Retro Game Development

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>>2800342
Let me ask you this: do you have a solid understanding of how computers function from a computer architecture point of view? Do you understand how to map a C program on to assembly? Do you know what interrupts are and how they are used?

If you aren't intimately familiar with concepts like these, fret not, but you need to set the bar a little lower. I would suggest something like GameBoy or SNES.

You can probably find a compiler for a MIPS R3000A, but you will probably need to frequently dip down into assembly to poke at things that don't map nicely to higher level languages.

Also, I warn you away from 6th gen and on because programming is one half of making a game, but generating content is the other half, and you'll need tools to generate anything more than a polygon cube efficiently.

Btw, how much about 3d computer graphics do you know?

Way more difficult.

Unity is great for dev because it manages an absolutely fuckload of stuff for you and has an easy and user-friendly interface.

The idea of making an NES, SNES or PS1 game is admirable, and I've thought about it (although more Neo-Geo MVS).

The issue is you need to know the architecture well, and a lot of stuff wasn't well documented.

You'd also be coding in assembly or -at best- C in all the old consoles. So you need to be well versed in those, and its way more difficult then C# for Unity.


You can also get around a lot of stuff in Unity by just.. brute force since modern computers are so powerful that you can just force stuff to work, where you absolutely have to use tricks and really optimize it for older consoles.

The tldr; is stick to unity.

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>>2800342
Extremely difficult and exhausting, especially if you've never programmed anything before. It would be fun and totally worth it because I think old systems and all their nuanced limitations are the best, but it has to fit into your schedule

If you go the Game Maker/Unity route, you can jump straight in. If you're planning to make your game in Game Maker first and then make an old console version later then best of luck to you.
>That's one of my dreams in life, but work and staring at the ceiling in a desperate attempt to get sleep is starting to absorb all the free time I have. I don't mean to be bleak but things don't turn out so great for everyone and they end up settling for a life of mediocrity. Try to have fun while you still can.

I assume it's hard as fuck. Go develop for Steam / iOS / Android for a much easier and marketable time.

>>2800342
The Genesis is the best documented of retro consoles. I'd start there. At least the motorola 68k instruction set has other applications.

Isn't using an engine like game maker or unity directly opposed to the idea of making something for a retro system?

You'd have to program in assembly directly for the hardware you want to use wouldn't you? An snes can't run game maker.

>>2800462
>An snes can't run game maker.
I highly doubt OP implied that it could
>You'd have to program in assembly directly for the hardware you want to use wouldn't you?
fucking durrrrrrrrrr

>>2800479
Fuck off retard,

>>2800342
I really want to make a Vectrex game/demo. Vectorex is very interesting to me but I would need a sd cart to test. Anyone know any good assembly tutorials lol?

>>2800462
Retro games were programmed in c also.

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>>2800342
>I have no programming experience but I want to make games requiring extensive knowledge of ancient programming languages

if anything OP a Romhack would be much, much more realistic than doing anything from the ground up.

>>2800690
>>2800696
These two really. Hell, you want to program NES you will need knowledge of not only the ASM involved, but also how the NES handles video and audio. Timing is fucking everything.

With a hack, all the heavy lifting has been done for you, you are basically handed an engine to work with. Make levels, do some sprite work and you might have something decent. Plus that helps teach you about the tricky part of game making, quality level design.

>>2800519
So you think you are a bad enough dude eh? Well, here's a tut for 6809(the CPU in the Vec) ASM:
http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/6809_Assembly_Language_Programming
As for the specific knowledge you would need to deal with the Vec's specific setup, hell if I know. According to wikipedia, there's a Usenet group that does homebrew, you should try talking to them.

>>2800342
>how difficult would it be compared to using something like Game Maker or Unity?
People who "program" exclusively for Game Maker or Unity should not even be called programmers but scripting monkeys.

If you can't develop a basic 3D engine in pure OpenGL don't even bother to make a 3D game for a retro console.

You wouldn't be likely to have much success in programming 2D either since it usually requires a good understanding of low-level hardware functionality. Skills which are completely untaught to the current generation of wannabe game developers since everything has been abstracted up to high-level scripting.

>>2800807
most of the advances are for the better anyway

>>2800342
any chance there's scans of the types of documents in op's picture. Not looking to make a game but some software dev starter guides for games consoles would start my engine..

>>2800819
how much free time do you have and how old are you?

>>2800819
The entire Net Yaroze documentation and software is all online with a quick google. There's even updated and better community tools.

>>2800767
Im more of an artist than a programmer but I love the vector screens in the vectrex. Assembly would be quite a hurdle for me. thanks for the reading material though.

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>>2800904
Im mean who could resist this beauty?

>>2800908
I couldn't. Still play mine on occasion.

>>2800342
Damn, I just want a reproduction of that sexy, sexy shell.

>>2800462
>An snes can't run game maker.
Interestingly enough, it can run RPG maker.

>>2801545
3D printing might make that viable.

>>2801916
Well, RPGs aren't much resource eating, RPG Maker existed for MSX2.
But that's more like using BASIC to make your game on old computers.

>>2800372

Why not work instead of trying to sleep if you're not sleeping anyway?

>>2800521
You are correct. At least 2 of them were.

>>2800807
>scripting monkeys.
I loled at this completely accurate description.

>>2800823
He's 12 and had many summers ahead of him

>>2800342
as someone who dipped into 4th gen development without quite appropriate preparation, but some beforehand experience with c, it's not impossible to whip up something playable if you have good documentation and c compiler in your disposal. i definitely wouldn't recommend programming for old consoles (5th gen and back) for the first project though, the difference remains quite big.

i am not quite sure how this stuff looks like for 6th gen consoles, i know xbox and dreamcast have/had quite robust homebrew scenes with some pc ports and emulators, so the entry barrier is almost definitely lower. expect no wonders with 3d right away though.

>>2804017

I wonder.
since you mentioned that dreamcast has some homebrew stuff that still comes out for it,

does something like the PS1 have any homebrew games for it?

>>2804539
i don't think any 5th gen console but ps1 has any notable homebrew scene, ps1 scene doesn't seem very active too, but it's not dead.

what i know for sure is that, out of the older consoles, mega drive's scene is still doing pretty well. there is a pretty easy to use devkit for it which seems to have made a lot of progress in the last 4 years (which was more or less when i tried doing anything with it).

note that it's been a while since i've last taken a deeper look at these things, so if i'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

>>2800342

Here's a video that highlights a lot of the limitations retro game devs face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvx4xXhZMrU Long story short, it's better to make games using a modern engine instead of battling hardware limitations for retro consoles. At the very least, make a prototype in GM or Unity before trying to port the game.

Anyways, are you seriously interested in developing a game? I'm setting out to do the same right now; maybe we could collaborate.

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>>2805351
Pussy. Wresting performance out of dated hardware is part of the charm and accomplishment of retro games, especially retro game development.

>>2804017
You'll understand C better if you can map it to assembly. Hacking old games is incredibly illuminating for how computers function. No compiler required, just an assembler. You'll also appreciate the design choices and motivation of C more by cutting your teeth on some assembly.

Clearly OP is over his head in his goal, but I do not want to discourage him or anyone else from hacking. Try to find the developer manuals for the system of your choice (if they were leaked), pick a favorite game, emulate it, trace the execution, and see if you can understand what comes out. Hacking is really fun and creative once you get it.

>>2806313
i actually dipped into assembly as well when i had some classes on it and briefly hacked super mario world for some time. i haven't looked into mapping c to assembly yet though, it probably could turn out to be useful to me eventually.

>>2806313
I agree with pretty much everything you said but the learning curve for a nub is just too steep. Using a modern platform to develop a game in a "retro style" is the only viable option if you didn't grow up with 65xx/68k/etc assembly.

You guys would enjoy reading this I believe http://gamasutra.com/view/news/255265/An_oral_history_of_Net_Yaroze_by_pioneering_console_indie_devs.php

So, what do you guys think of games that were basically small game workshops like the Dezaemon series?

Read the article from the creator of crash bandicoot doesn't sound like fun basically brute forcing every aspect of the game till it ran smoothly.

>>2807054
Naughty Dog were really, really freaking good though. Especially Crash 3 pulled off some insane stunts with the PS1 hardware.

>>2805324
>i don't think any 5th gen console but ps1 has any notable homebrew scene, ps1 scene doesn't seem very active too, but it's not dead.

That's because no mortal human being is capable of programming the horrible clusterfuck of the Saturn/N64.

>>2800696
Start with really basic stuff like getting a ball to bounce around the screen.

The Atari 2600 has the best homebrew scene of any retro console and it doesn't get tougher than that. One Atari programmer from back in the day recalled "You're a hero if you can get the VCS to do anything."

>>2807164
It's really funny how making something 3D in unity is so much easier than making a simple 2d game on simple vintage hardware.

There's nothing particularly complex about Gameboy, NES, and SNES dev.

>>2807015
>posting a gamasutra link unironically
why would you ever do that?