it is finally done. I just finished my first game for Nintendos upcoming 3D console, the VirtualBoy. When I started I just wanted to have a look at the system, as I was in the mood for some c programming. However, at some point I realized I can put a simple game together.
GameHero is like a VirtualBoy version of GuitarHero. It features 24 Video-Game Themes. The game itself is pretty simple, just press the displayed buttons.
I programmed the whole thing in exactly one month, so keep your expectations low, as the game is not perfect at all. Also my code is pretty ugly, as I had to get it finished this month (I am going to very busy the next 6 month or so).
The music is generated using a tool I programmed. This can be used to convert midi files to a VB header format. I use a modified version the DanB’s Code for playing notes. However, it looks quite similar to SU Sound Engine, so the tool may also work for that.
The zip files contains two version, one for the FlashBoy and one for the RealityBoy. I did two versions as the Game seems to run with 60 FPS on the emulator while it runs with 30 FPS on real hardware. I also experienced some strange issues when I tried to save the scores on my FlashBoy. I am not sure if it is an issues with my FlashBoy or if I did something wrong. Just tell me if it works for you if you find the time to test it.
Thats it, let me know if you have any questions. I usually read this forum pretty often.
It’s always nice to see new homebrew developers. I’ve played through the first track a couple of times and I’ll try it on hardware soon. Maybe we can help you solve the differences between emulators and hardware if you post some code.
The MIDI converter sounds interesting (no pun intended), even more so as the MIDI format looks like quite a chore to interpret (though I admit I haven’t even tried). Are you going to release it?
Midi Files are actually a pain in the ass. I tried understanding them and programming a working parser for like 4 days. Even though I am now able to read notes out of a Midi file by looking at the hex code I wasn’t able to write a parser that is able to interpret every midi file.
At that point I realized that I might not be the first on who tries to do this. There is a c# library called NAudio. That made things allot easier.
I actually plan to publish the midi converter and all sources. However, before I do that I will have to clean up all of the code.
Hmmm, I guess I should have written some kind of manual. The game works basically like this:
– Choose the song you would like to play. The Star Trek Theme is pretty easy and good start for beginners.
– As soon as you start the game you will see between 1 and 3 points.
— The first row shows either A or B which means you have to press the A or B button.
— The second row shows either R or L, which means you have to press the right or left trigger button.
— The third row shows an arrow that can point left, right, up or down. This means you have to press the corresponding direction on one of the D-Pads. You only have to use one of the D-Pads, but it doesn’t matter which one you use.
– While the points are above the line you can press what ever button you want, without making an mistake
– As soon as the points hit the line you have to be pressing the correct buttons. However, you can already press the right buttons while the points are on top of the screen and wait until they hit the line
– If you press more or less buttons then displayed (or the wrong ones) you are not scoring any points.
– You can score 100 points on every song. Your score should be displayed next to the “Select Song” text in the song menu. (Even though I experienced some errors on my VB)
– If your score is higher then 75 the game should say “You Rock”, otherwise “You Suck”
– You can delete all scores by pressing the right and left trigger during the start screen
Thats it… and yes, the game is nothing for little girls. For those who are curios, there is nothing to be unlocked or the like.
As the weather is so nice outside and I wasn’t in the mood for work I did what everybody did. I went outside and programmed a little bit for the VirtualBoy. I just couldn’t resist to polish GameHero a little bit more. Right now I am pretty happy with the results. Here is a little changelog:
– code is now a pretty girl
– changed button order in game menu to make game a little bit easier
– player can choose easy difficulty (for little girls)
– saving scores is no longer glitchy
– added credits (shown if all normal songs finished)
– chick changes if all normal songs are completed
– full 3D in emulator (does look strange now in Reality Boy 2D Mode but in the end it is a 3D game)
– depth effect during game is now stronger
– songs are unlocked as soon as all normal songs completed
– music plays with same speed on emulator and on hardware
– saved allot of RAM by reducing the size of files produced by VIDE
– removed multi channel support from midi player to save RAM
– polished graphics a little bit
– add ROM information into vb file
The only thing left is to add some more songs. I also have to reconvert all of the existing songs, as the game now runs with 60 fps. As soon as this is done I am going to publish the new version. I will also publish the sources, even though I don’t think they hide any magic.
So, if you guys have a favorite video-game-theme-song that you always wanted to hear played by your VirtualBoy, this is your chance. Let me know and I may try to include it.
I tried the game today on a flashboy. It worked fine.
I thought it was good, but not great. Two things bothered me, first the quality of the music. Then that there’s almost no “feedback” to when you push the right buttons. I guess there is the score going up, but I would greatly have preferred the symbols lighting up as you press them or something.
I tried the game today on a flashboy. It worked fine.
🙂
I thought it was good, but not great.
🙁
Two things bothered me, first the quality of the music.
Whats wrong with the quality of the music? I though that most of the results are pretty awsome. Espescelly for the Mario, Zelda and Metroid tracks. It’s not like the VirtualBoy is a mp3-player or like I know how to compose music. With more time and effort I could have supported multiple tracks and instruments, however most of the HomeBrews I played didn’t even have music in the background so this should be a big step forward.
Then that there’s almost no “feedback” to when you push the right buttons. I guess there is the score going up, but I would greatly have preferred the symbols lighting up as you press them or something.
Good point, I wanted to do that in the beginning but had to cut the feature because I had no more time. Maybe I will add a sound feedback (like in GuitarHero) if the wrong buttons are pressed.
The comment from Protoman85 made me think. Even though his comment is a little bit rude, he is right with highlighting of the buttons. I don’t see what wrong with the quality of the music, though. In the end all of them are NES soundtracks and in my opinion they sound pretty much like the original.
What do you guys think of the music?
Also, do you guys think there is a game element that should be changed/improved?
I am just asking because I never got allot of feedback about the game itself.
