- This topic has 18 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 21 years, 6 months ago by
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Hello,
Just wondering is anyone on this board have any interest/experience in developing for the GBA. I developed a voxel based engine for my final year project in university.
Its not much, but I found it interesting as my course seemed to be allergic to any fun subjects i.e. graphics.
For people who would like to get into it they should check out
http://www.gbadev.org .. loads of interesting links there!Would anyone think that developing for the GBA would be a good initial plan for a start up company, due to the relatively quick turn around of the game development?
Does anyone know of any GBA developers in ireland?
Thanks for your helpGood work on site all!
Krozen -
I started on a polygon based 3d renderer for the GBA a while back, but had to shelve it pretty quickly due to college related stuff. Haven’t done anything with voxels before, appart from following Alex Champandards terravox series, how did it work out? Did you get it going on actual gba hardware, or just an emulator?
I agree that the relatively high development turnaround associated with gba type devices (inc. modile phones) could suit a startup environment.
Eoin.
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Hello,
I got it working on hardware. Got a flash cart from lik-sang.com before they stopped selling them. It was working at about 5-10 fps depending on the viewing distance (i think, my method of measuring it was a bit dodgy :) ) .
I would like to see how your rendering stuff worked, if you would like to attach a copy. -
The code is far from releasable, or even readable :). In it’s current state it does scanline based rendering using the method described in Chris Heckers texture mapping articles. Gouraud shading, and the bones of perspective correct texture mapping are also there. Lots of room for software rendering specific algorithms such as s-buffers etc.. Jaap Suters SGADE looks good http://www.sgade.com.
Eoin.
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Hi,
I used to be be a licenced GBA developer before I moved here, and though entering homebrew GBA development is really easy, I wouldn’t rush out, quit my job, and start a GBA development company
The development costs of a game are relatively low compared to other consoles, and even PC games, but it is VERY hard to find a publisher, unfortunately.
They take absolutely no risk, and since nintendo still asks a fairly big price per cartdridge, margins are really tight
There is nothing stopping you devving for it after work/school, and it never hurts to contact publishers about it either.
Also, it is a great place for starting with console/embedded development, since it’s relatively cheap, well documented, big community, and most definately relevant experience :-)
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Hello,
What kind of games were you involved in developing?
I just think its a great place for newbies to start, cause its so easy to get into, plus its easy to get your stuff tested on hardware.
How does one go about applying for a developers license etc.? -
Hi!
Unfortunately i don’t have any games released
I used to work for a small company in vienna called Dion software (http://www.dion-software.com) which applied for a developer licence at the beginning of the gba release
I didn’t work there back then, so I only know what I’ve been told
The company had to fill out a pretty extensive questionaire, which covered areas like previous game development experience and financial situation.
they then consider your application and do some cross checks.. then, if the moon is in the right phase, and the blood type of the sacrificed lamb matches the position of saturn, after months of hearing nothing, you might get accepted :-)
We were lucky, and actually got accepted, and right after that I joined the company
The development kit costs usd 5000, though it’s not really a neccesity anymore nowadays
we set out to create a few prototypes, a mode7 racing game, a zelda like adventure, and virtua fighter clone (3d fighter) which was the technically most impressive
the fighter game could display 2 animated 3d characters at 300 polys each at 30 fps, and publishers were generally impressed, but since we didn’t have any intelectual property licence (from a movie for instance) they didn’t dare to put money into it
after 1,5 years of trying to find publishers, the financial situation turned for the worst, and gba development was shelved
At least i can add thorough knowledge of the GBA platform to my CV :-)
Willem
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Hi there,
good to see some people interested in GBA developing here in Ireland (btw I’m French).
As a videogame addict for 20 years who does not work in this industry, I decided to start as an amateur with GBA programming because it is a very interesting platform to start with.
Unfortunately, I am busy with my work almost 11h a day :( and having a baby also consumes time ! So I progress slowly.
Anyway, I have almost finished a remake of the Commodore 64 Tetris version for those who know it (yes, it’s a Tetris but you have to start somewhere). It also works on the hardware (I bought my linker @ http://www.success-hk.com, best prices and very efficient). I am also starting new projects…I also think that it is a good platform to start something more professional even if I read everywhere just what Zensunni is saying about finding a publisher.
Well, I am curious to knowif someone has started some “serious” projects even if it is as an amateur. By serious, I mean a whole game and not just some demos or a renderer.
I would need a graphist and sound guys because I am very poor in these domains:(Zensunni, I am desperately looking for some information concerning the link cable. I found everything I wanted (graphics modes, tiles, sprites, timers, DMA, …) but nothing on communications between two or more GBAs. I would like to port some old games like Moonstone or Archon ! Do you have any clue where I could find it ?
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Sure
http://www.suddenpresence.com/sgade/
it has a module that handles multiplayer through the link cable, which is much much better then the samples Nintendo give (or used to give) you
With some minor modifications it can be adapted in your own code, but at least it gives you a very good overview of the concepts
It also has an working example, so enjoy ;-)
Willem
BTW link communication is the hardest part about GBA programming to get right, make sure your interrupt code is set up for multiple interrupts)
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Thanks,
I already knew about SGADE (I exchanged mails with Mark T. Price) but never got it because in fact I want (and have already started) to code my own library rather than using an existing one (SGADE, HAM, …). Firstly, because I was interested into exploring the registers and manipulating the hardware. Also, when you use third parties libs, you depend on their bugs !
In their tutorial, the multi user part is not yet done :( nor do they mention it in the features… Oh wait… Just downloaded the whole package containing all the sources… It’s there, yeeessssss. Thank you so much ! Next time, I’ll be more curious :D
I will dive into it and adapt it in my own library.Do you use SGADE or anyother existing library ? Are you working on a project currently ?
P.S: I plan to release my Tetris soon on http://www.gbadev.org, stay tuned !
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I only used the multiplayer part, since it’s so much better then the sample nintendo code
It’s integrated in a 3d fighting game prototype that’s now floating around at publishers, but since i don’t work at that company anymore, i don’t know the status
At the moment i do nothing with the GBA, just no time, and there’s other consoles to play with atm :-)
Willem
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Hi,
no problem. As I said, I have very little time to code at home but I really hope to finish it as soon as possible. Tonight I am on holiday for ten days, hope to have it completed middle of june !
Will keep you informed as soon as it is ready !
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Yeah, looking forward to play it :-)
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Hello,
Just wondering is anyone on this board have any interest/experience in developing for the GBA. I developed a voxel based engine for my final year project in university.
Its not much, but I found it interesting as my course seemed to be allergic to any fun subjects i.e. graphics.
For people who would like to get into it they should check out
http://www.gbadev.org .. loads of interesting links there!Would anyone think that developing for the GBA would be a good initial plan for a start up company, due to the relatively quick turn around of the game development?
Does anyone know of any GBA developers in ireland?
Thanks for your helpGood work on site all!
Krozen [/quote:6a9beac41c]The GBA is a lovely platform to develop for, great for hobbyists. We’ve done a couple of GBA titles and in terms of the hardware and the docs and the SDK etc… I can’t really fault it.
The bummer is the market, which is utterly fucked. There’s no money in GBA game development – costs of the carts are so high, margins are so slim, that the only people really making money from the GBA is Nintendo. Couple that with the fact that software sales for GBA games are abysmal outside of Japan, it just isn’t worth anyone’s while doing it unless you are working on an established franchise, and ideally first party or second party stuff.
That’s why highly esteemed GBA developers such as Crawfish went titsup a while back… it just isn’t profitable and most publishers are running, not walking, away from the GBA.
Of course Nintendo will continue to make tons of dough from Pokemon, and Mario, and Advance Wars 2 etc etc.
My advice is – by all means do GBA stuff for your own benefit – do some cool tech demos, get some experience of console development etc – but I certainly wouldn’t base a startup company around the idea of doing GBA titles. Perhaps creating IP that you can exploit on multiple platforms INCLUDING the GBA is a better approach. So you can have a GBA “story” if you’re asked about it, but otherwise you’d be targeting more lucrative platforms.
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When you say work on franchise, you mean a game like Go!Go!Beckham… Did it sell well ?
Do I understand that Denki Blocks which is an original concept did not sell well ?What do you mean by first party or second party stuff ?
Thanks !
Anyway, as you say, I enjoy programming it and making some small (and not so small in the future I hope) stuff on this machine.
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When you say work on franchise, you mean a game like Go!Go!Beckham… Did it sell well ?
Do I understand that Denki Blocks which is an original concept did not sell well ?What do you mean by first party or second party stuff ?
Thanks !
Anyway, as you say, I enjoy programming it and making some small (and not so small in the future I hope) stuff on this machine. [/quote:ae1eac8561]
Hi there,
Well in our case, it is true that our GBA games didn’t sell very well! Lots of critical acclaim and awards and all that, but they just didn’t sell – partially due to the state of GBA software sales anyway, and partially due to the state of our publisher Rage at the time. Nothing to do with the quality of the games of course :) Anyway even if they had sold better, it wouldn’t have made much difference – the number of units you’d need to shift before you even cover costs let along make a profit is just unfeasible.
The point is – the GBA business model is designed to make money for Nintendo, and no one else :) That’s why so many developers and publishers are ditching it.
To answer your questions… first party means Nintendo’s own products in this case… second party means people who develop exclusively for Nintendo… e.g. like when Rare was part-owned by Nintendo.
Anyway, it’s a nice platform to develop some homebrew stuff for, so enjoy it! If you like doing small platform stuff you could always get into other platforms like GP32, or Nokia series 60 handsets, N-Gage etc. You won’t make money out of that either, but it’s a lot of fun trying to see what you can squeeze out of these devices…!
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Thanks for the answers… It’s clear now !
By the way have you heard of http://www.freelancer-games.com
I have followed it a few for a few months, it seems thay are just about to succeed in their goal. Wait and see ! Anyway, I am not at the point to sell my products (yet :) )I think I will focus on the GBA… I have not so much time to concentratre on one platform so I will not try other ones. When I started I downloaded all the SDKs you mention. I chose GBA because with Nokias the platform is very limited, the screen is so smaaallllllish and GP32 community development is not up to GBA one.
I think also there is not a lot of money to make with GP32, but why also with handsets ? I read everywhere that this market will explode. A study showed that more than 1 billion was spent in 2002 just in downloading ringtones and logos !!!! Maybe games have a potential no ?
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Is there development kits and emulators floating around for the N-Gage? I didnt even think that was released yet.
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