Homebrew - Love it or loathe it?

[Meatbowl]

I love it because its allowed me to experience the older classics that I would have otherwise missed (such as Neo Geo games) not too mention there are some talented people that make excellent homebrew games out there.

[Timothy Lumsden]

i think with all the indie developers on xbla and app store etc, homebrew has lost a bit of it's purpose - even its identity - I mean is a free app on your iphone homebrew?

Mainly, I wish it could fit in with the rest of mag a bit better in terms of what else is being covered. If the magazine is - for arguement's sake mario that month - how about the best homebrew platformers etc?

[jimbo_too]

I love the homebrew section.

Conversely I absolutley loathe smartphones with a passion. To me homebrew is about rekindling what was so magic about the games we loved in the 80's, which was that they were often made by odd people in their bedrooms. Like Matthew Smith. And it's nice to see that some people go to great lengths for very little (or even no) money to keep the flame alive.

Long live homebrew! Both of the games and the alcoholic varieties...

[Miketendo]

I like reading about homebrew games, but it seems as if the same systems always get covered. I'd like to see some of the 8 bit and 16 bit systems get some love on the homebrew side of things. It'd also be cool to read about some of the games that got cancelled and why, for example the Chrono Trigger remake that got cease and desist letters sent to the developers.

[joefish]

I like reading about homebrew games, but it seems as if the same systems always get covered. I'd like to see some of the 8 bit and 16 bit systems get some love on the homebrew side of things. It'd also be cool to read about some of the games that got cancelled and why, for example the Chrono Trigger remake that got cease and desist letters sent to the developers.

Err - which 8-bit systems are you referring to there? Or do you mean consoles?

If it's consoles, homebrew for them is a lot harder to get into since they were never very open about how to develop for them. They're also a lot harder to distribute for. Basically, no-one ever got into console development as a kid at home like they did with a home computer. The same goes for later consoles, only more so as the copy protection locked you out to an even greater extent.

As for 16-bit computers, I suspect most people who would have developed for them started out on an earlier home computer (an 8-bit) which is more likely the one that would interest them now as a retro coder.

[psj3809]

I like reading about homebrew games, but it seems as if the same systems always get covered. I'd like to see some of the 8 bit and 16 bit systems get some love on the homebrew side of things. It'd also be cool to read about some of the games that got cancelled and why, for example the Chrono Trigger remake that got cease and desist letters sent to the developers.

The same systems get covered as they get a lot of homebrew releases. Be great if there were new carts for the Megadrive (Genesis) or another console but that doesnt really happen. Like you said its a shame the Chrono Trigger remake didnt come about.

But the same systems get covered as they get the most homebrew.

[Gabe]

I have no interest in homebrew and don't read it but don't really care that it's there either for those that are interested in it. For me retro is all about a period in time rather than a style to ape; it's a mindset.

[psj3809]

Yep the best memories come from the games you played as a kid. But i also like 'discovering' some of the old games i never played back then, over the years i've found many more great Speccy games i never played back in the 80's or games on consoles i never had.

The homebrew games i dont think of as games released in 2010, to me the same as the other Speccy games i hadnt played back in the 80's. Its just trivial that one was created in 2010 and the other in 1985. Many of these homebrew games would be crash smashes for sure back in the 80's.

[GarryG]

I think it's defenetly one of the most interesting sections of the mag, and is always one of the first bits I read.

Then, I program dull stuff for a living so this part probably would hold my interest more than some others.

[Gabe]

Yep the best memories come from the games you played as a kid. But i also like 'discovering' some of the old games i never played back then, over the years i've found many more great Speccy games i never played back in the 80's or games on consoles i never had.

The homebrew games i dont think of as games released in 2010, to me the same as the other Speccy games i hadnt played back in the 80's. Its just trivial that one was created in 2010 and the other in 1985. Many of these homebrew games would be crash smashes for sure back in the 80's.

Except that they are made using all the tricks and tweaks learned over the last 20+ years to squeeze every last bit of performance from the machines - so for me it's just like a massive anachronism to think of them as anything other than 'new'.

Still, I have no problem with the section existing, as I say.

[Alyxx]

Having worked with homebrewers and made some small games and mods on my own, I can only say that I respect and love the homebrew market! I still think that one person can make a decent game with a clear vision and a clever idea. Applications like Game Maker make it a lot of easier for people to realize their own game ideas and just the fact people are still making Atari VCS games is a proof to the fact that the love for the old consoles will never die.

[chewy]

Love it. Wish I was talented enough to create. My first experience with homebrew was typing in lines of BASIC to make a lottery number generator on the family Amstrad! Loved playing the Net Yaroze games that came on the Playstation Mag demo discs.

[o.pwuaioc]

I chose "love it!" not because I love most of the games, nor because I'm in love with the style (although I still prefer the 2d SNES and Genesis to anything on the N64, PS, or Saturn), but because there are flaws in every game, and homebrew helps to correct that. Whether it's a mod to make a game tougher or a "part 2" to a game I loved playing but wished was longer, the ability to get better is there.

[SexyWayne]

Like many others it's one of the first sections I flick to in the mag and imo it could do with being a page or so bigger and like IronMaidenRule said the addition of a few other systems wouldn't go amiss

[4am]

I think it's fantastic that there are folk out there still producing software for the 8-bit platforms and feel they perhaps deserve a little more coverage. It seems a little like this thriving community is being largely ignored.

I'd much prefer to read about Homebrew than games for the iPhone, xBox etc which hold little to no interest for me.