Hello everyone
My name is Allan. I'm actually a z80 game coder, and I helped work on updating an engine for a game designer which uses a simple syntax to then assemble games into machine language. Originally it was exclusive to the ZX Spectrum (classic British computer), developed over many years by Jonathan Cauldwell, and dozens of excellent games have been written. The engine currently supports software sprites, room layouts, maps and so on and is fast and easy to use even for beginners. I myself have completed three games which have been published. It's a great way for less experienced coders to create games, and is one of the reasons the Spectrum homebrew scene is so healthy.
Recently the engine has been converted to the 6502, and as a result dozens of games which were designed on the ZX Spectrum are now playable on the Acorn Atom and the BBC Micro (yes, this is a British thing at the moment). A 6809 and MSX engine are also in progress, with other machines under consideration.
I've owned and loved the NES for many years but hadn't considered writing games for it until recently. Obviously the hardware is different, particularly with regard to hardware sprites and so on, but I think it would be a great machine to add to the 'roster' so we're looking for someone interested in maybe joining our team to help with that. We're a very relaxed group of old school coders, there is no pressure or deadlines, everything is open source and not for profit, we just enjoy working together on the challenge and the excitement of seeing games written on one machine being converted to another without any change to the core code, because each system has its own compiler and engine. The system outputs source code in assembly which can then be built, or edited if you have the experience.
A full windows dev environment is also in the works, lots of nice editing tools for maps and sprites and the ability to test before compilation via a javascript engine.
To be clear - the 6502 engine is already working well, so any developer would mostly be looking at rewriting the graphics and sound routines to work with the NES. An experienced 6502 coder shouldn't find this too tricky I don't imagine - we have three experienced 6502 guys already and we are all willing to help - we just don't the inner workings of the NES too well is all.
I know NES maker is already out there, but this system already has a library of dozens of great games that could all be ported once the engine was complete, it will be free for anyone to use, and no claims will be made on games written on it. Here are a few example games built on the Spectrum. Many of these games were written by people with no knowledge of assembly language at all, and the quality of them may surprise you.
Terrapins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8MvLtccgo8
Roust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTYKoJAWH6w
Nixy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7MGZJ60NFg
Temple of Lost Souls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRlBHwyFQ8w
Dead Flesh Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnG0u3GoJKE
Let me know if you have any questions, I look forward to hearing from you.
My name is Allan. I'm actually a z80 game coder, and I helped work on updating an engine for a game designer which uses a simple syntax to then assemble games into machine language. Originally it was exclusive to the ZX Spectrum (classic British computer), developed over many years by Jonathan Cauldwell, and dozens of excellent games have been written. The engine currently supports software sprites, room layouts, maps and so on and is fast and easy to use even for beginners. I myself have completed three games which have been published. It's a great way for less experienced coders to create games, and is one of the reasons the Spectrum homebrew scene is so healthy.
Recently the engine has been converted to the 6502, and as a result dozens of games which were designed on the ZX Spectrum are now playable on the Acorn Atom and the BBC Micro (yes, this is a British thing at the moment). A 6809 and MSX engine are also in progress, with other machines under consideration.
I've owned and loved the NES for many years but hadn't considered writing games for it until recently. Obviously the hardware is different, particularly with regard to hardware sprites and so on, but I think it would be a great machine to add to the 'roster' so we're looking for someone interested in maybe joining our team to help with that. We're a very relaxed group of old school coders, there is no pressure or deadlines, everything is open source and not for profit, we just enjoy working together on the challenge and the excitement of seeing games written on one machine being converted to another without any change to the core code, because each system has its own compiler and engine. The system outputs source code in assembly which can then be built, or edited if you have the experience.
A full windows dev environment is also in the works, lots of nice editing tools for maps and sprites and the ability to test before compilation via a javascript engine.
To be clear - the 6502 engine is already working well, so any developer would mostly be looking at rewriting the graphics and sound routines to work with the NES. An experienced 6502 coder shouldn't find this too tricky I don't imagine - we have three experienced 6502 guys already and we are all willing to help - we just don't the inner workings of the NES too well is all.
I know NES maker is already out there, but this system already has a library of dozens of great games that could all be ported once the engine was complete, it will be free for anyone to use, and no claims will be made on games written on it. Here are a few example games built on the Spectrum. Many of these games were written by people with no knowledge of assembly language at all, and the quality of them may surprise you.
Terrapins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8MvLtccgo8
Roust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTYKoJAWH6w
Nixy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7MGZJ60NFg
Temple of Lost Souls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRlBHwyFQ8w
Dead Flesh Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnG0u3GoJKE
Let me know if you have any questions, I look forward to hearing from you.