Best way to go about making a Hack of an existing game

[Atari Charles]

Hi,

 

I've read a heap of information on this forum and other forums regarding the homebrew game, etc. Well, I'd like to start with a hack of game and then in the future try my hand at programing a game from scratch.

 

So first things first, can anyone give me some advice on the best way to hack an existing game? Right now I use a Pentium III computer and run Windows XP Pro. Is there a program I can download on this site that will allow me to program in the Atari Language, save the file as a rom that can be burned onto an EPROM?

 

The best way for me to learn is to do a hack or a mod on something whether it be a program, piece of electonics, etc and then learn what works and what doesn't. At least with a hack, I can work with programming code that is already there and make mods from there.

 

I want to walk before I run, so that is what a hack of an existing Atari 2600 game would be the most logical place for me to start.

 

I'm not in it for the money but more for the joy of creating a playable game on a system I grew up with.

 

So any ideas would be helpful as well. I follow through with projects I start, so I will see this to completion.

 

Thanks again,

Atari Charles

[Nukey Shay]

I think the clearest way to see a program breakdown is to look at commented disassemblies found at The Dig. Most of them attempt to make the code more-or-less readable in plain English...so you can see what each instruction is doing. And by altering them slightly, you can compile them using Dasm and see how your changes affect the game.

But as far as understanding the 6502 (or "Atari") language goes, you are still gonna have to read up on it. Fortunately, there are a number of beginner's books archived on the web now at Atari Archives...and a coarse that you can follow in this forum.