6 ms·

Release of Infinity for Game Boy Color in Unfinished Form

147 points by sidcool 10y ago

aresant 10y ago
Quick game vid -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bi_c47t-R8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bi_c47t-R8 Detailed game vid -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrwJdDzpb_w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrwJdDzpb_w
- stryk 10y ago
  The music that starts around 11:36 in the 'detailed game vid' (when the fight with the Golems starts) is freakin' incredible!
oddevan 10y ago
Reading through the 2001-era blog posts, it looks like they ran out of time. Not necessarily money or arbitrary publisher deadlines, but the viability of the Game Boy Color as a platform with the freshly-released Game Boy Advance. Major props to whatever lawyer or artist or whoever had to sign off to get this ROM dump to happen; it's nice to see art like this not get lost to the ether.
- LukeShu 10y ago
  Not just a ROM dump! Source code too! (unfortunately, they chose non-Free CC ND licenses, though I understand why. It's still exciting!) I really wish that more games had their source released after their period of commercial viability has passed; whether or not the ever got released.
  - luchs 10y ago
    Looking at the source code, it's actually licensed under the GPLv3 as well, so the software seems to be free, just the resources and game content aren't.
    - LukeShu 10y ago
      That's fantastic! I was just going off of the README without looking too deep. You are correct.
- nsxwolf 10y ago
  It's a shame though, since the GBA is backwards compatible with Gameboy Color. And eventually we saw PS3 owners continuing to buy new PS2 releases. Too bad nobody took a chance on releasing this.
  - clevernickname 10y ago
    Lots of great games didn't sell because they were non-franchise titles released at the end of their platform's life. Shantae, Drill Dozer... It sucks, but it was probably the right business decision.
- jkarneges 10y ago
  Time, but we were also told that RPGs don't sell very well either, nor do non-franchise games. Our mistake was not thinking to secure a publisher prior to development, though that may have affected the game direction (one publisher told us to replace the hero with a Disney character...).
  - oddevan 10y ago
    Can I assume these issues meant a GBA port wasn't feasible? (Also, as someone who spends a lot of time with fan works often considered second-fiddle to original creations, I find the idea of you being explicitly told to use an established character... frustrating.)
    - jkarneges 10y ago
      We considered a port, but it would have been a ton of work (half the game is written in assembly language, plus we'd need to redo assets, rework it for different screen resolution, etc) and we'd still need a publisher. We were pretty burned out by the end of it.
      - scott_s 10y ago
        Very understandable. I just wanted to say that the screenshots and the gameplay videos of this game struck a chord with me. That's some beautiful sprite work. I particularly like the overworld.
        jkarneges 10y ago
        Thanks, we tried to make it look as good as it could on the GBC hardware. In fact, until videos of the game were posted, some people even thought we faked the screenshots. And now you don't just have to look at it. Go play. :)
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
cwkoss 10y ago
I recently downloaded "My OldBoy Free" a gameboy color emulator for Android phones, and am really impressed with it. With only a D-pad and two buttons, its still easy enough to control with a touch screen, and the 2x speed feature lets you avoid the often-slow pace of these classic games when you wish to. Supposedly you can also use a wireless 'link cable', which sounds cool but I haven't tried it yet - might only be the paid version. Pokemon Blue was a favorite game in grade school, and playing it again is a lot of fun. Nintendo could double their revenue if they released an official emulator in the mobile app store. I hardly ever spend money for mobile games, but would happily drop $5 per title. The quality and depth of these old titles puts almost every modern mobile game to shame.
- asimuvPR 10y ago
  I would buy the emulator from Nintendo and a controller that would fit android phones too. IMO, the touchscreen joypad is iffy.
  - icebraining 10y ago
    I've been playing with an USB NES Controller; they cost less than $5 nowadays and using a OTG cable and the My Boy emulator, it was literally plug-n-play.
    - asimuvPR 10y ago
      Mind sharing a link to the one you are using? :)
      - icebraining 10y ago
        I literally went on eBay, searched for "usb nes controller" and bought the cheapest one :)
        asimuvPR 10y ago
        Ok thanks! :)
based2 10y ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/4xtvxl/infinity_unfinished_2000era_game_boy_color_game/ https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/4xtvxl/infinit...
geori 10y ago
Congrats Justin and team! I love seeing this game finally get released. A lot of hard work went in to putting it together. Plus, it's great to see a former TI Calculator hacker bringing back the nostalgia of old games. Long live Joltima! :)
- jkarneges 10y ago
  Thanks Harper! It has been a long time. Speaking of calculators, the build instructions even link to ticalc.org (only place I could find the right version of TASM... :P)
stuaxo 10y ago
Any chance of putting a javascript GBC emulator on the website so it can be played from there ?

147 points by sidcool 10y ago

Quick game vid -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bi_c47t-R8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bi_c47t-R8 Detailed game vid -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrwJdDzpb_w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrwJdDzpb_w

stryk 10y ago
The music that starts around 11:36 in the 'detailed game vid' (when the fight with the Golems starts) is freakin' incredible!

oddevan 10y ago

Reading through the 2001-era blog posts, it looks like they ran out of time. Not necessarily money or arbitrary publisher deadlines, but the viability of the Game Boy Color as a platform with the freshly-released Game Boy Advance. Major props to whatever lawyer or artist or whoever had to sign off to get this ROM dump to happen; it's nice to see art like this not get lost to the ether.

LukeShu 10y ago
Not just a ROM dump! Source code too! (unfortunately, they chose non-Free CC ND licenses, though I understand why. It's still exciting!) I really wish that more games had their source released after their period of commercial viability has passed; whether or not the ever got released.
- luchs 10y ago
  Looking at the source code, it's actually licensed under the GPLv3 as well, so the software seems to be free, just the resources and game content aren't.
  - LukeShu 10y ago
    That's fantastic! I was just going off of the README without looking too deep. You are correct.
nsxwolf 10y ago
It's a shame though, since the GBA is backwards compatible with Gameboy Color. And eventually we saw PS3 owners continuing to buy new PS2 releases. Too bad nobody took a chance on releasing this.
- clevernickname 10y ago
  Lots of great games didn't sell because they were non-franchise titles released at the end of their platform's life. Shantae, Drill Dozer... It sucks, but it was probably the right business decision.
jkarneges 10y ago
Time, but we were also told that RPGs don't sell very well either, nor do non-franchise games. Our mistake was not thinking to secure a publisher prior to development, though that may have affected the game direction (one publisher told us to replace the hero with a Disney character...).
- oddevan 10y ago
  Can I assume these issues meant a GBA port wasn't feasible? (Also, as someone who spends a lot of time with fan works often considered second-fiddle to original creations, I find the idea of you being explicitly told to use an established character... frustrating.)
  - jkarneges 10y ago
    We considered a port, but it would have been a ton of work (half the game is written in assembly language, plus we'd need to redo assets, rework it for different screen resolution, etc) and we'd still need a publisher. We were pretty burned out by the end of it.
    - scott_s 10y ago
      Very understandable. I just wanted to say that the screenshots and the gameplay videos of this game struck a chord with me. That's some beautiful sprite work. I particularly like the overworld.
      - jkarneges 10y ago
        Thanks, we tried to make it look as good as it could on the GBC hardware. In fact, until videos of the game were posted, some people even thought we faked the screenshots. And now you don't just have to look at it. Go play. :)

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

cwkoss 10y ago

I recently downloaded "My OldBoy Free" a gameboy color emulator for Android phones, and am really impressed with it. With only a D-pad and two buttons, its still easy enough to control with a touch screen, and the 2x speed feature lets you avoid the often-slow pace of these classic games when you wish to. Supposedly you can also use a wireless 'link cable', which sounds cool but I haven't tried it yet - might only be the paid version. Pokemon Blue was a favorite game in grade school, and playing it again is a lot of fun. Nintendo could double their revenue if they released an official emulator in the mobile app store. I hardly ever spend money for mobile games, but would happily drop $5 per title. The quality and depth of these old titles puts almost every modern mobile game to shame.

asimuvPR 10y ago
I would buy the emulator from Nintendo and a controller that would fit android phones too. IMO, the touchscreen joypad is iffy.
- icebraining 10y ago
  I've been playing with an USB NES Controller; they cost less than $5 nowadays and using a OTG cable and the My Boy emulator, it was literally plug-n-play.
  - asimuvPR 10y ago
    Mind sharing a link to the one you are using? :)
    - icebraining 10y ago
      I literally went on eBay, searched for "usb nes controller" and bought the cheapest one :)
      - asimuvPR 10y ago
        Ok thanks! :)

based2 10y ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/4xtvxl/infinity_unfinished_2000era_game_boy_color_game/ https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/4xtvxl/infinit...

geori 10y ago

Congrats Justin and team! I love seeing this game finally get released. A lot of hard work went in to putting it together. Plus, it's great to see a former TI Calculator hacker bringing back the nostalgia of old games. Long live Joltima! :)

jkarneges 10y ago
Thanks Harper! It has been a long time. Speaking of calculators, the build instructions even link to ticalc.org (only place I could find the right version of TASM... :P)

stuaxo 10y ago

Any chance of putting a javascript GBC emulator on the website so it can be played from there ?