[jsheard]

It's not a huge market, in practical terms it makes more sense for retro-inspired games to use a modern engine with self-imposed constraints rather than targeting an actual retro platform, but some developers want to go that extra mile. Another example would be Goodboy Galaxy, an original GBA game which had a very successful Kickstarter and can be bought as a real working GBA cartridge if you want.

https://www.goodboygalaxy.com

[hnlmorg]

The Gameboy and GBA have seen a surprising number of new games in recent years. And I don’t mean stuff created in GB Studio (which is itself really awesome), but actual games written from scratch in C or assembly. They seem to be quite a popular couple of platforms to develop on even today.

Personally, I tend to look out more the indie Mega Drive releases but I really love the fact that people are still developing for these platforms.

[jsheard]

It's not a game but I'll take any opportunity to plug Overdrive 2 for the Mega Drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWVmPtr9O0g

That system has no business producing any kind of 3D graphics but they did it anyway.

[hnlmorg]

Yeah seen that before. It’s definitely impressive but it’s worth noting that there are a few 3D games for the Mega Drive. Albeit games like Virtua Racing did have additional chips in the cartridge (I have a boxed copy of that cart sat behind me).

The Master System had stereoscopic 3D games too. As did the Famicom. I have both of their respective 3D addons too. Missile Defence in 3D is pretty cool. Hard to believe it’s 30+ year old tech.

[pbj1968]

Virtua Racer was the only game with an extra chip for 3D. Everything else on that system is running straight off a ROM.

[hnlmorg]

For some reason I thought Sega had released other games with the SVP but you’re right Virtua Racing was the only one.

I think maybe I got my wires crossed with Virtua Fighter 2, which did see a Mega Drive release but as a 2D fighter (the VSP port being cancelled - presumably because of the cost of the VSP).

[pbj1968]

I went down some Covid quest of lunacy where I made literally hundreds of genesis cartridges. Yes, I’m aware of and own everdrives and multicarts, too. Got very intimately familiar with those pcbs by the end of it.

[erickhill]

There is a constant drumbeat of excellent new releases for both C64 and Amiga games as well. It's... amazing.

[hnlmorg]

Pretty much ever retro system still sees new releases, albeit at varying rates

[gauauu]

Nathan Tolbert here (the developer in the article).

It's true that it's not a huge market, but it's an interesting one. First, most of us involved are making these games because the old platforms themselves are what's interesting, so a modern engine just isn't any fun. So we're not remotely in tune with what's practical.

But beyond that, the community of players and buyers in this community is very engaged and supportive, which makes it very different from other indie dev. Indie games for a lot of other platforms have a long tail... if you get noticed, you'll make good money. If not, you'll make almost nothing and it will be crickets. In NES development, you're guaranteed to have a number of people that are engaging with you and supporting your work. It's still rare to make enough money to really make it a well-paying job, but it's a lot of fun as a money-making hobby.

[jsheard]

Yeah I certainly get the appeal, it's analogous to the way people are still making new FPS games using the actual Doom or Quake engines rather than something modern set up to imitate them. Though that also brings its own practical problems when trying to ship a commercial product, so you've really got to be in it for the love of the old school.

[doobiedowner]

I see "pre-order" and "shipping winter '23"... :(

[jsheard]

The game is finished and can be bought in digital form already, but it seems the physical version got delayed by manufacturing issues unfortunately.

[lbotos]

Thanks for this rec -- just played the demo and it's great!