4 ms·

That was a fun article, surprised there is a market for new games on emulators (or really old consoles from my reading).

jsheard 3y ago
It's not a huge market, in practical terms it makes more sense for retro-inspired games to use a modern engine with self-imposed constraints rather than targeting an actual retro platform, but some developers want to go that extra mile. Another example would be Goodboy Galaxy, an original GBA game which had a very successful Kickstarter and can be bought as a real working GBA cartridge if you want. https://www.goodboygalaxy.com https://www.goodboygalaxy.com
- gauauu 3y ago
  Nathan Tolbert here (the developer in the article). It's true that it's not a huge market, but it's an interesting one. First, most of us involved are making these games because the old platforms themselves are what's interesting, so a modern engine just isn't any fun. So we're not remotely in tune with what's practical. But beyond that, the community of players and buyers in this community is very engaged and supportive, which makes it very different from other indie dev. Indie games for a lot of other platforms have a long tail... if you get noticed, you'll make good money. If not, you'll make almost nothing and it will be crickets. In NES development, you're guaranteed to have a number of people that are engaging with you and supporting your work. It's still rare to make enough money to really make it a well-paying job, but it's a lot of fun as a money-making hobby.
  - jsheard 3y ago
    Yeah I certainly get the appeal, it's analogous to the way people are still making new FPS games using the actual Doom or Quake engines rather than something modern set up to imitate them. Though that also brings its own practical problems when trying to ship a commercial product, so you've really got to be in it for the love of the old school.
- hnlmorg 3y ago
  The Gameboy and GBA have seen a surprising number of new games in recent years. And I don’t mean stuff created in GB Studio (which is itself really awesome), but actual games written from scratch in C or assembly. They seem to be quite a popular couple of platforms to develop on even today. Personally, I tend to look out more the indie Mega Drive releases but I really love the fact that people are still developing for these platforms.
  - jsheard 3y ago
    It's not a game but I'll take any opportunity to plug Overdrive 2 for the Mega Drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWVmPtr9O0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWVmPtr9O0g That system has no business producing any kind of 3D graphics but they did it anyway.
    - hnlmorg 3y ago
      Yeah seen that before. It’s definitely impressive but it’s worth noting that there are a few 3D games for the Mega Drive. Albeit games like Virtua Racing did have additional chips in the cartridge (I have a boxed copy of that cart sat behind me). The Master System had stereoscopic 3D games too. As did the Famicom. I have both of their respective 3D addons too. Missile Defence in 3D is pretty cool. Hard to believe it’s 30+ year old tech.
      - pbj1968 3y ago
        Virtua Racer was the only game with an extra chip for 3D. Everything else on that system is running straight off a ROM.
        hnlmorg 3y ago
        For some reason I thought Sega had released other games with the SVP but you’re right Virtua Racing was the only one. I think maybe I got my wires crossed with Virtua Fighter 2, which did see a Mega Drive release but as a 2D fighter (the VSP port being cancelled - presumably because of the cost of the VSP).
- doobiedowner 3y ago
  I see "pre-order" and "shipping winter '23"... :(
  - jsheard 3y ago
    The game is finished and can be bought in digital form already, but it seems the physical version got delayed by manufacturing issues unfortunately.
- lbotos 3y ago
  Thanks for this rec -- just played the demo and it's great!
VS1999 3y ago
I was surprised to see kickstarter at 21k USD to produce new NES cartridges. That system is older than most people living in the US.
doubled112 3y ago
I had a blast playing through Alwa's Awakening for NES on an emulator handheld. Well worth a few bucks. https://eldenpixels.com/alwas-awakening-nes/ https://eldenpixels.com/alwas-awakening-nes/

jsheard 3y ago

It's not a huge market, in practical terms it makes more sense for retro-inspired games to use a modern engine with self-imposed constraints rather than targeting an actual retro platform, but some developers want to go that extra mile. Another example would be Goodboy Galaxy, an original GBA game which had a very successful Kickstarter and can be bought as a real working GBA cartridge if you want. https://www.goodboygalaxy.com https://www.goodboygalaxy.com

gauauu 3y ago
Nathan Tolbert here (the developer in the article). It's true that it's not a huge market, but it's an interesting one. First, most of us involved are making these games because the old platforms themselves are what's interesting, so a modern engine just isn't any fun. So we're not remotely in tune with what's practical. But beyond that, the community of players and buyers in this community is very engaged and supportive, which makes it very different from other indie dev. Indie games for a lot of other platforms have a long tail... if you get noticed, you'll make good money. If not, you'll make almost nothing and it will be crickets. In NES development, you're guaranteed to have a number of people that are engaging with you and supporting your work. It's still rare to make enough money to really make it a well-paying job, but it's a lot of fun as a money-making hobby.
- jsheard 3y ago
  Yeah I certainly get the appeal, it's analogous to the way people are still making new FPS games using the actual Doom or Quake engines rather than something modern set up to imitate them. Though that also brings its own practical problems when trying to ship a commercial product, so you've really got to be in it for the love of the old school.
hnlmorg 3y ago
The Gameboy and GBA have seen a surprising number of new games in recent years. And I don’t mean stuff created in GB Studio (which is itself really awesome), but actual games written from scratch in C or assembly. They seem to be quite a popular couple of platforms to develop on even today. Personally, I tend to look out more the indie Mega Drive releases but I really love the fact that people are still developing for these platforms.
- jsheard 3y ago
  It's not a game but I'll take any opportunity to plug Overdrive 2 for the Mega Drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWVmPtr9O0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWVmPtr9O0g That system has no business producing any kind of 3D graphics but they did it anyway.
  - hnlmorg 3y ago
    Yeah seen that before. It’s definitely impressive but it’s worth noting that there are a few 3D games for the Mega Drive. Albeit games like Virtua Racing did have additional chips in the cartridge (I have a boxed copy of that cart sat behind me). The Master System had stereoscopic 3D games too. As did the Famicom. I have both of their respective 3D addons too. Missile Defence in 3D is pretty cool. Hard to believe it’s 30+ year old tech.
    - pbj1968 3y ago
      Virtua Racer was the only game with an extra chip for 3D. Everything else on that system is running straight off a ROM.
      - hnlmorg 3y ago
        For some reason I thought Sega had released other games with the SVP but you’re right Virtua Racing was the only one. I think maybe I got my wires crossed with Virtua Fighter 2, which did see a Mega Drive release but as a 2D fighter (the VSP port being cancelled - presumably because of the cost of the VSP).
doobiedowner 3y ago
I see "pre-order" and "shipping winter '23"... :(
- jsheard 3y ago
  The game is finished and can be bought in digital form already, but it seems the physical version got delayed by manufacturing issues unfortunately.
lbotos 3y ago
Thanks for this rec -- just played the demo and it's great!

VS1999 3y ago

I was surprised to see kickstarter at 21k USD to produce new NES cartridges. That system is older than most people living in the US.

doubled112 3y ago

I had a blast playing through Alwa's Awakening for NES on an emulator handheld. Well worth a few bucks. https://eldenpixels.com/alwas-awakening-nes/ https://eldenpixels.com/alwas-awakening-nes/