Game Development for the 8-bit NES
Assignments

Save this file, assign1_osx.dmg, somewhere on the hard drive, such as on the Desktop. Double click on it, and a new drive will automagically appear on the Desktop.

Editing your name

Double click on the new drive, named "assign1", to see its contents. Ctrl-click on the file name.bas, and use the "Open With" menu option to open it with a text editor, such as XCode or Project Builder if you have them, or TextEdit, which is in the Applications folder of every OSX Macintosh. Find the text on the 14th line of the file that says "YOUR NAME HERE". Replace that text with your own name, whatever name you prefer to be called. Be sure to use capital letters. Then save the file.

Compiling and assembling

For this, you will need to open the Terminal application. This can be found usually in the hard drive's Applications folder, or in the Utilities folder within that. You can use Finder's File/Find menu option to help you if you are having trouble locating Terminal. Once you have a Terminal open, you should type the commands that are listed below in bold text. The only change you should need to make to these commands is replacing my Andrew user id (rrost) with your own in both the second and third commands. If everything goes peachy, then your "assign1" folder should now contain a NES rom. In my case, the resulting file would be named "rrost.nes". This will be the file to turn in.

otherguy:~ bobrost$ cd /Volumes/assign1/
otherguy:/Volumes/assign1 bobrost$ ./nbasic name.bas -o rrost.asm
Read file name.bas (81 lines)
Beginning compile
Compile completed successfully.
otherguy:/Volumes/assign1 bobrost$ ./nesasm rrost.asm
NES Assembler (v2.51)

pass 1
pass 2
otherguy:/Volumes/assign1 bobrost$


(optional) Testing your rom

If you would like to test your rom, you will need to first find a Nintendo emulator on the internet. RockNES and Nestopia are good choices for the Macintosh. Figuring out how to install the emulator and load a ROM is up to you.

Turning it in

You should submit your rom to me by email. The address to send to is rrost+nes@andrew.cmu.edu. The email subject should be "NES Assignment 1", and the email should contain these items:

• Your name, major, and year.
• Your current status in this class. That might be one of these: enrolled, waitlisted, enrolled and maybe dropping soon (tell why), no intention of enrolling but participating anyway.
• Your relevant skills and abilities. Common ones might be: programming, in-game art, concept sketches, other 2d artwork, game design, level design, story design, creative writing, interactive storytelling, music composition, personal hygiene.
• A funny joke. The best ones will win a prize at the next class. One entry per person. Duplicate entries will be disqualified.
• Your rom file, as an attachment.
• Anything else you want to tell me or ask me.(optional) This might include a recent story about your life, bugs you found in the compiler (other than the win32 hexadecimal bug), an invitation to go on a date, recommendations of a good movie, or incredibly dorky technical information.

Downloading the assignment files

For Windows computers, download this file, assign1_win.zip, and unzip it to a directory, such as the Desktop.

Editing your name

Open name.bas in a text editor. Notepad or WordPad should work well enough, or MS-DOS edit if you have that. On the 14th line, replace the text that says "YOUR NAME HERE" with your own name, whatever name you prefer to be called. Be sure to use capital letters. Then save the file.

Compiling and assembling

For this step, you will need to use the command line. Many Windows machines have a command prompt available from the Start Menu / Programs / Accessories. Another way to open a command is to go to the Start Menu, and select the "Run..." command, or hit the Window+R key. From the Run menu, enter command (for Windows 95/98), or cmd (for Windows NT/2000/XP).

Once you have the command prompt open, change to the directory where you unzipped the assignment. If you unzipped to the Desktop and it created a "nes1" folder, you will want to change to the nes1 folder. On most Windows machines, you can type "cd " (with a space) into the command line and then drag the nes1 folder into the command line to complete the line. Then hit enter. If this doesn't work, try one of the following commands, or panic.

cd "desktop\nes1"
cd "\windows\desktop\nes1"
cd "\documents and settings\username\desktop\nes1"


From the directory containing the assignment files, run the following two commands. You should replace my Andrew user id (rrost) with your own in both commands. If everything goes peachy, then you should now have a NES rom. In my case, the resulting file would be named "rrost.nes". This will be the file to turn in.

nbasic name.bas -o rrost.asm
nesasm rrost.asm

(optional) Testing your rom

You're on your own here. Find a NES emulator and try it out. It's up to you to figure out how to install the emulator and load a ROM. For Windows, I recommend the emulator Jnes.

Turning it in

Scroll up and follow the handin instructions listed for Mac OSX.

Downloading the assignment files

For x86 Linux computers, download this file, assign1_linux.zip, and unzip it to a directory.

Editing your name

Open name.bas in a text editor, and on the 14th line replace the text that says "YOUR NAME HERE" with your own name, whatever name you prefer to be called. Be sure to use capital letters. Then save the file.

Compiling and assembling

From the directory containing the assignment files, run the following two commands. You should replace my Andrew user id (rrost) with your own in both commands. If everything goes peachy, then you should now have a NES rom. In my case, the resulting file would be named "rrost.nes". This will be the file to turn in.

./nbasic name.bas -o rrost.asm
./nesasm rrost.asm

(optional) Testing your rom

You're on your own here. Find a NES emulator and try it out.

Turning it in

Scroll up and follow the handin instructions listed for Mac OSX.