache of mistakenly using the wrong tool when you click. The caveat is that you absolutely need to read the readme, experiment some, and then read it again to get the most out of it, but that's the price of an efficient interface. I think the NESST way of doing things is commendable. If you're going to spend a lot of time with a tool, efficiency is more important than beginner friendliness.
Most of my work on Project Blue was carried out inside Donny's custom Level Editor. I think I spent something like 10% on the graphics themselves, 10% campaigning and keeping in touch with people, and 80% on the never ending process of making the levels fun and robust.

-What was it like working with Donny and M-Tee?
It's been great! They're great guys. We've always an understanding that we'd be in it long term. It's kind of funny how we live in totally different time zones, though. We've never had the benefit of working together on it in the same room. You can't have creative sprints the same way like this, but on the other hand you get to sleep on things a lot. So it probably takes more time with all the extra communication in letter form, but it's worth it.
During the most critical period of laying things down for the game, we used the productivity tool Asana, but we've mostly restored to mail and chat across several platforms. I still use Asana sometimes for organizing myself though.

-Project Blue’s level designs thread the needle of easy to learn, but difficult to master. How do you strike that balance? How do you please both casual gamers and gluttons for punishment?
I think the short answer is, you don't, as in there's no single action that suddenly makes it balanced. It's a lot more like wood carving, I think. At first, you get the coarse shapes out, then you spend a lot of time on the small details.
But I think what helps Project Blue have something for different play styles and skill levels is that it offers different promises for different people. If you're more of a casual platformer player, the reward is to survive and get to the next room. If you're doing it for sport, there's a lot of headroom for improving your finesse - making elegant jumps and shots. Then, you might want to try to see if you can make it on time. Then you've suddenly raised the difficulty bar for yourself because Project Blue is a whole different game when you play it calculated and safe, and when you're trying to run through it. I'm hoping we're satisfying skilled speedrunners too, because there's a lot of both tactical decisions and finesse to improve, and secret shortcut tricks to discover. Beyond that, I think we were just really lucky when combining the SMB-like acceleration and jumping scheme with tricky level layouts like this turned out to be a fun recipe.

-What new challenges or surprises did Project Blue present to you? What lessons did you learn that you will carry forward to future projects?
For me personally, Project Blue is my first big NES game. I've collaborated before on competition entries, and they were all small. I think I’ve learned a lot about the general workflow and how to not waste too much time.. it's been a trailblazer for me. If I have one design regret, it was that we used one (quite big) metatile dictionary* per as many as 64 screens. That took forever to optimize, and it was also too easy to break it since a change on one screen could have destructive implications on other screens using the same set. Had we redone it today, I’d say one definition per 16 screens or something.
I'd probably also take the investment and make the twice amount of tilesets for that many screens - I think it'd pay off both in looks and in saved time, ironically.
*A metatile is a defined instruction for the placement of one or usually several tiles. Often in a group of 2x2. Each zone in Project blue has a metatile dictionary of 256 metatiles, and then another dictionary of 1024 meta-metatiles. I don't think most players will notice, considering Project Blue has a more detailed levels than most NES games, but that was spread dangerously thin across the 64 screens sharing them, making level design a resource distribution puzzle.

-Social media is buzzing with praise for Project Blue, calling it one of the best homebrews ever! How does it feel to bask in such support?
Haha do they? I've mostly paid attention to the reviews we've been getting on itch, and it has been heart warming. Like, it was all worth it. People seem to be enjoying the game and that's all I could ask for. 🙂 It's a shame itch reviews aren't automatically public, because that could probably help casual itch browsers passing by trusting us as game creators.

-Is there another project after Project Blue on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence? I’ve been enjoying your teases for Project Borscht on VGS and I’ve seen the page on your website about an idea for a roller derby game.
I'm working on Halcyon with Nathan Tolbert (although, it has been a very improductive year for me on that end, I’m just picking up the pace again). It's a planetary exploration and action game in and out of a vehicle. People will no doubt compare it to both blaster master and Metroid.
"Project Borsht" is definitely my passion project. I've written most of the music for it, and now I’m making scenes based on the impressions the music gives me. It's going to be a gothic romance platformer with a splash of Slavic folk tales, superstition, and history, but set in an alternate fairytale version of medieval Europe. I also hope to bring a bit of inspiration from Poe's "the masque of the red death" into it, but most people will probably recognize it for being inspired from the platforming action from Castlevania and atmosphere from Simon's Quest.
We (mostly Donny) is already working on the foundation of another game set in the same universe as Project Blue. All I can say for now is that it will probably have a different feel to it, gameplay wise, like all proper NES sequels seem to have. It does scrolling, has a bit coarser level structure, and the character is going to be a bit more agile in some ways than blue was.

Teaser image of Halcyon from Frankengraphics.com
-Also I have to ask since you mention on your site that you train with Gothenburg Roller Derby, what position do you play and what is your derby name?
Haha oh my, does my blog still state that somewhere? I was just a rookie for a few seasons before work got in the way. My derby name was "hen hysén" which was a bad pun on replacing a locally well-known soccer veterans' forename with the Swedish gender-neutral pronoun. the word "hen" (singular they) caused lots of debate when conservatives reacted to when the author of a children’s story used it to describe its protagonist back in 2012.

-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! Maybe.. Tell your friends about Project Blue... or rather NES homebrew in general! Invite them over. I think lots of people who'd love to play new NES games coming out simply don't know that it's a thing.

M-Tee
-Before we dive into your work on Project Blue, I'd love to talk about your work generally. What inspired you to be an artist generally, as well as a graphical artist for homebrew design specifically? What are the origins of M-Tee?
An amazing high school art teacher put me on the path to becoming one myself, although I worked a lot of jobs along the way, ranging from day laborer to graphic designer. The first few years I was finally teaching, I was building a portfolio of short stories and comics for children's illustration. I also got involved with a local arts group, exhibiting work a couple of times a year. Neither fully satisfied my creative itch, and despite the fact that I was making all-ages art anyway, the pressure of creating artwork as a teacher—where everything I was sharing would be google-able by current and future students and parents—was becoming overwhelming.

A Montage of Pre-M-Tee Artwork, 2010—2013
Looking for a lower stakes creative outlet, I penned the M-Tee moniker to dip my toes back into my old teenage hobby of ROM hacking. But so few people were actually creating new content in that scene. Optomon and his project, Pyron (which we’d later retitle Pyronaut), were a notable exception. I joined him and we worked on that for a while before putting it on hiatus for each of us to do other things. Most recently, he released Rollie, which I'm super stoked to play.

Learning NES Graphics Restrictions through ROM Hacking
(Unfinished / Unreleased Works from 2012—2014)
Meanwhile, I'd come across the homebrew scene on Nintendo Age, and it was full of people doing exactly what I wanted to support: the creation of totally new content—IPs and all. In time, I'd end up contributing not only graphics, but illustration, packaging design, game design, and writing for NES homebrew. It has been a fruitful outlet for nearly any creative desire I've had, and the community as a whole—both developers and fans—have been more of a supportive audience than I could ever ask for.
I had originally thought I'd be working as M-Tee for just a few months to scratch a particular itch, but I found it far more rewarding than the other work I had been doing, and now my M-Tee accomplishments are proudly on my résumé. If I'd known that going in, I'd have put more than 30 seconds' thought into choosing the name. (Long story short, M-Tee is essentially short for manatee.)

M-Tee Cover Art to Date
-Which artists initially inspired you?
As a student, I found Western art history intensely boring, but I would occasionally latch onto the more visually interesting stuff like the densely detailed and humorously bizarre work of Hieronymus Bosch. Outside of class, I’d seek out other artists who appealed to me. One of these artists was Jesús Helguera, whose bold figural compositions have definitely influenced my body of work. I also got into Japanese woodblock prints at this time (and would later spend time as a pretty active printmaker myself, a likely contributor to my comfort with limited, flat colors).

Details from Artwork by Hieronymus Bosch, Jesús Helguera, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Giorgio Morandi
As my interest in color theory grew, I started getting into painters like Giorgio Morandi who worked within a very specific, tightly keyed, palette: high in value, low in saturation. I’d soon find similar palettes being used in French sci-fi, masterfully complimenting the work of animation director René Laloux and the ligne claire drawing style of Moebius.
But more modern artists, including Ulises Farinas and the late Seth Fisher, had been combining the same clarity of line with dense, Bosch-like detail and humor. This type of art, and the way it rewards viewers for studying it in detail, is very much what I’ve been wanting to explore for the last few years. (In fact, there are a few Easter eggs hidden away in the Project Blue cover art.)

Details from Artwork by René Laloux, Jean Giraud (Moebius), Ulises Farinas, and Seth Fisher
-Whose work do you enjoy viewing now?
These days, there are so many talented artists putting out amazing work: the way Ramon Villalobos communicates the mass and power of the human body, the ridiculous amount of personality Sara Alfageeh conveys in her figures, Erica Henderson's bold character designs, and Jey Odin's intense visual energy are all traits I enviously admire.

Details from Artwork by Ramon Villalobos, Sara Alfageeh, Erica Henderson, Jey Odin,
Conner Fawcett, Brittney Williams, Jesse Lonergan, and Sophie Campbell
Aw, geez. Who else? Conner Fawcett’s lineart and colors are amazing. I’ve long been a fan of Brittney Williams, so I'm stoked to see her getting higher profile work. The silent geometry in Jesse Lonergan's Hedra is astonishing, and Sophie Campbell’s got me re-interested in the Ninja Turtles for the first time in a very long time.

-You've done work on The Cowlitz Gamers’ 2nd Adventure, Gruniożerca 2 & 3, Pyronaut, and are an integral part of the Action 53 series, among other projects. Each looks stunning, and has certain qualities that seem so quintessentially you. How would you describe your aesthetic?
That’s very generous, but any style I have is likely just the result of me trying to compensate for my own weaknesses. The program I studied under put a heavy emphasis on formal composition and not much on developing representational skill—which it treated as a lower form of art, a trade craft for commercial purposes. I was repulsed by that type of high horse gatekeeping then and still disdain it today. Regardless, I came out fairly confident in my use of color and space, but I didn't (and still don't) have the muscle memory or fine control needed for technical drawing. Instead of trying to hide that fact, I revel in it with hand-drawn logos, beat-up machinery, and creepy creatures. Hopefully my use of color and composition hold them together well enough to make up for my wavering hand.
That said, there are a few elements in my visual vocabulary that I do tend to fall back on, for better or for worse:
I like to work within a tight value key, so there's not usually a lot of difference between my darkest dark and lightest light. As a result, my line art is rarely black, but some other color from the composition. Whenever I can, I prefer to work in a root 2 rectangle (meaning the long side is equal to the diagonal of the square of the short side). Luckily, NES boxes are nearly that ratio, as are ISO paper sizes (A4, B5, etc.). Also, most of my compositions will have divisions or elements placed upon, alongside, or perpendicular to key angles or points within the format, such as the square off each side, diagonal of the whole, where those intersect, and more. I’m a total sucker for breaking things out of the borders of a composition, like the Doctor's arms or Blue's smoke trail in the Project Blue cover.
-What was the evolution of your signature style?
The visual complexity of my drawings has increased with my confidence—not that I feel like I draw much better now, but I'm way less critical of my work than I was before, and am more willing to finish something, put it out there, and accept its flaws than I once was. For instance, I wouldn't have attempted the curvilinear perspective in the Project Blue cover even a year earlier.
As for palette, the importance of dull, subtle colors was instilled in me in university, taught as if the aesthetic were concretely embedded in the human psyche, as a scientific fact. Despite my skepticism of the other highfalutin preachings of the program, I accepted that one with the authority it was presented, and it has been a pillar of my work ever since.
Recently, I've been introduced to the idea that such an approach to color is the result of colonialism, prioritizing an aesthetic that evolved in a geographic locale with less annual sunlight over the bold colors used by cultures from the vividly sunlit areas closer to the equator. As such, I'm trying, and struggling, to bring stronger colors into my own work. Fortunately, making graphics in the notoriously saturated NES palette has been a decent transitioning element, and (as was the case with the Project Blue cover), my wife (who is also a teacher and an artist) doesn’t hesitate to call out my duller color choices while I’m working.

-What tools do you use to create your art?

An Obviously Staged Photograph of Some Work In Progress
For larger compositions, I start with a rough draft or thumbnail before penciling and inking. Anyone who's seen my originals can tell that I'm pretty free with my inks, leaving in mistakes or redrawing lines multiple times on the same page. Since I clean them up digitally before coloring, this isn't an issue. Aside from a computer, my most useful tool is probably my lightbox, which I recently upgraded from a bulky one built from scraps to an LED one. I use it to draw over printed sketches or guides (like an isometric grid for the manual illustrations). As a result, I'm increasingly entering a digital → traditional → digital workflow, which may not be the most efficient, but I like having that physical, original lineart as a product. (And to be honest, I’m an old man who can’t use a drawing tablet very well.)

Initial Cover Art Thumbnail and Digital Coloring Progress
-Let's talk more about Project Blue. You worked on the cover art and manual, and were responsible for aspects of the evolution of Blue's appearance. Tell me about your creative process in developing the physical art. How did Blue evolve from Donny's original design through Ellen's spritework and your contributions?
When I joined, Blue's sprite was pretty much complete. I was given a spritesheet, the following description of the character: "Jeans, denim vest, t-shirt, brown voluminous oblique fringe…” and a brief introduction to him being a street urchin up against an evil conglomerate in a cyberpunk, 80s/90s-style retro-future city.
My initial takeaway from that conversation was Stand By Me meets Dark City, and submitted my first sketch. It seemed that referring to his jacket as a vest had been an accident (it was always meant to be a jacket, as is evident in his sprite). Also, Ellen aptly pointed out that as-is, my first design read more as a bad-boy supporting character instead of a protagonist. So, I started working to take him in a more innocent direction, less Secret of the Ooze footclan hideout.

Early Pitch Refinement of Blue’s Illustrated Design
Instead of a denim jacket, I put him in a blazer with nice ‘80s shoulder pads and rolled up Miami Vice-style sleeves. I also dropped some of the 'tude from his face and skewed Blue a little younger than previously. (I believe he’s canonically 12 or so during the events of the game.) However, before pitching the more innocent Blue, I made sure to double down on the bad-boy aspect and offer a mulleted version. 🙂

Project Blue with a Mullet, aka Project Brew
The three of us talked a lot about the logistics of his shooting. I wanted an action that reflected the sprite, but we didn't want any more comparisons to Battle Kid than were already being made. So, no finger gun. Also, I wanted something more original than the palm-shots of Iron Man, so I sent a sketch expanding on the surgically embedded ventilation pipes I’d been drawing him with.

Initial Sketch and Final Illustration of Blue’s Shooting Mechanism in Action
It was well-received, and we talked even more about what he was shooting. I think the wildest suggestion I made was some type of goop-covered calcium deposit, like a hard, solid egg (or a lemon-sized kidney stone). Eventually we settled on an undefined bio-energy, something that’s definitely the result of OmniCorp’s experimentation, not something inherent to Blue himself.
One thing I find interesting with Project Blue, and this is direct praise for Ellen's art direction, is that the game is not overtly blue in color. The most prominent blue is more in the teal range (NES color $1C), and the only place that a bluer blue is used is really in the logo. I wanted to incorporate both the teal of the sprite and the stone-washed, sky blue of the logo into Blue's design to act as a bridge between these separate game components. For his t-shirt, I went with such a heavily sun-faded black that it's practically brown, and although we briefly discussed having some symbol or graphic on it, I would eventually opt for a simple orange stripe to avoid distraction and give a little saturated dash into the complementary hues within Blue's design.

A Full-Color Version of Blue’s Portrait, from an Abandoned Action 53 Vol. 4 Concept
Although we hadn't decided on the exact location for the game's city, we knew that it would be set in Asia. For Blue himself, I portrayed him as Afro-Asian with freckles. Having grown up in a notoriously bigoted area of the US, I saw the kind of hardships mixed race people face. Now, as part of a multicultural parenting community in Korea, I see that mixed race children, especially those with Black heritage, face similar hardships in East Asia. Also, I was surprised to find that freckles are looked down upon here to the point that many richer families subject their children to laser treatment for them. Blue's parentage would increase the difficulty he'd have as an orphan and his freckles subtly reinforce that he definitely doesn't come from a position of privilege.
As for other visual elements, the butterfly stitch on his eyebrow alludes to an injury sustained when he was captured, and the ball bearing necklace (which I don't think anyone's worn since Korn could sell out a stadium) provides a visual connection to the industrial world he inhabits (and Ellen's other sprites in the game, in particular, the watchers, mines, and orbs).

Detail of the Watcher from the Project Blue Cover Art
Finally, I had planned to portray the headband in his sprite as a sweatband style, but when drawing the cover art, I wanted something dramatically flapping in the wind, and repurposed a necktie for it.

-How do you interpret Ellen's designs, and how does it compare to other projects you've worked on?
Typically, I either work from very minimalist pixel art (such as for Swords and Runes) or from my own designs like in the later Gruniożercas. Both of those tasks leave a lot of room for the imagination to run wild. Ellen's work is very detailed though, so mostly, I just draw her sprites exactly as I see them with minor functional flourishes.

Project Blue Sprites and Accompanying Illustrations
Sometimes I’d misinterpret part of the sprite though. In the Omnibot, I had initially drawn the forehead covering as a visor, but she informed me it was instead intended as bandaging, so I fixed it up in the redraw. Other times, I would creatively interpret elements. For instance, what I assume was just anti-aliasing around the Omnibot’s eyes became Clockwork Orange-style eyelid clips to help convey the written description Ellen provided: “two crazed and hauntingly human eyes peek out of this robotic/cybernetic construct.”

Omnibot Sprite, Initial Lineart, Revised Lineart, and Final Illustration
These details are less drastic than the departures I took from Ellen’s designs in the cover art. I’ve always been a fan of overly detailed box art that deviated fairly heavily from the in-game portrayals. Thanks to amazing artists such as Mark Eriksen, the NES had quite a few of these covers. But other platforms, like the Atari consoles or early home computers, were a goldmine of them.

Details from Some of M-Tee’s Favorite Cover Art:
Bomberman (NES)/Bomber King (MSX), Mega Man 2 (NES, US), Guardic Gaiden (FC), M.U.L.E. (NES),
GUTZ (ZX Spectrum), Quest Forge (NES), Space Invaders (Atari 400/800), and Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)
Despite it having aged to a point of popular mockery, I strongly believe this type of cover art enriches the gameplay experience, opening the viewer up to the idea that the world being depicted is much larger than as seen through the lens of the gameplay screen, which very well might be only one of many abstracted interpretations of it. Approaching a similar aesthetic sincerely and without irony is difficult, and I hope I achieved that here.

Project Blue Cover Art
Blue’s proportioned more heroically, and the Think Tank portrayed has been given a hot rod influenced makeover that prominently displayed its industrial undercarriage. For the manual though, I toned down the Doctor’s design, a stepping stone between the cover depiction and Ellen’s original spritework.

The Doctor Sprite and Manual Depiction
-You’ve worked with a number of different homebrewers. Is there a process for networking in this niche community?
Keeping up with where the conversation is happening can be a burden. At one point in time, very different dialogs were happening on the NESDev forums and on NA. Sometimes, the NESDev IRC seemed to have more activity than the forums as well. Now, a lot of it has shifted to twitter for announcements and Discord communities for development, as forum threads are getting less and less responses. I'd say being openly passionate about the work others are doing has been key to my reception.

-What was it like working with Donny and Ellen? How did you connect with them for this project?
I'm pretty sure I first met Ellen on the NesDev forums and we started emailing WIP pixel art back and forth for critique. For Project Blue, she approached me, and I was introduced to Donny through her. He had liked my Pyronaut poster and was wanting something similar. They've both been great to work with. It's clear that we all three had slightly different head-canons, and we'd have these long, creative email chains where we'd work them out before combining and revising the best parts of each for the final product.
Donny was more gameplay focused in his plans and whenever possible, leaned toward leaving room for the player to fill in the game world through their imagination. He was the voice of restraint which led to the clean, streamlined presentation of the game itself.
Ellen clearly was the most familiar with cyberpunk literature and media, and provided the more tragic aspects to the world such as the failed experiments and omnibots both being the products of experimentation on other children. She even communicated some of these ideas through level design in rather brilliant ways. As far as I know, she also came up with the amazing pun of Think Tank and the idea that the bosses were a board of directors.
With my background in education and interest in children's literature, I emphasized the contrast between Blue's innocence and the darkness of his situation while presenting the tragic elements of the world through humor in my writing. However, my biggest contribution was probably naming the boardroom directors and writing their backstories. I’m also unusually proud of how we explain the fact that each boss seems to show up twice, but is clearly destroyed each time (something we struggled with once we decided to name the bosses).

The OmniCorp Boardroom Directorate, from left to right:
Dr. Naomi Yoon, Madame Guang, Senator “Duke” Billingsley, and OmniCorp CEO Michael Guang
-You mentioned that the print manual's visual design will differ from that of the digital version, how so? Was it a challenge to adapt your artwork to two mediums and maintain a certain parallel between them?
I'm a huge supporter of the digital distribution of homebrew, so it’s important to me that download packages don’t feel like afterthoughts to physical releases. Aside from some version-specific text, the main difference in our digital manual is that it has been made to look like a fan-scan, maybe something one might have found on vimm.net in the early 2000s. Doing so required overlaying the paper texture, making sure that overlay is different on consecutive pages, showing the center staple, slightly tilting some spreads to imply inconsistency while scanning, and even simulating ink bleedthrough from the backs of pages.

Thumbing Through the Digital Manual
This allowed me to showcase what the manual may have looked like aged on lower grade paper, and provides the digital consumer a unique aesthetic in comparison to the crisp, clean, and new manuals that will come in the physical package.

-Manuals aren't the first thing people usually associate with homebrew, but Project Blue's stands out, not only because a lot of effort was clearly put into its design, but it also looks like something that would have been printed in the 80s, with all of the artistic preferences that might come with that period. Tell me about the intentions behind the manual's visual design.
At first, I was brought on to just make black and white illustrations, and Ellen or Donny would have handled the manual text and design, but there was a long time between when I joined the team and when the game reached a point that it was ready for artwork to be produced. During this wait, inspiration struck.
In the US at least, cheap printing methods were usually black and white, like most NES manuals. However, 80s/90s budget printings for Asian markets typically utilized a duotone printing method, where two contrasting colors would be printed in varying densities over each other to produce a fairly unique visual depending on the colors selected.

Details from an American Game Manual, Two Japanese Game Manuals,
and an ‘80s Elementary School Workbook from Korea
Back in ‘13 or so, I had previously attempted to imitate this method and failed. But while waiting on production of Project Blue to pick up, I saw how Arne of Androidarts did it and realized how simply it could be done. Eager to put the technique to use, I constructed a palette from the teal ($1C) and brown ($07) from the game’s most prominent subpalette, used it to make a small mock-up with one of my Cowlitz illustrations, and pitched it to Donny and Ellen for the manual.

Artwork by Arne Niklas Jansson, M-Tee’s Duotone Style Pitch,
and the Production Palettes of the Project Blue Operations Manual
They seemed to dig it, but pulling it off would require pretty intimate familiarity with the design choices that would have been made to compensate for drawbacks in the physical printing process. For instance, original duotone publications would typically limit the use of the darkest possible colors to minimize over-saturation of the paper, and would print text in a single color of ink to avoid headache-inducing halos in the case of printing misalignment. Excited to work within these restrictions, I would later ask to handle manual design as well.

-You also told me that you provided a lot of the lore-building written into the manual. How did that process unfold? Does your art guide how you build that world, or do you try to create and define that universe so it guides your art?
The writing definitely guided the art. I was about 60% finished with manual illustrations when I started having difficulty deciding exactly what to draw and how to draw it. I had been given a loose list, but I didn’t want to make anything that wouldn’t get used, nor did I want to make anything that would burden Donny into shoehorning it in. (He was handling writing and manual design at the time.)
Again, although (or because!) I create work for entertainment media, I feel the responsibility to address important topics. My work for the Cowlitz Gamers’ Adventures alludes to the effects of imperialism felt long after occupation, and the unpublished work I’d done on Pyronaut was heavily critical of short-term contract employment and the glorification of unsafe workplace cultures. Gruniożercas 2 and 3 were the only text-heavy works I’d put out recently though, and there’s just so much one can say about ethical pet ownership before getting repetitive.
The cyberpunk genre has a long historical context for social commentary, and the world Ellen and Donny had built of a street urchin up against a mega-conglomerate seemed ripe for realworld allegories. So I was becoming more and more anxious to help flesh out that aspect of their universe.
I eventually asked if I could write the manual as an in-world, OmniCorp document. Luckily, they dug that too, so I killed two birds with one stone. Now, I had a clear goal to direct the remaining illustrations and a platform to discuss the dangers of corporate lobbying, the privatization of social services, and the consequences that come with the lack of proper government oversight. Just wait until you see the company loyalty OmniCorp expects of its interns!

A Page from the Project Blue Operations Manual
Luckily, the promotional video for the Kickstarter campaign had already established an OmniCorp presence outside of the game. (Fun fact: Ellen managed to get the same actor who played Becky Carmichael in the video to provide the character’s signature in the manual as well).
With the manual writing, I hoped to match the faux-caring voice of internal corporate memos well enough that reading it fills anyone else who’s worked for any publicly-traded corporation with the same nauseating disdain I felt working at one myself. (I may have endured six long, dark, formative years at GameStop, whose corporate voice would later become infamous from its leaked coronavirus conference call).

-Given how much joy you derive from writing and world-building, have you written a standalone piece of fiction?
I have a handful of illustrated short stories and comics lying around (see my pre-M-Tee art above), and I spent the last few years teaching a creative writing workshop. So, I'd love to try my own hand sometime at penning proper juvenile literature, and might one day.

-Heck if you wanted to connect it to the games you work on, have you thought about novelizations of homebrews like the old Worlds of Power books?
A homebrew alternative to Worlds of Power? I love it. Let's get E.C. Myers on the phone. I have a folder full of elevator pitches ready to go. 🙂

-What new challenges were raised by Project Blue? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who follow in your footsteps?
Project Blue was a lot of firsts for me, and they all brought their respective challenges. I already mentioned the perspective of the cover art and the visual style of the manual, but it was also the first time I’d made art for enamel pins. I was really nervous about how those would turn out. I could mockup what I thought they’d look like, but it’s not like I could do a test-print at home or anything. Although there are some things I'd do differently for my next pin, I was pleasantly surprised with how these ended up.

Project Blue Enamel Pin
Working for Project Blue wasn’t all firsts though. Years earlier, I’d worked on another project that incorporated the brain in a jar trope. However, I hadn’t anticipated the challenge of not getting bored after drawing a half dozen of them. I couldn’t imagine being an animator and drawing them 24 times for every second.

A 2013 Brain Jar followed by a Small Pantry's Worth of Project Blue Jarred Brains
-I remember you posted a series of tweets about the other projects you had on your plate, what are you jumping into next? Considering everything you've created so far, do you have a dream project that you hope to bring into existence?
As of the time of writing, an opportunity for making a short Project Blue comic has come up, so I’m working on that. Afterward, I hope to finally finish up my end of Isolation for KHAN Games, and then hopefully release more games with Łukasz Kur (with whom I’ve worked on the Cowlitz Gamers’ Adventures and Gruniożerca series). Between the two of us, we've had a half dozen ideas for a fourth Gruniożerca and a couple of other projects on the table. But in the meantime, we're working on a small suite of very basic Pico-8 programs for my daughter. If they turn out okay, we’ll release them since there’s not a lot of software for infants and toddlers out there.

-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?
Just a thanks to anyone still reading after the monstrosity of self-indulgence I’ve brought to this interview. 🙂

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this first episode of a series that will hopefully continue and provide deep dives into promising homebrew games coming across the finish line. What are your thoughts on Project Blue and its talented development team? 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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Episode 3: Anguna Zero

By Scrobins, August 6, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 3: Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King

Introduction:
Just about every classic console has experienced new life with the rise of homebrew games to supplement its library. However few homebrewers develop games beyond one preferred console. Those brewers who dare to branch out find new challenges to enhance their skills, and new audiences eager to play with the fruits of their efforts.
For this entry, I’m covering Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King (formerly Anguna Zero), an action-adventure game for the NES by Nathan Tolbert, with music by Thomas Cipollone, and character graphics by Chris Hildenbrand. Anguna is preceded by three franchise siblings released for three different consoles. As of the time of this writing, Anguna is in-development and nearing completion, but an early build of the game is available to Nathan’s Patreon supporters.
UPDATE: On May 21, 2021, Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King launched on Kickstarter, meeting its initial funding goal within its first few hours. The game will be published by The 6502 Collective.

Development Team:
@gauauu/Bite the Chili Productions (Nathan Tolbert): programming and game design
@humanthomas (Thomas Cipollone): music
SpriteAttack (Chris Hildenbrand): character graphics

Game Evolution:
Nathan’s Anguna games have a long lineage, and to appreciate Anguna for the NES, I must begin with its forebears.
Nathan joined the development side of the homebrew community in 2004 when he decided to learn programming and bought a Gameboy Advance flash cart. By 2008, Nathan released Anguna: Warriors of Virtue for the Gameboy Advance as well as the Nintendo DS. The game took the best elements of The Legend of Zelda and instilled its own personality. Anguna: Warriors of Virtue featured 5 dungeons spread across a vast overworld populated with a variety of monsters guarding hidden rooms and power-ups.

Screenshot from Anguna: Warriors of Virtue
In 2014, Nathan announced he had begun work on a port/sequel to Anguna: Warriors of Virtue for the Atari 2600 simply titled Anguna. Over the next few years, Nathan worked on this Anguna game with the help of eager beta-testers on AtariAge. By 2017, a final build of the game was available for purchase. Like its predecessors, Anguna offered players a sprawling overworld speckled with dungeons and monsters. A unique feature allowed players to save their progress with a password or an AtariVox, a device that plugs into the console’s second joystick port and can save data.

Anguna 2600, Minty Cart & Manual
In April 2020, Nathan announced that he was nearing completion of an NES port of his Anguna 2600 game in posts on Video Game Sage and NESDev. This new game, Anguna would carry over the big overworld, experience points system, and the in-game inventory and map screen of its Atari sibling, but with enhanced graphics and the chiptune stylings of Thomas Cipollone.

Gameplay Overview:
Anguna is an action-adventure game with roots in The Legend of Zelda as well as other adventure gems of the NES’ licensed era. You begin the game armed with your sword, locked away in the first dungeon; but by the time you reach the first boss you will have (hopefully) gained a bow & arrow. Once you escape, you will find yourself in an expansive overworld open to exploration and dotted with an assortment of monsters ranging from the familiar slime to sentient wisps of flame. Although the game’s world is vast, an in-game inventory also provides a map to chart your exploration and assuage the anxiety of players who fear getting lost.

Especially if you’re always taking that wrong turn at Albuquerque.
Anguna channels Crystalis with an experience points system that will increase and replenish your life meter with each level-up. But you needn’t wait for a level-up if your health reaches critical because some monsters will transform into a fully cooked rotisserie chicken when defeated à la Castlevania or Streets of Rage.

I’m not comparing it to Zelda because you don’t know what kind of “meat” that is
Also scattered throughout the landscape are keys that open more of the world and allow access to special items such as dynamite (which is a key of sorts, only louder). Once you’ve obtained some power-ups for the first time, enemies will start dropping them in battle, which is very nice of them. While experience level-ups increase your health, swords and shields are hidden throughout the world that will level-up your attack and defense respectively. Some of these power-ups are in plain sight and others are hidden in secret rooms, requiring either a special item or your cunning in finding secret passageways to reach them.
Anguna’s story is simple, you’ve been captured by the minions of the Goblin King. You need to break out, then find and vanquish the Goblin King to save the day.

Apparently this is a regular thing with you.
Fortunately, the Goblin King reads from Dr. Evil’s playbook and he put you in an easily escapable situation with 2 inept guards…er, slimes (no word yet on the overly elaborate and exotic death). Beyond that, the story is what you make of it: no dialog with supporting characters, no continents of more difficult monsters across a bridge requiring bouts of grinding, no handholding.

Writer’s Review:
Anguna uses its setting and minimal premise to provide a game that lets your imagination dominate. The prologue sets up enough story for you to understand where you begin and where you will end, but you won’t be required to keep track of information fed to you by other characters or locate the town or dungeon you’re “supposed” to visit next. As much as I like an immersive story, I also appreciate a game that trusts my gamer’s intuition enough to assume I already know the basics and can figure out the rest. There are enough locked gates and obstacles to prevent you from blundering into the final boss in the first 5 minutes, so don’t worry about accidentally taking shortcuts that might shortchange your gameplay. However if you are the type of player who doesn’t like to be completely adrift, the overworld map in your inventory charts your exploration, showing where you are and where you’ve been. Using your intuition toward gaps in the map will force you to consider what you should do next and make a few hunches about what you will find. This design makes Anguna both challenging and fun. Instead of being spoon-fed every step of my quest, the environment’s limits informed me. For instance, in my first playthrough, I reached the first boss before obtaining the bow & arrow. It was immediately clear during the battle that my sword was insufficient, and somewhere nearby was a more suitable weapon.

There’s got to be a better way!
The game’s controls are intuitive: one button swings your sword, the other uses special items once you’ve found them, and the d-pad offers crisp 8-directional movement for exploring every last pixel of the land and dungeons for secrets. The graphics convey an ancient, lived-in world with a mythos left blank for you to fill in. Nathan is skilled in providing just enough detail to set a mood without overwhelming you. I loved how the dungeons’ brickwork is apparent by a few patches on the walls and floor, communicating a sense of texture and decay, substance and ambiance, without programming a brick pattern across the entire screen that would otherwise distract me from anything else happening in the game.
I also enjoyed the character’s design and animation. The protagonist’s red armor stands out, and I love how his entire body (including his cape) moves when he swings his sword; it’s reminiscent of Link but with more motion. Chris’ designs for several of the monsters recall classic NES staples, offering an air of familiarity but with their own unique look. Snakes behave like the Ropes of The Legend of Zelda and the Loopers of StarTropics but look much cuter. Anguna’s slimes are decidedly less adorable than their Dragon Warrior siblings but are the same initial sword fodder that help you get a feel for the controls.
As Nathan sketches a landscape of adventure, Thomas’ music fills in the picture with the color of his music. Tracks are more than a quick theme looping over and over; each song begins with a sound that feels instantly appropriate for the setting it accompanies but builds and evolves with time. The overworld theme starts over simple and adventurous but soon crackles with excitement, as if to celebrate you survived long enough to hear it to completion. The dungeon theme begins with a sense of mystery but accelerates with tension, warning you of the dangers deeper within. There is also something else familiar about Thomas’ soundtrack; it is evocative of the chiptunes of classic NES games. More than that, as I tried to put my finger to what felt so familiar, I realized the music reminded me of the great soundtracks of Realtime Associates, who worked on such games as Maniac Mansion and Dick Tracy.

This logo is aggressively early 90s and I love it
Anguna is an excellent example of a game going “back to basics”, stripping down an action-adventure to its most essential elements and doing them justice. This game is addictive in its simplicity. When you die, you might grumble aloud that you’re going to give the gave one more try. And then you realize you’ve told yourself that over and over for the past hour. And even then you’re going to keep playing.

Interviews:
Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King is a game that pulls together the most fun ingredients of an action-adventure and elevates each to create a fun game in which my imagination can run wild with a blank canvas. I spoke with Nathan and Thomas to learn more. (Note: these interviews took place before the game's official release, therefore all references to the game use the then-working title Anguna Zero).

gauauu
-Before we dive into Anguna Zero, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Nathan Tolbert?
I've been interested in programming video games for almost as long as I could read. My parents bought a TI-99 4/a computer when I was young, and it had a book called "Beginner's Basic" that we started working through as a family. Everyone else in the family immediately got bored of it, but I was hooked, and started making terrible video games.

In 2003 or so, (just a couple years out of college, and newly married), I discovered homebrew, and was immediately fascinated with the idea. My dream had always been to make a game for a real console! I started looking around to see what system had homebrew that was both relatively easy to write, and also inexpensive to get started on. Gameboy Advance looked like a winner. In 2004 I picked up a GBA flash cart at a street market (we were living in China at the time) and started programming. I knew that I wanted to make either a Zelda-like adventure, or a Blaster Master-inspired metroidvania adventure (which I'm finally working on 15 years later!) Somehow the Zelda-like idea won out in my mind. I made a one-level demo with terrible graphics, and Chris Hildenbrand showed up and volunteered to help redo the graphics, which led to the GBA and DS versions that I ended up releasing a couple years later.

-What is the significance of the Bite the Chili name as well as your gauauu username on VGS and NESDev?
Bite the Chili Productions is a silly reference to the very first internet advertisement that I saw. Back in the mid 90's, there were all sorts of banner ads like "Punch the monkey and win a prize!".

Aw man, I can’t wait to post about this on GeoCities and tell all my friends on AIM!
The first time we got on the internet, it was with slow dial-up, and we waited maybe 5 minutes for a page to load. The very first thing we saw was a banner ad saying, "Bite the Chili to win!" It was a running joke among my friends, and just stuck. Similarly, the name gauauu was a high-school joke based on me not liking the game Final Fantasy 3 (or whatever number they call that game in the reset of the world). I made fun of the Gau character, and somehow I kept the name. Strange that my name is based on a character and game that I don't even like.

Some things are best left on the Veldt.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My influences are primarily the old NES games that captured my imagination as a kid. Zelda, Metroid, Blaster Master, Ninja Gaiden, etc. were just amazing to me, and have formed my idea of what a fun video game is. I don't really play a lot of newer games, although the games VVVVVV and Killer Queen are two modern games that have really pushed me to think about game design. As far as who I'm watching now -- at this point, I mostly enjoy the community aspects -- talking about design decisions in our games, and seeing others work through their big games. I'm most interested in anyone in the NES community that's regularly posting updates about what they're working on. Things like Nova the Squirrel 2, Chris Cacciatore's in-progress Zelda-like Janus, and watching Paul work on his Alwa port, are super fun for me. I'm probably forgetting lots of others.

Paul Molloy aka InfiniteNESLives showing off his progress on an NES port of Alwa’s Awakening

-Your work on the Anguna series spans generations of gaming consoles from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo DS. In developing your games would you say they have any qualities that seem quintessentially you that you have maintained across platforms? How would you describe your aesthetic?
One of the essential things about Anguna and the various ports/sequels, is that there's only a silly little introductory plot, and nothing else as far as dialog, towns, or story progression. There's also very little hand-holding. I really wanted to recapture the feeling from the original Legend of Zelda where you entered a world and just had to wander around to figure out where to go. I don't think I actually succeeded very well in that goal, but it formed the idea of what Anguna is: a Zelda-like where you just have to explore and see what you can find.

In making the Atari port (which later also became the NES version, Anguna Zero), I decided to take the same general game pacing and structure, but rearrange the world. The first dungeon is mostly the same in all versions, and the general order of dungeons, upgrades, and progress is the same. But the world and dungeon maps are completely redesigned for the Atari version (which shares a general map with the upcoming Anguna Zero).

-What tools do you use to code?
I do most of my code editing in gVim on Linux (although I've also been using Jetbrains' CLion for projects that involve a lot of C). I tend to use Makefiles and python scripts to manage the build process. I also use Tiled, which is an incredibly versatile open-source tile map editor, in many of my projects. And I can't forget to mention Mesen. Without Sour's amazing emulator, this would be a much more frustrating hobby than it is.

-You are also known for your entries in the Annual NESDev Coding Competition such as Spacey McRacey, Robo-Ninja Climb, Super Homebrew War, and nnnnnn, each game more addicting than the last. Do you have a different attitude toward your entries in the competition versus your “feature-length” games? Is the experience of developing them different?
Yeah, I tend to view them very differently. I usually dream big: I have ideas for large games that usually take me 2-4 years to complete, with a giant scope, so they tend to occupy the bulk of my development efforts. But the NESDev competition is a great outlet for throwing together a complete game in a short amount of time. Having a target date and audience is great for helping me brainstorm a fun idea, and race to implement it as fast as possible. nnnnnn, in particular, was fun in that I wanted to see if I could make an enjoyable game in a week's worth of evenings (it helps that I stole the idea directly from vvvvvv, so I didn't have to make many game design decisions). I also like to use the compo to make 4-player games. I've always loved things like Super Bomberman, where you play with a big group of friends on a couch. And like I mentioned before, I was really inspired by the group dynamics of playing Killer Queen in the arcade. I had a particular moment, the first year I went to Midwest Gaming Classic, where I looked around a room, and watched a bunch of people playing games, but nobody talking to each other. It made me feel sad, realizing that this hobby can sometimes isolate people instead of bringing them together. So I decided to make a goal to create more 4-player games in an effort to bring people together. I can really see the difference at conventions: when a group of 4 people are all laughing together or yelling at each other playing Super Homebrew War or nnnnnn together, I feel like I succeeded in that goal.

The 4th player in this stock photo is America.

-You started homebrewing around 2004/2005 with your Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS game Anguna: Warriors of Virtue. How has your approach to homebrewing changed in the 15-16 years since?
After finishing the original Anguna, I had wanted to make more games, but the GBA community had really dried up, and I was having trouble finding an artist. So I took a detour and made an Android game (RoboNinja, a metroidvania based on the idea of exploring a big world entirely using the overplayed guy-who-never-stops-running tap-to-jump mechanic. I still wonder if it's the world's first tap-to-jump-runner metroidvania). I had been thinking that I'd like to make NES games, but the idea of making a giant NES game entirely in 6502 assembly intimidated me. So I figured I'd start with the Atari (which also uses a 6502), thinking that it would be easier to learn on. The Atari has its own crazy challenges, so I'm not sure it was much easier, but I decided to just dive into seeing what a port/demake of Anguna would look like. I mentioned previously some of my design ideas (reworking the world but keeping the structure the same), and some of the limitations were based on the limitations of system (Anguna 2600 never mixes enemy types on one screen, because with the Atari's 128 bytes of RAM, I didn't have enough RAM to manage multiple enemy types at once). While my Atari goals were initially just to have fun playing with the system, the game turned out to generate some interest, so I happily published copies through AtariAge.

After finishing that, I figured it was time to finally start on Halcyon: my Blaster Master-style game that I had been dreaming about for years. I started working on that with Frankengraphics doing art. I didn't really have any plans for a NES Anguna at the time, but this past Christmas, my progress on Halcyon was on hold while she was finishing things up with Project Blue. I was a little jealous seeing other people release cool games, and frustrated that Halcyon was taking so long, so I decided to see if I could make a medium-sized NES game in just a few months. Starting with the game design and even a good bit of code from the Atari 2600 version, it was a fun challenge to see whether I could take the Atari game, and upgrade it to a reasonable (but modest) NES adventure in a short amount of time. Which is why the title is (tentatively) Anguna Zero -- I wanted something to signify that this isn't a new big epic version that really pushes the NES to the limits, but instead of a medium-scoped adventure based on the earlier Atari game.

Screenshot from Halcyon

-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 Anguna’s protagonist, and how has his design evolved across each prior Anguna game?
The original Anguna had a subtitle "Warriors of Virtue", which referred, not to the cheesy Kangaroo adventure movie, but to an equally cheesy pen-and-paper role playing game that I designed and played with my brother and best friends back in middle school and high school. My original idea of Anguna was to take place in that world, and the character was going to be Narkstan Greenthorne, a warrior with a short fuse that my friend had played in one of our campaigns (who happened to get captured by bad guys quite often).

If ever there was a character who sounded like he knew Guybrush Threepwood, it’s Narkstan Greenthorne.
But when Chris reworked the graphics for him, it really changed the tone of the character, and he instead became a nameless hero, sort of a blank slate of a character. I really ended up liking that concept (which fit nicely with the silly lack of plot). You can imagine him being however you want, because he's just your vehicle for exploring the world. It's been 15 years or so, and he still doesn't even have a name (to make it even more vague, the name Anguna itself isn't the name of the character, the world, or anything. It's just the name of the game).

The graphical design of the character has changed a little bit, from the Atari to the NES, but the general idea is the same: some nameless warrior, dressed in red, ready to explore the world and beat some bad guys!

-Tell me more about your pen-and-paper role playing game from middle and high school.
Oh man, it was terrible. My parents were among those folks that were convinced that Dungeons and Dragon was evil, but they were ok with us making up our own version. So we made up a rule set that was sort of a mix between D&D and Final Fantasy 1. And it was as horribly unbalanced and ridiculous as you'd expect from 7th graders. But somehow it became reasonably popular among the nerds (and even some of the D&D-playing jocks) at our school.
We ran one campaign that lasted for a few years which was fun, and it's where the winged-bat-looking "hobgoblin" creatures from Anguna came from -- I had a bag of cheap plastic monsters from the dollar store that we used for battles, and the black bat things were the primary hobgoblin enemy from that campaign.
Our game came much before the movie of the same name, so it cracked us up when the movie about warrior kangaroos came out.

Nightmare fuel in its purest form

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Anguna Zero for the NES as opposed to its Atari 2600 counterpart, or even the original game on Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
The process of making Anguna 2600 was figuring out how to simplify everything as much as possible, and scale everything back. Dynamite just made your sword blow up things. The boots were always equipped.

The fun challenge of Anguna Zero was taking that scaled-down Atari version, and figuring out how to scale it back up to an appropriate game for the NES (but doing that as quickly as possible). Reworking the subscreen and map system, and fixing the inventory back to a "one item at a time" system, were the most important immediate things. I was able to reuse my metatile map tools from Halcyon to redesign each room, so that part, although completely different from the Atari version, ended up being fairly quick. The hardest part definitely ended up being the dark rooms before you have the lantern.

On the GBA version, the hardware has a really easy HDMA trick for making nicely shaped pockets of lit areas surrounded by darkness (like the key effect on Super Mario World).

The Atari also had a nice easy trick, almost identical to what was used in the old game Adventure, where you set the background and foreground to be the same color, but put a big orange sprite with a priority in-between foreground and background.

The NES has no such easy tricks. So I just end up rewriting background tiles as you move around the room (with some nice curved sprites on the corners). In essence, it's almost the same logic as an 8-way scrolling engine (loading in new tiles at the front as you move), only it's just scrolling the area right around the player. I laughed afterwards, because I purposefully avoided any scrolling in the game (to simplify it), but I ended up spending a ridiculous percentage of my time working on that darkness effect, which is so similar to scrolling.

As far as lessons learned? That's a great question. I think there's something really fun about adapting an idea across multiple systems, and learning each system as you go. But it's been such a weird random path, that I'm not sure that any sane person would aspire to it.

Screenshot from Anguna for the Atari 2600

-Thomas Cipollone aka HumanThomas, who served as the music director for the Haunted Halloween games and Full Quiet is working on the music for Anguna Zero. How did you two first connect and what is the working dynamic like as you both work on your respective aspects of the game?
I've been impressed with Thomas' work ever since I joined the NES scene, and we had touched base a few times in the past about the possibility of working together, but nothing had ever really been the right timing. But with Anguna Zero, I knew I wanted some cool music, and wanted something quickly. I was fairly far along when I contacted Thomas and asked if I could hire him to make a small soundtrack on a fairly short timeline, and he came through wonderfully. The working dynamic has been really simple -- I had a list of a few types of songs (overworld, dungeon, etc.), and in amazingly quick time, he handed me back some great songs. I've been so impressed with his work.

-Do you have a release date in mind for Anguna Zero? Are you thinking of launching a crowdfunding campaign? Do you intend to sell the game directly, or will someone else handle distribution?
The release date was supposed to be about a month ago, but the folks at the 6502 Collective (who I'm going to work with for publishing) convinced me to hire someone to do a facelift on some of the graphics. So I don't have an exact date now, but the game is finished other than those graphical improvements. Once those are in place, it will be ready to go! I don't know that we'll do a big crowdfunding campaign (I'm saving my marketing energy for Halcyon), but we'll definitely do a physical release as well as a rom release. I've been toying with the idea of doing an "Anguna collector's treasure box" release with the GBA, Atari, and NES games all in one special edition packaging, but that assumes that I can manage to make the GBA version available again. We'll see 🙂

-There is a lot of buzz around another project you are working on (and mentioned earlier): Halcyon, a sci-fi metroidvania adventure with some Blaster Master vibes. How is that game progressing? Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise?
Yeah, Halcyon has been a giant project -- a short of mashup of Blaster Master and Metroid. Oh man, I had originally hoped to have it finished this fall, but it's just not going to happen that early. The engine is finished other than any new special cases that we dream up for the end-game. The content (general rough maps, enemies, weapons, powerups) is probably 75% mapped out and ready, but with a lot of placeholder graphics for now. I've got a few more areas to map out, and then I need to go back and fill in a handful of bosses that I've skipped. So it's getting there, but definitely later than the fall of 2020 goal that I had been telling people.

Other projects? I'm always dreaming about the next project as I get to the 50% mark on a game. I don't have anything definite, or any designs on paper, but I have dreams of doing a 4-player "party game mix" cart, an old-school RPG (possibly with an online component thanks to the awesome work that folks like Paul of Infinite NES Lives, Roger Bidon, and Broke Studio are doing in that area), a contra-like action game, and making the jump to SNES and making Anguna or some other large game there. That sounds like about 15 years of work, to do all of those, so we'll see what happens....

Broke Studio and Roger Bidon demonstrating their breakthrough in online real-time NES gaming!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Homebrew games that I'm excited to play? Oh man, what are all the large games that have been teased? Full Quiet, Orange Island, Trophy (although I got to help test it, so I did get to try it already), Mall Brawl, Janus, Space Soviets, and others that I probably forgot. Kevin also teased some awesome-looking cyberpunk game that I can't wait to see more of.

Wouldn’t we 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 giving me a chance to talk about my game, and thanks for writing these articles, it's been fun to read about the development of other upcoming games!

humanthomas
-Before we dive into Anguna Zero, I'd 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 the origin story of humanthomas?
My interest in being a musician started young. I started playing guitar at age 11, and have kept up with it ever since. The first homebrew game that I composed for was Haunted: Halloween '85. A friend of mine sent me a reddit post of these dudes looking for a composer for an NES game.
I had no experience with the NES other than playing it, but I knew that I could pull it off. After sending my backlog of other compositions and recordings, they decided to take me on for the project.

Screenshot from Haunted: Halloween ‘85

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
From back in the day, Nobuo Uematsu, Takashi Tateishi, & Yasunori Mitsuda.
The Final Fantasy, Mega Man, and Chrono Trigger soundtracks have had a huge impact on me.
I didn't know it at the time, but just playing those games taught me so much about creating music for specific atmosphere and mood.
More recently, I've been studying Tim Follin's NES work and Disasterpeace for modern stuff.

Follin worked on NES game soundtracks such as Solstice, Treasure Master, Silver Surfer, and Taito’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

-In addition to your musical work on homebrew games, you lead a musical collaboration project called Modern Dog, in which you compose tracks that other musicians then contribute to. What inspired you to create this shared musical experience?
The idea popped up around the start of the pandemic. A lot of my friends are musicians and since no one can play shows or work right now, I figured I could help take their minds off of the madness with a new approach to a recording project.
The main idea is as follows - I make a base of a track and send it out to as many different players as possible. I tell them that they can add as much or as little as they like, then I pick what I like most and mix it down.
The most fun part is that none of the folks contributing get to hear the other parts until the song is finalized.
It has been awesome to collaborate with folks outside of my regular musical circle.

Album cover art for Modern Dog’s album Night Vision

-Since contributors don’t hear the final product until everything is finished, their reactions must be fun. Have these collaborations sparked inspiration for even more new music?
Modern Dog will definitely be a continued project now. I hope to put a full album worth of material for it eventually.

-Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Describing the aesthetic is tough. I think that composing music for games is about being malleable and fitting in with the vibe of the game, on a stage-by-stage basis.
As far as qualities that define my music goes, I like to focus on interesting chord voicings and also syncopation of rhythms.
Also, long form melody - I love to evolve melodies over the course of the tune in a way that is not predictable.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
For NES music, I am primarily using Famitracker. I have started experimenting with FamiStudio as well.
It is ideal to have a guitar at hand so I can quickly run through ideas. But, if I'm not working at home, I just have to rely on my ear and my brain.

-Tell me about the development of Anguna Zero’s music, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose more traditional music?
Any time I start a new project, the most important thing for me is if the head of the project has specific musical references they would like me to aim for. I try to take those references to heart but also apply my own style to it.
Nathan let me have open license for Anguna, for the most part. I often sit down to the computer without a plan, whether I am writing video game music or traditional music, so the process is pretty similar either way.

-Your work on homebrew games spans a wide assortment of gems such as the Haunted Halloween games, Full Quiet, and Shmup Speed. How has your approach to homebrew games evolved over the years?
The biggest thing that has changed is my understanding of what is going on under the hood. For Haunted '85, I was clueless. I didn't understand the space restrictions. I didn't understand that a sound engine was even a thing.
Now, I am actively thinking about how much space the music is going to take up as I am writing it. The goal for me is to make the most interesting sounding tunes while keeping it very space efficient.
A word of advice: If you are reading this and want to compose music for the NES, just assume that you can't use any of the built-in effects of Famitracker. You're better off that way, it will save you a bunch of headaches in the future.

Cartridge of Full Quiet

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Anguna Zero? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Fortunately, I did not run into any big hurdles while working on Anguna. I think now that I have a pretty solid understanding of Famitone 2, (the favored sound engine of most homebrewers nowadays) I can typically export the audio with minimal errors.
The biggest hurdle is often getting past judging my own work. If the music functions in game and sounds good, that is all I can ask for.

-How did you first connect with Nathan and what is the working dynamic like as you both work on your respective aspects of the game?
Nathan and I met on Twitter a few years ago I do believe. I have been doing a lot of work recently with KHAN Games and Sole Goose Productions, so I think they may have put in a good word for me!
Nathan is really easy to work with. He gives excellent feedback. He trusts me to do my thing correctly and vice versa.

-Is there another project after Anguna Zero on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, NES or otherwise?
I have a few more secret things that I am working on. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I can talk about them just yet! My dream is to make more NES and SNES soundtracks hopefully soon.
I am open to commissions if anyone needs music! 🙂

-Have you ever thought of releasing a chiptune album of your music, perhaps even on an NES cart (like Zi, another Thomas within the community)?
I just started writing a full chiptune album, specifically for a cartridge, just this week. I have no timeline for release yet, but it will happen!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I have been waiting for years to play RIKI's Famicom homebrew, Astro Ninja Man.
One is on the way for me, but it won't be here for a while.
I am really interested in eventually getting my hands on the online version of Super Tilt Bros.
Wi-Fi NES carts, who knew the day would ever come??

Screenshot from Astro Ninja Man

-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 for spending time with me. The NES community has been very welcoming to me and I appreciate everyone a great deal.
Anyone can feel free to reach out to talk about music, if you need music for a project, or just want advice about the process.

SpriteAttack
-Before we dive into Anguna, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a graphic artist? What is the origin story of SpriteAttack?

I bought a C64 when I was sixteen. A classmate sold his as he had lost interest in it. At first, it was all about the games but soon I was intrigued by the art and how it was created. I started wondering if some of those games couldn't be made to look better. I did pixel art with a joystick on an old TV screen. These days it just sounds insane but I did enjoy it. The C64 was soon replaced with an Amiga 2000, and the first game designs of my own and contacts to coders in my region. This led to floppy discs filled with pixel-art and finally the first released game. From that point on it was too much fun not to continue making art for computer games.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?

I never really had one or two artists that I tried to follow. I used to watch a wide range of styles and a diverse spectrum of forums – not just gaming related but also design, art, product design, or even fan art. A few artists and artworks would inspire me to try out a different style.
I still enjoy the Metal Slug artwork, Legends of Mana and the works of Henk Nieborg.

Thor: God of Thunder (Nintendo DS Mockup), by Henk Nieborg

-Your art for Anguna: Warriors of Virtue evokes some classic games, imbuing familiar tropes with unique personality. Would you say that your art has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
It's hard for me to see 'my style' but a common trait seems to be vivid colours, a tendency to cuteness and cartoon characters. I try to maintain a high level of consistency in a game's art, UI, and feel. The styles may vary from game to game, depending on the system requirements, the game engine, and the tools available, but in the game, it should feel like one from start to finish.

-What tools do you use to create?

There's the old-fashioned sketchbook and two marker pens – they go where I go. Most of the computer work is now done in Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo. CorelDraw and Inkscape add some additional effects to my tool-set. I work with a gaming PC and two monitors plus a display graphic tablet yet still use the mouse for a lot of the vector art.

-Tell me about your creative process? How does something evolve from your imagination to the page/screen?
It depends a lot on the medium. My sketches usually 'just happen'. I start somewhere on the page and doodle and fill up the page with the marker. The game art and illustrations usually follow a building process. I start with basic shapes, outlines, and rough colours, adding more and more details as I go. I love to work from simple shapes (circles and rectangles) and add to them as the elements evolve.

-I love to ask interviewees who played a role in designing characters, especially the protagonist, about whether there are elements of themselves found in their characters. I believe a game’s protagonist serves not only as the player's point of immersion in the game, informing how we understand the game's world, but also is a reflection of its designer. Was there any specific intention behind the design of Anguna’s protagonist and its other colorful characters?

I wish there was. 🙂 I don't think I am anything like the protagonists in my games. The main character in Anguna is a sword-swinging, arrow shooting knight in bright armor – basically the stereotype of a game of this genre. Most of the choices were based on the clear distinction between the hero and the enemies - red versus blue or green.

I definitely got that impression

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing for Anguna as opposed to your other work? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?

It's hard to say. Anguna: Warriors of Virtue was developed a long time ago. Pixel-art was the only viable form of game art – the few vector art or 3D games out there were rarities. All the animations were hand placed and tested again and again to make the most of the few 'dots' you had at your disposal.
These days there are tools out there that make it a lot easier. Animations are reusable if you use bone-based animation tools like spine, spriter, or dragon bones – just to name a few. Most game engines have their own animation tools built into the framework.
Use the tools that are out there and continuously keep an eye on what's new. It could potentially make your work easier, more engaging, or simpler to implement by the coders. Learning and adapting to new tools, workflows and demands is essential if you want to do game art for a long time.

- How did you first connect with Nathan for the game and what was the working dynamic like as you both work on your respective aspects of the game?

I am sorry but I really can't remember how we connected. It would have been via one of the homebrew forums back in the days. I used to be rather active, commenting and showing my own work, making edits/reworks to posts to explain changes in a visual way. An image says more than a thousand words – and I am better with the art than the words anyway... 🙂

- Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, any dream projects?

At the moment there is nothing lined up. I had to shift back a few gears due to ongoing health issues and put the focus on my body and having as much fun as possible. I have done some of my dream projects in the past. I worked on a DS/PSP version of 'Impossible Mission' with Ziggurat Interactive. The game was one of my childhood favorites on the C64 along with Summer Games (which we also ported but it sadly never got released). Last year I had the chance to work on a texture pack for Minecraft which was another dream project.

Artwork for Impossible Mission in collaboration with Ziggurat Interactive

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?

There are way too many...and I have to admit that I am losing track. There simply is not enough time in the day to play all the games I would like to dive into. Sadly I tend to forget about a lot of the games that initially sparked my interest in a post by the time they eventually are released.

-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! I want to thank all the players out there for playing the games and making all the hard work worthwhile. They are the ones enabling me to do what I love – make game art!

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of a series that highlights promising new homebrew games and learns the stories behind them as they cross the finish line. What are your thoughts on Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King and its talented development team? Which homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
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Episode 19: Montezuma's Revenge

By Scrobins, November 12, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 19: Montezuma’s Revenge

Introduction:
Many of the stories behind the homebrew games shared here began years before their publication or even any real development, like Trophy by Gradual Games. Some celebrated homebrews are ports of beloved games from another time, like Ultimate Frogger Champion, among several of KHAN Games’ works. And sometimes these two narratives come together as a game with a long history is revisited and ported to a new console, with the blessing and oversight of its original creator, eager to keep its legend alive and fulfill a dream of bringing that game to the NES, a goal that has persisted for decades.
For this entry, I’m sharing a sneak peek into the NES port of an old Atari classic, a platformer and proto-Metroidvania: Montezuma’s Revenge. As of the time of this writing, the game’s development nears completion through its original designer Robert Jaeger and his company Normal Distribution, with plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign in December 2021 through its publisher Second Dimension. As a result, this episode will be another mini-post focusing on the interviews with the development team to whet our appetities.

Development Team:
Robert Jaeger: project management
Felipe Reinaud: programming
@dra600n(Adam Welch): publication & distribution

OG Atari Artwork
Game Evolution:
Montezuma’s Revenge’s story begins back in 1983, when then-16-year old Robert Jaeger’s friend Mark Sunshine suggested Jaeger make a game with a Meso-American theme and call it Montezuma's Revenge, another name for what is commonly known as traveler’s diarrhea. Working day and night to program the game for the Atari 800, Jaeger and his dad showed off the finished game at their booth for Robert’s company Utopia Software at the 1983 (or possibly 1984) Consumer Electronics Show, attracting the attention of Parker Brothers. Although the original Atari 800 game took up 48k of memory, Parker Brothers wanted to reduce costs and fit the game onto disks and cartridges so they could release Montezuma’s Revenge for the Atari 800 as well as the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Apple II, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Atari 8-bit computers. As a result, the officially released game was squeezed down to 16k. One known casualty of the trimming was an unfinished (and unwinnable) boss fight against a huge Emperor Montezuma who would stomp on you.

Teaser image of NES edition
Gameplay Overview:
Montezuma’s Revenge is a platformer with Metroidvania qualities before either of those games existed. You control Panama Joe (a/k/a Pedro), an explorer inside the subterranean labyrinth of Aztec emperor Montezuma II’s pyramid. Your goal is to collect jewels and defeat the enemies who stand in your way. You must overcome the traps and obstacles meant to keep people like you out, while you seek the keys and equipment that will allow you to venture ever deeper into the treacherous maze.

Interviews:
For real insights into the game as it nears completion, I interviewed the NES port’s development team to get all the stories…

Robert Jaeger
-Before we dive into Montezuma’s Revenge, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a game developer?
Hi. Thanks for the interview. I was inspired by the 1st and 2nd generation of coin-op video games. I was an arcade kid from a very early age, starting with pinball, and by the time I was 11 (1978, Space Invaders) I knew for certain that I wanted to be a game developer. My first computer system was the Bally Astrocade. I started with Bally Basic, then z-80, then the 6502 with the Atari 800 computer. I also coded for the c64, Amiga, PC and others.

-What is your origin story? What is the significance of the name Normal Distribution for you?
Ah, this is a terrible name for a game developer. I don't think I've ever told this story. My software career has been split between games and fintech. Originally I was working on a "black-box" hedge fund trading system for stock options based on random number math, hence the name. The company is 100% games now.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
From the old days my influences were Bill Budge, Nasir Gebelli, later John Carmack. As far as games now I'm personally most interested in what's going on in VR because the headset has finally become affordable. There are individuals creating revolutionary products right now in the VR space.

Bill Budge, he’s a pinball wizard, there has got to be a twist

-What tools do you use to code and create?
I'm very much a C++ guy these days. I haven't coded 6502 in decades. The rebooted cross-platform version of Montezuma (Steam, PC, iOS, Mac, Android) is based on open source Cocos2dx. For cross dev't I use many different compilers, but Microsoft tools have always been my favorite.

-Montezuma’s Revenge was originally released in 1984. What inspired development of an NES port now?
Felipe Reinaud is a very talented programmer and a huge fan of the game. He came to me with the proposal. I have always been very protective of the brand and I was very reluctant to proceed, but he proved his talent to me and wound up doing an outstanding job. NES Montezuma is a beautiful game.

-Tell me about your creative process for designing and programming the game. What lessons can you share to others who want to learn to make their own games?
It's hard to describe my creative process for games. Other than arcade game clones, every game product I've been involved with has evolved from what was a basic original idea. Technical discoveries and limitations frequently drive the development.
One lesson is that if you want to create games, create games now! We have amazing free tools out there. Nothing should stop anyone from creating a great demo.
The game dev't business is very difficult and competitive. If you love to code in general, other areas of computer programming are less difficult and more lucrative.

-Do you feel that Montezuma’s Revenge has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
OK, I love to play all kinds of games but I think I'd like to be known for games with good graphics and technology, some humor, difficult, only cartoony violence but most of all - FUN. In Electronics Games Magazine Bill Kunkle noted in 1984 that "Everything is big" which was exactly what I was going for. For its time, Montezuma had a big hero and big enemies.

-Ever since my first blog episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist 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 design of Panama Joe, and do you feel he reflects you in any way?
The hero's original name was "Pedro" from the 1983 demo, and we're going forward with this name. Pedro should be thought of as a Robin Hood type character - he most certainly will use those gems to help all of mankind! I recently told the true origin of Pedro: He actually was a gringo tourist who drank too much tequila and spent too much in the gift shop and then got lost. Montezuma is not a serious game - it's light-hearted good fun created by a game developer who, like Alan Watts, sometimes questions the seriousness of life itself.

-What challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Montezuma’s Revenge? What new challenges emerged in porting it to the NES?
There are many challenges specific to NES programming. Felipe had a difficult time squeezing Montezuma into a standard NES cartridge.

-Parker Brothers trimmed down the original game to maximize marketing potential and limit piracy. Is the NES port closer to the original 16K Parker Brothers release or your original 48K version?
This NES version will most closely resemble the other production versions, but rooms are a little different mainly due to how the NES handles character graphics. It's the game as it would have been if released as an NES game of the time.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? Collaborations? Plans to port Chomper or Pinhead to the NES?
The original game demo also had an incomplete boss. We are currently working on another retro cartridge project for Atari computers which will be the "Director's Cut" - the original full vision, complete with boss challenges based on my original source code.

The undefeatable King Montezuma boss left out of the original release
Also, there are now free ad-supported versions "Montezuma's Revenge LITE" for mobile systems. We are continuing to improve the full rebooted versions available now for most computers and mobile devices.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
No, I don't follow the homebrew community as well as I should.

-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 always thank the fans for keeping the game alive and really keeping my enthusiasm up. If you're interested in following the project, I tend to update first on https://www.facebook.com/MontezumasRevengeGame.
If you want first crack at the NES version campaign when it's ready, please join the list at https://normaldistribution.com/nes-cartridge-contact-list/
Download links for the reboot: https://normaldistribution.com/download/
Thanks!

Felipe Renaud
@DarkKodKod
-Before we dive into Montezuma’s Revenge, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is your origin story?
What inspired me most to become a homebrewer was the work of Michael Chiaramonte https://www.youtube.com/c/MichaelChiaramonte. I saw that many amazing games were being made by normal people just like me. You didn't need talent or a huge background to start making your own game. However, it takes time to have something fun and playable and even longer to have an actual game to publish. I now have a nice collection of homebrew games like Eyra, Rollie, Nebs ‘n Debs, Lizard, etc. Those games are my real inspiration.
It all started when I was a child and I played the Atari and later I got my very first game console, the NES. My dream back then was to become a game programmer one day and as a kid who grew up in Chile - it was like wanting to be an astronaut. Years later after finishing my degree in Computer Science, I had the opportunity to join the very first video game studio in Chile. Later, I worked on different consoles like the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and PC. I started learning and working on Banana Kong for Android and later porting it to iOS. Long story short, I eventually got hired at a company in Hamburg, Germany, and later I moved to Dusseldorf to work at Ubisoft where currently I am right now.
Since I always wanted to make my own game, I decided one day that I would make a NES game. People were doing it - I knew I could do it too. I am really bad at designing games, so I thought of making a port of a well-known game for the old NES. I came up with the idea of porting one of the games I played as a child back when I played it on the Atari and the first game that came to my mind was Montezuma’s Revenge. That game in Chile was as important for Atari as Super Mario was for Nintendo. I reached Robert Jaeger on Facebook and after presenting myself and proving that I'm up to the challenge, we started working together on Montezuma’s Revenge, first for the Android and PC version and later on the NES version.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Of course it is Robert Jaeger who made Montezuma’s Revenge for the Atari, that game is a masterpiece for its era. The only person I'm watching closely now is Michael Chiaramonte and his work on his own homebrew on his channel.

Michael Chiaramonte being not so randomly random

-How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a game made by you?
The game is a straight port, I didn't really change any aesthetic and that's totally fine. The idea is to make the game as close as possible to the original as if it were an early Nintendo game. It is using a NROM board, so only 40k of memory is available to fit the entire 9 pyramids of 100 rooms each plus new music. There were compromises and some design changes to fit into the NES aspect ratio and memory limitations. Let's say that games are designed based on the hardware they are running on. For Montezuma’s Revenge, it is making the best use of the Atari hardware and I had to translate that into what is capable of, the original Nintendo. For example if you are making a game for the NES, it is better to have all the background tiles designed to be 16 by 16 pixels like Super Mario Bros did. But for this game I could not do it that way because the game is expected to collide with 8x8 pixel tiles so I had to use more memory than I would normally use. I had to cut a little on some features as well, things that I wouldn’t have used if the game was designed initially for the NES. So hardware is a huge influence on the design aesthetic of a game and even though this is a straight port this was no exception.
A nice feature of this game is even though I’m using a really limited board like the NROM, it doesn't use any fancy additional chip to animate tiles. I am updating multiple background tiles not all at the same time, but it sure seems like it and it looks close to the original and it feels like the original why you play it.

-What tools do you use to code and create?
I used Visual Studio Code with the extension Beeb VSC so it can color code a bit the source files and also adds the ability to press F7 to assemble and F9 to run. I use the tasks.json file on VS Code to run a bunch of tasks one after another from creating a folder to generate the .nes file and run it on the emulator. For assets I use my own tool created with WPF and C#. Here is the git repo if someone is interested, https://github.com/DarkKodKod/NESTool. The idea was to have a generic asset tool independent from any particular game so I used that to handle and convert the images into animated sprites, backgrounds and banks for the pattern tables.

-In addition to your homebrewing, you are programmer by profession. In what ways is your professional work similar to or different compared to your indie/homebrew work?
Developing software is always the same, no matter if it is business-oriented software or a game or a game for a 40 years old machine. You have to have a design, a plan and write clean code for everybody to understand - even if you were writing this code yourself and nobody else will look at it. By keeping everything tidy you are doing yourself a favor because the project could last years depending on how much time you put into it. The code you wrote maybe two years ago is going to be really difficult to modify or understand the purpose if it is not well organized and documented.

-Do you find your professional work informs your approach to homebrewing, or vice versa?
Yes, I think so. I have more than 15 years of experience working with different game engines, some are homemade and some are well established in the video game industry. I learnt how to structure and build a game from scratch and additionally working with talented people you get to learn good practices as well.
So I wanted to create a good working environment and put in place good practices as much as possible. So even if you are working on your own project alone, it is good and you will thank yourself later in the project lifetime when you need to restructure something or read code you have written a year ago and having all clean and well-structured will make a huge difference overall.

-Some of the other games you’ve worked on include Alpha Assault, Banana Kong, and the Thrill Rush games for more modern platforms. Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
Working for a game console like the Xbox 360 or the Nintendo Wii was ideal because you know the hardware won't change and you can have the same result on every machine. For example, working for a game on Android, there are thousands of different hardware and software combinations that can make the game fail for some unknown reason. If you don't have that particular version of the hardware it is going to be difficult to test and see what is wrong with the game. PC games are a bit similar with different graphics cards for example. I know this argument is not valid if you are using a well-used game engine like Unity3d or Unreal but, I enjoy game development the most when I'm doing everything myself like I used to do it before those engines were a thing.

Screenshot from Banana Kong by FDG Entertainment
And in terms of limitations, of course it also makes it different to work with something as big as a PC game or really small as a NES game. I have experience working with limited RAM space on the Nintendo Wii and even smaller for the Nintendo 3DS. It is fun though having more constraints to the work because it is when you have to be creative and come up with optimal solutions for the product you are making. It doesn't feel the same when you have all the resources of the world, it is not that exciting for me in particular.

-Had you played Montezuma’s Revenge on the Atari before?
Of course. I'm 40 years old and in my childhood, a lot of kids had the Atari. I never had one for myself but I went to friends and family to play and of course everybody had a copy of Montezuma’s Revenge. My very first game console was the Nintendo Entertainment System.

-What was the working dynamic like in the development of Montezuma’s Revenge for the NES?
I had a plan for what to do for the entire year and I was working on one thing at a time. I tested on the emulator, Mesen, and later in my AVS. It was just me and the computer. Nothing fancy.

-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 hit the wall multiple times and for me everything was a learning experience. How to organize the code was a challenge because there is nothing on the Internet to help you out with that. I came up with my own way of structuring the files, methods and variables. Because the game is using only 40k of memory, the biggest challenge was to properly scale down the game and fit 9 levels with 100 rooms each plus a music engine and music.
Because of the constraints of the memory I could not use a music engine from someone else, I had to write my own and my own format music for it. It wasn't that bad and at the end I enjoyed the process. For example the 3 music tracks are stored inside the CHR ROM alongside with the sprites.
Speaking of the music, all my maps are compressed using Run Length Encoding (RLE), and the time to decompress the map was taking too long and it made the music run slow while changing rooms. I had to decompress and load the maps in multiple frames and keep the transition between rooms fast enough to not affect the game experience.
Another challenge was the tile animations. NROM has no built-in tech to handle background animation and Montezuma’s Revenge is heavy in background animation like the fire or conveyor belts, etc. So I came up with a tile animation system that can update multiple tiles on different frames. The important part here is the correct separation between the main thread and the code that runs in the NMI. The challenge was to make the NMI code really efficient and send commands to the NMI to run the specific code only when it was needed.

-Montezuma’s Revenge is an iconic game with a longstanding fanbase. How does it feel to work on a game with such a deep history?
I’m really proud. This game is an icon in my country, Chile. If you talk about Atari, you have to talk about Montezuma’s Revenge. I played it when I was a child and I never dreamed one day to be part of its history.

-What aspects of Montezuma’s Revenge are you most proud of?
I started knowing nothing about 6502 assembly nor how to make a game for the NES. So I'm really proud of having a game and releasing it. Actually releasing a game is the most difficult part of game development, because it has to be perfect when it has to come out of the door.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
Not now. Having a side project can eat up a lot of your time but I would like to do something for the SNES or maybe a bigger NES game but now I have nothing in mind.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Not at the moment.

-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 would like to start developing your own game, start small and always reach out to the NESDev community, they are super friendly and supportive.

Adam Welch
@alteredimension
-Before we dive into Montezuma’s Revenge, let’s catch up! How have you been since we talked about Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden?
Good! Just been busy plugging away at code and getting ready to start releasing the 16-bit versions of Eyra.

-Between your Twitter and Discord, there are so many brewers who are either using Second Dimension to create physical releases of their games (like the upcoming Fire and Rescue), or are using SecondBASIC Studio to create their games. How does it feel to be one of the go-to people for the development and release of homebrew games?
It’s really cool! I love seeing these projects that people are working on and happy to see them being able to release their own stuff the way the want to.

Screenshot from Fire & Rescue by Skyboy Games

-How did you first connect with Rob Jaeger/Normal Distribution?
Ha! So funny story. I got an email sometime back in April or early May asking if I would be interested in potentially publishing the NES version of Montezuma’s Revenge. Now, being one of the games my friends and I played a lot of, I thought this would be a cool opportunity.
I didn’t even look to see who sent me the email. I went out to Normal Distribution’s website, contacted Rob about someone asking me about publishing an NES version or Monte, and seeing if he had given the “okay” on it, etc.
Turns out, he’s the one who originally emailed me. Boy did I feel silly.

-Had you previously played Montezuma’s Revenge on any of the consoles for which it was original released, or the Master System port?
Back in the 4th grade, our teacher had an Apple LE II in our classroom. If you did good in class, he would let you play games on it, and he had Montezuma. My friend and I tried to play that game as much as we could back then, but we never knew how far we were into the game – plus we only had maybe 15 – 20 minutes to play when we were able.

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Normal Distribution?
Rob is very down to earth, very focused, and is very willing to listen to what you have to say. It’s been a great experience so far, and I hope to learn as much as I can from him.

-What does it mean to you that the creator of an iconic game from the Atari-era came to you for help publishing the NES port of the game?
It’s surreal. It’s kind of like getting to play catch with your favorite ball player, or have a jam session with your favorite artist. Montezuma’s was definitely a childhood favorite that holds a lot of happy memories, so it’s pretty wild to get the opportunity to lend a hand with a game with such history.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Montezuma’s Revenge from a publication perspective?
So far nothing new has popped up. My process is pretty solid, so there’s minimal concern there. It’s really just making sure everything falls into place and any bumps we hit, we just do what we need to in order to press onward.

-You’ve told me there will be a Kickstarter campaign for Montezuma’s Revenge. Do you have a date, specific or relative that we can write on our calendars?
We’re aiming for December to launch the campaign.

-You recently shared a poll on Twitter to see what game fans were most looking forward to next: Affinity Sorrow and Curse of Illmoore Bay 2. Any news you would like to share about either?
Affinity Sorrow won the poll, so we’ve been working on that – well, Jav mainly has since I’m finishing up Eyra MD. Lots of content is being created, so we’ll be also working on a campaign for that as well, but we’re not 100% sure of the timeline just yet. Soon, though.

Affinity Sorrow vs. Curse of Illmoore Bay 2: This Time it’s Ill-more!

-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 taking the time to talk to us! This wouldn’t be possible without our fans – and we appreciate every one of you ❤️

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this latest mini-sode of the series that shares sneak peeks into the latest homebrew games and the folks who bring them into the world. What are your thoughts on Montezuma’s Revenge, its talented development team, and its legacy? 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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Episode 12: Yeah Yeah Beebiss II

By Scrobins, March 31, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 12: Yeah Yeah Beebiss II aka “Riggs Project”

Introduction:
Homebrew has always been a fairly niche community, with word of mouth serving a critical role in spreading news and building hype for the latest games. But part of what makes homebrew games such a fascinating phenomenon is the juxtaposition of cartridges developed to play on hardware from the 80s with a world in which people can talk about these games in a video that will be viewed by thousands online. One of homebrew’s most prominent champions on YouTube is John Riggs, whose videos share gameplay, reviews, and news about fun homebrews, in addition to licensed era games, limited edition cereals, and other gaming or nostalgia-related gear, often alongside his equally effervescent kids. John is also known for his playful hacks which combine classic games with meme culture. Today I’m talking about John because he’s stepping into new territory with a project teased as early as February 7, 2021.
For this entry, I’m offering an early glimpse into the upcoming NES arcade platformer Yeah Yeah Beebiss II, previously codenamed Riggs Project. As of the time of this writing, the game’s development is nearing completion and will be available for purchase soon in its default state as well as with customizable characters! For that reason, this will be a mini post, focusing on the interviews with its creators rather than its evolution and gameplay.

Development Team:
@John Riggs: graphic, color & text editing
Mega Cat Studios: coding
Chips ‘N Cellos (Chris, Steve & Jess): music

Screenshot from Yeah Yeah Beebiss II

Interviews:
For the real scoop, I interviewed development team members John and the folks at Chips ‘N Cellos, though I’m saving Mega Cat Studios for another post.

John Riggs
@johnblueriggs
-I need to be a lame fan for a second, cuz I got John Riggs here! How’re ya feeling?
Haha, I’m good. Funny with the ‘How’re ya feeling?’, it’s how I used to greet customers when I worked at Rite-Aid back in 1997, then at Video Update in 1998 and onto being on the air on various radio stations starting in 2001. It’s a crutch I just carried over.

-Before we dive into your new game, which you’ve teased as the “Riggs Project”, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a collector, a YouTube personality, a game hacker, and now a homebrewer? What is the origin story of John Riggs?
I’ve been passionate about video games as long as I can remember, growing up with Atari 2600 to today. The NES was my favorite (and still is) but when I saw SNES and even onto N64 being released that’s when I noticed I don’t see NES games on shelves much at all so thought if they’re all going away, I don’t want to be in a place where I might never see them so I started to buy what I would want to play later. I don’t really consider myself a collector, but happen to have a collection.
I got into YouTube because of peer pressure from a good friend of mine from high school. He was the first one I knew who canceled his cable subscription because he watched his favorite YouTube channels. He kept bugging me to start my own channel but I wasn’t into YouTube like that as I wouldn’t know where to begin. It wasn’t until I met Metal Jesus and he invited me on his channel where I saw a little of what he does behind the scenes and figured I’d give it a shot.

Metal Jesus’ name is well earned
Game hacking came from noticing the comparison between Adventure Time and ‘A Boy and His Blob’. I posted in an Internet forum that someone should make that hack. Because it’s the Internet, someone snarkily replied, “Why don’t YOU make it?” I hadn’t thought of that. So I started to do some research on how others do it and went from there. I never did do that hack, but have done several others.
I’m not quite a homebrewer, yet. I’ve had a lot of help with this project. Someone else did the coding and another friend did the music. I’m just editing some graphics and colors and text, stuff like that.
My origin story? The summarized version is I’m the 6th of 7 kids growing up in a house with one TV so if I wanted to play Atari (at the time) I had to wake up before anyone else to get some game time in. I didn’t get my own gaming TV until the late 80s. Once I did it was just about the only thing I wanted to do. With the chaos of having so many other brothers and sisters it was my escape. I got older, newer consoles came out and It’s always been my #1 hobby.

-You are such a beloved gaming personality, Retrosoft Studios included you in their game Retromania Wrestling. What is it like to have that kind of cultural currency?
Being in a game, even as an NPC, is a dream come true. And the fact it’s in a wrestling game is even better because I’m such a fan. That game’s concept started out as a YouTuber Wrestling game because the creator is a fan of all these great YouTube channels. He asked me long ago if I wanted to be in it, which I agreed (of course) but later he learned he could license actual wrestlers which is a better idea. I told him I’d still love to be in it even as an audience member or something. He did me one better having me sit ringside at Too Many Games where we met and where I played the first demo of the game in 2019.

Portrait of the artist as a pixelated man sitting ringside

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Metal Jesus is my first influence as I was on his channel before I had my own channel. Other channels like GameSack and SNES Drunk were influential, too, as they let the game footage do the talking for them, overdubbing their opinions or pointing out things while one is seeing the footage. That’s what I like so I keep with that idea for most of my videos. Channels to watch? Like many now, I love Scott the Woz’s writing and quick editing. It cracks me up. I love watching channels grow that put in the effort. Channels like Roxolid Products, DiskCart, SquarePegs, GameDad -- all these channels that I might see commenting on my videos from when I kind of started taking off and now they have channels themselves and are growing at a nice pace.

-Your games are known for fun takes on trending topics that breathe new life into classic games, such as Pac-Man: TMNT Edition, Space Force, WAP, and COVID-19. How would you describe your inspiration and aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a Riggs game?
I never have to think too hard, it’s just whatever inspiration comes that moment. I was literally watching Bob’s Burgers one day and thought ‘I could hack BurgerTime with those characters’ so whipped up that hack in a couple hours, just because. Things like that Pac-Man: TMNT Edition, the official TMNT social media accounts posted Pac-Man parody art with the ghosts with the famous eyebands and the pizza being Pac-Man. I thought to myself ‘I can make that real’ so I did. Not sure I have any hallmarks but I do often use NES carts as a power-up because I already have the graphic made.

Wocka wocka wocka, er I mean cowabunga!

-What tools do you use to create?
Tile Layer Pro (TLP) for graphic editing, TBLater for changing text as needed and FCEUX for emulation as it has a built-in hex editor for changing colors and manipulating graphics like title screens as needed. Best thing is they’re all free so anyone can use them, too.

-What made you decide to make a new game from scratch? What was your inspiration as you designed this game?
I want to get away from making hacks and have something that’s my own that I can sell at conventions. There was an old homebrew that someone made for charity. I reached out asking if I could basically buy the rights to that rom so I can hack all the graphics and make it my own. To my surprise, he said he’d just code me a new game (which plays like that homebrew I asked about) but making it unique to itself.

-Was the experience of developing your “Riggs Project” from the ground-up different compared to your hacks?
On my end, honestly, not much as I’m still just doing graphic and color and text editing. Since someone else coded the game for me and another friend did the music, my side is doing the graphics and will eventually get boxes and manuals designed and printed, too. I have a lot of help on my side. Couldn’t do it without them.

-Did you have a different attitude toward developing “Riggs Project” compared to your previous games? Does playing with existing worlds and concepts impose limits on what you can do with them or do you feel it offers a larger sandbox to play in?
I just wanted a simple arcade-style game that was more just for fun than anything. I’m a huge supporter of homebrew projects, especially the ones on NES. I understand that most might play the game once or twice and put it on the shelf with the rest of their collection. This is just a fun project to do but the idea that I can customize graphics to the individual is what I was looking forward to doing. Will make for great gifts.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing the “Riggs Project”? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
With editing graphics, color and text, I’ve never been able to edit sound, though I know it can be done. I have a friend who does chiptunes (Chips ‘N Cellos) but learning there’s a specific way to make them so they actually fit into the confines of an NES game was interesting to read. My chiptune friend had to re-write the same songs to make them fit and now they know how to do it for future projects, if anyone decides to use them for music in their NES game.
Like with hacks and everything else, it’s VERY time consuming. Save LOTS of drafts.

-Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist serves as both the player's point of immersion in the game as well as a reflection of its designer. In the “Riggs Project” the protagonist is you, but you’ve noted that is the case for the default game, and that you can customize graphics as needed. Does that mean you might tweak the protagonist to be other people?
Exactly. The default for this game isn’t even me! The basic default is based on a myth or legend that’s been around for a long, long time for NES collectors. In the back of magazines there were companies that would buy back your old games. There was one that featured a game called Yeah Yeah Beebiss I. As it turns out, it’s most likely a rough translation of a Famicom game we never got that featured a Chinese jumping ghost. I thought how fun it would be to make that game so there actually was one! After asking a couple of trusted sources I was reminded the same thing happened to other prototypes of someone doing a homebrew and simply calling it the name of the lost game, only to have that lost game actually surface. I didn’t want to think I was lying to anyone so the game I’m working on is a sequel to that legend. Yeah Yeah Beebiss II. The name may seem silly to those who don’t know the legend, but that’s what I had in mind. When I edit the graphics to someone (like the one I’m also doing for myself) I’ll probably change the name, though. Same game, just different name. ‘Riggs’ Myth Quest’ or something equally lame. I haven’t quite gotten that far, yet.

Art for Baby Kyonshi no Amida Daibouken, considered likely to be Yeah Yeah Beebiss I

-Whenever you post about a new game you have available, fans flood your comments eager to buy. How does it feel to see so many people enjoying your games?
I still don’t feel very comfortable about the quality of not only my game edits but my labels or craftsmanship or anything like that. You’re always your own worst critic. I think it’s great. I just wish I was better equipped for sales. Etsy doesn’t like hacks and homebrews and eBay is a mess now. Hard to keep track of everything as it’s all just me, doing the hacking and editing, putting the game together, making sure the order is correct, mailing them out, getting tracking info. I don’t even have address labels, I still write everything by hand on envelopes. That’s my handwriting on them.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
I would like to do another project like this eventually. I know not everyone likes homebrews and even the want and need for NES is diminishing in favor of other consoles like SNES and N64, but there’ll always be a fandom. I’ve been a cheerleader for homebrew projects since I started my channel and have a couple leads on people I can team up with in the future. The dream project would be to have work for a game company. Would also like to look into getting my homebrew on digital storefronts like the Switch eShop, but I understand it’s not as easy to just put an NES game through an emulator and calling it good.

-Do you have any updates on the game that you would like to share? An official title? A release date mayhaps?
Of course! The official title is Yeah Yeah Beebiss II as I mentioned before. But that’s only for the default game without custom edits. The edited version of the game I haven’t finalized on a title, just yet. I could just call it ‘John Riggs in Beebiss World’ or something (which is probably exactly what it’s going to be called. I literally just thought of that while answering this question). I don’t have a release date, yet. I can do carts literally right now but am waiting for boxes and manuals. Soon as I get those it’ll be ready.

-You promote many new homebrew games on your YouTube channel and social media pages. Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
There’s always something new coming up. Witch n’ Wiz from Matt Hughson looks fantastic. Full Quiet from Retrotainment has been in the works for a while and looks awesome. Played a demo at PAX in 2019. Can’t wait for the final. Orange Island looks amazing, too. Magnilo is a super fun game I have a review demo but will be officially out soon. So many great games coming out and hard to keep up with everyone making games using NES Maker.

Promotional image from The Magnilo Case’s Kickstarter page

-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?
Homebrews are made for fans by fans. Support them when you can, if not with cash, sharing or retweeting news about homebrews can go a long way.

Chips ‘N Cellos
@ChipsNCellos
All answers provided by Chris from Chips ‘N Cellos
-Before we dive into Yeah Yeah Beebiss II, I would love to talk about you and your backgrounds. What first inspired you to be musicians? What led you to compose chiptune generally, and compose music for homebrew games? What is the origin story of Chips ‘N Cellos?
Going WAY back to the beginning of our lives- Jess started playing the cello when she was 6 and a half years old and stuck with it all the way through a Juilliard Master’s Degree in Cello Performance. She’s the real music professional out of us three: My brother Steve and I work in retail and digital marketing at the NBA, respectively. Steve and I grew up in a fairly musical family, and spent our childhood pausing Mega Man games and recording stage themes on cassette tape to listen back to more easily! I later played guitar in a few bands (my 15 minutes of fame came in the form of a video contest win in 2009. Look up: the pillows Gazelle City 25th anniversary on YouTube!), but rock music has been dead for a long while now and as my band mates and I grew up and started to have families, I found myself needing another musical/creative outlet.
I’ve always wanted to compose 8-bit Mega Man music, and the initial idea behind Chips ‘N Cellos was to try something different and cover classical music pieces in that familiar Capcom style. We wanted to experiment further and add live cello accompaniments along the way, too. So far, our project has severely over-indexed on the CHIP angle of the project haha, but we’ll eventually be looking to release original music that combines both sounds. Up to this point, the positive reception of our Mega Man-style covers has inspired us to continue creatively arranging famous classical, rock and pop music.
In regards to composing for homebrews, I think every chiptuner has—at the very least—a subconscious desire to compose for games. When John approached us about including our ‘Compose Man’ material in his project, we were interested!

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
The Mega Man soundtracks from the 80’s and 90’s are obvious influences on our work. I listen to a wide variety of music, but consider the pillows (from Japan) and Machinae Supremacy (from Sweden) as two of my all-time favorite influences.

the pillows

-Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
I think most certainly the classical instrument + chiptune mix is a rare combination that I hope we’ll be able to do more justice to in the coming years. Stay tuned for it!
As far as our arrangement projects go, I’ve wanted to make sure our music sounded as faithful to the original Mega Man soundtracks as we could get it, so I think thus far our work is quintessentially “NES Mega Man.” Thanks goes out to the multiple chiptuners before us who crafted the FamiTracker instruments we’ve used to jumpstart our project. Those instruments—and the advent of FamiTracker itself—fuel our passion and light our way.

-In addition to your musical work on video games, you maintain a YouTube channel that posts fun chiptune compositions with accompanying classical cello arrangements. Does your experience composing original chiptunes based on Mega Man, Castlevania, classical music, and pop music provide inspiration for your game music, or vice versa?
I would say that our YouTube channel content is our primary focus, and if select pieces fit the vibe of a game, we’ll always be open to having them featured (under the right circumstances).
Crafting the covers we’ve uploaded has certainly helped us refine our abilities to write original music in FamiTracker. We’ve also provided original tunes for the Mega Man Arena brawler and we certainly wouldn’t have been in a position to do that without becoming more experienced in authoring FamiTracker music first. The YouTube content has been good practice, if nothing else!
Fortunately for us, whether it be cover songs or original tunes, the tone of our music is distinctly a “gaming” one, so we don’t often have to make hard choices to adopt certain styles over others. Our music can be a match for both games and the gamer/listener community at large. However, we look forward to experimenting with many more electronic sounds in the future!

-Tell me about the development of Yeah Yeah Beebiss II’s music, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose more traditional music?
John Riggs originally approached us about featuring some of our ‘Compose Man’ covers in his homebrew project, and we thought it was a fun idea. He had found our channel in the earlier days of our activity, and I felt like I owed him one, haha! Aside from that, we want to compose more music for games, so this was a logical next step for us.
Interestingly, we had discovered during the game’s development that our original compositions needed to be “demade” to fit what’s called a FamiTone format. Re-engineering the featured pieces was a fun challenge because of parameter limitations associated with FamiTone music (i.e. limited FamiTracker effects, tempos, etc.). Luckily, converting our tracks was a matter of simplifying the original FamiTracker working files and it was a neat exercise to see if I could replicate our original pieces using even more stripped down methods than the ones I used for the original compositions. Who knew simple 8-bit FamiTracker music could be even MORE simplified, haha!
In the end, the core of the songs remained intact and I have a new appreciation for those who make magic happen within the tight confines of FamiTone and homebrew projects. Less is indeed more.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
We use a few different programs including FamiTracker, FL Studio, GuitarPro (!!), Adobe Audition and ProTools. We also record with a mobile device called the Spire Studio.

-How did you first connect with John Riggs and Mega Cat Studios, and what was the working dynamic like?
John came across our profile at some point in 2019 and was perhaps one of the first content producers to shout us out. We’ve been internet friends ever since! Mega Cat Studios has been developing John’s game and we had synced up when it was time to convert our ‘Compose Man’ tunes into FamiTone-compliant files. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, all our collaboration had been done across email, and the team at Mega Cat was super efficient and helpful at implementing our tunes. I have a lot of respect for the indie dev community, and I LOVE seeing homebrew projects like this keep the old spirit of NES retro gaming alive for new generations to enjoy! We’d love to participate in more projects in the future.

Screenshot from Chips ‘N Cellos Composeman Album video on YouTube

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing the game’s music? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
As mentioned above, writing music for homebrew projects can be challenging if the FamiTracker file you’re working on isn’t set up to be FamiTone compliant. My advice, first and foremost, would be to set all the necessary volume and instrument parameters up from the get-go so your composing can be locked into a format that the homebrew can read properly.
Aside from that, my general chiptune-composing advice is: listen, listen, listen. We’re not the most technically-sound composers in the scene, nor are we the most formally-educated. Our talent lies within our ears, and our ability to extract what we hear in our heads and turn it into beeps and boops. We do what we do now because we’ve listened to music every day for our 30+ years of life on this planet, haha. Learn what kind of music you’d like to make, go listen to it (study it), try to re-compose it (in FamiTracker!) and then experiment with your own melodies and harmonies.
In all honesty, if we can produce music in FamiTracker that others like to listen to, YOU can too!

-Which tracks are you most proud of?
Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King came out especially well. I was aiming for a Jewel Man (MM 9) style cave track, and I think the final tones were ultimately the right ones for the piece.
I’m also a big Beethoven fan, so our Pathetique boss fight cover was definitely a fun one to work on.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES, or otherwise?
As mentioned previously, we’ll be looking to spend the second half of 2021 zeroing in on writing original chiptune music that at last truly makes use of live cello embellishments. It’s something we’ve promised in our project’s title. Don’t worry, it’s coming!
Aside from that, we are busy producing the third and final Mega Man style classical music compilation—Compose Man 3—which will feature nearly 50 other chiptune artists across the community. We’re hoping to have it finalized by the end of the year.
We’re also hoping the pandemic finally begins to subside and things get back to normal. When they do, Jess is due to play in an all-new off-Broadway show called Between the Lines, which has obviously been on hold since the lockdown.

Screenshot from the website for Between the Lines

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Being involved in John’s project has gotten us excited about the whole homebrew “genre” to begin with!
The Adventures of Panzer and Slow Mole seem interesting, and Pixel Poops just looks hilarious!

-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 again for your time, thanks to John and Mega Cat Studios for featuring our music, and thanks to all the gamers out there keeping the retro scene alive! We’re living our best lives through this CnC project, and we hope to make positive contributions to the community in the future.

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this mini episode of a series that will provide first looks and deep dives into promising homebrew games coming across the finish line. What are your thoughts on Yeah Yeah Beebiss II and its talented development team? 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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Episode 21: Dungeons & DoomKnights

By Scrobins, February 2, 2022

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 21: Dungeons & DoomKnights

Introduction:
In the gaming world, where evolution and innovation is constant, the excitement of new firsts never wanes. Whether it’s the arrival of a new console, new tools & technology, or a new game showing off the possibilities of the previous two, being the first carries the power to excite imaginations over how this new thing heralds something we should take notice of, and get ready for what will surely follow. I’ve covered NESmaker games before, sharing the multitude of stories that enthusiastically draw new people into the homebrew community, but I have not yet had the pleasure to discuss the first game using the tool to launch a Kickstarter campaign (after Mystic Origins/Mystic Searches, which I hope to cover as well someday) and thus fire the imaginations of future homebrewers.
For this entry, I’m covering Dungeons & DoomKnights, a Zeldavania adventure game for the NES, and developed by Artix Entertainment, set in their Adventure Quest universe. As of the time of this writing, development of the game is complete and initial backer rewards are on the way! But if you don’t have a copy and want one, you can purchase the rom, regular edition CIB, or limited-edition CIB here.

Development Team:
Artix (Adam Bohn): game design & story
@dale_coop: programming
Clarion: pixel art & animation
Pixel Pete: background art
FJ: pixel art
Jongaar & Broomtool: music & sound effects
Rolith: level design & experimental ports
Diozz & Dage: box & manual art
Stryche: shipping & fulfillment
J6: “executive producer”
Glisel: coordinator & helpful ghost

Regular edition CIB

Game Evolution:
Artix Entertainment launched their crowdfunding campaign for Dungeons & DoomKnights on Kickstarter on April 1, 2019. Backer tiers included a digital package, regular edition CIB with gray cartridge, and a Collector’s Edition CIB with a special gold cartridge in the spirit of the Legend of Zelda. By the campaign’s conclusion, 1,025 backers pledged almost $55,000 toward the project, breaking through numerous stretch goals, unlocking a celebrity voice actor for the game trailer (George Lowe of Space Ghost Coast to Coast fame), all backers having their name in the credits, an Artix AMA livestream, a director’s “un-cut” chaos rom (a bonus rom in which you play as the villain), signed manuals for physical tier backers, and an 8-bit map in AdventureQuest Worlds for all backers.

Gameplay Overview:
Dungeons & DoomKnights describes itself as a Zeldavania action adventure, mixing adventure and platformer levels. You play as the good paladin, Artix, who returned to his hometown only to find it decimated by Sepulchure, a master of the undead. Your quest begins with you chasing the DoomKnight on the back of a dragon, hoping to defeat him before he can reach his castle and muster his evil army for an even larger assault. With the help of your undead-slaying puppy, Daimyo, and Gravelyn, a mysterious warrior guide who was raised by the darkness, you might just have a fighting chance.
Gameplay consists of areas mixing Zelda-like adventure screens and Castlevania-like dungeons. The controls between the two types of screens are similar but have subtle differences. When playing in an adventure area, the D-pad affords you 8-directional movement, the A button uses your selected skill (Select toggles through available skills), and the B button unleashes your attack…or conversational skills. Meanwhile in a platforming dungeon area, the D-pad is limited to left/right movement, while the A button allows you to jump, the B button still attacks/talks, Select still toggles through your skillset, and Up & A lets loose a special attack. And along the way, you'll find a host of powers and treasures which will expand your skills and sustain you through your journey.

Writer’s Review:
Dungeons & DoomKnights delivers on its Zeldavania promise, channeling the quasi-overhead alternating with side-scrolling adventure screens of several beloved entries of Link’s 2D exploits and games like Dick Tracy. But a Zelda clone this ain’t (and a Dick Tracy clone remains on my wishlist...just sayin'). Like many games I’ve covered, Dungeons & DoomKnights knows where it came from, but stakes out its own territory, and masters it. The prologue takes care of the first chunk of exposition, allowing you to literally jump right into the action.

But also FIGURATIVELY!
Gameplay is easy to learn, but practice is crucial: the adventure and dungeon screens can look very similar at first glance, but your movement is very different. Moving between screens can plant you eye to eye with a monster, so you don’t want to be disoriented with how to fight them off lest you take an immediate hit. Despite that challenge, this game’s difficulty is the right kind of exciting, like a high-fantasy horror movie in which you persistently worry what may lurk just around the corner or beyond that cave entrance. If I had to compare the gameplay of the different screens to other games, I would argue that the adventure screens feel like the original Legend of Zelda or Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King, while the dungeons remind me of Astyanax or Dick Tracy (last reference, I promise…this time).
Dungeons & DoomKnights’ graphics are the quintessential cute but detailed, with sprites carefully designed to make use of each pixel, complemented by animations that are surprisingly dynamic. It was while making Artix run in place against a tombstone (like one does) to compare it to Little Mac’s running animation from Punch Out that I noticed how Artix’s shoulders also swivel when he runs. It’s a subtle point that could look ugly in less careful hands, but here it reinforces the gameplay’s smooth flow and meticulous crafting.
Meanwhile, the game’s music is a deep, metal jam session, like a bass-led love letter to high fantasy. I listened to a number of fantasy adventure soundtracks to find an apt comparison, but nothing came close; most of the other games that one might presume are comparable in sound might have a bass line you can identify, but it’s usually buried under high-pitched chirps, as if those tones were a requirement of any game with knights and monsters. The closest analogous chiptunes are the bass grooves of Sly Dog Studios, with its layers of dark, guttural ambiance. Dungeons & DoomKnights revels in a soundtrack that conveys this game is a dirty struggle, that it’s the PG-13 big brother to all the fantasy games you played before, and you’re going to enjoy every gritty minute of it.

Christopher Lee would be proud

Interviews:
For all the juicy stories, I journeyed into the dungeon and spoke with several members of the development team about their adventure and various past quests…

Artix
@ArtixKrieger
-Before we dive into Dungeons & DoomKnights, 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 Artix Entertainment?
Thank you for interviewing me on Dungeons and DoomKnights! Our studio, Artix Entertainment will be celebrating 20 years of creating and publishing games next year. You want the real story?
When I was little, my friend and I were obsessed with Castlevania. We were out at a restaurant having lunch with my parents, rambling on and on about the game. My father looked at us and said, "If you guys love video games so much... why not make one?"
Inspired, we literally ran to my friend's house. His father was a well to do construction guy and they had a computer. We spent the next several hours going all out to make the greatest game ever! Turns out, it was not possible to make a game in Microsoft Word (At least not in those early days of the 1st version of Windows).
Building games became a lifelong obsession. After years and a thousand never-completed games, I created a prototype for a weird, anything-goes fantasy game called AdventureQuest. My goal was to get just 100 people to play it 3 times (because if they played it less than that, that meant they did not like it.) THEN... I could say "I built a real game" and finally cross it off my life's goal list. But we did not get 100 players.... we got thousands, then hundreds of thousands, and then millions. Over the past 20 years over 200 million accounts have been created for the original AdventureQuest which is still updated every single week to this day. We grew an amazing team of creative people and made and continue to update a lot of other games too. You can see the things we are up to at www.Artix.com.

Weekly updates? Now THAT’S a quest

-You burst onto the homebrew scene with Dungeons & DoomKnights, but in truth you’re a veteran in gaming with popular franchises such as Adventure Quest and DragonFable, among others, under your belt. How would you describe your aesthetic?
My grandfather always says, "Don't take life too seriously, no one gets out of it alive." Our games are an anything goes casserole of the dark, fun, and funny.

-Have you noticed any changes in your style or game development preferences over the years?
Absolutely! Our path of game development has grown from 2D Flash games to 3D cross-play Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Games, to a new game for the 1985 NES. A straight line of upward technological progress.

-In your opinion, what makes Artix’s various games so popular? What makes for engaging stories and designs?
"Marketing! Get ready for AdventureQuest the Flamethrower. The Kids will love it!"
Our most popular games are updated weekly with new monsters, weapons, stories, and features. It is like releasing a free DLC every week... for each game. We would do this for Dungeons & DoomKnights too, but we are having a hard time getting everyone's NES console to connect to the internet.

-The “Dungeons & DoomKnights” name evokes that classic Dungeons & Dragons fantasy feel, not to mention the shared “D&D” abbreviation. Do you participate in Dungeons & Dragons campaigns? What about the genre resonates so strongly with you?
One of our backers officially coined it "D&DK". And... somewhat surprisingly, there are only two DoomKnights in Dungeons and DoomKnights. Which is at the heart of the game's somewhat tragic story.
I love classic tabletop role playing games. Most people do not know I am an avid collector of old school Dungeons & Dragons and Battletech games, books, and magazines. We were just joking around when we came up with the name for this game. It also sounded better than DoomKnighTech.
The fantasy genre offers complete freedom. You can encounter chickencows, dragons, find a crashed spaceship, and then raid a vampire infested castle. It is extremely freeing.

And I thought chicken fried steak was confusing enough already

-What tools do you use to create?
Dungeons and DoomKnights is a "Zeldavania" built on NESMaker 4.1.5 with an insane amount of custom 6502 Assembly language code. Also used Shiru's Screen tool a lot.
Our artist, Clarion, got us all hooked on using Asesprite for pixel art. We keep one GIANT master file with literally all the pixel art in the game in it-- then copy/pasta individual pieces out into the sprite sheets. We also love Pyxel for doing background tile sets and paths. Photoshop was used for everything else.
Jongaar & Broomtool did all 20 of the game's chiptune songs in FamiTracker. Not sure what they used to do the heavy metal remixes.
We have two discord servers. One is for backers where we release new ROMs for testing. The people there are AMAZING! We also have a discord server for the team. We meet there and work together in voice chat, sharing our screens, and rapidly hurling spiel art and code fragments back and forth at each other. Sorta like a 6502 ASM food fight.

-Artix’s games are generally designed for more modern platforms, what inspired you to develop a game for the NES?
A few years ago I was going through a real rough patch. Not making excuses but running a studio doing non-stop releases for as long as we do can really run you down. I was looking for something to re-spark my passion for video games. Went on a walk with a stick in the woods. Thought, "You know, I have my old Nintendo in storage... I should pull it out and raise my children 'classically'!"
As my kids were playing Kid Icarus, Simon's Quest, and Karnov I started wondering, "How did they even make these things?" I found the movie "The New 8-Bit Heroes" on Amazon Prime. It was a documentary about Joe Granato and his quest to build his childhood dream game. A little Google-fu revealed that 1) He lived just an hour away from me; and 2) He was working on a toolset for NES devs called NESmaker. So I purchased the software and entered his first ever "Byte-Off Challenge" which was a 1-month challenge to build an NES game.
That first version of NESmaker was pretty rough, and I was BLOWN AWAY by how friendly and inviting the members of their community were. It took me right back to those early days of the internet. Everyone on their forums went out of their way to help each other. People like Dale Coop, Kasumi, CutterCross, Chronicler of Legends, and countless others. I had found my happy place. Never would have bet, that at this stage of life, I would be learning 6502 Assembly XD. Or enjoying it so much.
My submission to that first Byte-Off was "Artix: Knight of the Living Dead". I had so much fun making it! Maybe too much. April 1st was coming, and every year we do jokes across our games. This year I made a post saying that "The next major game in the AdventureQuest series is coming... exclusively for the 1985 NES!" Everyone laughed. Until they clicked the link and saw it was real. We had launched a Kickstarter for Dungeons And DoomKnights: An 8-Bit AdventureQuest.

-If I’m not mistaken, Dungeons & DoomKnights was the first project from the NESmaker community brought to Kickstarter (aside from Mystic Searches). Did you feel any pressure being first out of the gate, helping introduce the community to a wider audience?
Oh yes... I jumped the gun. (and probably a few sharks)
Originally, Dungeons and DoomKnights was not intended to be a big project. We did not expect many backers. Just enough to do a small run of physical carts-- which would make it a fun and memorable project. The game itself was expected to be an expanded version of my Byte-Off submission with all the bugs fixed.
BUT......
Once the Homebrew community caught word of this, I came under heavy fire. Not just from them, even Joe Granato was mad at me. I had really jumped the gun. What I was doing had the potential of setting a super bad precedent and ushering in an age of NES shovelware. It was at that moment, I realized this was not just going to be an expanded version of my Byte-Off submission... it had to be the best game I have ever made. And from that moment on, that is what I was creating.
So if anyone wondered why my 2-month game project turned into 2+ years.... now you know. Once you play Dungeons and DoomKnights, you will instantly see the heart, love, and dedication put into it.

-Tell me about your creative process while working on Dungeons & DoomKnights?
For the past two years, I do my normal work in the days, have supper with the family, and then at 9:30pm (after the kids are Zzzzz) I work with Clarion on Dungeons and DoomKnights until ~1am. On weekends, if my mother takes the kids, I get two full days to focus on it.
The team has a Discord server. We join voice chat at night and share our screens while we work. We spend most of our time flinging files back and forth at each other. Dale Coop is in France, so as the testers encounter bugs and I have "great new ideas that are 100% certain not to break the game! (™)" I post them. It always shocks me when I wake up in the morning and he already fixed or added the feature.
The team has grown so much during this project. Clarion's art is my favorite part. We come up with monster ideas.... then I will do a really terrible stick figure that occupies the correct space of the sprite sheet. Then Clarion uses art wizard magic to make it look amazing. We jammed all of the monsters, NPCs, and weird things into that game that we could.

-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 was the intention behind Artix’s design? Do you see yourself in him?
Every single one of our previous games allows you to create a custom character, choose your name, and how you look. But there was no publicly accessible internet in 1985 and the NES could not connect to it even if there was. So, in Dungeons and DoomKnights, you are playing an alternate history where you (the hero from our other games) never existed. You play as Artix, a young "paladin" seeking to avenge the people of your town from the DoomKnight and his evil forces the undead. Along the way you meet popular characters, monsters, and locations from the AdventureQuest games.
And haha, yes... I have played Artix as my character in every game I have ever played since the 5th grade. Even wrote Artix as my middle name on my High School Diploma o_O. I really like the character. He represents everything I aspire to be.

-There are several photos of you in a full suit of armor (along with the Power Glove), where did you acquire it?
Oh. I live in a sorta castle-looking place. There is armor and swords all over the place here. If you are ever in Tampa, FL let me know so we can have you over for dinner.

It’ll be Medieval Times, the HOME VERSION. Wait, do I have to fight for my meal?

-Given the wider, interconnected AdventureQuest universe, are there any bits of story you want audiences to know that exist only in your head canon?
Gravelyn (pronounced Grave-Lynn) is the DoomKnight's daughter. She was raised in his flying undead castle. Being raised by zombies, ghosts, and ghouls, she probably does not realize she is actually.... alive. As a child of darkness, this path is the only one she has ever known. In Dungeons and DoomKnights she serves as your reluctant, yet seductive guide to dark powers through the game. But what there were literally 0 bytes of space left to communicate through text... is that her father truly loves her. Being a good dad sorta puts him at odds with his life's goal of conquering, eradicating the living, and annexing our world to the Plane of Darkness. It is entirely possible that some part of her father has been intentionally pushing for the "true ending" of the game to happen. Maybe he knew that out of her extreme desire for approval from him would cause her to create the circumstances that conclude the game-- any of them. That he might have done everything that happened in this game just to save her.

-How did you first connect with each member of the development team? What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with them?
I am so grateful to have all of these creative people in my life. Here is the short version of how I met each of the team. I love these guys so much.
Clarion - Had previously worked with us on the MechQuest game. Had not talked to him in a really long time and he mentioned liking pixel art. Asked him to join me in the Byte-Off and we have been working together ever since.
Dale Coop - I had been reading Dale Coop's solutions, code tips, and comments on the NESmaker forum. Everyone went to him for help. He had become quite a celebrity there. During the 1st Byte-Off Competition I ran into a problem and messaged him. Next thing you know I had watched all three seasons of Twin Peaks and took David Lynch's class on Master Class (not joking.) We became good friends. Dale and his family flew here from France and stayed with my family for a week. We went to visit the NESmaker studio together. This project would have never been possible without him. His young son created the Kubo series of game. My kids love Kubo 3. You should check it out if you have not already. Keep your eye on that boy... he is really something and if there was a stock on him, I would be all-in investing in it.
Ultimate Gilby - We were both members of the NESmaker community and somehow realized we only lived a half-hour away from each other. He came to the Secret Underground Lab (our office in Tampa... which does not actually have basements. Nothing has basements in Florida. It is all sand down there). For a D&DK live stream for backers. We became instant friends. He has been working on his upcoming NES project, Hazard.
Jongaar - I was at a restaurant having sushi with my wife. Bitcoin was surging at the time. I was looking at it on my phone. This fella with long blonde hair was sitting next to his girlfriend. He looked over and said, "Oh, you too?" and showed me his phone which had the same app open. I told him I did not know much about crypto currency yet. The Secret Underground Lab was located in the same plaza. So we all went to my office and he gave me a 3 hour long master class, setting me up to trade crypto. Then, he quit his job and joined Artix Entertainment full time as our Music and sound FX guy. When I told him I was doing an NES game and asked if he wanted to try, he said "HELL YEAH!"
Broomtool - Broomtool is Jongaar's longtime friend. He had been helping on the heavy metal mixes of the Dungeons and DoomKnights Soundtrack, and also working on the music for some of our other games. He is a super talented musician and joined us just in the last year.
Pixel Pete - In the early days of D&DK development, Pixel Pete did a lot of our background art. Many years ago, he had visited our lab while he was still a student. Later, he became a programmer on AdventureQuest 3D. He was a great guy to work with and we still keep in touch. He worked on D&DK while transitioning out to work on his personal dream project.
Dioz - Comic book cover artist with a long history of collaborations with Artix Entertainment, Dioz created Dungeons and DoomKnights cover.
Dage - Dage is a fan favorite artist of Artix Entertainment. We noticed his work from some of our art contests. We flew him to Florida and hired him on the spot. Despite his already massive workload, he has played an important role in keeping Dungeons and DoomKnights.... Dark.
FJ - Winner "Best Game" at the last Byte-Off, FJ is well known in the NESmaker community. His Pixel art is out of this world. He helped take our games art to the next level. It is probably bad form to talk about this publicly... but Clarion and FJ have an unspoken rivalry going. I think they keep pushing each other to new heights. Sorta like when Goku and Vegeta spar in DragonBall.
J6 - In the credits, J6 is listed as Executive Producer. We have no idea why. He said he wanted that title because ii means nothing X_X. I have been working with J6 for about 17 years. He has drawn art for nearly all of the Artix Entertainment games. Check out the wicked map he made in Dungeon and DoomKnight's instruction manual.
Stryche - We have an online store called HeroMart.com -- Stryche is in charge of it. He does the order fulfillment, creates new products, and puts things together for conventions. I first met him at Martial Arts. He was just a little kid at the time. When he became an adult, he was brought to the Lab by a mutual friend. We have around 47 full time employees at this time. Nearly a month later, I noticed he was working in the HeroMart room every day with orders. I asked our Controller, "Did we hire Stryche?" He replied, "No." We hired him. Next thing we knew Stryche was running the place. He is looking forward to assembling and shipping everyone their physical carts.
Glisel - As our coordinator, Glisel makes sure I am working on the things I am supposed to be working on. During the day, she is best described as a disembodied voice that haunts my home-office. When my children enter my home-office, at any time, they say "Hi Glisel!" ... even if Glisel is not online. Even know as I type this, you can hear her, "Artix, hurry up. You have a meeting in 10 minutes." #GhostsAreReal

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Dungeons & DoomKnights? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Challenges? Oh yes. O_O
Oh yes..........
I had been working 16+ hour days with no end of the project in sight. My other projects had fallen behind. We stumbled on what appeared to be unsolvable bug after unsolvable bug. The backers were getting restless. I had health problems. My grandmother passed away. Then I lost my father.
So if anyone reading this should find themselves in the horrors of "Project Hell" and everything feels like it is falling apart... here is a list of what I did to take Dungeons and DoomKnights it to the finish line:
●        Write your goals down on a piece of paper every day
Seriously.
●        Be brutally honest with your backers.
Be 100% transparent. It is OK to be cheery and optimistic, but always give it to them straight. They are a part of your project. They want to be aware of the bad times. And they want to be there with you when you push through and ultimately succeed. Because that will be their win too.
●        Create a Habit
I used to try to create everything in a burst. But it is better to create the habit of making progress every day. For BIG projects, persistence wins out.
●        See yourself finishing it in your head
I know it sounds cliche, but literally if you can see it, you can achieve it. I always need to see it done in my head before I do something (that I am actually going to finish.)
●        MicroSprints
When the going really gets tough, try chopping your giant project into super tiny pieces. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
●        Wear the Clothes you wore when you were last successful
Weird human hack. If you put on clothes that you associate wearing when you are doing something important, or super good-- it changes the way you feel and can make a huge improvement in your work.
●        Just do ONE next thing
Some days were so tough... that the only way I could get myself to do ANYTHING, was just to force myself to do one, super trivial, super simple thing. Then I would find I would just do the next thing, and the next thing, and before I knew it, I was back on a roll.
●        Start with a draft, make it work, then polish
At the start, I tried to make every screen perfect before moving onto the next. A far better strategy is to make a draft. Then make rapid edits to the draft. Get it working. Then go back and do a super round of polish to make it shine at the end.
●        Reading instead of TV at night
I find that when I read at night, instead of watching TV, my mind is better rested, and I am more productive the next day.
●        Reduce Coffee, Increase Water
I tend to constantly increase the amount of coffee I drink.... Thinking that more = better. Turns out, water makes the coffee work better. Reducing the coffee to 3 cups a day and adding lots of good water = more mental boost.
●        Hire a Coach
At the deepest pit of my project hell, I hired a time Management Coach to help me get my schedule in order. Feels weird to say I needed help, but at that time I sure did. Of course, there are books out there that can do the same thing or finding an equally passionate peer who is working hard on their project can help motivate and drive you too.
●        Make unmovable deadlines
For a big project that you have 100% control over, one of the BEST ways to push it hard to the finish line, is to have hard deadlines that you cannot move. Sorta like when that book report is due Friday, and it is Thursday night XD.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
We have new releases for all of our major games every week.
After the physical Dungeons and DoomKnights are shipped to backers, I would like to make a 3DSen version, and wrap it in an executable that we can publish on Steam.
This year's big project is a Mobile & Steam port of our most popular game, AdventureQuest Worlds (www.AQ.com). We have been working like crazy on this project.
Also in the background, we have been semi-secretly working with a company that builds robotic prosthetic limbs for children. We are building a little interactive game to help teach how to use the arms.
Please do check out the new stuff we are doing at www.Artix.com

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I am really hoping Dimension Shift gets finished. It has the most beautiful art. I am really looking forward to playing all of the game demo's being released in the NESmaker community next month. They are going to be showcasing a ton of games at the Midwest Gaming Classic. I know FJ is working on something special for the show.

Screenshot from Dimension Shift

-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 so much! I hope there is something of value here for everyone reading this. I am going to attend the Midwest Gaming Classic convention this November. I think there are going to be some NESmaker events. So if you or anyone reading this is going to be there, would love to meet! Drop me a message at any of the social media accounts below.
BATTLE ON!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtixKrieger
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/artixkrieger
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artix/
Itch.io: https://artixgames.itch.io
Discord: https://www.artix.com/Discord
Website: https://www.Artix.com

Dale Coop
@Dale_Coop
-Before we dive into Dungeons & DoomKnights, let’s catch up! How have you been since we talked about Kubo 3? How’s Seiji?
Seiji and I are doing very well, thank you. I hope you and the readers are too. Seiji is now 9 years old, growing up and is quite busy with school and hobbies.

-Between the work you do on yours and others’ games, and Seiji’s work, is there a friendly father-son rivalry between you two?

Haha... no, not really.
Seiji and I are not really in competition. He creates worlds, characters, stories and uses the tools at his disposal for that. Me, I'm more in the shadow, I code what creators like Seiji need (in order to use in NESmaker)... It's more of a complementary job.
I'm happy and very proud that Seiji can go ahead with his projects and realize his ideas. I don't know what he will do in the future. I don't push him, we continue to work together sometimes when he asks, when he has ideas. But he has many other interests.
The rest of the time, I work on other projects.

-At one point during Kevin Hanley’s NES Spectrum Marathon, we were talking in the chat, and you mentioned that at one point, you were working on 5 different games at once! Can you tell us more about what you’re working on? How do you juggle so many projects at once?
Exactly, until a few days ago, I had 5 projects in progress on which I was working...
First of all, there is "ZDey the Game" by Art'Cade, a nice little project for the street artist Tim Zdey who wanted a simple NES game, short, scoring, very arcade... for the ZDey arcade cabinet (made by Art’cade). This is a commission. The project started in 2019, there were a few months of sleep. But we finished the game recently. The official release took place a few days ago at an event organized in Paris. The arcade cabinet is beautiful and seeing my game running on it is a great pride.

Screenshot from Zdey by Art’cade
Since last year, I'm also working on "REKNUM Souls Adventure" from Nape Games, a small adventure platformer. Having been called on the previous project, PLOID, as a consultant coder, I naturally joined this new project to manage all the code this time. We have finished the game and are currently in the beta phase.
A project I'm also helping out is my friend Raftronaut's (Jordan Davis) project: "Arcade Raft". It's the arcade version of his famous game “Space Raft” released last year. Jordan is a very close friend and I'm happy to code anything he wants for his project(s). He also helps me with the musical part of my personal projects.
Oh! Of course (as I said before), I continue to work with Seiji. At the moment, we are finishing KUBO 1 & 2, a small cartridge which would gather his first 2 demos. It's a very small project, but Seiji wanted to make some small changes (or rather additions). It takes time because with Seiji, we work only a couple of hours per month. I can announce that it's finished, we just have to finalize the packaging (and manual) and then see what we can do with our friend Broke Studio (probably a very small print! for the fans).
On my side, I have one or two personal projects that I'm not really working on, due to lack of time or motivation... haha. But one day, maybe.
And finally, "Dungeons & Doomknights" from Artix Entertainment on which I've been working for 2 years, it's a "Zeldavania" game in the AdventureQuest universe, Adam Bohn (aka Artix) proposed me to join his team in this wonderful project, as main coder. And after some delays (Covid,...) the game is now finished and should be released in a few days. Can’t wait, it’s really an amazing project.
5 projects, it may seem like a lot, but they are long term projects. I work alternatively on each of them, depending on the feedback I receive or new ideas. Sometimes the priorities change. I am lucky that these projects take their time and have the people I work with are really kind. I could not have worked on projects with a pressure, or a release date too close, ...
Moreover, I don't work for money or fame, I accept projects that inspire me, passionate people and with whom I connect well. All the people I worked with have become very good friends.
And... I give little help, from time to time, on projects when I'm asked (recent example, some graphic glitch corrections on "Plummet Challenge Game" from Fista Productions).

-You’ve become an authority figure in the NESmaker community for your skills and advice. How does it feel to be looked up to by so many homebrewers?
It makes me happy, of course. I am flattered. But that is not my motivation. When I started developing in Assembly, I knew nothing about it. I discovered NESmaker and started like everyone else by following the tutorials and asking for help on the forum. I learned a lot from the community. After a while, I started to answer questions, in my turn and gave back the advice that I was given... and more. It's normal and I'm very happy to help if/when I can.
This "recognition" allowed me to meet interesting people, passion projects, ... And still today, people come to talk to me thanks to this, I am flattered and so grateful.
Often, I feel the impostor syndrome and am afraid of the day when the world will realize that I don't deserve all this. Because, honestly, I don't think I do such a good job. Haha...
The NESmaker community is growing every day, we now have many talented coders, much more skilled than me. Many of them share and help. I am happy. It's a very nice community.

-Do you have a different approach/attitude toward the games you work on for yourself compared to those for which you are commissioned? Is the experience of developing them different?
Not really. Whether it's a project I've been commissioned for or a more personal project, in both cases I spend a lot of time coding, fixing bugs and trying to implement new features useful to the project.
But, it's true that for a personal project, I'm more tempted to test more risky code ideas and try experimenting... and when it works well, with some hindsight, I can more easily propose and reuse it on other projects.
For example, on one of my personal projects, I had the idea of not using the NESmaker screen editor for designing my cutscenes and instead creating the screens in the NES Screen Tool (made by Shiru… I love that tool). Then, I would import those data into my project with some custom routines. This allowed me to overcome some of the limitations of NESmaker (the number and size of tiles available). I then reused that code in ZDey and in Dungeons & Doomknights.

-What was the working dynamic like with the rest of the development team?
It was a great pleasure (and an honor) to work with these talented people. Artix managed all the tasks, the progress and who had to do what. We have a server Discord where we chat every day... it keeps us on track and informed of everyone's progress.
Generally, I was given a list of tasks to code (implement, modify or correct).
I live in France, not in the same time zone than the other team members. We try to meet on the Discord. But usually when they log in to work, my day is over and I go to bed... and when I log in to work, everyone is already in bed. Haha… some days we sync’d our working time.
A very memorable moment, for me, last year, I went to Florida, I was welcomed by Artix. He has become a very close friend. He showed me around his area, his world and we got to work a little bit on DnDK together, irl. It was in February 2020, only a few days before the world situation we all know! (the Covid pandemic … for all the people from 2046 who are reading that interview)

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in programming Dungeons & DoomKnights? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
We had many little challenges and surprises... Artix will surely tell some of them. On my side, the biggest challenge was to set up the save system, at the beginning of the project. Indeed, by default the games created with NESmaker do not offer a way to save your progress. Thanks to the forum, Kasumi and FrankenGraphics gave me all the help I needed to implement this in Dungeons & Doomknights. I also implemented a small selection system for it.
The save system can't really be generalized (that's why it's not proposed in NESmaker, I guess) because the information to save is project-specific. Of course there are some general information like the position in the map or in the screen or maybe the number of lives... but depending on the project, some people use and want to save the number of HP, coins, ammo, hp, character level, skills, ... all this depends on the features used/implemented in the project. The variables to save are quite different from one project to another.
Another concern we had was the limitation of the number of monsters. In NESmaker, we can only have 64 monsters (including NPCs)... this is a limitation of the software. But in a game like Dungeons & Doomknights, this is not enough. So Artix had to idea we could implement a system of "skins" (different tilesets for different screens), so that the same NPC object could be reused many times and look different each time. That one of the kind of things we had… I won't even mention all the little bugs we had that kept us busy for days. Working with Artix was a pleasure, he is a coder too, but above all he has the experience of managing a dev team on a game. That helps a lot.
Often, it was Artix himself who came up with ideas for features, or workarounds,...
In the end, discussing and finding compromises is what allowed us to move forward.

I mean, it seems like you all figured it out pretty well

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
Most of my current projects have just ended or will end in a few days. So I'm entering in a quieter period... good for reflection or experimentations on my personal projects.
I remain open to any request for collaboration or commission on small personal or artistic projects.
I don't really have a dream project, I'm already working on projects that I like.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I can't wait to have a copy of Alwa's Awakening in my hands. This game is beautiful (I played a bit with the demo). Brad Smith and Elden Pixels did an amazing job.
There is also Full Quiet from Retrotainment Games that I am looking forward to.

Screenshot of Alwa’s Awakening by Elden Pixels

-Your signature on each forum belong to includes a quote that all you need is a “damn fine cup of coffee.” What makes a damn fine cup of coffee for you? Any companies you like in particular? How do you take your coffee?
Haha, yes, coffee is my work companion. I always have a cup of coffee with me, all day long.
I take my coffee black, no sugar and hot. I don't like it too strong. I don't have a particular brand. I like to discover coffee from all over the world. I really liked coffee when I was in the USA (it was the first time for me and my family). I'm pretty used to the coffee that we have here in France.

-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, Sean. It's a pleasure to answer your questions.
Everyone run out and get your NES cartridge of Dungeons & Doomknights! And more seriously, keep supporting the NES homebrew scene, its creators, the artists. It's wonderful.
Thanks to all of you.

Clarion
@Clarion_AE
-Before we dive into Dungeons & DoomKnights, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a pixel artist? What is the origin story of Clarion?
As a child I grew up playing the consoles that were passed down to me so I kind of got a chronological introduction to video games, at least starting with the NES. I started to draw characters in MS Paint and actually had a background in the Sonic fan community for most of my youth making custom Sonic sprites.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
For as long as I can remember, I had always looked up to Adam (Artix) so it’s really been a lifelong dream of mine to be able to work with Artix Entertainment. As for who I’m watching now? There are a few creators that I follow pretty closely. Paul Robertson, Toby Fox, Yacht Club Games, Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya and Joakim “Konjak” Sandberg to name a few.

-Do you feel your artwork has a signature aesthetic that is uniquely you? How would you describe the feel of your work?
If I were to describe my aesthetic it would be a cross between Mega Man and Scott Pilgrim vs the World. I really like cute things but... COOL cute things. I'm often told I make things too cute looking.

Even if it makes you think about death and feel sad and stuff

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel art and game animation stand out?
I think style and colour go a long way and can make up for shortcomings easily. I'm a sucker for really nice colour combinations.

-What tools do you use to create?
For most of my life I've used MS Paint but years back I had switched to Aseprite as far as pixel art goes. However I'm also versed in Adobe Flash, Photoshop, Procreate and Clip Studio Paint.

-Do you have a preference for creating a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
I don't really have a preference for creating on a particular platform, Genuinely I just enjoy making things. The process of making pixel art for a NES game did bring up limitations though, mostly with planning for size and colour restrictions.

-Tell me about your creative process while working on Dungeons & DoomKnights? 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 NES?
This might be a little unorthodox, but I didn't really do much concept art on paper for this project I kind of doodled around until I got what I was looking for. For maintaining details you really just need to make sure you make the core features of a character pop, even if you have to over exaggerate them a bit.

Nothing wrong with doodling

-What was the working dynamic like with the rest of the development team?
We're all friends so it was pretty great, everyone gets along pretty well and knowing we were working together on this project formed a really great comradery.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Dungeons & DoomKnights? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
When things are daunting you kind of have to just do it. It can be intimidating staring at a blank page but the moment you start getting the ball rolling things get easier.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
Currently I'm working on Adventure Quest 3D, which is our cross-platform MMORPG playable on PC and Mobile Devices and picking away at a personal project on the side which might count as a dream project.

-Your Twitter feed includes some fun creations using licensed characters like the Power Rangers, Master Chief, and even Garfield. If you could be commissioned to work on a licensed game, what IP would you want it to be?
This might sound strange but I've not really thought too much about working on many different IPs. I've always preferred the idea of making my own stuff but if I had to pick something I think it would be Shovel Knight.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
There's two projects I could think of off the top of my head that I'm looking forward to giving a shot. Firstly would be Chaos Between Realms by FJ, and HAZARD: Let us Out by UltimateGilby.

Screenshot from Chaos Between Realms 2020 Byte-Off Demo by FJ

-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'd genuinely just like to thank you for giving me a platform to talk about Dungeons & DoomKnights and for everyone taking the time to read this. Thank you so very much!

Jongaar
@Jongaar_AE
-Before we talk about Dungeons & DoomKnights, 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 the origin story of Jongaar?
Hello! Thanks for having me as a guest!
When I was younger, I picked up the guitar and really enjoyed figuring out how to play metal music. Eventually I discovered a genre of metal called folk metal and I fell in love with that sound. While learning how to write music in that style, I started scoring orchestral arrangements to accompany the guitar riffs I played. Fast forward a decade later and now I'm composing video game music with a lot of similarities to folk metal!
How I got started at Artix Entertainment is pretty unique. In 2017, I was at the sushi bar in my favorite restaurant, and I heard someone sitting next to me mention something about cryptocurrency. I just got into trading and found the whole concept pretty neat. I asked him “Are you into it too?” and we shared some laughs. We talked for a while and then he handed me his business card. The art on it looked so familiar... I put two and two together and realized he was the creator of games I once played as a kid. We ended up hanging out after dinner and from there, our friendship began.

A few months later I had a random idea; I sent a text message to Artix and asked him if there was an official “AQ3D theme song” for a fun project I had in mind. He sent me an orchestral track which I ended up adding guitars, bass, and drums to, turning it into a “metal” song. Artix loved it! He extended the opportunity to have a go at composing music for one of his games, AdventureQuest 3D, and thus the creation of my alias Jongaar!

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
There are a lot of composers that I think really permeated into my writing style -Jari Mäenpää, Henri Sorvali, Jeremy Seoule, and Grant Kirkhope just to name a few!

Jari Mäenpää, or quite possibly Jongaar after he shaves

-Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
When I write music, I find myself using a lot of guitar-like phrasing to pull the listener through different parts of a song. I enjoy writing a few themes per track and then doing what I can to make them shine, favoring a horizontal style of composition. This approach helped immensely when writing for the NES.

-You’re an outspoken lover of folk metal, what about that genre resonates so strongly with you?
Hahaha yes! I really enjoy folk metal because it's so thematic and exciting. It often tells the tales of heroes, epic journeys, or otherworldly adventures through folkish instruments and lyrics paired with metal music. I love the energy.

-In your opinion, what makes for compelling video game music?
Hmm... in my opinion… anything with a hook that has a purpose. Whether it is trying to represent a desert with music, or an ice capped mountain, if it's “stuck in your head” I enjoy it.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
For most of the music I write as well as sound effects, I use Reaper. Dungeons DoomKnights was a little different as I had to use FamiTracker.

Providing yet another good reason people should not fear The Reaper

-Tell me about the development of Dungeons & DoomKnights’ music, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose more traditional music?
The developmental process was a journey - there were a lot of late nights Artix and I spent together implementing changes and tweaks to our audio files to get them to work properly. Some nights were wins where we celebrated, other nights were the opposite... Still we continued!
It was always exciting whenever Clarion would have a new set of sprites to get inspiration from, his pixel artwork influenced the music so much. I owe a huge thanks to CutterCross, a pinnacle of help and information for the NESmaker community, for their aid while wading through the waters of NESmaker and FamiTracker. Halfway through the developmental process we added another member to the audio team, Broomtool. Broomtool has been a tremendous help - he scored several tracks and sound effects as well as handled a majority of the audio engineering and made the audio fit on the ROM. We have worked together for several years but bringing him on board to the D&DK team really brought the audio to the next level. Thanks, Broomtool!
In regard to my creative process while composing traditional tracks and chiptunes, they are pretty similar, I write some melodies and stack them up with accompanying parts. I had to be really mindful of the rhythms when writing in FamiTracker to make the tracks loop correctly.

-Your work with Artix Entertainment spans a wide assortment of platforms for its games. How does your approach to composition compare between the NES and composing for modern platforms with different restrictions?
The biggest difference would definitely be the limitations the NES has when it comes to what sounds you can produce and how many. Modern composing is nearly limitless, you can have hundreds of tracks while with the NES you're limited to just a few.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Dungeons & DoomKnights? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I never expected that the first track I would write for the game would take up so much space. I quickly realized how important it is to use as little memory as possible. Some tips I can give are to keep things simple. If you’re stuck writing, work on your percussion, once it’s laid out the track is a lot easier to see. Cutting out notes in busy sections saves memory and can make interesting harmonies.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I’ll be honest, I’m a little bit out of the loop for homebrew games currently in development, but I've seen a few shared within some discord channels that look awesome! When I have some more time to play I'd love to check some of them 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?
Thank you for inviting me to this interview! I had a great time sharing some stories!
Oh yeah, one more thing! Check out our remixed version of our soundtrack if you’d like to hear the Dungeons & DoomKnights chiptunes arranged as metal tracks. Broomtool and I shared a lot of fun nights recording and putting together that album and would love for you to give it a listen! Look out for the remixes on music streaming platforms when Dungeons and DoomKnights is released. Thanks again!
- Jongaar

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series whose quest is to fetch the behind-the-scenes info that led to your favorite new homebrew games. What are your thoughts on Dungeons & DoomKnights its talented development team? Have you played any of the other AdventureQuest 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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Episode 15: The Curse of Illmoore Bay

By Scrobins, July 8, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 15: The Curse of Illmoore Bay

Introduction:
The growth of the homebrew community and availability of homebrew game carts is largely thanks to the savvy of a handful of people who have made the herculean effort of establishing supply chains to manufacture and publish cartridges for other brewers in addition to their own games. Among these titans of industry are RetroUSB, InfiniteNESLives, Broke Studio, the 6502 Collective, and Second Dimension, which has developed and published homebrew games across multiple consoles since the community’s infancy.
For this entry, I’m breaking another console barrier to cover Second Dimension’s latest games over the course of two episodes. With this post I’m covering The Curse of Illmoore Bay, an action platformer for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. As of the time of this writing, initial Kickstarter backers have had their pledges fulfilled and the physical and rom releases can be purchased here, as well as downloaded on Steam here.

CIB, the total package

Development Team:
Adam Welch: project lead, programming, story
Jav Leal de Freitas: graphics, story, regular edition cover art
Sebastian “Tacha” Abreu: music
Armen Mardirossian: limited edition cover art

Game Evolution:
The Curse of Illmoore Bay was first promoted under the working title “Project: Halloweenville” when development threads for the game were created on Sega-16 on January 20, 2019 and on NintendoAge on January 23, 2019. Adam would post teasers including gameplay and highlighted features to entice gamers.

Screenshot from Project: Halloweenville
A Kickstarter campaign for The Curse of Illmoore Bay launched a few months later on May 17, 2019. Backer tiers included a digital version of the game; the game’s rom; a cart-only option; a standard edition CIB; a limited edition CIB with a cloth map, stickers, and character inserts; a developer edition with the limited edition CIB, a late beta PCB, and beta tester/Discord access; and options to become a level boss or a third playable character in the game. Within 24 hours the campaign had reached its initial funding goal, and by the end of the campaign 237 backers pledged more than $17,000 toward the game. The total blew through several stretch goals, unlocking access to a digital version of the game, a boss rush mode, and a 2-player alternating mode.

Gameplay Overview:
The Curse of Illmoore Bay describes itself as a horizontal scrolling action platformer. You have your choice to play as Cole, Scarlett, or Issa: Illmoore’s legendary (but also forgotten) protectors, resurrected to defend the town from nightmares come alive, all thanks to a disgruntled mall Santa.

♬ I won’t ask for much this Christmas, I won’t even wish for snow,
if Santa would just take these demons back down to the hell below ♬
Each character can jump, perform a melee attack (punch for Cole, kick for Scarlett and Issa), and use a special attack when selected, depending on your progress in the game. Basic controls are intuitive for anyone who has ever played a Genesis game: left/right on the d-pad moves you back and forth, down allows you to duck, up enters doorways, the A button unleashes your special attack/ability, the B button allows you to jump, and the C button is your normal melee attack.
Where Illmoore shines is the added complexity to gameplay revealed through its unlockable content. Like any solid platformer, Illmoore includes collectible items that can replenish your health and energy (for special attacks) as well as increase your max health. Among these collectibles are unlockable abilities that broaden gameplay. If you press Start at the beginning of the game, you will notice the Ability Wheel, and the Shot ability which is already unlocked. Medallions hidden throughout the game unlock more abilities (that I won’t spoil) which will allow you to go back to previous levels and reach every item and enemy you couldn't get to before. And just to be clear, getting that 100% game completion status isn’t a mere bragging right with the "satisfaction of doing a good job" kind of accomplishment: there are 18 awards to be won by players diligent enough to explore the entire game.

Writer’s Review:
Despite the cartoony 16-bit platforming reminiscent of the silly but simple games of our youth, The Curse of Illmoore Bay is deceptively challenging. Second Dimension put forth a game that takes everything you liked about such games as a kid, but knowing you’re an adult now, upping the ante accordingly. As mentioned earlier, the unlockable abilities open access to areas of levels that were just out of reach before, which means many levels will make you questions your sanity because you aren’t able to jump up to a platform where another item or level exit floats, yet. This is the game’s clever way or telling you that levels are meant to be played more than once and you should keep an eye out for anything that would justify a little backtracking. As someone who freely admits he is not the best gamer, this was a frustrating lesson to internalize. But the more I played, the more I understood how to actually play, and then instead of crying “why can’t I go up there?!?”, I would just think “ooh I wonder when I’ll find whatever enables me to come back and finish this stage.” Also thank goodness for this game saving my progress after each level.

Screenshot from The Curse of Illmoore Bay
Some of my excited frustration probably also comes from the energetic soundtrack, with its fast-paced chiptune; the beats make me feel like I’m doing the game a disservice if I slow down for even a second. This game makes me want to play cautiously, but the music seems to dare me, taunting me to be bolder, no matter how many game over's I may get. The music possesses that classic bunch of deep tones you can only find in Genesis games, with a 90s rock feel that reminded me of Comix Zone mixed with some of that ToeJam & Earl zaniness. Meanwhile the graphical art sets a colorful atmosphere full of fun animations between the active environment and the various enemies adorably waiting to kill you. It’s almost a shame you have to send those demons back to hell. Indeed, The Curse of Illmoore Bay would have fit comfortably among licensed-era Genesis titles; I know I would have woken up early on Saturday to play the hell out of it.

Interviews:
Because the development teams for The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden overlap significantly, I decided to interview Illmoore’s team about both games, saving the remaining members for part 2 of this series, which will focus more on Eyra.

Adam Welch
@alteredimension
-Before we dive into The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Second Dimension and its predecessor Airwalk Studios?
Like most people, ever since I was a little kid, I have always wanted to make a video game. It would be until I was in my late 20’s when I would eventually take the plunge. I had bought my house the previous year with my then girlfriend, but we had split shortly after.
That left me living largely out of my savings as I had not planned on paying the bills solely on my own.
Winter was soon approaching, and New England winters can be brutal, which means it becomes costly to heat your home. I was basically choosing to either eat or pay the oil man. Thinking of what I could do to try and earn some money, all that was left was “new old school games seem to be in, so why not give that a go?”
At the time, I believe Battle Kid was just released, and Pier Solar was on the horizon. I started looking at programming languages to make these games and was hoping to find a language that was familiar enough for me to learn easily. Assembly was foreign to me. I had very little experience with it in school (in fact, we used basically an open circuit board that had a PS/2 plug for a keyboard on it, and a small LCD display that could hold 1 line of text with a maximum of 20 characters or so, and only 2 registers), so that eliminated the NES right off the bat.
I wanted to check out SNES programming, but documentation back then was scarce, difficult to understand (at least for me), and it was still largely assembly.
That is when I stumbled upon BEX (Basiegaxorz, a BASIC compiler) and Stef’s SGDK C compiler, both for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. I used BASIC near daily at the time for work, and I was familiar enough with C to feel confident to learn SGDK, but I went for the option I was more familiar with.
Learning the syntax and how to work the console, I was left to figure out what kind of game could I make? Well, that game ended up being Hangman SG. I cobbled together the game over the course of a weekend and presented it to the world… or the NintendoAge/SegaAge forums. The Nolan Bros, who coincidentally lived within an hour and a half drive, offered to do the first manufacturing run for me (for free!). They really helped save my skin so I could afford to heat my home that year.
The name Airwalk Studios was named after my favorite shoes when I was a teenager, and somewhere in 2015 or 2016 it was changed to Second Dimension after throwing some ideas around with arch_8ngel (I’m pretty sure he’s the one that suggested it).

The Airwalk Studios Logo

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
When it comes to making games, Miyamoto is the first one that pops in my head. The way he world-builds and pays attention to some of the most abstract details is just amazing, and it really shows in his work.
For story writing, musical compositions, and world building (again), I’m going to cheap out on this answer and say all of the 80’s and 90’s Square Soft teams (and by extension, Enix’s Dragon Quest teams). RPG’s were my jam, and the way I would get immersed into the story and the world I was exploring when I was a kid was amazing.
Inafune is also a pretty big influence. The Mega Man franchise on the NES was one of my favorites. The stories were pretty simplistic, but had that “cool!” factor to them – I mean, who doesn’t like the idea of being a robot and taking powers from other robots? But the main influence is how tightly these games were designed. The controls are spot on, the enemies, AI, bosses, power-ups, etc., all designed wonderfully.
As for whose work I’m closely following these days – that’s a tough one. I haven’t followed anyone mainstream in quite some time (though I do occasionally check out Jack Black’s gaming vids), but mostly other developers who share the same interests and passions as Second Dimension - CollectorVision, White Ninja Studio, Bits Rule Games, and Mega Cat just to name a few.
I also check out Kikuta’s music from time to time as well, to see what he’s been up to as his music is basically the soundtrack of my “coming of age” years.

-You burst onto the homebrew scene with Hangman SG, and have since worked on an array of homebrew games, how would you describe your aesthetic?
That’s a tough question – I generally don’t have anything in particular that I do, though I’ve started hiding (sometimes very obvious) some sort of connection to my real life into the games somehow.

-Have you noticed any changes in your style or game development preferences over the years?
Definitely. As our projects get more involved, and we learn more and gain more experience, we’re able to accomplish a lot more than we used to be able to. The evolution of tools (both in-house and tools other developers create and share) help play a big role in that, as well as the community of developers who are more than happy to help and share ideas and tips.

-Another fascinating aspect of Second Dimension is that you are involved with homebrew games across multiple consoles. What has led you to transcend consoles when many other brewers prefer to stick to one console?
I view gaming in the same way as I view music – the genre generally doesn’t matter as long as the song/album/whatever I’m listening to is good and I can relate to it somehow. I grew up with the Atari 2600, NES, Sega Genesis, and SNES, though admittedly, the 2600 was very short lived and I only have 1 or 2 memories of playing it.
The NES and Genesis, though, I have tons of memories with friends and family. Same with SNES once I finally got one. Having these sentimental bonds with these consoles, I just wanted to do what I could to either make a game or help make a game on these consoles that might give someone some cool memories with their friends and families when playing a new game.

-Do you have a favorite console you prefer to program for?
Well, aside from PC, I only program for the Sega Genesis. I’ve had to outsource the other projects on other consoles. So, I guess yeah, because I only program for one 😛

-What tools do you use to code?
I use SecondBASIC (www.sbasic.net) for the programming language. It’s built off of the Basiegaxorz ASM library. I created SecondBASIC as BEX was seemingly abandoned by its author, and with the permission of the author, I was able to use that library to build SecondBASIC/SecondBASIC Studio.
For graphics, I use PXL Workshop – another tool I’ve created, that lets you create multi-layered graphics for the Sega Genesis, creates optimized tile maps, and some other handy features.
And lastly, I made a map editor called Magellan, which handles the map, tiles, meta tiles, and objects.

Magellan at work, building levels for the Genesis iteration of Eyra-The Crow Maiden

-In addition to programming games, you also publish games from other developers. What services does Second Dimension advertise to potential clients? Who do you wish to attract with your services?
I do production runs for customers (make them CIB’s for them to sell on their websites), make boxes, websites, and even commission work to make games for others.
We try to be as accommodating for as much as we can.

-Do the permanent members of Second Dimension have particular roles or specialties? What does the division of labor look like on a given project?
They sure do! Second Dimension is 2 people – Jav and myself.
The division of labor looks something like this:
·         Myself:
o   Game Design
o   Story Writing
o   Website related work (new domains if applicable, updating main website, etc.)
o   Social Media
o   Programming
o   Trailer creating/directing
o   Prepping print materials (manuals, box templates, labels, etc.)
o   Manufacturing
·         Jav:
o   Game Design
o   Story Writing
o   Social Media
o   Pixel Art
o   Box/Manual Art
o   Artwork for the trailer
o   Concept design/art
Of course, this is just a rough outline. Each project demands different tasks and workloads, but these are the more normalized task list we both have.

-Is Second Dimension hiring? Are you looking to bring on more partners, generally or with particular skills, to expand your capabilities?
We’re not actively looking to bring anyone on, but if an opportunity comes up, we’re always ready to talk about it, ya know?

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden, especially given that there were effectively 3 distinct development teams for each console Eyra would be published for? How difficult is it managing development teams producing the same game for different consoles given the unique challenges inherent to the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis?
The working dynamic was awesome. We had lots of fun with creating Illmoore, and same with Eyra.
With Illmoore, we knew where we wanted to go with the game. We had the idea, we had the concept, but 99% of the development was off-the-cuff. There was probably a dozen power-ups we had thought of, and some we tried, but decided to cut because they weren’t fundamentally compatible with the overall game, or they were very burdensome to get working properly. The story was written in a very ad-hoc manner as well.
Eyra is more straightforward, though, a lot (on the Genesis side at least) is still very ad-hoc. We’re trying to keep the SNES version as straightforward with the NES version, and that’s a lesson in “buckling down and getting all the details straight” for me, because that’s not how I normally do things.
Managing the teams is just conversation among friends. I don’t like being the “hard-ass” boss and I want to let everyone have as much creative freedom as possible, and I think that makes for a better end result. If folks don’t enjoy the project and process, it shows. Even if we don’t put out a blockbuster, we still want people to enjoy it and I don’t think that’s possible if we didn’t enjoy making it.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden as opposed to previous projects from a programming perspective? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Ugh. Illmoore gave me a nasty surprise at the end of development – it didn’t work at all on PAL consoles. On top of that, there’s a nasty bug in the audio driver that has the potential to freeze the console. Right when I thought I had finished the game, that reared its ugly head and I’m pretty sure I had heartburn and night sweats for a month and a half straight.
The biggest lesson I learned with that is no matter how much you think you know, don’t be afraid to ask for help. That doesn’t just apply to programming, and sometimes we just need that little reminder.

-You also got actor Danny Tamberelli to provide voice acting for The Curse of Illmoore Bay, how did that come about? Was there an existing connection between you two?
Honestly, it was a shot in the dark. I wanted to try and get someone that I think would enjoy the theme of the game, and if possible, someone who was influential back then. There were a few people and agents I had spoken to but being brand new to the world of SAG contracts/projects, there were some hurdles and roadblocks.
So, about to give up, I wrote some final contacts I had and got a response from Danny (and much, much later, Michael Maronna). While I couldn’t get Michael on board (largely because the project was nearly finished at that time and I was already over budget), it was still great to chat with him about retro games.

Talking with the Pete’s about retro games may be the most 90s thing I’ve ever heard

-The Kickstarters for both games were wildly successful, meeting their initial funding goals in less than 24 hours, blowing past several stretch goals, and getting special praise from Kickstarter. How does it feel to bask in such support?
Honestly, it’s still surreal to me. It’s amazing that there are people out there that like what we’re doing, and I’m very thankful and grateful for every single fan out there.
One of my childhood best friends and I talk about how crazy it all is from time to time. If you told me when I was a kid that I would be making video games, I’d have been excited, but also not believed you. If you told me back when I made Hangman SG that I’d be a part of something like Illmoore or Eyra, I wouldn’t have believed you back then, either.

Screenshot from Hangman SG

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
The Project Creation Center is always brainstorming new ideas all the time, and while we have a few cool ideas in the works, the main one we’re excited for is Affinity Sorrow, which is going to be our next campaign. We’ll have some really crazy news about it when the time comes.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Phantom Gear is probably one of the big ones I’m very interested in playing, same with Irena. There are also a few others out there that aren’t revealed yet, so I can’t say too much about those titles.
Really, any new game that comes out I’m interested in giving a play. People put their hard efforts in, and I’d like to show them as much support as I can.

-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 interview!
And to the readers and fans – thank you. Without you, there wouldn’t be Second Dimension.

Javier Leal
@Pixel_Javi
-Before we dive into The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Jav?
Well. I've been working on video games for 15 years or something like that. I've been drawing since I can remember, studied art, photography, Graphic Design and 3D animation so all of that combined with the fact that I've been also gaming for most of my life, it felt natural to make video games. Developing games has been the only work I've been able to fully enjoy ever. Back in 2006 I founded a local game company with a couple of friends where we made educational and advertising games. After a decade or so we started drifting apart, each one to our preferred styles and platforms. Since I was already leaning heavily into pixel art and retro games by then it felt natural that I ended making homebrew. I really like working with all the restrictions and limited resources it implies because I found it requires a lot of creativity and that feels good.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
It's hard for me to pinpoint any person in particular that has influenced me (I need to work on that), but some names that definitely need to be mentioned are Koji Igarashi, Tom Kalinske, Gary Gygax, Akira Toriyama, Bruce Timm, Tim Burton, Gunpei Yokoi... IDK I try to learn something from everyone.
I have a habit of playing as many games as I can regardless of them being good or bad, and if I like them or not, just to study them and find out what works and what doesn't, for me and in general.
I usually love the work of Wayforward and Tribute games and I also pay attention to games published by Devolver Digital. Also, I'm always combing Twitter in search for cool indie games, artists and devs, especially if they work on homebrew for old consoles.

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Not really, I don't feel unique or special in that sense. I've never felt that I have a style or an aesthetic, I just try to adapt my art as much as I can to the needs of the project, which I think comes from my graphic design training. Right now my aesthetic would be "16-bit 90s games" or something like that. My sprites and drawings for Illmoore were really cartoony and right now I'm making some Japanese-styled pixel art and manga illustrations for our next project (Not that I can pull that style flawlessly, but I try).

Backgrounds to boss stages from The Curse of Illmoore Bay designed by Jav

-Have you noticed any changes in your style or game development preferences over the years?
I've improved a lot in the last two years, and feel more confident with shading and creating my own color palettes. I normally have a lot of silly rules when making art that help me be consistent in a particular style, but now I'm allowing myself to break those rules and do some experimenting as long as the results look good. I feel that's a big change for me.
I started making more illustrations and graphic design and not just in-game art, I enjoy working on cover arts and cartridge boxes and labels.
Right now I wouldn't want to work on anything that doesn't have to do with retro games and homebrew.

-Another fascinating aspect of your pixel art is that you are involved with homebrew games across multiple consoles. What has led you to transcend consoles when many other brewers prefer to stick to one console?
Change is good hehe, and by going out your comfort zone is how you really improve because you have to face all sort of challenges and that ties with all of this requiring a lot of creativity that I was talking about in the first answer.
So that's it; I find it fun and challenging working for different consoles and since we have the needed resources in Second Dimension to do that it's a win-win situation which leads me to feeling comfortable tackling new styles and platforms.

-Do you have a favorite console you prefer to program for?
Well I don't code, I only do art but the answer is SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive. I love the color palette, it's always a joy to work with and I'm really used to working for that console so it's by far my favorite.

-What tools do you use to code and create?
My favorite tools are a pencil and a piece of paper... Those are the bases of pretty much everything I create, and I can't live without them. Besides that, I mainly use Krita and GIMP for both Illustrations and Pixel Art and Aseprite for sprite animations. All of that combined with our own internal Second Basic Studio tools coded by Adam for Second Dimension.

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden, especially given that there were effectively 3 distinct development teams for each console Eyra would be published for? How difficult is it developing a game for three different consoles given the unique challenges inherent to the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis?
The development for both games was pretty different. In Illmoore´s case, since it was our first project together, we first outlined the game in general as well as all the graphic content it would need and the core gameplay mechanics. While I was dedicated to making the majority of the graphics, Adam was programming the engine and the core gameplay mechanics. Once that was done, the rest of the game was done pretty quickly. Also, once the graphics for a level were finished, they were sent to Sebastián who drew inspiration from them to compose the music.
In Eyra´s case, I already had the game outlined and also much of the graphic content made, only they were in a Gameboy palette. We started by converting all the graphics into NES graphics and then the programmer made the game. We balanced it at the same time it was being programmed. For the 16-bit version we took the NES graphics as a starting point. I started by creating new backgrounds for the stages and then I added more colors and animation frames to the rest of the graphics where it was needed.

Screenshot from Gameboy mockup of Eyra-The Crow Maiden
From my point of view it wasn't much of a challenge because it was an iterative process and the 16-bit graphics were created from the NES ones which I had already done.

-Tell me about the development of the cover art you created for the Regular Editions for The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden, what is your composition process?
My composition process is pretty standard, nothing too complex or weird. I start by writing a few descriptions or ideas in a piece of paper, I start visualizing the art while doing that and then I make a couple of very rough sketches just to have on hand.
For the standard edition of Eyra I went with a very pulpy/retro style inspired by old pulp and sci-fi book covers and also trying to mimic western NES covers a bit. It's more of a classic realistic painting, I even used a canvas texture on it to make it look old and less digital. I also tried to tell a bit of the story with the cover art, it tells about the character, the enemies, and the setting of the game, you can sort of figure out what it is about just by looking at it (at least that was my intention).
I also did the mid-tier cover for Eyra, that the Kickstarter deluxe edition if I remember correctly. For that one I used my personal and preferred art style, it's a lot more cartoon/anime looking with flat colors and cel shading. I wanted to do something more Japanese looking and different from the standard cover, so I drew Eyra having a chill moment with her Crow while they walk through the desert.

Jav’s cover art as seen on Eyra-The Crown Maiden’s Famicom edition

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden as opposed to previous? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I'd say that we didn´t encounter any major challenges or surprises because we already knew what we were up against, what we were going to do, and we always kept the projects within a manageable scope. I think that that is a good way to tackle these kinds of projects, to have a clear idea of what you are going to face, advance one task at a time keeping in mind the end result, and documenting the process. Along the way I learned that it is very fun and rewarding launching games for retro consoles in physical format, I can't recommend it enough.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects? I also remember your work with Tacha on Kung Fu UFO, do you plan to revisit that game in the future?
I have plenty of dream project ideas waiting to be developed when the time is right... We are currently and slowly developing an RPG called Affinity: Sorrow, I have been working on concept art, illustrations and graphics for it for some time now. That's our next big project and it should be coming to Kickstarter anytime soon. It taps into a very classic formula that we really love, we are looking at 16-bit JRPG games like FF6, Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest amongst others for inspiration. I really want to focus on that game as much as I can for the whole development process. We have already shown some stuff from it on our social media and there's a lot more coming.
As for Kung-Fu UFO, it can be fun to revisit that game someday, it was a bit of a too ambitious project for us back when we launched the Indiegogo campaign so we couldn't keep working on it when it didn't reach the goal but with the right amount of time and needed resources it can be a great experience.

Gameplay gif from Kung Fu UFO by Retro Nerve

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
All of them haha! Actually my friends at Bits Rule are making a really amazing platformer for the Mega Drive called Phantom Gear that I can't wait to play. I backed their Kickstarter campaign last year so all that’s left is to wait for the cartridge to arrive when the game is finished.
Demons of Asteborg also looks really good, that's another Mega Drive game I'm looking forward to playing. But to be honest every homebrew game I see has something interesting that gets me excited to play it.

-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 to tell a bit of our experience and also thank all of the amazing people that help and supports our work by buying, playing, and sharing our games.

Sebastian “Tacha” Abreu
@tachbach
-Before we dive into The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden, 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 the origin story of tachabach?
First of all I want to thank you for your interest in interviewing me, I feel flattered. Well, I think I'm going to extend a little since your question is quite broad. I think everything started when I was in the tummy of my pregnant mother, she played piano 9 hours per day, J.S. Bach was her favorite, she also played Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin.
Unfortunately that piano was sold when I was only 5 years old so I could not enjoy it with my hands. Later in 1989, my father bought a "great keyboard", a Casio CT-420 that we still have, in it came a demo of Richard Clayderman (Ballad Four Adeline), which at the age of 9 I learned to play almost exactly perfect. That same year my mother put together a group of music and dance called "The Aras" in which several girls and boys between 14 and 16 years old sang and danced. My older brother (Gustavo Abreu) was 11 years old, my mother (Silvia Teresita Mederos), and I took turns to musicalize that group, we come to play about 30 times, always in medical clinics in the neighborhood, in some hospitals in the area of pediatrics, always to raise funds for the benefit of these institutions.
In 1990 at the age of 9-10 I played the electric bass in a group with my parents, my older brother and several friends of my parents. My father always loved sharing music with his family and he always encouraged us.
Well, when I entered adolescence (and one wants to follow his rebellious path), I met the power of the distortion of the electric guitar, there was never going back. Already for the year 1996 I literally slept with the guitar in my bed, took her to the bathroom, I sat down to eat with the guitar, even had 6 friends a close encounter with a UFO at the San Luis Seaside and I remember that I had the guitar hanging and while we witnessed a show from another world in the middle of the field I did not stop playing my favorite guitar lick (it's absurd that I'm remembering this, hahaha).
Something that is interesting is that in the 90's I had a TK90 and a couple of years a ZX Spectrum +2 with which it programmed music entirely in Basic. I remember that I had scheduled the "Two Princess" theme of the Spin Doctors with their respective guitar solo and another called "Red Eyes" by Los Buitres, making the chip Ay-3-8912 sound. I remember combining white noise with the third channel to achieve the cymbals, kick and snares. But hey, I also composed my own music which never came out of my father's house because there was no Internet, the BBS were unreachable for me at that time, either had a way to spend my Spectrum programs to PC ...
Later I used to visit my friends Marcelo Alonso, Jean Paul Castroman, and Francy Bodeant who had PC (386/486) and I stayed all night in their homes while they slept, programming in the Fasttracker2, Impulse Tracker, and Scream Tracker, programs that came on CDs from weekly magazines called "PC users", I remember deleting all the patterns of several tracks to stay with the samples and compose music itself.
At last was the Pentium 2 of my younger brother’s (I still kept using my ZX Spectrum + 2)... I started using ModPlugtracker (with which now I compose for SNES). It is illogical that with this program I got to sound 2 chapters of an animated series for a company in which I started working as a sound designer and music composer.
Well, this company was called "Animalada 3D", there musicalized two animated series, several TV and cinema commercials. Five years later I decided to work in that field freelance. I worked from 2000 until 2018 as a singing professor at several schools in my country. Since 2012 till today I teach Music & Sound Design for Videogames in "A+" and "BIOS" (two of the most important institutes that teach video games in Uruguay).
I have been able to musicalize more than 70 pieces of TV and cinema in the field of advertising for more than 15 countries in the world, more than 40 games sonorized & musicalized like Bingo & Slot Machines, Android, IOS, Steam, Web Games, GB, Mega Drive, Commodore friend, SNES, and now very happy to have reached ATARI VCS (listen as the SID of my C64 sounds at the Pixel Cup Soccer! Hahahah).

Basically, tacha plays all of the instruments

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My musical influences (bands and people that I have listened to in my life and to this day I still enjoy): Silvia Teresita Mederos (my mother), Juan Eliseo Abreu (my father), Alfredo Zitarrosa, Les Luthiers, Los Olimareños, Grupo Seremos, María Elena Walsh, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Cindy Lauper, Stevie Wonder, Creedence, Carlos Santana, Rolling Stones, The Doors, Dire Straits, Oasis, Pearl Jam, Spin Doctors, Lenny Kravitz, Extreme, Megadeath, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Europe, La Iojansebastian, La Cura Del Sueño, Van Halen, Mr BIG, Iron Maiden, Guns 'n Roses, ANGRA, Shaman, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Laura Pausini, Ricardo Montaner, Enanitos Verdes, Fito Paez, Charly García, Dream Theater, Fat Boy Slim, Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach (my favorite), John Williams, Jonathan Dunn (Ocean Software), Savaged Regime, David Wise, Richie Kotzen, Rafael Dos Santos, Federico Amir, Andre Matos, and I'm sure I have tons to name.

-Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Specifically for about 20 years I have been studying about the functioning of the brain and how it reacts to different harmonies and melodies, how music and the handling of frequencies generate different chemical states of the body-mind and how this fosters different states of mood-feelings. This led me to lose interest in wanting to be a virtuoso-sprinter musician (both on the flute and on the electric guitar) or to be a virtuoso of the slap on the bass, on the contrary, I began to acquire a taste for simple melodies and very easy to remember, to generate pleasant grooves for the body, making silence a better ally than sound itself.
Somehow I can say that I am not interested in copying anymore I have no need. I am one of the people who knows that knowledge comes from within, that music is infinite, that's why I try to treasure every melody that comes to me spontaneously. I am also the type of person who feels what an artist felt or manifested when he painted a picture or composed music. Practicing reaching different states while awake for years has gradually awakened my intuition. I know that a lot of people can't break their rational mind to stop judging whether the performer or the composer is good or bad and that's pretty sad, since music doesn't really go ONLY for technique or good harmony. To understand, you have to create a balance between the mind and the heart, between reason and irrationality, that's when we really begin to see and when we begin to listen. I am going to leave you a little anecdote here to firmly answer your question. In 2018 when I left my flute class I found a small corner in Montevideo that had good reverberation. I took out my flute and began to play the Aria in D by J.S. Bach. (I think there were 7 people listening) as it is a piece that requires good administration of the air in the lungs, it unconsciously forces me to lower my heart rate. I was so immersed in the sound and the melody that I closed my eyes and the flute began to disappear, I began to disappear, only music existed and I was one with the universe, the mind ceased to exist, I felt in a spring of crystalline water of infinite sweetness, where I didn't need anything because I had everything, until I had to return to the plane of the living because the Bach piece had ended. When I saw the people around me, I realized that nobody noticed what happened to me and I honestly did not care in the least. Surely if I wanted to achieve that state playing jazz it would be impossible for me, sure that other musicians can rise playing jazz but my essence is simple, my music is essentially simple.
Regarding aesthetics, it depends on what I need to convey, as I can cover many musical styles (all with different aesthetics).

We should all be so lucky to have such an ethereal experience
-Tell me about the development of The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden’s music for SNES and Genesis, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose more traditional music? Were there different processes for composing for Eyra for two different consoles (SNES versus Genesis)? Was there a different approach for The Curse of Illmoore Bay versus Eyra-The Crow Maiden?
The composition process takes place in my head. I can give you a Gameboy track but in my head those few channels that sound like chiptune are a symphony orchestra, obviously you can't put a symphony in a GB (if not with extra hardware). That is why for the different consoles the composition process is the same, the console is only a means to express it.
Regarding the Mega Drive, I am very close to it and I love how the FM and PSG chips reconstruct a clear sound wave. I know what its limitations are and depending on the composition I try to adapt the synthesizers to be able to convey the idea as accurately as possible. With regard to the SNES, I am also very fond of their sound but above all as a spectator, we spent hundreds of hours with my brothers when a friend lent us one ... I was surprised that you have to be a true artisan of samples now that each track cannot occupy more than 58 kb approx. (64 kb maximum between music and SFX for each level). Specifically, the menu's music was made from scratch 3 times for SNES until I got the sound I wanted. The first 2 had aesthetics also the medieval aesthetics that the melody gives us but with a mixture of 80's sounds ... finally I decided to give it more POWER with guitars and a not so sober battery so I could release all my euphoria.
For Illmoore Bay all the tracks except one are made of pure FX synthesis, the drums are synthesized, but in Eyra the drums are made with samples.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
The main tool I use to compose music is my mind, my heart and my entire human being, sometimes I shut myself up to dance to feel the melodies and rhythms in the form of energy and how they extend beyond my body. When music comes to me, I look for the fastest way to store it so I don't forget it. For example, one of the pieces that I have included in Eyra occurred to me walking through the center of Montevideo when leaving one of the institutes where I teach Music & Sound Design, so I opened a group on WhatsApp in which I am alone and started to REC the "sketch". Although only my voice sounds in my head there are dozens of instruments (here I was listening to a symphonic band) but I emphasize melodies and rhythms, using certain phonemes to mark the number of instruments that "play" at a specific moment. Surely, people who see me or listen to me on the street may think that I am crazy (and it matters very little to me) while I enjoy what for me is an internal chemical-alchemical process.
I also use the technique of visualizing images, mockups or gameplay videos, after having the image well recorded in my mind I start to walk down the hall of my house from one place to another (I have walked for 30 minutes) until in my head I listen to a track from beginning to end, then I sit at the computer and depending on the platform to which it is directed I open one or another program. Finally regarding the above, something that comes out unintentionally is listening to music when my mind is in the Alpha state, many times when I am sleeping peacefully I force myself to wake up and get up to look for a recording device or something to write the melodies.
Since 2005 I use CakeWalk Sonar in its different variants to create music in WAV format (PC, Android, IOS, etc.) in large projects I use Steimberg and Native Instruments libraries.
I use Deflemask to compose for Gameboy, C64, Mega Drive, NES and ModPlugTracker to compose for Commodore AMIGA, SNES and Gameboy. For ZX Spectrum 48k I use Beepola and for ZX Spectrum 128k I use a tracker that I programmed myself (which is very comfortable for me to compose quickly).
In Eyra’s music, for the Nintendo SNES samples I used Zildjian 14"S Hi Hats cymbals picked up with a RODE NT2000 microphone, for the KICK-SNARE-TOMS sounds I recorded the samples from a ROLAND TR-505 drum machine, the basses with a Yamaha FB-01 module, the flute & sax samples are from a CASIO DH-100 with Breath control (you can say that my breath is in those samples literally), the guitar samples I recorded from an IbanezGIO with a MIC DiMarzio EVO2 Bridge STEVE VAI series connected to a Fender R212 distortion channel and captured with a Shure SM57, since the sound engine used by Alekmaul does not have an "Arpeggio" mode. I capped about 5 small square wave samples in arpeggios generated from an AY chip. 3-8912 direct from my ZX Spectrum + 2A, programmed from a Tracker that I created for the said machine, the rest of the samples I did by hand drawing the wave with the pencil tool of the Mod Plug Tracker.
For mixing frequencies and looking for the sounds of the synthesizers (in the case of Mega Drive) I use two pairs of studio monitors: YAMAHA SS50M and Behringer Truth B3030A in an isolated room with 6 cm thick rock wool plates, I also check sound with AKG headphones, Sennheiser 202, on SONY Trinitron, CRT Panavox TV, on Microsonic LCD TV, and on a 5.1 Logitech 506 system.
I can also count that sometimes they ask me for music for new games with retro aesthetics, instead of loading plugins that emulate the different sounds of the 80's 90's, what I do is connect my old and beloved machines (C64, ATARI 65XE , ZX Spectrum, MSX2 FM, AMIGA 500, and NES) for the exact sound.

-Do you have a different approach/attitude toward the games you work on by yourself compared to those you are commissioned to work on? Is the experience of developing them different?
I ALWAYS give 100% of myself to my projects as well as to other people's projects. Sometimes I think that the quality of work-monetary compensation is not very balanced, so I would have to do something "just like that" (Uruguayan expression) but I always see myself polishing the work with an extreme degree of detail so that the quality of the same is optimal.
I imagine an athlete running the 100-meter sprint and the coach saying, "Hey, this race is not that important, just run, if you finish 7th it will be fine." Well, I would be the athlete who would think "What the hell am I going to run for if I am not going to do my best?" You know, I could jam a bass over a constant pattern drum base and then jam melodies in Mixolydian mode for 1 minute and voilà! I already have a track!
But it doesn't work that way for me, for me melodies express a feeling, have life, and tell a story. Specifically for me each track is like a piece of my soul that I am letting go. I recommend sitting in front of a good audio equipment, audio monitors or with a good 2.1 to enjoy the Mega Drive & SNES soundtracks in full range frequency.

-Tell me about the evolution of The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden. Any interesting stories on the games’ development?
Well, I can tell you The beginnings of Eyra but about my personal experience ... After the Kung Fu UFO campaign in Indiegogo failed, Jav told me that he wanted us to make a game that he had in hand for the Gameboy Classic, which consisted of a platformer starring a female character set in medieval times, with Golden Axe and Rastan tints, which is why I started working at that very moment first of all on the main soundtrack for that console. (It was Thursday, November 1, 2018). The track took me about 4 days to dedicate a few hours to the Gameboy version https://youtu.be/wKg9xXy64sg and about 2 hours to do the conversion for Nintendo NES https://youtu.be/LJKscFWpb3w, using the Deflemask program. On the first day Jav sent me the first Spritesheet with which I also started to "Sketch" in Mega Drive what the GB game would be. https://youtu.be/j_4GjA4-Ppg. In that he tells me that he did not have the name for the character because he had a surprise to introduce myself with him, so while I was programming I also began to inquire about the different cultures of medieval times and also on Viking women's names. I had chosen 3 that I liked: "Kaira" (means immaculate), "Freya" (Viking Goddess of fertility, Love and beauty) and "Eyra" (Scandinavian goddess of health, also translated as Snow) ... but it seemed to me that the name "Eyra" was the shortest and simplest, in addition it fit perfectly with the melody of the second track (symphonic mixture with Gregorian chants) that I had thought for when we presented the game (It is a track that I will never give out and who will die with me). After talking about the name with Jav he replied: "Eyra, The Crow Maiden", telling me that the surprise was that the character would always be accompanied by a crow which would help in the battle.

Art of the Norse goddess Eir (or Eyra)
From making the GB sketch we focused on a version for Mega Drive, I can tell you that I was working as a programmer for Eyra (Mega Drive) for 3 months, until Jav told me that he would not work on it again if there was no money involved.
Which I can understand perfectly, we had already worked hard on the Kung Fu UFO project and with a disastrous crowdfunding campaign with a truncated ending.
Then Jav and Adam teamed up to create Illmoore Bay inviting me to perform the music. In the interim of Illmoore, we stayed with my wife playing Galaga for a whole weekend on my beloved ATARI 7800. At one point "PUM!" it appeared in my head how the code should be to move those "little ships". While my wife played in the Atari for an hour and a half, I had programmed in Mega Drive the movements of two hordes of ships with the graphics ripped from the internet of the same game.
After that I started asking myself questions:
What if instead of moving the player only from left to right, he made it move in all 4 directions?
What if I set the stage with scroll?
And is it added shots like in RTYPE?
Within two days, I remember sitting in front of the computer when the routine of targeted shots from the enemies tore through my mind like a "PUM" hit. I sat in front of the computer and started writing for exactly 4 hours. When I finished the code, I compiled it and it worked the first time without errors ... there I said to myself "How could I have thought about stopping programming if it is something that comes from my gut, something that comes out unintentionally, something I love?"
Well, at that point it occurred to me that I could program a game of ships called GALATYX * and after selling it I could make some money to be able to finance the development of Eyra for Mega Drive ... https://youtu.be/oFWWTMLR2yE
(It is fun to see how each person has the experience of it and sometimes it is in agreement with others and sometimes not).
The crazy thing about all this is that life never turns out to be as one imagines it, the threads intertwine in unexpected ways.
Finishing Illmoore Bay, one afternoon I get the call from Jav. He tells me that a unique opportunity had come up and it was to perform Eyra for the NES with a programmer and a musician, while Adam would be the visible face on Kickstarter ... to which I answered the honest truth, "I think It's fantastic that you can continue to grow and make your way, nobody or nothing ties you to me or to Retronerve (the team that we founded the two of us). Hopefully crowdfunding comes to fruition! "
Well, it was great to see how not only did he make it to goal but there was interest from Mega Drive and SNES fans in having the game for these consoles.
In the meantime Adam writes to me: "hey buddy, can you make music for SNES?" apparently, he had realized that for Mega Drive I can do a good job. LOL
... well, here I see myself just today doing minimal tweaks to deliver the SNES tracks along with this interview.
Something fun to tell, it was a dream experience that I had (related to the Alpha states) and I tell it below:
This happened to me almost ending the entire Eyra Mega Drive OST. I was very conscious in my dream and in the same transition in which several months had already passed in which the versions of Mega Drive and SNES were already finished and delivered to the backers, sitting at my computer I went to my YouTube channel to look for the OST of Eyra, specifically the "GAME OVER" track, then I saw an image where the character appeared on a screen with a red background and clearly heard a two-voice melody, with its respective groove of drums, bass and keyboards ... slightly awake, I became aware of what I was dreaming about and that that music and that image of "Game Over" did not yet exist. So I forced myself to get out of bed, sat at the computer, opened Deflemask and in about 5 minutes I wrote the melodies of the two voices that were still playing in my head. The next day I finished that track and I think that the same day Jav passed the Game Over image to the development team ... to my surprise the image was the same as I had dreamed of, well I made the music exactly the same as I heard in my dream of the future.
* (The name GALATYX is in honor of my wife Paola Galati, who has always supported me blindly but consciously in all my dreams in this and other lives)

Eyra’s game over screen

-How did you first connect with Adam and Second Dimension, and what is the working dynamic like as you both work on your respective aspects of the games?

I remember that I was developing Kung-Fu UFO in BasiegaXorz and reading in the forums I had understood that the same programming language for Mega Drive was Obsolete, but on the same page they said that there was a new Compiler that used the same Basiegaxorz routines but that its creator was still working on it.
To say the least, there was a time when I was programming Kung-Fu UFO in both languages ... but in the end I decided on Second Basic because it still had support and there was someone on the planet who could give an answer.
After having several compilation problems, I contacted a group of Spanish developers who currently program for Mega Drive. One of them answered me (nothing more and nothing less than "na_th_an", the programmer of "The Mojon Twins" (I take the opportunity to send him a greeting and tell him that he is my hero for so many homebrew games from ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Mega Drive, NES, etc.). He told me about the developer of Second Dimension: "Look, his name is Adam Welch, I have written to him several times and he answers very kindly, sometimes it may take 2 or 3 days, but he always answers. His email is ... ". After immediately contacting me with this subject 😛 he answered me the same day (to my surprise), not only very kindly but he was also a warm and attentive guy to my needs. Always responding positively and a very good disposition. We spent some time exchanging emails, I commented on some bugs that I found in the compiler which he not only corrected them, but also taught me some magic trick that his compiler could do and that I did not know.
To close, I take the liberty of saying that he is a very good programmer and a very good person (how many people spend hundreds of hours developing a compiler for Mega Drive totally free? Two? Well, Adam is one of them :D)
The work dynamic is very easy. I have been working making music and sfx for video games since 2011 (since 2005 in advertising for TV and cinema), for this reason I know exactly what a video game needs to be at the level of an AAA in my field. Adam is aware of it so he trusts me widely. Sometimes we talk about what way to take in musical styles and I am open to all opinions, but generally I like to surprise him with something that was not expected and that exceeds his expectations.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I never really thought that there were people who wanted to follow in my footsteps.
If they exist, I will only tell them to work on their dreams and desires as hard as they can, also tell them that in the face of bumps and falls there is no other option but to get up and keep walking. There are always going to be failures, there are always going to be stones in the way. The important thing is always to keep doing what you love to do, consistently. Always knocking on doors even if your hands hurt, because maybe that door that you didn't knock is just the one they were willing to open for you. DO NOT GIVE UP!

-What aspects of The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden are you most proud of?
HAHAH ... I am amused by the answer ...
I remember it was 1993, I was sitting in front of my TK90x programming a 4 channel 1 bit music editor: 3 tone sounds and the 4th percussion. As I was programming it, I was also trying to compose some grooves to check the sound of the drums ... until at one point my father came into my room and said, laughing almost out loud: "Oh my God! Those sounds seem like farts! hahaha "... we both ended up laughing because he was right. Unfortunately I lost a lot of my 90's shows. But at that time I dreamed of making music for SNES or Mega Drive games, consoles that our parents would not buy us (me and my siblings) because they did not want to see us playing but preferred to give them a computer so that we could learn to program and design. Somehow my wish as a child-adolescent 25 years later comes true with the games that today can be enjoyed. That's what I'm proud of, to be able to create content for the consoles that RETRO-FANS love so much.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, SNES, Genesis, or otherwise?
I can say that I am working as a programmer with two development teams for Mega Drive/Genesis. There are several games on the horizon but they will come out one by one.
There will also be a homebrew for ZX Spectrum and ZX Spectrum-NEXT from STARWARS in which we were working with my friend Raulo Pachelo, who passed away over a month ago, a game that I will finish to honor him.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?

Of course, I have several favorite homebrews, for example Sword Of Ianna on ZX Spectrum (which in my opinion is an 8-bit work of art), from the same machine at home we play Alter Ego, Old Tower, Maritrini Freelance Monster Slayer, Valley of Rains (another work of art), In Mega Drive I usually play Xeno Crisis, Mega Cheril, UWOL and Illmoore Bay. In the C64 I like to play Xavier Binary Zone (with the great music of Chris Lightfoot R.I.P.) and when there are more than 4 of us we play Space Lords.

Screenshot from Xeno Crisis for Seg Genesis (and other consoles)

-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?

First of all, I am the one who has to thank you for your patience and interest in my person, interest in my work, which is my art and the internal manifestations of my being.
Personally, to the fans, I have taken a lot of time to dedicate to these soundtracks and I have put a lot of love in them so that the sound chips of your SNES and MEGA DRIVE consoles KEEP ROARING new tunes.
Also say thank you for trusting us developers to do our part. Hopefully they can appreciate the work and dedication.
Finally, personally I would like to count on your support for my future projects, especially for MEGA DRIVE. Pay attention.
I would like to thank: Valentina Abreu, Mia Luna Abreu, Teresita Mederos, Juan Eliseo Abreu, Daniel, Nicolás, Gustavo, Juan Guillermo Abreu, Daniel J McCormick, Adam Welch, Javier Leal, Alekmaul, Sebastián Blanco, Sebastian Racedo, Mario Villar, Funfu Rafael Dos Santos, Rodolfo Guerra, Antonio Vázquez, Roberto Pachelo, Raulo Pachelo, Chivy Tayler, Paul Darwin, Daniel Lorenzo, Javier Brum, The Mojon Twins, George Prescott, Leander, Alice, Migue, Daniel Sanz, Jordi Montornés Solé, Flx, Danibus, Pedro L, Samuel, r2d2rigo, Tapule, Pablo, Manu Segura, Bruce Rodriguez, Pablo, jgnavarro, Jarlaxe, Rafa Castillo, McKlain, Felipe Mongue Corbalan, Sofi Galati, Miguel Sinclair, Daviz Pow, Ben-kenobi, wilco2009, JC Galvañ, Mikes, Fernando Samper Perez, Kuis, Pablo Cascallares, Luis Abreu, flopping, ZUPP FOX, kr4k4t04, Eduardo Fontana, Ismael Pardo Di Nardo, al Pelado, Mauro Flores, pmasterBR, Yuri D'avila, Lu, Luiz Nai, Cetics, Alexsandro, Matheus Castellar, Ariel, Luis Fernandez, Amiten, El Espectrumero Javi Ortiz, to homebrews fan sponsors, and very especially to Paola Galati for all her unconditional love.
If you want to write to me you can do it at tacha.music.sfx@gmail.com

Armen Mardirossian
@ArmenMARD80
-Before we dive into The Curse of Illmoore Bay, 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 am a professional hand-drawn animator/story-boarder, character designer and pixel artist from France. Being primarily a hand-drawn animator and story-boarder for 20 years, I have been doing this before being involved in the homebrew/indie game scene. I began in this field in 2008 by contacting Gwenael Godde who asked me to draw the final character designs and illustrations for the game Pier Solar, as well as draw the cinematic still artworks that punctuate the game’s main events. I drew the original storyboards which were then translated into pixel art form.

Cutscene art from Pier Solar and the Great Architects by Armen

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
There are several animation works, notably some anime works from the 70s, 80s or 90s which influenced my style. Without entering into details, I was inspired by the aesthetics but above all by the way these shows, which were sometimes limited in terms of animation, conveyed emotions through the way of drawing characters as well as effective cinematography and storytelling. Having my own style now for almost 20 years, I am not influenced by anything specific, and to be honest, I haven’t watched any new anime for years now. In terms of video games, I began playing at the end of the 80s. I am mostly a fan of RPGs like the Final Fantasy, Lunar, or Dragon Quest series as well as much more obscure ones. Playing these kinds of games in the course of the years has also influenced my style and work to a certain extent.

-You've also created art for other homebrews, including Pier Solar, Kraut Buster, and the Battle Kid games. Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
For Pier Solar, I was character designer and cinematics director for the original Mega Drive release and later for its HD re-release. My style defined the final visual appearance of the characters and visual scenes for the 16-bit version, which were later used as a base for the recreation of the cinematics as well as the in-game portraits I drew and the 3-minute opening animation I directed for the HD version.
Pier Solar HD opening animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEVmedSG0k
I directed the attract mode intro and ending of Kraut Buster for the Neo Geo. I storyboarded/directed the sequence and drew the original artworks and pixel art which were then adapted by the game team to coincide with the in-game graphics style which explains why it is a bit different visually from my other works. Kraut Buster Neo Geo opening animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNOZypqAgZc
For Battle Kid 2, I created the character artworks and cutscenes when the games originally came out on the NES. I reprised this role to recreate the cutscenes in my style for Battle Kid 1 when it was reissued for the Japanese Famicom version.
In the Mega Drive scene, I was also the cutscene and animation director of Tanglewood by Matt Phillips.

Screenshot from Tanglewood
I think what is unique to my work and contrary to other people who only create still artworks for game covers or promotional character art, is that I am in general asked to create animated introduction or cinematics to improve the overall game experience. This allows to convey more emotions and attract more interest through a cinematographic sequence rather than a simple still artwork. I know excerpts from the opening animation of Pier Solar HD were for example used for the 2014 E3 game trailer which helped to promote the game on modern platforms to a new audience. Also in terms of pure style/aesthetic, I tend to put a lot of care and attention when drawing the expressions and posing of the characters.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
For animation, I use Adobe programs such as Photoshop, after effect effects and premiere and a specific Japanese app to draw and color the animation cells and artworks efficiently.

-Your art includes Flipnote animation of The Legend of Zelda and artwork inspired by Death Stranding. Is the experience of developing art from an existing world of established characters more limiting or is it more fun to play in a more defined sandbox?
The Zelda Flipnote was submitted to Nintendo in 2011 for the 25th anniversary of Zelda, before they begin the dev on breath of the wild and it was seen by the main creators of the series such as Miyamoto, Aonuma, Takashi Tezuka. (Nintendo people had also seen the Pier Solar HD trailer when it came out in 2014).
It’s funny to think I had showed in this animation Link with a hood at the edge of a cliff looking at the castle, so who knows maybe it inspired them or at least some of the Nintendo dev team?
I think it is pretty interesting to create something based on a preexisting universe and put your own take on it, especially if it’s a franchise you love. It’s not necessarily limiting but different from something you create from the ground in terms of story, character and world setting. For example I had created in 2005 a personal animation short which was an original work titled Human Recollections I had submitted to the Japanese animation company STUDIO4°C (known for producing the Steamboy, Animatrix and the Berserk anime) for the next Genius Party contest in 2007. It remained on their page for several weeks allowing it to be seen by Japanese animation/game studios like Ghibli, Madhouse, Nintendo and such. This gives you a total freedom in terms of creativity but is also much more time consuming/complex to determine the tone of the universe that will be shown.

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for the Limited Edition for The Curse of Illmoore Bay, what is your creative process?
Actually it was a rather short process as the characters weren’t complex to draw in terms of detail. I looked at the original cover which was available and created the art in my own style and by giving a dynamic pose to the characters.

-How did you first connect with Adam and Second Dimension, and what was the working dynamic like?
After Pier Solar came out in 2010, Adam was developing an RPG called Affinity Sorrow, I drew the main characters design/model sheets back then. But if I remember correctly the dev stopped sometime later.
Apparently, development on the game has started again last year.

We’ve been hearing a lot about this one, better keep an eye on it

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on The Curse of Illmoore Bay? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Actually, there wasn’t anything special which happened. As I said, it was a very straightforward process to create the cover art.

-Is there another project after The Curse of Illmoore Bay on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
I can’t talk about it for now, but there may be something in the future.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Nothing in particular comes to my mind, but what I notice is that compared to 2010 when Pier Solar came out, there is now much more games which are being developed in the indie/homebrew scene.

-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 think it’s nice that people are still interested by playing new games on their old consoles. Their passion allows developers to still create new games for these old platforms.

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to part one of two, in this latest entry of the series that shares the stories behind your favorite new homebrew games. What are your thoughts on The Curse of Illmoore Bay and Eyra-The Crow Maiden and its talented development teams? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see them here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
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Episode 6: Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl

By Scrobins, October 23, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 6: Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl

Introduction:
Ask any homebrewer what inspired them to create a particular game or why they became a brewer in the first place, and many will point to a cultural icon of yesteryear that still resonates with them. Some games serve as an homage to a beloved game from a console’s licensed era. Other games are a thinly veiled adaptation of a beloved world that never received the video game treatment on a given console. How incredible is it then, when a homebrewer is entrusted with developing a game in service of a well-known universe that spans movies, tv, and comics? The result may well be a game those characters would sell their mother to play.
For this entry, I’m covering Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, a beat-‘em-up game with 2-player co-op developed by Tomas Guinan aka Spoony Bard Productions in collaboration with Interabang Entertainment, Toni Leys, Hanzo Steinbach, and Wallride Games, providing an NES entry into the View Askewniverse, and prequel to the in-development modern brawler Jay & Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch for PC (and may be pre-ordered here), with plans to potentially release for the PS4 and Xbox One. As of the time of this writing, the digital release of Mall Brawl is now available on Steam and Nintendo Switch, and a physical release of the game on NES from Limited Run Games has sold out.

Development Team:
@tomaSpoony Bard Productions (Tomas Guinan): programming
Toni Leys: music
Hans “Hanzo” Steinbach: box art
Wallride Games (Ty Burks & Nathan Shorts): game art, including background designs and enemy sprites
Interabang Entertainment: design, direction, promotion

Game Evolution:
Mall Brawl’s origins begin with a different game altogether: the modern beat-‘em-up Jay & Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch by Interabang Entertainment. Chronic Blunt Punch features a fun, cartoony aesthetic that has the titular duo investigating the disappearance of their customers and the menace of the new Galleria. But this game is a battle of wits as well as fists; the story branches based on the player’s choice of words in Convo Combo Combat, where you can sweet-talk or mentally destroy a boss. Chronic Blunt Punch launched a crowdfunding campaign on Fig in February 2016, raising over $445,000. The game’s development continues, with a prospective release of August 2021 on Steam.

Snootch to the nootch!
Reminiscent of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and its 8-bit brother Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, Mall Brawl was conceived as an 8-bit accompaniment to Chronic Blunt Punch, but one that could be played on an actual NES. Though Tomas Guinan hinted something incredible was in the works during his appearance on The Assembly Line in February 2019, the first true teaser appeared in a YouTube video posted on July 14, 2019, in which a happy-go-lucky Easter Bunny is having a nice Super Mario Bros. experience before getting pummeled by Jay & Silent Bob.

Animals were totally harmed in the making of this game
The following month Tomas posted a YouTube video featuring gameplay footage and a link to the game’s dedicated website with more information.
Pre-orders for Mall Brawl opened September 6, 2019 on the dedicated website as well as on Limited Run Games’ site. Limited Run Games offered a CIB of the game in classic gray, Jay yellow, and Silent Bob green; a Triple Threat collection of all three CIB color options; and a Premium Edition which included a foil-stamped gatefold box, game cart, manual, set of collectible art cards, game soundtrack CD, and a full-size poster.
A new YouTube video appeared on April 29, 2020, featuring the rap stylings of Interabang Entertainment’s Justin Woodward announcing the upcoming launch of Mall Brawl on Steam and the Nintendo Switch on May 7. And in early August, Interabang Entertainment and Limited Run Games fulfilled pre-orders of the NES game to excited backers.

We been playin’ once or twice, fightin’ in Kevin Smith’s paradise!

Gameplay Overview:
Mall Brawl describes itself as a retro beat-‘em-up, featuring 2-player co-op action in the spirit of River City Ransom, Battletoads, and Double Dragon II. Fans of Mallrats and the View Askewniverse in general will recognize the setting and characters. You play as Jay and/or Silent Bob high off their success from sabotaging a live taping of Truth or Date and are trying to make their getaway and escape mall security. Unfortunately it’s not just LaFours and his army of rent-a-cops that have it out for you; sk8erbois, hockey punks, and ice cream clerks, among others are headed your way. And don’t forget the Easter Bunny is looking to settle a score, with his burger mascot buddy backing him up.

And he’s looking to knock you in the cadbury’s
Experienced players of 8-bit brawlers will feel at home with the controls, where the A button punches, the B button kicks, and the two buttons together make you jump, while double-tapping left or right allows you to dash. Pushing either button while mid-air performs a jump kick and pushing either button mid-dash will ram an enemy. More complicated moves draw inspiration from the pillars of NES beat-‘em-ups. For instance the uppercut that results from a 4-punch combo and the high kick that follows a 4-kick combo scream Battletoads. Meanwhile grabbing a stunned enemy by hitting A, then either kneeing them in the face by hitting A again or throwing them over your shoulder by hitting B are straight out of Renegade.

The black sheep of the Kunio-kun series
In addition, Jay & Silent Bob each have a special attack: Jay can execute a somersault kick, hitting an enemy 3 times in the air following a 4-kick combo, while Silent Bob performs a spinning lariat, hitting an enemy up to 5 more times after a successful 4-punch combo. However both special attacks can only be performed if your character picks up a star dropped by a beaten enemy. In 1-player mode, you can swap between Jay and Silent Bob by hitting select during gameplay. This is especially valuable because if either Jay or Silent Bob get a little too roughed up, swapping characters allows whichever one is not in play to rest and slowly restore health.

Writer’s Review:
Fans of the View Askewniverse will find plenty of small, familiar touches throughout Mall Brawl’s bright, colorful mallscape from the Truth or Date stage to Moody’s. Fans of 8-bit brawlers will find their own nostalgia stings pulled with gameplay mechanics and enemies, not least of which is the just barely escaping copyright infringement Adoughbo, the pretzel-headed mutant cousin of a certain beloved Double Dragon foe, and a shopping cart gauntlet that will trigger gamers’ memories/nightmares of a certain Battletoads level. But if the box art and enemies channel Double Dragon II, then the hit/stun animations pay homage to Battletoads, as characters express hilarious shock at being hit. Perhaps they’re simply in awe at the sound effects for some weapons, like the “kong” of a glass bottle or the “jangle” of a sock full of quarters.

Gives new meaning to stunning sound effects
Then again attention to detail and the thought given to seemingly mundane aspects are what set Mall Brawl inventively apart. Most beat-‘em-ups that I have played offer a wide open field of play encircled by whatever graphical flourishes the artists can conjure to create ambiance, plus some items you can smash for pick-ups. Mall Brawl provides an actual environment you must navigate around. The level design is not just a fence around an open area; in addition to smashable objects like plastic trash cans, there are objects that obstruct movement like planters and benches that you must fight around, and stairs that you can move up and down in a real three-dimensional space, all of which requires players to think more critically about their gameplay. Wrapping up the atmosphere of this game in a big, gorgeous bow is its music. The soundtrack is peppy and fun, stirring up the kind of enthusiasm I once had for my favorite Saturday morning cartoon shows. While this music may not be the melodies of Morris Day and The Time, Jay & Silent Bob would absolutely jam out to these tunes in front of the Quick Stop.

They want to know ya, know ya
Regarding gameplay itself, Mall Brawl manages to fit in a variety of attacks despite the limits inherent to an NES controller. Such complexity, along with the fun animations accompanying them, elevates Mall Brawl’s fun and replayability. The basic moves are present and easy to learn, making Mall Brawl accessible to gamers of all skill levels. Yet more complicated actions are available for advanced players to experiment with escaping swarms of mall ninjas and hockey hooligans. Which brings me to the game’s difficulty. Mall Brawl’s enemies are legion, each with distinct looks and personalities, as well as attack patterns that are not easily overcome by mere button mashing. This game is difficult without feeling entirely unfair. There were several moments where I initially got stuck, but figuring out how to use the right combination of attacks with the level’s environment forced me to experiment and ultimately have a more fun experience. But honestly, thank goodness for the save feature. Mall Brawl may well be the “thinking person’s brawler”, but I was more enthusiastic about revisiting the game later knowing I could walk away and pick up where I left off without starting over.
In a genre saturated with games good and bad for every console generation, and whatever level of purgatory Paprium currently sits, Mall Brawl reminds us why we loved the old beat-‘em-ups and poured quarter after quarter into arcade machines. This game brings back everything we loved without being derivative while also being faithful to the universe of its characters. I recently started a tradition with one of my best friends where we play our favorite old games and some homebrews I bring when we’re both back in our hometown for the holidays. Assuming we’re able to get together this year, I am excited to show him Mall Brawl and give him my spare copy for Christmas so we can play it together.

Interviews:
Mall Brawl is a game that combines the passion of a multitude of talented people in order to deliver players a game that surpasses its hype. I interviewed the development team to learn how it all came together, including my first interview over Zoom!

toma
@SpoonyBardToma
-Before we dive into Mall Brawl, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Spoony Bard Productions?
Spoony Bard Productions started out in 1997. From then to around 2001 it was mostly about NES romhacks and translations. The most notable translation I did at that point was probably Glory of Heracles 2, which pretty much introduced that series to the English world. My interests shifted toward Flash animation for a while after that, which is when Eskimo Bob started. I was still a NES fan, but not really involved in romhacking or homebrew or anything like that until I ordered an AVS and Battle Kid in 2016. Seeing that console and game inspired me to look into homebrew. I found Doug Fraker's tutorials and the Eskimo Bob NES game kind of grew out of me following along those.

-Based on the Spoony Bard name, is it safe to say you are a Final Fantasy fan, or are you a fan of Woolseyisms?
Yeah, I basically just thought that "You spoony bard!" was a hilarious quote. I was 15 when I first created the website and the original "logo" I had on my page was a screenshot of that moment in FF2. A lot of the early translation community was centred around Final Fantasy and translating those "lost" three games, so it was very appropriate for the time.

Yes, I am aware that Woolsey himself did not write this one

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Honestly, that's a super tough question and hard to pinpoint. I feel like I have a lot of hybrid influences. Obviously a lot of the classic NES games like Mario, Mega Man, Final Fantasy, etc. A lot of my animated work tends to have pretty heavy Transformers influences in it as well. Basically just old games and cartoons.
I'm not sure I have anyone in particular who I follow closely, but there is a lot of stuff that catches my eye. Anything Frankengraphics draws tends to be really interesting, and Dimension Shift by Mugi looks amazing as well. Morphcat does some pretty consistently amazing work as well. Micro Mages gets the most attention, but I really enjoyed Bobl a lot.

Bobl gameplay gif

-You burst onto the homebrew scene with NES games based on your characters from the world of Eskimo Bob. Between the original show and the games you have developed, how would you describe your aesthetic?
I think my 3 main games so far have a pretty similar aesthetic. They all feature thick black lines, cartoony proportions, and characters with a prominent eyebrow. It's a style that you saw a lot in mid-to later NES games, where you had lots of characters with black outlines. I stole the eyebrow thing from early Final Fantasy, even back in the original Eskimo Bob cartoon.

-What tools do you use to code and compose?
For writing code I use Notepad++. Everything I've done so far uses cc65 with a bit of assembly spattered here and there when it makes sense. For graphics I use YYCHR and NESst to make sprites and tilesets. Level design is done using Tiled, and for games that I compose my own music for I use Famitracker/Famitone.

-Before Mall Brawl, you had already developed Galf for Limited Run games. How did your relationship with Limited Run Games come about?
I've known Josh from Limited Run for nearly 20 years now. We met while I was doing the Eskimo Bob cartoon and he backed both of my Kickstarters. He'd actually been encouraging me to do some sort of Eskimo Bob reboot for a while because he knew that there were some people who had some nostalgia for it. Later on, when Limited Run was getting ready for their Golf Story physical release, Josh contacted me about doing a NES port of Galf, and things kind of grew from there.

Galf cart and box from Limited Run Games

-In preparing for this interview I realized that of Limited Run Games’ entire catalog, you have developed all of their original NES game releases. Furthermore, despite the limited nature of Limited Run Games’ releases, their production runs are generally larger than many other homebrew releases. Therefore I think it is fair say that you are many people’s introduction to homebrew games and its community. Do you have any thoughts on being an ambassador of homebrew?
I think it's really cool, and I never really thought about it that way before. There are a lot of really good games in the homebrew scene that could stand toe-to-toe with popular indie titles. I think it'd be great for some of these games to get some wider exposure.

-An article in Bleeding Cool stated Mall Brawl was originally conceived as a free digital bonus for backers of Interabang Entertainment’s Jay & Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch. Were you already involved with the game at this stage, or did you join at another point? How did you connect with Interabang Entertainment? At what point did Mall Brawl become an NES game?
From the point that I came in, Mall Brawl was always intended to be a NES game. I don't think it was ever conceived to be anything else. Interabang had been working on Chronic Blunt Punch for a while and already had a relationship with Limited Run. After Galf sold out much quicker than expected, Limited Run were looking at doing another NES title, so I think that's how things started. From my perspective, Josh emailed me one day and asked if I was interested in developing a Jay and Silent Bob NES game, and I obviously said yes, hahaha.

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Interabang? What was the division of labor on Mall Brawl, and how was the development process between members of your team?
I really enjoyed working with Justin from Interabang. It was the type of collaboration where we clicked pretty quickly and stayed on the same page almost all the time, so it made the whole development process fun. We basically had weekly meetings where we'd discuss progress and brainstorm ideas. Things went smoothly and quickly. It's a relationship that is definitely going to continue long-term. I'm currently working on Chronic Blunt Punch with that team and we're looking at exploring some future projects as well.

-You posted on Twitter that you were also refining combat physics on Jay & Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch. What was the extent of your involvement in Mall Brawl’s modern companion, and how was that experience different compared to your work for an 8-bit brawler?
I'm officially part of the Chronic Blunt Punch team at this point as a developer. In my professional life I have a Computer Science degree where I specialized in graphics, gaming, and media, so I've worked on modern projects in a professional capacity before. Honestly, there is a lot of knowledge that carries over between the two work environments, even if tools being used and programming languages are different.

-Were you a fan of the View Askewniverse prior to Mall Brawl?
I've been a fan for over two decades. I still have a frisbee that I got during a test screening of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Noice swag

-What is it like developing a game containing such cultural icons as Jay & Silent Bob?
It was really cool and surreal from the start, and in a lot of ways still doesn't feel real. I think that's kind of amplified by the fact that the game came out during lockdown, so I haven't been able to go to any promotional events or anything. Nothing feels real anymore hahaha.

-Did you have a different attitude toward developing Mall Brawl compared to developing games for your own intellectual property? Is the experience of developing them different? Does playing within the existing world of established characters impose limits on what you can do with them?
I think it would depend on the property. Being a fan of Jay and Silent Bob made it pretty easy for me to develop a game that was full of referential humour to that franchise. We had a lot of freedom to do what we want with this project, so it didn't feel that much different than making something based on something I had created myself. The Eskimo Bob games were full of references as well, it was just references to something I had made myself instead, but the mindset was similar.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Mall Brawl as opposed to Eskimo Bob or Alfonzo’s Arctic Adventure from a programming perspective? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I think the biggest difference is obviously the game genre. EB and Alfonzo are both puzzle platformers and Mall Brawl is a beat-‘em-up, so there was a much bigger focus on things like enemy AI as opposed to level design. It was also different because it was the first NES game where I collaborated with someone else on an original design. There would be a lot of times where Justin and I would be talking and he'd suggest something that I wasn't sure could be done or not. When programming for the NES, you always kind of have that thought in mind, where there's a ceiling to what the system can handle. That's the biggest difference between developing for an older platform and modern development. The trick is to try to work around those limits instead of letting them hold you back. Sometimes an idea might seem impossible at first, but you just need to think of it from a different perspective.

-There has been a lot of buzz around Mall Brawl across fans of homebrew, the View Askewniverse, and beyond. How does it feel to bask in such enthusiasm and support?
The reception for Mall Brawl has been really good and it feels awesome. The game has a 73 on Metacritic, with most reviewers actually giving it an 80 (darn you Nintendolife!). Honestly, for a game developed for a 35-year old console being judged to modern standards, that's not half bad, and I'll take it.

-On top of the general buzz, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes themselves played Mall Brawl and posted their gameplay. What was it like watching the Jay & Silent Bob play your game?
Watching Kevin and Jay play the game was definitely a surreal experience. Seeing it featured in Kevin's show Son-in-Lockdown was amazing as well. I think my favorite moment of their stream was when they beat the Patrick Swayze boss and Kevin said something like "This feels better than putting my handprints down at the Chinese theatre!" These are guys that I grew up watching so it's really cool to see them get enjoyment out of something I made.

Swayze defeated, achievement unlocked!

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
Aside from working on Chronic Blunt Punch right now, there are some possible projects in the future but nothing I can confirm yet. My dream is to do a sequel to an existing NES franchise as a NES game. That dream suddenly doesn't feel out of reach.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I think I'd mentioned it before, but Dimension Shift looks really cool. I tried out the demo, but I can't wait to see the full game when it's done.

Screenshot from Dimension Shift

-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 give up, always keep trying, and have fun. That's the best way to do anything, really.

Toni Leys
@tonileys
-Before we talk about Mall Brawl, 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?
Thanks for having me Sean! I like to say my story with music began even before I realized. I come from a family of musicians, so I was raised with music all around me, it was a natural thing for me to make music. My grandfather used to play the piano and the organ at a church and when I, as a little kid, saw a keyboard for the first time I fell in love. I studied keyboard playing at a Yamaha music school as a kid and at a conservatory when I was around 19. After that I just kept learning different genres and techniques by myself.
Video games were also a big part of my life, but thinking about working as a musician for games wasn’t in my mind. However, I was fascinated by games music, I even had a music tape I recorded hooking up my Genesis to a recorder!
One day I was invited to play the keys with a video game music cover band called Insert Coin, that day my mind made the click, I realized I could somehow merge my two biggest loves in life. I ended up touring with that band for 5 years.

Insert Coin live in concert
Around that time I also started making my own tracks and uploading to Soundcloud, I remember finding out about the “chiptune” genre and trying to mix that with other stuff, so I ended up making my first electronic+chiptune tracks.
It was a matter of time and making more and more music to stumble upon people, now friends of mine, that worked making games and loved my music and wanted it in their games.
So that’s how I ended up making music for games and I’ve been doing that (as well as sound design and implementation) as my primary job since 2015.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Oh that’s all over the place, I listen to a lot of different styles of music, from Daft Punk to Vulpeck and ORESAMA. Most of my inspiration for my albums and singles come from the new wave of electronic producers and chiptune artists, like Porter Robinson, Hyper Potions, Moe Shop or Snile’s House. But when composing for games I kind of shift the mindset and end up opening my inspiration box full of the 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit era composers like Masato Nakamura (Sonic 1 and 2), Koji Kondo (Zelda, Mario), Michiru Yamane (Rocket Knight Adventures, Castlevania), and also current game composers like my friends Tee Lopes (Sonic Mania) and Francisco Cerda (Jamestown).

Masato Nakamura

-In addition to your musical work on video games, you perform live. Does your experience performing provide inspiration for your game music, or vice versa?
Well, my live performances are really influenced by my love for games. I usually play remixes of music from games and make cool visuals with lots of pixel art and game references (and memes). My live shows are really a gaming and internet culture mess!

-Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
In that regard I believe that it is impossible to decouple yourself from the things you make, and that’s not only for music. I think every artist learns from the stuff that they like and incorporate to its creation. However, what you borrow from other artists are resources and tools, so when you use them to make your stuff it’s never gonna sound like them, it’s gonna sound like you, with some influence. But I can’t say exactly what about my music is “me”, I just do it. Then some people come saying “oh this track is so Toni Leys!”, and I really don’t know what exactly is that thing, but yeah, it’s there.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
I use FL Studio to compose and REAPER for mixing and mastering, sort of. But in the case of Mall Brawl, which is specifically coded as an NES rom, I used Famitracker. It’s a tracker, a special music software where you can write music compatible with the NES system. In the same way I’m using Deflemask (also a tracker) to make music for Phantom Gear, that is being made for the Sega Genesis system.

-Tell me about the development of Mall Brawl’s music, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose more traditional music?
The approach I use when making music for a game is more or less always the same, I learn as much as I can from the game, I get references of the music style wanted and start drafting some tracks to bounce off the dev team and receive some feedback. From there I just go on making and polishing the tracks and testing them in game to see if I need to change something. In the case of Mall Brawl, it was the same, but the special thing here was the limitations I had in terms of technical specs. For example, I had 4 channels to work with, that’s 4 sounds maximum playing at the same time. I couldn’t use samples so I “synthesized” the drums with the note channels. I couldn’t use some specific commands like vibrato or pitch bend, so I had to bake those into the instruments. Stuff like that. But I think the soundtrack came out pretty cool and reminiscent of the most classic NES beat-‘em-ups!

-Your work on homebrew games spans a wide assortment of gems including the upcoming Phantom Gear and you have created fun remixes to music from Zelda and Undertale. How has your approach to composition evolved over the years?
I think the most notorious change in my approach to composing music was thanks to working for games. I talked a little bit about this already, when you compose music as its own product you face it with that in mind, it’s the most common way of approaching music making. But when composing for a game, and I learnt this when I started having this job, you make music as a gear of a bigger machine. Your music serves a purpose, actually, many purposes! Giving a narrative to the game, communicating stuff to the player, providing a time and space for the scene. The game is a big monster full of work made by different people (artists, designers, programmers) and all of that needs to fit and work well together. So that’s the most drastic change in my approach to making music in the last years of my career.

Screenshot from Phantom Gear

-Speaking of Phantom Gear, tell me more about that project. How do you like working with Bits Rule Games and Mega Cat Studios? How does the experience of composing for a Sega Genesis homebrew game compare to composing for the NES?
Bits Rule Games is a fantastic group of people, and I really can’t believe how beautiful Phantom Gear is looking and how well it works, even with the development still in progress. The process is not that different for both games, but the Genesis sound chip has a lot more to offer, and that’s great but makes it more complicated too. I have much more freedom when making instruments, I can use cool samples and I have a lot of channels to work with. But you can imagine, in a weird environment like making homebrews, double the tech specs and you have double the problems to solve!

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Mall Brawl? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Working with the guys in this game was actually pretty straight forward, apart from the technical limitations we faced, and that we stated clearly at the beginning of the production process, the rest was a smooth ride! But I am aware that I had the advantage of having worked a lot with trackers and those types of limitations before. So to the folks that want to get their hands in making music for a retro homebrew, be sure to know your tools very well!
A lot of times you’ll be faced with issues that you have to workaround in an unorthodox way, but it’s also a lot of fun, so go download a few trackers and make some cool beats!

-How did you first connect with Tomas Guinan and the folks at Interabang and what is the working dynamic like as you work on your respective aspects of the game?
I met Justin Woodward, head of Interabang, when he came to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I live. He traveled to give a talk at EVA (Exposición de Videojuegos Argentina), the gaming industry expo we have here. Then we kept in contact and I started working on Chronic Blunt Punch, the other Jay and Silent Bob game. After that he told me about Mall Brawl and I was super stoked, that’s where I met Tomas and we started working on that. I work from my home here in Buenos Aires and I believe Tomas works from his home too, so we worked together communicating over discord and having some calls with Justin too.

-Were you a fan of Kevin Smith and his View Askewniverse prior to Mall Brawl?
Some will kill me for this but I actually was really disconnected from that fandom. I did see some of the movies a long time ago but I barely remembered them, so I re-watched some of the movies when I started talking about this with Justin, and oh boy, what a ride!

-What is it like developing a game containing such cultural icons as Jay & Silent Bob?
It’s actually a huge responsibility, having a huge fandom behind, I don’t want to disappoint them. But at the same time there’s something about these kinds of games, that they are kind of their own bubbles of culture, so I try to stick to the references and the style of the game over everything else, then we talk about referencing the movies in some sense or bring some of the stylistic aspects that surround Jay and Silent Bob into the formula.

-Is there another project after Mall Brawl on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
Apart from Chronic Blunt Punch and Phantom Gear, I work for LemonChili Games, a mobile games company based here in Buenos Aires, so we’re always making stuff on that end. But for now I’m focused on finishing those projects as well as looking to the industry and what everyone is cooking. I have a few game studios in mind to work with in the future but nothing solid right now.

Screenshot of Floyd’s Sticker Squad from LemonChili Games

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I’m actually a bit of a laser-focused person, so with all my projects going on I may be missing some gems that are under development right now. I was following Micro Mages and Arkagis Revolution, fantastic games that are already released. So I’m waiting to be hit by some fantastic homebrew!

Screenshot from Arkagis Revolution

-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 very much for having me! If you like the music I composed for Mall Brawl please stay tuned, a digital release of the soundtrack is on its way. Also, you can stop by my Instagram or Twitter if you have any questions or just want to say hi!

Hans “Hanzo” Steinbach
@HeavyMetalHanzo
-Before we talk about Mall Brawl, I want 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?
As a kid in the 80's Anime and Videogames were my world. They led me to a very interesting and varied career path. I grew up in Europe and here Anime was more prevalent than American cartoons.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Go Nagai (Mazinger Z, Devil Man) would have to be one of my earliest influences. I don't really follow any particular artists these days to be honest, there are so many amazing artists out there it'd be hard for me to pick and choose which ones to follow.

Go Nagai standing with a poster of his art

-You've also created art for another beloved homebrew: Battle Kid 2. Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
I've been told that my drawings usually feel very energetic, I’m not too fond of static drawings, I usually want there to be some motion and energy.
My aesthetic leans mostly towards "Anime" but with hints of other styles, for a while I’ve been studying Moebius and Gustave Doré too.

Box art for Battle Kid 2

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for Mall Brawl, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you create character designs and illustrations for other projects?
It's basically like any other illustrations I work on, I usually wait till my initial sketches are approved and move on to lineart and coloring. I do have a tendency of separating every character into their own layers, in case anything has to be moved around at a later time. Or in the case of the Jay and Silent Bob games, they can animate the illustrations for trailers etc.

-The box/label art is a fun homage to Double Dragon 2. Are you a fan of NES beat-‘em-ups? What drove you to use that game's art as inspiration?
Oh yeah I grew up with those games, they were basically the type of games I played when I couldn’t figure out what to play, haha. It's so nice to see the resurgence of high-quality beat-‘em-ups.
Justin (Interabang Entertainment) always comes up with those ideas, it makes the process go smoothly since I won’t have to spend time thinking of a layout or what to draw.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Mall Brawl? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I didn't have any particular challenges with this one luckily, but for aspiring "digital" artists, make sure you have a backup save for the particular drawing you're working on. Boy, did I learn that the hard way...

-How did you first connect with Tomas Guinan and the folks at Interabang and what was it like working with them?
I never directly interacted with Tomas, unfortunately, but Justin Woodward was the one that got in touch with me and we've been in touch through Discord ever since.
Working with them was just a fun and comfortable process, I'm always looking forward to working with them again.

-Were you a fan of Kevin Smith and his View Askewniverse prior to Mall Brawl?
I ruined my Mallrats VHS tape, I had this movie on a loop it was so damn good. But yeah I’ve been a fan since the old Clerks days.

The alt text Word suggests for this picture is: a picture containing phone

-What is it like creating art of such cultural icons as Jay & Silent Bob?
Frankly it's surreal, back in the day I would be drawing while Mallrats was playing in the background. Never thought I would one day end up doing some art for them. I’m very thankful for that.

-Is there another project after Mall Brawl on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
I am actually in the middle of 2 different projects, unfortunately due to NDA I am not at liberty to talk about them until the games are announced. But I can promise you, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Yeah, my friend Carlos has been working on his game called "Lords of Exile". I've been helping him out with some character designs and illustrations. Fans of 8-bit Castlevania should definitely check it out.

Screenshot of Lords of Exile from Squidbit Works

-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?
Anytime Sean, it was a pleasure answering these questions. It's nice to see so many people supporting devs who left their jobs to follow their passion and work on their own games, usually meant for a particular audience or a particular style. It’s just nice to see so much creativity these days and I hope everyone will achieve their goals.

Nathan Shorts & Ty Burks (Wallride Games)
@WallrideGames
-Before we dive into Mall Brawl, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to get into design and development? What is the origin story of Wallride Games, and what is the significance of the name?
Nathan - My background is a bit all over the place haha. Before entering the game dev space, I studied advertising and then traditional illustration... Jumped around different art fields - I was a graphic designer, then freelance illustrator, then I had a focused stint in indie comics and publishing, before jumping into games. Worked on all sorts of randomness there too, but doing art direction and biz for ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove was probably one of my biggest marks on the industry so far!

Screenshot from ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove
Ty - I’ve been in different creative positions in the games industry for about 12 years or so, working on games for all different platforms - I think I’ve been some part of about 30 games now, yikes. I was Creative Director for a mobile studio for years, working on games like Skee-Ball, Strata, and multiple Disney games. I went on to lead teams on Job Simulator and Rick & Morty: VR. Also spent some time working in the advertising industry running a VR department - but eventually returned to video games and started WALLRIDE with Nathan!

ScreenshoBUUUUUURPt from Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality
As for WALLRIDE - Ty and Nathan - having never met before in person - decided over Twitter to start a game studio together. 1 year, 3 commercial releases, and a handful of secret projects later… well things are going preeeettty goooood, pretty good.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Nathan - All of my industry friends are constantly making incredible games, so that’s a great tap of inspiration. I'm also super inspired by our team at Wallride, an endlessly creative group!

I try to pull influence from non-game sources usually - Movies, cartoons, & music are big ones for me. Been going back through the Angry Samoans catalog. LOVE the new Osees record, Protean Threat. Lil Boat 3 is a banger! Son of Godzilla is on loop in our house right now for some reason? My son really likes how the case looks. I main-vein Cartoon Cartoons.

And Tony Hawk Pro Skater, of course!
Ty - SO many awesome games these days, it’s overwhelming. I love retro-inspired games with modern design - Shovel Knight, The Messenger, Cave Story, etc - I’m a sucker for a great 2d platformer. Personally I’m still largely inspired by the weirdness of 90’s Nickelodeon, being a kid, skateboarding, Sega Genesis-era video game commercials, and buddy comedy movies. We try to collaborate with as many amazing artists and developers as we can, always keeping an eye out.

-What tools do you use to design and program?
Nathan - Really anything that gets the job done! Wallride now works in both Unity and Unreal. For art direction, I hop around all the Adobe Creative Suite programs, though I’ve taken a real liking to Procreate over the past 8 months. Blender 3D and Oculus Medium are my ride or dies. Google Suite, Trello, Discord - we use a lot.
Ty - Yeah, my life is Google Docs, Photoshop, and Unity. I’m on the iPad a lot, typically in Procreate for concept art, or some sort of traditional animation tool to mock direction up for the team. Whatever gets the point communicated. Sometimes that’s just a quick whiteboard scribble.

-Looking across the breadth of your work, how would you describe your design aesthetic? What does your creative process look like generally?
Nathan - Uuh.. I still consider a lot of my visual output to be pretty “low brow”. Not ever really insulting or offensive, but still pretty unapologetic - occasionally crude. Loud, stylized, suuuper saturated.
Ty - I tend to focus on gameplay and mechanics before anything else, unless I think of a hilarious premise first! Fluid gameplay, satisfying feedback and intuitive design are king to me. Stylized and vibrant visuals. Juicy animations. Too many particle effects.

Screenshot from EleMetals: Death Metal Death Match! by Wallride Games

-My understanding is that you came in later in the game’s development, working on some of the art in the first few levels and essentially all of the background art for stages 6-9 as well as a lot of the later-game enemy sprites, including the ninjas, female enemies, and Cock-Knocker. Tell us about your experience working on the design and development of Mall Brawl. How do you approach touching up someone else’s work, versus designing something from the ground up?
Ty - Sure, essentially that was some of the content we focused on. Coming into a project at that point, there are systems and rules set in place that have been tested and are fun - so that makes our life a bit easier. We get to come in with fresh eyes and try to punch up visuals and design wherever we can, offering feedback as well. Breaking down previous characters and levels that are working, and understanding what is making them work in the game is a key step here. We were allowed some creative freedom, but it all needs to look like a cohesive experience. Stoked on how it all turned out.

-What are the necessary ingredients to a well-designed level?
Nathan - A bucket of slime and a dash of salt
Ty - Dynamically rationing that bucket of slime across a level, while increasingly pacing the salt dashes so the player doesn’t get burned out or sick of salt. Right when you think you’re going to get more salt, we hit you with black pepper - only to realize all that slime wasn’t even slime at all… it was Gak.

He wasn’t lying about the 90s Nickelodeon vibes

-What goes through your mind when designing such detailed sprites constructed of pixels and the color limitations imposed by the NES?
Ty - “I ONLY GET HOW MANY PIXELS?!?”

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Interabang? What was the division of labor on Mall Brawl, and how was the development process between members of the team?
Ty - Interabang was Jay. Spoony Bard was Silent Bob. Wallride was the chocolate pretzel.

Nathan - I wouldn’t shake hands with us if I were you...

…I have some follow-up questions regarding this analogy.

-Were you a fan of the View Askewniverse prior to Mall Brawl?
Ty - Way too big of a fan to appropriately handle being offered to work on this game. I’ve had a Mallrats movie poster in my living room for well over a decade.

Nathan - OH yeah. Got a big ol’ VHS collection to prove it!

-What is it like developing a game containing such cultural icons as Jay & Silent Bob?
Ty - It was a tiny bit daunting at times, but being such longtime fans it all came pretty naturally when we’d hop on calls and just make design jokes about potential gags and content. We worked pretty hard to make sure we made something quality for the fans.

Ty, stop trying to make Adoughbo happen!

Nathan - It’s always tricky trying to find that balance of what you want in a game, what isn’t totally out of scope, and what the fans would expect from possibly their favorite characters in the world. I feel like we all did a pretty good job though!

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Mall Brawl as opposed to your other projects? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Ty - It was incredibly challenging but incredibly satisfying to figure out how to make these tiny sprite sheets turn into entire environments. Coming at a retro game with modern design philosophy really helped craft this game into something that I can barely believe runs on the NES. With this size pixel art, you can really get away with just implying shapes and attributes of characters. Every pixel counts. Just start making stuff. Like, right now. Just do it.

-There has been a lot of buzz around Mall Brawl across fans of homebrew and the View Askewniverse, as well as Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes themselves having a blast streaming their gameplay of Mall Brawl. How does it feel to bask in such enthusiasm and support?
Ty - Was pretty dope to see Jay stream the game, really glad they all enjoyed the game.

Nathan - Getting to fire up a game we helped to make on an ACTUAL NES in freakin’ 2020 is probably one of the more satisfying gamedev moments I’ve had in my life.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
Ty - Yes, and oh yes.

Nathan - *wink wink wink wink wink wink*

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Nathan - I like potato wine brewed in a bathtub, personally. That grape toilet wine ain't my JAM.
Ty - Beer pong, but that’s already released.

-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?
Ty - Snoochie Boochies. twitter.com/wallridegames
Nathan - *stands there, nodding silently*

Justin Woodward (Interabang Entertainment)
@icjman @InterabangEnt
(this interview was conducted over Zoom and the resulting transcript has been edited)
-Thanks again for agreeing to do this interview! To get started, let's talk about you. I would love to hear more about your background. What moved you to develop games? What is the beginning of Interrobang Entertainment and the significance of that particular punctuation to you?
So basically, I loved games since I was little. I love games, action figures, comics, games, just anything that was out of this world. I’m a very creative person, I was drawing since I was five. And so video games captivated me, starting from friends and relatives who had an Atari. We didn't have an Atari, I was too young. But then I remember I got my first system, which was the Nintendo. I'm 39 right now, so I'm not a spring chicken. But my first system was a Nintendo, and the first game I had was Contra, which blew my mind. It took stuff from Aliens, it was really imaginative, and I love character design and character art. So that's one of the things I focused on besides business. But what Capcom did with Mega Man and then Street Fighter? I was always in the arcade anytime; if we were near an arcade at the amusement park, or at the laundromat, or 7-Eleven, I would just beg my mom for quarters to play whatever Data East or Capcom game was there.

Pweeeeese mom, they’ve got the new Street Fighter!
That led to a fascination of video games in general. I continued my art and went to an art high school, but I always drew character design and stuff like that. And then I bought every system that came out. I found a way to hustle money to get every system. When the Sega Genesis came out I had to get that, and then Super Nintendo, had to get that TurboGrafx-16, and all that besides the add-on stuff, and then PlayStation everything. Then it escalated into the Dreamcast era. And that's when I actually got a job in the game department at Toys “R” Us, that's kind of when I learned sales skills, because I knew how to talk to the parents and sell different stuff, which was great. Then, to just fast forward a little bit, then I went to the Art Institute for game design, game development, and art, and it was an interesting experience. I met some great people just who loved games. And I wasn't in that pocket, I played games a lot, but not all of my friends played games. A lot of my friends liked chasing girls and everything else, which I was a part of that too, but at the same time, I was so involved with art and games that when I was able to go to AI, that's when I was like, oh my God, this is my tribe right here. You know? They were artists.
After I got out of college, it was very difficult because the college wasn't that great in exposing you to the things that you needed for the field or the expectations needed. So I had to learn a lot in the last six months to a year to get ready to get into the industry. And so I just grinded on, in that particular moment, I was really focused on environment, 3D environment, art. So I had to just do all this, figure out modeling and texturing and doing it to the level that was expected for the Xbox 360 era, because that's where I was coming out in 2006. They have different techniques in every system like this new one has HDR and ray tracing and all of these other things, so that the folks who are now graduating and learning to get to the point where they need to go, they need to learn those techniques.
Besides having the fundamentals of art and design to get out into the world, I befriended a bunch of people and then got into THQ, they've now risen again like the Phoenix. They were defunct for a number of years, but they had a few studios in San Diego. There's rock star Sony that does the MLB games. There were two THQ studios and there was High Moon Studios, which was doing really cool artistic games, and then they got bought by Activision. But at the time we had to hustle. It was like 2006-2007, and this whole indie phenomenon was not around, so I got to get this job.
I ended up getting a job and I really hated it. To me it was terrible because I'm a creative person, I'm also very entrepreneurial. So when I went in there and worked with those folks, it was just, as far as what I could do creatively, I understand what it takes, you got to put your work in and pay your dues, but at the same time, I saw the people at the top and they weren't happy on these projects. They were licensed projects. I got laid off shortly after I even started, maybe three or four months after I started. And I was just disillusioned by the whole process, to be honest, although I love working on games.
And I was like, I'm going to do this on my own, I'm going to figure this out on my own. So I started a graphic design agency, it was called Wormwood Studios, we did it for a year. And what we did was, we would just do these freelancers called E-Lance, so we did all these freelance jobs. I was like, this is cool, but I really need to do something artistic and I want to make games. I'm obsessed with games, and that's what I have my degree in and that's what I want to do. So we took on a project called Shinobi Ninja Attacks, and that was our first game. It was little or no money, but at the same time, it was some money because everyone else had day jobs and I was hustling these graphic designs on the side. We ended up picking up this project, we formulated the team, and during that process, it was a lot of growing pains because I didn't understand how to manage. I knew how to be a leader, but at the same time I made a ton of mistakes, like letting people go, saying “I'm the boss” type of shit like that.

Screenshot from Shinobi Ninja Attacks
And then it was a great process, and I learned project management through all these different techniques and methodologies. I was getting mentors along the way who ended up pulling me up and so on. Anyway, during that time, we were like, what should we call the company? It wasn't that we were ditching Wormwood Studios and making a transition just to games. And Chris, who was on our team (he’s the co-founder), he was like, how about the name Interrobang because we were really silly and are ridiculous with a sense of humor. It's definitely not politically correct. So we were like, what if it was Interrobang? Because interrobang is the question mark and the exclamation point. That identifies like, “what the hell did I just see,” that kind of thought process. And so that's kind of where that came from, we wanted to make games that were like “what”? I haven't seen something like that before. That was that name. That was a long ass explanation.

-I love it though! So as far as your creative process, who do you look to as your influences and who whose work do you like watching now?
There's so much stuff, wow I can’t even think! I cut out a bunch of history and I don't want to have to give you just a chunk of it, but what has happened in the past ten years is we made a game called Super Comboman. We moved to San Francisco. We worked at IGN for two years, and became partners with IGN. We started a business called The MIX: The Media Indie Exchange, which is an event organization for indies, which has been blowing up over the past eight years. And then we were at Double Fine for three years and became friends with all the folks at Double Fine working out of their office.

Banner from The MIX event page
Most of the people that I really look up to or are inspired by are peers at this point. I work with the Guerilla Collective, we did that event and we worked with twenty-five publishers, next week we're going to have around sixty games in the showcase. So I'm talking to a lot of the indie darling folks in there. And I consider them my peers now. I just take a lot from each of them, like Alex Austin, he did Sub Rosa, he's working with Devolver on that. I helped him a little bit, being a producer on that. He's just freaking genius. Hollow Knight is just is such a gorgeous game; Team Cherry is, and I don't really know them personally, but what they're doing is phenomenal. And as far as The Arcade Crew and Dotemu, who did the Wonder Boy game and Streets of Rage, they're killing it. Wayfort is killing it. And Yacht Club. I like that representation in this space just because those are the games I grew up with, and what they're doing, they're doing them a solid with their interpretation and up-resing them and actually showing the love for those genres. But as far as the super heavyweights, Platinum is the shit, I love Platinum.
But there's a lot of influences. It's just, it's cool to see. I did an interview with tinyBuild, which is going to air next week and, just hearing Alex Nichiporchik, who's the head of tinyBuild, just to hear their process of how they came up with Hello Neighbor, and how they are creating franchises based on those properties with independent teams is just phenomenal. Working out of Double Fine for those three years and seeing their creative process and how they work as a team, you couldn't pay for that. And that is very, very inspiring. They have such a fluid system, they would be working on multiple projects and then they would shift the teams and change desks and have a hub of teams work together. And then they would flip and then have game play days. And then they did the Amnesia Fortnights where they're doing prototypes and stuff that eventually may turn into a game like that. Stuff is great, it's a great time to be in the industry. I feel very blessed to be in a space that I've basically created, but also people let me into their lives as comrades in a tribe of independent game development, and it’s so awesome.

-And so I feel that I can't really even talk about Mall Brawl yet until we get to where the story really begins, which is the modern style brawler Jay & Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch. So let's talk about that game first. What was the inspiration for Chronic Blunt Punch?
Well it was interesting. Like I was saying, I was at Double Fine, we were partners with IGN and we were doing The MIX. The Mix was initially at IGN. So when we were working at IGN and had this thing called IPL, it was the IGN pro-league in which they had League of Legends, they had StarCraft too, with these crazy tournaments and it was blowing up. But anyway, we were working on Super Comboman for so long in the office. I was working 12-hour days and the only people that were there at ten o'clock at night were the IPL staff. So I became cool with the video producers and one of them is actually our main producer for our streams. This dude, Buddy, he was cool with me. We were at E3 one year, I was roaming around the E3 show floor, and the joy of E3 to me isn't necessarily the games per se, it's the folks making the games who are now my friends. I would go to each booth and be like, “Hey, woah what’s up? I haven't seen in you a long time!”, that kind of thing. And Buddy was at the booth and he's like, “Yo, I have a friend, I think was at DC.” They were making an Infinite Crisis MOBA or something like that. And he was the lead stream producer. And he's like, “I have a friend. He is in your area, he's in Berkeley and he needs help with any development advice, can you give some help?” I said yeah, shoot me an email.

The floor at E3, photo by Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times
So he shot me an email introducing me to Trevor Fehrman, and Trevor was in Clerks 2, and I was like, that's pretty cool, I wonder what he's going to be talking about. He says, “I've talked to Kevin Smith and I was like, look, we want to make a game.” He said on the set of Clerks 2 that he's down for him doing it and putting a team together, he also was an editor and a really, really good writer. So he's been working in games. He loves games. So he was like, “You guys do our Indy team. Kevin said we have the rights. Let's think about putting a game together.” And I was asking him what his thoughts were, seeing if we vibe and stuff, because I've been just in the earlier part of my career, like in 2005 through 2010, I had just been through so much shit with, shady people or working so hard and stuff is not coming through, and BS deals. And so I was seeing how he moved, and we really saw eye to eye. And I was like, ok I'm cool with this, but I need an email from Kevin saying that this is legitimate, you know what I mean? And hes says, “Yeah, I don't want to bother him.” I understand why he didn't want to bother him, because I have to communicate with them on a regular basis. But Kevin emailed me, said, “Yeah, you guys are good.” And I thought, wow, ok, this is legit. So then we started meeting more regularly.

One game to rule them all!
The biggest thing was we were finishing up Super Comboman. I've had two publishers. We worked with Adult Swim Games on it and then we worked with Flashman Games. It wasn't the greatest experience because releasing your first game and not really understanding how to communicate with publishers, that's an education in its own. I don't blame them, but it was just a difficult process. We were finishing that up. But the point being, I had to figure out how to raise the funds. No one's going to give us money to make the game, right? That was kind of the deal with View Askew, Kevin Smith's team was like, “We’re cool with it. We're down to help you promote and stuff, but you're going to do the business involved.” Obviously we're going to have to figure out how to fund the project.
So that was the next situation that I needed to figure out. What was interesting was at that time, I was actually helping to organize it along with the folks at Double Fine. And the COO of Double Fine, Justin Bailey, he started a company called Fig out of Double Fine. He had this whole indie space set up. It was pretty awesome at first; we were in the tech room at Double Fine. Then he rented out a huge section of the office for indies to come and work. He would bring his Fig team there to talk about deals and stuff. They had Feargus Urquhart from Obsidian, and Brian Fargo, and crazy folks lined up to be in this as advisers on Fig. And so Justin was like, “Hey, would you want to do biz-dev for me?” Because he saw the hustle that I do with The MIX, in that I was able to get all of these deals for Super Comboman, and move things around, and help other people get deals and stuff. And I was like, “Nah, but I do have the license to Jay & Silent Bob, what about if we run a campaign on Fig?” So that's kind of where it came about.

Screenshot of Jay & Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch’s Fig page
I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith's stuff and I grew up with it. I remember when I was sleeping in my apartment on the floor, trying to hustle our Shinobi Ninja Attacks. I was going through my master's program for game management and business. And I was just struggling. Every time I would have this anxiety or struggle with what I was doing, because it wasn't easy doing this independently, I would turn on Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. I watched that movie so many times. And then when Dogma came, I would always watch it. I had all the DVDs. So it was kind of a dream come true to have that. And we thought, what if we made a tag-team beat-‘em-up? Fighting games are my jam, those are my favorite games. We do Evo every year. I love fighting games and love beat-‘em-ups, and those are the first two games that we made and we thought, let's level it up, make hand-drawn animation, make it very fluid, but make a tag-team brawler. So that was the impetus behind that. And then Justin from Fig was like, “Hell, yeah, we'll do it. We'll even guarantee some money up front. We'll help you pay for all of the cost behind doing the pitch video.” Which was cool because we actually did it in Obsidian’s studio and Fergus Urquhart was actually in the video, it’s hilarious. And then Kevin and Jason, they were super, super supportive. Things just lined up at the right time. We started concepting in 2015 and didn't really get started until after we got the first chunk of our funding, which was early 2017 and then there was a delay because we didn't get all the funding that we needed and then that's a whole different story. But that was how Chronic Blunt Punch came to be.

-In seeing some of the updates and visiting the Fig page for Chronic Blunt Punch, it has a fun, cartoony design and has really engaging features. I was so engrossed reading about Convo Combo Combat. How would you describe your creative process and your aesthetic in developing something like this?
So we're all artists at heart, right? The core team initially behind Super Comboman and Chronic Blunt Punch were all artists and we wanted to make something very visually striking. We didn't see a lot of really great hand-drawn based games with fluid animation. One of our favorite games in the genre at that time was Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. That game was just amazing. Castle Crashers was really great. They both had really great aesthetics. There were a lot more indie games coming out with this hand-drawn style. So our basis was we wanted to make an animation, looks like a cartoon. We wanted to be very vibrant, very colorful. And that's what we wanted for all of our Interrobang games. If you look at Super Comboman or you look at the game before that, it's just very vibrant, very colorful, playful, Capcom/Konami-esque arcade games. That's what we're trying to hit. We're trying to hit the era of Konami when they were killing it with Bucky O'Hare, X-Men, Ninja Turtles. That whole era, everything Treasure, like Guardian Heroes, Gunstar Heroes, all the stuff that Treasure was doing that was very vibrant, colorful and creating their own identity.

Screenshot from Super Comboman
That's basically what we were trying to hit as far as combat and stuff. Again, we're really big fighting game fans, especially Evan and myself. He's the guy who helps run the animation team in Washington. And we wanted to create a really dynamic fighting system where you can juggle guys, combo them in the air, and you could tag-team like in Donkey Kong Country, not like they pop in from out of nowhere, but they're actually there with you the whole time. You could tag and then someone could jump in and just play as Jay or play as Bob. And Convo Combo Combat, what I was initially trying to do with Interrobang early on, this kind of stems from the Super Comboman era, I wanted to get into more of this. I think a lot of this stuff when you’re an indie team is scope, you can iterate and you can prototype, but if you have a larger team, and you don't have the funding initially, you have to spend less time prototyping all of these new, cool things.
The core behind Super Comboman was you're beating up dudes, you're smashing dudes through objects, and there's shit falling all over the place and you feel really powerful. Then we had this other thing where, because in that game this character struggles, and you're in this construction environment, which is really messing up the island, and the initial idea is that every time you interacted with one of the workers, you could either smash them, which would have a chain reaction throughout the whole construction team, or you can actually just break the walls that you were hired to break like a human demolition squad, and then you would be rewarded in that way. So there’s supposed to be a cause and effect. And all of the enemies had this emotion system, which when they got pissed, they would come at you, so what I wanted to do was add more of a cause and effect vibe to the games and add this emotional tension that you have interacting with characters that carried on to Jay & Silent Bob. The biggest part of Jay & Silent Bob is their personalities, even though Bob is non-verbal, his interaction with Jay through his body language and emotional expression through his facial expressions and stuff. And then Jay is just quick to say whatever the hell is on his mind. I was like, what if we did something that affected the gameplay in different sequences through pacing the combat and then having these conversation sequences that you're changing the trajectory of how the player interacts with these bosses? So that was the initial idea behind that. Back in the day, we used to play the dozens and make fun of people, you know what I mean? So we actually created early on, a system where you build phrases, and it was timed, it'll actually collapse, like in real life, if you start fumbling with your words, it doesn't have the same impact, and the options will diminish in value, you start to have dumb things pop up. So we created this phrase tree that branches out and then it'll go in different directions based on what you select. Then on the enemy side, we had different feelings and emotions when you hit them in a specific place, like they have some kind of psychological issue with being fat, that kind of thing, or their nose or something physical, or their mom or whatever. We have that implemented in the back end of that character. And you have to attack that area of the boss in order to get an outcome which would more than likely they would be pissed off and angry, so they would be stronger and they just rush you, or they would be sad so they'd be slower. That was the initial idea. But the grand scheme of things, what we wanted to do was add these slowly over time, add these emotional factors in our games. So you feel like you're a little bit, in more of a metaphorical way, you're interacting with other people whether they're NPCs or not, in a way that affects them outside of just punching them in the face.

Oh snap! Er, I should wait and see how this insult goes first.

-Any new updates on Chronic Blunt Punch that you can share?
Tomas is joining the team after working on Mall Brawl. It just feels so good, the combat feels really good, the physics got redone. We just teamed up with Angry Metal, the team who did all of the cutscenes for their animation team in Spain, they did all the cutscenes and animation for Streets of Rage 4. We're working with them on in-game animation. This is really fun because we have a similar sense of humor. I don't know if you’ve seen, the characters are ridiculous, we have a hipster with a beard and he fights with his beard and he has gauge earrings, and then you have this old hero who has a defibrillator on his chest, and if he dies, he shocks himself back up. It's just ridiculous. That is the biggest aspect is that we're rapidly moving forward and things are coming together quite well. It's just difficult to show all of those aspects in updated videos, but I'm really loving it. It just looks like something you've never really seen before in a beat-‘em-up, and with that caliber of aesthetics, it feels good too.

-Something that a lot of the folks in the homebrew community on Video Game Sage love to poke into, especially if they are aspiring game makers themselves, they love to know what tools folks use to create. So what tools do you use to create your games?
So for Chronic Blunt Punch we used Unity. With any of these tools, you have to customize it, we don't have a total customized backend that allows us to do what we want as designers and animators, we are not an engineer-driven team. The engineers are a minority on the team, so we needed tools that would allow us to implement animations and make design choices without burdening the engineer because he's working on the stuff (Zanies is our main engineer now). Tomas jumped on board and we have another one coming on board too. It was very important that we used plug-ins within Unity. We built our own tools, but it's been really nice working in Unity. It's been amazing. Unity themselves have been amazing, we've communicated with them quite often on projects and they've helped us out with licenses and that kind of thing. And as far as Mall Brawl, that was all done in Assembly. Hats off to Tomas, Tomas is a bad ass. He did that all in Assembly. He has his own techniques and then we put together a platform in Unity to wrap it in order for us to get it on PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.

-At what point did the idea of an 8-bit companion to Chronic Blunt Punch come about?
Basically we've been in this long, arduous process of development for Chronic Blunt Punch. We were early on in Fig’s cycle of releasing these crowdfunding campaigns. And so that being said, the legal process for having investors jump on wasn't finalized. While we're in that process, we weren't able to collect on a lot of the money that you would see reflected on the Fig page. If you look at the Fig Page there's $445,000. We saw half of that, and we needed the rest of it. Nothing against Fig, what Fig did was cool. I ended up working there and working with developers on the publishing end getting them on as a process and they didn't have that issue anymore. And they were basically paying out the money that they couldn't up front. But then at a point they were trying to figure stuff out on their own and they had to stop. During that time, it just stretched everything thin. And a lot of the team had to go and get side hustles; I had to let certain external contractors know we can't do anything anymore because we don't have the funding. That's pretty much what stretched out the development cycle of the game, which I really wanted to be around two and a half years.
So during that time, I was looking for different investors and different ways to find the money to finish Chronic Blunt Punch. And I was talking with Limited Run for quite a while. They have been great supporters of The MIX, they've been sponsors of The MIX. We did a Super Comboman with Limited Run on PS4. So I'm really cool with Doug and Joss. They're amazing. They initially wanted to invest in Chronic Blunt Punch because they had a really interesting story surrounding Kevin Smith's films, how they met and got back together to work on Limited Run and their games. And that kind of fell through, you know, things happen, and they were just spit-balling what we can work together on? And they were like, what if you made another game as marketing for Chronic Blunt Punch? I was like, that's a great idea! What if it was an 8-bit brawler? It has a different storyline, but it still ties into what we're doing in the universe that we're creating as a whole. And they were like, oh hell yeah. And we just started passing ideas back and forth. And they're like, well we just worked with Tomas on this game called Galf, how about we do an intro and then we will do some upfront funding of the project and then we'll take it to market on the NES. And I was like, that sounds really cool. So they introduced me to Tomas, and Tomas and I hit it off immediately: the same love for retro games, the same understanding of the history of games so we can reference stuff immediately. I have a really good understanding of combat design and design in general, he's coding, he has ideas, our artistic direction, this is how we should do this. He would shoot a level over and I would play the level and say we should do it this way, then he would throw enemies in there. I would tell him the combat for these enemies. We would brainstorm. It was just a great process. But that was the main focus for the game: how do we give something to the fans who supported us all these years, and then also create a funding source to finish Chronic Blunt Punch without getting a publisher? That was the idea and it just really worked.

Now that’s what I call a golf story!
Luckily the stars aligned with Tomas and myself. And then we hit up Nathan and Ty, Nathan's my dog, he worked on the ToeJam & Earl game and he used to live down the street. I knew Greg Johnson, who's the creator of ToeJam & Earl, because they started a new company, Wallride, at the time and they were working on their games. And I was like, hey, you want to jump on? We need pixel animators, we need some background art so Tomas could focus on the design and building the engine in the game and they’re like, hell yeah. So they jumped on board. Then there was Michael Heald from Fully Illustrated, we need a really cool website. I worked with him previously. And we need a design for the cartridge and the box art. Hanzo, he's the illustrator, he worked for Udon. He's a German illustrator and he's freaking amazing. He does all the Street Fighter comics and stuff like that. I was like, yo, we need box art. We want it to look like the old school Double Dragon tattoo, but I want Jay in Bob's arms to kind of cut off that vibe. And it just all came together. It's a dream project because you never knew that in twenty-five years you would be working on a physical cart. And every time someone sees it, you got to get this physical thing. It's just like, oh Lord, we made this thing, and it was just a dream come true. That's what we're in it for, to fulfill that dream of creating stuff and making something cool, and the fact that the game is good. I put my heart into making sure that combat was legit, working with Tomas on all the bosses and making sure that the pacing is right. And it came together.

-You covered that so well that you actually answered the next two questions that I was going to ask about Limited Run and the working dynamic with the other folks on the team. So going to the promotion for the game, you had some fun rapping for the launch trailer for Mall Brawl. How long have you had and used that skill? Is there anywhere else where people can listen to you drop some sick beats?
I've been rapping since I was like 12 or so. I freestyle all the time. So Tomas, this sounds really weird but our relationship is really interesting in that we have a love for the same things. He's really good at video production too, he used to do animations on Newgrounds with his characters, so he's good at editing and putting stuff together.

Maybe you’ve seen them around, I’ve heard that guy in the middle is…cool!
We're coming up with the second trailer (he did the first one with his kid on the couch, he did all of that production), I was like, let's do something different. We had an idea of doing the old Zelda rap song, but since he's in Canada, it was just too much. Before COVID we had a bunch of stuff going on with The MIX, so I was like, Tomas come out, we're going to fly you out here, we're going to promote the game on The MIX, and I just want to show you the town, I want you to meet the team and we'll do everything as far as the commercial.
And it just didn't turn out, obviously, because of COVID. What ended up happening was we got to do the Zelda situation. My really close friend, Alex Wilmer, he has a studio, Wilmer Sound, he's been in the game industry for a long time. He worked at Crystal Dynamics and Facebook Games. He has a studio over here in Berkeley, a Foley studio. He's actually working on Netflix movies because he's doing the series Go! Go! Cory Carson at a studio. Anyway, I was like, yo I'm going to do this. I was writing the lyrics based on everything in the game. And I was rapping it. I got a beat from my friend Tamar, who's a professional producer, went over to Alex's place, I was like yo here's the beat, this is what I'm going to say. Let's pull it up. And then I just rapped it. After that we were like, how are we going to do the shoots? So we went to my girlfriend's house and we took our camera and we basically filmed every sequence in there. And then we worked with Tomas. Tomas helped edit it. We did B roll jiggling the controllers and our faces looking real ridiculous, and it all came together.

Two guys going all out on the latest video game? They got that B roll!
I've been rapping for a long time and it was great to get that creative expression out because when you're making a game as an indie team you all wear many hats. And one of the hats that I've been wearing a lot lately is the business hat. That being said, I don't feel I have as much time to explore my creative passions as I want to. So any time I can infuse that with what I'm doing, because my passion is game development, I don't have to necessarily go outside to express that artistic thing. Any time there's a possibility or an opportunity to bring my artistic passion into our projects, then we'll do it.

-You said you’ve always been a big fan of the View Askewniverse and that you watched Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back a lot. Is that your favorite or do you have a different one in the canon that is your all-time favorite?
I think it's different over the years. I think when I was a little bit older, I appreciated Clerks a lot more just for what Kevin had to do to make that film, and me resonating with that hustle. He made it when he was young, but just the psychology behind it, the theme behind it dealing with girlfriends, relationships, that kind of thing, that was really powerful, I think, on a production standpoint. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, the comedy was just on point. All of the actors, Will Ferrell, all of the cameos, the way that came together I think it's a masterpiece in that buddy kind of comedy film. It was just really good. But I would say production-wise that one and Dogma really stand out. That's mainstream cinema but amazing. Chasing Amy was really good too. That's a personal, if I want to feel something, that one was really good because it had me think about things from another perspective, because I've had that issue with a girlfriend, me not understanding her and condemning her in a specific way. That was, at the end, really sad. I can identify with that, and I think that's what he does really well, is the communication he has in his films. It has you show you’re empathetic towards the characters because it's a piece of you. Mallrats, I watched that so many times because I was obsessed with going to the mall all the time in San Diego, and the comic books, the references like Stan Lee, and it just being outlandish and ridiculous, that was a huge one for me.

-In making Jay & Silent Bob games, does playing within an existing world of established characters impose limits on what you can do with them, or do you find that playing within a defined sandbox of cultural icons helps nurture creativity?
I would say limitation helps you to define your vision and come up with timelines a little bit easier. I think that what you know within the realm of a Nintendo game, since we took so long to produce Chronic Blunt Punch, it was good to have the limitations of 8-bit expression because we knew what we could do. We knew what was outside of our scope and we had to stick to that. But I think Tomas and myself knowing that whole universe, that helped us jump off with some really hilarious ideas and be very referential. I'm just trying to think within the process and how cool our team is in relation to coming up with ideas, having a similar mindset, with a sense of humor, we could come up with tons of game ideas, off the top. Playing within a sandbox allows us to reference things that we could pick apart and then come up with a theme in order to play around with that world. And what's cool about that is being fans of that world, we get to play on that fantasy, what if this happened or what if that happened? And we're actually creating a canon of our own within that universe.

Tell ‘em Steve-Dave!

-Did any new challenges, surprises, or lessons learned come up as you were developing Chronic Blunt Punch and Mall Brawl?
I mean a ton, right? Let me think about it. Number one, funding has been a lot easier because I have an understanding of how that works. But working with Kevin's team in Hollywood, that's definitely a challenge because you have to be very respectful of their time. You also have to understand that you have to work on timelines that aren't your own, so if he has to push something out and we need to communicate with them or we need to promote, sometimes he can't do it. He has his own defined timeline, we have ours, it's definitely a challenge.
Also communication is a challenge. There was a misunderstanding initially with Mall Brawl, even though I communicated what we were doing later on when we started sharing it. We shared it with Greg Miller, he's cool, I consider him a friend. I announced it on his funny stream, he has a million followers and I have a ton of followers. Kevin Smith got wind of it, and he's like, where is this coming from? So there's this weird miscommunication between his team and our team telling him exactly what we're doing, and that this isn't trying to milk our relationship or anything, we had some struggles early on and we're trying to right those issues by putting out a game for the fans and then trying to fund the game that we initially came to you with. So that was a challenge, but it was a good learning experience as we move forward.
The challenge with Mall Brawl, was the limitations of any cartridge. What we did was Tomas was able to squeeze every last bit of tech that we could out of that system, which was great, and what was also really cool was we were able to use contemporary design styles that are more pertinent today, and then infused them back into an old game where they didn't reach the level of maturity in their design tactics, or they didn't want it to be over-convoluted for the players so they didn't implement different features. Not that we had anything crazy, but the-tag team feature, the strategic element of you building your health out and then swapping back, little things like that. Working with a really small palette for the characters, figuring out how to implement what we wanted to convey within the pixels was very challenging. Tomas had to convey a lot of the technical limitations as far as the art was concerned with Wallride, because that's not what they're used to doing, they're used to using engines and pushing polygons and pixels that way. And the limitations are completely different, that's why I say it's a kind of a gift and a curse when you have those limitations, you don't expand your scope too wide that you have issues finishing things.
As far as Chronic Blunt Punch, the challenges were definitely thinking that you were going to have everything you needed funding-wise to complete it and trying to work with the team to encapsulate that goal and figuring out what you're going to do in the prototyping phases without going too far in that you can't go back. That's always an issue with game development. I am all for iterative game development, but when you have such a limited budget, you have to come to a conclusion early. Our game is extremely art-driven. What I think that we could have possibly done early on was to define a little bit of a lower fidelity art style that could have been just as cool, but it would allowed us to finish things quicker and do roughs quicker and that kind of thing. We went for this outlandish render style, so that was a little bit of a challenge. But over the time period, we've created pipelines and a workflow that works really well.

-And now that Mall Brawl is out, it's basking in all this support, including Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes themselves live-streaming their gameplay. What is it like to see that happening, to have that kind of enthusiasm?
I think it's really awesome. Every time I go to L.A., I try to meet up with Jay (he's easier to connect with, he's not running all over the place as much), and every time I meet up with Kevin, I'll just tell him we're enthusiastic for your support. We really appreciate your support over the years. I think what's the greatest aspect of that is we're doing right by their legacy and we're going to deliver. When you work on a project so long and you have these speed bumps, and you're working with someone who has faith in you. When you say, “oh we're having this issue,” or “we're doing this,” or “it's going to be longer,” are they going to lose faith in us in the project? This is the same for the fans, too, by the way. But when we were able to deliver this really full package, great game, and a promise that we're finishing the other game, and he's playing and he loves it (and him not being a video game player, I mean, Jay is for sure), it instills an amazing confidence in him, in us, and then also it shows that we did something good, you know what I mean? It's validating in the fact that, to even the creator of all of these characters, he really digs it. And that means a lot to us because we like his properties and he's authentic about it, he authentically is “this shit is good, this is fun, I dig this, I play this.”

He likes it! Hey, Kevin!
It's also validating because when we do licenses, which we will be doing more, we want to do good shit, we want to do great games regardless if it's a license or it's our own IP. I think that initially when you see folks talking about their licenses or trying to pimp it out or working with celebrities or whatever, you immediately think that, “oh this is shovelware”, you know, “this is just a cash grab or some garbage is going to come out”, and “no one really pays attention to the source material” or “they didn't really put their heart into designing and developing this.” I would just say it's gratifying to see them play it and also them showing us love like that and getting things right. Like I was talking to you earlier on, some things could get broken down and misrepresented, or the message could get messed up and then that will mess the flow of it with the team too, like, “oh, I didn't get the recognition, what the hell you didn't mention, Wallride Games.” Everyone needs credit, people die for that credit. So, they've just been amazing.

-After Chronic Blunt Punch, do you have any other dream projects on the horizon?
Yeah, we have some ideas and things in the works, I can't really talk about them, but expect possibly some more licensed stuff and some more high-fidelity stuff as well as retro. That's all I can say.

-I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and share all your stories and your experiences. Is there anything else that you would like to tell readers and fans when this gets posted?
I would just say, we appreciate everybody's support on this. If you can pick up the game, let us know what you think. Like, follow us, drop us a line, we will hit you up. We will definitely respond. And also, it may sound corny, but keep fighting for your dreams, because if you keep pushing, you'll make things happen.

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of a series that peeks behind the curtain of new homebrew games destined to be the next great gem. What are your thoughts on Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl and its talented development team? 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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Episode 16: Eyra-The Crow Maiden

By Scrobins, July 30, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 16: Eyra-The Crow Maiden

Introduction:
Developing and releasing a single homebrew game is an immense undertaking. It’s no wonder some brewers either work on one project at a time or chip away at multiple projects over a long span of time. Or if you’re Second Dimension, you assemble three separate dream teams to develop a game for three different consoles and release them almost simultaneous to another game they developed. Fortune truly favors the bold.
For this entry, I’m concluding my 2-part series on Second Dimension, highlighting Eyra-The Crow Maiden, a sword and sorcery action platformer for the NES, SNES, AND Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. As of the time of this writing, the cartridge release for the NES version has been fulfilled for Kickstarter backers, and the 16-bit versions continue to progress in development. You can order/pre-order the cartridge releases or the digital files for the NES release here, the SNES release here, and the Genesis release here.

Development Team:
NES:
Adam Welch: project lead, story
Jav Leal de Freitas: graphics, story
@Vectrex28(Antoine Fantys): programming
@Famicuber(Myles Davidson): music

SNES:
Adam Welch: project lead, story
Jav Leal de Freitas: graphics, story
Alek Maul: programming
Sebastian Abreu: music

Genesis:
Adam Welch: project lead, programming, story
Jav Leal de Freitas: graphics, story
Sebastian Abreu: music

All 3:
Jav Leal de Freitas: case art (regular & deluxe editions)
Luis Martins: case art (limited edition)

NES CIB

Game Evolution:
As Second Dimension continued its work on The Curse of Illmoore Bay, it began teasing another game: Eyra-The Crow Maiden. The Kickstarter campaign for Eyra launched on February 15, 2020. Like Illmoore, Eyra met its initial funding goal in its first 24 hours. By the time the campaign concluded, 435 backers had pledged more than $32,500, smashing several stretch goals. Although the original Kickstarter revolved around the NES game alone, unlocked stretch goals expanded the campaign’s scope to include development of Eyra for the SNES and Sega Genesis. Additional stretch goals brought in extra levels, power-ups, and promised a vehicle stage for the 16-bit versions of the game.
Backers were presented with a wide variety of tiers, featuring no less than 40 options. At their center, the available backer tiers included digital, cart only, standard edition CIBs, deluxe edition CIBs (which included accessories with the game), and limited edition CIBs (featuring translucent carts with LEDs embedded within) for each version of the game across the NES, SNES, and Genesis, and every conceivable bundled combination between them. As an extra special option there was a Super Tribe/Mega Tribe tier that offered to include backers’ names and faces in the SNES or Genesis versions respectively.

Screenshot from Eyra-The Crow Maiden (NES)

Gameplay Overview:
Eyra-The Crow Maiden describes itself as a swords & sorcery action platformer. You play as Eyra, a young priestess of the jungle dwelling Koruhaurus. Your people enjoyed an era of peace until the Infernal Marauder abducted your tribe’s warriors in order to transform them into his own dark army by way of ancient, forbidden magic. You must journey across the world with your trained crow, Nunkamah to defeat this evil and rescue your people.
Gameplay consists of tried and true platforming as you fight monsters and avoid obstacles while rescuing your kidnapped kinfolk scattered across each stage. For now I’ll stick to discussing the NES game’s controls, where you can expect the A button to jump and B button to attack. The D-pad will move you around while pushing down allows you to duck. You can attack with Nunkamah by pushing the B button and up on the D-pad simultaneously, which is extremely helpful when you need to fight from a place of cover. Be mindful though that Nunkamah, like our own real-world animal sidekicks, won’t do your bidding for nothing, so don’t count on a crow charge attack if you don’t have any more crow treats on hand.

My cat is the same way, even when she does get treats
You’ll find plenty of crow food laying around levels in addition to some meat to boost your own health. Coins will boost your point total for all you hi-scorers out there. And watch out for weapon upgrades hidden through the level; but beware that if you can’t hack it with better blades and instead get cut yourself, your weapon will get downgraded in addition to you taking damage.

Writer’s Review:
Like The Curse of Illmoore Bay, Eyra-The Crow Maiden is a game simple in design, but rich in execution. Learning how to play is easy but playing well is a taller order. The first enemies lure you into thinking the game is a cakewalk, providing a good tutorial to ground you in its gameplay. But once you encounter the Acolytes and their magic projectiles or the Woken Souls who seem to hover right over the platform you need to jump to next, you realize careful timing and second guessing every jump is essential to defeating them without taking damage. And yet each level’s design feels carefully crafted to be fair enough that you will keep blaming yourself instead of the developers every time you die. My only criticism of the gameplay would be that on platforms near the top of the screen, your jump is diminished as you bump up against the game’s HUD display, making it more difficult to move around on higher planes.
Graphically, Eyra is a colorful delight between the animated sprites and lush backgrounds that seems to push what the NES is capable of. The dev team may not be thrilled that the first word that comes to my mind when describing their hearty swords & sorcery game’s color palette is “sherbet”, but I love love LOVE to see something this different and beautiful in a new game. I’m reminded of the backgrounds for Tanglewood, one of the most beautiful homebrews for the Genesis, which could have sold prints of its backgrounds on Etsy, and I would buy them in a heartbeat. I feel the same way about Eyra’s graphics, so bold and beautiful that I might come back to play again and again just to progress and see what the next level looks like.
Meanwhile Eyra’s music channels a classic 80s vibe that reminds me of the kind of adventure platformers I could sink into for hours on end. The soundtrack Eyra most reminds me of is James Bond Jr. for the NES, with a sense of ongoing adventure as if the music itself were cheering me on as a supporting sidekick (which makes sense given Famicuber’s admiration for Neil Baldwin). What is also interesting to me, and I don’t think I’ve noticed this in other games, is that the game’s sound effects, from taking damage to freeing one of your captured warriors, seem to mesh well with the game’s music. These sounds are not merely functional from a gameplay perspective, but in fact contribute to the soundtrack. This to me reinforces my earlier impression that the music in Eyra is a supporting character with sound effects joining the music to urge you on and confirm you are killing it with this game.
Even though the 16-bit Eyra’s remain on their quest to finish development, the teasers posted so far show these games are hardly just upscaled carbon copies of its NES sister, but lush adventures and experiences in their own right that can be genuinely considered as separate games.

Screenshot from Eyra-The Crow Maiden (Genesis)

Interviews:
Interviewing the development teams for three iterations of a game across multiple consoles can seem like a daunting task, but fortunately I was able to chat with Adam, Jav, and Sebastian about Eyra when I interviewed them about The Curse of Illmoore Bay. For their stories about both games, you can read their interviews here. For the second half of my interviews with more of the talented folks behind Eyra, keep on reading!

FG Software/Vectrex28
@FG_Software
-Before we dive into Eyra-The Crow Maiden, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of FG Software/Vectrex28?
I've had an interest in retro gaming ever since I was a kid. I grew up in the early 2000's so obviously, the NES was way before my time. However, I used to have the Mario remakes on the Game Boy Advance which probably ignited this passion for older games inside of me.
Later, after getting some pieces of retro hardware, my desire to actually make something on retro platforms was sparked by my first discovery of the Commodore 64 and its BASIC prompt. Unknowingly, while thinking it was very funny to print offensive words on the screen in various ways, I was learning how to program.
Around the same time, I also got into ROMhacking, and, being in my teens, the results were full of lowbrow humour as well. Those two hobbies ended up colliding when I found out about the Nerdy Nights, and that's where I realized I could create new games to draw dicks on!
So, because I thought it would be fun, I ended up porting one of the risqué Atari games to the NES (Beat 'em and Eat 'em), and ever since making that mess I wanted to make more, and that's where we are today!
Oh, and don't worry, I grew out of doing it just to draw dicks in a creative way........ Mostly 😛

Screenshot from Beat ‘Em for NES

-What is the significance of the FG Software/Vectrex28 usernames that you use on VGS and elsewhere?
Vectrex28? I just love the Vectrex, and 28 has always been my lucky number. As for FG, it just stands for *my family name* + Games, so F[*****] Games 😛
Pretty creative, I know 😛

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My influences, at least in the overall mood of my games, are late 90's European microcomputer games (Amiga mostly). I just love that style! Sensible Software is a big influence, Henk Nieborg is another one, in terms of graphics at least. He's doing graphics for Bitmap Bureau nowadays, which coincidentally made my favourite Mega Drive game, Xeno Crisis. I'm quite excited for their next game, which was Henk's passion project.

Henk Neiborg

-You have developed several homebrew games for the NES such UXO, Rekt, Saturn Smash, and Brony Blaster. In developing your games would you say they have any qualities that seem quintessentially you that you have maintained across games? How would you describe your aesthetic? I’m in love with the neon retro font you’ve developed.
Hm, I think that would be just having fun with creating these games, and making what I want to make. These games may not have the quality of many of the games from back in the day, but I'm having great fun making them, and trying to make the coding and graphics better with every game.
The aesthetic is definitely inspired by this 90's Amiga style I mentioned earlier, and the demoscene in general.

-You have been programming for several years, do you feel your approach to homebrewing has changed in that time?
Not really, I've always done this for fun and wouldn't want this otherwise. Obviously the quality has improved over the years, but my core approach to making homebrew games always was to do it as a fun little hobby of mine really.

-What tools do you use to code?
Nothing fancy. All I need is Notepad to write the code, a tile editor like TileMolester, and an emulator like FCEUX. Everything else I make myself (Stuff like level editors and the like).

-Do you have a different approach/attitude toward the games you work on by yourself compared to those you are commissioned to work on? Is the experience of developing them different?
I'd say the experience is slightly different, but not that much. On my own games, I'm basically a one-man team, but for a commissioned project, I gotta work with a team. So far, my teams have all been fantastic (Well partly because I only really do this for people I know :P) and all I want is that me and the commissioning team share a common vision for the project.

-Tell me about the evolution of Eyra-The Crow Maiden. Any interesting stories on the game’s development for the NES?
The evolution was pretty straightforward. It started out as a concept over at Second Dimension, then I made tools for it and started making the whole engine. When that was complete, it was time for polishing and bugfixing the game. Just a smooth development cycle really.
I think the funniest story was when Adam launched the Kickstarted a day early and I had to scramble to have a decently playable demo hahaha!

-How did you first connect with Adam and Second Dimension, and what is the working dynamic like as you both work on your respective aspects of the game?
I had known Adam since the NintendoAge days, having been a regular in his tinychat that NA members used to go to before the advent of Discord (Gosh that feels like such a long time ago hahaha).
But as far as homebrews go, it all started when I was looking for a publisher for Family Picross, a little Picross game I made for the NES. Adam bought the game from me and he released it.

Screenshot from Family Picross for NES
Later, he was looking for an NES programmer for a commission project, so he hit me up and the rest is history!
As far as the working dynamic went, Adam was the project director/supervisor, while everyone worked on their respective tasks. Then Famicuber and Jav would share their progress on the game's development Discord, and I would implement their work in the ROM.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Eyra-The Crow Maiden for the NES? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Challenges? Probably knowing that I had to finish the game since people already spent real money for the game, meaning I had a commitment to finishing the game, haha. Also, the mapper we were targeting (or rather the lack thereof) meant I had to be careful with ROM usage, as the whole game had to fit in 40KB or ROM!
As for the lessons I learned, I'd say that having a team to provide feedback as the game was being made really helps when making a game!

-What aspects of Eyra-The Crow Maiden are you most proud of?
Putting so much content in an NROM game, definitely. I managed to find creative ways to compress such a sophisticated game (for NROM at least) into such a small ROM. I've also managed to work on some compression schemes outside of level data, such as palette data, enemy metasprites, and text data among others.

-There is a lot of buzz around other projects you are working on: Space Soviets and Raycaster. How are those progressing? Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise?
The raycaster was supposed to be a "because I can" thing where I wanted to see if it was possible to make a decent raycasting engine on the NES. Well it ended up blowing up on Twitter so I just had to make a little game with it, which culminated in a little proof of concept (which I also used as this year's April Fools' game) called Los... I mean Horror Hospital. I've since written a thread on it on Twitter which has a lot of details about the making of the game :).
I might use the engine again in the future, but for now I want to focus on Space Soviets.

Screenshot from Space Soviets for NES
Speaking of Space Soviets, now that I'm done with my April Fools' raycaster project, I'm once again focusing my attention on it. I'm currently working on a new level for it. I'm almost done with all of the tilesets I need for it, and most of what I need to do now is adding levels, enemies, and bosses. The engines themselves only need bugfixing and polishing really... So yeah, I think it's progressing quite smoothly 🙂
As for projects on the horizon, I want to make a Metroidvania on the PC Engine/Turbografx-16 once I'm done with Space Soviets. I'm doodling some art assets for it every once in a while, and I just really want to make a game for this console I fell in love with as I started living most of my life in Japan.

-I remember you also developed a Nintendo-themed homebrew of Deal or No Deal. Have you thought about reviving that project with homebrew characters similar to how Super Homebrew War used homebrew characters for its take on the Smash series?
Oh, that game haha. It's the second game I ever made, and quite frankly, it kinda sucks. The concept just doesn't work all that well as a game. That one is definitely canned I'd say, unless someone sends me Magical Chase and Coryoon for the PC Engine or something 😛

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
As I mentioned before, Bitmap Bureau's next Mega Drive release! I'm excited to see what they'll cook up this time!

-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?
Stay awesome, and keep retro alive by supporting your favourite homebrew creators 🙂
Peace!

Famicuber
@Famicuber
-Before we dive into Eyra-The Crow Maiden, 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 the origin story of Famicuber?
My father was also a musician and a guitarist back in his day, when I was young, he would teach me how to play piano and let me play some of his guitars he has, I also attended some music lessons when I was in high school. Truth be told, I was always more intrigued by the sound of 8-bit consoles and computers than musical instruments, even at a young age. More often, I would mess around with music tracker programs that emulate certain sound chips and make either original tracks or covers from games or cartoons in my free time.
When I started using the "Famicuber" name back in 2013, I was originally going to make gaming reviews that's all over on YouTube, but that never surfaced beyond some scripts which I still had lying around. I then tried doing flash animations which never really went anywhere and wasn't really proud of them looking back. Eventually I've lost interest in making animations, stopped caring about YouTube and started focusing entirely on making games.
When I started making games at age 14, I wanted to make games for older platforms like NES and wondered if such a thing was possible, that's when I discovered NintendoAge and its Nerdy Nights tutorials upon researching. It took me a few years to learn how opcodes, assembly, compiling, or even just coding in a text editor worked, because my only experience with game development prior was with Game Maker, I would eventually make my first and very simple NES game from these tutorials which was "Rookie Egg Jugglers".

Screenshot from Rookie Egg Jugglers for NES
Around 2018, when I was looking for some work, I figured I could do some music commissions for NES programmers as well and around that time, Vectrex28/FG Software was looking for a musician for Space Soviets. So I messaged him and asked if I could do some tracks for it, he responded that he already got someone for it but told me to send him some sample tracks for future projects, so I did and he was impressed with the work I've done. When he released a demo of Family Picross, I messaged him again with feedback of the game along with a minor nudge, opening to do some music work, this time he asked me to make a track that fits with the chill theme of the game. So I made a demo track (which would be Music A in the final game), converted to the sound engine as requested and made a test ROM out of it, he loved it and asked me to make a couple of more tracks for it, and that's how I got my start in composing music for projects.

-What is the significance of the Famicuber name?
It's just a dumb mashup of my two favourite Nintendo consoles with an extra "r" I came up with when I was 12/13, there's no real significance behind it, haha.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
The biggest would be just about every British/European composer from the ZX Spectrum and C64 scene in the 80's, whichever one comes to your head is likely on my list. NES Sunsoft games are another massive influence with not just its use of DPCM bass samples but just kickass tracks in general... and sometimes a bit of Marshall Parker just for a laugh, haha. Honestly, I listen to so much game music that the work I watch or listen changes all the time. One day I could be heavily listening to NES music by Neil Baldwin, then SMS music by Matt Furniss the next day and then a variety of SNES music next and so on and so on. It would be impossible to answer who's work I watch now because of how often it changes.

Neil Baldwin
-Tell me about the development of Eyra-The Crow Maiden’s music for the NES, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose more traditional music?
For Eyra specifically, the process went like this:
I'd ask the others at the team on the description of the game from the likes of genres, themes and characters to get the idea of what tracks I'm making, along with how many tracks to compose and other technical stuff, I'd also receive some source material from them, like concept art and mock-up shots to help out with ideas, whatever inspirations the project has, I do some research on them, if it's from another game, I'd check out a clip from that particular game.
Once that's done, any details I've gathered is then written down into a little notebook I have as a reminder while composing music and creating sounds.
I then start brainstorming and make the track in OpenMPT, when I start making tunes on trackers, I focus entirely on the track I compose and don't listen to any other music. This process usually takes a day or two for a track to complete, sometimes longer depending on my brainstorming or satisfaction.
After it's complete, I send the finished track to the team for their opinion and approval, once the tracks are approved, I move on to the next track.
Once some songs are made or when I can't think of new tracks, I start converting them to FamiTracker to emulate the NES's sound capabilities. Squeezing the multi-channel tracks down to its 4 channels isn't difficult once knowing how its instruments and note patterns are planned out, turning any chords into arpeggios (hence the term, "broken chords") and some echo leads being fused together into one channel if needed, sometimes I put a bit of my own magic to the tracks when converting. This conversion process takes less than a day to do, after it's done, it goes through the same approval process again.
I then reconverted the emulated tracks to the NES itself with FamiTone, I'd make a new FamiTracker file and manually recreate the songs to carefully fit within the limitations of the sound engine. Once recreated, the file is exported to a text file which FamiTone takes and converts it to code as data if there aren't any issues. The data is then placed to my music development ROM, "SECT" to test out if the converted tracks play properly on an emulator and actual hardware. After the tunes play correctly on hardware, I send the converted song data to the programmer to put into the game.
Creative progression-wise, the only massive difference between Eyra and other NES music I've composed was that I didn't used a sample tracker when making the music.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
I use FamiTracker to compose NES music and FamiTone to convert it to hardware along with a music development NES ROM I've programmed myself to test out the converted tracks called the "Sound Engine Compatibility Test" program or "SECT" for short. I sometimes also use a sample tracker called OpenMPT to have a bit of freedom from the limitations when composing.

-Tell me about the evolution of Eyra-The Crow Maiden. Any interesting stories on the game’s development?
It started around the end of December 2019 when I was wrapping up on projects for the year to take a Christmas break. As my break began, I received a DM from Adam asking if I was interested in doing sound for an NES project. After some discussion back and forth along with agreements, I was invited to a dedicated Discord server for development of the game. It was around that same time when I, along with the help of my aunt, purchased a new PC that's worth updating since my other PC was at that point nearly 9 years old. Eyra became the first game-related project to be developed on that PC.

Second Dimension’s Discord is definitely a friendly communi…oh would you look at that? #shameless
I think the most interesting part of the story was how I got involved in making the limited CD soundtrack, I was contacted by Adam about making a Kickstarter tier for it, we were discussing back and forth about how he was going to do the tier, but as we were discussing, before any agreement was made, Adam accidently launched the Kickstarter earlier than attended, making a bit of an awkward situation since he wasn't able to edit the tiers. Eventually an agreement was made where I can make the tracks for the CD which included the originally composed MIDI tracks and the uncut versions of the NES tracks.

-How did you first connect with Adam and Second Dimension, and what is the working dynamic like as you both work on your respective aspects of the games?
The first time getting in touch was from a project he was working on years ago, I'm however not allowed to go into detail about it. When Vectrex sold the publishing rights of Family Picross to Second Dimension and I spoke with Adam about shipping, I also started a discussion about sound for Sega Genesis and shared some samples made with trackers associated with its FM sound chip.
Working with Adam was fun, we both have a sense of humour (as same goes with the others at the team) and he's a cool, talented bloke based on the casual talk we had during development of Eyra.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Eyra-The Crow Maiden? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
One of the challenges was composing tracks in OpenMPT as I haven't made heavy use of the program prior to Eyra, I actually didn't even realize that I can use custom samples in the tracks until after I've finished doing Eyra, hence why all the original tracks make use of MIDI instruments, the outcome of the challenge was positive though as I've enjoyed making the attempt at "modern" sounding tracks and I've learned a lot from using the program since then.
The other challenge would be dealing with the limitations of FamiTone which isn't a surprise since I've worked with the engine before, the more of a surprise (to me at least) was how the team dealt with the limitations. You see, when Eyra would make use of NROM (containing 32k of code), the programmer assigned the music data to the size of only 8k, and considering that I was given nine tracks to compose, two of them being boss themes, it's a lot to ask for size that small. I'd already have to remove the bells and whistles in the songs during the conversion process along with other attempts of compression to save space, but that still wouldn't be small enough to fit, so of course in this situation, sacrifices are expected to be made. When the 8k limit is being reached and we started discussing a solution through cuts, one of the ideas I proposed was to scrap one of the two boss themes and reuse the other, Adam however, instead suggested to scrap some portions of the song in the level themes. I was at first opposed at the idea as my concerns is that cutting it may destroy the flow of the songs, but eventually I gave in and made some cuts, just barely fitting all nine tracks in 8k. Listening back to what's in the final product, the song cuts weren't as bad as I'd feared to be and I'm still happy with how the tracks sound at the end, so I guess not all was lost.

-What aspects of Eyra-The Crow Maiden are you most proud of?
This is going to be a bizarre answer for me, but I'm proud of the catchiness with the temple theme I've composed, because every now and then, whenever I take a break from technology and do other things like weekend chores, I'd sometimes hum or whistle music from other games, and recently, I would out of nowhere hum that temple theme, I don't typically hum to my own songs as I'd think it would be narcissistic of me to do so, but I think at that moment, that's when I've realized that I've composed a good track. That's not to say that I'm unhappy with the other tracks of course, but something about that temple track makes it feel special.

I mean, if that’s what you mean by weekend chores I’m not surprised (art by VGS’ own CasualCart)

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise?
Since the completion of composing for Eyra, I've been programming my own NES sound engine and been making good progress on it, I'm currently working on a second revision along with a demo ROM which hopefully should be released ahead of time. Along with that, I'd like to eventually compose music on other platforms as well, such as the Gameboy and Sega Master System.

-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 interview, doing this is admittedly a first for me, but I've enjoyed and appreciated answering questions. I don't often hang around on social media, but I do post on Twitter every now and then there @Famicuber, If any of you folks are a homebrew developer for whatever platform and looking for a musician to compose for whatever project you're working on, feel free to shoot me a PM there as well. Cheers, take it easy, and stay safe!

Alekmaul
@Alekmaul
-Before we dive into Eyra-The Crow Maiden, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer, creating games for old consoles?
Well, you know, when I was young, I loved playing a lot with friends on their Intellivision or ColecoVision consoles but my parents were not rich enough to buy me such consoles.
It was really great to see such games on ColecoVision for example. During my childhood, I couldn’t imagine one day I will develop for such consoles ^^.
Now I’m old (more than 50 years old), and when I was around 30-35 years old, I took a look at devkits for portable consoles because I wanted to reproduce games for consoles I had, like the GBA.
It is great to see your own games on such consoles and be able to say “It’s me who made this game 😄 !”.
It started like that.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
I have no particular influences; my goal is to give people fun games and also games with a good gameplay.
It’s great to see people playing your games and saying “I like to play this game”.
But, if I consider more deeply your question, one of my influences is to make games I played when I was young or when I was a student. Yeah, it’s nice to see again some games I played on AtariST or Amiga with our retro consoles like the SNES or the Genesis/Mega Drive.

-You have developed several homebrew games for the NES, SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive, PC Engine, ColecoVision, Gameboy, and Gameboy Advance, such as Uwol: Quest for Money, Sydney Hunter & The Caverns of Death, and Deflektor. In developing your games would you say they have any qualities that seem quintessentially you that you have maintained across games? How would you describe your aesthetic?
No, I don’t think I have a specific “Alekmaul touch” in my games. I just try to use as best as I can each console to make the games nice, efficient and fast.

Screenshot from Sydney Hunter & The Caverns of Death for SNES

-You have been programming for several years, do you feel your approach to homebrewing has changed in that time?
Yeah, for sure. Now, I’m more “professional” if we can say that for a job I do during my free time ^^ (lots of people forget that).
I developed some tools to help me for each console, I know better the consoles I’m developing on. So, it is really more efficient than I was when I started to develop on Gameboy for example.

-What tools do you use to code?
I’m developing my games in assembly and C language. Sometimes, I’m using some SDK if they are available (like devkitpro for GBA / NDS) or SGDK for Mega Drive/Genesis. With the SNES, I created my own SDK because no existed when I began to work on the SNES console.

-Do you have a different approach/attitude toward the games you work on by yourself compared to those you are commissioned to work on? Is the experience of developing them different?
For sure. When you are making a game by yourself, you are free to make it when you want. You have no stress trying to develop it.
If I think the game will not be playable enough, I stop it, and there is no problem (if you knew the number of games that are in my hard drive for several years without any release because I think they are not fully playable ^^).
When I am commissioned for a game, it is really not the same job, I need to make it, and make it really playable, with the stress of the deadline.

-Tell me about the evolution of Eyra-The Crow Maiden. Any interesting stories on the game’s development for the SNES?
Well, when I began the development, I had no idea about all the things Adam wanted in the SNES & Genesis version. Now, it is a little clearer, but I don’t know if Adam has new ideas for the game, regarding the NES version. We added lots of stuffs like a password management system for example, and also more levels than the NES version.

-How did you first connect with Adam and Second Dimension, and what is the working dynamic like as you both work on your respective aspects of the game?
Adam contacted me during the NES development of the game. He wanted someone to develop the game for SNES, and, you know, we are not so much developing games on SNES 😉.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Eyra-The Crow Maiden for the SNES? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Well, doing a game for SNES is really something hard if you want to have a game smooth and fast. You need to manage with assembly code for critical parts (like the map engine in Eyra’s case). So, if you want to do a game on SNES, you need to learn how the SNES works and after, assembly language to be sure that your game will be great.

-What aspects of Eyra-The Crow Maiden are you most proud of?
Well, when I began to code the game, Jav (the graphic artist of the game) sent me the first map and it was horrible. I needed to manage more than 70 objects for each map! I knew that it will not be possible in C language … So, I wrote an objects engine from scratch in assembly language and it works fine. I’m really proud of that, it is a flexible engine who works great in the game.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, SNES or otherwise?
I’m currently working on ColecoVision titles for Côté Gamers, a French company specializing in homebrews (https://cotegamers.com/shop/fr/).
I’m also working on a Genesis/Mega Drive game with an old French friend. You will have some news later this year about this game 😉.
No more stuff on SNES, I will see later if I can do a new game.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Well, I did lots of game for CollectorVision (https://collectorvision.com/) that are not yet published like Bizbille or Jester. You will see, they are fun!

Screenshot from Jester for NES

-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 hope fans will like Eyra for SNES and Genesis/Mega Drive. We are working hard to try to make the game playable, nice and fun. And don’t forget, it is not our real job, we are doing that for fun 😉 !

Luis Martins
@XLuis_MartinsX
-Before we dive into Eyra-The Crow Maiden, 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?
At an early age I was inspired by comic books and then Saturday morning cartoons. As time went by, I started drawing, wanting to reproduce what I was enjoying. Video games were of course a big part of my childhood as well, then came anime in my teens. That impressed me as it was something totally different in quality and maturity at the time. What we call now anime classics : ) Anime then became a huge inspiration. As for homebrew, this came later in my career but a huge interest to revive older consoles, create content for them was the idea behind my motivation. It's now a success, an amazing amount of talented individuals are working hard to create labors of love for these older consoles and it shows. Its honest and amazing thing.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My main artistic influences vary, but I'd say that anime, manga have been my main inspiration. But that said I follow and enjoy many different artists with their different art styles. It's a huge inspiration to improve and do better for myself. I am amazed at the talent some individuals have, truly impressive.

-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?
The detailing, shading, linework quality, the dynamic of the composition, the lighting and the subject. As for game box art, I can say as an example that gaming box art from the 90's like the Sega Genesis have amazing art styles and imagery that captures our imaginations and alone can sell me on a purchase. Just beautiful, so you're hoping that the game itself is that good, haha.

Box art for Paprium for Genesis

-You've also created art for other prominent homebrews such as Demons of Asteborg and Paprium. Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Well, yes I have done other art projects and still do. What's unique about my art? Well I guess that would be a question to ask those who enjoy my art ha ha! But I think that my aesthetics and goal is to capture a specific 90's art style and aesthetics. I also mix in a bit of my own but the goal is to give a certain nostalgic feeling for those who enjoy it.

Box art for Demons of Asteborg for Genesis

-What tools do you use to create your art?
Mainly Photoshop.

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for the Limited Edition for Eyra-The Crow Maiden, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you create character designs and illustrations for other projects?
The creative and composition process isn't much different from piece to piece. It's quite simple in fact. I usually go over a few ideas with my clients, they literally become friends during this process, it's important to build a relationship with them. They are important. They usually either share with me what they want or other times they simply ask me to come up with something. So far so good, happy clients.

-How did you first connect with Adam and Second Dimension, and what was the working dynamic like?
I met Adam through another friend Javier who I worked with on another Sega Genesis project. Javier is a really talented and wonderful individual and so is Adam. It was very easy to work with them, I would love to work with them again for sure.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Eyra-The Crow Maiden? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Working on the game covert art with Adam was great, he trusted my experience through this process. I also shared feedback with Javier on the cover. In the end the goal was to capture the essence of the main character, her sidekick, and the enemies she faces in the game and environment. I think it came out wonderfully.

Limited Edition box art for Eyra-The Crow Maiden

-Is there another project after Eyra-The Crow Maiden on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
Sure, there are a few things on the horizon and yes I will definitely keep supporting the homebrew scene.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
There are many, but there is one I'm looking forward to play and it's my friends Tim Jonsson and Chris's (@pixelarcstudios) Bushiden game. Anything ninja, I'm all in 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?
Yes, if you have any requests for art, game covert art or anything related to art, gaming or anime, drop by my twitter, it will be a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you for sharing my work and your support, it means a lot to me.

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to part two of my talks with Second Dimension in this series that shares the stories behind the latest homebrew games. What are your thoughts on Eyra-The Crow Maiden and its talented development team? 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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Episode 9: 8-Bit Xmas 2020

By Scrobins, December 12, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 9: 8-Bit Xmas 2020 (Dr. Covio)

Introduction:
Video games are a lot like movies, an excellent effort can give rise to a sequel, potentially even a series, one which perfects a formula and offers something new and fun while retaining everything that made past installments worthwhile. It is a difficult tightrope to walk: providing more of what works without merely delivering a carbon copy, while also experimenting with new features without undermining the essential, winning formula. There may be missteps, but fans know the highs of a good series eclipse the lows, such is my devotion to the James Bond films, the Dragon Warrior/Quest series among licensed-era games, and the 8-Bit Xmas series among homebrew games, but I digress. For some, the holidays begin with Thanksgiving and the Macy’s parade, but for others the season begins when Brian Parker lists a new 8-Bit Xmas cart on RetroUSB, featuring a new game, some holiday chiptune, and blinky lights.
For this entry, I’m covering 8-Bit Xmas 2020: Dr. Covio, an arcade action puzzler for the NES, inspired by Dr. Mario, and developed by Brian Parka aka bunnyboy aka RetroUSB fka RetroZone. As of the time of this writing, the physical release of the game is available here on RetroUSB.

Development Team:
@retroUSB (Brian Parker): programming
@Peek-A-Brews! (Jon Piornack): graphical art
@zi (Thomas Ragonnet): music

Behold the power of blinky lights

Game Evolution:
This particular holiday tradition traces its history back more than 12 years, when the first 8-Bit Xmas cart was released in 2008 during homebrew’s earliest days. The original 8-Bit Xmas 2008 served as a digital Christmas card, featuring snow falling on the letters “NA” in tribute to the NintendoAge forum, and holiday chiptune to accompany it. The cart was a fun homebrew alternative to the burning yule log that you might play in the background of holiday festivities.
In the ensuing years, more entries to the series were added, including two 16-Bit Xmas carts, each now featuring a playable game and more holiday chiptune. The series was immensely popular, and the rarity of older games made them highly sought collector’s items, with 8-Bit Xmas 2008 becoming one of the Big 3 homebrew grails.

8-Bit Xmas 2008: cart, pinup insert, and both box variants
Brian shared early news of 8-Bit Xmas 2020 on VGS’ Brewery Discord on July 25, 2020 when he solicited the community for Dr. Mario-related game ideas. More news came to the Discord on August 19, 2020 when Brian shared a beta rom for bug testing. As the game’s development continued, Brian announced the rest of the development team on September 22, 2020, with Jon providing art and Tom providing another dose of Christmas chiptune cheer.
On November 2, 2020, RetroUSB opened sales of 8-Bit Xmas 2020, and began shipping carts later in the month. Also, as per tradition, NES-City, led by our own Francis Spedafino aka @fsped09 designed and sold a box for the game so CIB collector’s could get their fix.

Gameplay Overview:
Given its inspiration from Dr. Mario, 8-Bit Xmas 2020 would best be described as an action puzzler in the falling block tradition. If the Dr. Mario theme during COVID-19 seems apropos, the timing of the release right as vaccines are receiving emergency use authorization is especially uncanny.
You control the movement of capsules (two tiles wide) as they fall down a large beaker, with the goal of matching colors across capsules and viruses in rows or columns of at least 4 in order to remove tiles and get rid of the pesky viruses scattered throughout the level. Clear the viruses, clear the level (and notch a big score and an even bigger password). Controls are straightforward: the A and B buttons rotate the capsule you control, left and right on the d-pad move the capsule accordingly, and pushing down on the d-pad speeds up the falling process.
Before starting the game proper, you can customize the game through an elaborate menu. Options include setting the number of players (up to 4), the width of the beaker/game’s field of play, capsule fall speed, relative number of viruses, number of upcoming capsules you can see in advance, and color scheme, featuring Christmas (red, green, and white) and classic (orange, blue, and magenta) options.

Pick your poison
Meanwhile in the background are 4 new holiday chiptune tracks compliments of zi. This year features The 12 Days of Christmas; Baby, It’s Cold Outside; Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer; and Happy Holidays.

Writer’s Review:
8-Bit Xmas 2020 offers a fun, Christmassy homage to Dr. Mario on steroids.

Dexamethasone to be specific
Depending on your selections in the extensive pre-game menu, the game can take the same size as Dr. Mario’s beaker or much, much bigger, offering the temptation of even higher high scores for arcade junkies. While the original Dr. Mario included a similar menu to set the game’s difficulty, Dr. Covio’s selections create a more bespoke experience, and thus a more replayable game that will bring players back again and again to experiment with different setting combinations to see how it impacts their high scores. The key word for this 8-Bit Xmas entry is MORE. More options, more customizable, more players. More fun. While gameplay in both Dr. Mario and Dr. Covio is simple and addictive, the 8-Bit Xmas treatment elevates this cart to party game status.

You can cooperate to fight a virus in a way our state and federal government didn’t!
Adding to the visual charm of 8-Bit Xmas 2020 with its deathly cute virus sprites is a detailed background from Peek-A-Brews! that frames the beaker, presenting a laboratory setting that one-ups Dr. Mario’s simple checkered pattern background. Meanwhile, the game is also wrapped melodically by the chiptune stylings of zi, who continues to pull our nostalgic heartstrings with his 8-bit covers of holiday classics. After playing the game for awhile, I enjoyed putting the controller down just to sit back and enjoy the music.

Interviews:
I convinced Santa’s elves in the game development department to take a break from their work to talk to me about the holiday homebrew on everyone’s list.

bunnyboy
@retroUSB
-Before we dive into 8-Bit Xmas 2020, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of RetroUSB?
My parents never let us have a NES, but my best friend had one and we played at his house all the time. Lent was the best time for me because he had to give up the NES and it came to my place! After college he requested a USB NES gamepad to play emulators, and I didn't have a job because I went to college for supercomputer architecture and all those companies disappeared. RIP Cray/SGI/IBM/HP/etc. I figured selling gamepads to them would pay for a new bike frame until I got a real job. 17 years later the bike is still my primary one, but I never got that job...

And the dream lives on…

-What is the significance of the bunnyboy and RetroUSB names? What brought about the name change of your website from RetroZone to RetroUSB?
bunnyboy goes back to 4th grade (~1990), when I was a boy with pet bunnies. No relation to furries or Playboy. It came up again in college when I needed a username with 8 letters and everything with Brian was already taken.
The RetroZone to RetroUSB switch was because when I started the company I wasn't expecting to go so long and I never did a check if retrozone.com was available. Turns out a random HVAC company was already using it and had no interest in selling. Always check the URL before naming something! I still have some labels that say RetroZone because I ordered too many, and I am too lazy to change it.

-Looking across the entire 8-Bit Xmas series, you have developed homebrew games that feature a wide variety of genres and gameplay mechanics. Beau and Kevin mentioned on The Assembly Line that you like to set yourself a technical challenge and then program a game around it. Is there any truth to that? What is your inspiration in deciding what a given game will feature?
Yeah now it frequently starts as a tech concept and a game builds around that. Sometimes that means the game isn't very good... For 2014 the goal was more than 4 players, which took 2 PowerPads and made the game confusing. Sometimes the programming challenge isn't obvious. The isometric background of 2018 was very tricky to get right, but the effect on the ski speeds didn't really work. This year was going back to the original Xmas idea of 4 player games while making something that didn't feel like a mini game. Next year, who knows?

-Despite that diversity of game features, do you feel your games have a unifying aesthetic that define them as yours?
None at all! Other than not wanting to program a platformer, I just go with whatever seems interesting at the time. Each game had different artists so that isn't a connection either.

-What does the development process for an 8-Bit Xmas game look like?
November - "I am going to get started now and have something huge!"
I am now in this stage for 2021, but I bet the normal process will continue.
April - "I should get to work and have a special Xmas in July"
July - "Hey wouldn't it be cool if..."
Inspiration randomly strikes. This is the part where the project is interesting for me, so it’s 1-3 weeks of mass programming to go from nothing to a playable game. For 2020 my family was gone for a week so almost all coding was done July 28 to August 1, that made my hands hurt. It has been a few years since I have had a block of time that big dedicated to one thing. Then it's weeks/months of much slower testing, debugging, and adding features.
September - "Oh no, this needs to be finished asap"
Music, graphics, label artwork, any other content is added here. This year I was late getting the labels ordered, then they were delayed, so ship date is a few weeks behind the normal target. PRGE has typically been a deadline to add pressure in previous years.

-How does coordination work with the development team you assemble for each game?
The development team is mostly friends in Discord having early ROMs forced upon them often. Any missed bugs are their fault, or they are features. Usually by the time the other artists are involved the project is mostly done. This year the artwork was so amazing that we kept adding more art, which needed some reprogramming to get it to fit.

-What tools do you use to code and compose?
NESASM forever! I am still mostly on the same tools I used 15 years ago. Xcode for writing, NESASM for assembling, and FCEUX for testing. There are better choices for each one of those, but transitioning to them would be time that could be spent developing. Same with all my hardware dev tools. Get off my lawn!

-Which is your favorite 8-Bit Xmas game? Favorite 8-Bit Xmas chiptune?
2015 (Twelve Seconds) is the one I played most, but 2020 (Dr. Covio) might beat that soon. If there are friends over then 2011 (Quadralords) is still the top pick.

Screenshot from 8-Bit Xmas 2015 aka Twelve Seconds

-You released two 16-Bit Xmas games in 2011 and 2012, what led you to start and then stop a parallel SNES series?
Before that era I wanted to do EVERYTHING and making SNES boards was easy. I figured eventually I would have Xmas carts for Gameboy, N64, and other sucky Sega systems too. Afterwards I shifted to only working on things I was actually interested in, instead of whatever would make money. SNES sux, so 16-Bit Xmas and SNES PowerPak were dropped. Repros are boring so those went away too. I still have the same mentality of only doing projects I will use myself which is why there has been nothing like wireless SNES gamepads.

-Your creativity isn’t limited to gaming either, with fun blinky lights across the series, the LCD screen “label” on 8-Bit Xmas 2017, the RetroVision, the PowerPak, and the NES knitting machine you brought to PRGE 2018 where I first met you in person (you even gave me a piece made with the machine featuring a Goldman from Dragon Warrior). What drives your experimentation in hardware in addition to coding?
The hardware is the part I want to do, there just aren't that many possible NES hardware projects! Any piece of hardware also needs a large amount of software. New parts for ROB should be next...

Now you’re knitting with power!

-I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the AVS, with its audio and video output over HDMI, USB power supply, wireless gamepads, and a line of games to accompany it. What drove you to develop the AVS console?
As kids we designed new games and even new consoles in 4th grade so once I got started on the path of NES hardware those seemed obvious. It just took years of learning through projects like the PowerPak to have enough skills to do it well. That same friend who wanted the gamepad now does industrial design, so he did the physical design of the AVS and many other concept renderings.

The future of retro

-You participated in the 2011 Annual NESDev Coding Competition with Panesian Power, which was Zapper compatible. Do you have a different attitude toward working on a compo entry as opposed to something on your own timetable?
The competition deadlines are always a problem and seem to come up when there's no inspiration. Has to be the correct mix of a good idea and enough time to actually do it. If the theme or focus of the type of the game was narrower it would probably help me, but not the competition.

-You are one of the first publishing platforms for the homebrew games of others, helping to grow the community and with all new parts. How did you develop those relationships? Did you take on any additional roles in those games beyond publishing?
I went after the first one (Sudoku 2007) but after that it was always people coming to me. NintendoAGE (RIP) being welcoming to people at all levels was the more important community part. I helped some people with programming but that was unrelated to the publishing part.

-The COVID connection for this year’s game needs no explanation, but were you already thinking of a Dr. Mario-inspired game before the pandemic?
Nope! I first started thinking of the game in June or July. Before that I had no real ideas and no time. The desire to do an RPG comes up every year but there is just too much content for it to happen. 1942 style scrolling shooter is still on my list too.

-What about Dr. Mario resonates with you? Are you a fan of the other NES Mario puzzle games such Yoshi, Yoshi’s Cookie, Wario’s Woods, etc.?
We never really played puzzle games as kids, so I have only done a few minutes of the Yoshi ones. I like Tetris but I am not fast enough to be good. Somehow Dr. Mario doesn't need the same mental speed. The puzzle game I have done most is Tetris 2 with my wife and she still wins.

Screenshot from Dr. Mario

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing 8-Bit Xmas 2020 as opposed to previous years? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
The lesson is always Nike, JUST DO IT. Writing software only costs your time, and lots of hardware design is very cheap too. The internet makes learning anything "easy" if you are willing to actually do it instead of giving up quickly. For these games I don't do much planning, I just start coding it. Finishing fast is more important than having beautiful code that nobody will ever see. The challenge was having enough CPU time to have the music during the game so zi didn't kill me.

-As far as NES homebrew goes, you pretty much own Christmas, while Retrotainment and K3VBOT share Halloween, and GreetingCarts/Retroscribe covered Valentine’s Day and birthdays. Do you think there are any other holidays deserving the homebrew treatment?
Christmas in July is a yearly goal which never happens, and would also cover my birthday. Maybe bday card for the NES would be cool. I always wanted to do valentines with pink LEDs but that just comes too soon after the Christmas rush to find the time to do it. Halloween is always a stressful time getting Xmas finished so they can keep it!

-Your 8-Bit Xmas games are so beloved that earlier entries carry 4-figure values on the secondary market and the release of a new game makes players giddy for the holidays. How does it feel to bask in such enthusiasm and support?
Just makes me wish I made more in 2008 and forgot them in a closet here. Enthusiasm for the new games is cool (and this one is a really good game) but the values of old ones don't really affect me much. I am not selling mine and I don't think they push new cart sales. When shipping carts it is always great to see names of people I have lost contact with like mattbep. I do miss the list of people who have the full set and wonder how few it is down to now.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
There are three projects at the top of the list, but there isn't any active work on them right now. The portable AVS became too expensive, especially when the tariffs hit. Still needs work on the analog audio which I don't understand. My Dragon Warrior style RPG is forever waiting for people to do the content. I can program, but not art. Last one is a giant ROB model, which was my display idea for the cancelled PRGE 2020. That mostly needs someone else to remove it from the expo because I don't have space for it afterwards.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Sneak and Peek 2021 is going to be amazing! I think the one I am excited about isn't public yet, which probably means there are a few more years of 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?
Buy everything I sell! I need to get more space in my office for whatever is next...

Peek-A-Brews!
@peekabrews
-Before we dive into 8-Bit Xmas 2020, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew artist? What is the origin story of Peek-A-Brews?
I think it was about 6 months after officially starting Peek-A-Brews that I read a post on Twitter by Kevin Hanley of KHAN Games. He was reaching out to any new or aspiring artists that might want to work on his next project. Having always been into art in some capacity and recently becoming obsessed with NES homebrews, I jumped for the chance at fulfilling one of my dreams. I am very glad that I sent him a message because it couldn’t have been a better experience.
Around the same time that I discovered homebrews, my friend Bryan and I were having these NES game nights after work. The idea was to beat as many 2-player games as possible and check them off the list starting with our favorites. This led to conversations about maybe doing YouTube or Twitch. We decided on YouTube because it was more feasible for us to make pre-recorded episodes on our own time. When it came to choosing content, we naturally landed on homebrews to keep it current and less predictable. There were enough channels out there focused on nostalgia.

-Do you have a favorite game that you’ve covered so far on your YouTube channel?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I don’t know if I could ever pick a definitive favorite. I will say that The Incident will always be in my top 5 because it scratches most of my itches. It’s a puzzle based, sci-fi mystery with great music. I can see myself replaying that game for years to come. However, the most fun I had recording an episode would probably be Super Russian Roulette. I could not stop laughing at Bryan switching between voices and accents.

It truly was a rootin’ tootin’ good time

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
When it comes to homebrews, it’s FrankenGFX. Ellen Larsson makes me want to quit! I mean that in a positive way, obviously. I really enjoy Zachary Curl’s work on all the Retrotainment games as well.

-You leapt onto the homebrew scene as a developer with your art in NEScape, do you feel your artwork has a signature aesthetic that is uniquely you?
I don’t know if I could even have a signature aesthetic yet. The few games that I’ve worked on have all been so different from each other which is perfect for me to home in on my own style. That would really be something though if, down the road, someone could actually recognize my work by the art alone.

Portrait of the artist as a pixelated man

-In your opinion, what makes game art stand out?
You really know when someone has a handle on the use of color, especially with the limited amount of colors on the NES. I still have to push myself to experiment and not take the safe route all the time. Another thing that I really appreciate is when someone takes the time to blend things when they could easily chalk it up as it being a tile-based system. A clever use of shading or reserving a palette to house mutual colors is simple enough and goes a long way.

-Tell me about your creative process while working on 8-Bit Xmas 2020?
Playing a bunch of Dr. Mario of course! In all seriousness, I went straight to analyzing Dr. Mario’s viruses, the bigger versions on the side of the playing field to be specific. I was excited about creating my own cartoony viruses without totally ripping off the originals. The next step was thinking of a clever way to use them in the title screen while relating it to Christmas somehow. I’m really happy with the way all that turned out. When it came time for the actual gameplay, Brian already suggested the greyscale lab for a background so I didn’t need to waste time brainstorming what I would do. I just did a quick image search online for things like “science lab” or “chemistry set” to get me started. Everything just sort of fell into place from there.

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Brian? How did you two connect for this game?
Well, we did work together before on 8-Bit Xmas 2019. I made the title screen and updated a few sprites from the first Study Hall. For this one, I received an email from Brian deeming me his new artist and that he needed the graphics “yesterday.” I got a kick out of that. Brian is easy to work with in a way that he sends me a demo and some ideas, and then he just lets me do my thing. There’s a nice freedom to it.

How long until we get 8-Bit Xmas cookies with our cart?

-What tools do you use to create?
I use Shiru’s NES Screen Tool. I tried a couple different programs when I first started but I felt most at home with that one. It’s been brought up a few times as a joke that I use MS Paint but I have never used it for a job. However, I may have used it to throw my hat in the ring for NEScape!

-Do you collect the 8-Bit Xmas series? If so, which years do you have, and do you have a favorite?
I have not gone back to hunt down the originals but I do have 8-Bit Xmas 2017 with the LCD screen. That thing is cool. I also have a copy of 2019 from working on it. Oh, and I left 2018 at an ex’s so I’ll probably never see that again.
If I were to choose a favorite right now, it would be 2011’s Fireplace Bash. I grew up with Warlords on the 2600 so it holds a special place in my heart. I also think it’s a clever adaptation into a Christmas theme.

Screenshot from 8-Bit Xmas 2011 aka Quadralords

-Do you have any reflections on being part of a series that essentially kicks off the holidays for homebrew fans and is eagerly awaited each year?
Well don’t go making me nervous by putting it that way! It’s a series that started a decade before I even knew about NES homebrews so it’s an honor really.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing 8-Bit Xmas 2020? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I’d say the biggest challenge I had with this game was the deadline. Other projects usually have wiggle room in the event that you want to improve something or try an interesting idea you had late in development. You can’t move a holiday so when it needs to be done, it’s done. Which sort of ties in with the next question. Sometimes you just have to know when to call it. You can “improve” something forever but then it will never get out there into anyone’s hands. That’s a lesson I learn over and over again with every project.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
There is one project that Kevin and I are really excited for that we are not able to talk about just yet. It may, or may not, involve a TV show. Who knows, maybe it will have already been announced by the time this comes out so stay tuned! Other than that, I did start working on my own NES game that is a dream project of mine. It’s called Courier and it’s an homage to the SNES version of Shadowrun. Kevin Hanley will be programming it and Sergio Elisondo is composing the music and sound effects. I’m a little nervous because this one is my brainchild and the last thing I want to do is let those two down. Either way, I’m excited for everyone to see more of it.

A homebrew draws near!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Full Quiet. That Kickstarter campaign dropped right when I was falling down the homebrew rabbit hole so I have this sort of nostalgic memory attached to it already. I also played a bit of it one year at MAGFest. I can’t wait to get my hands on that one. Orange Island is another one that I’m looking forward to 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?
Just that it’s been a blast so far and I’m excited to see where the community goes from here.

zi
@BleepBopRecords
-Before we talk about 8-Bit Xmas, 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?
I first played on my great-grandfather's piano which sat in the enclosed patio in Queens at the age of 3, whilst the family chain smoked in the living room in the early 80s. They were very supportive or just wanted to stop the constant bitching about Koch, but at the end of every piece I played they said “very good.” So, I kept making up songs as I began lessons in first grade - stopping formal instruction only a few years ago after a stint on a cruise ship and quickly realizing I needed to get a real job. As a kid I LOVED the vast NES library and the soundtracks (taped - yep, cassette tapes- whatever I could from any games I could get my hands on) and have always wanted to create for the system. It wasn't until 2008 when I realized people are using programs to create music on NES ROMs did I fully realize my dream.

Zi’s family, like many New Yorkers, simply would not bear with Ed Koch despite his entreaties

-What is the significance of your Zi username as well as the Bleep Bop Records label?
It's pronounced z-aye. The last piece of being a game composer is being computer obsessed: you can check that box. I was deep into the text-based world of MUDs in college where, looking for a short name (they wouldn't let me enter Z) I took Zi. Bleep Bop Records came from the sounds a human makes when making fun of a computer, which isn't cool. They have feelings too. Also, it's kinda jazzy and I like the jazz music.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
This isn't a joke: Bad Religion, Yanni, Dvorak. Blend em up and you have short, in-your face, classical/modern sensibility, but then bit shift it down to some recognizable waves. I'm all over the map now as far as artists- I just spent a month to figure out what Rush was all about. Most of the time it's other chiptune artists where I'm either listening to the songs or taking a scalpel to them and trying to understand the progression, the movement, the effects, the tone, etc. I was just on a chiptune compilation album (Chip for Change 2020) and now have 24 new artists to enjoy!

A whole month? No rush

-Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
In the early days, yep, I just qualified 2010 as early, I found chiptune to be sorta disjointed… technically impressive but not catchy, not a song. I try to get my music to be approachable (hopefully memorable) with a distinct feel- like if MegaMan had intro, verse, pre-chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro. With the progressing chiptune scene these days everyone's got that feel, but it wasn't always like that, and I want/hope my music has a smart yet poppy sensibility. Deep yet digestible? Open, yet conquerable. Removed, yet connected? Nope, spiraling and moving on.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
For games, Famitracker is my workhorse. Not that fancy modded ODD one, but the OG FT. With the progression of Famitone and it's (sorta) easy integration into game engines, the workflow is much easier. For my regular stuff I love LogicPro. I'm currently going through a horn thing where everything has horns, so thank you everyone for dealing with this (started 2018-2022?).

-Tell me about the development of 8-Bit Xmas’ music, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you compose more traditional music?
So. Damn. Hard. At least with game composition you can play the game, look at the stills/gifs, talk to the programmer, get a vibe, work on some stuff, figure out the number of levels, intro, credits, etc. That to me is easy. It's tough to do covers because, well, everyone knows the song. So do the song, but do it in your own way, but don't stray too far from the original, yet make it recognizable. BTW, it's July 4th and this is due Aug 1. The creative process is far more focused on style than creating a new and catchy song, because we’ve all been listening to that holiday song for 60 years now.

I have a list: song's I've done and want to do. I've settled into a sorta pattern of an upbeat Xmas song from the 60s, a traditional song, a quirky song, and a kid friendly/everyone knows song. I think I get weird with the traditional because we all know em- check out this year’s fun/mind-numbing rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas”!

-Which are your favorite holidays songs?
That’s a null set for me. Everyone holiday song has the high probability of getting stuck in your head because the catalogue is so limited, which leads to a very high rate of ear-worm recidivism. I'll wake up in the middle of the night and be humming “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”, and it's July 21st. Not cool, festive music world, not cool at all.

Adapted into a WB animated film in 2000

I’ll tell you my least favorite songs: 1. “Wonderful Christmastime” [by Paul McCartney]- you can’t just throw sleigh bells into a song and repeat a noncommittal statement about a holiday moment. Well, you can, but there should be more blowback, even if you were in the world’s most popular band over a half century ago. 2. “Little Drummer Boy” - there’s a few horrific versions, one where the electric/synth bass moves either too early or way to late and the Bieber one. No, don’t look it up. 3. I’m stopping here- this is why people get depressed during the holidays.

-Are there unique challenges to adapting a recognizable song to chiptune?
The real challenge, for holiday tunes as well as pretty much any NES chipset chiptune, is finding space to build the sound you want. You're only given 3 channels that produce melodic tones, and that could come off sounding stark or empty. It's not all about building that wall of sound, but I believe there's an expectation of sophistication when it comes to music and throwing up a baroque-esque tune isn't going to cut it.

-Your work on homebrew games spans the 8-Bit Xmas series as well as a wide assortment of gems, including UXO, which Chris aka Deadeye interviewed you for. How has your approach to composition evolved over the years?
I used to wait for some specifics from the programmer(s) or producers, but now I’m not afraid to get elbow-deep in the project as it progresses. Musically, I try to envision what that music would complement the overall game and the immediate space (level/menu).

An essential read for homebrew lovers, and other people sick of me

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on 8-Bit Xmas 2020? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
If you want a music job, especially in the game work, definitely have that portfolio ready to go (Soundcloud at the very least). Know a few different DAWs, and be fluent in the genre you’re targeting. Be organized, hit your deadlines, take notes/criticisms but not personally, and know all of your music nerd stuff (it’ll get you out of a jam about a billion times).

-How did you connect with Brian for the first 8-Bit Xmas game you collaborated on, and what is the working dynamic like as you work on your respective aspects of the game?
Kevin Hanley was stepping back from the Xmas series to focus on his programming and I must have been bugging Brian for years before he wrote back and said, sure, you can do this year's music. That was 2013, making this year the 7th year of the music tradition.

-Do you collect the 8-Bit Xmas series? If so, which years do you have, and do you have a favorite?
I do have a full set, purchased all at time of sale or given to me for my musical efforts! I think my favorite is 2017 (the multi-cart) even though I was sad I didn't have a chance to compose that year.

Menu screen for 8-Bit Xmas 2017 multicart

-Do you have any reflections on being a consistent part of a series that essentially kicks off the holidays for homebrew fans and is eagerly awaited each year?
A few thoughts: 1. you won’t make money reselling these so buy em because they’re cool (that goes for all vidya games). 2. make sure you play em with your family, especially if you have kids or nieces/nephews during Christmas or whatever holiday get-together you might hold. They might be simple games, but playing them together really makes them more enjoyable and secretly unites families during the holidays, thus fulfilling your need for non-stop consumerism as well as memorable family time.

-You are also working on transferring Fie to FamiTracker for its cart release in addition to your work on the Quiet album and Retro Artists of the Future, Vol 1. Do you have any updates that you would like to share on these or any others on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
The Quiet Album (due out October - check twitter @bleepboprecords for updates or the site: bleepbop.com) is my main focus right now. It’s a whole thing to make a cart release, but it’s almost done! No dream projects yet, but I’m talking with a few (more than one, less than four) producers/programmers on their 2021 slate!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
There’s a wave of NESMaker games I’d like to try. It feels like the earlier days of NES homebrew, where there’s a lot of ideas out there at varying skill levels. I’m mapper 30 compliant and ready to dive into some wonderfully new and inventive worlds!

-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 for the opportunity and PLEASE follow @bleepboprecords on Twitter, find BleepBopRecords on Facebook/Insta/SoundCloud, and always check the main site for posts, bonus content, and general musings: http://bleepbop.com

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to another installment of the series that goes beyond the board to learn the about the latest and greatest in homebrew. What are your thoughts on 8-Bit Xmas 2020 and the elves who development this holiday treat? Which game in the series is your favorite? What homebrews are you eagerly looking forward to? Perhaps you’ll see it under your tree on Christmas Day when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?

Merry Holidays everyone!
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Episode 25: Homebrew Magazines

By Scrobins, September 26, 2022

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?
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Episode 5: Rollie

By Scrobins, September 24, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 5: Rollie

Introduction:
Homebrewing is a level of NES-fandom defined by both discipline and creativity. If we lived in an RPG, learning to code and develop would mark the class change/level up from being a fan who merely talks about what a fun game would look like to becoming the fan capable of actualizing it. While learning to code, brewers also discover how to implement gameplay features, and thus learn how to make their own games stand out. The vast catalog of hacks is testament to the education of countless developers playing with the code of their favorite games to understand how the original game works and ultimately create something new. In time, some of these rom hackers will step into new territory, drawing on their experience to build a game from the ground up: a homebrew.
For this entry, I’m covering Rollie, a side-scrolling platformer with tag-team co-op for the NES developed by Chris Lincoln aka Optomon, with artwork by Daniel Adams aka HobotiX. As of the time of this writing, initial Kickstarter backers have received their orders, and the rom for this game is available on Optomon’s Itch.io page while the physical release is now available through The 6502 Collective.

Development Team:
@Optomon (Chris Lincoln): developer, programming and music
HobotiX (Daniel Adams): illustrator

Game Evolution:
Rollie’s story begins in 2016 when Chris decided to develop a game completely from scratch. Up to that point Chris worked on a number of prominent NES hacks including The Guardian Legend: Secret Edition, Castlevania: Chorus of Mysteries, Castlevania: The Holy Relics, and Pyronaut, an extensive hack of Castlevania II still in-development. Chris shared his progress with fans across the country at various gaming expos and conventions, as well as online on such forums as NintendoAge, methodically building enthusiasm for the game.

Chris showcasing Rollie at various expos to fans such as Chris Cacciatore (center)
When the game was finished and ready to be shared with the world, Chris launched a Kickstarter campaign for Rollie on August 31, 2019. Within 24 hours Rollie had exceeded its initial funding goal of $5,000, ultimately netting more than $21,000. The campaign offered 4 tiers: a rom of the game, a cartridge-only option, a CIB option, and a limited edition CIB featuring a numbered translucent cartridge and special yellow box.

Gameplay Overview:
Rollie describes itself as a tag-team co-op side-scrolling platformer that draws on the gameplay of Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, crammed into 40 kilobytes.
You play as Rollie and Lorrie, two raccoons living in Paradise Gorge at a time when serpents have been moving into the forest en masse. The ensuing overcrowding transforms the once peaceful environment to one fostering greed and fear. Rollie and Lorrie hope to show everyone how to trust and play well with others again, which starts with taking down the more mean-spirited leaders of the community.

If it’s a snake problem, I know someone you can call
At first glance, Rollie’s controls seem like a typical platformer, but the rolling feature opens the world to more elaborate gameplay. It all starts by pushing down, which makes Rollie curl into a ball, while pushing up unfurls him. While rolled up, Rollie can fit into tight spaces, move more quickly, and bounce (especially if he falls from a great height). You can jump on enemies while Rollie is rolled up or in his default state, but if you roll long enough, you will build up a static charge that can be used to zap enemies with the B button. Rollie can otherwise throw marbles with the B button, or blow bubble platforms with up and B. If Rollie needs a break, he can tag out with Lorrie by hitting Select. Meanwhile throughout the levels are helpful items and snacks: 100 sweet clovers nets you an extra life, hot dogs grant invincibility, ice cream makes you faster, while an assortment of sodas will make you either jump higher, float, or shake the earth. If you find a cake, you can make new friends by offering them a piece instead of jumping on them!

What would happen if Rollie entered Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Writer’s Review:
Rollie offers a fun 8-bit experience that will charm gamers of all ages. Though I’m reluctant to argue that other homebrew games are not family-friendly, Rollie seems especially oriented toward an experience that adult gamers can share with their kids and introduce them to some old-school fun.
Gameplay is easy to learn as you navigate the forest and jump on enemies, much like the original Super Mario Bros. game which served as inspiration. But as I mentioned earlier, where the basic mechanics are familiar, Rollie’s rolling feature is a key to a wider world of play, with an endless combination of play styles that will encourage gamers to tackle the game anew again and again with different approaches to challenge themselves. Learning the various controls can take some time before you grow accustomed to them, but once mastered are second-nature. I remember when I played Rollie for the first time at Chris’ booth at PRGE in 2018, I struggled to go in and out of rolling mode, starting and stopping like a teenager first learning to drive. But now that I’ve put meaningful time into the game, my movement is smooth and I’ll catch myself bouncing in levels just for the fun of it. Turning Rollie into a ball to squeeze through tight spots is necessary in some parts of the game, but this feature is too fun to wait for when it’s necessary.
Rollie’s graphics provide cute, colorful sprites against a woodsy background that evokes the Pacific Northwest region Chris calls home as well as parts of New England where I grew up. Something about the forest’s particular shades of green and brown and the title screen’s sign aesthetic remind me of visiting a state park and exploring the outdoors.

Fun fact: all of these signs were made in 1974
Meanwhile Rollie’s soundtrack is addictively fun. Hours after turning off the game, I catch myself humming its playful chiptune and I cannot get it out of my head until I play again.
Rollie is a game that fans have eagerly awaited for years, and the finished product delivers all that it promises. Chris believes that creative gameplay features can elevate a game above more generic entries in its genre, and Rollie is proof-positive that imagination is the key to making a game fun and replayable.

Interviews:
Rollie is a fun platformer that was years in the making. To learn more about the passion and creativity put into this game, I chatted with the development team.

Optomon
-Before we dive into Rollie, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Optovania?
Even though I dreamed of making my own games as a kid, I started as a rom hacker, because I was much more into creating new challenges for games I grew up playing. I worked on progressively more complex projects over the years, and collaborated with some people online to make versions of existing games that began to feature modified code. Eventually many of the modified games I worked on felt like completely different games. When I had enough coding experience and knowledge of the NES's architecture, I started to lean more toward homebrewing. I was inspired largely by the growth of the community and this idea that making NES games as something of a profession could be a reality.

-Given the Optovania portmanteau of Optomon and Castlevania, and your previous work on Guardian Legend and Castlevania hacks, I guess it is safe to say you are a fan of both games. What about them resonates with you?
Optomon is a handle I've used since the days of AOL. Guardian Legend was my favorite game growing up, and while it isn't a general favorite for most, it is one of the more prominent cult games on the NES. The Castlevania series on the other hand, is very popular, and I more generally liked those games. I'm drawn by the huge variety of environments, weapons, and enemies. The bright colors of the graphics and the memorable soundtracks are also a draw. I'm mainly a fan for subjective reasons though, as these were games I had the pleasure of watching my older brothers play through first before playing through them myself once the NES eventually trickled into my room.

Screenshot from The Guardian Legend featuring Green Optomon

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My primary influences are the many people who worked on NES games when they were new in the 1980's and 1990's. The articles and interviews on these people are priceless, and they feel like heroes to me. They had to figure out how to engineer NES games with little precedent under some tight deadlines and archaic tools. In the modern homebrew scene, I tend to watch those who work on multiple titles. Gradual Games, Morphcat, and Dullahan are three studios that immediately come to mind.

-Your games are known for creative features that bring something new to the genre and elevate gameplay. How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of an Optovania game?
While my projects have matured over the years, I've always been very much into building something familiar around original ideas, and crafting new challenges for a game's intended audience. Over the years I've come to embrace three core principles in artistic design: 1) features need to be novel, 2) logic needs to be valid, and 3) matter needs to be vivid. In short, things need to be fresh, sensible, and alluring. A perfect game commands the focus of a player in a deep and meaningful way, like a book that can't be put down. Enchantment, not addiction.

Screenshot from Optomon’s hack Castlevania: The Holy Relics

-What tools do you use to code and compose?
For homebrewing, I code 6502 in Eclipse, using the WUDSN plugin, intuitive to navigate and easy on the eyes. For graphics, I use YY-CHR, I can't think of anything more necessarily comprehensive. Outside of that, I use some archaic equipment that causes me to do way more grunt work than I should. My emulator of choice is the old FCEU, which I like for its simple debugger and memory viewer. On hacking projects, I exclusively use hex editors for coding, and usually some kind of game-specific editor for the levels. It's good for getting fast results if you take notes and know what you are doing, and if there is a good amount of free rom space available. For NES music, I compose first in Noteworthy Composer, then transcribe the notes into hex values.

-On your website, you mention how you essentially taught yourself to code and developed your first games by getting your hands dirty, developing “through data corruption and examination of hex values in the code.” What lessons can you share to others who also learn by doing?
Do things in ways that best work for you, even if they seem impractical and unrelatable. It's probably to your advantage if you think rationally and enjoy reading up on new tricks, but I am definitely not one of those people. However, as I've matured more, I've come to understand that you absolutely need to do your homework if you want to make it. I generally read up on how to do things now before I get to a point to where it is an absolute necessity, such as learning an assembler for homebrewing, or getting hung up on some specific NES architecture quirks that I've never come across. I have never been able to successfully convince someone to do things in the tedious manners in which I traditionally do them. Learning by doing things in difficult ways makes sense to me only because I enjoy doing it that way. I feel like my methods are conducive to mastering a narrow set of skills very well as opposed to becoming a jack of trades. As a result, most stuff that should be fairly straightforward feels utterly taxing for no good reason.

Remember here that Chris has mastered a narrow, or rather a particular set of skills

-Before Rollie, you were primarily known for your elaborate NES game hacks, such as The Guardian Legend: Secret Edition, Castlevania: Chorus of Mysteries, and Castlevania: The Holy Relics. Was the experience of developing a game like Rollie from the ground-up different?
Engineering is different than reverse engineering in a way that building a house is different than giving it a makeover. So the experience was very different. Every part you unscrew is something that you have screwed in so you tend to know what you are dealing with all the time but it's more labor intensive. In hacking, you risk unscrewing something that could make the whole house collapse for a good while and you have no clue why. So while you have a nice shortcut in not having to do a lot of the groundwork you tend to be coding on eggshells.

-Did you have a different attitude toward developing Rollie compared to your previous games? Does playing within the existing worlds of established characters impose limits on what you can do with them or do you feel it offers a larger sandbox to play in?
I had to act more like a gamer making a game for gamers rather than a fan making a game for fans. With hacking, the sandbox is immediately larger and more established, but the more you break down and understand a game's code, and the more you manage it properly, the less imposing its limits. While you could make the sky your limit in homebrew, I chose to operate within a 40-kilobyte constraint, so in that sense, it felt as restricting as many NES game hacks. Toward the end of its development, the constraint felt suffocating, so I had to be wise with my data use.

-You also developed the game’s music, is your creative process for composing the soundtrack similar to when you are working on the game’s code?
It's completely different. I tend to compose in my head, at a piano, or at the computer, depending on my mood. Rollie's soundtrack was mostly composed in my head before I wrote out the notes. With game design, things are much more technical and less emotional, so being in the trenches with your ideas is a must. New ideas consisted of doodles and bullet points on graph paper. Most major implementations were fleshed out in a makeshift design document written in notepad before it was coded. Level design was drafted on graph paper, then configured as hex values in several tables. I would say sound effects had a much more similar creative process to the code than music, as each sound effect was composed as a snippet of code manipulating sound registers. With composing music, I didn't have to watch people listen to the music the way I had to watch people play through the levels hundreds of times to get them just right.

-At the heart of Rollie’s gameplay is the rolling, bouncing feature, which seems reminiscent of Sonic the Hedgehog, but more versatile in how it is integrated into the game. What inspired this feature of the game?
Chiefly, Rollie's definitive mechanic was influenced by the morph ball from the Metroid games. More specifically, it was the incorporation of spring ball into an NES fan game I worked on at the time as the composer, Metroid: Rogue Dawn. While I would test sound implementations throughout the game, I often cruised around jumping and bouncing all over the place as a ball. The developer programmed it very fluidly and it was a fun way to navigate the terrains. I was just starting out Rollie at the time, and I thought, “this has GOT to be the mechanic I am building my game around”, and so I did.

Screenshot from Metroid: Rogue Dawn

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Rollie? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Make sure everything is stable as you build incrementally. I ran into some nasty defects involving sprite collisions with the background graphics throughout the game's development because I improperly programmed the scrolling engine early on. Also, test on real hardware, some weird stuff can happen on the console that doesn't in the emulators, such as if you try too many tile writes during vblank. Lastly, ditch the 40-kilobyte constraint unless you absolutely know what you are doing, or are creating a very small-scale game. Rollie is absurdly compressed beyond necessity, right down to modularizing several four-byte instructions that are frequently used into three-byte sub-routines. I can safely guarantee that there is no unused content in the game file. There was no special reason to have done it this way, except to impose a deadline for myself to get the game done and challenge my creativity.

-Ever since my first episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist 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 Rollie and Lorrie’s design, and are there elements of yourself that you see in them?
I always like to think we have inside us a world as complex and beautiful as the one we are presented with, and we inherently divulge our worlds into the one we share together. It sounds like Rollie and Lorrie are the medium which I have chosen to bridge my world to that of others. As raccoon heroes, they reflect four things: 1) a very short-lived homebrew project I was originally commissioned to work on which involved a red raccoon shooting snakes (which evolved into Rollie after it was canceled), 2) a creature that is apparently capable of rolling, 3) an homage to Mario 3, in which the player physics are particularly an influence, and 4) a personal motif from my adolescence, when I played NES games most passionately. The game's target audience are primarily small children and parents with small children who are familiar with NES games. So the cartoonish woodland setting in which Rollie exists is something that is immediately recognizable and appealing to children, yet has something of a mature story.

Gameplay gif from Rollie

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Daniel Adams?
Daniel and I have known each other for 30 years and we are best friends who grew up together, so working with him was super fun and easygoing. We met and chatted frequently online about the game and the physical product. I would give him a detailed list of what I expected for each illustration. I generally gave him creative freedom so long as what he drew clearly represented what was in the game. He did a good job giving personality and detail to my crude artistic style.

-There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Rollie on social media. How does it feel to see so many people enjoying your game?
I'm quite impressed with it. It's particularly fulfilling when there is someone who really loves the game, it makes me feel like that all that energy into realizing all those dreams was worth it. I try not to get too caught up in praise, in a same way that I try not to get caught up with criticisms. What really makes me happy is the bigger picture though, that people still really love NES games, and that they are holding up to be a timeless product.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
While I am a blank slate for the time being, I still want to make more games. I have some ideas, but they'll have to bake in my mental oven. For a next project, I want to collaborate with more people, especially graphical artists. I'd also want to effectively master plan the game, rather than “master improvise” it like I did with Rollie.

-You were/are also working on Pyronaut, which is built from the game engine of Castlevania II, and Bomberman Classic, which creates a world more in tune with Bomberman’s original cover art. Do you have any updates on either game that you would like to share?
I wish I could actually say something about Pyronaut other than it being on an indefinite hiatus for the last five years. I put it on ice after I had kids. The rom needs some serious re-organization. As for the Bomberman fan project, it's actually been finished for the last 6 years, but we never gave it a proper release for some reason.

Screenshots from Pyronaut (left) and Bomberman Classic (right)

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Sam's Journey looks to have some gameplay depth to it that is treading somewhere along the lines of Kirby. Orange Island also looks to reach that level of complexity. I look forward to seeing both finished. For games with a more serious tone, Halcyon and Project Janus appear to have a high level of technical sophistication and mood that is intriguing. I'm following those when I can.

Screenshot from Sam’s Journey

-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 much at this time, just thank you for reading and supporting.

HobotiX
-Before we talk about Rollie, I want 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?
Without getting too much into it, I always enjoyed drawing and doodling throughout elementary and high school. After that, I went to take a wide range of art classes from my local community college and art school, building up my portfolio. I found myself gravitating more toward digital illustration, 3D modeling, and animation more than anything else. Once I felt my portfolio was at a good spot, I started applying to internships and found work at a startup called Tapulous as a Visual Designer making mobile games, which was a very new market at the time.
Once I found a relatively stable career, I started meeting up with my co-workers after hours and working on little side projects, spitballing game ideas, and seeing what we can hack together. One year, we decided to enter a Ludum Dare, which is a 48-hour game jam held online. We created a neat prototype of a game called Unforbidden Planetoid, which was meant to be a small Metroidvania, but we ran out of time. I worked with one of my co-workers who did all of the programming, and I managed to produce a lot of art for the project though, and animated the main character. The demo still exists on the Ludum Dare website if you wish to check it out.

Screenshot from Unforbidden Planetoid
Needless to say, I love designing and making games, writing up design documents for various games and spitballing ideas with people. I have since left the “professional” game development scene, if you can call mobile games that, and have gone back to school for Computer Science, which I am finishing soon. Making your own games is fun, but the professional scene for game development is really jading. You can find articles on that topic if you look for them, but I digress. I plan to do solo game development from this point forward.

Bruno Mars Revenge, art by Daniel Adams
Personal Portfolio (needs updating, but relevant): https://daportfolio.me/
Unforbidden Planetoid: https://daportfolio.me/Unforbidden-Planetoid
-What is the significance of your HobotiX handle?
Nothing too significant really. My old online handle was “Starscream,” but needed a new handle that wouldn’t be used as frequently. Especially as more and more services came online. I settled on “HobotiX” because I thought it sounded funny. It’s a mix of “Hobo” and “Robotics.”

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
It is hard to say if I have any one influence, because different art influences me in different ways. Back in high school, I was definitely influenced by anime and game art, specifically Gundam and Mega Man, but later found myself drawn more toward the simplicity and design of Eyvind Earle and William S. Rice, and the raw brush strokes of Spanish comic book artists, like Sanjulián. While different, these things definitely influenced me while I was still in college and during my career.

Summer Twilight by Eyvind Earle

Night – Yosemite by William S. Rice

Vampirella #13 "The Silver Thief and the Pharaoh's Daughter" by Sanjulián
These days, I have been following the work of Temmie Chang, M-Tee, and Shafer Brown to name a few. I usually end up making some art boards on Pinterest, and end up noticing that I have added multiple pieces from the same artist. While my focus is now more on the programming side, I still do a lot of drawing and illustrations for fun.

Screenshot from Temmie Chang’s Escaped Chasm

Slobberoth Fight by Shafer Brown

I believe you’re familiar with M-Tee’s work
Eyvind Earle: https://eyvindearle.com/
William S. Rice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Rice
Sanjulián: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/120326342/sanjulian-master-of-fantasy-art
Temmie Chang: https://tuyoki.itch.io/
M-Tee: https://mteegfx.itch.io/
Shafer Brown: http://www.shaferbrown.com/

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Hard to say. I don’t think there is anything particularly unique about what I do vs another artist. I like dynamic angles and lighting if I am painting a full scene, but can do some very static pieces as well. I like trying to capture the feel of a scene with these elements.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
For the most part, I will draw and ink my artwork in my sketchbook, and scan it into my computer and do all the painting in Adobe Photoshop using a Wacom Tablet. When I was working in the studio setting, I had a Wacom Cintiq, where the computer monitor doubles as the tablet surface, and I would draw directly on that. These days, I have been getting into using Procreate on the iPad with the Apple Pen. I have been renting one from my college to get by, but it has been a great experience.

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for Rollie, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you create for other projects?
Chris had a pretty good idea of what he wanted for the project, and I simply had to go down the list and bring the sprite work that he did to life. The hardest part was really settling on the style that I wanted to draw the characters in, which meant that I had to get the look of Rollie and Lorrie down first. To do this, I looked at a lot of cutesy character art, and some classic Super Mario artwork, and kind of settled at a happy medium. Once I got that down, and the ok from Chris, the rest was just following that style, while trying to match the sprites as closely as possible.
All of the characters and items were illustrated over the course of a couple of months, where I sketched, inked, and then finished them in Photoshop. The next piece that I got started on was the front cover, which took a lot of work. I first did multiple sketches of different cover art ideas, from something very simple, to something very complex. I always liked those NES covers that have amazing illustrated covers that convey the gist of the game, like Gradius or Castlevania. To that end, I went with something showing the action of the game, jumping, surrounded by the enemy, the woodland creatures, and set it in the forest. I set the perspective looking up because I wanted it to look amazing and fun. All of these are factors that play into how the game is played, and where it is set. Once the sketch was complete, I pulled it into Photoshop where I did a more in-depth painting of the characters and scene, spending a bit of time on the lighting and texture of the world. I like how the cover came out.

Rollie box art

-The manual is full of fun, cartoony illustrations; my personal favorites are the “making friends” and cola illustrations. Was there anything in particular that you drew on for inspiration in your illustrations?
I have made a lot of icon art during my time as a visual designer, so I have a lot of experience boiling down a complex action to a simple two-tone representation. Creating full illustrations representing these things was much more straightforward. But, put simply, Chris wanted something like the Super Mario Brothers manual, where there were illustrations that represented the different actions, and I followed that request.

Image from Rollie’s manual

-What do you think makes a game’s manual stand out?
A game manual needs to be fun to flip through and it needs to flesh out the world it is a part of. When you get an item in the game, you might not be entirely sure what it is, or how it fits into the world. But when you find that item in the manual, you can see what it is, and keep that image in your mind as you play the game. A good manual also expresses character traits in its illustrations, anthropomorphizing them and the sprites that represent them.

The duck is the only one with any chill

-How did you first connect with Chris and what was it like working with him?
I met Chris back in Kindergarten, and we have been friends since. We have very similar tastes as far as games go, and are pretty familiar working together. We never really step on each other's toes or anything. We give each other feedback on our work, and end up agreeing because our preferences are so aligned.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on Rollie? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
If anything, I wish I could have been more hands on with the printed materials. I did all of the layout work and design for them, but I would have liked to have been able to pick out the finish for the boxes and actually seen how they looked printed before running with them. Not to say that I am displeased with any of the print work, just would have liked that amount of control.

-You told me that you also playtested Rollie during its development, and have tested some of Chris’ other games. What goes through your mind as you playtest, for this or any game? Are there any favorite games that you measure them against?
Yeah, I have playtested many of Chris’s games over the years, and usually stream it when I do, even if no one follows me. Chris usually approaches me when his game is maybe 90% of the way there, and he is polishing some features and finishing up level design. I usually try to weed out any confusing game or interface design decisions, and for a fair difficulty curve. I feel that a game should be able to teach you how to play it by the design of its level, such as world 1-1 of Super Mario Brothers.

It's a classic for a reason
Difficulty should ramp up by introducing you to a concept, iterating on that concept, and finally testing mastery of said concept. Rollie was a unique challenge though because of its sandbox approach to platforming. You have so many abilities and ways to traverse the level, and the challenge is designing a level in a way that forces you to pick one, or the other. I feel that this was successful, and by the time the difficulty ramps up, the player is prepared for the challenge.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DAportfolio/
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/hobotix

-Is there another project after Rollie on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, video game or otherwise?
I am not entirely sure what Chris plans to do after Rollie, but I am happy to help him in any way that I can. As for me, I am kind of wanting to dig into the Unreal engine and do some rapid prototyping when I finally have some time. Free time is hard to find though when one is studying Computer Science though. I would love to develop at least one of my game concepts.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I was really excited about Micro Mages when that came out. The sprite work is amazing, and it is a fun party game concept for the NES. I have also been playing a bit of Project Blue over the last few months, and have been digging that. I am also looking forward to playing Trophy once that officially releases. So, quite an active homebrew scene.

Trophy? Hmm, rings a bell

-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 interested in making your own game, there is no better time to start than now. There are so many tools and resources out there that make it really easy to get into. You can go old school like Chris and write everything in a very primitive programming language, or you can use a modern tool like NESmaker, with a built-in spriting tool. If retro is not your jam, you can look into Unity or Unreal engine game development. There are so many free tutorial videos out there that it is easy to find an answer to any of the questions you might have. All you need is the motivation to do it. I highly recommend learning to do everything on your own (code, art, system design) if you can, because it’s hard to find people to work with. And besides, it’s nice to understand every aspect of your game. It is also nice to be able to wear multiple hats in a game jam.

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of a series that digs deeper into the latest homebrew games worth adding to your library. What are your thoughts on Rollie and its developers? 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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Episode 18: Chumlee's Adventure: The Quest for Pinky

By Scrobins, September 17, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 18: Chumlee’s Adventure: The Quest for Pinky

Introduction:
There has been an awakening. Have you felt it? Modern icons of pop culture and homebrews, coming together. Commissioned. Official. Licensed. Where first, barely a year ago there was Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, another game pushes the floodgates open a little further, with the dev team announcing yet another licensed homebrew coming in its wake. No longer a one-off happenstance, we are witnessing a change in era within the homebrew world. Let the good times roll.
For this entry, I’m covering Chumlee’s Adventure: The Quest for Pinky, a beat 'em up adventure game for the NES, starring the cast of Pawn Stars, and developed by KHAN Games, Peek-A-Brews!, and humanthomas. As of the time of this writing, Kickstarter backers have received their goodies, and the physical game is still available here through the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.

CIB? Best I can do is...a million dollars

Development Team:
@KHAN Games(Kevin Hanley): programming
@Peek-A-Brews!(Jon Piornack): graphical art
@humanthomas(Thomas Cipollone): music
Blurry Sprites (Richard Lecce & Mike Long): funding
Chumlee (Austin Russell): inspiration

Game Evolution:
The emergence of Chumlee’s Adventure started with a trickle and slowly grew to a stream. During his annual NES Spectrum Marathon, a 50+ hour gaming marathon which raises money for the Organization for Autism Research every September, Kevin hinted at a special project he was commissioned to develop that he couldn’t talk about just yet. (It just so happens this year’s marathon is happening this weekend, so tune in on Twitch!)

A fun event that I look forward to tuning into each year
On December 14, 2020, Kevin tweeted a gif of a bearded, sunglass-wearing dude jump kicking the “kick” into Kickstarter, followed by the date “December 28” as a little pupper wandered in. On December 28, 2020, the latest episode of Pawn Stars aired, featuring a customer who brought in an M82 unit (NES demo kiosk) that just happened to house a few of Kevin’s games inside. The episode’s narrative shows Chumlee inspired to make a game of his own after learning about the existence of the homebrew community, and from there Chumlee’s Adventure begins to take shape, much to the amusement of his friends and coworkers at the store.
Concurrent with the episode’s airing, Kevin launched the Kickstarter. Within 19 hours, Chumlee’s Adventure reached its initial funding goal, ultimately receiving more than $29,000 from 350 supporters. Backer tiers included a Chumlee keychain, a Chumlee shirt, a game rom, and four different colored CIB editions such as a Blue CIB, a Green CIB with t-shirt and keychain limited to 150 copies, an orange CIB with t-shirt and keychain limited to 75 copies, and a Yellow CIB autographed by Chumlee with laser-etched numbering on the cartridge plus the t-shirt, sticker, and special keychain.

The first teaser…what could it beeeee?

Gameplay Overview:
Chumlee’s Adventure is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up in the style of the NES black box classic Kung Fu. You play as Chumlee, longtime employee of the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, desperate for a day off with his dog Pinky. But before he gets a break, he’ll have to fight through waves of customers and their wares, as well as his coworkers Antwaun, Corey, Rick, and more, or else it’s back to WORK!
Gameplay is simple: move left and right with the respective d-pad buttons, duck by pushing down, jump with the A button, and attack with the B button. Chum has other attacks up his sleeve if he attacks while jumping or ducking. If you feel like challenging a friend, the 2-player mode allows you to swap every time you die so can have a high score challenge.
The game’s heads up display has some helpful info for you. There are the 1st and 2nd player scoreboards, sandwiching a high score ally for those looking to one-up themselves. The Player life bar shows Chumlee’s health and the Boss life bar displays each floor’s boss’ life. The four squares indicate which floor you’re currently on so you can track your progress. The Chum head marks how many lives you have left, while the Pinky icon denotes how many times you’ve looped the game (though something interesting begins to happen for truly dedicated players who play long enough). Finally, the timer ticks down how long you have to complete each floor, boss included, lest you dawdle too long admiring what’s behind the display cases and on the shelves in the background.

Gameplay gif from Chumlee’s Adventure

Writer’s Review:
Chumlee’s Adventure provides a fun, straightforward beat ‘em up that elevates its Kung Fu inspiration. This is a game that is fun to play and stays replayable while remaining faithful to the simplicity of an early black box game. Gameplay features a good range of moves to dispatch an unending stream of enemies that will keep players on their toes while maintaining a good balance of difficulty. Boss battles are challenging pattern puzzles, bringing in a fun taste of the Pawn Stars cast’s personalities. The real risk is that you might lose a life having a laugh at how creatively each boss battle is designed. Meanwhile the final boss battle adds a kind of puzzle that leverages the developers’ deep knowledge of gaming tropes to offer something a little different within the game. Each stage is fairly short, encouraging you to want to loop the game again and again (assuming you’re figured out each boss’ pattern) as you search the shelves of the store and everywhere else imaginable for the famed easter egg.
Chumlee’s graphics are a great 8-bit rendering of the show, from the shop itself to its colorful employees. Licensed games used to have a reputation that cultivated a campy “so bad it’s good” love, if not outright disappointment, but Jon’s graphics probably make all of the Pawn Stars cast wish they had a full-sized poster of their 8-bit portraits.
Meanwhile Thomas’ music builds on the sounds of the original Kung Fu with his usual flair, making Chumlee’s Adventure a black box soundtrack with a rock ‘n roll makeover. While the regular stage music is playful, it maintains a serious tone that helps you concentrate. Boss battles have a more tense vibe (which Kung Fu never had), followed by a dance-in-your-seat jam to help you celebrate conquering another stage.

Interviews:
Having already interviewed each member of the development team about their backgrounds for previous episodes, I decided to take this opportunity to check in with everyone and ask some different questions for a change.
If you’d like to read those previous interviews, see below!
Kevin Hanley- Interview from The Assembly Line
Jon Piornack- Interview from 8-Bit Xmas 2020
Thomas Cipollone- Interview from Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King

KHAN Games
@atonofglaciers
-It’s great to interview you again! Last time we chatted about the Assembly Line, and I’m excited to dive more into your dev work. How have you been since we last chatted?
Pretty good! I got hired to do another decently sized project, so I have been doing a lot of preliminary stuff with Jon from Peek-a-Brews! To figure out exactly how we want to tackle things, but it’s always exciting to start something new. We get that great rush of adrenaline coming up with things we want to do before the grim reality sets in of how hard it will be. 🙂

-How did your relationship with the people at Pawn Stars come about? Where did this game begin? Were you a fan of the show beforehand? Had you ever visited Rick Harrison's Gold & Silver Pawn Shop?
Deniz Kahn, who had been on Pawn Stars a couple times as the resident expert of sealed games, is a friend of mine and I guess when he was talking with the people there about retro games and the booming collector scene, they thought it might be a good idea to have a game made. Deniz dropped my name and they followed up with me through my website.
Initially I thought it was a joke because I really was a fan of the show. I actually watched it for many years beforehand, back when I lived in Colorado. I never made it out to Las Vegas to visit the shop, but knowing I was working on a game for people I was a fan of was an interesting situation to be in.

-Chumlee’s Adventure marks yet another licensed homebrew game, after Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl. Does the homebrew scene feel different to you, as either someone who worked on this game, someone who creates homebrew in general, or even as a player, as a result of these licensed, commissioned projects?
Well, I think this is a few different questions packed into one so I’m not entirely sure how to answer. Yes, the homebrew scene definitely feels different now days. Back when projects were initially being made with the intention to produce and distribute them it was more of a fun “let’s see if I can do this” kinda project and the community felt much smaller. You were selling every new game you made to the same 200-300 people, which was great. You had a personal connection to the people who were enjoying the things you did.
Things are much bigger now, both in scope of games and in the size of the audience on the receiving end, so it’s much less personal, but there are certainly pros and cons of both sizes. At the end of the day we want the most people playing our games as we can get, but it is at the expense of personal connection, so I think something is getting lost as the years go by. But this could also be the byproduct of forums going away. Social media feeds are just too cluttered to feel truly connected.

-Chumlee’s Adventure’s gameplay channels Kung Fu, a game I was addicted to as a kid. Was that a game you especially loved in the past? -What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Chumlee and Blurry Sprites, as well Jon and Thomas? What was the division of labor on Chumlee’s Adventure, and how was the development process between members of the team?
I was never personally a fan of Kung Fu. Early black box games seem pretty archaic to me in many ways, so when I sit down to play an NES game, I typically jump ahead to some of the more advanced stuff. But Blurry Sprites came into the project knowing they wanted their game to be based off of Kung Fu, which made it easier for us (Jon, Thomas and myself) because we had a concrete idea of a starting point and the direction we wanted to take it.

Screenshot from Kung Fu
The working dynamic was nice because they (Chumlee and Blurry Sprites) really gave us the freedom to do what we wanted with the game, other than having it be based on Kung Fu. But the three-month deadline went well with the archaic, smaller nature of the game.
Jon did the artwork, I did the programming, and Thomas did the music and sound effects. It was a pretty basic distribution of “WORK!”

-What is it like developing a game containing such cultural icons as the cast of Pawn Stars? Did you have a different attitude toward developing Chumlee’s Adventure compared to developing games for your own intellectual property? Is the experience of developing them different? Does playing within the sandbox of real people as video game characters impose limits on what you can do with them?
I think developing games based on real life people (or at least caricatures of people) is even more fun than creating entirely fictional characters because you can take quirks or personality traits that they’re known for and play with those a bit. The one drawback of being hired to do a project is you don’t get the final say in what something turns out to be in the end. They gave us a ton of freedom, but at the end of the day they had the final say in things so there were one or two things that we were super stoked on that they wound up taking out. Mostly out of fear of “what if” situations. You never know what is going to offend someone these days and I don’t blame them for wanting to be cautious. Chum Fu would have been a great name though.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Chumlee’s Adventure as opposed to NEScape or Larry and the Long Look for a Lucious Lover from a programming perspective?
This was the first project that introduced enemies coming onto the screen from offscreen that I had done, so it was an interesting puzzle of trying to decide if I wanted them to appear in the same spot each time, or if I wanted to go the timer route and have them appear at the same TIME every game, but at different points in the level depending on how quickly the player is playing. I wound up going this direction in the end because it allows for a little more variety and change each new time the player is playing.
It was also the first game I did that had boss fights, so it was interesting trying to program each of those along with the different hitboxes with the different moves Chumlee can do. He is wider when he’s jumping or squatting so I didn’t do nearly enough planning in my code to code that stuff well.

-TheMetalBeast was the first to find a special Easter Egg in the game and won a fun prize in the process. Are there other, as yet undiscovered secrets still waiting to be found?
With the three-month deadline we didn’t have a lot of time to put too much special stuff in, so while I won’t confirm or deny that there might be some other goodies in there that haven’t been found yet, there isn’t too much more.

Ironic considering the point of the game is to escape work

-There was a lot of buzz around Chumlee’s Adventure when it launched on Kickstarter, with some of the limited-edition tiers selling out right away. How does it feel to bask in such enthusiasm and support?
I’m always blown away with the people who support the projects I do. That was my second Kickstarter project so I was always curious if the first one’s success was a fluke, but the people who have supported me through the years yet again came out in full force and pushed us over the funding goal super quickly. I am honestly humbled by it. I truly appreciate everyone who cares about the stuff I do.

-On top of the excitement on Kickstarter, Pawn Stars showed off Chumlee’s Adventure on an episode of the show, after a customer came in with a very interesting cabinet loaded with several of your other games. What was it like seeing your games on a TV show with such high viewership, and then see Chumlee himself playing your game?
I can’t overstate how much of a big deal this was to me. My dad is a huge fan of the show, so when he found out something I did was going to be on it he was looking forward to it a lot. A LOT. It might have been the proudest he’s ever been of me. Or maybe it was just the first thing I’ve ever done that he could relate to on some tangible level.
But a lot of my family and extended family were tuned in watching, and I was personally watching it with a few of my friends. I knew the game was going to be featured, and they had asked me to send them a few of my games ahead of time because they didn’t want to go through getting approval to show licensed games, so I knew they were using my games, but I didn’t know in what context. So in that sense it was scary not knowing exactly how they were going to present my games. But when the show was on and they actually namedropped me… I don’t know. It was just a really emotional night. Tears of happiness were shed. I was receiving texts and calls and the whole thing was just really surreal. One of the best nights of my life, for sure. I’ll never be able to thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this project. The fact that it wasn’t just briefly shown, but almost the entire episode wrapped around NES games… it was so special. A really big night for homebrew for sure.

Now THAT’S what I call a shout out

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
Like I said previously I recently got hired to make a new game for the guy who does the Onyx the Fortuitous videos. I’m really excited about this project because we’re going to be tackling some more things I’ve never done so it will push all of us, hopefully to new levels of awesomeness. I dunno. Satan’s cool.
As for my dream project, I don’t know. I really want to get back to finishing Courier, Jon’s dream project. The longer we’ve worked on that game the more I am starting to think it’s turning into my dream project also. It’s going to be such a great game!

Everything about this image is so right

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play since we last spoke?
Mostly everything I’ve wanted to be play has come out at this point, but Full Quiet and Orange Island are high on my list!

-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’s pronounced “gif”.

-If you could be recruited for the next licensed homebrew game based on another pillar of pop culture, what would you want it to be?
There might be a project coming up related to professional skateboarding which is another huge interest of mine. Can’t wait to say more as the details materialize. 🙂

Peek-A-Brews!
@peekabrews
-It’s great to interview you again! Last time we chatted about your work on 8-Bit Xmas 2020, and I’m excited to talk to you again. How have you been since we last chatted?
Thanks, I am glad to be back!
To be honest, this year has been a bit of a rollercoaster but I think it’s on the way up so I won’t jinx it by boring you with the details. I will say, however, that these homebrew projects and the people I have been working with have been a constant positive during all of it. I am thankful for that.
And I hope all is well with you!

-What is it like working on a game containing such cultural icons as the cast of Pawn Stars?
It’s surreal. I feel like I am going to use that word often, even with new projects that are still in the pipeline, but it is the most accurate word to describe it. To say that I helped make a game for a popular TV show this early on is just crazy to me.

-Were you a fan of the show beforehand? Had you ever visited Rick Harrison's Gold & Silver Pawn Shop?
I was never a die-hard fan but I definitely watched it when it first came out and I still catch segments that interest me on YouTube to this day.
You know, Las Vegas is not my first choice for a vacation, but I found myself there at least four times in my life and I have never been to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. Kevin and I entertained the idea of visiting during the Kickstarter campaign but it never panned out.

-Chumlee’s Adventure marks yet another licensed homebrew game, after Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl. Does the homebrew scene feel different to you, as either someone who worked on this game, someone who creates pixel art for homebrew in general, or even as a player, as a result of these licensed, commissioned projects?
If I were to analyze it from all three of those perspectives, I think I would come to the same conclusion, and it’s that the scene is getting more exciting to me. I am excited to see what the next licensed game will be, I am excited to play the next licensed game, and I am excited to work on another licensed game. I am not saying that developers should only focus on licensed games now. Even if that was possible, it would be stupid to put all of our original ideas aside. I am just saying that it adds a bit of fun, mystery, and hopefully more validity to what we do.

-Chumlee’s Adventure’s gameplay channels Kung Fu, a game I was addicted to as a kid. Was that a game you especially loved in the past?
Actually, it wasn’t a game I loved as a kid. I remember playing it and thinking it was repetitive and too difficult. I don’t know, maybe it was a situation where I played something like Ninja Gaiden first and that ruined it for me. I really should’ve given it more of a chance, though, because I had fun playing it as “research” for Chumlee’s Adventure.

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Kevin and Thomas, as well as Chumlee and Blurry Sprites?
I have so many things to thank Kevin for again. Not only did he recommend me for the job, but he pretty much handled all the communication with everyone else. He is very easy going and a pleasure to work with. I specifically remember having some fun brainstorming sessions about who the bosses would be and how they would attack. I think we both got a kick out of having backward controls for Dark Chumlee and making the player position him into the falling fan hazards. What I quickly learned about Thomas is that I will never worry about the music when he is on board. Man, he is good at what he does. Did you get a chance to hear the last track on Beyond the Pins? So good.

Title screen from Beyond the Pins, product of The Assembly Line Game Jam 2021

-Did you have a different attitude toward creating pixel art for Chumlee’s Adventure compared to previous projects? Does the experience of designing art for a game revolving around real people affect your creative process?
I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous. I felt there was more of a chance for someone to criticize the graphics because it did involve an actual place and real people. It wouldn’t be something that I could just chalk up to interpretation. That might sound silly to someone else because we are talking about graphics on the NES, but I take it seriously and I wanted to do it justice. The two things that helped a lot in that respect was having a short deadline and the game being a Kung Fu clone. If I had too much time to work on it, it probably wouldn’t have had that early black box feel to it.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Chumlee’s Adventure?
I guess the challenge was making the game in a small amount of time and the surprise was that it was shelved for a year due to the pandemic. Weird times.

-There was a lot of buzz around Chumlee’s Adventure when it launched on Kickstarter. On its page Kevin gave you a shoutout for your previous collaboration on NEScape. How does it feel to be such a prominent pixel artist?
Oh that’s just Kevin talking me up! There is so much more for me to learn and hopefully people enjoy what I make along the way.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
There are a few, actually. I am doing backgrounds for a game being made by Sergio and the Holograms (A Winner Is You). I don’t think he is ready to announce anything specific just yet though. Kevin, Thomas, and I have been hired for another licensed game we will be starting very soon. Also, I just got word from Brian (retroUSB) on what the next 8-Bit Xmas game will be. And finally, I will always have my game Courier sprinkled in between there until it’s done. So, lots of cool stuff.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! There’ll be blinky lights glowing,
and chiptunes a’ flowing, like Xmases long long ago!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play since we last spoke?
I am excited to get my hands on Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King. I was backer #1 for that baby! And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Full Quiet and Orange Island.

-If you could be recruited for the next licensed homebrew game based on another pillar of pop culture, what would you want it to be?
Oh, that’s a good question but I think I’ll keep this one close to the chest. I wouldn’t want anyone beating me to the punch on an approachable license that I’m interested in.

-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 just like to say thanks to anyone that has supported, played, or helped spread the word about any project that I have been a part of. I really appreciate it.
Fun fact: I put an Easter Egg in NEScape! that Kevin hasn’t found yet.

Humanthomas
@thehumanthomas
-It’s great to interview you again! Last time we chatted about your work on Anguna Zero, now titled Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King, and I’m excited to talk to you again. How have you been since we last chatted?
I have been doing well! Mostly just trying to survive and do my part in finishing up Full Quiet. We are getting a lot of good feedback from early testers!

-What is it like working on a game containing such cultural icons as the cast of Pawn Stars?
Working on the Pawn Stars game was really fun. I never expected to get mail directly from the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, but that was a nice perk of working with them.

-Were you a fan of the show beforehand? Had you ever visited Rick Harrison's Gold & Silver Pawn Shop?
I hadn't watched the show in quite a while before we started working on Chumlee's Adventure, but I made sure to tune in for our episode 😎

-Chumlee’s Adventure marks yet another licensed homebrew game, after Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl. Does the homebrew scene feel different to you, as either someone who worked on this game, someone who composes for homebrew in general, or even as a player, as a result of these licensed, commissioned projects?
I think it is awesome that NES homebrew is getting this level attention. Most folks probably don't even realize you can still turn on an NES, let alone develop for it.

-Chumlee’s Adventure’s gameplay channels Kung Fu, a game I was addicted to as a kid. Was that a game you especially loved in the past?
We had a copy of KUNG FU HEROES but not the original Kung Fu. So, I missed the boat until adulthood.

Screenshot from Kung Fu Heroes

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with Kevin and Jon, as well as Chumlee and Blurry Sprites?
Kevin and I already had a really solid working relationship going into this project. All super positive folks that get shit done!!

-Did you have a different attitude toward creating music for Chumlee’s Adventure compared to previous projects? Does the experience of composing music for a game revolving around real people make a different atmosphere for your creative process?
I think the most important thing for a game like this is context. This game doesn't take itself too seriously and is a pretty casual experience. I wanted to use the reference material of Kung Fu but add my style to it. I think that was achieved.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in composing music for Chumlee’s Adventure?
This was the first game that I used the DPCM Sample channel for. I had a friend record the "WORK!" sample that bosses scream at you... it turned out really funny.

-There was a lot of buzz around Chumlee’s Adventure when it launched on Kickstarter. Before that, you were featured on a special episode of The Assembly Line celebrating your work. How does it feel to be regarded as one of THE go-to chiptune composers for homebrew?
Recording that episode with Kevin and Beau was a blast. It is a great honor to be considered reliable and trustworthy to work with-- and will take this opportunity to inform your readers that my commissions are OPEN. I can write for other systems too! NES to Modern! Let's make a game!

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
Currently I am focusing on finishing up Full Quiet with Retrotainment, I've picked up further responsibilities beyond just music for that game. Beyond that, I have some other commissions and some other projects that I might not be able to talk about.

It’s just on the horizon!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play since we last spoke?
As a puzzle fan, I look forward to the final version of Witch n' Wiz.

-If you could be recruited for the next licensed homebrew game based on another pillar of pop culture, what would you want it to be?
My first reaction was Seinfeld but that seems like a creative dead end... then I thought Twin Peaks.. my brain is stuck in the early 90s apparently.

-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?
Any time! Thank you for spreading the good word. I recently rewrote nearly all of the Full Quiet soundtrack, I am wondering if people would be interested in a cartridge release of what was originally intended to be the soundtrack? I don't want those to be lost forever. Let me know, folks!

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that takes deep dives into new homebrew games coming across the finish line that you ought to add to your collection. What are your thoughts on Chumlee’s Adventure: The Quest for Pinky and its veteran development team? What would you like the next licensed homebrew to be about? 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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Episode 22: Fire and Rescue

By Scrobins, March 11, 2022

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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Episode 11: From Below

By Scrobins, February 10, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 11: From Below

Introduction:
Some of the most clever homebrews can reinvigorate our love for an entire category of games with the simplest tweak. What once seemed like an oversaturated genre flooded with clones has something new for gamers because one dev could see new possibilities, offering new challenges and flipping the script of how we play these games.
For this entry, I’m covering From Below: a falling block puzzle game developed by Matt Hughson, Tuï, Zolionline, and Syrupneko. As of the time of this writing, an initial batch of 50 CIBs were sold, with another batch of 50 CIBs potentially available in the future, a Vs. version in the works, and the rom is available here.

LE CIB
Development Team:
@matthughson (Matt Hughson): programming
Zolionline (Haller Zolàn): pixel art
Tuï: music
Syrupneko (Jason Payne): cover and manual art

An early image of From Below when it was What’s Kraken

Game Evolution:
From Below first teased its existence as early as a May 22, 2020 tweet in which Matt showed off a very Tetris-y screen. One week later, Matt created a thread on NESDev to announce From Below (formerly titled “What’s Kraken”) and share development updates. On July 8, 2020 Matt created a thread on VGS to announce From Below and keep followers up to date. As the game neared completion, Matt created a Discord for beta testers and feedback, an itch.io page for downloading the rom, and a mailing list for fans to sign up for pre-pre-orders.

Building a game, one block of code at a time
On November 9, 2020 Matt made 50 CIB copies of From Below available through his eBay store, which sold out quickly. Matt has teased another 50 CIBs that he may make available in the future. Meanwhile on January 14, 2021, Matt announced a completed beta of a Vs. version of From Below for the Nintendo Vs. Arcade System that fans could download.

From Below on the Nintendo Vs. Arcade System

Gameplay Overview:
From Below describes itself as a falling block puzzle game, but unlike your typical Tetris-like, this game pits you against the mighty kraken who pushes up against the blocks you’re sending down. You are defending the city from the kraken’s attack by breaking off stones from the city walls and hurling them onto the monster, in the hope of delaying the beast until morning. Yes, there is a progression of time as every 10 lines cleared slowly brings day into night and onward straight until dawn.
Controls are easy to learn, left and right on the d-pad shifts blocks accordingly, and tapping A or B will rotate blocks. Hitting down applies a soft drop to a block while hitting up applies a hard drop. For more masochistic players, hitting select triggers a kraken attack. From Below features 3 separate play modes. Classic Mode offers a more standard falling block game, sans kraken. In Timed Mode, the kraken attacks every 10 seconds, pushing garbage up from the bottom of the screen (which can be cleared in gameplay like any other block). In Fixed Mode, the kraken will attack every time a block lands.

Gameplay of From Below

Writer’s Review:
From Below offers a fresh take on an old classic, adding an unpredictable new element that has as much potential to yield unexpected assistance as much as added frustration, which is a fun aspect however it affects you. I have never been a good Tetris player, but if my game has improved, it is 100% attributable to the number of times I came back to From Below to play again, long after I felt prepared for this post.
The active role the kraken plays isn’t just a gimmick, it really affects gameplay with its added challenge, especially as the game speeds up and every second counts. You at least have some warning as a tentacle hover below a column before it actually pushes up, as though the beast were as indecisive of its move as me. When I learned that completing a line of blocks can send the kraken’s probing tentacle back into the depths, I found my strategy shifting in order to minimize the amount of garbage pushed up by the monster. However I learned the hard way not to pat myself on the back for brilliant moves before dropping the block. Too often I savored the moment so long that the kraken pushed up a block a split second before I set my block in place and cleared a large section, and instead had to settle for a lesser win when my block no longer fit so perfectly. This added uncertainty, which provides an opposing momentum to a falling block game, supplementing an already addictive experience, begs the question how it took so long for someone to conceive it. It’s easy to say that the kraken’s attacks are predictable in both Timed and Fixed Modes, but in truth you can get so immersed in your own blocks and strategy that the reemergence of the tentacle can still come as a surprise. More predictable is the likelihood of a new spike in tentacle porn memes.

Hit my blocks harder daddy

Adding to the game’s ambiance, Tuï’s chiptune stylings layer a perky soundtrack that injects happy energy into an already sprightly game. If ever I felt like music could give me a sugar rush, I felt it in Tuï’s tunes. Of course it isn’t all peppy beats, the music shifts to a tense, frenetic melody if your blocks reach a certain height, ensuring you get as nervous as the castle dwellers you are supposed to defend. I’m at least grateful that game over track has a “good game, care to try again?” vibe, because I ended up there. A lot.
In my review of 8-Bit Xmas 2020, I praised the game’s frame around the field of play, which created a beautifully detailed background that set it apart from its licensed-era forebears, and From Below continues this tradition. The castle and surrounding landscape are gorgeous in their color and detail. The passage of time shown with the completion of 10 lines reveals Zolionline showing off his skills with the NES color palette. It is entirely possible I got several game over’s because I lose time admiring these pixel paintings.
Suddenly I find myself wanting to make an actual request: a background mode in which the soundtrack plays and the background slowly shifts across its day/night timescale so I can enjoy the music and color on my tv while reading on the couch.
Meanwhile wrapping up the game in a nice bow, Syrupneko’s box and manual art adds fun, polished touches that make From Below fit neatly in the pantheon of great licensed-era art. The manual art reminds me of the fun, cartoony story-telling function that a well-designed manual can offer, like the Super Mario Bros. games, or more recently Project Blue. And this manual is more layered than you realize, eagle-eyed players will spot a number of easter eggs hidden throughout the manual.

You won’t sleep a wink until you find them all

Interviews:
To learn more about the art and passion beneath the surface of From Below, waiting to be discovered like a kraken of interesting trivia, I interviewed the game’s development team.

Matthughson
@matthughson
-Before we dive into From Below, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is your origin story?
I grew up in the heyday of the NES, when Nintendo was everywhere and all consuming. It had a huge impact on me, and ultimately led to me becoming a professional game developer (which I still do).
I ran NES emulation sites, and NES fan sites back in high school, and began collecting NES games around the same time (amassing about 350 games, before trimming it down to my Top 100).
I also do a lot of indie game development, which has skewed more and more towards retro-looking. Initially I was just making 2D games, then I would try to make them more "accurate" to retro-consoles, until eventually I found Pico-8 (a "Fantasy Console") and made a bunch of stuff there.
But I have, for some time, wanted to make a game for an actual retro system. I first started with Gameboy actually, but didn't get too far before discovering the book "Making Games for the NES" by Steve Hugg. This let me hit the ground running, and eventually lead me to reading through nesdoug.com and coming away with the seeds of what would become From Below.

Cover for Making Games for the NES by Steven Hugg

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
I didn't really get into homebrew games (even as a player) until very recently. I think the Micro Mages Kickstarter was the first time I realized that homebrew had come so far. I still thought of it as the really rudimentary stuff I used to read about on NESWorld.com. Since then I've picked up a bunch of homebrew (Action53, Battle Kid 1/2, Candelabra Trilogy, Quest Forge, Project Blue, Lizard, Alfonzo, Twin Dragons, The Incident, Micro Mages, Nebs n' Debs, NEScape).
I think the Micro Mages Kickstarter (or maybe it was Project Blue) made me aware of The Assembly Line podcast, which really opened my eyes. I listened from the beginning and it was like travelling through time listening to the evolution of this community. It was really crazy when I started developing for the NES, and I got to meet all the "stars" of the show.
I've been pretty surprised, or rather disappointed, with how little NES games are actually being made by the community. From the outside looking in, I was under the impression that there were tons of stuff in the works, and I'd be constantly finding new projects to follow, but it’s actually relatively quiet, especially compared to other indie gamedev communities. I wish there were more projects to follow, and people were more open with their progress.
That being said, I follow everyone I can find on Twitter, and constantly check the NESDev and VGS Discords to see if something new ever pops up.
I find it super inspiring to see other people's work, and it really does drive me to do even better!

-How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a Matt Hughson game?
I really put a lot of effort into the minute gameplay details. I think it’s the difference between an ok game, and a great game.
Usually I write platformer games, so stuff like allowing players to jump for a few frames after leaving a platform, or making a hit box for the player slightly smaller than the sprite, etc.; that's the kind of stuff I spend a lot of time thinking about and getting right. I never let myself skimp on the gameplay details. If something doesn't feel perfect, I hack it till it does. Every minor piece of player friction gets some of my development time.
With From Below, this was actually surprisingly important.
There are a million games out there like From Below, so standing out is hard. What I have aimed for is creating the best feeling version of the game on the NES. If you go back and play the original Tetris for the NES, you might be surprised at how slow and clunky it feels by today's standards. From Below adds new gameplay mechanics to the formula, but also makes sure the basics are perfect.
There are some obvious features that improve the feel, like adding Hard Drop (pressing up to instantly drop a block and not having to wait for it to fall) and fast flow through menus.
There are also less obvious ones too.
For example, "lock delay": this is the time it takes for a block to lock into place when it hits the bottom of the board. When a block reaches the bottom of the board, it doesn't instantly freeze. It waits 15 frames before committing to that position. Tetris for the NES doesn't have this feature.
But just having lock delay itself isn't enough. There are subtleties to it that took a long time to get right, and are easy (as a developer) to just say "who cares".
When a block hits the bottom of the board, instead of starting a "timer" to delay the lock a fixed amount of time, I start a timer and subtract the amount of time that it delayed before moving to the current position. Meaning if a piece is dropping a space every 10 frames, and the lock delay is 15 frames, I will only wait an additional 5 frames (not the full 15 which would end up feeling like 25 frames).
This means that at lower levels, where the blocks move very slow, there is no additional time before a piece locks into place, and at higher levels, there is a very noticeable "hitch" before the piece locks. And across all levels there is a consistency that can be learned; it will always take at least 15 frames before a piece locks into place. This is true at level 1, and its true at level 100.
But that's not enough! To feel good, the lock delay timer is reset every time the piece moves down a space. Without this, you would still have a very "sticky" feeling game, where pieces lock into place as you try to push them to the outside of the board and the timer runs out. You also can't reset the timer moving horizontal, lest you end up with the ability to "hover in place" by going back and forth. None of this is particularly difficult to implement, but takes time and patience to discover and finetune.
Lock delay is just one of a dozen little pieces of the puzzle that makes From Below feel the way it does.

-What tools do you use to code and create?
The entire game is written in C using CC65 to compile. I use Visual Studio Code as a text editor and build pipeline.
I use Shiru's "neslib" and Doug Fraker's "nesdoug" libraries, along with Famitone2 for Music and Sound. Audio was authored in Famitraker.
Nametables were built with NESScreenTool, and CHR ROM file was put together in YY-CHR.
From Below is built using the NROM mapper.
I used Photoshop to layout the box and cart sticker, and InDesign for the manual.

Homepage of nesdoug

-In addition to your homebrewing, you are a game dev by profession, currently working for Microsoft at The Coalition, and have worked on such games as Gears of War. In what ways is your professional work similar to or different compared to your indie work?
Although this was my first NES game, I've written many games prior to this. I think the AAA stuff helps a lot in understanding how to produce a game, meaning what it takes to get it out the door (log bugs, prioritize work, work with teammates, source control, etc.). I'm not sure how much it helps on the programming side, although I do spend a lot of time writing C++ which is obviously very similar to C.
Indie development, however, helped a lot more on the programming side. From that experience, I knew how to write a game top to bottom (rendering, game loop, gameplay, etc.). Coming into this project I didn't actually have much trouble on the programming side of things (the gameplay is quite simple compared to most of my indie projects), so I was able to spend most of my effort on learning the intricacies of the NES hardware itself (which I did find very challenging). It's also why I chose C instead of 6502 assembly to make this game: I figured learning to develop for a 35+ year old system would be hard enough without also learning a new programming language.
If you are thinking about getting into NESDev and haven't made a game before, personally I would recommend picking up Pico-8 or Game Maker first, to learn programming. Trying to do too much at once may lead to slow progress and frustration. The sooner you can get something on the screen with any project, the more motivated you will be to move forward (I think anyway).

-Do you find your professional work informs your approach to homebrewing, or vice versa?
Yes, as I mentioned before, I can't help but approach hobby projects in the same way I approach professional work.

-At the heart of From Below’s gameplay is the Kraken Battle Mode (which also has a turn-based mode) in which tentacles are pushing…from below! What inspired this feature of the game?
I actually don't remember. I think it was from looking for some free open-source art to use for what, originally, was going to be a simple Tetris clone to learn from. I found this nice seaside platformer tileset built to NES specs (https://opengameart.org/content/plattoon), and I think it just made me think of a sea creature. I think I already had the idea of pushing garbage blocks up from the bottom, but I'm not totally sure anymore. I wish I could remember better, sorry!

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing From Below? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
The first surprise for me was that C was even a viable language for NESDev. As I mentioned, From Below is entirely written in C (other than external libs), and originally I had assumed I would need to learn 6502 assembly to make NES games. That was pretty intimidating for me.
A small but important thing I discovered was that NESDev has an official Discord! I used the forums exclusively for the first while before happening upon the Discord, which is much better for quick questions. https://discord.gg/7CaMyR8STT
The biggest challenge throughout the project was managing memory and performance. This is probably true for every project I imagine. I think Pico-8 prepared me pretty well for these struggles, but the process for dealing with them is obviously much different on the NES. For perf issue, I use "color emphasis bits" changed mid frame, to get rough ideas of what was taking a lot of time, and optimized as needed. For running out of memory, I just did culls of all bloated data here and there.
Although it might not bother most people, I put a lot of effort into time-slicing my frames so that there would be limited sprite-flicker due to going over budget for a frame. It was super surprising to me how just updating a 20x10 board when clearing lines could tank the CPU. Something that on any modern CPU would be nothing. I think this goes back to the early point about attention to detail. Sprite flicker is a pretty minor thing to most, but caring about each one of these little things is what (to me) adds up to a professional looking package.
I was also surprised that I could actually build an NES game from scratch in just a few months, and that I could actually figure out how to ship a physical CIB release a few months after that.

-I always ask my interviewees whether there is a reflection of themselves in the game’s protagonist, but given the game is centered around tiles and a sea monster, I’ll instead ask what about the game’s unique environment and gameplay reflects you and your gaming personality/preferences?
No not at all. In fact, I don't even really like Tetris (more of a Tetris Attack man myself). I chose this game as a good "first project" because I figured it would be easy, and the basic design is well understood.
However, it's been really interesting working with high-level players, and learning what makes these games great for them, and what doesn't.

Screenshot from Tetris Attack

-How did you first connect with Zolionline, Tuï, and Syrupneko when you were building your team?
Zoliononline I found on NESDev in a "pixel artist looking for work" thread (http://forums.NESDev.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13144). Like a lot of threads on NESDev, it had been going for years. It's immediately obvious, looking at his work, that he is very talented. However, as you read through that thread, you will see literal years go by with no projects coming to fruition (I later found out that he worked on Wolfling, which I think was a pretty popular compo entry). So with that in mind (as I remember it) I pitched myself as someone who has a small project that can be finished in a few months, with little chance of it not getting done. He agreed and quickly started pumping out some amazing art.
Tuï (the musician and sound designer on the game) actually reached out to me after seeing my "dev log" on NESDev. He sent me a link to his Soundcloud, and it immediately clicked with me. He pumped out some tunes really quickly as well, and after a little back and forth figuring out the limits of Famitone2, we had our soundtrack. The music seems to be a real highpoint of the game for a lot of people (including me).
Jason Payne (Syrupneko) reached out to me after I put a general call out for help on Twitter (https://twitter.com/syrupneko/status/1275189660269101056)

-What was the working dynamic like in your collaboration with them?
Working with all of them has been amazing. I am totally aware that this game would not have anywhere close to the following it does without their eye/ear catching work!
We had a lot of back and forth early on as we figured out the vision of the game, but also figured out the tech limits (we were all pretty new to this I think).
I built small batch scripts that they could run to compile their work into the game, and test it without going through me. I also built a Sound Test screen so Tuï could test his work in game (especially important when we couldn't get music to play properly in Famitone2 and needed to do some trial and error). It's still there in the final version of the game if you know the code.

-There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for From Below, 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 feels really good! If I am being honest, a big part of doing this is for external validation. I know it shouldn't be, I should do it for the love of the art or something, but I really do love having people interested in what I am making. It's probably a flaw in my character.
I do, however, recognize that a big part of the hype is simply because demand significantly outweighs supply in the NES world. I think you could release pretty much anything on an NES cart and sell 50 copies, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.
One thing I would say to others hoping to have a successful, commercial release: you don't really sell the game on release day. You're selling it for the weeks, months, and even years preceding the release. Don't play everything so close to your chest. Post progress as much as you can. Build fans before the game is even out, and keep building it after for your next project. Make sure everyone who would buy your game knows about it!

-You also develop for the Pico-8, an increasingly popular game engine. In your opinion, how does developing for the Pico-8 compare to the NES? Do you feel some games lend themselves better to one versus the other?
Pico-8 is an amazing game making toolkit. I think people really underestimate how brilliant it really is, thinking it’s just another game engine, but it is so much more. Pico-8 itself really is a game, in the same way that the Zachtronics games are also programming.
It did a lot to prepare me for NES development:
Working with limited CPU Working with limited Memory Balancing Speed and Memory, and understanding the relationship between the two. Working with limited palettes (16 colors) Low screen resolutions (128x128) Working with limited buttons on a controller. The power of sharing GIFs. All of these I had "pretended" to work with, when I made "retro-looking" games, but Pico-8 is the real deal, where you can't opt out of the limits when times get tough.
Funny enough I actually ported Super Mario Bros, World 1, to Pico-8: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=31744
Thinking about it now, another big help was a "1 game a month" challenge I did a few years ago. As the name implies, for 12 months straight I wrote and released a new game every month. It's grueling at times, but you tend to learn a lot doing this, and it’s actually where I started using Pico-8.

Gameplay of Super Mario Bros. for Pico-8

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects?
When I started NES development, I had a 3-project plan, which incrementally more difficult targets:
Project 1: "Tetris-clone". NROM. Limited CPU concerns. Single screen. Understood design. Project 2: "Witch n’ Wiz port". Action puzzle game. Non-NROM Mapper with expanded memory. Multiple moving objects. Basic scrolling. Understood design. Self-published physical cart release. Project 3: "Dash Maxius". Advanced Mapper. Platformer. Fast. Multiple scrolling directions. Require 6502 assembly optimizations. Published physical cart release. The idea being that with each project I will introduce a bit more complexity, ultimately leading up to the type of games I want to be making: fast paced platformers.
This plan has evolved a bit since then though. Project 1 became From Below and evolved beyond a simple clone. It also ended up getting a physical cart release, which was supposed to be part of Project 2.
Project 2 is a port of my already released Pico-8 game, Witch n' Wiz (https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=28944). The idea here is that I will use a more advanced mapper (MMC1) allowing for expanded memory capabilities. Originally I thought this would require scrolling, but it doesn't look like it will (all the maps currently fit on a single screen).
Currently this project is moving along nicely. I have ported all the core gameplay and maps, have a good pipeline for make more maps. My current plan is to try a package up what I have as an entry into the 2021 NESDev compo. From there I want to start implementing new gameplay mechanics that were not in the original game, eventually releasing the game as a stand-alone product too.

Screenshot from Witch n’ Wiz
Since I self-published From Below, I will probably end up going with one of the bigger NES publishers for this one (Broke Studio, 6502 Collective, etc.) if they're interested.
When that is done, my plan is to move on to Project 3: a realization of a project I started on PC, but never finished. It's a fast-paced action platformer, with a little bit of RPG elements. Inspired by "Super Win the Game" and "Zelda 2". https://twitter.com/matthughson/status/1224116188763938818
I'm not really a "dream project" kind of guy... but I do have one... I want to create a sequel to Zelda 2, but not like you might be thinking!

I have a dream to make an original Zelda 3 homebrew for the NES (not a hack), with the backdrop of a real-life alternate history where Nintendo ditched SNES R&D in favor of supporting the NES indefinitely. The manual, for example, will have a message from then-president of Nintendo Hiroshi Yamauchi decrying Sega as anti-consumer for abandoning the Master System in pursuit of a 16-bit replacement.
It will be called "Zelda III: The Curse of Ganon" and it will be a prequel to the first 2 games, showing what led to Ganon's obsession with the Triforce. I'd develop the whole thing with the idea of "what would it have looked like if Nintendo released the next Zelda game on the NES in 1991, instead of making A Link to the Past".
This is some pretty nerdy stuff, even for me...
In the same way the Zelda 1 and 2 each pushed the action RPG in new and interesting directions, this game would attempt to do the same, with a whole new gameplay style.
It will be the Rouge One of video games!

-You’ve also said that you may release another batch of From Below CIBs at a future date. Any news to sustain fans’ hope?
No news at the time of writing this. I did stipulate that the Limited Edition that went out in November 2020 is limited to 100 copies. I only made/sold 50 so far to give myself the opportunity to do another batch if there is demand.
My thought at the moment is that I might release them at the same time as my next project to build some hype. Not sure though.
If you are interested, the best thing to do is sign up for this mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/7c4c11bb4480/from-below-mailing-list

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Halcyon is probably one I am most genuinely excited to play. Really anything with art by FrankenGFX has my attention!
"Inversion Project" is shaping up to be one of the biggest technical leaps, but I don't think too much has been shared yet outside of the NESDev Discord, and even there it's very little.
Full Quiet looks cool, and I love that it seems to break the mold of a traditional NES game.
Orange Island looks beautiful. Can't wait to see some actual NES footage!
Eyra the Crow Maiden could shape up to be something special. Looked a little rough around the edges during the Kickstarter, but I'm hopeful that will get cleaned up for release.

Screenshot from Eyra-The Crow Maiden

Dungeons & Doomknights is probably the first NESmaker game that really caught my eye, and it's shaping up nicely.
However, I think we still have a long way to go before any NES homebrew games are on the level of mid-to-top tier licensed era games. I think there are a few games that look like they could be at that level, but are at a much smaller scale. I'm still waiting for the Super Mario's and Zelda's of the homebrew world! I think they're coming though. It seems like a lot of the technical hurtles have been overcome, and focus can shift to gameplay. I think the field is wide open for someone to step up and take things to the next level. NESmaker is a possible game changer in the way Unity/GameMaker/Flash were for early indie devs. I have high hopes!
Personally though, I enjoy watching games being made more than actually playing them these days. I hope more devs start posting more WIP shots and behind the scenes content.

-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 taking the time to speak with me! To everyone who bought or played From Below, thank you so much. Genuinely, I mean it. Thank you!
And thanks to all the unbelievable developers who took NES homebrew to the point where someone like me can just drop in and make a game with little-to-no understanding of what he is doing. It's really humbling to see what has been accomplished by this community!
As Fiskbit on NESDev often says to me:
"It's amazing how much you have accomplished, while knowing so little..."!
HAHA!

Zolionline
@Zolionline
-Before we dive into From Below, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrew artist? What is the origin story of Zolionline?
More than a decade ago I started to play around with RPG Maker ‘97. I started a game but I ended up making custom graphics for characters and NPCs. I started with modifying the original images which is called 'frankenspriting' today. I liked it, but I found an RPG too hard to begin with. I remembered the old, simple NES games I played when I was a child, and I thought I could make something similar. As one of my friends was a programmer, we started to make a fantasy themed platformer game for PC. We never finished it because neither of us could manage that project, but that's how it started. I tried making games for PC and mobile, 2D and 3D, but when I found out that there is an NES-homebrew community (NESDev.com) I instantly felt very enthusiastic. You know, it's pure nostalgia for me. One of my friends once said we are in the age when somebody either relives his childhood or starts visiting hookers. My girlfriend wouldn't appreciate the second, so... that's where I am.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
After finding out that I will be a hobby pixel artist, I started to participate in a pixel art community (Pixeljoint.com). I found many like-minded people, and as I started to submit pieces for artistic challenges, I slowly found out what's useful for me and what's not. Although I really like the works of Mario Santos (Emperor_Pixel), Simon Stafsnes Andersen (Snake) or Yuriy Gusev (Fool) - just to name a few of the giants - I started to abandon that terrain. Nowadays my influences are little known people in the NES industry from the 80s and early 90s. I'm watching what they did well or where they failed. I'm not a highly educated 2D artist. I teach history and literature to children. I can't relearn drawing and stuff, I try to be as good as people were back then, and as I have many applications and software they didn't have, maybe I can catch up.

Red Dragon, pixel art by Mário Santos for Leyria

-You leapt onto the homebrew scene as a pixel artist advertising your wares on NESDev, do you feel your artwork has a signature aesthetic that is uniquely you?
I think that everybody has a style, even in the size of 16x16. But there are only 256 pixels and it's hard to be really unique. I think I can combine cute and frightening elements in my own way and most of my projects tend to follow this theme. I practiced in this territory and with hundreds of working hours I may have an advance compared to others in the homebrew scene.

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel art stand out? What are the ingredients to a memorable level?
The secret ingredient is education. The best pixel artist (who I mentioned above, and there are a tons of other people even only on Pixeljoint) are professionals. They could make oil paintings on canvas if you'd like. But they have this cute hobby so we see wonders day by day. It's this simple.

-What tools do you use to create?
As my hobby is based on the 80s, I also use old or simple tools. For about 20 years I've been using Paint Shop Pro 9. I can use it's shortcuts in total darkness when I can't even see the white marks on the keyboard keys, without failure and rapidly. It's a bit ridiculous if I think of it though. For animations I use a simple program which was made by one of my former workmate in exchange of graphics for his game. I know, there are modern tools for that (e.g. Piskel - just to mention something useful), but that program was made based purely on my needs. Of course I can use programs which help the programmers, like Yy-chr and NESst, but I don't use them for drawing.

-You also worked with Lazycow on Wolfling for the 2017 Annual NESDev Coding Competition, have you noticed any changes to your style or overall approach to homebrew games over the years?
The only thing that really changed is the approach to this hobby. I only concentrate on NES games and NES development. I got fed up with computers and mobiles. That's a whole other scene about money and for professionals. I'm a small man, if I'd seen my own work near my game collection I couldn't be more happy. I always try to make something bigger, something better, but I'm happy that I don't have to run after my money. Of course, if I can get something out of this, that's a big plus - there's no "Money for nothin' and chicks for free".

Screenshot from Wolfling by Lazycow

-Tell me about your creative process while working on From Below?
An artist working on somebody else's project couldn't be more happy than having solid guidelines. Matt Hughson had a solid idea, a concept he wanted to build the game around. I only made the ideas into reality. I also had some ideas here and there, but I can say that From Below is Matt's child which I only helped to birth - sorry for the metaphor, occupational disease. This was a simple project with simple work and I liked it a lot. I'd love to work for people like him.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing From Below? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
The main lesson was that I can be really happy if my only work is drawing. Matt said what to draw and I made it. There wasn't an endless brainstorming, constant changes in the game mechanics, theme change in the middle of a development. It was a simple game, alright, but a joyride for me.
You mentioned Wolfing. That was a more complex work but Lazycow put a huge amount of work into that so it could work. Now it's a full C64 game - just as a side note. In conclusion I may be a better artist than a game designer.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, NES or otherwise? Any dream projects? I’ve seen some of the updates you’ve posted on Unlikely Adventures and Agent X, any updates on those games?
My lovechild would be the Unlikely Adventures, I put so much effort in that, it's a shame that I see it lying there. I'd really love to finish it someday, but I need a programmer who's willing to contribute to that idea, and that's rare because they are as creative minds as game designers - or we "artists". Now I'm working on a smaller project based on some Native American folk tales but it's in an early phase. When we get the demo, maybe we'll see something ambitious.

Screenshots from Unlikely Adventures by Zolionline

-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 don't think I'm in the position of giving advice, especially for people who have been in this hobby for ages. But for beginners, I may have two things to say that can be considered. (1) Do what you can do the best and leave the rest to others. There are a lot of people who can do programing, do the art or make sounds and music. If you want to make it all, it will cost you 8-10 years and without feedback you may notice that the whole is wrong somehow. (2) You have the tools that none of the people had in the early times. (Not in the middle ages but in the 80s.) Analyze and watch closely others' work. Learn from online sources. Do everything you can until you'll catch up or you'll see that you set the bar too high. Try to find your place on the scale, there's a huge space between a drawing gorilla and Rembrandt. And even if you are a gorilla, you can still have fun.

Thanks for the interview!

Tuï
@Tui2A03
-Before we dive into From Below, I'd 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 the origin story of Tuï?

I started music when I was nine years old by playing saxophone. I choose this instrument because I had a crush on a girl who was playing it. I switched to guitar in high school when some friends introduced me to rock and heavy metal. After some years at university studying math, I took a decision and went to Paris to learn jazz improvisation and composition. I’ve been composing for 15 years now but I’m pretty new in the homebrew scene. I discovered video games at 4 years old on a promotional arcade in a mall and I’m still loving them thirty years later. The lockdown that happened in France last March finally led me to consider writing for that media. Tuï is the name of a New Zealand bird that produces a large variety of bleeps and blops.

Ah the Tui, nature’s chiptune composer

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?

My influences are really diverse as I listen to a lot a music. Lately I’m more into games OST’s but I listen to rock, electro, jazz, classical music… I try to listen to everything with a fresh ear because in my opinion every genre has good stuff and bad stuff. Regarding video game composers I’m a huge fan of people like Ben Prunty, Chipzel, Jake Kaufmann, Lena Raine or Disasterpeace.

Ben Prunty

-You’ve also composed chiptune for homebrew games such as Super Tilt Bro. and Flea!, and continue to offer your services to developers in the NESDev community. Tell us more about your work on those games as well as your role in the wider community.

Super Tilt Bro, a Super Smash Bros. demake, is a wonderful open-source project by Sylvain Gadrat. I wrote a title screen theme with VRC6 and we plan to add some crazy adaptative music, more to come in the next few months. For Flea! I wrote music for each world and designed all the SFX. It was the first time that I had to write music with the vision of the dev in mind. Alastair Low is a great game designer who knows what he wants and it was a great pleasure to work with him. I see my role in the community as writing good music that gets stuck in your head as long as possible.

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?

My tools are pretty standard: a computer with a DAW, a midi keyboard, a guitar and a bass. For NES games I tend to compose directly on Famitracker with a piano aside to test out things.

-Do you feel that your music has any qualities that are quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?

I don’t know if it’s a quality but I’m looking for good melodies. With 4 channels on average, 8-bit era composers had to go for catchy melodies to make a difference. So my aesthetic is whatever comes to my mind and trying to sort out a good melody out of it!

-Do you feel your approach to chiptune composition has changed over the years?

As I said I’m pretty new to the homebrew community so let’s do this interview again in five or ten years and I’ll tell you.

-In your opinion, what is essential to make a chiptune song memorable?

…for NES chiptune ? …a great melody!

-In addition to your musical work on homebrew games, you created an SFX pack for developers to use in their games. What inspired you to create this tool for developers?

To be honest my first concern with this SFX pack was to show devs what I can do. It’s like a demo reel that I offered to the community. I hate to write stuff that won’t be used in an actual game. I preferred to work for free for a few months to prove things than doing stuff that nobody will use.

-Tell me about the development of From Below’s music, what is your composition process?

It was pretty straight-forward. Matt gave me some words to describe the music he wanted and I worked on it. Matt was pretty happy with the result on title screen theme so we did the same thing with gameplay.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on From Below? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?

The main challenge for me was to write music that is compatible with the Famitone sound engine. It was the first time that I realized the large impact that a sound engine can have on your musical choices. We also had to deal with some bugs when implementing music in the game. I learned that the sound engine and the amount of space you have are the two first questions you should ask a dev before accepting a commission.

-How did you first connect with Matt and what was the working dynamic like as you worked together on the game?

I met Matt on NESDev Forum. I was looking for people to offer my help on music and build a portfolio. Matt has a professional approach to things that I like a lot. That’s actually how I like to work: fake it until you make it. To me people don’t understand this the right way. To me what it means is that however the size of the project and the budget, do it right.

-Is there another project after From Below on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, NES or otherwise?

I’m currently working on Tapeworm Disco, a new puzzle game by Alastair Low. Matt is porting one of his Pico-8 games Witch n’ Wiz on NES and we started to work on music. I don’t have a dream project because I already enjoy what I do, maybe to work on more traditional indie games?

Screenshot from Tapeworm Disco Puzzle by Alastair Low

-Have you ever considered compiling your chiptune music and releasing it on cartridge albums like Zi with Bleep Bop Records?

Not really, in my opinion my tunes need to be in a game and that’s the best I wish for them.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?

I have a confession to make, I don’t play much homebrew games because I don’t have much time to play games these days. But I definitely enjoyed playing Böbl from Morphcat lately, and I’m looking forward to playing Orange Island.

-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?

A big thank you for this interview and I hope to offer many more tunes to the homebrew community!

Syrupneko
@syrupneko
-Before we talk about From Below, I want to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to be an artist generally, and more specifically how did you break into game art?

Growing up, art and writing was always very much a part of my life, and I always had adults around who encouraged me in those skills. Exposure to comic strips is what I’d blame the most though.

However it wasn’t a straight shot to the art world for me, as I once thought I had to do the “responsible thing” by settling for a college degree in multimedia with an emphasis on web design, which I saw at the time as a practical compromise between my interest in computers and my passion for art. And during and after college I worked a lot of odd jobs from convenience store clerk to event videographer, portrait photographer, film director and crew member (I’ve got IMDB cred yo!), data entry, audio transcription, phone book and newspaper delivery...

As far as game art and development specifically goes, my first taste of gamedev was a hand-me-down Commodore Vic 20 I had in kindergarten (damn straight I learned to read just so I could punch in games from books), but I guess you could say I first saw gamedev as a potential career when I was in middle school. I was making my own mods for Seth Able’s LORD 2 (and later DINK SMALLWOOD) and programming little text adventures in QBASIC. I was also into tabletop RPGs, which lead me to writing my own simplified RPG systems and campaigns to play with my friends.

I shelved game development after high school though, due to the changing face of gaming. The emphasis in the early 00s was on 3D graphics, which was intimidating to me as I was really bad at math. But I returned as in recent years gamedev specific tools and IDEs have matured, and 2D has proven itself here to stay. But yeah, I guess you could say learning LUA through Pico-8 not only made gamedev fun again for me in, but showed me that I did have something to offer to indie games after all. Especially
after EGGHUNT, my first adventure game for the fantasy console, received a fair amount of positive feedback.

Also I'd just like to randomly blurt out that Raspberry Pi has made computing fun again.

Screenshot from Egghunt

-What is the significance of your syrupneko username and the Syrup Pirates publishing imprint name?

Syrup Pirates started as an online zine/club for my friends and I to publish short stories and activism stuff. I was in high school at the time, so I chose the name Syrup Pirates as a parody name of my high
school’s mascot, The Syrupmakers (Cairo, GA, was once known for sugarcane fields and syrup manufacturing.) Also, pirates are just cool and outsiderish and carried a connotation related to my interest in technology as my friends and I were obsessed with the movie PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY (1999) from a few years prior, which is about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and the early days of Apple and Microsoft; like all young people, we saw ourselves as the protagonists on an adventure. Since then, I've been largely sailing solo as Syrup Pirates has evolved from a zine into the name of my (self) publishing imprint.

As for Syrupneko, I used to use various forms of Neko (japanese for cat) in my screen names online, as I identified as an otaku, so I just sort of chose syrupneko to thematically tie myself to my publishing. Now that I’m in my late 30s, I do at times feel like I’ve outgrown it, but I’m sticking with it anyway. Haha.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?

I could easily go on forever with this. Generally speaking, I’m big on golden & silver age comics and cartoons – funny animals, Archie and Harvey comics, MAD Magazine, 70s UK girls comics like JINTY and MISTY, Moebius, Omaha the Cat dancer, that sort of stuff. In addition to a lot of indie and alternative comics through the 80s to today, especially 50s to 90s manga. Film-wise, I love horror, classic Hollywood, Italian giallos, Criterion Collection (that’s a genre unto itself right?), David Lynch, Nicholas Winding Refn, Anna Biller, etc. Photographers like William Wegman, Johnny Jewel, William Eggleston, and Alex Prager (her photography is what I aspire to do someday.) Music is a big thing for me too, as I like to imagine soundtracks for my comics, which range in everything my 80s pop, shoegaze, garage rock, twee, to retrowave. Then there’s all the countless gamedevs I follow like Jay Tholen, Manuela Malasana, PuppetCombo and Skydevilpalm...and did I mention the beats and hippies? Because mid-20th century counterculture is definitely an influence.

Art by Manuela Malasaña for Cherry Orchard

So I’ll just give a shout out to all my artist friends and acquaintances I’ve made along the way that have been a big inspiration and source of motivation: Charles Brubaker, R. Wertz, Sarah Allen Reed, Jadzia
Axelrod, Ben Humeniuk, Gonzalo Alvarez, Philip Stephens, WorserBeings, Zack Empire, Max West, Nick Pozega, Jake Price, Nick Richie, Nathan Archer, Jarrod Alberich, and I apologize if I forgot anyone who might be reading this!

-Your art spans games, comics, and even photography! Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?

It’s hard to pinpoint, so I’ll just give you this list I wrote down one day when I was asking myself the same question:

Elements of my style (probably)...
* Cinematic angles
* Dramatic lighting
* Diffusion filters
* Neon lights
* Chase scenes
* Fisticuffs
* Pixels
* Pizza
* Happy accidents
* FM Synth
* Chiptunes
* Walls of Sound
* Acid House

tldr: My basic tenet is to keep things LOUD AND FUN.

-What tools do you use to create your art?

I mostly use a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet that I’ve had for the past 10 years (it’s held up nicely and I’ve only to replace the stylus once), Clip Studio Paint with Frenden Brushes, and Photoshop. Sometimes I do work in pen & ink (such as on my latest book, THISTLES #1) which I used just good ol’ Speedball 102 crowquill nib and classic Speedball ink on printer paper for all of the line art. I used to draw on full sized
11x17 paper, but I eventually came to the conclusion that if drawing-to-size was good enough for Crumb and Spiegelman, it’s good enough for me!

I also have a sizeable digital library of assets I use in my comics. Stuff like film grains, light leaks, and paper textures.

Cover art for Thistles by Jason Payne

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for From Below, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you create for comics or your own games?

At the time, the process was different than my usual work, because I had just bought RetroSupply’s COLOR LAB KIT. Which since buying, I’ve become an absolute fan of every Photoshop brush and action they’ve put out. COLOR LAB is what I used to create the authentic looking CMYK screen tone effect, and I used it to color my new book as well around that same time.

Composition wise, I approached the piece from a question of, “whose point of view is the game played?” Which the answer to me was the player’s perspective, so I “placed the camera” on the top of the castle, facing outward toward the ocean. From there, I just built around the scene in such a way that it guides the viewer’s eye around the image in a circular motion.

-The box/label art is reminiscent of the art from the popular game Rampart. Are you a fan of old video games? How did you conceive the art that you created for From Below?

It's funny, because I didn’t actively have Rampart in mind. And oddly I’ve never played Rampart, although I certainly remember seeing the iconic covers as a kid. The coincidence more or less stems from Matt’s castle theme and my obsession with vintage advertising. I swear, I remember the pointing thing being an “extreme” trope in the 90s. It was everywhere from NERF ads to Capri Sun.

I should say though, there are a few Easter Eggs inside the manual of the physical edition of FROM BELOW. Maybe they’re a bit subtle, but if you happen to notice anything resembling an homage, know that you’re not crazy.

And to answer your question about whether I’m a fan of old games, I’d say so. Although I haven’t bought any physical carts in recent years, my NES cart collection at last count is around 120 games. And I still own every other main Nintendo system up to the Wii, except for the Virtual Boy. And of course, I bought the more recent mini systems.

Portrait of the artist (holding Mario doll) as a young fan

-In your opinion what is essential to make cover art compelling?

A story. Something that just looks really rad. That makes you wonder what it’s about.

I mean, who hasn’t looked at the box-art for PHALANX and created a better game in their head than what it actually was? Who didn’t get duped in to renting really bad games in the 80s, because of the epic box art? I know I have!

And how many great games have you passed over because the box art was mediocre or so-so? I unfortunately have done that too.

My gold standard for box-art I guess is mid to late 90s RPG box art. I just remember seeing LUNAR for Sega CD on display at Babbage’s and wishing I had a Sega CD (although I did have a Genesis), because that box art really made me “dream” just looking at it. And that feeling stuck with me into the PlayStation era, which luckily I did own one of those for that version. Also of note, I had the same visceral reaction with Chrono Trigger.

Babbage’s: that place you didn’t realize turned into GameStop

I once read that the founder of Sony said he chose the name Sony because it inspires customers to dream – and to wonder, “what is a Sony?” And Sony’s been around for awhile, so I think dreaming is perhaps the most important thing, because when you inspire dreaming, you invite your audience to actively participate, forming their own opinion, story, mood, feeling. You invite them to dream with you.

-What was it like working with Matt and what new challenges or surprises surfaced in your work on From Below? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?

I think I had started following Matt randomly on Twitter, as I follow a lot of indie devs on there. And one day he tweeted that he was looking for someone to design box art, so I responded sharing some pages from a comic I’d been working on at the time, and things just went from there.

It was really fun working with Matt. He was organized and had a vision for what he wanted, but while he guided much of the process, he was still very open to the spirit of collaboration. And as such, I believe
we created something that neither of us would have created on our own, which is one of the best feelings you can have when working with others.

If there’s a lesson to be taken from that, it’s that if someone’s working on something rad that interests you and you feel like you have something to offer them, don’t be afraid to offer your services. And
just be open to collaboration, because it will also benefit your personal work when you return to it. Having an openness to experience is the key here.

-What else have you been working on lately? Do you have any dream projects you aspire to?

I just published the inaugural issue of my new anthology series THISTLES a couple months ago, and have been slowly developing new material for a 2nd issue. The series explores personal themes of identity, gender, and relationships through a lens of European and Celtic folk tales, astrology, tarot, feminism, and Jungian psychology. It’s weird. It’s cartoony. It’s psychedelic. If you want more of what you saw with the FROM BELOW art, then pick it up!

I also launched a new series called Cupcake Cabal, which has had kind of a false start. I hope to get back to it soon though. You can follow @cupcakecabal on Insta and Twitter to stay updated for when it does get updated.

Panels from Cupcake Cabal by Jason Payne

My main passion project though is PRINCEZZ. Which began in 2003, and I’m currently halfway through illustrating the 2nd book. It’s an epic funny animal adventure story about a princess who’s an outlaw. I don’t know how to describe it easily, however I think one of my fans put it best when they wrote that it “combines Quentin Tarantino’s gritty characters with Three Stooges slapstick.” Which sounds about right to me. You can read Princezz every Monday at PrincezzComic.com

Sounds like Princezz is ready to roll

Dream project-wise...I’ve got a lot of those. Haha. But I’ll divulge that I’d like to get back in to film to write and direct a live-action adaptation of PRINCEZZ starring humans instead of animals. Also, I bet I
could make a killer film adaptation of my tabletop game KILLER IS NEAR.

This movie isn't even in pre-production and already I need someone to hold my hand

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?

Yes! I backed Orange Island last year and can’t wait for its eventual release. Everything they’ve shared about that game so far has been rad! And you know, I mentioned earlier that "visceral reaction" that good box art can cause...I had to with this Orange Island's ad campaign. Seriously don't skimp out on art, even if it seems incidental and won't reflect in game style or quality.

But yeah, I love cute platformers and Legacy Of the Wizard is one of my favorite games, so I'm looking forward to this.

-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 for your interest and support! It always means a lot to me. Just believe in yourself, and take your time on projects, because self-care should come first. And of course, thank you, Sean, for taking the
time to interview me! It really made my day that you asked if I would do this.

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of a series that probes the depths beneath the waves of code of your favorite new homebrews. What are your thoughts on From Below and its talented development team? 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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Episode 4: Trophy

By Scrobins, August 23, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 4: Trophy

Introduction:
The timeline for developing a homebrew is rarely brief. From a game’s first imaginings to its final publication and availability to fans, months, even years may pass. But some games can trace their history across decades to the developer’s childhood and the games that brought them joy. Though time and tide may occupy their mind for a spell, pulling their attention in myriad different directions, the memory of that dream game persists and it will not be ignored until life has been breathed into it at last.
For this entry, I’m covering Trophy, an action platformer game for the NES and love-letter to the Mega Man series developed by Gradual Games and released by the 6502 Collective. As of the time of this writing, the cartridge release is currently being assembled for its Kickstarter backers, and the game’s rom will follow. If you missed the crowdfunding campaign, you can pre-order Trophy on the 6502 Collective’s website.

Development Team:
Gradual Games (Derek Andrews): programming, music
Laurie Andrews: in-game art
@Peek-A-Brews! (Jon Piornack): limited edition art
The 6502 Collective (@SoleGoose (Sole Goose Productions) & @IBtiM (Retrotainment Games)): publication and release

Original concept art by Derek Andrews

Game Evolution:
Trophy’s story begins with a doe-eyed 12-year old named Derek, who sketches robots in his notebook as he pines over his enduring love of Mega Man. But the game began in earnest in early 2016, according to a September 2017 teaser posted on Gradual Games’ website. All the mysterious announcement teased was: 1) that work had begun on a third game (following Nomolos: Storming the Catsle and The Legends of Owlia); 2) the game would be a platformer with an amazing soundtrack; and 3) a Kickstarter campaign would launch in the coming months.
In August 2018, Derek officially announced in posts to NintendoAge and NESDev that the game would be titled Trophy. The posts also shared the game would feature 9 levels and bosses, horizontal and vertical scrolling, hidden upgrades, a password system, and a soundtrack that would make the Blue Bomber proud. Enthusiasm was immediate and widespread as fans waited for more news and prepared their bank accounts for the looming Kickstarter campaign.

Screenshot from an early tease of the forest level
News continued to trickle in slowly until Gradual Games posted an update in April 2019 to note delays in the game’s development due to matters both internal and personal, but that Trophy would continue in other hands. By June 2019, the homebrew community learned that Sole Goose Productions had acquired the rights to Trophy and the rest of Gradual Games’ catalog, and would finish production and publication of Trophy as a release under the 6502 Collective’s banner; joining such gems as Rollie and Candelabra: Estoscerro.

Collective, assemble!
Trophy launched on Kickstarter on February 27, 2020, with a tongue-in-cheek funding goal of $6,502. The campaign was funded within 24 hours, and ultimately received more than 6 times its funding goal. Backers flooded in with support at all tiers digital and physical, including the limited edition, which featured a variant CIB (with foam block!), blueprint poster, signed letter from Derek, and 6502 Collective swag.

Kickstarter Regular & Limited Edition CIBs

Gameplay Overview:
Trophy presents itself as an action platformer in the spirit of the Mega Man games, but with its own unique flavor. You can pick up little trophies from vanquished enemies that restore health, and obtain health and weapon upgrades for an added advantage. However unlike Mega Man, upgrades are not gained following boss battles; instead these boosts are hidden, encouraging players to explore the furthest reaches of each level in search of secrets rather than rush to the bosses. At the end of each level, Trophy encounters more than themed mirror images of himself, but massive bosses that cannot be easily boiled down to predictable patterns of behavior.

Not pictured: the return of my Brave Little Toaster nightmares
Trophy’s story opens with two scientists, Jared Sword and Xella Quine discovering Gearus 9, a planet of peaceful robots. While Sword brings the robot Beeper back to Earth to showcase their discovery, Quine remains behind, where madness consumes him. Succumbing to his insanity, Quine takes over the planet and declares himself ruler, crowning himself Lord Q. Upon returning to Gearus 9, Sword and Beeper see for themselves what Lord Q’s evil has wrought and decide to fight back. However between Sword’s frailty and Beeper’s pacifism, neither is a match for Lord Q and his forces. The two would-be heroes resolve to use Gearus 9’s technology to fuse themselves together into a human-machine hybrid capable of saving the day: Trophy. En route to Lord Q’s lair, Trophy will fight his way through 9 levels (with ample checkpoints) as he slowly liberates Gearus 9…gear by gear.

Writer’s Review:
Before I begin my review of Trophy, I want to be as transparent as possible and state that I have not yet had the opportunity to play the final game, though I was fortunate to play an earlier build of the game at MAGFest in 2019. For impressions of the finished game, I am supplementing my older hands-on experience with the extended gameplay of @ecmyers, who posted a great livestream of Trophy that was helpful for my purposes here as well as enjoyable in its own right. Though the gameplay underlying my thoughts is second-hand, my opinions remain my own and are not drawn from others. I suppose with this blog series I might qualify as “press”, but I imagine advance press copies of games make more sense for people who can provide video footage of their gameplay to the wider public (besides, I’m not sure I would be comfortable asking for free advance copies of a game I pre-ordered anyway…not that I’d decline if offered).

Flash! Gamers go gaga for whole new homebrew!
Derek designed Trophy as an homage to Mega Man and it shows in the best possible ways. Levels are bursting with color, and the backgrounds are beautiful and dynamic. The environments feel alive as waterfalls flow throughout the forest level and you can almost feel the wind in your face as trees rush by on the train level. The physics of the levels vary with their themes, where gravity’s hold on you is looser on the asteroid stage and you struggle to keep from sliding on the tundra’s ice. It’s a good thing there are checkpoints throughout each level, because you might get killed for stopping to admire the view. This is Mega Man appreciation at its finest: Derek wasn’t content to build levels that offered merely the appearance of their respective themes, but the challenges within each stage varies accordingly. You must be mindful of how your jump is different on the asteroid with less gravity. Jumping off a waterfall includes blind falls which require you to use quick judgment in managing your trajectory. But you are up to the challenge because the controls are tight and intuitive, and they obey the physics of every level.

Screenshot from finished build of game…in spaaaaaace
I mentioned earlier that upgrades are hidden within the levels rather than awarded after a boss fight, which is a welcome departure from Mega Man. Although players can technically tackle the levels of each Mega Man game in any order, there is a path of least resistance in which bosses are particularly vulnerable to an ability acquired from a previously vanquished boss. I didn’t like the notion that adhering to a particular level order made the game substantially easier as it implied that the apparent freedom to choose whichever level I wanted to play first was an illusion, and that I was a less sophisticated gamer for not playing in the "right" sequence. I’m bad enough at games as it is, you know this. Trophy restores a true choice of level selection, and bosses are difficult because they are difficult, not because I chose its level too soon.

As the great Shao Kahn once said: “Choose your destiny!”
Speaking of bosses…damn! These bosses are not just evil mirror images of the protagonist with silly names and abilities. Trophy’s bosses are titanic; their sheer size in combination with their movement and attacks warrants careful strategy (and a whole lot of dying). Defeating any of the bosses is a proud achievement worthy of celebration, and beating the game merits an extra prize, maybe some kind of shiny, engraved commemorative token like a chalice…

That’ll work
Trophy is both an excellent throwback to a beloved series that represents the height of NES games and a marker of how high the homebrew community has risen to stand shoulder to shoulder with the giants of the licensed era. It reminds us of everything we liked about Mega Man and adds incredible new flourishes in NES programming. There is a reason Trophy met its Kickstarter goal so quickly; before the campaign ever launched, Trophy’s status in the pantheon of homebrew was already cemented. It is a game I know I will revisit time and again, that I will share with friends, and I don’t even have it yet.

Interviews:
Trophy has been a hotly anticipated homebrew for the past few years, and as the game comes closer to reaching an eager public, the stories behind it become more relevant. I spoke with Derek of Gradual Games and Beau of Sole Goose Productions/The 6502 Collective to learn more…

Gradual Games
-Before we dive into Trophy, I'd love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Gradual Games?
I got started with game programming at age 13. My mother found a tutor in my hometown who introduced kids to programming by teaching them how to make a game in QBasic. I was instantly hooked. After that, I delved into the online world of QBasic which went so far as building things like RPG engines with the aid of some x86 assembly language for fast graphics on old Pentium machines, so I got a taste of assembly language and programming for old computers via DOS way back in the 90's.

It's all about the Pentiums, baby
Then I went to college. Near the end, my peers kept telling me I should make games for the XBOX 360 using C# and XNA. I wasn't interested though---I remembered how much I enjoyed the simplicity of DOS. I found FreeBASIC, which is a modern variant of QBasic, and I found Andre Lamothe's retro DIY video game system the xGameStation, and the UzeBox. The only one of those I played around with was FreeBASIC. Eventually, my co-worker Bill Roberts told me about NESDev. Eventually I decided to give it a try since I had a background in assembly language from DOS. I found I was able to pick up 6502 pretty easily, and the rest is history. I called my game company Gradual Games because I was inspired by a quote from Pavlov, which goes: "From the very beginning of your work, school yourselves to severe gradualness in the accumulation of knowledge."

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My influences for my NES work were primarily games like Mega Man, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, StarTropics and Zelda. These days, I'm kind of avidly following the PICO-8 community as well as continuing to follow and support the NES homebrew community.

-Your work on Trophy spans the game's programming and music. In developing the game would you say it has any qualities that seem quintessentially you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
I almost viewed Trophy as a vehicle for my music. I've adored Mega Man music since I was a little kid, and always wanted to write my own. Making Trophy gave me a chance to do that. I could have written the music on its own, but there are so many people around who can write good chiptunes, but not as many people can both compose and build a game. So I felt a better way to get people to listen to my music was to make a game that would hold them captive while they listen to it MUAHAHAHAHAH.

Portrait of the artist as a young, maniacal man

-What tools do you use to code and compose?
To code I just use Notepad++. For composing, I use FamiTracker.

-Trophy’s Kickstarter page says the game traces back to when you were 12 years old. Tell me about what your imagination conjured years ago.
I liked to draw robots around that age. Trophy was one of the main ones I drew---I drew at least two versions of him. I still have the originals.

Original concept art by Derek Andrews

-Tell me about the evolution of Trophy, what was your process for taking an idea and manifesting it?
Pretty random---basically just use Mega Man as a reference for general level biomes and then create levels that felt good to play. I tend not to plan things---almost everything in my life is an improvisation of some kind.

-I’ve argued the protagonist represents the player's point of immersion in the game, and how we perceive the protagonist contextualizes how we perceive the game's world. I also believe that the protagonist’s design serves as a reflection of its designer, which would be especially intriguing considering Trophy is a fusion of two characters: Sword and Beeper. What was the intention behind the design of Trophy’s character, and how did he evolve from your initial demos to the final game with The 6502 Collective’s tweaks?
I honestly don't put that much thought into things. Haha! I just took the first sketch and ran with it...honest! My only goal with this game was to shamelessly rip off Mega Man without violating copyright. I probably invested more of "myself" or "my soul" or what have you into the music.

-What was it like working with The 6502 Collective? How did you connect with them for this project?
I've known Ernest Holland (Beau) for quite a few years now in the NES homebrew scene. He eventually joined 6502 Collective. I can't remember exactly how I became aware that he/they would publish others' games, but once I knew I decided to sell my I.P. to them. I did this because of my divorce. My artist was actually my wife. So, to make the divorce simple we sold all of Gradual Games I.P. to Sole Goose Productions. I'm very happy about that move and it is in good hands. I really needed to restart my life and not worry about taking responsibility for further sales, releases, or Kickstarters.

-You said on NESDev that Trophy is a love-letter to the Mega Man games. Was about that series do you enjoy so much that you built your own game as an homage to it?
MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He wasn't called Rock Man by accident. I used to turn on Mega Man 5 and go into Napalm Man or Crystal Man and just stare at Mega Man not even moving, just listening to the song for a few minutes before actually playing. I actually didn't fall in love with games and game design till well into my NES homebrewing career if you can believe it. I did always like games, but I REALLY like them now and know a lot more about the craft.

Ability acquired from defeating Music Man, infamous for selling trombones to untalented Iowan kids

-You also mentioned on NESDev that the game originally used vertical mirroring, but that you spent 3 months rewriting the engine to use horizontal mirroring because you wanted the same attribute glitches as Mega Man 5 and because you wanted bosses that could descend from the top of the screen. Are there any other coding tricks you applied to the game for similar reasons?
That's the main one. I wanted it to look and feel like Mega Man 5 right down to the flaws like the attribute glitches.

-In a teaser on your website, you said that in addition to coding and making games, you are a musician, and you are really excited for Trophy’s soundtrack. Tell me more about your musical background, and what has you especially excited for this game’s soundtrack.
I got into music near the end of the few years I was dabbling in game programming as a teenager. Got into guitar and keyboard simultaneously. I eventually met a man who had an enormous impact on my life musically who is my friend to this day, and this led to me recording hundreds and hundreds of recordings of piano improvisation. These improvisations got complex enough that I eventually attained a good understanding of how to compose music, even though I don't tend to write them down. I applied this experience to writing music for Trophy as well as The Legends of Owlia. Nomolos by contrast was all public domain classical music. I'm excited about Trophy's soundtrack because I made a big effort to make the most Mega Man-like tunes I could come up with. They're not quite as complex and interesting as my favorite Mega Man tunes, I don't personally think, but I'm happy with them nonetheless.

Screenshot from Nomolos: Storming the Catsle

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Trophy as opposed to Nomolos and Owlia? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
MMC3 splits are tough to get right. MMC3 in general is a little complex to work with because its got so many more features than say UNROM (mapper 2). In fact, any raster effects are hard to work with. Owlia had a hard-coded raster effect to hide scrolling updates at the top of the screen. That was a huge, huge, HUGE timesink. Somewhere in my NES homebrewing career I really fell in love with the craft of making an interesting game rather than doing something impressive programming-wise. So I'd say to aspiring homebrewers---if you're feeling tempted to impress people with programming---don't. It's dumb. It's way more satisfying to craft an interesting gameplay experience. You can do this with many game genres and gameplay styles without taxing yourself in the programming department. For instance, it is much simpler to program a screen-by-screen game with no scrolling. In retrospect, I wish I had built Owlia this way, as I would have been able to cram in much more interesting gameplay as a result instead of sinking so much time into tweaking a stupid raster effect.

Screenshot from The Legends of Owlia

-Social media has been buzzing with excitement for Trophy! How does it feel receive such enthusiasm?
It feels pretty good. That doesn't replace the joy that I experienced during the actual act of creation however. That's what keeps me going---the act of making anything, the feeling of mental flow, is why I do it. Praise is fleeting.

-Is there another project after Trophy on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to bring into existence, NES or otherwise?
I have no more dream projects. Game development is now just a hobby or a craft I enjoy pursuing in the small. I have a very long list of quirky little ideas I might build in PICO-8, and I'm kind of working my way through those slowly. Though, I actually am working on a big port project right now. There's an old indie game called Lynn's Legacy released almost 15 years ago. You can actually still download and play the win32 binary. But it's so old, it can't play fullscreen without being blurry anymore because of outdated apis and compatibility problems. The game is public domain and open source so I'm taking it upon myself to fully port the game to a modern game framework called Love2D. The project is well underway and I'm hopeful to have it complete in approximately 2 years.

Screenshot from Lynn’s Legacy, made with FreeBASIC by Cha0s and Josiah Tobin

-Your more recent posts on Twitter and the VGS Discord center around your PICO-8 programming. Tell me more about PICO-8 and what you’ve been doing in that realm.
PICO-8 is a fantasy console. It's basically an emulator for an 8-bit computer that never existed. It is intended to feel like working with an old computer when you write software for it. The way in which it produces this feeling is that when you program, the api is very simple and modeled after the memory map of an old computer like a Commodore 64 or NES, and has many functions named after old BASIC functions (for example, PEEK and POKE are the same idea as LDA and STA from straight 6502 assembly coding). So, it creates instant nostalgia for folks who got their start in BASIC, like I did. But, it's not just nostalgic---it makes for an environment that is truly excellent for beginning programmers and game developers as well.
The PICO-8 community is enormous and attracts a ton of insanely talented people who make absolutely charming gems for the system---all for free (though a few notable games eventually were made into larger games such as Celeste---the PICO-8 version of Celeste is an easter egg within Celeste itself!)
When you distribute your game, all your code, graphics and sound get crammed into a single .PNG image file that looks like a game cartridge. So it produces a psychological feeling that you "own a cartridge." It's not a zip file. It's not an installer. It's not a folder with a big mess of files. It's a single PNG image---that's your game!
I can't stop talking about PICO-8 itself because I'm such a fanboy. As for what I've done with it---I've made a handful of small games in it so far, and I have a list of over 100 ideas of what I'd like to build in it. I feel as though it is my final destination as a game developer. I never actually wanted to sell anything I made---the fact that I have done so with NES is very cool but really a means to an end. If I could have distributed cartridges without spending a penny, I would have. Haha. I really just create games for the innate satisfaction and joy I get from the craft.

Hobobot, a PICO-8 game developed by Gradual Games

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you’re excited to play?
I'm pretty excited about Full Quiet, Halcyon, and that new adventure game Chris Cacciatore is creating. The sad thing is though there are so many games these days, and I'm distracted by Zelda: Breath of the Wild right now. I still haven't even played all the NES games I own which were made back in the day. Some day, I hope.

Chris Cacciatore’s in-development project, Janus

The 6502 Collective (E.B.D. Holland aka Sole Goose Productions)
-Before we talk about Trophy, I'd love to talk about you and your background. You already program and publish homebrews in your capacity as Sole Goose Productions. What first inspired you to found The 6502 Collective with Retrotainment Games? What is the origin story of The Collective?
Well, the Retrotainment fellows were building the Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X re-releases for IAm8Bit and they asked if I’d come lend a hand. I lived in Tim’s basement for a couple of months and although we spent the better part of each day physically building games, there was plenty of time before and after work to work on projects. Between those times and then spending eight to ten hours working together and dreaming up ideas, we decided to undertake a collaborative project. At the previous year’s PRGE Tim had noticed the CTWC selling an empty cart with a label on it in commemoration of that year’s event, and he had reached out to them about giving it some actual content moving forward. It was kind of a simple project, not really a game, but it was a great place to start. We talked over the general design together, but Tim did most of the layout and graphics. I did the programming, and humanthomas did the music. It was the first time that Thomas and I had worked together, which has proved to be another lasting relationship.

And from a collaboration, a collective was born

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
That’s going way back! I’ve been doing this for over seven years now, so who was around back then… Hanley of course, and also MRN; they were the two biggest influences on me getting started, beyond the Nerdy Nights anyways. Kevin was very approachable, but even from afar he was working on interesting things like Study Hall and what looked like it might be the first NES homebrew RPG: Unicorn. Just seeing that one screen of Unicorn was enough to give me the motivation to say, “I can learn to do this too.” MRN was doing some neat stuff as well at the time with Nightman vs Justice Incarnate, and he was also rather active on the forums. He also had those tutorials that went further than the Nerdy Nights, and started to build the type of game that I got into homebrewing to build, an overhead action adventure. Both of them were very helpful privately, in addition to their public support.
These days I’m watching Ted’s work on Orange Island pretty closely. Even though the PC version is first, the NES port looks to be amazing. Plus, he has adhered so closely to the system specs that the two versions should be pretty close; very similar to how Brad Smith built Lizard. A lot of the work of my close friends I keep tabs on daily or weekly, and it has been nice seeing Halcyon, Unicorn (finally!), The Scarlet Matron, Full Quiet, and others come together.

-What services does the Collective advertise to potential clients? Who does the Collective wish to attract with its services?
The Collective takes on various responsibilities depending on the situation. Publishing is one of our main tasks, with the goal being to help devs when they need it most. After working on something for years, who wants to take another six to twelve months to figure out manufacturing and distribution? Eh, some do, I’m one of them after all, but it’s not for everyone. We also try to help games get to the next level in terms of polish and refinement, taking into account the dev’s own goals for a project. That may mean further beta testing, level refinements, graphical changes, or simply professional grade packaging. We try to make all of that as easy on the developer as possible.
From time to time we also undertake commission work, such as the CTWC project mentioned above, or last year’s Convention Quest. These generally target an event, are programmed in-house, and develop in conversation with a client. That causes them to grow in unique ways, and the results have been interesting. Tight deadlines probably help in that regard as well!
The last thing, so far, that we have dabbled in, is music albums. Thanks to Memblers’ MP3 GTROM boards we are now able to have CD quality audio playing out of the NES. To date we have released Zao: Reformat/Reboot and Goofy Foot. Both were great experiences, with Tim doing design, layout, and graphics, and myself covering programming.

Promotional image of Zao’s Reformat/Reboot
I guess we have a little something for everybody, whether devs, those wanting commission work to accompany an event, or even bands. Who knows what’s next!

-Do the members of the Collective have particular roles or specialties? What does the division of labor look like on a given project?
It definitely changes by the project, but we each have our areas of expertise. For the CTWC Tim handled coordination, design, layout, and even graphics. I did the programming, Thomas did the music, and then Greg took a look at the end result and made sure that we weren’t completely off the mark. Zao and Goofy Foot followed a similar pattern, though obviously we did not need NES music for those projects.
For The Convention Quest I came up with the idea, drew most of the graphics, and programmed it. Tim helped with design and graphics, coordinated with the client, and he also did the sfx. Thomas did the music. Greg made sure we weren’t crazy and completely off the mark.
Trophy was entirely different since we each got to lean into our strengths on that one. Since we were working with another programmer it made some sense for me to handle those interactions (plus Derek is a good friend and we have talked for years). Greg and I looked over the game as a whole, decided on some improvements based on playing the game and observing public feedback, and then I implemented those using Derek’s working method. Greg also handled any art changes, and worked with an artist to get them into the game. Tim got to go full blast with marketing, which really showed in the campaign’s success, up to and including building The 6502 Collective website in time for the launch. It was a project that really forced us to get all of our ducks in a row, which makes the future a much smoother prospect.
Each project tends to be different based on who has an existing relationship with whoever we are working with, and also who has the vision for something. For the CTWC, Zao, and Goofy Foot I had nothing in my head about what they would look like, not even a vague idea. Tim on the other hand had all sorts of crazy ideas, I just had to rein him some to save my own sanity. So too with the Trophy art revisions; that fell to Greg and he did an amazing job. Tim also tends to do most of the physical assembly of games, although I tend to handle the board flashing for the time being.

Promotional image of Goofy Foot: Power Chiptunes from Steve DeLuca

-Is the Collective hiring? Are you looking to bring on more partners, generally or with particular skills, to expand your capabilities?
I wouldn’t say “hiring” per se, but we are always looking to work with new folks. We are more of a collective in that sense, not a corporation, which is why we settled on that name. The range of projects we end up involved with demands that we have a variety of talented folks that we can turn to for art, music, programming, packaging, or whatnot. We do tend to seek out those who are easy to work with and who share our community values, but the door is always open to meet new contributors. As far as publishing, we always have our eyes open for new projects that may need a bit of help to get into the hands of gamers, or to make the jump from good to great.
One of our big goals when working with devs is to connect them to resources. They show us a solid game, but the music or art is lacking and it really shows. Based on our personal experiences at Retrotainment or SGP, we can then connect them to artists or musicians, and at times cover the costs on this side of a game’s release. It is not always a lack of time or connections that hinder a game, as production and asset costs can quickly accumulate. Like I said, our goal is to make things easy on the dev, and that includes all aspects of a release.
Long story short, we are always looking for new people to work with, whether developers, programmers, artists, musicians, or whomever. The people in the community are what make programming for the NES an amazing experience, and who knows who we will meet next.

-The Collective has also been involved in some exciting hardware developments, such as the playable audio on Zao’s Reformat/Reboot NES cartridge release. What was the inspiration behind that project, and do you have other novel technical treats up your sleeve for the future?
This was another project that grew out of my time in Pittsburgh and working with Tim all day. When I told him that Memblers had mentioned that something along the lines of playable MP3s on the NES was possible, his eyes lit up, to say the least! We talked out a lot of ideas, and before long (and before he was supposed to!), he had started talking with a member of Zao about a possible project for them. The board only existed on paper, so the first major hurdle was convincing Memblers that it’d be worth the time and effort to finish the design. Since the boards would be modified versions of GTROM, Tim and I got started on the album content long before then. He did all of the design, layout, and graphics, and I did the programming. Once the boards arrived, then I had to figure out how to program for the MP3 portion. It was not too bad, but it was interesting to be working on something that did not yet exist!
As far as other technical treats, we have been toying with some internet-capable designs for what looks to be the biggest change in the future of NES development.

-What was the Collective’s role in Trophy?
Where do we begin with that!
For Trophy, the members of The Collective have served many roles; anything from tester, to publisher, to editor, and more.
For example, I was one of the initial testers for the project, playing it over at Derek’s house in front of him while he frantically took notes. I broke a lot of stuff in that build, which I think he appreciated.
I talked with him for about a year in regard to helping him publish it before that actually came to pass. From that point on we were 100% in charge of everything. We were handed a finished game, but felt that it could benefit from some small improvements, all of which fell to us to make if we wanted to see them happen. Derek was a real sport about that too, trusting that his dream would still be recognizable and intact after the changes. At the start he had asked for an unaltered version of the game come release time, but he messaged me at some point and said that he would rather have the version with the changes we had made. That was an important day for me personally, knowing that he more-than-approved of the things we had done to his baby.
This process put the success or failure of the project squarely on our shoulders. Luckily, this is where The Collective’s collaboration really shines, as we were each able to handle the aspects of the project that best suited us. Knowing that we were working with one of the true gems of the homebrew community meant that we didn’t have to focus on actual development beyond the few edits that we made, which was a nice change.

-What was it like working with Derek?
Working with Derek has been amazing! He was one of the first people that I reached out to in the community way back in 2013, and we have been friends ever since, so it was a true honor to help bring Trophy to release. He gave us total freedom to make it the best game that it could be, and that caused the game to become something different than it otherwise would have been.

-How has Trophy evolved since the Collective started its work on the game? I know there were tweaks to Trophy’s sprite, were there any other revisions you feel helped to further polish the game?
Having been familiar with the project for over a year, and part of the testing discussions, I had some ideas about potential changes. A new design for the character was sorely needed, and we got some proposals from a few artists about possible new directions. The old design was not terrible, but when you’re making giant six-foot standees for display at PAX you want to have a character that people can get behind! That also helped us to better align the in-game sprite with the packaging art; which was not something that we could have done with the old sprite.

Evolution of Trophy’s Sprite
In addition to that we reworked some of the levels based on player feedback. Beyond the beta testers, we had the reactions of hundreds or thousands of PAX East attendees, and also the impressions of a host of reviewers. People were jumping into pits that could be better marked, finding their way into potential soft locks, or generally breaking the game in ways that we had not envisioned. This led to some mild, but meaningful, level redesigns. We also asked Nathan Tolbert to add in a feature to the game, making the hardest boss slightly more forgiving. This continued testing also brought to light two significant bugs that Derek quickly fixed.

-Trophy represents Derek’s love-letter to the Mega Man games. What are your thoughts about the Mega Man series and how did that impact your work on finalizing Trophy?
Mega Man was probably the first video game character that I was really into growing up. Even without cartoons, action figures, bed sheets, lunch boxes, or what have you, his appeal and presence to a kid was strong. When we got our NES, Mega Man III was probably the game that we rented the most that first year or so. He was one of the first characters that I would draw and dream up stories about, in part spurred on by the article in Nintendo Power about Mega Man V boss submissions (issue 44 I believe). Working with a similar character/property was a great experience, and hopefully my own love of Mega Man helped in either the presentation or the game edits. Even if not, having a strongly character-based game made it easy to rally behind the project and get others excited.

Pictured: a spectacular issue of Nintendo Power

-The Collective has worked on a number of prominent homebrews from Convention Quest to Rollie. How has the Collective grown over the course of its projects?
Each project is different, and presents a new set of challenges. What started off as giving the CTWC something more than an empty cart to mark their event, has turned into publishing, pushing new tech, and ever more sophisticated commission work. Each project has also had different levels of input and involvement from Collective members, and we are dynamic in that sense. There are no set roles for us, or standardized ways of doing things with a client. Each project and game has to be figured out based on a variety of factors that are brought to the table.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Trophy? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who follow in your footsteps?
With Trophy we knew that we had one of the highlights of the homebrew community on our hands, and the challenge came in the form of pushing the game as far as it could go. With zero work on our part the game would have been a success by homebrew standards, but could we go the extra mile? Deciding to show it at PAX East was a major decision with a lot riding on it if it was not received well by the modern gaming community. Over eighty thousand people had the chance to see it that weekend, and the response from those that stopped to play it was amazing! The Retrotainment guys are old hat at these industry shows, but for me it was a fresh challenge to promote something that I was personally involved with at this level.
I suppose that the biggest lesson from this is to try and gauge how much effort to put into something. I’ve published three other projects, and I cannot imagine putting this level of time, effort, and money into them. It is not because they are bad in any way, but I try to be realistic with myself in terms of appeal. I try to find that point where the returns diminish, or at least be aware of it, and then push toward that. Then again, don’t sell yourself short when it comes to who may be interested in something. The amount of love that I continue to see for Swords and Runes and Spook-o’-tron continues to surprise me, long after I thought that they had run their course. You just never know when or how someone might discover something.

Screenshot from Spook-o’-tron by Sole Goose Productions

-Social media has been buzzing with excitement for Trophy! How does it feel to bask in such support?
The support for Trophy has been amazing to see! It’s one thing to know your friend has made an awesome game, it’s another to have actually shown and communicated that to other people. That was our whole job, after all, and it has been wonderful to see Gradual Games get the recognition that they deserve for such a great game.

-Is there another project after Trophy on the horizon? Another dream project that you hope to add to the Collective’s catalog?
There are always more projects, whether in house or ones to potentially publish. We are in talks with a number of people, and are on the brink of launching an exciting new series. I can’t say more just yet, but I think that people will be pretty stoked for it!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you’re excited to play?
Full Quiet makes the top of my list. I had to help demo it at PAX East in early 2019, but since then I have refused to let Greg and Tim show me anymore of the game; I want it to be a surprise! Dullahan Software’s Project Janus is another that I’ve been watching closely on social media. Unicorn, of course, has been great to see finally come together; we’ve only been waiting a decade for it! Tolbert’s Halcyon is one that I cannot wait to see completed. Orange Island is a strong contender for someday replacing Lizard as my favorite homebrew of all time, but we’ll see. It’s also great to see Rob back to work on some of his projects, and there are a number there that I cannot wait to see completed. I’m big on games that allow for exploration, if that isn’t apparent.

Screenshot of Orange Island

-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?
Just a big thank you to everyone, whether supporters or fans. I’d like to think that we’d be doing what we do in terms of development with or without encouragement, and simply for the love of the NES, but having support makes a lot of what we do possible. Thanks for keeping physical media alive, and here’s to another decade of trying to live those 8-bit dreams!

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of my blog series, which takes a deep dive into new and in-development homebrew, destined perhaps to be the next essential gem. What are your thoughts on Trophy and the catalog of homebrew from Gradual Games and The 6502 Collective? What other homebrews are you eagerly awaiting and what would you like to learn about your favorite developers? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
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Episode 17: Roniu's Tale

By Scrobins, September 2, 2021

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 17: Roniu’s Tale

Introduction:
As kids, we dream of growing up to learn how to make our own version of those things that made our childhoods magical. For many of us, responsibility and practicality obscured those old ambitions. But for some the dream never faded, and in finding other like-minded children at heart with complimentary skills, they tapped into those good memories to cast new magic. Like the electric energy that glows around the spellcaster, the anticipation surrounding the launch of a new game is palpable. Will gamers flock to this latest title? Will their pledges bring them that same magical, nostalgic feeling that animated its creators?
For this entry, I’m covering Roniu’s Tale, a top-down action puzzler for the NES developed by Kunjee Studio and published & distributed by Mega Cat Studios and DragonBox. As of the time of this writing, Roniu’s Tale is active now on Kickstarter here until September 16, 2021, and can be found on the Evercade Mega Cat Studios Collection 2 multigame cart available for pre-order here in advance of its August 27, 2021 release.

Regular and Limited-Edition CIBs

Development Team:
Fábio Florêncio: producer
Rafael Valle Barradas: game designer, artist, producer
Diogo Bazante: music/composer
Valdir Salgueiro: programmer
Mega Cat Studios: publication & distribution
DragonBox: distribution (EU)

Mega Cat Studios Collection 2, featuring other homebrews for the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis

Game Evolution:
The story behind Roniu’s Tale technically begins as far back as 2011, when the game was originally conceived as a mobile game. Ultimately that plan was discarded but the underlying elements remained, resurrected in 2019 with the formation of Kunjee Studio to develop Roniu’s Tale for the NES. Kunjee Studio’s people actually came together beforehand for a different project in 2013, when they were hired by Musigames. The group worked so well that getting the band back together for another project was a no-brainer.
Roniu began building its hype slowly, launching a dedicated Instagram page and making its first post on March 4, 2020, and a sister Twitter page with its first tweet the next day. Gaining momentum, more concept art was shared alongside pixel art, gameplay screenshots and gifs, and music samples as the game steadily grew a following. A July 5, 2020 tweet advertised the formation of the development team more formally as Kunjee Studio, and made the first mention of their partnership with Mega Cat Studios, joining a community of brewers for whom Mega Cat helped with publication.

Concept art of Roniu, impatient to be finished and become a real boy
On August 17, 2021, Mega Cat Studios launched Roniu’s Tale’s Kickstarter campaign, meeting its initial fundraising goal of $10,000 in its first 6 hours! Backer tiers include an array of options for supporters, offering the game’s rom, a cart-only copy, a CIB, and a limited-edition light-up CIB with collectible box, which can come accompanied by other goodies bundled in, such as a digital/CD/vinyl soundtrack, posters, postcards, stickers, keychains, badges, artbook, comic book telling the game’s prologue, statue, and even the opportunity to have a custom pixel portrait made of you to include in the game’s credits. The campaign also presents a few stretch goals such as having Mega Cat learn magic and post a how-to video at $15,000, a second run of limited-edition carts at $25,000, and a Nintendo Switch port at $45,000. The campaign will continue until September, 16, 2021.

Every fiber of my being screams letting cats learn magic is a horrible idea

Gameplay Overview:
Roniu’s Tale describes itself as a top-down puzzle game with action elements. You play as Roniu, a young magician bored with his life’s lack of excitement until he sees a strange light beyond the city walls. As Roniu jumps over the wall, he falls into a magical dungeon where he meets Ouisa, a ghost who died long ago when she too fell into the dungeon. She pleads for Roniu's help: if Roniu can collect all the orbs scattered throughout the dungeon, he will be granted a wish, one that might help them both escape. Your quest will lead you through the dungeon’s 43 levels, filled with ghosts and goblins determined to keep you prisoner forever.

Screenshot from Roniu’s Tale
Each level features a room Roniu must navigate, some of which contain the orbs necessary to make his ultimate wish, and the key to reach the next level. However as Roniu steps off each tile it disintegrates behind him into the void below, meaning his path must be carefully considered before taking each step. Meanwhile monsters and obstacles further complicate your planning, in addition to the occasional boss to really raise the stakes. As you progress, Ouisa will share her insights from her time in the dungeon, letting you know of the powers at your disposal and how to use them in your adventure. Roniu’s Tale also includes a password system, so if you are able to tear yourself away from the game you can revisit the world you left off on without losing your progress.
Roniu’s Tale’s controls are easy to learn: move Roniu around with the d-pad, attack with the A button, and scroll through your powers with the B button. Roniu begins with the ability to shoot 3 fireballs that can vaporize monsters and break certain blocks. As you progress, Roniu will unlock new abilities such as levitation, turning into a ghost to pass through blocks, and use nearby tiles to fill a hole and create a new path. Some levels include scrolls that allow you to use a given ability more than you might otherwise, such as the ability to levitate twice as opposed to the single use you have to start with in each level.

Writer’s Review:
Roniu’s Tale is a charming puzzler whose simple gameplay and infectious soundtrack will make you forget you’ve been stuck on the same level for the past half hour. Channeling licensed era forebears such as Solomon’s Key/Fire ‘n Ice and The Adventures of Lolo, puzzle games are having a moment in homebrew right now, combining the cute, nostalgic atmosphere of beloved childhood games with challenges better suited to our now adult brains. Joining fellow homebrew games like Łukasz Kur & M-Tee’s Gruniożerca 3, Retroguru’s Xump 2, and Mega Cat Studios’ own Little Medusa, Roniu’s Tale offers a creative entry into the genre that will immerse players eager to see how far they can go before hitting their first wall. But the frustration is mild, as the game never feels unfair in its design. Each level feels like an accomplishment once beaten, with a strong sense of that all too familiar “just one more level” urge calling out to you.

Screenshots from Gruniożerca 3 (NES), Xump 2 (Genesis), and Little Medusa (NES, SNES, and Genesis)
Unlike Gruniożerca 3 and Xump 2, Roniu’s Tale includes moving enemies, meaning not only will you have to stop to ponder your next move, but you’ll have to be mindful where you can stop in order to take that breath. Also while you can use the d-pad to change which way Roniu faces if you want to turn to face a block, you cannot turn in place to face an enemy, meaning which way you want to face must also be incorporated into your strategy. At least there isn’t a time limit…right? The biggest challenge may come from a note on the game’s Kickstarter’s page, hinting that some levels may have more than one solution, promising to bring insanity to completionists who will feel compelled to find out which levels fall into that category, taunting them until they know for sure.
The game’s art is classic 8-bit cute, where even the goblins could pass as collectible plushies. Across the pixel art, cutscenes, and box art, Roniu’s Tale conveys a fun, unintimidating, cartoony style that feels like the great games we loved from the licensed era. The soundtrack echoes the art’s lighthearted vibe, channeling the upbeat exploits of StarTropics and Kirby’s Adventure. After a few minutes enjoying the chiptunes on their own, I was ready to step outside in pursuit of my own adventure. Between the art and the music, the atmosphere of Roniu’s Tale reflects its protagonist: excited for adventure and without fear, hopeful of the fun that lies ahead. Focused more on its nostalgic charm and the feelings it evokes to carry the story forward from its premise through your imagination, this game is one you can lose yourself in, much like Roniu as he first leaps over the city walls.

Just don’t call them cute to their face

Interviews:
Roniu’s Tale is a production of Kunjee Studio, which brings together a stacked team of indie gaming veterans from Brazil. I interviewed the folks at Kunjee Studio to learn more about the game’s history and development…

Fábio Florêncio
@faflorencio
-Before we dive into Roniu’s Tale, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer and producer? What is your origin story and the story behind Kunjee Studio?
Sure! To be fair, I spent most of my career working as a game designer because I loved to have ideas, create their structures, and see them come to fruition. I had the opportunity to explore different roles as a game tester, sound designer and game designer. This path wasn’t planned at all; probably it happened because I was curious about different things and had the opportunity to try things out.
I noticed that I also liked to boost the team’s morale and would take pragmatic decisions to make things happen in a project. Many projects I participated in were drowned for a simple lack of prior planning, organization, and budgeting. This was when I shifted to become a game producer.
However, by working in the game industry, you often see yourself working on a project that isn’t your passion, but you do because it is part of your job.
I worked with Valdir, Rafael and Diogo previously in another company and our synergy was good. We would spend time together talking and playing retro games simply because it reminded us of our childhood time.
I jumped late in Roniu’s Tale because the project was stalling for a long time and the team needed someone to find the rails once more. And it has been a really good experience to work again with good friends.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Solomon’s Key and Solstice are the big influences for this game. As per life, I like to listen and read the Japanese game masterminds as Shigeru Miyamoto, Keiji Inafune, Tomonubu Itagaki, Satoru Iwata, Hideo Kojima and Koji Igarashi.
I’ve been following closely some folks from Supergiant, Dotemu, Phobia, Moon Studios and Chucklefish.

-In addition to your homebrewing, you are a game producer by profession, working with companies such as Sumo Digital, XR Games, and Rovio Entertainment Corporation, and have worked on games for franchises such as Sackboy, Angry Birds and Zombieland. In what ways is your professional work similar to or different compared to your indie work?
To be honest, the work per se is the same, the scale changes drastically. As you add in complexity, resources and pressuring deadlines, the producer needs to have a good perspective of eventual problems and come with possible solution-scenarios beforehand.
In a big or small project, the team needs to rely on someone to help them foresee eventual bottlenecks, resolve conflicts and structure(re-structure) the game. I understand, that on smaller projects it isn’t possible to have someone focused exclusively on it and some projects “survive” until the end, but that adds pressure on other members of the team that could be focused on their specialties.

Screenshot from Zombieland VR: Headshot Fever by XR Games

-Do you find your professional work informs your approach to homebrewing, or vice versa?
It helps a lot, but the demands are different. Flexibility is required when doing homebrewing, having the plan reworked several times (the ego killer).

-What was the working dynamic like across the development team and in your collaboration with Mega Cat Studios? How did you first connect with everyone?
Before I joined the project, the team had a clear vision of what they wanted to deliver, and my role was mostly to clear the path to them. One initial clear problem we had was the language barrier: we aren’t native English speakers, and from the team, I was the one with more exposition to the language. Some messages exchanged with our friends from Mega Cat were lost in translation. My initial mission was to absorb, plan and deliver this communication that could serve for both listeners.
Lucky enough, Mega Cat folks were super comprehensive and walked the extra mile with us.

-With Roniu’s Tale, 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?
Nowadays, there are good practices, books, GDC talks, forums to learn about how to conduct well a game project in theory. From a production perspective, the odds are in our favor because the modus operandi was refined.
Every platform from iOS to UE5 and from NES to VR, have their own limitations that need to previously be assessed and mitigated.

-According to its Kickstarter page, Roniu’s Tale’s history actually begins in 2011 as a mobile game. What is the story behind the game’s evolution from a mobile game to an NES game?
I wasn’t part of the project at this time, but for what I can tell, the team really had the desire to create a true retro game experience, and this would only be accomplished in a NES platform.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Roniu’s Tale 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?
The hardware limitations are the elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. Only 4 audio tracks, there is memory space restriction, amount of objects per room, pixel count, color palette… all elements that are competing for attention in a pixelated thug-of-war that one will affect the other invariably.
The team learned quickly about it and scored the most important elements in a table; then would be deducting from that as you ration food during a catastrophe. Limitation normally teaches us important lessons to keep only the essential there, leaving few spaces for polish. I guess this is one of the difficulties to develop games for retro consoles: find the fun with so few variables. This is almost a game jam exercise.
In modern games, you can continue pilling up more game modes, more levels, cutscenes, narrative, pour more money, etc. to try to salvage the game. Retro game is the opposite works in a deductive synthesis matter.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
In many aspects Roniu’s Tale is already a dream project for everyone. Obviously, we have dreams, ideas and a good friendship to cultivate new projects, but for now I would rather conceive well this game.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Sure: The Adventures of Panzer, Lawless Legends, Carpet Shark and Retro League GX.

Screenshot from The Adventures of Panzer by Dave Nemeth

-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?
As Satoru Iwata said in at GDC 2011: “Trust your passion. Believe in your dream. Make the impossible possible.”

Rafael Valle Barradas
@rvbns
-Before we dive into Roniu’s Tale, 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, and what is the origin of Kunjee Studio?
I grew up with an Atari and then an NES, I always liked creating stories and drawing. In 1999 I started working professionally as a 2d animator and illustrator, but I soon realized that my other passion was creating and developing games. In 2004 I started working with games, working with several companies such as Preloud, C.E.S.A.R in Recife, Daccord / Musigames...In 2019 I decided to create a game studio, so I called my closest friends who also have experience with game development... Diogo Bazante, Evandro Lins, Cristiano Santana and Fabio Florêncio. In parallel I was talking to Valdir Salgueiro, a friend of years who had started a project with me in 2011 for Android (Roniu's Tale), but we decided to cancel due to lack of time.

Musigames, where it all began…
Years later Valdir and I decided to come back with the project. We decided to make the new version of Roniu's Tale for the NES, because of the challenge and affection we feel for the 8-bit Nintendo console. Diogo Bazante da Kunjee joined the project to compose and produce the songs in 8 bits. I rethought the whole game, took my initial idea and adapted it and turned it into a NES game. Valdir had to learn to program for the NES, and with a lot of speed he managed to make the game come to life quickly. Later we needed to associate the game with a group name, and Kunjee's name seemed appropriate, so we've attached the project to Kunjee Studio and now we're pretty close to completion.
We have other projects in parallel and pre-production and others in conception, we are happy with the Kunjee and Mega Cat partnership and we are rooting for the Kickstarter to be a success.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My main influences are some NES games:
-Solomon's Key
-Solstice
-Little Nemo
-Gauntlet
-Gremlins 2
I'm not following a specific job closely, but I'm always impressed by the technical demonstrations for the NES that people post on Twitter, like Matt Hughson's Witch n’ Wiz.

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
I believe so. Despite being influenced by Japanese style, I believe my style is a mix of manga and European children's drawing style.

-Have you noticed any changes in your style or game development preferences over the years?
I was more careful of what the public wants. I listen more to people's opinions, but without letting the main idea of the game be changed.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
I sometimes use pen and paper for initial concepts. Later… Photoshop, Krita, and the Aseprite.

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel and game art stand out?
-Clean trace
-Color palette that's nice, but it's important to choose colors that make the player stand out from the BG.
-All elements in the games must belong to the same style, same artistic identity.

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for the game, what is your composition process?
My process is:
-Sketch on paper (preferably listening to music);
-Mockup in Photoshop, Krita or Aseprite... several tests are made with colors;
-Production of assets and compatibility testing with specific tool for NES "makechr.exe"

-How did you first connect with Mega Cat Studios?
It was a coincidence. Valdir had started an old project with Mega Cat that didn't progress, and just when we were starting pre-production on Roniu, James contacted Valdir asking about the news. It was great, we took the opportunity to talk about Roniu’s Tale and from this first contact with him, the partnership grew.

-How did your relationship with the other members of Kunjee Studio come about?
We were hired by the same game company (Musigames) in 2013, we became close friends and never stopped talking. In 2019, they were the first people I thought of calling to create Kunjee Studio.

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of Roniu’s Tale?
It's been very nice. Everyone is very proactive.
-Valdir is a very experienced and talented programmer, he can solve bugs quickly and create solutions.
-Diogo Bazante is one of the best game composers I know, Diogo learned and mastered the FamiTracker, creating the beautiful music of Roniu's Tale.
-Fábio Florêncio is an experienced producer who advised us and gave us valuable ideas for the group.
I believe we are on the same wavelength and that's great.

-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 Roniu, and do you see aspects of yourself in him?
Sometimes we find ourselves imagining fantasy worlds, dungeon adventures, monsters etc. Roniu is tired of the routine and wants a change in his life, something that makes him feel alive, something that makes him grow and feel that he has done something important. I believe most people have this feeling, and I'm no different from them, hahaha 😉

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Roniu’s Tale? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
First: Whenever you think the NES is limited think again, hahaha.
We have to be very careful all the time with any modification we are going to make to the game.
At Roniu's Tale I learned how difficult it is to develop something for a school from the 80's, I learned to give MUCH more value to games developed at that time.
If anyone reading my answer is thinking about developing a game for the NES or other 8-bit console... For your first game keep in mind that the most important thing is to make the game visually pleasing, mechanical minimalist and make game elements easily recognizable.

-What aspects of Roniu’s Tale are you most proud of?
The mechanics and gameplay. The idea of walking and not being able to go back is something I don't remember seeing as the main core of another game. I think it's fun and appropriate for a puzzle game.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
Roniu's Tale is part of this dream, it has always been a dream to develop a game for the NES.
Besides Roniu's Tale we have "Go Mikura Go!" which is being developed in 3D, but the game had to be restarted, we are starting from scratch.
A collection of mini-games and a sequel to Roniu's Tale are in the future.

Screenshot from Go Mikura Go, another game in development from Kunjee Studio

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Yes
-Witch n’ Wiz by Matt Hughson
-Super Bat Puncher from Morphcat (published by Broke Studio).

-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 to the followers and supporters, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Keep supporting us, I guarantee that the full version of Roniu's Tale will challenge your minds and entertain for hours.
Thanks and have fun playing!!!

Diogo Bazante
@DiogoBazante
-Before we dive into Roniu’s Tale, 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?
Since I was a child, I was astonished by video game soundtracks such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Alex Kidd and Zelda DX Awakening. One day, though, I saw for the first time the Sega Saturn console with Nights Into Dreams and I got shocked for a few minutes, facing the TV with no reaction, hearing those fresh chords and magical atmosphere. At that moment, at the age of 10, I decided to become a musician just to feel that exact same excitement, but playing the keyboard instead of playing a video game.
I have just kept studying and playing the keyboard with no expectations of working professionally with video games consoles until then when I noticed, at the university, that I was known in the hallways for the game songs I used to play through the class breaks. This fact made me meet some friends who were a bridge to my first job. Since then (in 2008) and so far, I have worked professionally in the gaming industry.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
In the very beginning I was mainly inclined to hear Sega’s composers such as Masato Nakamura, Jun Senoue and Yuzo Koshiro. After that I got to know other composers such as Koji Kondo, Manami Matsumae and Barry Leitch (from Top Gear). Those are the biggest musical influences in my career.
Nowadays I am watching carefully (and playing) the Zelda’s DX Awakening, remade to the Nintendo Switch and Sonic Mania.

Koji Kondo

-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 since you first became a songwriter for game music in 2008?
If we think about music as a nonverbal language, I can surely say that I am talking directly to the gamers (what an honor!). My musical style always seeks for simplicity but it is, most of the time, hard to achieve. Even if I feel that I have evolved my skills among the years, my journey, although, keeps going on. I am always trying to create memorable melodies that a person could easily whistle it.

-Tell me about the development of Roniu’s Tale’s soundtrack, what is your composition process? Is the creative process different compared to when you might compose more traditional music?
The Roniu’s Tale soundtrack was especially difficult. I have had experiences with chiptune in general, but this time I was focusing my attention not only on the songs, but also on the small storage space. In the end of the process, I had all the songs but no space remaining! So, I spent a lot of time trying to save some bytes to keep all the songs with no alterations in the melody and the harmony. Happily, my mission was fully succeeded!

-What tools do you use to compose, generally as well as for games?
Usually I use the keyboard and a tracker to sequence the songs. Sometimes I take a notebook to write my ideas or even a digital recorder (to sing some initial melodies and remember them afterwards).

-Do you feel your work as a professor at the Pernambuco Conservatory of Music, where you teach Applied Theory and Harmony classes, as well as Musical Initiation informs your approach to game music composition, or perhaps your video game work informs your teaching?
Working with kids demands us to be creative at all times. As a teacher I have to be prepared for uncommon questions and situations. This flexibility helped me so much to think outside the box anytime I was limited by technical questions.

-Tell me about the evolution of Roniu’s Tale. Any interesting stories on the games’ development?
In the beginning of the project, I honestly did not know anything about music programming for NES. My first song created took almost 50% from the dedicated space storage for songs. Months later, after readjustments, the same song got 9%. What a relief!

-How did your relationship with the other members of Kunjee Studio come about?
We have been friends for years. Our group has met in my first job, where I was sound designer in 2011, but the concept of Kunjee Studio has begun at my wedding!

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of Roniu’s Tale?
As friends and professionals, we were free to create and suggest new ideas. Most of the project development was made in our free time.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Roniu’s Tale? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Roniu’s tale was completely developed in the pandemic. This project was like a refill to my energies and it proves that, even in times of difficulties, we are strong enough to move forward. It also proved that we can have fun working, despite the challenges.

-What aspects of Roniu’s Tale are you most proud of?
The game is well polished and every aspect of the game (code, art and sounds) are working together harmonically.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
I would like to develop a game for Sega Genesis. It probably will be tricky, but a worthy experience. I also would like to do a Nintendo Switch game.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
There is a Brazilian game called Odallus that I stayed tuned since the first release note.

Screenshot from Odallus: The Dark Call by JoyMasher

-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 hope all of you enjoy the game. We have put so much effort and love in every single byte of this project and the songs were made to be catchy and planned to bring the 80’s fresh mood back. We are also glad to share our dreams with you, proudly represented by the name of Roniu’s Tale. Thank you so much!

Valdir Salgueiro
@valdirsalgueiro
-Before we dive into Roniu’s Tale, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is your origin story?
I always wanted to try new things and someday I found some homebrew games that were done for Gameboy Advance and that intrigued me. Since I was young I liked Gameboy and Gameboy Advance and used to play a lot of Gameboy games so I was curious to know how somebody could make a game for a console without Nintendo’s blessing.
After that I saw some guy working on what turned out to be Tanglewood for Sega Genesis and I was interested again because it was said that it needed actual SDK from Nintendo - this information proved to be optional - but that caught my attention because the labor involved was very intensive and you had to go out to buy manuals and all that stuff. Nowadays I know it is entirely optional and we have great communities like NESDev and Discord for those who want to adventure in the field.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
For Sega Genesis my influence was Matt Phillips with Tanglewood that led me to know the homebrew scene more closely. Also there was a guy called djcc that did some games for Mega Drive like Pingouin Rose and was very kind to release the game source, it was one of the most advanced games made in C available at the time it was released, back in 2014. Looking on his source I had a lot of insights of how to organize my homebrew code in a way to be performatic and still have a kind of higher abstraction even for old consoles (a lot of modern techniques can’t be applied without penalties in software like this) so it was mind blowing at time, he made also a kind of level generator in Python which inspired me to make my own tools later on for graphics and level processing in nodejs.

Screenshot from Pingouin Rose by djcouchycouch
About NES I read a lot on nesdoug tutorials for programming with C and that got me going fast.
Nowadays the community evolved a lot and it is hard to keep track of all games that are released, I keep a close eye to the NESmaker forum because there is always good content there and I love the creativity of some people from there, I also used to keep tabs with NESDev but it has been offline for some time…
I also follow some people on Twitter like FrankenGFX and her work with the NES is from another world, I think we can always expect good things from her. I also love Morphcat Games and try to watch everything they do closely - if you guys are reading this please make sure to make Super Bat Puncher 2 😛

-How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a Valdir Salgueiro game?
Hmmm this is a tough one. I only try to make my games fun, games that I as a kid would try to beat.
Also hopefully games that can bring a smile to someone's face when they are playing. I think that us as indie developers have a great power in our hands so that we can make games that we truly enjoy and want people to play without having to worry about financial success too much.

-What tools do you use to code and create?
For NES homebrewing I like to go with C because it is what I found to work at the higher level possible without sacrificing too much performance and of course some 6502 mixed here and there on critical tasks like sprites and so on. For level building I use tiled and some personal tools built on nodejs. Aseprite to do some touches on art if needed and VSCODE as my IDE.

-In addition to your homebrewing, you are a software engineer by profession. In what ways is your professional work similar to or different compared to your indie/homebrew work?
I think it is very different and at the same time I can reuse some skills like the use of time boxing, control of scope and time management in general. I always try to produce quality code even though it is hard when you can't use oriented programming 😃 or at least it is prohibitively computational expensive. I also try to follow universal programming principles like SOLID and clean code in general even in homebrew if I can. I also can borrow knowledge about source code management with tools like git, working remotely with other people and so on. And on the other hand I work with business software in my day to day, so homebrewing is a way to have fun doing the same craft.

-Do you find your professional work informs your approach to homebrewing, or vice versa?
Oh yes of the reasons I stated above 😃 I think there are a lot of things you can use in both worlds like task management on Trello, collaborative work, making sure everyone is comfortable with the game production pipeline and tools and so on.

-How did your relationship with the other members of Kunjee Studio come about?
I’ve known Diogo a long time. We met at some game jams. He used to produce music for everybody in the game jams, very generous. At first I thought he wouldn't want to work with homebrew but I’m glad he did give it a try!
About Rafael we used to work close to each other, he is also very famous with his work on Little Prince drawings 😉 Some years ago we went to make Roniu for mobile. For some reasons we did not proceed with the project. Later on, I said I was working in some homebrew project and asked him if he wanted to partake in the adventure. He suggested we go back to Roniu’s idea and make it work on NES 🙂 From there on I worked on creating an engine around it and building the game.
I worked with Fabio at a local company here in Recife and he was very active in the local game jams too! Unfortunately for me and fortunately for his career 😉 he left Brazil and now is working abroad so we can only keep in touch online nowadays

-What was the working dynamic like in the development of Roniu’s Tale?
Even though we live in the same city or at least surroundings we did everything remotely. We used git and Rafael is used to working with teams so it was easy to organize what we needed regarding art etc. Diogo also learned FamiTracker very fast so it was easy for him to get it going.

-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 think available space is a constant fight when developing for the NES. I used to joke that we spend more time removing things than doing them when developing for the NES. My advice is to get used to the system you plan to develop for and do something you enjoy doing and that will show up at the end result.

-There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Roniu’s Tale in the leadup to its Kickstarter campaign, thanks to Kunjee Studio and Mega Cat Studio’s promotional work. How does it feel to see so many people excited to play your game?
I am very grateful for the support! I hope we can meet the expectations and even surpass it 😉

-What aspects of Roniu’s Tale are you most proud of?
I am very proud of some of the tools we developed to improve game development speed. Too bad they are mostly useful only to myself 😛 I plan to someday organize and release at least some of them.
We have made scripts to parse maps from tiled direct into levels with enemy data, keys and orbs.
I am especially proud of the “sprite parser”, since it made the pipeline more similar to something like say “unity3d”. We work with PNGs and use tools to validate and extract metadata information that is useful to NES automatically. This way Rafael can use his preferred tools like photoshop or Aseprite.
There is also a cutscene parser where you input the music, text and which level it will appear and it compiles to C headers and you can build the game and test after a change, very useful. Also all the images are compressed to LZSS and nametable data is RLE’d so we can get around 7 cutscenes for each bank. I like to make tools that abstract complexity from the underlying architecture, and I think with Roniu we achieved a lot in this way increasing team productivity.

-You also worked on Tapeworm Disco Puzzle with Lowtek Games and your own Wolf Spirit, how do those experiences compare with your work on Roniu’s Tale?
Most of the code and tools end up being shared by these games and consequently all the improvements can be brought later on to other projects. For example, in Tapeworm I had to make all the level creation automatic so that Wallaster (the game designer) could work on new puzzles all by himself without me needing to interfere. This was an improvement since on Roniu there were still some tweaks here and there that had to be done to integrate to the game.
For Wolf Spirit I tried to perfect sprite importing since in that game it’s very important to many tests with player attacks. We did many interactions until finding the perfect balance between number of sprites versus player movement detail.

Screenshot from Wolf Spirit by Valdir Salgueiro

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
I have some projects that I want to do but my focus is to finish what I started first 😛 it is very easy to get lost in new projects so I prioritize getting those done first, but dreaming is free so why not 😉
With that being said, we (me and Lowtek) want to make another sequel for Tapeworm, maybe another genre, not sure about it yet!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Project Borscht and Full Quiet. Both for NES.

Screenshot from Full Quiet by Retrotainment Games

-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 really hope that you enjoy Roniu’s Tale. There is a great adventure coming on your way and I can assure it will be very rewarding to those who make it past the end 😉

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of the series that highlights the most promising homebrew games coming across the finish line and shares the stories behind them. What are your thoughts on Roniu’s Tale and its talented development team? Will you back them on Kickstarter while you still can? 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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Episode 1: Diamond Thieves

By Scrobins, April 14, 2022

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!
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Episode 23: Rarity: Retro Video Game Collecting in the Modern Era

By Scrobins, July 14, 2022

A Homebrew Draws Near!

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?
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Episode 30: Jessie Jaeger in Cleopatra's Curse

By Scrobins, February 23, 2023

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?
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Episode 7: Quest Arrest

By Scrobins, November 8, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 7: Quest Arrest

Introduction:
Behind every great homebrew game is a developer or team with a good story about why there was an irresistible urge to create a new game. As we can all relate, inside them resides that memory from our youth in which we passed days on end, perfectly content with one or another game that gripped our imagination. If we were lucky, we found other games that gave us that same good feeling, but inevitably we reached a point when we surveyed the gaming landscape around us and wondered why no one was making games like the ones we loved. For the avid brewer, the answer to that question is: because they haven’t made it themselves yet. That was the case for Roo, a devoted fan of the Police Quest games who decided to make his own entry into the genre he loved and incorporate the tropes of a few other gems he encountered along the way.
For this entry, I’m breaking this blog's console barrier to cover Quest Arrest, a police procedural role playing adventure for the Gameboy by John Roo. As of the time of this writing, a limited edition CIB of Quest Arrest sold out, but due to popular demand, Roo produced a second print CIB that can be purchased here, and the game’s rom can be downloaded on Roo’s itch.io page here.

Development Team:
John Roo: programming & music
krümel & Multiface: music refinement
Budget Nostalgia: cart & manual art
Suleman Abid: box art

Quest Arrest CIB

Game Evolution:
Quest Arrest was first announced on July 29, 2019, when Roo posted about the game on his Twitter page and created a separate account dedicated to the game for future updates. As an added fun fact that Roo noted, the announcement came one day before the 30th anniversary of the Gameboy’s launch. Over the following months, Roo posted many updates highlighting the game’s inspiration, graphics, battle system, and sometimes just to express gratitude for the following the game had already cultivated.
On May 23, 2020, Roo announced the PC version of Quest Arrest was available for purchase through VoxPop Games, a peer-to-peer independent games distribution and development platform. On August 17, 2020 pre-orders opened for the Quest Arrest limited edition Gameboy CIB. Within 2 ½ hours of the post, the first batch of 55 copies sold out (a second batch of 35 more copies was made available for pre-order and sold out the following day). The overwhelming demand and support encouraged Roo to launch a poll to gauge interest for a second print run, which has since been produced and is in stock.

Roo deputizing the masses

Gameplay Overview:
Quest Arrest describes itself as a police procedural adventure in the spirit of the Police Quest series mixed with a dash of Pokémon. You play as Detective Alison Bennett, a rookie investigator and recent transplant to the city of Strange Meadows. Unfortunately Bennett doesn’t have the luxury of easing into her new job because a crime wave has washed over the city and the Chief has tasked you with making the streets safe from a gang of miscreants led by the mysterious Athena.

Because out there is a city full of streets...of rage!
The game unfolds as you explore Strange Meadows: walking the beat, talking to people, and fighting crime as you happen upon it. The city is an open world featuring nonlinear game progression. More importantly, how the community perceives and interacts with you is an open question, based on your credibility points (a quantitative measure of your reputation with the public), with the possibility of gaining or losing points depending on your approach to crime. As you encounter criminals throughout the city, you fight them in Pokémon-style battles.

Gotta arrest ‘em all
You have a range of options for subduing a suspect from pepper spray and a taser to bringing out the big guns with your...well, your gun. Once a suspect’s HP is low enough you can try to arrest them or ultimately kill them. If you are able to successfully effect an arrest, you move to a straightforward “push the buttons as they appear on the screen” sequence in order to conclude the battle. However whereas a successful arrest will net you credibility points, the death of a suspect will cost you credibility points and potentially the community’s trust. The story branches based on whether you are regarded as a good cop or a bad cop, and you may have a more difficult time doing your job and gathering clues if the people don’t like you anymore.

I'm starting to wonder if this is an adaptation of the 1992 film Bad Lieutenant...
An in-game menu displays your stats (health and credibility), items (clues and items to help you progress), and a map of the city (which is so rough, even the game mocks you for consulting it). Scattered around the city are save points that mark your progress and restore your health (both essential if you know another fight is literally around the corner).

Writer’s Review:
Quest Arrest provides fun gameplay that will satisfy a wide range of gamers, from casual players who will be charmed by the fun crime-solving adventure to intensive players who will play obsessively just to experience each possible story arc.
The multiple potential narratives based on your credibility points means replayability is a feature baked into the game’s code. Much like Undertale, how other characters treat you and help you along the way depends on how bloodthirsty you are, and what information you get from NPCs can make for a very different experience. Meanwhile Quest Arrest’s nonlinear gameplay mixes things up further. Detective Bennett is generally free to walk the streets and protect & serve as she sees fit. As a result there are myriad possibilities for community engagement across the various parts of the city you can visit and what your credibility score happens to be when you get there.

Possibly the most metal thing to come from a rock
Regardless of your credibility score, the townspeople you meet on the streets of Strange Meadows (including the robbers and even an inanimate object or two) are colorful and silly, but not afraid to throw some 4-letter words into conversation. It’s a touch that gives the game an air of adult relatability while also signaling that as a homebrew, Quest Arrest is not constrained by Nintendo’s infamous family friendly limits of old. The overall story is also fun and simple, offering several mini-quests for you to solve without getting bogged down in the nitty gritty procedure the Police Quest games would have required, such as Mirandizing arrestees...

…or remembering the basic rules of walking around a friggin city.
Although Quest Arrest can be beaten in one sitting, the save feature is still essential because it also offers a means to restore your health. Furthermore though Strange Meadows isn’t a particularly big place, peppering save/health points around the city allows players to focus on playing rather than a tedious search for checkpoints.
The battle system when confronting baddies creates a fun pivot in gameplay. While shooting a suspect is not immediately fatal it is a more powerful weapon than the taser or pepper spray, which are largely similar in their effect during a fight. My only gripe is that the probability of an arrest being successful, and moving on to the button-matching sequence, is somewhat random. No matter how weak a suspect is or how many times you try to arrest, even if arrest is the only option you select throughout the entire fight, sometimes it doesn’t work and the suspect takes damage from each attempt. If you are trying to maximize credibility points this can lead to unfair point reductions because of suspects killed unintentionally. Luckily the ranges of credibility points that access different story arcs appear to be wide enough that the occasional death of an enemy shouldn’t impact gameplay.

The state of your immortal soul is another story
Interviews:
To solve any mysteries left unanswered about Quest Arrest’s development, I interrogated Roo to get to the bottom of this game…

Roo
@TheRetroRoomRoo & @QuestArrest
-Before we dive into Quest Arrest, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Roo and The Retro Room?
The origin story of The Retro Room is unfortunately not very interesting haha. I started a Twitter page because I was sort of desperate to find like-minded people who were interested in the same sort of retro stuff in the same way I was. It has grown into sort of a brand and I tied it with my name John Roo. Retro Roo. 😜

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Right now I'm being influenced by a few developers that I am working closely with. They advise me. They have some really cool projects in their pasts that I’d love to brag about and I'm certain you know, but I don't want to throw them under the bus haha. We might come out as a collective in the future, but for now it’s in the dark. As far as other developers that I don't personally know that I admire? I could say anyone who makes games. It’s a tough mountain to climb and to those who do it, I salute you.

-What tools do you use to code and compose?
Right now I'm making games in GameMaker Studio 2, but I have past experience with a few other things. I started coding by playing around with microcontroller chips with my dad. It’s since grown into game design.

-In your interview with Budget Nostalgia, you mentioned how much the Police Quest games influenced Quest Arrest. What about the Police Quest series resonated most strongly with you?
I somehow ended up with the Kings Quest and Police Quest games as a kid. I enjoyed both of the series, but one seemed like it was more for kids. Police Quest was gritty and violent. I think that’s what made it more appealing to me as a kid. Now as an adult, I wanted to see that same feeling done but in a way that was more acceptable for modern generations. Police Quest is a point and click adventure, and those types of games don't resonate with as many gamers anymore...including myself. So I had to bring back the concept with a fresh flavor.

Screenshot from Police Quest II: The Vengeance

-At the heart of Quest Arrest’s gameplay is the ability to make choices about being a good cop or a bad cop. What inspired this feature of the game? Was there a conscious decision to connect with the prominence of police conduct in recent years?
I never wanted this game to have any ties to real life police behavior or any of the controversy that follows. In fact I wanted quite the opposite. I wanted to parody real life. What turned out to be the fair solution was to leave the choice of being good or bad to the player. I always liked games that I could go back and play over and have an entirely new experience. That was really the goal in mind when doing all of that.

-Developing a game requires careful choices in designing the game’s world and how its look and feel impacts the player’s experience. How would you describe your design aesthetic? What features do you see in Quest Arrest that you consider a Roo signature?
Well, to call anything that I've done to be directly unique would be a stretch. The game plays a lot like Pokémon or other RPG games. I think what makes this game unique is a combination of things including the adult themes, mixed with police simulation, mixed with choice, mixed with these small cute little sprites that have bad mouths all make up the grand picture. I would like to expand on those things.

-You also developed the game’s music, is your creative process for composing the soundtrack similar to when you are working on the game’s code?
The soundtrack was refined by krümel and Multiface. Two talented artists, but a lot of the composition was also done by me. I've been in the music industry producing music for a long time. I have to say that producing Gameboy music was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It’s just very limited and the tools are not very user friendly haha. I feel lucky to have come out with it being halfway decent. Haha.

-What challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Quest Arrest? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I think the entire process of game development is a challenge in itself. So the ultimate challenge is to actually finish. Possibilities are literally endless and you could develop forever tweaking and refining things. To finish something is an art.

-Ever since my first blog episode, M-Tee planted this idea in my mind that a game’s protagonist 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 design of Quest Arrest’s protagonist, and do you feel the character reflects you in any way?
That's an interesting concept to think about. My character is a strong woman who defeats crime. It’s hard to say how that reflects me, but I do like a good hero story. Or villain. It's the players choice. 😜

-There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Quest Arrest on social media. How does it feel to see so many people enjoying your game?
To see people enjoying the game is very weird to me. I've always explained it as this vulnerable feeling. It feels like 1000 people looking at you naked while you try and cover yourself, but at the same time they like what they see. Haha. So it’s a really bizarre feeling honestly. I enjoy making the games more than the attention from them, although the attention is great. It’s a positive thing for me in the end. My job feels complete when someone enjoys the game.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Gameboy or otherwise? Any dream projects?
I have 3 other projects that I’m currently working on and all of them are a team effort. I will be making some announcements very soon. I am excited.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I see indie games all of the time and I absolutely love playing them. I feel like there is somewhere along the timeline of gaming where we lost touch with what games should be. They are so massive and realistic now that we forgot they don’t have to be. Indie games show us that the best of games don't have to be huge or high budgeted.

Two more new Gameboy homebrews (Dragonborne is also available on cart)

-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 really just want to thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk about my game. As well as having interests in my game at all. It’s very cool. Thanks for having me Sean. Anyone who wants updates on the Quest Arrest project can follow
@QuestArrest
or follow me
@TheRetroRoomRoo
If you made it this far in the interview, you're the best ever.

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this latest episode of a series that highlights the latest gems of homebrew and has officially moved into other consoles. What are your thoughts on Quest Arrest and its passionate development team? 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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Episode 8: The Assembly Line

By Scrobins, November 26, 2020

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 8: The Assembly Line

Introduction:
It was around September 2017 that I first learned about homebrew games. Months earlier I shipped my collection of old video games and consoles from my parents’ home and hoped to expand my library. Searching for the “essential” gems no self-respecting vintage gamer should be without, I stumbled upon a pair of articles from The Verge and Wired about new games for old consoles. Curious, I researched homebrew games to learn more about these new cartridges and the people who made them. My search revealed a variety of fun games and even some live Kickstarter campaigns, but the results consistently led me to two places in particular: the NintendoAge forums and a podcast called The Assembly Line.
Kevin and Beau’s podcast about homebrews was the first podcast I listened to faithfully. Although NintendoAge was a great resource to learn about the major personalities within the homebrew community, The Assembly Line provided greater depth to prominent games, the insights of their developers, and news of games to come, in addition to Kevin and Beau’s own projects and travels. They are excellent guides to exploring homebrew, and are great cheerleaders bringing attention to worthwhile projects, celebrating the talent and passion brewers pour into their games.
For this episode, I’m covering The Assembly Line because I’m thankful for this podcast and its two hosts, who have been integral to my introduction to and exploration of the homebrew scene. At the time of this writing, there are 23 episodes available. You can listen to every episode on Soundcloud, iTunes, and YouTube.

Gobble gobble bleep boop

On-Air Personalities:
@SoleGoose (E.B.D. Holland)
@KHAN Games (Kevin Hanley)

Gurus and Friends:
I made Beau’s acquaintance first, when I messaged him on Kickstarter in July 2018 to ask if there would be any copies of Spook-o’-tron available to purchase after backers received their games. Beau responded soon after to let me know I wasn’t too late, and was thankful for my interest in his game, thus beginning our ongoing friendly correspondence. A few months later, I checked in with Beau to ask if he planned to attend the 2018 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. I had just made plans to visit Portland for my first real vacation in almost 8 years, and I was looking forward to meeting some of the homebrewers behind my favorite games.
The idea for the trip had come together all of a sudden. I tracked down Chelsea Beck at Life Works, who handled sales of Cowlitz Gamers 2nd Adventure, but she was reserving remaining copies for PRGE (though she also initially mistook me for my name doppelgänger, who was one of the people behind the Coleco Chameleon scandal, and was thus leery of selling to me). While I couldn’t justify a cross-country trip just to pick up a single game, I told myself that if I could find something else to warrant the expense, I would go. Something nagged at the back of my mind; I’d had this conversation with myself about Portland before, there was something else I wanted to do there but needed another reason to justify going. It hit me: in addition to Portland’s incredible food scene, a short drive outside the city in Amboy, Washington was one of the few places in the continental U.S. offering scenic bungee jumping: out in the woods, off a bridge, over a river! I had enough good reasons, now I could go. What a trip this would be!

Hangin’ round the NA booth at PRGE
As it turned out, not only would Beau be there, he said he would have a few carts of Spook-o’-tron for sale to offset the costs of the trip! When I walked into the expo on the second day, when the vendors were officially open for business, I recognized Beau immediately from his Assembly Line avatar, he was even wearing his trademark hat. I bought a copy of Spook-o’-tron and we chatted about homebrew for a long while. I’m sure I embarrassed him with my fandom and request for a picture, but I didn’t care because I was having an absolute blast talking to him, other brewers & YouTube personalities, and exploring the surrounding city.
I met Kevin a few months later at MAGFest, where he was watching people play his newest game: NEScape! Since the event was being held in National Harbor, just outside D.C. (where I live), it was a significantly easier trek. After wandering for a bit around the convention hall, I found Kevin and Beau in the homebrew section. We chatted for a bit about the podcast and homebrew collecting. Kevin invited me to play NEScape!, but fortunately he stepped away when I picked up the controller because I was terrible. I struggled to unlock the title screen! K3VBOT, who was also nearby, took pity on me and helped me get to the actual game where I fared slightly better.

I don’t want to talk about it
In the time since, I’ve stayed in touch with both Beau and Kevin. With their help, I’ve found several homebrews on my wishlist and significantly expanded my knowledge of homebrewers and the myriad games they have developed. I’m privileged to have received a few shout-outs on The Assembly Line for my fanboi creepings as well as for taking pictures in and around the Irving Convention Center to help with a possible Convention Quest sequel. We’ve swapped gaming news and related gossip, and talked about their relationships with other brewers, pixel artists, and chiptune composers. And of course I've trolled both of them on social media as well as during Kevin's annual NES Spectrum Marathon.

Kevin knows what both of these mean, and I'm not remotely sorry why
In a few short years I’ve grown from a complete newcomer to the homebrew scene to a joining the VGS staff, maintaining thorough lists of available and in-development homebrew physical releases. I have a folder of bookmarked webpages (currently 150) and a host of social media pages that I regularly check for news and new postings so I can stay up-to-date on the community. Yet I get most excited when I receive a notification that a new episode of The Assembly Line was posted, because it isn’t just about the game news or developer interviews; there is just something fun about Kevin and Beau chatting that makes them essential listening. And I’m thankful for both of them, and the podcast they’ve made for us.

Podcast Overview & Blogger’s Review:
The Assembly Line allows itself plenty of flexibility in its format so the conversation can flow freely, but there are still some hallmarks that listeners can count on hearing in each episode.
Beau and Kevin often share insights learned in game development since their last conversation. It’s a great way to learn any new programming or technological breakthroughs such as new coding tricks or the practical uses of a new type of board. It’s a kind of news segment that exemplifies not only the talent of individual brewers, but also how the homebrew community at large has grown by orders of magnitude. Homebrewing began as something in the realm of hobbyist tinkering, something a handful of nostalgic, tech-savvy people experimented with to learn how it was done “then.” But unburdened by deadlines or the budgetary demands of a corporate overlord, homebrewers are not grinding out games by executive fiat, and are instead taking time to craft something new and interesting. Which begs the question: has homebrew eclipsed the licensed era, and if so when did homebrewers overtake their forebears?

This first level looks great, now finish the game in 10 weeks so we can have it on shelves for Christmas
Next the podcast will introduce the episode’s featured game. Beau and Kevin discuss the gameplay and features, highlighting any interesting technical facts alongside the game’s development history and some fun tidbits about the developer(s). It’s a helpful introduction to the game to prime listeners unaware of it and reminds familiar gamers why this particular game is special, setting the mood before the arrival of the developer on the show.
Then comes the interview. Beau and Kevin have been in the community so long, they know practically everyone, so most interviews have an easy, familiar feel, as though someone turned a microphone on during a casual conversation among friends. Having interviewed a number of people for this blog, I can attest to how frequently some of my subjects worry about sharing too many stories and getting lost in their own answers, though I’m sure my readers will agree with me that those are the best parts of these posts. Beau and Kevin’s existing relationships with most developers removes that anxiety from their show, and interviews are filled with great stories behind the developer’s background and initial interest in homebrewing, as well as the specific inspiration that served as the catalyst for the game. If we’re lucky, Beau and Kevin might tease out some discussion of the developer’s other upcoming projects. It’s easy to get so lost in collecting and playing these games that we forget the people creating them. The stories shared during the interview offer glimpses of their passion, sometimes trying to make their homage to a beloved old classic or tackle a gaming feature they always wanted to see in an NES game.

Where homebrewers begin…
Transitioning back to the two hosts with a chiptune interlude using a track from the featured game, Beau and Kevin return to their own discussion of the game and deliver their review, incorporating any insights gleaned from the interview. Their critique is honest and fair, with a healthy dose of appreciation for what an accomplishment it is to publish a game. This segment might be where Beau and Kevin shine most: they’ve already discussed the game for a few minutes before the interview, but revisit the conversation, allowing listeners to glean how the interview itself impacts their previous impressions. It’s listening to an evolution of their own understanding and appreciation of the game in real-time.
Having finished their discussion around the featured game, conversation shifts to Beau and Kevin’s own projects, whether that includes their own games or work assisting on the projects of others. They’ll also discuss developments in the wider community, including any new games announced, updates shared, or official releases. If you aren’t someone watching developers’ various social media pages, this update can be a great way to stay informed. Or you could also follow my pinned homebrew threads.

Just sayin’
And with everything else in the bag, Beau and Kevin wind down the episode and close out with one last chiptune track, from a project or an artist of interest.

Interviews:
To help reflect on The Assembly Line and the work that goes into making each episode, I talked with its esteemed hosts…

Kevin Hanley
@atonofglaciers
-Before we talk about the podcast, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of KHAN?
When I joined NintendoAge back in 2007, a website that no longer exists sadly, but was once the hub of the NES collecting scene, homebrew was still in its infancy. A few early NES developers, James Todd (who went by Zzap, of Chunkout fame), and Al Bailey (Sudoku 2007 developer), were starting to release physical projects to sort of set an early taste of what the homebrew community could be. I was pretty fascinated by the prospect! I had joined the site because I was a collector, with the common goal of acquiring all the games in the NES library. But here were people making new games! It was incredible. Having no programming experience, but having a background in music, I figured composing songs for some of the stuff these guys did would be my gateway into homebrew. And I did pretty well (mostly because there weren't many people doing it at the time. When good composers came along I kindly took a step back and let them do their thing. Thankfully for me, this came right at the time Brian Parker (of retroUSB fame) started releasing his Nerdy Nights NES programming tutorials. I never really considered the fact that I could handle learning programming, as I definitely had no background in it, but I was an avid user of early computers, so I knew my way around a DOS prompt pretty well and had written some batch files. I never really pieced together that it was sort of the same thing. It was an uphill battle to learn assembly language, but thanks to Brian (and James') infinite patience, I made it over the hump.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
It's hard to say who my influences are, because I sort of just do my own thing. I would say I am most influenced by what I play. When I play a new indie game that blows my mind I always want to bring that experience to the NES in some way. The same can be said about retro computer games. I grew up on them as much as I grew up on the NES, so I always want to bring the experiences in those games to the NES. One, because the NES is my favorite system and I love seeing more and more games on it, but two, because I want other people who didn't experience the games I loved as a kid to be able to experience them. It seems like people who grew up on NES didn't experience early PC games, and vice versa (with a few exceptions of course). It's nice being able to bring something fresh to the table (which is ironic to say since I mostly just port things with few original ideas).
As far as who I follow closely, I feel like I've taken a step back and kind of look at the scene as a whole now. I just love that it's getting to be so big. I'm watching everyone! But especially Sly Dog Studios. 😉

Screenshot from Sly Dog Studios’ website

-You have been a part of the homebrew community from its early days, and you have developed a multitude of games over the course of that time. In developing your games would you say they have any qualities that seem quintessentially you across that time? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Brian would say the only thing that makes my games mine is the fact that I hard code my sprites. 🙂 But to the end user, I doubt there's much that defines my games as mine. Other than "Oh look, another port."

-How has your approach to homebrewing changed over the years?
The main thing that's changed is the fact that I have developed so many connections now and can use experts in different fields (i.e., graphics and music) to bring me much better assets than I could ever do myself. Sharing and creating a project with others is a lot more rewarding than just doing it all alone.

-What tools do you use to code?
I code almost everything on my 2012 Macbook Air, using Sublime Text 2 for the coding, and the normal developer tools for creating assets. NES Screen Tool for backgrounds, Tile Layer Pro for sprites, Famitracker for music, Hex Fiend for hex editing, etc.

-You are also known for your entry in the Annual NESDev Coding Competition, Nothing Good Can Come of This, and your work on others’ games, from the 8-Bit Xmas series and Scare Carts to Zi’s cart-based chiptune albums. Do you have different attitudes toward your work between your compo entry projects, your “feature-length” games, and your work with others? Is the experience of developing them different?
They are definitely different beasts in my head. I'd say my "feature-length" games are just that... feature length, so I take a lot more pride in making sure they're polished and presented in precisely the manner I want them to be. When I help others with stuff I typically just use parts of previous game engines I've done to expedite the process so it doesn't take nearly as much time.

-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 and also serves as a reflection of its designer. Are there aspects of yourself imbued in your games’ characters?
Well, I think I've joked about the similarities between Larry (of Leisure Suit fame) and myself, but going down that road can be depressing, so I'll keep it light. I don't think there are too many similarities. A lot of the other developers will wax philosophical for hours about their nonsense. I don't ever think too deeply about this kind of thing. I just make what I want to make and that's that.

The resemblance is uncanny

-What lessons have you learned that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
You will never please everyone with your creations, so focus on exactly what you want to make and do it. Don't succumb to trying to put features in games that other people want if you aren't crazy about it. There's only one you, so make things only you can make and don't be afraid to ask for help. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for everyone being so selfless with their time and information.

-You were/are also working on a number of games such as Courier, Unicorn, Isolation, Larry 2, Risk, Thomas is Alone, and your mystery TV show game. Do you have any updates on any of these games (or others) that you would like to share?
Courier is going to be a masterpiece, from the mind of Peek-a-brews. I will be getting back to that game as soon as I'm finished programming Unicorn, which is what I'm currently working on. We're having to move a lot of the game engine to the web server (for reasons I won't bore you with) so that's taking a bit longer than expected, but it will be a really fun online NES game that I hope everyone gets into. It will be a unique experience for people who didn't grow up on early computer bulletin board systems. As far as the other games mentioned, I wouldn't count on them ever happening, other than the mystery TV show game, which is definitely finished and will be out by the end of the year, correlating with whenever the TV episode airs.

-Let’s talk about The Assembly Line. You and Beau have produced 23 episodes over 3 years up to now, 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?
I'll be honest. Since the episodes are happening so infrequently now, I've lost a lot of interest in even doing them. That will probably change when Beau gets better internet and we can do them more often, but it's so rarely in my head now that we aren't doing more than one or two episodes a year. I wouldn't say that the podcast changed my interests or goals, but it has made me realize that we actually have the ear of the community and with that comes a bit of responsibility, both with making sure the things we say are as accurate as they can be, and also that we treat the topics we cover with as much respect as we can because this stuff is truly special. It's been nice to see that we aren't the only ones that care about it, and quite the opposite, the audience out there delving into this stuff is far greater than we imagined. The number of people listening to the podcast (even as infrequently as they're coming out now) is really really surprising. And inspiring.

-Do you listen to any podcasts, gaming-related or otherwise?
I do listen to a number of podcasts, but only one of them is gaming related, and it hasn't released a new episode in a long, long time sadly. It is called the Upper Memory Block Podcast, and it's (surprise!) about early PC games. The other podcasts I listen to are Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Zack to the Future, The Jump, 99% Invisible, Post-Pinkerton, Off-Camera, and the Twilight Zone Podcast.

Banner from Upper Memory Block’s website

-What makes for a good podcast episode?
Alcohol. And a game I truly care about talking about.

-On average, how much time passes between the initial planning for an episode and posting it for listeners?
We typically come up with the game we want to cover well in advance so that we take the time to both play through it fresh. Then we typically write up the outline of the episode, including the intro discussion topic and all the things that have happened lately in the community the day of recording. Then we record at night, sometimes doing the interview a different day. Then editing takes a really long time. Typically 20-40 hours, so that can span over weeks. I'd say the episode finally drops a month or so after recording.

-What is your favorite segment to talk about in an episode?
My favorite part is typically the interviews since they are special and we get to talk to people that we aren't always super familiar with. Although even when we bring good friends of ours on that is super fun too.

-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?
humanthomas

-Favorite chiptune featured on an episode?
I can't really think of one that stands out, honestly. They're all really great, but chiptune music in general doesn't do much for me, surprisingly haha.

-Favorite homebrew?
Will never be able to choose between The Mad Wizard and Candelabra Estoscerro! I love both for different reasons, but truly do love both. So much.

-Favorite homebrewer?
Robert L. Bryant from the Sly Dog Studios!

-Most charming graphics?
I'm sure I've used this word to describe graphics before, but nothing immediately comes to mind. Maybe Convention Quest?

-Most obtuse gameplay feature?
Trying to use spoken word DCPM samples as clues in a video game. Such a dumb idea!

-What is something your co-host uniquely brings to the table?
Research and philosophy.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Orange Island is probably the main one. Other than Unicorn. I WANT THIS GAME TO BE OUT, DAMMIT!

-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 do drugs.

E.B.D. Holland
@SoleGoose
-It’s great to interview you again! Last time, we talked about Trophy and The 6502 Collective, so I’m excited to talk more about you and Sole Goose Productions (I deliberately refrained from asking you some questions when we talked about Trophy so I could ask them here). What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Sole Goose Productions, and what is the significance of that name?
I guess it would have been the spring of 2012. I had had the desire to make a game for about a decade, ever since high school. Over that time I would think about a project, write notes and sketch things out, try to find ways to accomplish that dream, and then eventually give up. My interest has mostly been in 2D games, particularly RPGs over the years, and I generally messed around with RPG Maker 2003 during this time. That spring of 2012, after planning out sections of a space-themed shooter/RPG, I decided that I needed to either learn how to actually achieve this dream of making a game, or give it up for good. I started looking into things more that fall, discovered that people were still making games for old consoles, and decided that that was the direction to go. The amazing community around NES development sealed the deal on which system to learn, after months of exploring options based on the type of game I wanted to make.
SGP naturally flowed from that decision. Everyone putting out games in the community had a name: Khan Games, RetroUSB, Membler Industries, Sly Dog Studios, etc., so I knew that I wanted one if I was going to release things on cart. My first choice was Blue Apple Games, no real reason why other than I could see a logo in my head, but that one was taken by some edutainment company (if I recall). I have a list somewhere of all of the nouns and adjectives that my wife and I came up with, but no combination really worked. In the end, we were driving by a pond in a business park and she saw a goose by itself. You usually see geese in pairs or groups, and she exclaimed, “Look, sole goose!” It kind of fit with the theme of solo homebrew development, so that was that (she did not approve!).

It's a great name! What’s your problem?

-You have been a part of the homebrew community for a number of years, and you have developed and released several games over the course of that time. In developing your games would you say they have any qualities that seem quintessentially you that you have maintained across that time? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Well, I haven’t released much that I have programmed myself, but looking over all of the unfinished projects and rough ideas I’d say that my games try to learn from the past. A lot of people approach the NES with nostalgia, but for me it is a living thing. Most of my ideas come from directly playing games, good or bad. I take what I like and try to combine it with other elements that are not often found together. I also try to look at things that seem like a good idea, but suffer in execution. The NES is great for this! Developers were throwing things at the wall to see what would stick, and genres had not been as heavily defined. We lost a lot of that spirit as things settled down, and going back to those games can breathe some new life into what we do today. Just because we make games on the NES doesn’t mean that we have to be stuck in the past. In many ways, it is our chance to approach things as they did back then, as a wild frontier of possibilities, though with decades of hindsight and medium evolution.

-How has your approach to homebrewing changed over the years?
Whew, that’s a tough one. It has probably changed in a lot of ways, but a major way that I have noticed recently is in regards to patience. It hit me the other day as I was working on the car (yes, the one that caught on fire). I had this seemingly simple task that I had never done before, draining the coolant, and it ended up taking the entire afternoon. Old parts were stuck, tools were missing, there was constant internet searching for missing information, and I had to improvise some. At the end of the day, though, I was not frustrated that it had taken so long. I just kind of acknowledged that the job takes as long as it is going to take, bumps and all along the way, which is how programming seems to work on a daily basis. I think, “oh, I should add this feature, it’ll be easy!” and then two days go by, I’ve ventured down numerous rabbit trails touching other aspects of the project, cleaned up old things, squashed some bugs, and who knows what else before it is finished (a state which is never certain in any event). These days I still have my end goal in mind with a project, but the quest to get there is no longer something that feels quite as immediate. It makes programming much more enjoyable, and probably leads to better results, even if it is a slow process to get there.

-I asked Kevin about how his experience developing a game for the NESDev Annual Coding Competition compares to developing a game outside that compressed timeframe. You’ve broached the subject on the podcast a few times, do you think you’ll develop a game for the compo one day?
Hahaha, funny you should ask. This is the time of year where I usually consider doing something. Maybe this will be the year?

-What tools do you use to code?
I use fairly basic tools. Tools influence creativity, and I want them to have as little say as possible on that process. If I didn’t, I’d still be using RPG Maker or whatever people are using these days. Making games simply to have them on the NES is a novelty at best, but ASM allows one to deeply engage a platform. I want to make the ideas in my head, not someone else’s vision of what I should be doing. Why make a game if someone else is calling the shots? Since tools are not really made for the NES, or only for a part of it, it’s up to the programmer to find them and bend them to his or her needs.
I write code in Notepad++ and use NESASM to compile it. I used a plain text editor for the first six to nine months, but the features of NP++ are too good to pass up. Even something as simple as having line numbers is a huge gain; I recall the dark days of counting the lines in ordinary Notepad when doing the Nerdy Nights tutorials, hunting down an error the compiler spit back. I do all of my programming on an old, offline XP machine. It is light and quick, and does not interfere with thinking or work. Minimal distractions, and all of the tools I need.
For graphics I use a combination of programs. I draw in Paint (Windows XP version), and do whatever edits I need to things in there. It is light, quick, and easy, and allows me to directly see the results (notice a theme?). When I do need to do more complex artwork I use Aseprite. I primarily use it for two functions that Paint does not have: layers, when doing sprites, and the find/replace color command. That last one is important for getting things into a graphics editor. I use YY-CHR, and it only recognizes certain colors, which means flipping everything to them prior to importing. The process might sound kind of complicated, but I can draw for days or weeks in Paint before needing another program, and then when it is time to convert things, that generally takes a few minutes for everything. I usually work with filler graphics that have been altered to be close to what I eventually want to have, so swapping out final assets for them is a (mostly) painless task.
As far as a map editor, useful for larger projects, I am now using the most excellent program Tiled. For Spook-o-tron I made my own inter-NES editor, and I did the same for Convention Quest. I’ll have more on that someday, but I built an editor based on what I wanted to be doing with that project, working from goal/code backwards to a tool that would accomplish that. Tiled is great in that it does not dictate how the user uses it, and I was able to set it up to mimic what my CQ editor was doing, without having to build things on the NES itself anymore.
When it comes to music I have someone else to compose things for my games. They tend to use Famitracker, and target Shiru’s Famitone2 sound engine, which is quick, light, and easy to drop into a program.
A lot of fellow programmers give me a hard time about the programs that I use, but I like them since they do not get in the way of my work. I don’t want to have to think about the tools, or wait on them to update, refresh, verify whatever over the internet, or whatnot. The worst I experience is that annoying bubble in XP that says “Your computer is not connected to the internet” when I open up the lid, or the once a week “There are unused icons on your desktop.” I’ve gotten used to them over the last fifteen years, having used the same computer the whole time (now an identical rebuild as of a few months ago). Working offline has its bonuses too, since I can cut down the number of distractions and aimless internet searching that often accompanies online work.

-You are also known for your work through The 6502 Collective, which has released great games such as Trophy and Rollie, and musical albums such as Zao’s Reformat/Reboot and Steve DeLuca’s Goofy Foot. Do you have different attitudes toward your own work versus in your capacity in the Collective? Is the experience of developing them different?
No, they’re not really different. I’ve been publishing other peoples’ work with SGP since 2015, so it is not particularly new. If anything I make more progress and get more done with Collective work since Greg and Tim do a large part of the work. The commission projects have been nice too since they tend to be smaller and have definite due dates.

For a refresher on The Collective’s work…

-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 and also serves as a reflection of its designer. Are there aspects of yourself imbued in your games’ characters?
Just flip up the visor on the Spook-o’-tron Spaceman’s helmet and who do you think you’ll find? Hahaha, just kidding of course. Come to think of it, I’ve never really thought of him as a character.
I have been working on more narrative-based games for the last four years or so, though none of that has really reached the public eye. I’m sure that there are aspects of myself in some of them, but I guess we will have to wait and see. One in particular shares a certain receding hairline.

-You were/are also working on a number of games such as Swords & Runes 2 and 3, Cityzen, and Family Vacation, as well as a book detailing the history of homebrew. Do you have any updates on any of these projects (or others) that you would like to share?
Swords and Runes III is out! That’s how long it took me to get to your questions ;).
I started a dev blog a few months ago in order to try and keep people in the loop about what I am up to, which can be found here. Besides reflections on the past, announcements and news about new projects will also appear there. Indeed, for the careful reader they may have already.

Available now!

-Let’s talk about The Assembly Line. You and Kevin have produced 23 episodes over 3 years (not counting episodes you and Kevin are working on). Have your interests and goals for the podcast changed over time? Has making the podcast had an impact on your interests and goals?
I don’t know if we really had much of a “goal” in mind when we started it. I’ve been a fan of other peoples’ work since I joined the community, amassing a respectable collection, talking privately with fellow devs, and collecting notes about the history of things. When I started work on the homebrew history book things intensified, so the podcast became a way for me to start talking about some of that publicly. It has also served as sort of a light first pass for book interviews, since it is hard to ask questions if one doesn’t know what all a person has done.
In the end, though, it’s a great way to keep the hobby a living thing. Being forced to play games and not just let them collect dust on the shelf, getting to hang out with Kevin, and getting to talk with friends old and new is refreshing.
I can’t say if it’s had an inverse impact. My goals are still to make games, see what other people are doing, and keep playing interesting things.

-Does the motel you use for Internet when recording episodes recognize you on sight now?
Hahaha, we’ve only had to do that once. Usually I try to visit family every few months for a week or so, and we plan recording sessions around those. It has not been the best solution, but we do what we can with the time that we have.

-Do you listen to any podcasts, gaming-related or otherwise?
Not a one. I listened to one episode of Tell ‘em Steve Dave with Kevin while driving once, and my wife made me listen to a single TED Talk, which I was not allowed to interrupt for discussion. I can’t think and listen like that. College lectures were no problem, I loved those, but there is no pause in radio things. I live a fairly noise-free life, playing games on low volume, only turning on the TV a couple of times a week at most, and driving with the radio off 99% of the time, so my passive media intake is minimal.

-What makes for a good podcast episode?
You tell me! I guess on our end easy editing is always nice. If the files don’t cut out, drift, or get completely lost that’s a great help. Spending a lot of time with a game beforehand always makes for a better episode, as does doing a bit of research. I have over-researched some episodes, however, and saw how that can easily get things off track. I mainly make small notes, and do not prep Kevin or guests on a lot of stuff so that conversation flows more naturally. We also try to talk about less than we’d like, since we always end up going over our ninety-minute goal.

-What is your favorite segment to talk about in an episode?
Either the interviews or the community happenings. I want to hear what other people are working on, I can listen to myself talk anytime. NES development has always been about more than the games for me, more than the finished product. I want to know the process. I have more games on the shelf than I could ever play, and the personal aspect is often what causes me to choose one game over another. You have to want to homebrew; it’s not easy and not exactly rewarding, financially or otherwise. That drives people to do some creative and interesting things.

-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?
Mattias, the fellow who did Quest Forge, since everything he said was brand new information to me.

-Favorite chiptune featured on an episode?
Brad Smith, Lizard, Root Zone.

-Favorite homebrew?
Lizard

-Favorite homebrewer?
Too hard, next!

-Most charming graphics?
Charming, eh? Julius’ work in Super Bat Puncher, or Nicholas’ work in Banana Nana.

-Most obtuse gameplay feature?
Light switches in pitch black rooms.

-What is something your co-host uniquely brings to the table?
Lots of interests outside of gaming that I do not share. We also seem to have grown up, and prefer, rather different games and genres. I’m always learning about something new when we talk.

-Given what The Collective has achieved with playable MP3 on the NES, have you considered releasing collections of Assembly Line episodes on NES cartridges?
I pitched it to Kevin a while back, and there was a concern that people either wouldn’t be interested in it (the episodes are free online after all), or that it would be seen as a cash grab. If that is something that people want to see convince Kevin to go along with my wild schemes!

-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?
Just that it’s been a wild ride with making games, and a blast to do the Assembly Line. Thanks for all of the support over the years, from the smallest kind word all of the way up to strapping in for yearlong testing sessions!

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of a series that takes a closer look at the latest homebrew games coming across the finish line, or in this case, covering two colleagues and friends who also celebrate and explore the gems you need to add to your collection. What are your thoughts on The Assembly Line? Do you have a favorite episode? Is there a game you’re dying for KHAN and Sole Goose to cover next? Perhaps you’ll see it here soon as well when…A Homebrew Draws Near! Command?
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Episode 20: Demons of Asteborg

By Scrobins, January 10, 2022

A Homebrew Draws Near!

A Homebrew Draws Near!
A blog series by @Scrobins
Episode 20: Demons of Asteborg

Introduction:
Alongside the homebrew games we’ve discovered and loved the past several years, gaming on modern platforms has enjoyed its own retro renaissance, producing games offering offer an old-school “8-bit aesthetic” that players have eaten up. These games don’t technically adhere to the limits of the beloved consoles of old, but channel our nostalgia to catch our eyes. If only a few homebrews would turn the tables, taking on the seemingly impossible task of making what looks like a modern “retro-inspired” game that actually works on the old hardware. A “modern-inspired” retro game. Oh wait, Neofid Studios did just that.
For this entry, I’m covering Demons of Asteborg, a platformer in the spirit of Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, with other elements inspired by Castlevania, Mickey Mania, Space Harrier, and Panzer Dragoon, and developed by Neofid Studios for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. As of the time of this writing, Kickstarter backers have received their games, and the game can be purchased on Steam here; and for fans of physical releases: the rom, cart-only, regular edition CIB, and Collector’s Edition CIB can be purchased from Neofid Studios’ store here.

CIB with original box art design (box art is reversible, featuring this design and Martins’)

Development Team:
Neofid Studios:
Christophe Reboul: producer
Simon Reboul: developer, level & enemy design
Christopher Rolin: art direction, level design
Commissioned Artists:
Quenvy Malavé: principal 2D animator
Diego Almeida: second 2D animator
Veli’: third 2D animator
Dillon Willette: character/enemy 2D designer
Sasa Jovanovic: 2D environments and artworks designer
Rasamimanana Cyril: 3D objects animator
Willian Gonzalez: character design and graphical assets
Luis Zuno: prototype graphical assets
Jacob Altmaan: first musician
Roland Seph: second musician
Malthilde l’Elfe des bois: box artist
Luis Martins: box/label artist

CIB with Martins’ box art design
Game Evolution:
Demons of Asteborg launched on Kickstarter on September 25, 2019. Backer tiers included the game’s rom, a cart-only option, and CIB options, with stickers, mugs, your name in the credits or on a tomb found in the game also included in the mix of options, not to mention arcade cabinets of various sizes. By the time the campaign ended, 663 supporters pledged nearly €45,000 toward the game. The final total even blew through one of its stretch goals, unlocking a hardcore mode.
On December 24, 2021, the Demons of Asteborg Twitter account announced and opened pre-orders for a limited Collector’s Edition of the game. This special run of 300 games included a special magnetic box; cartridge with new art, a new game mode, and a hidden level; plus a special manual, more stickers, postcards, map of Asteborg, a magnet, and a USB key with more game info.

The Collector’s Edition, but ya gotta act now!

Gameplay Overview:
Demons of Asteborg describes itself as an action-platformer game with Metroidvania elements. You play as Gareth, the child of a legendary witch who helped lock away the demons after a brutal war between humans and demons proved coexistence in Asteborg was no longer possible. You have trained hard under the tutelage of Bohort, chief of the royal guard and your foster father. With your training complete, and your ascension to the ranks of the royal guard in your own right, you venture out into the kingdom of Asteborg to defeat Zadimus, the returned leader of the demon army.
Gameplay consists of exploring Asteborg and defeating the demons and monsters that cross your path. In terms of basic controls, you attack with the A button (and pressing it multiple times executes a combo attack), while the B button allows you to jump (with higher jumps possible by holding the button down), and the C button unleashes a special ability acquired within each level, while pushing left/right on the d-pad moves you accordingly, and pressing down allows you to crouch. More complex actions are available as well, including rolling, wall jumps, combo attacks, and downward slashes. Magic is also a part of your skillset, with spells at your disposal that enable you to throw magic daggers, bounce back enemies and their projectiles, walk on air, and shoot flames! Don’t get too accustomed to some of these spells however, as you’ll drop each when starting the next level to make room for the next as your journey necessitates. But wait, there's more: visit the shops and peruse its wares for other attacks and abilities.

Screenshot from Demons of Asteborg
Writer’s Review:
For a game striving to push so hard against the Sega Genesis’ boundaries, Demons of Asteborg feels remarkably smooth and comfortable, leaving you to wonder why there weren’t more games like this during the console’s original lifespan. Asteborg isn’t a modern game crammed into a retro console like some square peg into a round hole, shearing off pieces as it’s forced in. No. This game was built for the 16-bit world but with modern ideas to give it a distinctive color and feel that sets it apart from its older brethren.
Gameplay looks and feels like an upgraded Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, but with more elaborate controls to add flavor to your movement and attacks (and feel significantly fairer to play). A nice touch is the fact that your abilities are not all available to you from the beginning: some abilities must be earned, while others are purchased, demanding your mastery of the fundamentals before opening up access to more advanced play. This is no easy task either, with level layouts that add some critical thinking and fast reaction timing to your platforming.

If the enemies and hazards don’t stop you, the stunning graphics might. Lush, gorgeous backgrounds and parallax scrolling create an atmosphere so breathtaking you may actually stop slashing your way through the kingdom just to admire the view. Each character and enemy sprite, especially the avatars used in dialogue boxes, are meticulously detailed as they breathe life into environments that could serve as much as a pixel-based painting as a village or mine shaft.
Meanwhile the music adds an epic adventure soundtrack that truly feels like the high fantasy cousin to Comix Zone, providing a driving momentum when you need to more forward, or mounting tension that makes a boss fight feel more daunting. Across the many homebrews I’ve played, I’ve noticed the extra effort many games’ music make to be more than something that accompanies gameplay, striving distinguish itself that much more from the licensed-era forebears ground out by companies trying to capitalize on a console’s present popularity. Here now is a soundtrack seeking to be a cut above what came before, and absolutely succeeding.

Interviews:
The development team for Demons of Asteborg includes a 3-person core team, consisting of Christophe Reboul, Simon Reboul, and Christopher Rolin, who commissioned additional art and music from an incredibly talented roster as well as the use of existing assets to create protoypes. Though I was not able to connect with everyone involved in this massive project, you can read on below to get acquainted with the many creators I was able to interview. I may have the opportunity to update this post if I receive responses from anyone after I post this.

Christophe Reboul
Neofid Technology
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer and producer? What is your origin story and the story behind Neofid Technology and Neofid Studios?
I had an early passion for video games. I remember exactly what new arcade game I saw and where I saw it. I was captivated by the screens, watching the demos for hours. I read in the magazines of the time the program lines in basic, which I knew the rudiments of even before I touched my first keyboard, that of a ZX 80 when I was 12 years old. I knew by heart all the characteristics of the microcomputers that came out at that time, even the most exotic ones, with few exceptions. I wanted to be a computer scientist to develop games, which I had never done professionally. For many years now, I have been reinvesting a significant part of my turnover in the creation of video games. With DOA, it's a childhood dream that finally came true.

Quite literally with these arcade cabinet Kickstarter tiers!

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
I stopped playing video games around the age of 30. At the beginning I had in mind to make an RPG because I keep very good memories of my Zelda games on my SNES, I had made myself a mock-up in JavaScript in 2013. But we also had the arcade game Ghosts 'n Goblins at home which Simon, my son, played a lot. It is finally this last game that was a starting point for DOA. Today, I still pay attention to the games that are released on the retro gaming scene, on the original consoles. I am amazed by the quality of recent or upcoming productions such as Xeno Crisis, Paprium, ZPF... and DOA of course!

-In addition to your producing homebrew games, you founded Neofid Technology, which has been celebrated for its web applications and work in customer loyalty software. Do you find your professional work informs your approach to homebrewing, or vice versa?
Loyalty is a very different activity from video games. Nevertheless, my double experience as a developer and as a company manager allows me to follow the work of the team while managing the project and its financing with a minimum of realism and efficiency.

-You state in your bio on Kickstarter that one of your favorite games was Ghosts ‘n Goblins, which was a strong influence on the design of Demons of Asteborg. What about that game series resonates so strongly with you?
My ex-wife-to-be was supposed to give me an engagement ring. She finally preferred to give me a gift, certainly less romantic, but which really corresponded to me: an arcade game. It was Ghosts 'n Goblins. I really like Arthur, the first video game character to end up in his underwear when he touches an enemy. I appreciate the variety of levels, the difficulty of the game and its musical atmosphere.

Screenshot from Ghost ‘n Goblins

-What was the working dynamic like across the development team and in your collaboration with various artists and developers? How did you first connect with everyone?
Two months after the success of our Kickstarter I organized a weekend with Stéphane Dallongeville, the creator of the SGDK, and Fabien Weiss, the designer of our PCB. Afterwards, Simon and Christopher chose the artists and other speakers. On my side, I took in charge the research of the suppliers of the components necessary to the realization of the cartridges. While continuing my work as a consultant to finance the game.

-With Demons of Asteborg, you’re working on a game for decades-old hardware. How does producing a game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive compare to your work developing applications on more modern platforms?
Providing a game on cartridges is a very different job from what I was doing before. It was a real challenge.

-What is the story behind Demons of Asteborg’s evolution?
In 2013 I had a project to develop a pixel art RPG playable in a browser, linked to my loyalty software. The consumer had to be able to play in his city and find the partner merchants. The software was based on OpenStreetMap data. During development we decided to reorient ourselves towards a 3D game which finally became an autonomous project. This resulted in the Caramax'Venture prototype, whose Kickstarter reached €138. We still decided to persevere, and Simon thought it would make sense to develop on the Sega Genesis, as there was an audience, and the platform fit well with our retro-gamer sensibilities.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Demons of Asteborg? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
The development took a year longer than expected. We didn't anticipate the amount of work needed to produce the game that really corresponded to our ambitions. Moreover, the financial aspect is determining to develop the game serenely, even beyond the planned deadlines. The money from the Kickstarter and the numerous pre-orders that followed helped us a lot. But it was essential for us to have additional funding. I invite future applicants not to neglect this aspect.

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
Simon and Christopher have set the bar very high. They have created a real story around the game, the levels are numerous and varied, the graphics are well done, the code exploits the possibilities of the console, and our composers have done a great job. And the best part is that the result works on a console with an 8Mhz processor and 64 Ko RAM. I am very proud of the work done by the team.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
The dream would be that the activity continues and becomes permanent. The developers are already working on a new project that will be presented on Kickstarter, probably in a few months.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I had the chance to try Paprium, and I can't wait to play ZPF.

Screenshot from Paprium by Watermelon Games

-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 for your interest in Neofid and for contributing to the success of DOA. The feedback from the fans is also very important to us and motivates us to continue. I can't wait to see them again on our next project.

Simon Reboul
@infitek
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a homebrewer? What is the origin story of Infitek?
I was lucky enough to have a father who introduced me to video game creation at a very young age! At that time I was using Game Maker, I quickly got hooked, now I mostly use other tools. For me, it was mostly a hobby, but with my colleagues, we wanted to see what we could create concretely.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Of course I was very much influenced by the classic video games of my childhood, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Castlevania SotN, Donkey Kong Country but also Demon's Crest and Ghosts 'n Goblins! Today I know a little bit more about the indie scene and I'm a big fan of Edmund MacMillen's work (Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy) I'm also watching Team Cherry who is currently working on the sequel of Hollow Knight!

-How would you describe your design aesthetic, and what to you are the hallmarks of a Simon Reboul game?
When I create a game, I try to re-transcribe the emotions I felt when I was a kid discovering a new object in Zelda Link's Awakening or a new area in Ghosts 'n Goblins, after a hard battle against a boss. This feeling of discovery, of exploration, is what I want to bring in each of my games, I think that the player must be constantly surprised by the environment and the mechanics of the game, that he wants to explore these virtual worlds from top to bottom.

-What tools do you use to code and create?
For the code part, everything is done in C with the SGDK (Sega Genesis Development Kit, created by Stéphane Dallongeville) on Visual Studio Code. We use Aseprite to edit our graphic assets, on the level design side we use Tiled to create each room of the game, then we assemble them with a software that Christopher created in C# with Unity, "DoAMap".

Stéphane Dallongeville, creator of SGDK

-You mention in your bio on Kickstarter that you practiced designing your own games since you were little. What did those games look like?
The oldest ones are obscure platformers without scrolling with Dragon Ball Z characters, or very very amateurish copies of the first Smash Bros. I think I started to get it right in 2015, when I reproduced a draft of the Zelda GB engine, more recently I really enjoyed reproducing the Golden Sun game engine!

-In addition to your work developing a homebrew game, you are a developer for Neofid Technology, which has been celebrated for its web applications and work in customer loyalty software. Do you find your professional work informs your approach to homebrewing, or vice versa?
The team cohesion that exists at Neofid Technology has really made Demons of Asteborg possible, it is not in any company that you can propose to your boss to start creating Mega Drive games! Moreover we are all passionate about video games here so it's a pleasure to work together.

-What was the working dynamic like across the development team and in your collaboration with various artists and developers? How did you first connect with everyone?
Christopher and I were really the core of the team, after a few months, Fabien a longtime friend joined us to work on the bosses and finally Stéphane Dallongeville came to give us a hand on the really technical side of the Mega Drive! Concerning our artists, we were looking for them on Fiverr with Christopher, we did a lot of tests before finding the people we wanted to work with. But we are very happy to have met them and we will certainly work with some of them in the future!

-With Demons of Asteborg, you’re working on a game for decades-old hardware. How does producing a game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive compare to your work on more modern platforms?
When you work on a hardware from that time, technical limitations are no longer a detail but a set of creative constraints that force us to think about the game differently, today when we use Unity for example, everything is taken for granted, the main character can have 64 colors that won't be a problem, on Mega Drive, every color counts, but that's not all! Tilecount, memory resources, all these elements sometimes force us to lower our ambitions. Fortunately there are many tricks and optimizations possible, but we have to keep these technical constraints in mind all the time.

-What is the story behind Demons of Asteborg’s evolution? What inspired this game into existence? What is the significance of the name Asteborg?
At the beginning we wanted to make a difficult platform game like Ghosts 'n Goblins, little by little we added some Castlevania but we wanted to keep it edgy. I think after that we really found our own way.
I'm going to disappoint you, but "Asteborg" comes from a randomly generated word, we were looking for ideas for the name of our universe and we found something very close to Asteborg, we just changed some letters and that's it!

-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?
As the creation of the game progressed, we realized that the 4MB of the cartridge was not going to be enough.
Our password system was also becoming a bit obsolete due to the amount of data we had to save, so we had to implement saves but also a Bank Switch system in order to run a 15MB cartridge on our good old Mega Drive.
As far as lessons I've learned:
-Never give a specific release date without being fully aware of the workload involved.
-Always have someone else test the game, literally everyone plays differently.

-There has been a lot of support and enthusiasm for Demons of Asteborg in the leadup to and since its Kickstarter campaign, thanks to the team’s promotional work. How does it feel to see so many people excited to play your game?
It's an amazing feeling but it's also a huge stress vector ahah, a lot of people are excited to play the game and we don't want to disappoint them!

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
Overall we are proud to have succeeded in designing a real Mega Drive game! We are also very proud of our artists who did an excellent job.
Personally I'm glad we managed to create all these unique levels and powers that allow you to progress in them!

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
We are currently working on two projects, one of which is indeed our dream project! We will communicate about it when the majority of the orders for Demons of Asteborg have been fulfilled.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I finally discovered the Homebrew scene quite late but I'm keeping a close eye on Good Boy Galaxy which will be released on GBA, On the Mega Drive side, I'm looking forward to Irena, ZPF and the Cursed Knight!

Screenshot from The Cursed Knight

-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 very much for this interview! Stay tuned for more news from the Asteborg Universe!

Christopher Rolin
@KzoroxR
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, I would love to talk about you and your background. What first inspired you to become a programmer and art director? What is the origin story of Kzorox?
When I was about 7 years old, I dreamed of becoming a "video game designer". I was fascinated by every game I played, and I spent more time contemplating them or trying to do impossible things than actually playing them!
My parents had a computer, given to them by a friend. I spent a lot of time on it, even though it annoyed my parents a lot and they would have preferred that I play outside. One of the first things I researched was "How to create Microsoft Windows", I was extremely curious.
This growing curiosity pushed me to create many small projects throughout my life. First with RPG Maker, then Game Maker and then with Unity. Eventually I decided to study computer development after high school, and I was hired as a part-time employee at Neofid. That's where my life really started.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Of course, I'm very influenced by vintage games, not only by their graphic style but also by their gameplay. It goes from the Amiga to the PlayStation, and of course our good old Mega Drive and Super Nintendo. The technical prowess of these games will always impress me.
But being quite young, my main influences are quite recent. My very first console was the Sega Saturn on which I made my first steps on Tomb Raider. Then I got a Nintendo DS and that's when I really started to explore video games. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Dragon Quest, Super Mario 64... A whole bunch of games that rocked my childhood and that influence me a lot in my projects.
Today I follow very closely the work of Hello Games which is a studio that I find very inspiring, and more recently the game Goodboy Galaxy which seems very promising. Besides, and like many, I'm waiting for the next games of bigger studios like Bethesda, or Rare.

Screenshot from Goodboy Galaxy by Rik and gecko

-Do you feel your work has a signature aesthetic that is uniquely you? How would you describe the feel of something you create?
I think that when we create a game, we have a very clear idea of what the game should look like, and we don't hesitate to look for a style several times to make it work for us.
What we can see in Demons of Asteborg and what we had in mind, it is what we wanted to achieve and what we are, and we hope that it appeals to the largest audience.

-What tools do you use to code and create?
For Mega Drive games, we use the C language and the SGDK library (Sega Genesis Development Kit). Personally, I use Visual Studio code as IDE because I find it very flexible and pleasant to use. For the level design we used Tiled which is very useful to design maps in pixel art! Of course, we have our own little tools, like DOAMap, which I designed with Unity and which allowed us to translate a Tiled map into Mega Drive code more easily.

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel art and game animation stand out?
A colorful pixel art, well contrasted, and understandable at first glance is, for me, what makes good pixel art. Sometimes, a few pixels are enough to recognize an object, and this is the great strength of pixel art in my opinion.
As far as animations are concerned, fluidity, transitions and feedback are very important to stand out from the rest.

-You also worked on level design. What are the necessary ingredients to a well-constructed game level?
The hardest thing in level design is to keep a certain coherence between the gameplay and the decorations. Simon spent a lot more time than me creating the platforms and the path to follow, while I spent more time decorating it.
For me, a good level design is when the player is pushed to explore an environment that is not too redundant in its graphics, without getting lost, and in which he takes pleasure.

-The pixel art you’ve shared on Twitter includes work for the Sega Genesis as well as art for more modern platforms. Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
When we develop on an old console, we have no choice but to do retro pixel art, because the console forces us to. However, when we develop for modern platforms, all these obligations go away, and we can really let our creativity speak. I think I prefer doing games with Unity, even if developing games on old consoles is a lot of fun!

Screenshot of pixel art by Christopher Rolin for Caramax Venture

-Tell me about your creative process while working on Demons of Asteborg?
The creative process of Demons of Asteborg is above all based on inspiration. We choose an atmosphere, we imagine a setting and a story, then we look for references to imitate what we imagine. It takes a lot of time to find the right atmosphere, the right mood that we want the player to feel.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in developing Demons of Asteborg? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
The surprises were mainly the limitations of the Mega Drive. When you start developing a game on an old console, you don't know all the tricks to achieve your goals. At the beginning of the development, we were seriously thinking about fitting Demons of Asteborg into a 4MB cartridge. We quickly realized that our ambitions were going to explode the meter to fit into a 16MB cartridge. Fortunately, Stéphane Dallongeville, the creator of the SGDK, was there to help us and advise us throughout the development. My advice would be: surround yourself with the right people!

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
I am very proud of the effects in Demons of Asteborg. It was a real challenge for all of them and I'm glad we managed to achieve them all.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon, Sega Genesis or otherwise? Any dream projects?
I can't talk too much about it, but we have already started the development sequence for our next game. It's very likely that our old console hasn't run out of steam yet!

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
As said above Goodboy Galaxy on Gameboy Advance seems promising. I'm following very closely ZPF and Irena 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?
I enjoyed answering the questions, they are all relevant!
Well, I thank our many players for having appreciated our work, it warms our hearts, and for those who have not yet played: do not hesitate to try the adventure!

Diego Almeida
@di3goalmeida
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, 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?
Well, I aways loved drawing and art stuff since childhood, my father used to play guitar and my mom likes dramaturgy and cinema a lot. So, they always supported me to become an artist. So later in university, a friend of mine said “Dude, you should work with digital art, you’ll be good on it!” After that, luckily I got an internship in a local game studio from Recife/Brazil and worked there for nine years! Where I could learn a lot about game development. And then try different styles/media, like 3d art, 2d animations, etc. Right now I’m working as pixel artist freelancer for indie companies.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
I like Mike Azevedo, Caroline Gariba, Alexandre Leoni and a lot of great illustrators around. For animation, I love those movies from Studio Ghibli. And in pixel art, I’ve been following Rafael Françoi on twitter, he is great.

Pixel art by Rafael Françoi

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
Um, I’m not sure. Maybe something related to body proportions or symmetry. I’m a little bit worried about it sometimes hahaha. But something that I’m always looking for, is try to understand what my client wants and find the best way to represent it. And I’m not afraid to redo or modify something, I’m always open for suggestions.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
Adobe Photoshop for sketching/final art and Aseprite for pixel art and animations. But I also like to create animations in Unity or Adobe Animate as well.

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel and game art stand out?
A great comprehension of color theory, perspective, and the best use of the animations principles.

-The art you’ve shared on Twitter includes work for several games on more modern platforms such as the recently funded Spell Blaster. Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
Yeah, I don’t have a preference for any platform but right now I’m working with some friends on something to mobile. And we’re really excited to see the first impressions. As I said before, I like to use Unity to implement the animations it gives me more possibilities to test and fix the animations into the game project.

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for the game, what is your composition process?
To be honest, I didn’t create too much art in Demons of Asteborg, most part of the commissions were only for animations. So I used to receive a character design already done, with one or two poses, and then create it’s animations like, idle, attack, damage.. etc. So for the animations, I like to search for references first. And then I try to “divide” the character in layers to animate it’s parts separated. Finally, I check if everything is working well and finish it.

-How did you first connect with Neofid Studios?
They just sent me an invite through http://Fiverr.com and at first I said I couldn’t because I was busy with other project. But some weeks later I got back to their messages and ask: “Do you guys still need some animations?” Hahaha! And it was great, they’re awesome clients.

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of Demons of Asteborg?
Well, it was easygoing. They’re very organized and used to send me the characters including their possible animations. So all I needed to do was create its animations and check if they worked well. Sometimes I had to modify some shapes and colors but nothing too hard and I was totally free to give suggestions as well.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Demons of Asteborg? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I had some challenges for sure. Creating animations for big characters like bosses and enemies are difficult for me. Also, those characters had crazy animations that surprised me sometimes. I think one lesson I would like to share is “Find a client that believes in your potential and respects your job”. Neofid team is amazing, totally different from other clients around.

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
I’m proud to be part of such a nice project like Demons of Asteborg, I always wanted to work on a Metroidvania. Just played this kind of game a lot when I was younger, so it gives me a nostalgic vibe. And the guys from Neofid are very professional, it was a great experience.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
Yeah, for sure. Spell Blaster is getting awesome as well, and I’ve been working on a personal project with some friends, at the same time, we’ll start the user tests as soon as possible. I’m really excited!

Screenshot from Spell Blaster by Jump Game Studio

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Yeah, I can’t wait to check the full version of a game called “Bloodless” from Point N’ Sheep. They’re an indie company from Brazil, and I had the opportunity to create some cool ideas together in a game jam. They’re awesome.

-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 also, Sean! I’m so grateful to know that there are people who admire my work. It’s really cool. Thanks a lot guys, be well and safe.

Dillon Willette
@grisknuckle
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, 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? What is the significance of the name Grisknuckle?
I've always been interested in art - my mom has piles of drawings going all the way back to when I was three, four years old. Initially, I got into pixel art when I was 11 or 12 after I discovered a forum called Pixeltendo. Eventually, I drifted away from it for a bit, but I started back up more than a decade later when I realized the community had grown so massively.
I've never been one for conventional work, so freelancing just kind of clicked with me. I don't know if I could ever go back - I really enjoy what I do.
As for the name, it's unfortunately not too creative, haha. When I was first setting up my account on Fiverr (a freelance service), the username I typically use was taken, so I had to come up with something else. I tend to be really picky about this sort of thing, so it took me a while to figure out. I was watching an interview with George R. R. Martin and when he was asked about how he comes up with names for the characters in his stories, this is what he had to say:
"I do know what's been useless to me is the online fantasy name generators. I've tried those a few times, and they say, "Just hit this button and we'll generate 50 fantasy names," and they all turn out to be ‘Grisknuckle’."
I thought it was funny, so I went with it, and that's what I've gone by ever since. I've considered rebranding a few times, but at this point, I think it's grown on me.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Oh man, this one's tough. I follow so many great artists. Deceiver (@dmitrydeceiver) has been a big one for me, even though I don't spend a ton of time trying to emulate his art. It's so unconventional, but it works, you know? Another one is Arcade Hero (@arcadehero), who actually has a game coming out soon called Bob & Bernard Against The Nazis. Something about their work is so clean - I really hope I can achieve that level of polish one day. Another few I really look up to are Thomas Feichtmeir (@cyangmou), Anokolisa (@Anokolisa) and NOP (@NOP_Pixels). Please check out their work!

Pixel art by Dmitry Deceiver

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
This is actually something I've been working on for a while, but I don't think I'm there quite yet - I'm definitely something of a generalist. Maybe that's what's uniquely me? Haha. I feel like I'm proficient in a variety of different styles, but there isn't one in specific that I stick to for everything. If anything, I strive to make whatever I'm working on look as accurate to the style I'm going for as possible. I'm a serious perfectionist - sometimes to a fault.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
A keyboard and mouse! Occasionally for larger pieces, I'll sketch something out with a tablet beforehand, but for the most part, I just stick to the basics.

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel and game art stand out?
Honestly, I think consistency is key. It doesn't matter if your game is super detailed with high-quality effects and lighting, 8-bit, 1-bit, or anything in-between. As long as the art is consistent and clean, you're going to end up with a game that looks really nice.

-The art you’ve shared on Twitter includes work geared toward more modern platforms as well as older consoles. Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
I don't think I have much of a preference, really. There's definitely a comfortable, nostalgic feeling that comes with working on projects that are trying to replicate that old-school style and I'll always love that. At the same time though, there's something really exciting about working on a project without any limitations at all, especially in a space as unexplored as modern pixel games currently are. Despite being a callback to the classics of the past, it's really starting to feel like a whole new frontier and something about that gets me really inspired.
As far as my process goes, it's very different when working within strict limitations. The whole approach is different, because a lot of the techniques I've developed over the years aren't necessarily applicable under certain sets of rules, especially in regard to things like size and color count.
I've always found working with limitations to be a compelling challenge - kind of like trying to solve a puzzle. At times it can be difficult, but when you finally figure it out, it feels so rewarding.

Robot by Grisknuckle

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for the game, what is your composition process?
I worked on a little bit of everything, from the main character to the final boss, as well as tiles, objects, backgrounds, and everything in-between. That being said, my primary focus was enemy design. For most of them, I'd be provided with a brief description of the enemy and where it can be found in the game, and I'd just go from there.
For some pieces (especially environments and bosses) I'd start with a larger sketch and build off of that until I had something that worked for both myself and the studio, and then I'd hand-pixel the finer details until it was done. For smaller enemies, characters, and objects, I'd hand-pixel from the start and then tweak it until I felt it was good enough to present.
I was given a lot of freedom with many of the designs and I'm honestly really grateful for that. I'd like to think that a lot of my own creature design influences show through in how some of the bosses look, and I'm very satisfied with the outcome.

-How did you first connect with Neofid Studios?
Initially, we connected through a freelance website called Fiverr - I was commissioned to draw the portraits (the only service I offered at the time) of the main character, which I did. The studio (thankfully) liked my artwork and we continued from there!

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of Demons of Asteborg?
It was actually a lot more laid-back than I expected. They'd send me a document with everything they were looking for, and as long as I didn't have any follow-up questions, I'd go to work! If I'm being honest, the whole process really confirmed to me that I was making the right decision in regard to my current line of work. Taking into account the aforementioned freedom I was given, how much of my own creativity I was allowed to pour into the final work, and the relaxed and flexible atmosphere of working with Neofid Studios, I knew I was where I wanted to be.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Demons of Asteborg? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Demons of Asteborg is actually the first large-scale game I've worked on. The sheer amount of work was definitely something that took me by surprise, as I was only really used to small-scale projects and individual commission work before that point.
If I had any advice to give to someone looking to work on a big game it would probably be: clear your schedule ahead of time. Trying to balance working on such a large project along with other commissions, a second job, or even just regular life stuff is not always as easy as it seems. That being said, it's absolutely worth it, as long as it's something you think you can manage. I wouldn't trade the time I spent working on Demons of Asteborg for anything - it was a truly fulfilling experience.

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
I'm really proud of some of the bosses, especially the Kraken, Big Bone, and the final boss, Kzorox. They're so big compared to everything else I did for the game, and seeing them in motion in the actual game was pretty mind-blowing for me. I also have a bit of a soft spot for the first boss in the game, the Executioner, as he was actually one of the first things I did for the game after Gareth's initial design.
In general, though, I'm proud of the game as a whole. Being involved in such a cool project really was a dream come true for me.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
I'm not currently working on anything major at the moment, though I have been emailing back and forth with Neofid Studios regarding a potential future project, so with luck, an opportunity may present itself there!
As for my dream project, it's not really anything special. I think I'd just like to make my own game at some point, which may be easier said than done because I have no idea how to code, haha. I think it'd be interesting to take a step back from the artistic end of things and see what the other side of the fence looks like.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
I've actually been out of the loop for a bit here - Demons of Asteborg was the homebrew game I was most anticipating (for obvious reasons) until it was recently released. Now that it has, I'm finally starting to look around and see what's out there (and what's on the way).
A few games I'm really looking forward to are Witchbrook, Haunted Chocolatier, and Eiyuden Chronicle. The first two are due to my love of Stardew Valley, and the third because it's a spiritual successor to my favorite game series of all time: Suikoden.

Haunted Chocolatier by ConcernedApe

-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?
Your appreciation is mutual! This interview is the first one I've ever done and I think I'll always look back on it as a really significant milestone for me.
As for the readers and fans, I'm just really grateful to all of you. I'm still pretty new to doing this professionally and I definitely don't have the biggest following, so it really means the world to me when someone takes the time to check me out.

Quenvy Malavé
@qamaart
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, 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?
Hi, my name is Quenvy Malavé (@qamaart); I'm a Professional Pixel Artist from Venezuela. I work as a freelancer making illustrations and animations for different clients, from indie studios to musicians. I create from tilesets and assets to character design and backgrounds, but my best skill, I will say, is Character Animation.
Well, those first inspirations came on my first ages watching anime series, like Dragon Ball, Rurouni Kenshin, Saint Seiya, NGE, Cowboy Bebop, Gundam Wing, Trigun, Yu Yu Hakusho, and many more. From there, I started illustrating by myself, trying to replicate those styles -like probably many artists did when they were kids. Then, when I got my first console, the PS ONE, video games started being part of my life, playing games like Mega Man Legends, Crash Bandicoot first Trilogy, CTR, Final Fantasy VII-VIII-IX, MGS 1, Tomba 2, and many others. I spent time seeing their artistic style, dreaming of being part of projects like those.
However, here in my country are no studies/careers focused on the game industry, so I studied Graphic Design, which was the closest career to my dream. But I was not completely happy with my selection, even when I was working as a graphic designer, but I continued because, you know, we have to pay the bills and bring the food to the table, haha. But in 2016, I discovered my passion. I found my love for Pixel Art when I heard about Owlboy and its gorgeous art. So I started searching more about it and how to try it on my old computer - I probably still have that first-pixel illustration on Instagram.
But I didn't start working as Pixel Artist until 2019 when I got my first commission from the team of Sons of Valhalla. After that, I have been working so hard -like a maniac, haha, to live making what I love: pixel art for video games.

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
As I mentioned, many anime series and movies, and video games influenced me, even now. But when it is about Pixel Art, games like Owlboy, Hyper Light Drifter, Enter the Gungeon, FEZ, Blasphemous, Katana Zero, Moon Lighter, Wargroover, Pathway, and Children of Morta inspire me a lot, even those old games like The King of Fighters 2003, Metal Slug, Street Fighter III, and Guilty Gear XX which styles stay fresh even these days.
Artists like Paul Robertson (@probzz), Yur Gus (@yg_fool), Simon S. Andersen (@snakepixel), Gyhyom (@gyhyom), and a special one is Mark Ferrari (@Mawkyman), from I recommend watching his GDC talk on YouTube. Those are my first inspiration for pixel art.

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
I'm always looking to make characters dynamic and exciting to watch, make them look cool even in those little details. I'm always looking to get fluency and solid and visual-communicative poses when it is about animation. It's what I keep as a priority. Bring creative solutions for any movement it's important too, to avoid creating something simplistic, without personality. Oh, and using violet-purple-based palette colors is part of my aesthetic too and is part of my signature already, haha.

-What about animation resonates so strongly with you as opposed to more static pixel art?
Animating a character could tell you even more about it without using too many words, and that is magical. You can know its personality by watching how it is walking, jumping, casting a spell, or even just drinking water.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
My primary tool for character design and animation is Aseprite. It's the one that I use every day. Then, other tools are like Pyxel Edit when it is about making tilesets, and recently, I'm adding Pixaki and its flexibility of making pixel art anywhere.

-In your opinion, what makes good game art and animation stand out?
I think that is making all with passion and hard work. Do not choose a game art style just because it is "easy to do" or it is the trend now. Choose it because you know you will be passionate about making those arts, so much that you will push more of you to get better and bring authentic pieces. Look at examples like D-Pad Studio with Owlboy, Studio MDHR with Cuphead, and even Arc System Works with Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball Fighter Z, to mention a few.

-The art you've shared on Twitter and your YouTube channel includes work for several games on more modern platforms such as Sons of Valhalla. Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
I think that all processes should be adaptive when it is about limitations, especially for Pixel Art. Thanks to the advanced tools and platforms that we have now, I like working on those that don't have limitations; that way, you can create new ways of making things and push even further the possibilities of the Pixel Art. But when you work for platforms like the Sega Mega Drive Genesis, you have to be creative to get excellent results despite the console restrictions, and that gives you an evolution in your skills.

Screenshot from Sons of Valhalla by Pixel Chest

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for the game; what is your composition process?
It all depends on whether the piece is for my portfolio or a client. When it's for me and my portfolio or content, I always search for inspiration on creative platforms like Pinterest or ArtStation, or sometimes I'm just washing dishes, and an idea comes to me hehe, then I go to find a couple of references and start sketching directly on Aseprite or Pixaki. When I finish, I usually mimic -for real, how this character will perform any action; even if they are weird creatures, you will see me trying to imitate it XD.
When it's for clients, the process is the same. Still, before starting, I ask many questions about style and specific details for the requests. Sometimes I do not design, just animate characters that they already have, so I jump to the mimic process after answering questions.

-How did you first connect with Neofid Studios?
They commissioned me for some basic animations for the first version of Gareth, which you can see on their Kickstarter campaign. Then, after switching to the new DoA's aesthetic, they contacted me again to redo the animations and make some enemies and bosses work too.

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of Demons of Asteborg?
Same as the one explained before: They sent me some characters designed by Dillon Willette (@Grisknuckle), the animations they wanted, and some specs about them, and done, I started working on the animation ideas.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Demons of Asteborg? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
Wow! Too much responsibility here, haha. I'm still learning, discovering new things every day, but what I learned working on DoA was to be fully adaptive, not only for the limitations of the platforms but also to adapt my process for making animations of a piece from other artists. As an animator, you will not always design for too, so you must be prepared for that.

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
Making the animations of the main character Gareth is definitely a conquest for me, but those that I made for their enemy bosses of the game are the ones that I must be proud of because they were my first big-character animations, and in Pixel Art, that is challenging.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
I will fall into the cliche that making my own game is my dream project, haha. I'm learning to code to bring some ideas that I have. I hope to work on them soon. There are other couples of projects with some studios that are in the oven, still in process. I hope that you hear about them near in the future.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
Sons of Valhalla is the one that I'm excited to see released. To play what the team has been creating these years, which looks fun and fabulous, and see those characters I designed and animated on the action. I also want to play Demons of Asteborg, of course, but I need to find some time for it; I spend most of my time working, hehe.

-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 will quote a phrase from Mark Ferrari (@Mawkyman) that I have in my desktop background, which is: "Enjoy the freedom of doing 8-bit art in an age it doesn't need 8-bit art... just want it."
Oh! and go a-pixel-a day (a way to say that don't be so hard with yourself, each small work made each day it's a step to your goals ;)).

Rasamimanana Cyril
@Cyrasa3D
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, 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 just liked drawing during lessons, from middle school to high school, because lessons were boring, my scores were fair, but I regret having this attitude.
I studied computer science with a 3D branch at an IT, learning how to not like coding and once I was able to do some 3D, was kinda unsatisfied with the work asked. Following with a professional license in architecture, alternating work at a company, which was a great experience.
So I ended up working as a cashier and tried to pass an exam for ENJMIN university for video games, while honing my skills during my free time, I failed the first entry…
But during the first year, I was able to do an internship at Neofid Studios, beginning with the famous tunnel level, and they allowed me to help create more content for Demons of Asteborg. So I proceeded with boulders in the sewer, some spikes, and after that Boss sprites….

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
Dead Cells is definitively the one who permitted me to think it was possible to create pixel art with 3D models.
But generally I don’t have any influences, but I admit there are peoples who puts stars in my eyes such as @SparrowLucero, @FelixColgrave and @Jnoel150 for the 2D art, and @sakuramochiJP for the outstanding technicity put in the characters.

Screenshot from Dead Cells by Motion Twin

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
No, I’m still too fresh to even pretend my aesthetic is unique. For now I prefer to create content that is faithful to the source material and style, and useable for video games.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
Blender, Substance Painter, Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop and Aseprite.

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel and game art stand out?
Sharpness and a colorful palette.

-Additionally, your specialty is 3D modeling. What inspired you to work in 3D design?
Video Games mostly enticed me to do 3D modeling. When I first learned, it was so fun to create something ugly and uncanny and see it working. It’s as if I was doing Lego in childhood but without the physical pain. Now it is mental.

-The art you’ve shared on Twitter includes work geared toward more modern platforms as well as older consoles. Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
No clearly, if it is possible for me to use 3D to get a good result I don’t care about the support, as long as the style suits my tastes.
And yes, my process depends on the result I must produce.
When you produce 3D models in order to render sprite, you almost work first with the materials and then adapt the model shapes to get a satisfying result, the sprite size influence the 3D, being less organic and simpler as the resolution is smaller, and harder to rely on 3D software.

-Tell me about the development of the art you created for the game, what is your composition process?
First, modeling, the easy part.
I create first a light source, and then a material in which a certain range of color is shown depending on the intensity of the light on the surface area of the 3D object. A constant gradient is necessary to render clean image in low resolution, while keeping as less color as possible to edit on Aseprite and applying indexed color.
You play a lot with the light source and the gradient color to get the best result

At the end, I edit it on Aseprite to refine it, and respect some rules to feel more pixel-art.

-How did you first connect with Neofid Studios?
Aurelia Sanchez, a person I can’t ever thank enough for getting me an internship among them.

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of Demons of Asteborg?
It was mostly to produce a sprite and then refine it until we come to an agreement. Pretty simple and cool process.

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Demons of Asteborg? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
The Tunnel Level was the trickiest part, it was mainly material and textures work, a thing I wasn’t good at all. To make abstract and procedural patterns both good and visible, with palette limitation and symmetry was the hardest challenge.

-Was integrating your 3D objects into the game alongside other artists’ 2D art a challenge or did everything seem to fall neatly into place?
It was mostly a challenge, I mean the bosses hands were painful to model, animate and render and yet my most prized results. But you can easily guess they are 3D.

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
Progression: the pace is good, each level must have a good balance between fight and platform, and the boss fights are a good way to conclude the level.

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
Working on a successful game, from start to end.

-Are there any homebrew games in development that you are excited to play?
No.

-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?
Most of the time I felt like I wasn’t qualified or worthy for the tasks I accepted, but fuck I craved so much to work in this domain I couldn’t bring myself to give up.

Veli’
@VeliTheTunes
-Before we dive into Demons of Asteborg, 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 always wanted to make games as a kid. Or at least work in the game sphere. So I went and studied IT, then was invited to work in a small startup as a game designer. Then when we had to decide our next project’s visual style. We a solution that would allow us to run it on any phone, so decision was made to make it in pixel art style. So I went on and researched it, started studying and trying drawing. Half a year later I left that studio but kept studying and drawing. A few years later here I am 🙂

-Who are your influences? And whose work are you watching closely now?
My main inspiration is Tsutomu Nihei, author of manga series such as BLAME, Biomega, Knights of Sidonia. And right now I'm closely following this guy https://twitter.com/Latimeriaa. I'm not sure what his name is, but he does amazing figures and models.

Tsutomu Nihei

-Do you feel that your art has any qualities that are uniquely you? How would you describe your aesthetic?
I guess? Since I'm quite bad at drawing I'm trying to overcompensate it with technique and polish. I think? Not sure, it’s hard to talk about my own style.

-What tools do you use to create your art?
Photoshop. Used to be a big GIMP fan, but the moment I had to deal with animation I cursed that software and never came back 😄

-In your opinion, what makes good pixel and game art stand out?
Good art direction. If you know why you are using pixel art, how to use it properly, your game will look great. Doesn’t matter if it’s a very primitive or technical kind of pixel art.

-The art you’ve shared on Twitter includes spites and animation for more modern platforms. Do you have a preference creating for a particular platform? Does your process differ when working within a different set of limitations?
I like modern platforms, because I can make up my own palette and choose colors that help me get the feel of the image that I'm going for. But that’s when I'm working on my personal art/project. When working for hire, I have no real preference I think? Well maybe NES is my least favorite due to its palette. I'm really bad at using it hehe. Other than that, can’t think of anything. And no, process is pretty much the same, doesn’t matter what I'm doing, I'm always working with some kind of restrictions.

-Tell me about the development of the assets you created for Demons of Asteborg, what is your composition process?
Honestly, there is nothing interesting about that process 🙂 I was just given very specific instructions of how animations had to look, sometimes with videos or gifs as references. And then I just drew it haha, what else can I say 🙂

-How did you first connect with Neofid Studios?
They found me on twitter, were really nice to me, offered a job, I agreed. That’s the story 🙂

-What was the working dynamic like in your development of Demons of Asteborg?
I'm not quite sure what this question means:) Was it nice working with Neofid Studios? Sure. One of the best experiences I had as an artist for hire. It was very easy to communicate with them, they explained what they wanted from me very well. I had a great time with them, I hope they did too with me 🙂

-What new challenges or surprises surfaced in working on Demons of Asteborg? What lessons did you learn that you would like to share with the people who aspire to follow in your footsteps?
I haven't working in this visual style before, so getting used to it was a bit of a challenge. I wasn’t sure if I would pick it up at first, but after a few animations, I got used to it and it was smooth sailing after that.

-What aspects of Demons of Asteborg are you most proud of?
That it came out haha:) Guys are beasts, did a great job with this game and survived till release. That’s quite a feat, I'm telling you. I've seen too many projects die in development hell before

-Are there any other projects you have lined up on the horizon? Any dream projects?
Nothing I can talk about sadly!

Conclusion:
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the series that provides deep dives into the latest and greatest homebrew games coming across the finish line. What are your thoughts on Demons of Asteborg and its talented development team? 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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