The Video Game Homebrew Crash of 2016

[Mr SQL]

 

If I'm reading this correctly, I just need to brush up on Tiny BASIC syntax and things like that and I should be good to go?

Yes you should be able to start writing programs and games almost immediately. The PDF manual on the site has some simple examples and shows you how to use the IDE, the readme reference manual will help you bush up on the Tiny BASIC syntax and special commands for enhanced graphics.

[+bfstats]

On 11/15/2015 at 2:14 PM, Rick Weis said:

so much HATE! I wish we can ALL just get along and not worry about what others are doing! but to answer the question about a "crash" IF there is a crash, it will happen when all the collectors stop buying any home brew games! (I will say over the years it has crossed my mind a few times!) players will always buy games if there are games they like/love but IMO many players don't buy many games because of a limited budget. and with the price of games these days, it's not that cheap of a hobby anymore.

 

for me this hobby has ALWAYS been about the fun of it and the thrill of the hunt.

 

Rick

 

SO well said! Thanks, Rick.

 

Update: As of early 2020 no crash has occurred, homebrews are plentiful, and every year there are GREAT (especially in the AtariAge Store) and TERRIBLE (as with EVERY year going back to 1977) new games regardless of programming languages.

 

As members of the community, let's continue to encourage all who have any inclination to make games. Even if their initial releases leave something to be desired, a START may lead to a CONTINUATION which will PERPETUATE the hobby and BENEFIT everyone. So there.

 

Oh, and boxes ROCK!

 

[MrBeefy]

I think it would be a great idea for Al to get digital downloads going in the store. I would then buy a Harmony and put money towards many homebrews.

[Keatah]

Yup.

[+batari]

20 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

I think it would be a great idea for Al to get digital downloads going in the store. I would then buy a Harmony and put money towards many homebrews.

This was discussed several years ago. But because some authors don't want to (or simply can't due to licensing) release their ROMs publicly, a simple, effective DRM scheme was proposed for these cases so that people could not simply download one copy and disseminate it or create bootleg copies of the game and put them on eBay.

 

That idea was pretty unpopular at the time, but I wonder if times have changed. Now that every modern game system, phone, media companies like Netflix, or for that matter pretty much any content provider uses some form of DRM, maybe people would be more open to the idea?

[RevEng]

If I recall correctly, the people who supported digital downloads in the past also said they wanted to pay mobile-type download prices for roms. i.e. a couple bucks, and many saying even five bucks was too much. That's a non-starter, for obvious reasons.

[+batari]

43 minutes ago, RevEng said:

If I recall correctly, the people who supported digital downloads in the past also said they wanted to pay mobile-type download prices for roms. i.e. a couple bucks, and many saying even five bucks was too much. That's a non-starter, for obvious reasons.

Yes, that makes more sense. That would kill the idea much faster than any DRM could.

[Shawn]

10 hours ago, RevEng said:

If I recall correctly, the people who supported digital downloads in the past also said they wanted to pay mobile-type download prices for roms. i.e. a couple bucks, and many saying even five bucks was too much. That's a non-starter, for obvious reasons.

 

If anyone isn't interested at $5 there is a simple solution, they can piss off and go without.

[MrBeefy]

On 2/16/2020 at 4:03 AM, Shawn said:

If anyone isn't interested at $5 there is a simple solution, they can piss off and go without.

I've held off on getting a Harmony because I would like to support the Homebrews. However, I can't support that many and the 2600 has a damn good list with A LOT of games worth getting. I would be apt to get a Harmony and buy 5 roms for price of one cart. I could then only buy carts of the ones I super love.

[Rick Weis]

On 2/9/2020 at 11:44 AM, bfstats said:

 

SO well said! Thanks, Rick.

 

Update: As of early 2020 no crash has occurred, homebrews are plentiful, and every year there are GREAT (especially in the AtariAge Store) and TERRIBLE (as with EVERY year going back to 1977) new games regardless of programming languages.

 

As members of the community, let's continue to encourage all who have any inclination to make games. Even if their initial releases leave something to be desired, a START may lead to a CONTINUATION which will PERPETUATE the hobby and BENEFIT everyone. So there.

 

Oh, and boxes ROCK!

 

YAY!!  and Yes Boxes ROCK!! :) 

 

Rick

[TwoShedsWilson]

I, for one, would order the hell out of some ROMS at $5. I want to support the devs, but I only have so much $$ to go around. While I do love physical media and it will always be my first choice, physical-only has kept me away from a large number of games.