A Good Genesis Game Development Guide?

[WhereEaglesDare]

Are there any dumbed down barney style Genesis or Atari Development Guides? I use to be really efficient at QBASIC. I know neither will use QBASIC, but there has to be a real easy walkthrough (albeit time consuming) on programming. Someone know something here, com'n guys. Thanks.

[Chilly Willy]

No. There's nothing like that for ANY console. You are supposed to get good at programming on a PC (which is easy to work on), then go and learn about the console - looking at the SDKs and programs with source.

The current simplest way to write something for the Genesis is to use BEX (BasiEgaXorz) - a form of BASIC compiler for the MD. Look at existing BEX programs for examples of using BEX. You'll find it over at Devster, but be sure to read all the threads before asking. Nothing pisses off devs more than a noob asking how to use a language without reading a single thread or even looking over the examples that come with the language installer.

http://devster.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=basiegaxorz

[goldenband]

Oh, I don't know, I think the Batari Basic stuff for VCS -- assuming that's what the OP means by "Atari" -- is pretty straightforward:

http://bataribasic.com
http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories.html

Obviously the more you know etc., but I don't think that programming on the PC is an absolute prerequisite to console programming. I was able to put together a minigame of sorts for VCS, and the only programming I'd previously done was a smattering of TRS-80 BASIC, a little bit of Perl, and some music-related stuff (Max/MSP).

[WhereEaglesDare]

Oh, I don't know, I think the Batari Basic stuff for VCS -- assuming that's what the OP means by "Atari" -- is pretty straightforward:

http://bataribasic.com
http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories.html

Obviously the more you know etc., but I don't think that programming on the PC is an absolute prerequisite to console programming. I was able to put together a minigame of sorts for VCS, and the only programming I'd previously done was a smattering of TRS-80 BASIC, a little bit of Perl, and some music-related stuff (Max/MSP).


Yea I did mean the 2600. Now that I think of it I did try batariBasic, but it isnt 64 bit compatible... I may have to dust off the old Windows 98 laptop and bust out some BASIC.

[Chilly Willy]

Oh, I don't know, I think the Batari Basic stuff for VCS -- assuming that's what the OP means by "Atari" -- is pretty straightforward:

http://bataribasic.com
http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories.html

Obviously the more you know etc., but I don't think that programming on the PC is an absolute prerequisite to console programming. I was able to put together a minigame of sorts for VCS, and the only programming I'd previously done was a smattering of TRS-80 BASIC, a little bit of Perl, and some music-related stuff (Max/MSP).

Yeah, that Batari and BEX are your best bets for "simple" programming on the 2600 or Genesis, but don't expect a lot without a firm background in programming in general. The more you know, the more you can apply to what you do. For example, collision detection is basically the same regardless of whether you are doing 2600, Genesis, or PC programming. That's also usually one of the first questions beginners ask... without checking to see if there is already a thread on it... which there are usually a dozen or so all saying the same thing. ;) :D

[roundwars]

For example, collision detection is basically the same regardless of whether you are doing 2600, Genesis, or PC programming.


Doesn't the 2600 have hardware support for collision detection though? I thought it did.

[Random Terrain]

Yea I did mean the 2600. Now that I think of it I did try batariBasic, but it isnt 64 bit compatible... I may have to dust off the old Windows 98 laptop and bust out some BASIC.

If you scroll down to where it says Optional, you can download bBWin7_64bit.zip here:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/123849-visual-bb-1-0-a-new-ide-for-batari-basic/

Be sure to check out the batari Basic Commands (http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-batari-basic-commands.html) page and the Visual batari Basic Guide (http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-batari-basic-vbb.html).

[In case you were wondering, Google Alerts told me about this thread.]

[Chilly Willy]

Doesn't the 2600 have hardware support for collision detection though? I thought it did.

Hardware collision detection only works for games like pong or tank. Any kind of real game requires support code at least in figuring out what collided.

[Random Terrain]

Hardware collision detection only works for games like pong or tank. Any kind of real game requires support code at least in figuring out what collided.
There are a lot of 'real' games you can make using batari Basic where all you need to know is if a sprite hit the ball, a missile, the other sprite, or a playfield pixel. All of that is done with simple if-then statements:

batari Basic Collision Detection (http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-batari-basic-commands.html#collision)

[Chilly Willy]

Yes, games like pong, or racket ball, or breakout...
:D

[Random Terrain]

Yes, games like pong, or racket ball, or breakout...
:D
Or Seaweed Assault (http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/173190-seaweed-assault/) (a game I'm trying to finish).

:D

[Chilly Willy]

Looks good! But yes, the hardware collision detection on the 2600 is actually more useful than on many other systems because there's not as much to detect, so almost everything is detected. Hardware detection on the Genesis is almost useless, and many (most) games don't bother. So if you pay attention to the notes in the section describing the collision detection function and plan your game carefully around the limits, you could possibly get by with just the hw detection and maybe a couple checks.

It is just a little funny that the 2600 has such a thriving homebrew scene. :D