nesdev.org

Can anyone recommend where to go for information on developing for the Sega Genesis and Sega Master System? I found some sites but I didn't find anything that has the depth of information and community Nesdev does.

shawnleblanc wrote:Can anyone recommend where to go for information on developing for the Sega Genesis and Sega Master System? I found some sites but I didn't find anything that has the depth of information and community Nesdev does.

For the ''SEGA 8-BIT CONSOLE SERIES'', Check out SMS Power

http://SMSpower.org

For the MEGA DRIVE/GENESIS, Try Sega Retro

http://SegaRetro.org

Google is useful for finding websites like these!

If you are also interested, a Fansite like them, called World of Spectrum has info on the old ZX Spectrum (the Dizzy series originated on this computer)

Genesis homebrew scene has really low activity. Although it is much easier to program for Genesis than for any 8-bit console, expectations and requirements for the art, design, etc is equally higher, and there aren't much artists and designers with needed skills among the enthusiasts.

The main place for a Genesis dev is SpritesMind forum, and if you prefer to use Basic, there is Devster forums as well.

Really? BASIC on the Genisis? Were commercial games made with BASIC?

Don't know about Basic in commercial games - generally why not, but I have doubts. Known games were made in C or assembly, or mix of both.

The basic with the forum is made by an enthusiast. You can make a simple game with it, for sure (one example is Yie Are Kung Fu port from NES). It is compiled, and with 7 MHz M68K it is not that slow.

The 68000 processor has GCC available if you want a C compiler.

I don't know about most Genesis games, but the Sonic games were programmed in assembly. It looks like 68K assembly is pretty easy to use.

There is a rumor that Mega Man The Wily Wars was programmed in C for Genesis and is the explanation for why the game suffers from A LOT of slowdown compared to the NES versions. Seriously the game slows down while fighting CutMan if he throws his projectile as I recall which the NES version didn't.

That's not to say that you couldn't make a decent game in C for Genesis. Maybe 68000 compilers generate better code today too. But as with any system certain things will discourage homebrew development such as Sound & Music tools as well as alternative development platforms that may be more appealing or easier.

For me there are two reasons why I did not get into Genesis development.

1. The graphics on the Genesis are a bit beyond my reach as far as creating them.
2. I have very little nostalgia for that system, and that's a big motivator for me.

These points are also the reasons I have not pursued development on the PSP (other than some kernel-mode stuff), PSX, GBA, DS and Jaguar. Point 1 also applies to the SNES, and point 2 applies to everything released before the NES.

I guess I'm kinda like a dog that's finally found a place to sleep

qbradq wrote:2. I have very little nostalgia for that system, and that's a big motivator for me.

Heh, this is a funny point for me. You know, I have zero nostalgia for the NES... I didn't have one as a kid, and in the few instances I had contact with them I was too busy snubbing my friends because I had a Genesis.

Despite that, the NES is my favorite system nowadays. Actually, all 8 and 16-bit consoles and computers fascinate me, if I had the time I would program for them all! For some reason I picked the NES, maybe because I was amazed at what some games managed to do with the hardware, once I got to know it through emulation.

Since I can't code for all the systems I'd like to, the ones I actually plan to make games for are the NES, the SMS and the Atari 2600. Out of these 3, the NES is the only one I don't have nostalgia for, but it's still the one that gets most of my attention!

Heh, this is a funny point for me. You know, I have zero nostalgia for the NES... I didn't have one as a kid,

Me neither. I have more nostalgia playing games in Nesticle than I have playing them on my NES... because that's just what I did as a kid.

The first console I had as a kid was the original Playstation by the way. I'm sure interested in this system but unfortunately it's very complex and at the present time quite poorly documented.

Bregalad wrote:The first console I had as a kid was the original Playstation by the way.

Atari 2600 for me. I feel old

Do you mean you are interested in the PSX or the Genesis? For Playstation dev you can look here: http://jum.pdroms.de/PSX/psxdevstart.html. It's very similar to the PSP in terms of hardware and kernel structure (which is very well documented), although the APIs and hardware are a lot different. There's also a lot less RAM and a much slower clock speed.

Also there is a lot more assembly done on the PSX due to the lower clock speed, and the low-level graphics interface is much different.

So yea, I guess it's kinda like the PSP

Consoles/computers past the 16-bit era don't interest me because they are too "generic". They all have PCM sound channels and million-color displays, so there's nothing really characteristic about the sounds and images they produce.

tokumaru wrote:Consoles/computers past the 16-bit era don't interest me because they are too "generic". They all have PCM sound channels and million-color displays, so there's nothing really characteristic about the sounds and images they produce.

Agreed.

Edit: So unlike me to not ramble on, so I think I will

I recently developed an XBOX 360 game through their indie development program and it was exactly like developing any other PC game, except the API and platform had all kinds of bugs and random exceptions that you had to put up with.

After that experience (and the $2.00 an hour I made off of it ) I realized that game development on the side is not likely to give me any type of supplemental income that would make a difference in my lifestyle, so I might as well do what I love. And then I remembered the lovely green-and-black site I spent so much time reading in 2004, and it was all down hill from there