The 2020 NESmaker Byte-Off Awards The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-23 | Yes, people are making new games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and they are amazing! The NESmaker Byte-Off Awards are the capstone of the Byte-Off competition, where users were given a month to create a playable demo based on a provided theme. The 2020 theme was “TIMELESS.” This tongue-in-cheek award show parody also serves as the finale of the web series A Riff In Time, a ridiculous story about time travel and clones and cyborg dogs and horrible 80s fashion, all centered around celebrating these amazing games. As much as it is parody, it is also very real and sincere in its appreciation and recognition of this year's creations by the NESmaker community. We love you guys!You can get started developing your games for the NES as well, at:https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comHosted by: Joe Granato and Austin McKinleyJudges: Vivek Vasudevan, Chris Hoffman, Mellissa Hannon, Orion Dommisse, Ryan Burger, Dale Coop
Mystic Searches update, 2022 The New 8-bit Heroes 2022-12-24 | 2022 in review: see development progress on the new NES game, Mystic Searches.Massive update, big announcements. Happy holidays everyone!
(abandoned webisodes) Byte-Off III: Revival The New 8-bit Heroes 2022-10-31 | Play the NESmaker Byte-Off III NES demo contest entries at theretroverse.com/special-events/byte-off-2022As stated in the video - sometimes things don't go according to plan. For this year's NESmaker Byte-Off competition, we had some fun things in store. Unfortunately, a lot of change and life circumstance made our webisode frame story impossible to film. Enjoy this peak at the nonsensical intro that was to be, and definitely check out the games.The competition *IS STILL HAPPENING*, but the awards show and its respective web series will unfortunately not be completed as planned (prior to Halloween).
Retroverse Introduction The New 8-bit Heroes 2022-09-16 | https://www.TheRetroverse.com to play new NES games, https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com to make new NES games!
NESmaker at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, and JGVs first convention... The New 8-bit Heroes 2022-08-15 | What do you think? Should we hire the kid full time? He works for pizza...TheNew8bitHeroes.com
Byte-Off III - Theme Reveal The New 8-bit Heroes 2022-08-05 | More information at: thenew8bitheroes.comWelcome to the third NESmaker Byte-Off, where NESmaker users will have six weeks to develop new demos for the NES based on a common theme. Anyone of any skill level is welcome and encouraged to participate!
Brews & Homebrews, July 27th, 2022 The New 8-bit Heroes 2022-07-30 | After a long hiatus, we bring new NES games to a new bar in a new city!While this Brews & Homebrews was just a rough test run for a new venue, we took the opportunity to show off previous NESmaker Byte-Off games and tease the Byte-Off III reveal.
NESmaker games...from Scratch? The New 8-bit Heroes 2022-07-07 | At this year's NESmaker Summer Camp, we're going to dive deep into advance use of the tool suite, creating a simple game from scratch. How can NESmaker be used to create a game from scratch? Check out the Summer Camp tutorial series at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com
Mystic Searches: Themes from Myrinda, Part 1 The New 8-bit Heroes 2021-11-09 | As a musician, composing within the limitations of the NES hardware is sometimes very frustrating. The result has a certain charm that all of us who grew up with the system still love, but at the same time, one's mind can not help but hear it through cinematic scope. The soundtrack for Mystic Searches actually began as a piano suite, which turned into a series of orchestral motifs, then was crushed down to 4 voice chip tunes. Over the process, many of the original ideas evolved and changed; some were jettisoned completely, new ones were devised or developed organically. To help everyone get excited for the game, this is the first of a three part orchestral suite which is designed to take a listener through a sonic experience of Mystic Searches lore.To find out more information about Mystic Searches, go to https://www.MysticSearches.com.CREDITS:Composer - Joe Granato IVArrangement - Boris Sevastyanov
Mystic Searches: Chapter 1. Musing the Wraiths of Verekai The New 8-bit Heroes 2021-10-31 | On this Halloween, for those diving into the lore of Mystic Searches, I hope you enjoy a ghost story from the world of Myrinda that helps set the stage for Julian's adventures to come. For those uninitiated, what is Mystic Searches?The initial drafts of Mystic Searches came in 1988, when I was only 8 years old, in the form of ideas for a video game that would play on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Those simple colored pencil sketches were lost to time. Rediscovering those concepts as an adult in a box of childhood keepsakes hidden in my parents' Central New York home was the impetus to bring new life to the fantasy tale that I'd abandoned in my youth. At first, the idea to realize the ambitions of a version of myself that hadn't yet graduated elementary school was a bit of a novelty. But as I started to view the ideas through the lens of 30 years of creative maturation, it became obvious that this forgotten project was foundational in all of the creative things I've done since. So, after spending the better part of a decade crafting lore that could only be suggested within the limitations of an 8-bit game, Mystic Searches has unexpectedly become my creative focus, and has led to production of a transmedia experience. And yes, that includes (as originally intended by my 8-year-old self) developing a hardware playable cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System.Please enjoy this dramatic reading of this part of the novelization of Mystic Searches. For more information, check out the project and its progress at https://www.MysticSearches.com
Mystic Searches, Deconstructed: Mystic Kesali Boss The New 8-bit Heroes 2021-10-13 | In this video, I show how I use 6502 ASM in NESmaker to deconstruct the AI that drives Kesali, one of the bosses for Mystic Searches. To find out more about Mystic Searches, visit https://www.MysticSearches.com. To Find out more about NESmaker, visit https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com
Mystic Searches: Bestiary Part1 The New 8-bit Heroes 2021-04-14 | This video looks at some of the biomes in Mystic Searches, and the monsters that inhabit them. You can get a feel for the scope of the player mechanics, hear a sampling of music, and get a feel for the scope of the world of this upcoming NES game. There will be a lot of fun things to show over the next few months. You can follow progress on the game at https://www.MysticSearches.com.Credits:Joe Granato IVAustin McKinley E.A.A. WilsonAutumn RoseFranco LeddaFernando Fernandez
GamerQuest NES RPG first look The New 8-bit Heroes 2021-02-01 | Here's a quick video showcasing how I'm breaking the NESmaker engine to create the GamerQuest RPG module. Nothing here is trivial - the overhaul of physics so the movement respects the grid, the alert box system completely unique from the textbox engine, the object stat management which doesn't use any object bytes...I'm planning a series of videos that goes into all the ways in which the underlying engine is broken apart and put back together to achieve some of these effects.Enjoy! And if you are interested in making your own NES games, make sure you're heading to https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Twelve: Extra Bits The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-24 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Eleven: Screen Triggers The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-24 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Ten: Special Screens The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-21 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Nine: Music and SFX The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-11 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
A Riff In Time - Episode 4 The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-10 | To find out more about NESmaker, go to https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comIn this episode, it's Austin's turn to ride the time coaster, and the team channels their inner 80's to muscle through the remainder of the Byte-Off games. It appears that together, they will get back for the awards show...but perhaps not quite yet.
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Eight: NPCs The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-09 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Seven: HUD Basics The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-08 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Six: Winning and Losing The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-07 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Five: Monsters The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-05 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Four: The Screen Painter The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-05 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Three: The Input Editor The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-04 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day Two: The Animation Tool The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-02 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
12 Days Of NESmas - Day One: The Pixel Editor The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-12-02 | Get NESmaker now at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis tutorial series is designed to supplement the module tutorials on the LEARN page. Once you have created a few of the projects on the learn page and really want to start unlocking NESmaker's potential, you can find out more about each component of NESmaker's extensive tool chain in this series.You can download the assets for this project at thenew8bitheroes.com/12daysofnesmas
A Riff In Time - Episode 3 The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-11-21 | To find out more about NESmaker, go to https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comWill Austin be able to use the time machine to retrieve Joe from 1989 in time for this year's NESmaker Byte-Off awards? The only hope is to play through all of the submitted games through the special 4d cartridge. In this episode, Austin is successful in returning Joe to 2020...but not quite as he planned.
A Riff In Time - Episode 2 The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-10-29 | To find out more about NESmaker, go to https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comWill Austin be able to use the time machine to retrieve Joe from 1989 in time for this year's NESmaker Byte-Off awards? The only hope is to play through all of the submitted games through the special 4d cartridge.
A Riff In Time - Episode 1 The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-10-15 | To find out more about NESmaker, go to https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comWill Austin be able to use the time machine to retrieve Joe from 1989 in time for this year's NESmaker Byte-Off awards? The only hope is to play through all of the submitted games through the special 4d cartridge.
NESmaker - What Would You Create? The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-09-22 | Here is a very quick look at handful of games from this year's Byte-Off competition (which you'll have a chance to play very soon on our website). We hope that even more of you aspiring developers get excited about what you could create with these tools.To get started, go to www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com
How to Prep your NESmaker game for Byte-Off 2020 The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-09-17 | In this video I show you how to use the export section of project settings to prep your game for submission to the NESmaker Byte-Off 2020 competition.
NESmaker hits International News The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-09-10 | It was great to see this story about an 8 year old NESmaker user in France releasing his game on cartridge. I'll work on getting the English translation up asap. Yep, crossing both generational and international lines! For those that are interested in making NES games, check out https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com for details.
NESmaker 4.5.6 Tutorial: Maze Game, Easy Mode The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-08-24 | The new version of NESmaker is here, and with it, a plethora of new tutorials to get you started making your NES game! Go to https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com to get started!In this tutorial, we will be quickly snapping together a maze game using preexisting assets. On the website, you can also find links to an intermediate tutorial where we delve deeper into how the tool works, as well as advanced use, where we begin to look a bit at the 6502 ASM code.
NESmaker Byte-Off, 2020 Theme Reveal The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-08-09 | More information at: thenew8bitheroes.com/byteoff2020Welcome to the second annual NESmaker Byte-Off, where NESmaker users will have one month to develop new demos for the NES based on a common theme. Anyone of any skill level is welcome and encouraged to participate.
Mystic Searches: Prologue. The Nights Licentious Orchestra The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-06-24 | The initial drafts of Mystic Searches came in 1988, when I was only 8 years old, in the form of ideas for a video game that would play on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Those simple colored pencil sketches were lost to time. Rediscovering those concepts as an adult in a box of childhood keepsakes hidden in my parents' Central New York home was the impetus to bring new life to the fantasy tale that I'd abandoned in my youth. At first, the idea to realize the ambitions of a version of myself that hadn't yet graduated elementary school was a bit of a novelty. But as I started to view the ideas through the lens of 30 years of creative maturation, it became obvious that this forgotten project was foundational in all of the creative things I've done since. So, after spending the better part of a decade crafting lore that could only be suggested within the limitations of an 8-bit game, Mystic Searches has unexpectedly become my creative focus, and has led to production of a transmedia experience. And yes, that includes (as originally intended by my 8-year-old self) developing a hardware playable cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System.Please enjoy this dramatic reading of the prologue for the novelization of Mystic Searches. For more information, check out the project and its progress at www.MysticSearches.com
NESmaker Studios Tour The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-06-19 | Welcome to NESmaker Studios, where we are building not only new NES games, but also new ways to create NES games. This video is the first tour of our space. Feel free to check out more information at https://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com
New NES Game: Mystic Searches, first look The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-05-17 | Welcome to the first look of official gameplay for the long awaited NES game Mystic Searches! You can find out more information about this project at http://www.MysticSearches.com.In this video, you'll be introduced to the Sage Lakes, semi-permanent home of our vagabond minstrel, Julian, and follow the game's opening narrative through to the inciting incident that draws Julian into a much bigger adventure.Release date pending. Subscribe to keep up to date on this and other NES related projects!
NESmaker 4.5 Quick Feature Update The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-05-04 | If you're interested in creating your own NES games, head to www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com and get started today!This is just a quick video of one of the new methods used to handle text. Since I was working with it, I thought I would share!
SNESmaker? Or: An unfortunately clumsy teaser announcement video. The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-04-24 | Due to massive emails expressing deep confusion, I wanted to take a minute to catch everyone up on the latest development in our awesome retro community
NESmaker feature preview - 041420 The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-04-14 | A new version of NESmaker is coming very soon, but you don't have to wait to get started - check out the current version at www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comThis video shows one of the new features of the upcoming version - easily integrating game states, multiplayer controls, and object targets for inputs.
NESmaker Studios Quarantine Check In The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-04-09 | This is just a quick check in for all of my 8-bit loving miscreants out there in the world. Stay safe and healthy. Sound off below to let us know you're alright. Flood the feed with positivity, what homebrews you are playing, or anecdotes about how you're coping with it all.
Eat Your Neighbors - Isolation (Reset, 2004) The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-04-02 | A very quick break from 8-bit creation for those sheltering in place...I thought this track from my former musical life was pertinent to the situation many of us find ourselves in right now...consider it part of your quarantine playlist.One of the concepts behind this song was just how frenetic and loud our minds can become when feeling isolated. What starts as a lone, consonant voice soon diverges into a pair of equally present counter melodies, each tugging the motif in their own direction. By the end, it is a blistering cacophony of sonic textures with a chorus of competing voices, wrestling for dominance.For those who may be feeling this level of psychological overload resulting from cabin fever despite all of the chaos around us, this one is for you.
A Corona Virus PSA for Retro Gamers, From NESmaker Studios The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-03-20 | We hope all of our retro game loving friends are safe in these crazy days. Big things are on the horizon, but in the meantime we thought we'd take a quick 30 seconds to try to inject some much needed levity into everyone's day.If you are bored, feel free to head to our website at http://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com - there you can get NESmaker and start making your own NES game, or check out some of the demos created by others for last year's Byte-Off competition.Stay safe, everyone!
NESmaker Update, Feb 2020 The New 8-bit Heroes 2020-02-12 | For more information, visit http://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.comAs we prepare the next public release of NESmaker, here is a quick look at some of the new features we have been working on, and how we bent NESmaker to simultaneously fit the needs of both Mystic Searches and Gamer Quest.
Mystic Origins and Mystic Searches: A Quick Comparison The New 8-bit Heroes 2019-12-13 | Here is a side by side look at our two NES Games, the prologue to our hero's adventure called Mystic Origins (available now through at http://www.NESmaker.etsy.com) and the long awaited Mystic Searches (coming soon). Here, you can see a side by side comparison of the games, and get a small glimpse at how this Mystic Searches project has grown in breadth and scope.
NESmaker Update 072219 - Screen Info and Mystic Searches progress The New 8-bit Heroes 2019-07-23 | Want to start making NES games? Get NESmaker at http://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com In this video, I delve into how Mystic Searches will handle a basic experience system, stats like strength and defense, the "song" based spell system, disposable items, and player status effects.
NESmaker Update 070619 - More screen info, quicksand, and the sprite priority trick The New 8-bit Heroes 2019-07-06 | Want to start making NES games? Get NESmaker at http://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com In this video, I show another map feature for a quick look at bytes, to check the state across multiple screens at once. I also show how Mystic Searches will utilize extra user tile types for different types of "water" like features, including quicksand. To do this, I will use the sprite priority trick, which I briefly explain here.
NESmaker Update 070119 - Screen Info and Mystic Searches progress The New 8-bit Heroes 2019-07-02 | Want to start making NES games? Get NESmaker at http://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com In this video, I show a quick look at a user suggested Screen Info preview from the map view. I also demonstrate some of the various magic types for the upcoming NES game Mystic Searches.
NESmaker Update 062119 - fade transition and day/night cycles The New 8-bit Heroes 2019-06-23 | Want to start making NES games? Get NESmaker at http://www.TheNew8bitHeroes.com For some reason, my streaming software was giving me a hard time today...again...but I wanted to make sure to get a video in to show you what I'm working on today. In this video, we're going to take a look at fade transitions and a day/night cycle being implemented into Mystic Searches, and NESmaker 5.0.
