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Exploring the Gameboy Memory Bank Controller (2020)

52 points by ecliptik 4y ago

rosywoozlechan 4y ago
it's interesting that with game cartridges not only did game developers have to write code, they also had to possibly design and manufacture circuitry for the cartridges they would ship their games on.
- anthk 4y ago
  Not always; they were standard bank formats. Both for the GB and the NES.
userbinator 4y ago
Bank-switching is still quite common in microcontrollers at the low end of the market, mainly 8 and 16-bit ones. It also allowed Nintendo to have a stronger case against 3rd party companies making their own cartridges, as the nintendo logo is copyrighted More precisely trademarked, but that eventually lead to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade which effectively stopped the practice.
causality0 4y ago
Old hardware and software like this has such an incredible "cool" factor. I wish my overstimulated brain weren't so burnt out I can't be transported by games like this like I was as a child.
smburdick 4y ago
> When developing a game, it was and still is important to consider the size of the final product (unless you’re Call of Duty). :-)
butz 4y ago
Its amazing, how cartridge based games could extend hardware capabilities by adding their own circuits, like rumble, tilt controls, camera, even battery to save game was huge innovation. I wonder what kind of innovations from hardware side could be released today, if most games still came on huge cartridges?
- anthk 4y ago
  $200 games (compared to $100 in the 90's) with its own GPU.
- hyperman1 4y ago
  Not only games. Here is elektor adding oscilloscope hardware to a gameboy. https://www.elektormagazine.nl/news/nu-in-de-elektor-outlet-de-fameuze-gbdsomodule-met-50-korting https://www.elektormagazine.nl/news/nu-in-de-elektor-outlet-...
anthk 4y ago
Game Boy disassembler: https://github.com/mattcurrie/mgbdis https://github.com/mattcurrie/mgbdis You can compile the ROM's back with rgbds: https://github.com/gbdev/rgbds https://github.com/gbdev/rgbds Here you can see how bank switching works. Also, recent versions of file(1) from Unix can parse GB ROM headers too.
itsjloh 4y ago
Rodrigo Copetti has some good in depth articles on lot of consoles over on their website. The Game Boy one is here https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/game-boy/ https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/game-boy/

52 points by ecliptik 4y ago

it's interesting that with game cartridges not only did game developers have to write code, they also had to possibly design and manufacture circuitry for the cartridges they would ship their games on.

anthk 4y ago
Not always; they were standard bank formats. Both for the GB and the NES.

userbinator 4y ago

Bank-switching is still quite common in microcontrollers at the low end of the market, mainly 8 and 16-bit ones. It also allowed Nintendo to have a stronger case against 3rd party companies making their own cartridges, as the nintendo logo is copyrighted More precisely trademarked, but that eventually lead to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade which effectively stopped the practice.

causality0 4y ago

Old hardware and software like this has such an incredible "cool" factor. I wish my overstimulated brain weren't so burnt out I can't be transported by games like this like I was as a child.

smburdick 4y ago

> When developing a game, it was and still is important to consider the size of the final product (unless you’re Call of Duty). :-)

butz 4y ago

Its amazing, how cartridge based games could extend hardware capabilities by adding their own circuits, like rumble, tilt controls, camera, even battery to save game was huge innovation. I wonder what kind of innovations from hardware side could be released today, if most games still came on huge cartridges?

anthk 4y ago
$200 games (compared to $100 in the 90's) with its own GPU.
hyperman1 4y ago
Not only games. Here is elektor adding oscilloscope hardware to a gameboy. https://www.elektormagazine.nl/news/nu-in-de-elektor-outlet-de-fameuze-gbdsomodule-met-50-korting https://www.elektormagazine.nl/news/nu-in-de-elektor-outlet-...

anthk 4y ago

Game Boy disassembler: https://github.com/mattcurrie/mgbdis https://github.com/mattcurrie/mgbdis You can compile the ROM's back with rgbds: https://github.com/gbdev/rgbds https://github.com/gbdev/rgbds Here you can see how bank switching works. Also, recent versions of file(1) from Unix can parse GB ROM headers too.

itsjloh 4y ago

Rodrigo Copetti has some good in depth articles on lot of consoles over on their website. The Game Boy one is here https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/game-boy/ https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/game-boy/