Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:25:00 GMT
Beggar Prince, released in 2006, was the last SEGA Megadrive/Genesis game ever made, and has already gone through two production runs which sold out very quickly.
I’m happy to say that this fantastic-looking RPG is now hitting its third production run. Unlike the first two, this version is now playable via not only the Genesis, but also the Nomad, 32X, CDX, X’Eye, Laseractive, and other compatible systems. The team behind the game has also upgraded the decidedly amateurish boxart, replacing it with the creepy-awesome art you see at the right.
It’s really cool to see people with enough passion to create a game for old hardware and put it in the traditional packaging. If my old Genesis worked, I’d be all over this like a moustache on a freaky cat minister.
Check out Sega-16 for more information, including reviews and a forum thread where the developers discuss the game. The game is currently selling for $46 US, including shipping/handling and PayPal fees.
(Source: Insert Credit)
Posted in RPG, Homebrew | Tags SuperFighterTeam | 13 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:06:00 GMT
Redrunner is the sequel to Greenrunner, a C64 homebrew by Aleksi Eeben. Both games are based on Jeff Minter’s Gridrunner series of games (which are apparently getting an Xbox 360 update). And Blade Runner is a great dystopian science fiction movie starring Harrison Ford. Got that?
Redrunner has roots in the classic arcade game Centipede, so it shares many of the same elements, although Redrunner’s gameplay is much more free form. In this game the entire playfield is open to you, and your opponents, the “bugs,” are similarly free to roam the entire screen.
What’s neat about the game is that each of the game’s 100 (!) levels has a unique theme. One level, for example, may go in slow motion, whereas in another level an ever-expanding slime may steadily consume the screen.
Unfortunately, I found it difficult to appreciate the concept, mostly due to the fact that, because of the jittery pace of the game and your ship’s ability to fire in the four cardinal directions at once, the easiest way to beat many of the levels is by sitting still and holding down the fire button. Gameplay videos by the author himself seem to verify that this is a reasonable tactic.
I do dig the overall aesthetic, especially the voice of the announcer, who sounds like Sinistar crossed with the guy who goes “Test your might!” in the Mortal Kombat song. This game’s not for me, though.
Redrunner requires a C64 or a C64 emulator like Vice to run.
(Source: dessgeega blog)
Posted in Homebrew, Shoot-em-ups | Tags JeffMinter | 4 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:13:00 GMT
Megazeux (MZX), the popular game creation system based on the Tim Sweeney’s legendary ZZT, has been ported to the Nintendo DS by MZX developer and homebrew hacker Kevin Vance.
By default, the top screen shows a zoomed-in portion of the screen, and the bottom screen shows the entire thing. The stylus can be used to perform mouse clicks and pan around the top screen. Use the right trigger to toggle a software keyboard.
This port is still very rough, and just for testing. Be sure to make backups, as earlier versions have caused filesystem corruption on my CF card.
I had a good time playing with Megazeux as a kid! The simplicity of the engine is great, and it only takes a few hours to make something fun. Some of the classic MZX games (like Bernard the Bard, pictured above) are extremely clever. Good to see it on the DS!
Download MZX for the PC here (Sourceforge), and try the games at DigitalMZX (MZX is required to play).
(Source: Mr. Apol from the selectbutton.net forums!)
Posted in Mobile / Handheld, Homebrew, Developers | 7 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:15:00 GMT
Everyone loves tomb raiding, right? Dusty passageways, deadly traps, mysterious ruins, ancient treasures… snakes. It’s adventure and exploration and legend and all that good stuff. It’s Indiana Jones, man!
Well, there have been a lot of games set in the “Indyspace,” and some have been good and some have been bad. Joe Gunn, a newish C64 homebrew from George Rottensteiner, is definitely one of the good ones. What can I say? It’s old-fashioned platforming the way Ra intended, with 70 rooms, and plenty of items, puzzles, and secrets. And it nails the theme to the floor, right down to the great “Egyptian” music.
If you thought La Mulana was cool, but couldn’t get into it because it is so frickin’ difficult, give this one a try. It’s not easy, by any means, but it’s much more forgiving than NIGORO’s unholy beast.
Joe Gunn requires a C64 or a C64 emulator. Terry (who recommended the game, thanks!) recommends Vice. Don’t forget to configure Joystick II before you start.
See the extended for controls:
Read more...
Posted in Platformers, Highly Recommended, Homebrew, Freeware | 8 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:32:00 GMT
There are some known bugs as a result of the PSP’s wider screen, but otherwise… oh boy! For the back story and some yelling back and forth, read this post.
(Source: Timmy)
Posted in Mobile / Handheld, Platformers, Homebrew, Community, Freeware | Tags Pixel | 13 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 26 Jun 2007 02:05:00 GMT
Some of you may remember the hullabaloo surrounding the legality and morality surrounding Variant Interactive’s Cave Story PSP port (as well as the fatality of originality). It was never verified whether Variant got Pixel’s permission, or if they did, whether he would see any money, but something definitely stank up in there, and it was Variant that was whistling and looking in the other direction. Case in point:
“We want to be as faithful as possible. We are upgrading the graphics and the sound to more ‘modern’ levels, mostly for marketing concerns and platform requirements.” -Christopher Boyer, CEO of Variant Interactive
“Faithful,” “upgrading the graphics and sound,” and “marketing concerns…” which one of these does not belong with the others? So yeah, I find it really hard to believe that Pixel would go for anything like that, and even if he did, I still say fuck ‘em for doing it. “Upgrade the graphics and music?” Eat a shit sandwich, asshole.
Which is why it makes me really happy to announce that there’s a fan-made, homebrew PSP version in the works! Yay fans!
“Finally got Pixel’s approval and the source code. It looks doable, but at ~50000 lines of code it’s a little daunting.
This is the preview version that I sent to Pixel, so it’s mostly guesswork and buggy and certainly feels different from the original. Playable up to the first boss fight. Dual-language English and Japanese :) Tested on 3.10, should work unmodified with most custom firmware.”
Word. You can download a buggy, early version of the port from the link above. And while you’re at it, check out this DS port as well (different author).
(Source: selectbutton.net)
Posted in Mobile / Handheld, Platformers, Remakes, Homebrew, Previews, Doujin | Tags Pixel | 69 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:18:00 GMT
I think a lot of would-be game developers have heard the hallowed name of Andre LaMothe, author of “Tricks of the Game-Programming Gurus,” “Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus,” and “The Black Art of Seducing Women Through Game Programming.” (Followed quickly thereafter by a less popular 3-page pamphlet titled “The Not-So-Black Art of Seducing Men Through Game Programming.”)
In 2005 (or so), Andre released XGameStation, an old-school “a do-it-yourself video game system,” created for engineers to tinker with to learn the ins and outs of hardware and software development for games.
Jump forward to a few months ago, and apparently Andre has put out a new console, called Hydra, that’s more focused on software development and geared toward novices.
Now that’s kinda nifty! (Goes back to writing inefficient code that gobbles up memory the way that dude from Stephen King’s 1996 horror movie Thinner gobbles up pie.)
(Source: Sensible Erection [NSFWish])
Posted in Homebrew, Developers | 4 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 03 May 2007 02:48:00 GMT
The winner of this competition to make the crappiest game for the Korean open-source handheld GP2X was NOT the game depicted in this screenshot (Run, Hitler, Run!), but studies show that including a picture of Hitler on your website automatically increases the traffic by 0.001%, and quite frankly, that’s enough for me.
The way Hitler looks in the screenshot really reminds me of a Boris Artzybasheff painting!
(Source: Insert Credit)
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Homebrew, Competitions | 10 comments
Posted by Shabadage
Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:28:00 GMT
Well, it was only a matter of time before someone made a game for the PC that’s compatible with the hacked Wii-Mote. Colocoro is such a game, and like lots of Wii games; it’s very simplistic, and quite a bit of fun.
The goal of each level is to deliver your ball to the blue exit. It all sounds fairly simple and easy, until you realize that you need to bump, rotate, and move the playfield. Warps and enemies also try to ruin your day.
I haven’t gotten a change to play with a Wii-Mote sadly, but from what I’ve been seeing, it works flawlessly and adds a lot of fun. At less than a 1 meg download, there’s really no reason not to give this fun little game a try, even if you don’t plan on hacking your Wii-Mote. (There’s mouse control too).
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Homebrew, Puzzle, Windows, Wii, Freeware | 3 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:29:00 GMT
Qwak is a pretty cool little homebrew platformer for the GBA, developed by Jamie Woodhouse. The first thing I noticed when I played the demo (requires a GBA emulator) is that the game is pretty fast-paced. The second thing I noticed is that you’re a duck who wears armor and throws its own eggs to kill furries. The third thing I noticed is that I was having a pretty good time.
Bottom line: 15 GBP for a fun platformer for your GBA (comes in an actual cartridge).
EDIT: Yes, this is a remake of the Amiga game from 1993.
Posted in Mobile / Handheld, Platformers, Remakes, Homebrew | 7 comments
