5 ms·

The (S)NES classic editions have demonstrated the clear appeal of these older platforms. I think Nintendo/Sega/etc could rake in a lot of cash if they designed

The (S)NES classic editions have demonstrated the clear appeal of these older platforms. I think Nintendo/Sega/etc could rake in a lot of cash if they designed new games for these old systems. I would love to see a new Super Mario World-esque game that operated within the confines of the classic SNES.

carc1n0gen 9y ago
Have you ever tried out a "rom hack"? People often alter ROMs code to make entirely new worlds/levels. Pair them with something like an ever drive and you get to play them on the real hardware.
- gavanwoolery 9y ago
  I once tried to create a legitimate ROM for the Gameboy Advance but it was obviously pretty involved. For those interested, plenty of resources such as: http://www.loirak.com/gameboy/gbatutor.php http://www.loirak.com/gameboy/gbatutor.php
  - eropple 9y ago
    Yeah - GBA homebrew is hard. Mostly because it's a modern processor (it's an ARM7TDMI) with some really nutty RAM and graphical limitations. But any 8-bit or most 16-bit systems (except the Genesis, which is something of a kludge) are pretty straightforward. I do streaming charity events on occasion and an idea I've had is collaboratively writing an NES game over the course of a weekend, on-camera.
    - hrydgard 9y ago
      What? GBA is clearly easier than NES. Just set up a single tile layer in mode 0, and you got what's practically a NES with more colors, sprites and a much more powerful CPU that you can program in C++ if you like.
      - eropple 9y ago
        Sure, if you sit in mode 0 it's pretty simple. But if you're writing code for the GBA, you're probably gonna want to do stuff with the GBA's feature set, yeah? The bitmap modes, affine sprites and layers, sound, etc. get a little bit complicated. It's all stuff you can learn, don't get me wrong, and it's not like it's not so weird that knowledge you'd acquire from using other systems isn't applicable--but I find that there's a lot more that I had to have in my head when playing around with it than the NES (or systems I lean towards more, like the C64). It's a great platform to mess around with, but it is more complex. But if you're not going to use that complexity, for homebrew--I dunno, I'd just go grab a NES emulator. GNU C++ had gremlins for the GBA last time I was writing homebrew for it, so I can't speak to that. I kinda enjoy writing assembly when messing around with this stuff, though, so, eh. For anything else, I love me some (Modern!) C++, but it kind of feels like I should be writing assembly for that stuff, it's more fun to me. Do me a favor and chew on something for a sec, though: what does your "What?" do except add a hostile and combative edge to the conversation? Maybe don't do that. Thanks.
      - khedoros1 9y ago
        > GBA is clearly easier than NES. The NES is a much simpler system. Granted, it's a simpler system that you're programming in a less-convenient language, but I think that which one is "easier" depends on what you're used to.
    - planteen 9y ago
      Most 8-bit systems perform poorly with C compilers so you are looking at writing in ASM. Additionally, there are all kinds of messy things like "mappers" on NES and GB to handle bank switching of the severely limited address space. GBA lets you use C without bank switching. I'd say it is far easier than the older generations.
      - eropple 9y ago
        If you want to write C, that's an absolutely fair cop. I would much rather write assembly for this stuff--as I mentioned in a sibling, it sorta feels right?--so that wasn't something I was thinking about. Rather, the profusion of features that are kinda tricky (mentioned in that sibling) along with the ARM/Thumb mess.
- KGIII 9y ago
  People are making new games for the old systems. It's quite an active community. They make and sell cartridges that have brand new games on them. I dug out a link, but it's just the tip of the iceberg: https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/9/15584416/new-games-retro-consoles-nes-snes-sega-genesis-famicom https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/9/15584416/new-games-retro-c...
  - BearGoesChirp 9y ago
    Just a word of caution for anyone looking to buy rom hack cartridges, many rom hacks were never intended to be put on cartridges and the original rom hack developers do not support nor benefit from doing so. It's also possible the rom hack on the cartridge isn't the final version.
    - KGIII 9y ago
      I am not sure I understand, so I will defer to you. My understanding was that independent game authors were writing games and making cartridges for these games which they then sold. If I am understanding you correctly, somewhere in this chain is copyright infringement? Are people buying a cartridge, extracting the content, and loading it into new cartridges? Is the market large enough to support that much effort and expense? Or are people finding roms, perhaps intended for use with emulators, and loading those onto physical cartridges and selling them without renumeration or permission? If so, is the market large enough for that to go unnoticed? My understanding was a successful new game might sell a few thousand cartridges and great success was in the 10,000 units sold area. Being so small a market, and requiring the investment to even make the cartridges, it'd seem easier to spot this (from the IP owner's perspective) and seek preventative legal responses. Sort of related: I know this requires some specialized equipment to make new cartridges, but do you know if they sell blank cartridges that can just be loaded with games? I am aware that some cartridges had custom chips on them and didn't confirm to any standard, like Zelda cartridges that contained memory and a chip for saving game states. I am guessing, hopefully, that you know more about this stuff than I do.
      - khedoros1 9y ago
chrisballinger 9y ago
I had a lot of fun with the NES-style Mega Man 9, which was released in 2008. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_9
sleepybrett 9y ago
Nintendo effectively did this for mario games with mariomaker. Sadly still not out on the switch yet.
BearGoesChirp 9y ago
I'm not sure what would be earned for developing such a game verses developing one on a modern system that looks like it could have been from that era. It would likely cost less to develop and would be easier for the average consumer to use. I've played a number of 16-bit games since that time, and some manage to pull of a similar feeling.
- gavanwoolery 9y ago
  That's true, although I guess there is some sort of value for people using "authentic" stuff instead of emulators, etc (even though the SNES classic likely runs on an emulator, it still feels more like the old device). Primarily, I am interested in seeing another effective 2D Mario with the same charm and style as the SNES games - I do not care so much if it is running on a modern system. :)
  - khedoros1 9y ago
    > (even though the SNES classic likely runs on an emulator, it still feels more like the old device). Yep, the NES and SNES classic things run an emulator on a little ARM computer. It's possible to replace the games with other games, or to copy the emulator off and get it working on something like a Raspberry Pi.

carc1n0gen 9y ago

Have you ever tried out a "rom hack"? People often alter ROMs code to make entirely new worlds/levels. Pair them with something like an ever drive and you get to play them on the real hardware.

gavanwoolery 9y ago
I once tried to create a legitimate ROM for the Gameboy Advance but it was obviously pretty involved. For those interested, plenty of resources such as: http://www.loirak.com/gameboy/gbatutor.php http://www.loirak.com/gameboy/gbatutor.php
- eropple 9y ago
  Yeah - GBA homebrew is hard. Mostly because it's a modern processor (it's an ARM7TDMI) with some really nutty RAM and graphical limitations. But any 8-bit or most 16-bit systems (except the Genesis, which is something of a kludge) are pretty straightforward. I do streaming charity events on occasion and an idea I've had is collaboratively writing an NES game over the course of a weekend, on-camera.
  - hrydgard 9y ago
    What? GBA is clearly easier than NES. Just set up a single tile layer in mode 0, and you got what's practically a NES with more colors, sprites and a much more powerful CPU that you can program in C++ if you like.
    - eropple 9y ago
      Sure, if you sit in mode 0 it's pretty simple. But if you're writing code for the GBA, you're probably gonna want to do stuff with the GBA's feature set, yeah? The bitmap modes, affine sprites and layers, sound, etc. get a little bit complicated. It's all stuff you can learn, don't get me wrong, and it's not like it's not so weird that knowledge you'd acquire from using other systems isn't applicable--but I find that there's a lot more that I had to have in my head when playing around with it than the NES (or systems I lean towards more, like the C64). It's a great platform to mess around with, but it is more complex. But if you're not going to use that complexity, for homebrew--I dunno, I'd just go grab a NES emulator. GNU C++ had gremlins for the GBA last time I was writing homebrew for it, so I can't speak to that. I kinda enjoy writing assembly when messing around with this stuff, though, so, eh. For anything else, I love me some (Modern!) C++, but it kind of feels like I should be writing assembly for that stuff, it's more fun to me. Do me a favor and chew on something for a sec, though: what does your "What?" do except add a hostile and combative edge to the conversation? Maybe don't do that. Thanks.
    - khedoros1 9y ago
      > GBA is clearly easier than NES. The NES is a much simpler system. Granted, it's a simpler system that you're programming in a less-convenient language, but I think that which one is "easier" depends on what you're used to.
  - planteen 9y ago
    Most 8-bit systems perform poorly with C compilers so you are looking at writing in ASM. Additionally, there are all kinds of messy things like "mappers" on NES and GB to handle bank switching of the severely limited address space. GBA lets you use C without bank switching. I'd say it is far easier than the older generations.
    - eropple 9y ago
      If you want to write C, that's an absolutely fair cop. I would much rather write assembly for this stuff--as I mentioned in a sibling, it sorta feels right?--so that wasn't something I was thinking about. Rather, the profusion of features that are kinda tricky (mentioned in that sibling) along with the ARM/Thumb mess.
KGIII 9y ago
People are making new games for the old systems. It's quite an active community. They make and sell cartridges that have brand new games on them. I dug out a link, but it's just the tip of the iceberg: https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/9/15584416/new-games-retro-consoles-nes-snes-sega-genesis-famicom https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/9/15584416/new-games-retro-c...
- BearGoesChirp 9y ago
  Just a word of caution for anyone looking to buy rom hack cartridges, many rom hacks were never intended to be put on cartridges and the original rom hack developers do not support nor benefit from doing so. It's also possible the rom hack on the cartridge isn't the final version.
  - KGIII 9y ago
    I am not sure I understand, so I will defer to you. My understanding was that independent game authors were writing games and making cartridges for these games which they then sold. If I am understanding you correctly, somewhere in this chain is copyright infringement? Are people buying a cartridge, extracting the content, and loading it into new cartridges? Is the market large enough to support that much effort and expense? Or are people finding roms, perhaps intended for use with emulators, and loading those onto physical cartridges and selling them without renumeration or permission? If so, is the market large enough for that to go unnoticed? My understanding was a successful new game might sell a few thousand cartridges and great success was in the 10,000 units sold area. Being so small a market, and requiring the investment to even make the cartridges, it'd seem easier to spot this (from the IP owner's perspective) and seek preventative legal responses. Sort of related: I know this requires some specialized equipment to make new cartridges, but do you know if they sell blank cartridges that can just be loaded with games? I am aware that some cartridges had custom chips on them and didn't confirm to any standard, like Zelda cartridges that contained memory and a chip for saving game states. I am guessing, hopefully, that you know more about this stuff than I do.
    - khedoros1 9y ago

chrisballinger 9y ago

I had a lot of fun with the NES-style Mega Man 9, which was released in 2008. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_9

sleepybrett 9y ago

Nintendo effectively did this for mario games with mariomaker. Sadly still not out on the switch yet.

BearGoesChirp 9y ago

I'm not sure what would be earned for developing such a game verses developing one on a modern system that looks like it could have been from that era. It would likely cost less to develop and would be easier for the average consumer to use. I've played a number of 16-bit games since that time, and some manage to pull of a similar feeling.

gavanwoolery 9y ago
That's true, although I guess there is some sort of value for people using "authentic" stuff instead of emulators, etc (even though the SNES classic likely runs on an emulator, it still feels more like the old device). Primarily, I am interested in seeing another effective 2D Mario with the same charm and style as the SNES games - I do not care so much if it is running on a modern system. :)
- khedoros1 9y ago
  > (even though the SNES classic likely runs on an emulator, it still feels more like the old device). Yep, the NES and SNES classic things run an emulator on a little ARM computer. It's possible to replace the games with other games, or to copy the emulator off and get it working on something like a Raspberry Pi.