Start developing a game and don't sink into engine design?

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gauauu
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Re: Start developing a game and don't sink into engine desig

Post by gauauu »

PypeBros wrote:I'd be tempted to suggest the use of NDS / GBA as a platform to quickly prototype NES stuff. You would have tiled graphics, multi-track sound (including with pulse generators in the case of the GBA) and NES-like input. You would have access to high-level language and about 10x more CPU power.

Of course, this is said by someone who's been doing NDS development and no NES development so far, so better cross-check that with people who have first-hand experience.
There's a number of similarities between the platforms, but:

- If you just want a platform to test game ideas, something PC-based would be easier and allow more rapid development than GBA/DS.
- If you care about NES restrictions (palette issues, attributes, etc), then the GBA won't help you test that. Using Lua on an emulator would be a pretty good way to force yourself to use NES limitations but with a higher-level language.

(I do think the GBA is a great system to get started with for learning console development, as it has many of the same general ideas as NES, but is much easier. But I'm just not convinced it would be advantageous for prototyping NES games.)
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tokumaru
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Re: Start developing a game and don't sink into engine desig

Post by tokumaru »

Most people developing for retro consoles don't do it because it's practical, or commercially viable, or just for the heck of targeting any old hardware. They do it because they love the consoles. For this reason, I think it's pointless to recommend they use another retro machine that happens to be "somewhat easier to program" in order to learn or prototype stuff. Easier or not, each machine has its own set of idiosyncrasies and will require effort to master, and hardly anyone will have the motivation to put that effort into something that isn't their actual goal.

If you're gonna go retro, don't waste your brain cells learning about a machine you have no interest in making something for, just learn the thing you actually want to learn. If you do feel the need to start with something simpler/faster, better go with something more modern on the PC, something popular with good support that you might even profit from in the future in case you decide to.
93143
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Re: Start developing a game and don't sink into engine desig

Post by 93143 »

PypeBros wrote:NDS
about 10x more CPU power
67 MHz ARM9 vs. 1.79 MHz 6502 is more like 300x more CPU power, isn't it? Probably more, considering few chips are as dependent on bus throughput as a 6502. Even the GBA's ARM7 should be way more powerful per MHz than the NES CPU...
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PypeBros
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Re: Start developing a game and don't sink into engine desig

Post by PypeBros »

something PC-based would be easier and allow more rapid development than GBA/DS.
I must really have trouble with getting started with multimedia programming on a PC, then ^^"
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8bitMicroGuy
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Re: Start developing a game and don't sink into engine desig

Post by 8bitMicroGuy »

qbradq wrote:I like to start with a 12 pack of colored pencils and a graphing notebook.

[Big image]
Am I the only one who did this as a kid 10 years ago in my sketchbook when I was still wondering what kind of magical mechanism is used for CPU opcode execution and collission detection? XD All without knowing that this was done way back before me!? WHY DO I ALWAYS INVENT THINGS THAT ALREADY EXIST WITHOUT KNOWING THAT THEY ALREADY EXIST!? XDDDDD
Trevor_Miles
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Re: Start developing a game and don't sink into engine desig

Post by Trevor_Miles »

Now the level of abstraction is so great that developers do not need to understand the source code of game engines so much.
Last edited by lidnariq on Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: spam was edited in. original post didn't make much sense after removing it, but context didn't make sense without at least this
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Sumez
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Re: Start developing a game and don't sink into engine desig

Post by Sumez »

I think that's the level of abstraction that you need if you want to prototype something without digging too deep into complex engine design and optimization.

Personally, I use JavaScript for everything like this (such as tools, pipelines, etc.). I don't see that a lot, but I guess to me it's like what Python seems to be to a lot of other people. Something quick to setup and get results from immediately via a simple, effective framework.
It has the added bonus of a fully fledged visual interface via HTML, and a pixel-by-pixel graphical canvas. It even has GL support nowadays.
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