Build your own retro games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Do you have an amazing idea for a NES game you’ve been itching to turn into reality? Classic Game Programming on the NES will show you how. This all-practical beginner's guide is full of step-by-step guidance on everything from graphics and music, to enemy AI, to the 6502 Assembler language you need to get the most out of the NES.
Inside Classic Game Programming on the NES you’ll learn how to:
Use the 6502 Assembler language to create your own game
Create and display tile and sprite graphics
Play sound effects and music
Program enemy AI
Balance cycle times and memory usage
Design and develop your own action game from scratch
When you’re developing retro games, it’s dangerous to go alone—so take this essential guide! Classic Game Programming on the NES is an all-in-one handbook to the resources you need to start building for the NES. You’ll learn to understand modern emulators and discover the secrets of programming in ages past. Best of all, you won’t need any specialist experience! Even highly technical elements are broken down into step-by-step instructions, and fully illustrated with easy-to-follow diagrams.
About the Technology Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda shaped the video game industry and defined childhood for millions of gamers worldwide. Bring back the magic by creating your own NES games! All you need is this book and your imagination—no game dev experience or specialist programming skills required.
About the Book Classic Game Programming on the NES distills the scattered secrets of NES development into clear instructions for building your first games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. You’ll learn about the NES’s unique design, the surprisingly simple 6502 Assembly language, and more. As you go, you’ll create a simple space-based shoot-em-up that gives you a pattern you can follow to build anything you can dream up on your own.
What's Inside
The tools of NES game development
Create and display tile and sprite graphics
Sound effects and music
Program enemy AI
About the Reader No game programming experience required.
About the Author Tony Cruise is a legend in the field of retro games. In the 80’s he programmed games for 8-bit systems; now he creates resources for developers working with 8 and 16-bit systems.
The technical editor on this book was Dan Weiss.
Quotes A detailed and thorough entry point into programming on the classic Nintendo console. Everything is included. - John Hancock-Collector, Educator and Content Creator
A phenomenal bible to the inner workings of arguably the most important videogame console of all time. - The Oliver Twins
Great for anyone who has programmed on modern systems and wants to know how it was done in the 1980s. - Ryan Burger, Old School Gamer Magazine
Clear and entertaining! Even developers with minimal knowledge can follow along and get a game up and running. - Jonathan Reeves, Wolfjaw Studios
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month, and much more.
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.