How to Make a Homebrew Atari 2600 Game
The Atari 2600 has seen a resurgence in the gaming community thanks to the development and release of homebrew games. The games are created by an individual using the Atari 2600 programming language and distributed to gamers through the use of emulators, which mimic the old console. Those with knowledge of programming can create their own homebrew games, a process that serves as an introduction to game design as well as an entertaining diversion for players.
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Things You'll Need
- Text editor
- Assembly program
- Assembly language tutorials
- Atari emulator
Instructions
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1
Design your game. Designing for the Atari 2600 is an exercise in creativity. You're given a limited set of options, and it is up to you to use these options to create an entertaining game. Map out your idea and write down your goals.
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2
Translate your game idea into a workable design. The Atari 2600 supports four elements of a game.
Playfield: where the game takes place, the walls and corridors.
Sprites: Characters and enemies.
Missiles: Any sort of projectile such as lasers or bullets.
Balls: A mix of missile and sprites, can be used a power-ups or as part of the playfield. -
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3
Obtain a text editor and an assembly program. The text editor can be any sort of program that allows for the input of text such as Note Pad or Word Pad. The assembler will take the code you've written and translate it to be a usable Atari code.
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Write your code. This is the trickiest part of the process. Coding is done in the Assembly language; learning this requires you to have several tutorials and sheets of commands on hand. Writing these commands will direct the game on what to output based on how your player interfaces with the program.
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Assemble to code using the program downloaded during strep three. This will create an image that can be processed by your Atari emulator mimicking an actual cartridge.
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Test the game. Your first attempt at programming the game will most likely result in errors that prevent the game from running from start to finish. Play your game and note technical issues as well as design issues. Adjust these in the code.
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Once complete, run the game yourself or share with others using Atari emulation software compatible with most current computers.
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Tips & Warnings
Play any Atari games you can find. This will give you ideas to incorporate into your own designs.
