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Rediscovering the fun of programming with the Game Boy

Leveraging the Game Boy to synergize programming and positive engagement in the next quarter

Who dis

Eldred (he/they)

ISSOtm
First Game Boy: age 15
Loves Rust 🦀, assembly, and nothing in-between

Sylvie (she/her)

Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64 fan
High-level jobs: Typescript, C++, Java, Python...
Low-level hobbies: C and assembly

What can make programming unfun?

Barriers to entry

Waiting for long compilation
Getting a bunch of dependencies
Needing more powerful hardware

Hard to finish complex projects

Humorous image depicting how many jobs a solo game dev has to do at the same time

Hard to wrap your head around

Many different targets
And constantly evolving, too!
Debugging suffers
Grasping the overall functioning feels nice

Why going back to older times fixes those

Developing for a 90's console doesn't mean you must go back to a 90's experience

Modern tools for a retro platform

Create: graphics editors, music sequencers
Build: assemblers, compilers
Run: emulators, debuggers

It's just less complex

Good concept-learning material...
...but still fun and engaging on its own
Enables small team sizes
Baseline expectations are much easier to meet
Constraining
- Limitations breed creativity
- Sometimes feels like a puzzle-solving activity

The various kinds of Game Boy development

This niche has a little something for everybody!

Making games

No-code

GB Studio logo GB Studio

Good introduction
Also lets you write your own code!

Programming: C

ZGB: game engine, essentially
GBDK-2020: many batteries included
Can make your own toolchain, like GBSDK

Programming: assembly

Surprisingly accessible!
GB ASM Tutorial
RGBDS: the assembler with all the features you'd want
Alternatives: ASMotor, WLA-GB, ...

Exotic languages

Wiz
Millfork

Coming soon...

LLVM port (C++, Rust)

Showcase: Rhythm Land (DMG)

Showcase: Quartet (SGB)

Showcase: Dangan GB2 (GBC)

Discovery

Physical releases

Cartridge collection in 2025? You bet!
Picture of Hermano's collector's edition

2022 > 1996!
Graph of the yearly physical releases

Tinkering

Hey what if I put a STM microcontroller in a cartridge?

That link cable is practically SPI!

There are precedents, too!

Hey what if I put a STM microcontroller in a cartridge?

That link cable is practically SPI!

There are precedents, too!

Music composition

Trackers

PC (e.g. hUGETracker)
On-console (e.g. LSDj)

Drivers / replayers

Showcase: 8-bit Sunset

Showcase: Tune In!

Pixel art

Dedicated pixel art tools (Aseprite, Piskel...)
Source

Monochrome GB art (4 shades of gray, dithering for nuance)
GBC art (unusual colour restrictions)

Making tools

Assemblers, compilers
Graphics editors, mapping tools, audio sequencers
Game-specific tools (scripting engines, etc)
Contributing to existing open-source tools

🐱 Feel like doing some work outside of the console? We got you covered! ⏭️

Since we mentioned programming, it follows that one can work on the tools necessary to make the languages work -- assemblers and compilers. ⏭️

🐶 More on the GUI side, there are tools for creating your game assets -- graphics editors, tilemap editors, audio sequencers, etc. ⏭️

Individual games may also use their own custom tools like for scripting cutscenes, or defining enemy AI; really, your imagination is the limit. ⏭️

If you'd rather not make your own game and your own tools for it, there are several GBDev projects that are looking for help right now. There is a strong culture of free software, so anyone can contribute (and even get paid a little as thanks).

Showcase: RGBDS

We're the current maintainers
All the features you'll want (and more)
Free software!

Emulators

80% of games are easy to accurately emulate
Want difficulty? Try emulating Prehistorik Man pixel-perfectly... or Pinball Deluxe at all!
Want fun? Emulate a simpler platform on the Game Boy! (e.g. CHIP-8)
Well-understood (mostly), well-documented, a lot of people can help

🐶 Another interesting field is the world of emulation. ⏭️

Emulating the Game Boy on your computer is a common recommendation for newbies, since getting it mostly right is not particularly difficult (unlike, say, the NES) ⏭️

🐱 That said, if you like a challenge, the Game Boy has a lot of headaches in store for you! Here are two of the more famous expert-level targets, but don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from :) ⏭️

Some people even write emulators on the Game Boy. Due to the system's low specs, the opportunities are rare, but even lower-spec "fantasy consoles" can be done! ⏭️

Overall, it can a fun activity, because the system has been researched a lot and said research is publicly available; and there are a lot of people who will readily give you a hand.