Game Development in Eight Bits

Explore the fascinating world of 8-bit game development in this 40-minute conference talk from Strange Loop 2021. Dive into the techniques used by Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) developers to create iconic games within hardware limitations. Learn about physics, collision detection, randomness, data compression, and more as applied to professionally-developed NES games. Discover how developers handled graphics using tiles, layers, backgrounds, and sprites, and managed single and multiple screens. Examine specific examples from classic games like Super Mario Bros, Contra, and Dragon Warrior. Gain insights into game saving methods, including passwords and the Disk System. Perfect for retro gaming enthusiasts and developers interested in creating more with less.

Intro
What is NES
What does 8bit mean
Drawing graphics
Drawing with tiles
Layers
Backgrounds
Sprites
Single Screens
Multiple Screens
Physics
Super Mario Bros
Contra
Point vs Rectangle
Random Numbers
Saving Your Game
Passwords
The Disk System
Dragon Warrior
Resources
Questions