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by npinsker
894 days ago
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> Suppose we want a new version of Pokémon Yellow with a new Pokémon creature. We don’t need to change the game’s source code, we just need to edit the wiki and then press the “remake game” button. Modding a game becomes as simple as editing the wiki. Creating a game becomes as simple as writing its wiki. Is this actually at all feasible? The total amount of storage space used by the Pokémon wiki is hundreds of times larger than the original game, likely requiring many times more effort to write than spent by the original programmers, and it still doesn't cover many, many aspects of that game (e.g. that Pokémon is tile-based; what buttons do in various contexts; sound and visual UI design) -- to say nothing of the clever ASM and memory tricks necessary to make the game work on the Game Boy. I'm reminded of that comic where the punchline is "do you know the industry term for a specification precise enough to generate a program? Code. It's called code." |
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But I kinda love that as an idea. The text of the wiki defines the core ideas of what the game is, but a lot is left unspecified and to be interpreted.
Pokémon legends Arceus feels a lot like what someone who had only read about the franchise may create as a game, and it's a pretty awesome addition to the series.