The games industry moves fast, with release schedules flying by in a blur and hardware constantly changing and updating. But outside the official world of licences and publishing deals, hundreds of games every year find a new home on consoles which have since been abandoned by their manufacturers. This is the hobbyist’s playground of homebrew gaming. The first book by freelance journalist and game developer Robin Wilde, Homebrew Game Development and The Extra Lives of Consoles is the first comprehensive history of the unlicensed and unofficial world of homebrew video games. It explores the methods, enthusiasm and motivations behind the developers who are defying technical limitations and turning nostalgia into brand new gaming experiences for retro consoles. Featuring exclusive interviews with developers behind homebrew hits and Kickstarter successes, as well as others working in the industry, the book dives into what makes the homebrew world tick, and explores some of the best, most innovative, and strangest titles gracing long-retired consoles. As well as providing unique insight into obscure titles, Homebrew Game Development and The Extra Lives of Consoles explores the ongoing developments in this cottage industry, which are opening it up to more and more aspiring developers. Homebrew is an exciting new frontier for game development, and this book opens the door both for readers who were already interested but didn’t know where to start, and gamers who never knew this world existed.

The games industry moves fast, with release schedules flying by in a blur and hardware constantly changing and updating. But outside the official world of licences and publishing deals, hundreds of games every year find a new home on consoles which have since been abandoned by their manufacturers. This is the hobbyist’s playground of homebrew gaming. The first book by freelance journalist and game developer Robin Wilde, Homebrew Game Development and The Extra Lives of Consoles is the first comprehensive history of the unlicensed and unofficial world of homebrew video games. It explores the methods, enthusiasm and motivations behind the developers who are defying technical limitations and turning nostalgia into brand new gaming experiences for retro consoles. Featuring exclusive interviews with developers behind homebrew hits and Kickstarter successes, as well as others working in the industry, the book dives into what makes the homebrew world tick, and explores some of the best, most innovative, and strangest titles gracing long-retired consoles. As well as providing unique insight into obscure titles, Homebrew Game Development and The Extra Lives of Consoles explores the ongoing developments in this cottage industry, which are opening it up to more and more aspiring developers. Homebrew is an exciting new frontier for game development, and this book opens the door both for readers who were already interested but didn’t know where to start, and gamers who never knew this world existed.

This book "gives you a complete overview of how to create and market electronic games. You learn how the process works: from creating an idea for a game; describing the game concept in production documents ; building game assets such as artwork, game data, and code; to final packaging and marketing of the product. Author Michael Moore provides comprehensive coverage of key game-industry concepts such as the elements of gameplay, interface design, storytelling, and the economics of producing a successful game." - back cover.

Describes how to adapt old video games to new video and computer equipment.

This reference highlights popular video games of the 1970s and early 1980s, covering virtually every official U.S. release for programmable home game consoles of the pre-Nintendo NES era. The book is organized alphabetically by console brand, with encyclopedia-style entries for every game released for that console.