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Classic Game Programming on the NES

Name: Classic Game Programming on the NES
Author: Tony Cruise
ISBN: 9781633438019

by Tony Cruise

July 2024

Beginner to intermediate

320 pages

8h 13m

English

Manning Publications

Audiobook available

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Classic Game Programming on the NES
Copyright
contents
front matter
forewordprefaceacknowledgmentsabout this bookWho should read this bookHow this book is organized: A roadmapAbout the codeliveBook discussion forumabout the authorabout the cover illustration
1 Let’s program games!
1.1 Our goal1.2 NES architecture1.3 6502 Assembler1.4 Calling all retro developers1.5 The structure of a game1.5.1 Initialize console1.5.2 Intro screen(s)1.5.3 The game loop1.5.4 Graphics chip draws changes to the screen1.5.5 Ending a gameSummary
2 Getting set up
2.1 Emulation2.1.1 Mesen2.1.2 FCEUX2.1.3 iNES2.1.4 Other options2.2 Editor2.2.1 Visual Studio Code2.2.2 Sublime Text2.3 Assembler2.4 Graphics creation2.4.1 NES Tileset Editor2.4.2 NEXXT2.4.3 NES Assets Workshop2.4.4 NES CHR Editor2.4.5 Other options2.5 Sound effects and music creation2.5.1 FamiTracker2.5.2 FamiStudioSummary
3 Starting 6502 Assembler
3.1 Online Assembler Simulator3.2 Memory and registers3.2.1 Numerical representations3.2.2 Registers3.2.3 Status flags3.2.4 Zero-page memory3.2.5 Stack3.3 Moving things around3.3.1 Loading data into a register3.3.2 Storing register data in memorySummary
4 Math, loops, conditions, and bits
4.1 Let’s do some math4.1.1 Addition4.1.2 Subtraction4.2 Increasing and decreasing4.3 Conditions4.4 Jumps, branches, and calls4.4.1 Jumps4.4.2 Branches4.4.3 Calling a subroutine4.4.4 Labels4.5 Bytes, bits, and nibbles4.5.1 Bit test4.5.2 Logical operations4.5.3 Shifting and rotating operations4.6 Using the stackSummary
5 Starting somewhere
5.1 NES cartridge code structure5.2 NES memory configuration5.2.1 Memory5.2.2 Segments5.3 Defined values5.4 NES header5.5 Vectors5.6 Zero page5.7 Sprite data5.8 Code5.9 Chars5.10 RAM5.11 IRQ interrupt5.12 Initializing the NES hardware5.13 NMI routine5.14 Some useful functions5.14.1 PPU update5.14.2 PPU off5.14.3 Clearing the name table5.14.4 Poll game pad5.15 Main application logic5.16 Compile scriptSummary
6 Starting a game
6.1 Setting up our game project6.1.1 Memory configuration6.1.2 Compiling script6.2 Creating a code library6.3 Adding some macros6.4 Initializing the console6.5 NES background graphics6.5.1 Tile name tables6.5.2 Tile patterns6.6 Defining the tile set6.7 Displaying the title screen6.8 Displaying the game screenSummary

7 Move and shoot
7.1 NES sprites7.2 Defining patterns for our player and bullet7.3 Controlling timing7.4 Moving the player’s ship7.5 Firing a player bullet7.6 Moving the player’s bulletSummary
8 Enemy movement
8.1 Generating random numbers8.2 Step 1: Enemy generation8.3 Step 2: Enemy movementSummary
9 Collision detection
9.1 Object collision detection9.2 Enemy collisionsSummary
10 Keeping score
10.1 Keeping track of the player’s score10.2 Adding to the player’s score10.3 Subtracting from the player’s score10.4 Displaying the score on screen10.5 Beating the high scoreSummary
11 Player collisions and lives
11.1 Player collisions11.2 Animating the player’s death sequence11.3 Handling game over11.4 Displaying the player’s livesSummary
12 More enemies
12.1 Defining more enemy types12.2 Keeping track of enemies12.3 Changing our enemy spawn code12.4 Changing our enemy movement code12.5 Making our smart bomb smarterSummary
13 Animations and more
13.1 Enemy animations13.2 Background animations13.2.1 Changing tile patterns13.2.2 Changing the palette13.3 Shaking things up13.3.1 Changing the shared background color13.3.2 Using the scroll registers13.4 Level progressionSummary
14 Sound effects
14.1 NES sound capabilities14.1.1 Pulse wave channels14.1.2 Triangle channel14.1.3 Noise channel14.1.4 Delta modulation channel14.2 Creating some sound effects14.2.1 Zap14.2.2 Boom14.2.3 Big boom14.3 Adding the sound engine14.3.1 Exporting sound effects14.3.2 Adding the sound engine code14.4 Adding sound effects to our gameSummary
15 Music
15.1 Music project structure15.1.1 Sequencer15.1.2 Piano roll15.2 Arpeggios15.3 Instruments15.3.1 Envelopes15.3.2 DPCM samples15.4 Generating music data15.5 Using music in our gameSummary
16 Where to from here?
16.1 Enhancing our game16.1.1 More enemies16.1.2 Extra lives16.1.3 Increased difficulty16.1.4 Music16.1.5 Arcade touches16.2 Extending the NES16.2.1 What is a mapper?16.2.2 More sound16.2.3 Game saves16.2.4 Extra features16.3 Publishing your finished game16.3.1 Free ROM download16.3.2 Online ROM sales16.3.3 Physical cartridges16.4 Other types of games16.4.1 Platformers16.4.2 Scrolling platformers16.4.3 Action adventures16.4.4 Role-playing gamesSummary
Appendix A. Installation and setup
A.1 WindowsA.1.1 Setting up the CC65 AssemblerA.1.2 Installing and setting up the emulatorA.1.3 Installing and setting up the editorA.1.4 Installing the graphics toolA.1.5 Installing the music toolA.2 LinuxA.2.1 Setting up the CC65 AssemblerA.2.2 Installing and setting up the emulatorA.2.3 Installing and setting up the editorA.3 macOSA.3.1 Setting up the CC65 AssemblerA.3.2 Installing and setting up the emulatorA.3.3 Installing and setting up the editorA.3.4 Installing the graphics toolA.3.5 Installing the music tool
Appendix B. Memory mappers
B.1 Complete mapper listB.2 NROMB.2.1 OverviewB.2.2 BanksB.3 MMC1B.3.1 OverviewB.3.2 BanksB.4 MMC2B.4.1 OverviewB.4.2 BanksB.5 MMC3B.5.1 OverviewB.5.2 BanksB.6 MMC5B.6.1 OverviewB.6.2 BanksB.7 UxROMB.7.1 OverviewB.7.2 BanksB.8 VRC1B.8.1 OverviewB.8.2 BanksB.9 VRC2 and VRC4B.9.1 OverviewB.9.2 BanksB.10 VRCB.10.1 OverviewB.10.2 Banks
Appendix C. Memory and IO map
C.1 Memory mapC.2 IO mapC.2.1 PPU registersC.2.2 APU registers
index

Content preview from Classic Game Programming on the NES

6 Starting a game

This chapter covers

Setting up our game project
Creating a shared library
Initializing the console
How the NES displays background graphics
Displaying the graphics on both our title screen and the main screen of the game

In this chapter, we are going to start making our game, called Mega Blast. This game is based on the Intellivision game Astro Smash, a simple space shooting game with our “hero” ship down at the bottom of the screen and various “enemies” dropping down toward the bottom of the screen (see figure 6.1).

Figure 6.1 Astro Smash on the Intellivision

Why a space shooting game, you may ask? This type of game has ...

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Classic Game Programming on the NES

by Tony Cruise

6 Starting a game

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