Two New Homebrew LCD Games (Game & Watch)

[trevorjay]

Montrose.is has long been obsessed with static-screen (e.g. VFD and LCD) games. We had done several static-style "simulations" before and even been involved in some physical reproductions. When MAME started to offer broader support for the TMS1000 and the SM51X based handhelds, we knew we had to do something for real. Many months and tweaks later, we think the games are ready to face the homebrew audience of record.That's AtariAge of course!

 

Both are written in assembly for the Sharp SM510, the 4-bit (4!) microcontroller that powered the earliest Game & Watch titles. We used the more basic chip because we wanted the games' "release dates" to coincide with the transition between the wide screen and dual screen series ('82-83). Using the SM510 meant that we were limited to 2K of ROM and didn't have the dedicated melody chip that would come later. Instead of melody chip sound, we modulate the SM510's 4096kHZ oscillator in real-time as needed.

 

We ended up writing our own (crappy) assembler that outputs MAME compatible ROMs. The art specifications were also mostly driven by the need to be compatible with MAME. MAME uses SVGs for the actual LCD segments. kittyhawk decided to run with that and future proof the games by doing everything with vectors. For the under and overlays, we had to rasterize them at the resolution MAME (currently) expects, but we've included the original vectors in our zips.

 

We also ported the MAME bytecode interpreter to WASM so that we could produce dedicated in-browser emulators for both games. We actually did this before writing the games, and it ended up being extremely helpful in understanding the platform which is kind of a fascinating combination of 60's and 80's era computing. With 128 bytes of RAM, a Harvard architecture, and a memory mapped display, the SM510 kind of feels like a 2600, the NES, and a mainframe had a handheld baby.

 

BRIDE

 

 

"Bride" is kind of our attempt at an idealized Game & Watch game combining elements of our favorite titles and adding a strategic element not often present in Game & Watch games. Besides the classic "this while that" formula of catching flowers while avoiding rivals, you also have to decide when to end your game as you can only bank your points when you actually get hitched.

 

[edit] Thanks to @brice "Bride" can be played on an unlocked Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. See his post for details.

 

Play Online: https://montrose.is/gamea/ or on Newgrounds

Manual: br-19-manual.pdf

MAME ROM & Art (see manual): bride.zip

Video: https://youtu.be/3jApH_-ZgJA

 

SQUEEZE (NFSW)

 

 

We've always felt that the Game & Watch deserved a better Simon clone than Flagman. "Squeeze" imagines an attempt to right that by revisiting the concept with a dual screen version that also returns to the Game & Watch's roots by being an adult novelty. It's also our excuse to get in the ring with Ralph Baer and to take his "'Touch Me' but aesthetically pleasing" idea to its logical conclusion. We're especially proud of having a mode that allows for a programmable sequence, allowing multiplayer play.

 

[edit] If you use the MAME version please note that the keys you need to use/map are UP and RIGHT not LEFT and RIGHT as you'd expect (see manual).

[edit] It seems that either the SVG interpreter or LCD definition for gnw_mickdon changed in MAME 0.226. Until the art is updated, “Squeeze” will only work on version 0.225 and earlier.

 

Play Online: https://montrose.is/gameb/ or on Newgrounds

Manual: sq-69-manual.pdf

MAME ROM & Art (see manual): squeeze.zip

Edited July 9, 2021 by trevorjay
added Newgrounds links

[trevorjay]

Just fixed a bug in the web emulator that prevented using the NumPad. If it breaks anything else, please let me know.

[MemberAtarian]

Bride is kind of really cool and a really unique idea, but Squeeze should have a little more variety.

[trevorjay]

Bride is kind of really cool and a really unique idea, but Squeeze should have a little more variety.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to play! We really appreciate it.

 

I don't want to promise anything, but I do have a bit of ROM left on Squeeze. Is there a particular Simon mode you have in mind or are you thinking of a more basic change?

[MemberAtarian]

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to play! We really appreciate it.

 

I don't want to promise anything, but I do have a bit of ROM left on Squeeze. Is there a particular Simon mode you have in mind or are you thinking of a more basic change?

I just thought, that if there are boobs, maybe the girl, with her legs up, covering her magic place with her hand, using her butt would add two extra possibilities.

[trevorjay]

I just thought, that if there are boobs, maybe the girl, with her legs up, covering her magic place with her hand, using her butt would add two extra possibilities.

 

Ha! I see. So more DP than just plain DS. Maybe if we continue the series on a beefier platform. Squeeze on NES ("Now You're Playing With Power!") or... of course... Super Squeeze.

Edited September 11, 2018 by trevorjay

[zapiy]

These are just awesome, to see people going the lengths like this they deserve more coverage if you don't mind me putting on my site with a post back to here, I am sure Albert will be ok with it?

[trevorjay]

These are just awesome, to see people going the lengths like this they deserve more coverage if you don't mind me putting on my site with a post back to here, I am sure Albert will be ok with it?

 

Thanks! Obviously, we can't speak for anyone else but in terms of us: please post however and wherever you'd like. The love of these machines needs to be spread.

Edited September 22, 2018 by trevorjay

[trevorjay]

@zapiy Whoa. Just realized you're that zapiy. Homebrew Legends and RVG are awesome! You especially should feel free to post wherever and however you want.

#7

[zapiy]

Cheers mate, added to HBH site.. Links back to here.

[trevorjay]

Realized I never linked to this behind the scenes post. We're working on something larger as an introduction to coding for the SM510.

[zapiy]

Love it fella.

[pseudografx]

Hi, would it be possible to have the ROMs available in .mgw format? I got an emulator for my RG350 clone that supports this format.

 

[trevorjay]

On 8/29/2020 at 10:16 AM, pseudografx said:

Hi, would it be possible to have the ROMs available in .mgw format? I got an emulator for my RG350 clone that supports this format.

 

 

I have to admit, I was totally unaware of this core. Just taking a cursory look it seems that gw-libretro's mgw format is a way to embed simulators (after converting them to Lua) as apposed to a ROM format for G&W *emulation*. But... maybe I could embed just enough of an emulator as a simulator (or something else equally unholy). I won't promise anything quickly, but I'll definitely take a deeper dive and see if we might can do something. We'd love to have these games playable more places.

[pseudografx]

Thanks for having a look into it.

[retro_fan]

On 10/1/2018 at 5:20 AM, trevorjay said:

Realized I never linked to this behind the scenes post. We're working on something larger as an introduction to coding for the SM510.

What an amazing idea -- to create an actual G&W game! Congrats! Are you still planning to release some coding intro in the future? It's a pity that your website has changed and the old links no longer work... (though one can try to search in the Internet Archive) 

 

And BTW, have you seen this Game & Watch "simulation" inspired by hit indie game Cuphead? -- https://dedjo0.itch.io/cuphead-game-and-watch-edition Also would've been nice in some "hardware" form...

 

Check out as well: KB1013VK1-2 Debugger for Soviet Nintendo Game & Watch clones (Электроника ИМ) -- http://www.ebastlirna.cz/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1130447#1130447

[trevorjay]

Thanks @retro_fan! The Game & Watch just doesn’t get nearly enough love.

 

Apologies for not staying on top of the links. I just added new links to the post and some new redirects to the site. The web versions are both back online and all the links in the manuals should work again. If you’re still interested in our brief behind the scenes writeup it’s archived here:

 

https://montrose.is/sketching/201808260123.html

 

I had *not* seen that Cuphead game nor that debugger. The “score for time alive” mechanic in the gsmr is interesting in that it fits both the Cuphead and G&W ethos. It kind of reminds me of "Egg" except that the score increments continuously, which kind of feels more modern. I will have to spend some time with that debugger. For what it's worth, I found the MAME debugger and disassembler pretty damn awesome. Seeing the screen at the same time is also super nice.

 

As to an intro, yeah I should probably get around to writing *something* :). Are you interested in the SM510? If nothing else I highly recommend the info in the “ Sharp Microcomputers Data Book” (page 158 in the PDF, 149 in the book):

 

https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_sharpdataBomputersDataBook_31076011

 

MAME itself is also invaluable in terms of documenting opcodes:

 

https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/devices/cpu/sm510/sm510core.cpp

 

I know most people are happy with simulation, but it’s good to get in there and get low level every once in a while.

[brice]

Hello,

that’s an amazing thing !

On my side, I just complete the adaptation of MAME lcd handheld emulator for pocket size device (STM32).

It can be really nice if I can use ’Bride’ as a reference and use it for tutorials.

Please, is it possible to use it and modify it for this purpose ?

regards,

Brice

 

[trevorjay]

On 6/17/2021 at 4:21 AM, brice said:

Hello,

that’s an amazing thing !

On my side, I just complete the adaptation of MAME lcd handheld emulator for pocket size device (STM32).

It can be really nice if I can use ’Bride’ as a reference and use it for tutorials.

Please, is it possible to use it and modify it for this purpose ?

regards,

Brice

 

Of course! We'd be super excited to see "Bride" in more places.

 

Inside the .zip linked above you can find the raw ROM as well as the actual assembly and raw SVG's. If you need any other assets (the cover art etc.) or help just let us know. You can always DM me here or reach Kittyhawk via the email at the website. I know you already dropped by our chat, but--timezones willing--that's always a good place to reach us as well.  

 

The code is LGPL, so I don't think there should be any licensing conflicts regardless of how you're handling your tutorial, but again: just let us know. We can always dual license it some other way.  

 

If you would give a link back to https://montrose.is in your tutorial/credits/etc. that would be awesome. We totally understand if it needs a disclaimer (depending on the audience for your tutorial). And it goes without saying that we'd love to see how things progress.

 

Super happy to see others catching the GnW bug. An STM32 based emulator sounds awesome. Any place we can check it out?

[brice]

hello,

It’s great to receive such answer from you.

This SM510 emulator will run on any STM32 handheld device (like Game & Watch 35th Anniversary).

The emulator source code will be open source.

The ROM files shall be shrinked and customized to fit in the small memory and downscaled to match the LCD resolution.

Brice

Edited June 19, 2021 by brice

[brice]

[trevorjay]

14 hours ago, brice said:

This looks fantastic! I’m super interested in seeing the technical details of your approach.

[Tanooki]

This reminds me of this old gem of a site, sadly stuck in the land of lame flash player so not sure it'll work well anymore with much.

http://pica-pic.com/

 

Also for decades now Madrigal has been doing G&W/Segmented LCD style games among others.

[brice]

 

The emulator engine is derived from MAME SM510 driver and simplified/optimized to be fit on smaller processor without OS ( bare metal).

It's open source and written in C and should emulate all single screen G&W, Konami, Tiger, Elektronika LCD handheld and of course Bride.

https://github.com/bzhxx/LCD-Game-Emulator

 

Artworks and vector graphics are adapted to match the target and to add graphic effects (mix gradient, fan art, drop shadow on segments).

It's open source Python script parsing artwork layout default.lay, hh_sm510.cpp and driving Inkscape.

A new ROM file is generated including shrinked background and segments, keys mapping, buzzer/melody,cpu id, video mode.

https://github.com/bzhxx/LCD-Game-Shrinker

 

Finally, it has been ported on STM32 platform like seen on the previous video.

https://github.com/bzhxx/game-and-watch-retro-go

 

[trevorjay]

SLYT: Bride on the New Game & Watch

 

It took me awhile to get together everything I needed to unlock and flash my 2020 Game & Watch but I have to say that this is just incredible work. Every game I've tried has worked flawlessly with the ported emulator. The practically instant on experience is fantastic and something really is recaptured by playing these games at their original size and form factor.

 

The shrinker is especially impressive, including major tweaks and optimisations for practically every game it recognises (including "Bride")! @brice the community truly owes you for such amazing preservation efforts.

 

I can't say how much I appreciate you for adding "Bride" to the list of titles supported by the shrinker. To see it nestled between "Balloon Fight" and "Crab Grab" is surreal in the best way. If there's anything we can do to support what you're doing, please let us know!