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The NES Homebrew Scene

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Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#41

Post by redler »

jacquesm wrote: post #25
dietrichepp wrote: post #15

I recently started work on an NES project, and wrote the first part of it up: https://www.moria.us/blog/2018/03/nes-development It's a lot of work. I've managed to get data from Tiled into my ROM image, and I'm working on figuring out an architecture for scrolling and displaying a status bar. Implementing scrolling and a status bar sounds simple but is actually a total pain. You only have two screens of tiles to work…

But programming with restrictions like that will make you a better programmer. Nothing brings out creativity better than a limiting environment.

“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations” (attributed to Orson Welles)

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#42

Post by foobarrio »

nkozyra wrote: post #4

The best games age well. People still play pac man. People still play Mario. That said, the aesthetic is absolutely nostalgic.

The aesthetic serves a purpose though. Hi-fi 3D game assets take orders of magnitude more work to create than low-fi 2D ones. I agree that nostalgia and familiarity are what allows gamers to accept NES-style graphics as a valid form of low-fi 2D art. The creator of Stardew Valley mentioned he wouldn't have been able to finish the game had he had to create 3D assets that looked as good to people as the current 2D art.

Having people accept NES-style pixel art is a boon to indie devs. Games like Super Meat Boy have higher res 2D graphics but is still a similar aesthetic. Low-fi poly is also a retro art style. However I've noticed that low-fi poly games are still rendered in high resolution and using more advanced lighting techniques so still requires more work than low-fi 2D.

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#43

Post by trentnix »

ASalazarMX wrote: post #38
trentnix wrote: post #34

Love the NES and love retro gaming, but the article completely contradicts itself. It's not just driven by nostalgia, but... It says something about the legacy of the NES that most homebrewers continue to make games for the system for reasons other than nostalgia. It’s mostly because they love the NES. “I’ve always wanted to create NES games, ever since I was a kid. I remember sitting around drawing maps on paper, da…

"The NES Homebrew Scene Is Driven by Nostalgia" Hey, why isn't anyone reading our article?

"You Won't Believe These NES Homebrew Games!"

"Crazy! The NES Homebrew Scene Thrives Like You Wouldn't Believe!"

"When You Read About These NEW Homebrew Games, You'll Never Game the Same Again!"

"I Played NEW Homebrew Games - What Happened Next Blew My Mind!"

Now they'll read it.

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#44

Post by kalleboo »

dietrichepp wrote: post #15

I recently started work on an NES project, and wrote the first part of it up: https://www.moria.us/blog/2018/03/nes-development It's a lot of work. I've managed to get data from Tiled into my ROM image, and I'm working on figuring out an architecture for scrolling and displaying a status bar. Implementing scrolling and a status bar sounds simple but is actually a total pain. You only have two screens of tiles to work…

I liked this video explanation of NES scrolling ("The Nintendo Entertainment System's Loading Seam" by Retro Game Mechanics Explained) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfrNnwJrujw

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#46

Post by pubby »

Nowdays, it's impossible to do modern programming without relying on millions of lines of other people's code. It's frameworks and libraries all the way down.

On the NES however, every line of code is yours. There's no such thing as libraries, operating systems, or frameworks. They don't exist. It's refreshing.

One of the big problems of modern programming is how easy it is to add complexity. As Charles Moore once said:

>"Simplify the problem you've got or rather don't complexify it. I've done it myself, it's fun to do. You have a boring problem and hiding behind it is a much more interesting problem. So you code the more interesting problem and the one you've got is a subset of it and it falls out trivial. But of course you wrote ten times as much code as you needed to solve the problem that you actually had."

It's easy to add complexity on modern systems, but it's hard on the NES. The programming too clunky; it's too much work to anything but simple things. For that reason, it's far more common to simplify the problem and reduce features rather than add them. It's a wonderful thing.

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#47

Post by s73v3r_ »

ythn wrote: post #8
ashleyn wrote: post #3

The appeal of retro console/computer dev is essentially an exercise in constrained programming. Systems of these era had extremely constrained specifications, and making the most of them is an art in itself.

Sometimes I wish we had more constraints because I fear we've all forgotten how to write fast and lean code in favor of semi-fast but very bloated code. I remember back when I first used Windows 95, opening programs was very snappy and I was impressed. I imagined Windows of the future being even snappier, but somehow the opposite has happened. Now every application takes a long time to boot up, check for updates, etc…

Define "bloated code".

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#48

Post by ansible »

agentultra wrote: post #7

I literally just wrote my first ROM that displays a green box on a black background working on my retropie machine last night. The NES homebrew scene is pretty cool and the tools and languages have come a long way. One interesting avenue that might be work exploring is to use code generation and CSPs to generate and shrink code. It's a lot of fun. It's why I like the PICO8. Constraints are interesting. I just wish I…

> Constraints are interesting.

Constraints are also helpful when working towards a sense of mastery.

Look at a modern operating system (or console) for that matter. So much capability, so much complexity. You'll never learn it all, never be able to master it.

Heck, just truly understanding the machine code of a modern processor, and knowing everything it does and can do is quite a daunting task.

These older 8-bit systems (NES, C64, etc.) in contrast are much easier to completely understand. If you are willing to live within the limitations, you can create something really awesome, and be able to leverage the full extent of the system's capabilities.

That provides enormous satisfaction to some.

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#49

Post by [deleted] »

jsheard wrote: post #9
ashleyn wrote: post #3

The appeal of retro console/computer dev is essentially an exercise in constrained programming. Systems of these era had extremely constrained specifications, and making the most of them is an art in itself.

It's really amazing how people keep finding ways to make old hardware do new tricks. Overdrive 2 is my favorite example - it's a Sega Megadrive demo that was released 30 years after the Megadrive launched, but still managed to pull off multiple effects that had never been seen on the system before. It abuses the hardware in such unique ways that no emulator can run it properly. http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=696…

[deleted]

Re: The NES Homebrew Scene

#50

Post by vages »

pubby wrote: post #46

Nowdays, it's impossible to do modern programming without relying on millions of lines of other people's code. It's frameworks and libraries all the way down. On the NES however, every line of code is yours. There's no such thing as libraries, operating systems, or frameworks. They don't exist. It's refreshing. One of the big problems of modern programming is how easy it is to add complexity. As Charles Moore once sa…

I also adore old programs for their simplicity. However, I've come to terms with "unnecessary" complexity as a necessary cost of growth and abstraction.

Each part of a bacteria, relative to its mass, may be more cost effective than that of a mammal. I'd much rather be the latter.

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