Featuring the "revival" of Tengen Games, Champion Coder Jon Day, and a preview of FASTER for Atari STE.
QUICK LINKS
TENGEN TAKE TWO
Interview with Jeff Silvers
What got you interested in developing for NES/Famicom?
Jeff Silvers: Aside from a Game Boy I got for Christmas and the Atari 2600 we'd sometimes drag out of the closet, the NES was the only game console we had until well into the N64 era. Even after we upgraded to more modern systems, the NES was always the Platonic ideal of a video game console to me. As a child, I would draw little Nintendo Power-style maps of NES games I'd made up in my head, knowing nobody would ever actually get to play them. At some point, even as a kid in the 90s without Internet access, I figured out that Tengen had made their cartridges all on their own without having to jump through anybody else's hoops. It broke the perception I'd had that making real video games was something out of reach to normal people. I didn't even know the full story of the company yet, but just that piece was enough to bridge the gap between a kid's fantasy ("I'm drawing maps of made-up video games") and a possible reality ("...that people might get to play someday"). The fact that I'm now producing games for my favourite console and reviving the name that inspired me to go for it is literally a dream come true.
What inspired the game Zed and Zee?
There's a lot of inspiration from fixed-screen arcade games like Mario Bros. and Bubble Bobble. I also noted how most levels in Contra gave the players multiple paths (usually high and low); it made the single-player game less linear and ensured both players in co-op mode had something to do. You can see that influence in most Zed and Zee levels. The Mega Man series informed the game's graphical theme of technology appearing in unexpected places (satellite dishes on top of ancient pyramids, a forest with USB cables as vines, et cetera).
What is your development environment?
Most of my work takes place on a 12-year-old Windows 7 laptop that's just begging to be retired. I picture the "I'm tired, boss" meme every time I fire it up. I flash ROMs to a reusable demo cartridge when I need to test on real NES hardware, and sometimes I'll throw a ROM onto my Raspberry Pi to playtest on a larger screen.
How are you producing physical cartridges?
I partnered with Dalyen Retro Games to handle NES and Famicom cartridge production. Everything from the cartridge to the instruction manual to the box is just so premium and feels like something you could've pulled off the shelf at Toys 'R Us in the 80s.
What got you interested in the Tengen trademark?
Several years ago I was talking to a friend of mine about old video game companies and mentioned off-hand how cool it would be if "whoever owns Tengen now" would resurrect the brand and release new retro games. December 2022, I realized that nobody owned the trademark at all and that it had been legally abandoned for nearly two decades. Zed and Zee had been in production for a while by this point; the idea of registering the Tengen trademark and releasing my game under that brand started off as a "ha-ha, wouldn't that be cool?" kind of idea, but the more I researched it, the more I realized it was very doable.
How long have you been working on reviving the brand?
December 2022 was when I first realized nobody owned the name. I waited to file my application because I wanted to make sure I fully understood the whole process, and I filed my initial paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in February 2023.
Do you have any other games signed or in development for the label?
Technically nothing in development yet. I have some projects that are in what you could generously call pre-development, but mostly right now I'm focused on getting Zed and Zee into as many hands as possible.
Are you interested in publishing other projects?
If you mean publishing projects from other developers, it's not really something I'm considering right now.
Would you expand development to other consoles and modern releases?
I'm currently exploring some possibilities for releasing Zed and Zee to current-gen platforms. The great thing about developing retro consoles like I do is that it really expands your options for porting to modern systems. I was actually approached about porting Zed and Zee to Android and iOS. I turned that down because its gameplay doesn't translate well to touchscreens, but I'm considering how future games might be developed with that option in mind.
What would be your dream project, or somebody you would love to work with?
There are some forgotten game series that I'd love to be able to bring back in an official capacity. HAL, if you're reading this, I'll make an Adventures of Lolo sequel for almost free. Hit me up. While we're at it, G-Mode, you should let me have a crack at a new Burger Time.
What do you think can be the impact of a small team working with such a well-known brand?
Smaller teams tend to be willing to take greater risks and to create more idiosyncratic works. We launched with an unlicensed NES game, which really seemed to please fans of the original company since that's what they were famous for. If a larger studio had scooped up the Tengen trademark, I don't think they would've been willing to do that. You might've seen it used as an "economy brand" to move cheap mobile games or something, which would've been a disappointment to those of us with fond memories of the original company.
Have you had contact with the modern Atari about its games and using the name?
The Atari company that owned Tengen was Atari Games, which was merged with Warner Interactive in the '90s. Warner Media hasn't reached out to me at all. The modern company known as Atari is Atari Interactive, and even though they weren't involved with the original Tengen, a partnership with them would be pretty cool.
NEWS BYTES
AMIGA: Roguecraft, which earned a Sizzler in RG261, is now available digitally. https://bit.ly/roguecraft-amiga
AMSTRAD GX4000: Inspired by the UFO Robot Grendizer manga, Goldorak is a great vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em up. https://bit.ly/goldorak-gx4000
ATARI STE: Junosix updated the classic coverdisk game Droid with a Special Edition, also available for Amiga. https://bit.ly/droid-ste
GAME BOY COLOR: The beautiful Excelsior: A Puzzle Exploration Game from Polyducks launched a demo before its Kickstarter campaign. https://bit.ly/excelsior-gbc
NES: The Storied Sword (previewed in RG247, reviewed in RG259) is now available as a physical cartridge - https://bit.ly/storied-nes
ZX SPECTRUM: Check out the cute platform adventure Niko and the Magic Orb from BTCO ( https://bit.ly/niko-zx ) or head out as daring adventurer Max Stone and discover the Secret of the Giant Pyramid ( https://bit.ly/maxstone-zx ) – two titles created with Raúl Torralba’s ZX Game Maker engine.
ZX81: Jonathan Cauldwell’s latest offering is Getaway Driver, a conversion of Run Baby Run. https://bit.ly/getaway-zx81
VARIOUS: In a very original concept by Snauts, Grazers sees the player protecting or hunting grazing animals. Available now for ZX Spectrum (48K), C64, MSX, and Master System. https://bit.ly/grazers-multi
Super Moxio Bros, a collaboration between developer Tiny Bookshelf and artist ♥-mox, pays tribute to a classic game’s first level. https://bit.ly/moxio-browser
Stefan Vogt’s interactive horror adventure The Ghosts of Blackwood Manor is available digitally and physically for multiple formats. https://bit.ly/ghosts-multi
CHAMPION CODER - JON DAY
[Name]
Jon Day (@ShareSquid)
[Info]
From: Virginia, USA
Website: www.RetroWorldChamps.com
Format: Vectrex
Previous game: Non-commercial training games for aviation & law enforcement
Working on: Alpine Rescue
Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains and a childhood Swiss holiday inspired Alpine Rescue.
What got you into Vectrex development?
The incredible welcoming community of Vectrex fans combined with my burning desire to learn Assembly language for this magically unique machine hooked me into Vectrex development. I could say a lot more, but it all boils down to those two things.
What is your development environment and any major tools used?
When I first started learning Assembly back in 2018, I was using Notepad++ and then testing in an emulator. Soon after, I lucked into a good deal on a real Vectrex and bought an early version of VecMulti that I could use to side-load my programs into the Veccie. However, I still always test thoroughly on emulator before testing on actual hardware, since Assembly language gives you a frightening amount of power to do serious damage to the now rare and irreplaceable vector-based Vectrex hardware. That was my dev style until I discovered Malban’s AMAZING VIDE Vectrex development environment, which allows me to code, test, diagnose and benchmark all in one package. Assembly coders couldn’t ask for a more robust and efficient tool, it’s honestly the reason Alpine Rescue exists. For art and sound design, I have access to Adobe Products and 3DS Max and take advantage of free tools like Blender and Gimp as needed.
What inspired the game Alpine Rescue?
Great question. I grew up in a small West Virginia town on top of the rolling Appalachian Mountains, so snowy mountain winters are the core to my childhood. At the age of 14, I toured the Alps of Switzerland. That bus ride up the Great St. Bernard Pass reinforced that love for snowy mountain-scapes. About the same time, I discovered the European computer demo scene. It really opened my mind to the amazing possibilities tight assembly code and visual/audio trickery could unlock on 8-bit hardware. So I think my Alpine Rescue journey started with that demoscene mentality of pushing the limits of hardware merged with my desire to digitally recreate a snowy mountain experience. That was the starting point that led to the initial skiing game which then morphed into a snowmobile experience. Once I hit upon the theme of mountain rescue in the face of an incoming blizzard the game evolved quickly into five distinct “story beats” or game modes.
Can you briefly describe the gameplay and those different game modes?
Absolutely! There are going to be about 120 missions of increasing difficulty. I’m currently using a simple password system which allows you to jump right into any missions that you’ve unlocked. Each mission takes roughly 8 minutes to complete and consists of the following five key game modes:
Mode 1: Snowmobile Race to find the missing hiker - Dodge obstacles and jump logs as you race your snowmobile against the incoming blizzard. Find the letters that spell “RESCUE” in order to locate the injured hiker. Take Polaroid photos of alpine creatures for extra points. Perhaps you can snag a picture of the elusive yeti!
Mode 2: Rappel / Abseil down the cliff - Avoid falling icicles and spiked rocks as you rappel (abseil) down the icy cliff to where the injured hiker is trapped on a precarious ledge.
Mode 3: Helicopter Journey to hiker’s chasm - dodge birds as you navigate the helicopter over mountainous terrain. Gather coins and letters by flying your helicopter into them or gathering them up in your rescue cot.
Mode 4: Helicopter Rescue of the hiker - Fight fierce mountaintop winds to maintain helicopter control as you lift the injured hiker out of the chasm.
Mode 5: Airlift Hiker to hospital - Weave your way between birds and trees, over and under bridges as you rush the survivor through the canyon to the medical helipad.
How long have you been working on it, and when are you hoping to publish it?
This project started rolling during the winter of 2021. Three months later (Jan. 2022) I hit some roadblocks. I had big plans for Alpine Rescue, but my ignorance of how to do anything complex in 6809 assembly was holding me back. Instead of banging my head against the wall, I pivoted to something more exciting…coding a 3D calibration demo for the 3D Vectrex Imager, working on a 40th Vectrex anniversary demo and starting initial work on a 3D Centipede! type game. These projects consisted of tiny stand-alone coding components that allowed me to dig deeper into the complexities and power of assembly language without having the weight of a huge project on my shoulders. The lessons I learned in those side projects provided me with the confidence I needed to jump back into development of Alpine Rescue sometime around July of 2023. So, to answer your question… I’ve worked on it for about 1 and a half years. Unfortunately, it’s currently just my hobby. I work full-time at my job and come home to handle typical family stuff until around 10 or 11 pm. So, in a good week, I tend to only get around 2 - 3 hours a week of focused time on my code. To answer the second part of your question, my GOAL is to launch the digital version before Christmas 2024, but I still need to get my Virginia business license before I can start accepting payments.
Will this be a physical cartridge as well as a download?
Absolutely! Physical cartridges can take advantage of bank-switching which unlocks an additional 32kb of storage. I plan to use that additional space for things like additional music and speech, bonus games, additional secret unlockables, etc. Those things will take some time, and I feel the community has waited too long for this game already. Also, I’m hoping the digital purchases will provide the base funding required to create those physical copies. I also plan to offer digital purchasers a discounted price for the physical copy. Details will be on the RetroWorldChamps.com web store before the digital version goes on sale.
What recent Vectrex releases have impressed you?
Recently? Neon Hawk by the mysterious brother of Mikko Huovinen. Looks like a TRON version of S.T.U.N. Runner or Wipeout. Real-Time 3D on a stock Vectrex. That’s super impressive to me, as I mostly just simulate a 3D effect through hacky uses of scaling and parallax. Can’t wait to get that when it releases. Of course, anything by Tutstronic…mad respect for his dedication to excellence and “going the extra mile.” Speaking of “going the extra mile” Juggernaut’s Player 2 doesn’t get enough love considering all the games, extras, and settings that he packed into that game. I definitely plan to add Player 2 to my library around Christmas time. Seriously, there’s so many inspiring homebrew creators right now. Hard to narrow it down to just a few. I’m so grateful for everyone and the overall support and inspiration that I’ve found in the community.
Are you working on any other Vectrex projects?
Although I’m primarily focused on getting Alpine Rescue to the finish line, I do have a few other projects on the horizon. Definitely plan to dig into the aforementioned 3D Centipede-like game currently called “Gold Bug” for both 3D-Imager and 2D Vectrex. Also, I finally feel competent enough with coding to revisit and expand on my original “Fox Blox: Raging River” and “Fox Blox: Icy Blast” game ideas. Along the way, I’m planning to get rolling with programming for another 6809-based system… my childhood Tandy Color Computer 2 (Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 in the U.K.). I would like to explore some of the game ideas for that system when I was a kid. Perhaps they would also translate well to the Vectrex. The challenge of porting Alpine Rescue to a raster-based computer is pretty tempting as well.
Any tips you’d like to share with beginning coders?
So many. Where to begin?
General tips:
Get in the habit of making backups on another drive or in the cloud. More than once, I shut down Windows mid-save and the file I’d worked on for days was now completely empty and unreadable. I lost my whole FoxBlox project because I was storing the backups on the same drive as my working project and the drive died; no big loss, since I was total newb, and it was terribly coded at the time. Still learned my lesson and now I make backup copies of my .asm file to Google Drive after each 30 min-1 hour coding session.
Comment your code. I’m always having to go back to optimize things, and my old comments are huge time-saving lifelines. Comment your code, and your future self will thank you!
Get plugged into https://www.VectorGaming/ProBoards.com
Once you’ve mastered the basics, and are ready to really dig into the advanced stuff... get set up with an account on the VectorGaming forum. Check out the Vectrex section for up-to-date news from the homebrew community, and the Vectrex programming and modification forum for REALLY deep dives. Most of my breakthroughs came about thanks to tips and advice that I gleaned from experts there.
Technical Assembly coding tips (that I’ve learned the hard way):
Always use the appropriate exit when you enter a block of code. Sometimes you accidentally branch (BRA) to a block of code and then later Jump (JSR) to that same block of code. JSR subroutines should always exit with an RTS, but leaving a branched block of code with an RTS will get you some very funny results if it doesn’t crash immediately.
Be SUPER careful with stack calls. The hardest bugs in my code to pin down were when I didn’t keep careful track of Pulls and Pushes to the Stack. Sometimes your code goes down a forgotten path and adds or takes away from the stack when you weren’t looking. Stack overflow isn’t just a helpful website, it’s also a very real issue on older hardware. Thankfully, it’s often an easy issue to identify as it creates the funniest and most bizarre bugs and glitches.
Don’t use the Vectrex’ built-in bios Random subroutine. Shout-out to Kristof Tuts of Tutstronic for sharing this tip with the dev community. Calling the built-in random function can (and will) crash your Vectrex at some *surprise surprise* “random” moment that is impossible to debug. A quick Google search and you’ll find Kristof’s fix for this. I ended up rolling my own solution for Alpine Rescue, so that’s certainly an option as well.
Great questions, and thanks so much for interviewing me and for highlighting exciting developments in the retro homebrew community!
DATABURST - REVIEWS
Crater Song
Format: NES
Credits: John Vanderhoef (developer), Jordan Davis (music, sound FX)
Price: $9.99 digital download / physical TBC
"Cute graphics and atmospheric music really sell the idea, with clever presentation including short rhyming texts and static images... Once you get used to the unusual control method, this is a brilliant mix of ideas with a compelling storyline to push you forward. W
[Score] 88%
Hayato’s Journey
Format: Mega Drive
Credits: Master Linkuei (developer), Edmo Caldas (music)
Price: Name your own price (digital download)
"The first Mega Drive game developed with the Scorpion Engine is an unofficial follow-up to Master System title Kenseiden... Shinobi fans will be right at home with the mix of platforming and swordplay... it’s a good fan-made tribute to earlier games."
[Score] 83%
Ultar’s Lair
Format: Atari 2600 (NTSC optimised)
Credits: Oniric Factor
Price: €8 digital/physical TBC
"Jorge Romero’s maze game was inspired by The Legend of Zelda... this is a fun 2600 game you should try that will hopefully get a physical cartridge."
[Score] 81%
PROCESSING - PREVIEW OF FASTER (ATARI STE)
Jonathan Thomas has now released FASTER - a 50fps racing game for Atari STE.
What inspired you to program the ST?
I’ve been programming on the ST in some form since the late 80’s. My early efforts were written in STOS Basic and were mainly focused on attempting to reproduce the look and feel of various 2D and 3D racing games that I’d played on the ST and in the arcades. None of these attempts were particularly noteworthy, mostly due to both my own inexperience and the limitations of STOS Basic.
Twenty years later, I was working as a commercial software developer and had various PC-based personal projects on the go, one of which was a reverse engineering of the Pole Position arcade game. I’d created a fully 3D version of Pole Position for the PC but found myself wondering whether the reverse-engineered code I’d written could be run on the rather more humble ST. I familiarised myself with some C development tools for the ST and started building the ST version of Pole Position that’s now available to the public. The rest is history!
What inspired this project to create a 50 frames per second racing game?
The idea was planted in my head when Masteries (the author of the Metal Slug remake for the STE, also running at 50 frames per second) mentioned in conversation a couple of years back that he felt the STE should be capable of a 2.5D racing game running at 50 frames per second. The idea swirled around in my head for a long time while I thought about what level of features might be realistically possible and how the ST’s hardware might be used to implement these features. I showed the first proof of concept on Twitter in February this year and have been refining things since.
What is your development environment and the major tools used?
I develop on a MacBook and use a variety of open-source tools, including the “Beyond Brown” C cross-compiler, the VASM assembler, PHP (for graphics conversion, compiled sprite generation and lookup table generation) and GIMP (for graphics manipulation).
What hardware are you targeting as a minimum spec?
The base specification for the game will be a 1-megabyte STE. STFM models will unfortunately not be supported, as the game makes heavy use of the various additional hardware in the STE. The initial release is unlikely to be enhanced in any way for owners of machines with more memory or faster processors.
When do you hope to release?
I hope to release an initial version around December 2024 as a free download. Further updates may follow with incremental improvements, bugfixes and new features.
[NOTE: The game was released for free in December 2024 - https://bit.ly/faster-ste ]
Issue 265 of Retro Gamer was published on 24th October, 2024
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Please note that this site is a personal blog, publishing content with the permission of the interviewees. It is not affiliated with Future Publishing, publishers of Retro Gamer.
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