If, back in the day, you planned your Link's Awakening killer for the Game Boy but never got past the concept phase, it might just be the time to dig up those plans, because thanks to GB Studio and some effort, you can finally make your dream Game Boy game a reality.
Released to coincide with Nintendo's all-conquering portable's 30th anniversary, GB Studio is developer's Chris Maltby's accidental packaging of all the scripts he used during a week-long Game Boy-themed pixel art game jam.
This software currently supports Windows, macOS and Linux. You will need an external PNG image editor (like GIMP) to make your sprite art for characters and backgrounds, while music can be added using GB Player. Once you have everything set up to your liking, your game can be played and shared via the provided HTML5 emulator, or you can build it into a Game Boy ROM file, capable of both running on your emulator of choice or your old Game Boy, via a flash cart.
Untitled GB Game is described by Chris as as "retro 2D walking simulator" and was not only his entry into the game jam but also serves as an example project / tutorial for GB Studio. A lovely showcase of what one might be able to achieve with the proper sprite art talent and this very neat, user-friendly tool.
Will you give GB Studio a spin? If you do, feel free to share your four coloured masterpieces with us at Nintendo Life.
[source gbstudio.dev]
Comments 30
Wow this looks so cool!
Why in the world should I care about this when there's already a more advanced RPG maker on the 3DS?!
@BulbasaurusRex Because working within the constrains of the original GB hardware is quite refreshing.
I will be so down for this if you can produce Link’s Awakening type JRPGs and not the turn based games like Final Fantasy etc.
@BulbasaurusRex a more interesting notion here is that RPG Maker GB has existed for ages. Except in Japan only. So this project, while neat, is just not quite as groundbreaking as the headline makes it sound.
https://youtu.be/2VQvdlBak74
@nhSnork But that software is more akin of RPG Maker, it allows you to pick from a pre-made art and sound assets to assemble a turn based RPG with an overworld and locations to explore. This is a rather different concept and a much more powerful tool to boot.
Not for me, but it’s a blessing to the people.
@Shiryu that much is definitely something to credit.
Very lovely little editor!
I might show this to my students.
Cool, but I don't think I really am in a mood to learn a new editor ATM. SRPG Studio has me busy enough already.
Long live the GameBoy aesthetic!
@RickD Can't wait for Cousin 2, the spin-off.
@FragRed LA isn't a JRPG, though. You want to make action games, not RPGs. But anyway, sure you can do that. It's far more simple, in fact. I made a Zelda type game (well, like 2 areas of one, lol) when I used to be really into RPG Maker in my teens.
@BulbasaurusRex AESTHETIC + IT CAN RUN ON REAL GB HARDWARE
@Matroska That's why I was asking as the website for GB Studio states that it's designed for JRPGs whereas this article talks about making your own Link's Awakening. They are different types of games.
Cooool! I'll be sharing this with a Meetup Slack group that I'm in. Some in it would love this.
@RickD I'd legit play the Father series.
This looks great. Wish I had internet access at home. I'll have to keep this in mind.
@FragRed ah right, fair enough. Well I know you can in RPG Maker. It's just set up so there are no random battles and when you press a button, you trigger an animation that can damage the enemy (e.g. swinging a sword). Kind of like how even pure JRPGs can have attack animations outside of battle, but they trigger battle and give you an advantage rather than being a typical attack (like in Persona 5 for example). So this is that but it doesnt trigger a battle, it just does damage.
@Shiryu @iamjash That just means the graphics will suck and you'll have less memory available. There is absolutely nothing positive about the GameBoy aestetic or being forced to work with tighter constraints if there's a looser option already available. You can teach yourself to work conservatively without those limits. It just takes discipline.
Also, who cares about it being able to run on an actual GameBoy?! It's much better for these things to run on an actual 3DS, you know the thing that many more people actually still use.
@Shiryu Ok, that's fair if true (although the graphics will still suck). How exactly is this a more powerful tool, and how do you know this? Apparantly, you can apparantly make your own custom sprites and include your own music, but what else? If that's it, you're still better off with "RPG Maker Fes," as the available presention is still greatly superior despite only having pre-defined choices available.
@BulbasaurusRex Thank you for your feedback on the subject. I am using the articles I published today to consider my future as a freelance video games journalist and your point of view will help me make the correct decision.
@FragRed Yeah, I personally consider Link's Awakening to be an (mostly) overhead Metroidvania. It would be great if you could do something like that, but I highly doubt it.
@BulbasaurusRex Is it possible to produce those kinds of games in RPG Maker?
@FragRed Not on the 3DS or any of the other console titles, no.
If you have GB-like assets though, you could do so on any PC RPG maker.
@BulbasaurusRex Some people will enjoy it, I'm sure. Also yes, there are a fair number of programmers that enjoy working within tight constraints - it encourages you to think about optimization and can teach you strategies and techniques you'd never think about with looser constraints. It can also be quite challenging, and lots of people do enjoy challenges. It can even be beneficial to have optimization skills if you're asked to develop software for embedded devices, which can be quite constrained.
The purpose of GB Studio is to share a polished up version of some tools that were used in a game jam, where just for fun a bunch of developers were challenged to create something with a common theme, in this particular case yes the theme was "Gameboy." The actual jam was the Bored Pixels Jam 3, and the game submitted was "Untitled GB Game."
https://itch.io/jam/bored-pixels-jam-3
I don't fault anybody for trying to target a historical platform - it can be challenging, nostalgic, and fun to see how much you can push the platform (or an emulator of the platform). I've seen people make games even today for the NES, SNES, Commodore 64, and other historic platforms. It's programming as a hobby, and why try to tell people what they can and can't enjoy as a hobby?
RPG Maker Fes looks interesting, but it exists for the same reason: It's targeting people who just want to try their hand out at making RPGs for fun; it's practically useless for making actually profitable games. It can only make 3DS games, it requires a player to actually play the games it makes, and it's advertising everywhere that the games it makes can be played free.
So both GB Studio and RPG Maker Fes exist for making games as a hobby, not as a serious business venture. So I say let the hobbyists enjoy their hobby .
If you really want a more serious game development engine, there's Unity, Game Maker, or if you really want to target JRPGs or Link's Awakening style games - RPG Maker MV.
The drawback is that getting a game from RPG Maker MV to an actual console is a bit more involved as it doesn't natively support any console, but the games it generates are native HTML / JavaScript, so it might actually be doable as long as there is a compatible browser engine that can be embedded (preferably Chromium).
@BulbasaurusRex But why would you use the strict limitations of RPG Maker FES and the obsolete 3DS when you could just make an HD lifelike game in Unreal or Unity? It just takes discipline. /s
Finally, a True Pokemon sequel can be born!
@BulbasaurusRex Because Gameboy is much cooler obviously, what other silly questions do you have?
This looks amazing. definitely making a game.
I want to try to make something and was curious if anyone else has since this article was posted.
Also if anyone knows good phone apps for making sprites?
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