5 ms·

Very sad news. A true hacker. Started programming on a programmable calculator, with which he made games for his classmates. After he got himself a Commodore PE

by pdknsk 11y ago

Very sad news. A true hacker. Started programming on a programmable calculator, with which he made games for his classmates. After he got himself a Commodore PET, he went to Nintendo claiming he can make games for them, and so he did. Edit: I found a PET quote from Iwata Asks. http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/creators/4/0 http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/creators/4/0 > Iwata: Disassembling! Wow, that really brings back memories. I remember getting my first computer, which was a PET, and disassembling it to try and analyze it. We didn't have printers at the time, so I wrote everything on the screen by hand. I really can't believe I did that. (laughs) That's how I found out what was going on inside. > Iwata: It just so happens that a computer and the Famicom system had a similar CPU. That's why when I started working with Nintendo, I knew about the 6502 better than anybody else in the company.

Tiktaalik 11y ago
Iwata was apparently a legendary programmer. We've learned bits and pieces of his prowess in translated interviews over the years. Iwata was a lead programmer on Earthbound/Mother 2 (my favourite game of all time). The game went through a troubled development and if you trust the impressions of Itoi, the lead designer, Iwata's incredible skills saved the game from cancellation. An Earthbound fan translated a Famitsu interview from Mother 2's initial release where he talks about programming a bit. https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/weekly-famitsu-september-9-1994-2/ https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/weekly-famitsu-septe... EDIT: More here: http://earthboundcentral.com/2013/03/itoi-iwata-discuss-mother-2-before-virtual-console-release/ http://earthboundcentral.com/2013/03/itoi-iwata-discuss-moth... Incredibly, Iwata was still doing some programming work during the Gamecube era in the 2000s. http://nintendoeverything.com/iwata-on-his-super-programmer-days-helped-get-smash-bros-melee-out-on-time/ http://nintendoeverything.com/iwata-on-his-super-programmer-...
- agumonkey 11y ago
  First time I take a look at Earthbound. Fine pixel art.
  - Natsu 11y ago
    I remember waiting for it to come out after reading everything about it in Nintendo Power for months (even to the point of asking them why the Octopus Eraser turned into a Pencil Eraser). It was a great and funny game. I'm glad he saved it, because a lot of us have enjoyed it over the years. That game really rewards exploration. There are hilarious jokes hidden everywhere... even on the back of billboards :)
  - david-given 11y ago
    Earthbound's amazing. Don't let the cutesy pixel art fool you --- there's a lot more to it than first appears. And the end game boss is, like, one of the most disturbing ever. My only complaint is that it is a bit long. It'd be nice to have some cheats that would let you level up more quickly, in order to get through the story a bit more briskly. But even so it's totally worth playing, and has a killed soundtrack.
    - DiabloD3 11y ago
      First time I played it as a kid, it took me about 4-5 days to play it start to finish. Now that I've played through it at least a dozen times since then, I can do it in about 2. This is about normal for a SNES-era RPG. The end boss is maybe one of the best end bosses I've ever seen in a game, the music is absolutely amazing, and the characters are wonderful. I don't want to say anything more because not only will it be a spoiler, but it may not even make sense out of context... and once you play Earthbound, you will know exactly what I mean.
      - Scuds 11y ago
        > The end boss is maybe one of the best end bosses I've ever seen in a game, the music is absolutely amazing 8-bit chiptune throwback before throwbacks were chic = jawdropping for 1995
    - agumonkey 11y ago
      I got that it was a special game from the comments, but so far I only have screenshot to judge. I might pop an emulator to try it though.
- lookbothways 11y ago
  http://www.1101.com/home.html http://www.1101.com/home.html “When I’m parting with a friend, regardless of the circumstances, I find it best to just say, ‘See you later.’ We’ll meet again. After all, we’re friends. That’s right—nothing unusual about it. I’ll see you later. You went on a trip far, far away, even though it was planned for many years from now. You wore your best outfit and said ‘Sorry for the short notice,’ though you didn’t say it out loud. You always put yourself last, after you’d finished helping everyone else. You were so generous as a friend that this trip might be your very first selfish act. I still can’t grasp what’s happened. It feels like I could still get a light-hearted e-mail asking me out to lunch at any moment—after you’ve made sure lunch wouldn’t disrupt my schedule, of course. You can invite me out whenever you want. I’ll invite you, too. So for now, let’s plan on meeting again. You can call me up whenever you like, and I’ll give you a call, too. I still have a lot to talk to you about, and if I come up with any particularly good ideas, I’ll let you know. So let’s meet again. No–I suppose we’re already meeting. Right here, right now.” — Shigesato Itoi
  - chazu 11y ago
    Damnit now I'm crying. The fact that Iwata-san's passing is being mourned by so many around the world really speaks to his contributions to gaming, and also to the fact that video games are already - and have been for 30+ years - a true art form.
- amyjess 11y ago
  I'll probably post this as a separate submission, but EarthBound's programming was sublime. Most of the actual native 65C816 code was just a VM, and the actual game was written in a high-level language that targeted the VM. http://earthboundcentral.com/2011/04/a-look-at-the-mother-2-side/ http://earthboundcentral.com/2011/04/a-look-at-the-mother-2-...
pdknsk 11y ago
And another quote I've been meaning to find, which sums it up quite well I think. http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mario25th/4/3 http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mario25th/4/3 > Iwata: That was fun for me, too. At the time, when someone came to me and said, "I'm having trouble because there isn't enough memory," I was—to be honest—really happy. (laughs) Seeing if you could achieve programming for the same functions with a smaller amount of memory was one way for a programmer to show off. > Miyamoto: We were like, "If we just leave it to Iwata-san, he'll take care of it." (laughs) > Iwata: I enjoyed that as I worked.
- hkmurakami 11y ago
  Wow that is really Woz-like.
- VeejayRampay 11y ago
  This quote is great and especially in the Japanese where showing off is generally frowned upon at all cost (lest you do it in subtle, generally sneaky, sociably acceptable way).
NateLawson 11y ago
There's a reason the Famicom (NES) CPU was similar to the 6502 -- Ricoh copied it. They removed the BCD mode because it wasn't necessary on a game console and more importantly, MOS's patents only covered that portion of the logic. I don't remember if there's evidence for this, but I believe the experience of Iwata and the rest of the HAL Laboratory crew with the 6502 led to them choosing it for the Famicom system. There are certainly plenty of PET and VIC-20 games they developed, including this one with his name hidden in it: https://tcrf.net/Star_Battle https://tcrf.net/Star_Battle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsA8JPReMzE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsA8JPReMzE HAL Laboratory made some excellent games with their software sprite system. It's surprising that Iwata is gone so soon.
- D_Guidi 11y ago
  "Commodore: A Company on the Edge" book (http://goo.gl/y62uRe http://goo.gl/y62uRe) contains some pages about Iwata and HAL labs collaboration with Commodore

by pdknsk 11y ago

Tiktaalik 11y ago

Iwata was apparently a legendary programmer. We've learned bits and pieces of his prowess in translated interviews over the years. Iwata was a lead programmer on Earthbound/Mother 2 (my favourite game of all time). The game went through a troubled development and if you trust the impressions of Itoi, the lead designer, Iwata's incredible skills saved the game from cancellation. An Earthbound fan translated a Famitsu interview from Mother 2's initial release where he talks about programming a bit. https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/weekly-famitsu-september-9-1994-2/ https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/weekly-famitsu-septe... EDIT: More here: http://earthboundcentral.com/2013/03/itoi-iwata-discuss-mother-2-before-virtual-console-release/ http://earthboundcentral.com/2013/03/itoi-iwata-discuss-moth... Incredibly, Iwata was still doing some programming work during the Gamecube era in the 2000s. http://nintendoeverything.com/iwata-on-his-super-programmer-days-helped-get-smash-bros-melee-out-on-time/ http://nintendoeverything.com/iwata-on-his-super-programmer-...

agumonkey 11y ago
First time I take a look at Earthbound. Fine pixel art.
- Natsu 11y ago
  I remember waiting for it to come out after reading everything about it in Nintendo Power for months (even to the point of asking them why the Octopus Eraser turned into a Pencil Eraser). It was a great and funny game. I'm glad he saved it, because a lot of us have enjoyed it over the years. That game really rewards exploration. There are hilarious jokes hidden everywhere... even on the back of billboards :)
- david-given 11y ago
  Earthbound's amazing. Don't let the cutesy pixel art fool you --- there's a lot more to it than first appears. And the end game boss is, like, one of the most disturbing ever. My only complaint is that it is a bit long. It'd be nice to have some cheats that would let you level up more quickly, in order to get through the story a bit more briskly. But even so it's totally worth playing, and has a killed soundtrack.
  - DiabloD3 11y ago
    First time I played it as a kid, it took me about 4-5 days to play it start to finish. Now that I've played through it at least a dozen times since then, I can do it in about 2. This is about normal for a SNES-era RPG. The end boss is maybe one of the best end bosses I've ever seen in a game, the music is absolutely amazing, and the characters are wonderful. I don't want to say anything more because not only will it be a spoiler, but it may not even make sense out of context... and once you play Earthbound, you will know exactly what I mean.
    - Scuds 11y ago
      > The end boss is maybe one of the best end bosses I've ever seen in a game, the music is absolutely amazing 8-bit chiptune throwback before throwbacks were chic = jawdropping for 1995
  - agumonkey 11y ago
    I got that it was a special game from the comments, but so far I only have screenshot to judge. I might pop an emulator to try it though.
lookbothways 11y ago
http://www.1101.com/home.html http://www.1101.com/home.html “When I’m parting with a friend, regardless of the circumstances, I find it best to just say, ‘See you later.’ We’ll meet again. After all, we’re friends. That’s right—nothing unusual about it. I’ll see you later. You went on a trip far, far away, even though it was planned for many years from now. You wore your best outfit and said ‘Sorry for the short notice,’ though you didn’t say it out loud. You always put yourself last, after you’d finished helping everyone else. You were so generous as a friend that this trip might be your very first selfish act. I still can’t grasp what’s happened. It feels like I could still get a light-hearted e-mail asking me out to lunch at any moment—after you’ve made sure lunch wouldn’t disrupt my schedule, of course. You can invite me out whenever you want. I’ll invite you, too. So for now, let’s plan on meeting again. You can call me up whenever you like, and I’ll give you a call, too. I still have a lot to talk to you about, and if I come up with any particularly good ideas, I’ll let you know. So let’s meet again. No–I suppose we’re already meeting. Right here, right now.” — Shigesato Itoi
- chazu 11y ago
  Damnit now I'm crying. The fact that Iwata-san's passing is being mourned by so many around the world really speaks to his contributions to gaming, and also to the fact that video games are already - and have been for 30+ years - a true art form.
amyjess 11y ago
I'll probably post this as a separate submission, but EarthBound's programming was sublime. Most of the actual native 65C816 code was just a VM, and the actual game was written in a high-level language that targeted the VM. http://earthboundcentral.com/2011/04/a-look-at-the-mother-2-side/ http://earthboundcentral.com/2011/04/a-look-at-the-mother-2-...

pdknsk 11y ago

And another quote I've been meaning to find, which sums it up quite well I think. http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mario25th/4/3 http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mario25th/4/3 > Iwata: That was fun for me, too. At the time, when someone came to me and said, "I'm having trouble because there isn't enough memory," I was—to be honest—really happy. (laughs) Seeing if you could achieve programming for the same functions with a smaller amount of memory was one way for a programmer to show off. > Miyamoto: We were like, "If we just leave it to Iwata-san, he'll take care of it." (laughs) > Iwata: I enjoyed that as I worked.

hkmurakami 11y ago
Wow that is really Woz-like.
VeejayRampay 11y ago
This quote is great and especially in the Japanese where showing off is generally frowned upon at all cost (lest you do it in subtle, generally sneaky, sociably acceptable way).

NateLawson 11y ago

There's a reason the Famicom (NES) CPU was similar to the 6502 -- Ricoh copied it. They removed the BCD mode because it wasn't necessary on a game console and more importantly, MOS's patents only covered that portion of the logic. I don't remember if there's evidence for this, but I believe the experience of Iwata and the rest of the HAL Laboratory crew with the 6502 led to them choosing it for the Famicom system. There are certainly plenty of PET and VIC-20 games they developed, including this one with his name hidden in it: https://tcrf.net/Star_Battle https://tcrf.net/Star_Battle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsA8JPReMzE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsA8JPReMzE HAL Laboratory made some excellent games with their software sprite system. It's surprising that Iwata is gone so soon.

D_Guidi 11y ago
"Commodore: A Company on the Edge" book (http://goo.gl/y62uRe http://goo.gl/y62uRe) contains some pages about Iwata and HAL labs collaboration with Commodore