Game Boy Homebrew
Introduction
The recent retro gaming boom has been nothing short of phenomenal. While some people collect game consoles themselves as part of their collections, others are developing new games or creating dedicated hardware. “Old-timer” was also one of the pioneers of indie game development, having worked on Game Boy (hereinafter referred to as “GB”) projects as a hobby around the year 2000. Although the magazine has since ceased publication, I had a serialized column in Sansai Books’ Game Lab that ran for about three years, I believe. Here, I’d like to look back on those days. My memory might be a bit fuzzy, so there may be some inaccuracies or discrepancies in the timeline, but please forgive me—just consider it the ramblings of an old-timer.
The Beginning of the Story
It was back in the 20th century, but a close friend from my technical college days—who’s now an old-timer—asked me, “Want to work on developing for the GB?” Back then (and even now), it was common knowledge that developing for a game console required the official SDK released by the manufacturer. So, I think my response was, “Can you even do that?”That friend is a skilled programmer—even the old-timer acknowledged that—and since he was already working and I’d heard about his achievements, he wasn’t the type to make empty promises. It all started with him saying, “Hmm, I think I can do it.”
GBDK and Pascal Felber
I don’t know how it is now, but back then, it was common practice on Homebrew to use the GBDK (Game Boy Development Kit) for development. The person who compiled this information was Prof. Pascal Felber, who was a postdoc at EPFL at the time. Even the “old-timer” was barely in his early 30s back then, and I think the Pascal in question was in his late 20s. As the Internet began to spread and a wide variety of information started to circulate, this kind of information also began to reach us directly from the developers. In fact, even with so many demos and samples available, the old-timers were actively engaged—whether it was with games or utilities—and were among the first to try out color graphics when the GBC was released.
Since “old-timer” was working at Bosch at the time, he frequently traveled to Germany on business. He was able to combine his business trip with vacation time to visit Switzerland. EPFL is located in Lausanne, and he lived there. Also, by chance, he found a like-minded friend living in Lausanne, and they arranged to meet up. Looking back now, I’m amazed we managed to meet up at the airport in a country we’d never visited before—especially since we didn’t even have cell phones, let alone smartphones. That fellow enthusiast picked me up at the airport and drove me to Pascal’s house. It turned out Pascal was also into electronics, and when I spotted the same soldering iron he was using, I felt an indescribable sense of kinship. For dinner, I was treated to an authentic cheese fondue. The next morning, the three of us set out together. Lausanne is home to Lake Geneva, which straddles the border between Switzerland and France. My fellow enthusiast, who owned a nice boat, took us out onto the lake and hosted a barbecue for us there. We crossed over to the French shore, where we found a flower shop; I still remember it as vividly as the flowers in that shop. I think I have a photo of that memory somewhere. It was just around the time digital cameras were first becoming available. I’d like to digitize those photos someday.
DATEL and the UK Tour
I think this also dates back to the 20th century. It must have been right before I switched jobs to Nokia. TeamKNOx not only developed games, but also worked on connecting GPS devices and creating remote controls for LEGO Mindstorms using the Game Boy. Around that time, the PDA started appearing. Someone suggested, “Okay, let’s make a PDA using the Game Boy!”That close friend of mine created a shell—or rather, a PDA-like launcher framework—and we ported standalone apps to it. I think there were probably more than 10 of them. This caught the attention of DATEL, the company famous for the Pro Action Replay, and they contacted us asking for a license so they could use the code. The team members all had steady day jobs, and back then, people weren’t as interested in side gigs as they are now, so I sent them a ridiculous email reply saying, “Go ahead and use it freely. But since we’re interested in DATEL—a company developing devices not officially endorsed by game manufacturers—we’d like to exchange ideas. Please cover the travel, lodging, and meal expenses for me and my friend. Business class, of course.” I remember sending that outrageous reply. They responded positively, gave me the travel agency’s account number, and transferred the money for the plane tickets. Up until that point in my life, I’d never even flown business class at the regular fare. I had a layover in Paris on my way to Birmingham. At the DATEL lab, they showed me various devices under development, we had technical discussions, and they took me out to eat. One memorable incident was when they told me they’d booked a hotel in London and asked me to stay there for the night. I headed there, but I mixed up north and south on the way from Birmingham and ended up in Liverpool instead.I remember thinking, “Hmm, they’re really into the Beatles, aren’t they…?” I spoke to the conductor, switched to the opposite track, and arrived safely in London. I was impressed to find fruit and champagne waiting for me in my hotel room. I wandered around London and enjoyed dinner. The mishap occurred at checkout. “We received the reservation from DATEL,” they told me, “but we weren’t told who would pay for the stay, so we’d like you to settle the bill here.” Since I’d come expecting all expenses to be covered, I couldn’t back down on this. Moreover, it was a Sunday—the office was closed—and this was back in the days before cell phones were widespread. After some negotiation, we managed to settle the matter by agreeing that the bill would be charged to DATEL. Well, I suppose they didn’t want to waste time dealing with a Japanese person who wasn’t fluent in the language. My return trip was via Paris anyway, so I decided to stay there for one night before heading home. Amid all the fun memories—like seeing construction work on the riverbed of the Seine, climbing the Eiffel Tower, and sightseeing at the Arc de Triomphe—an incident occurred. While walking down a Parisian alley, I was told, “We’re conducting a drug raid—show us the contents of your wallet,” and they simply snatched my cash right out of it. Looking back, I think it was a variation of a pickpocketing scam. As I headed home, feeling dejected, a friend gave me 30,000 yen and said, “Thanks to the old-timers, we really had a great time—so cheer up!” It brought me to tears.
Hudson and the Sapporo Trip
Hudson also showed interest. Since the concept was similar to GB KISS—with features like infrared connectivity and mini-games—they suggested, “Why don’t we discuss this further?” and I ended up going to Sapporo. Of course, they covered my expenses as well. This time, I went alone. I remember having a long conversation with Mr. Nakamoto, who was on the board at the time, in the lounge.
The Game Boy and Love’s Exile
“Love’s Place of Exile” is a romance novel by Jun’ichi Watanabe that was serialized in the Nikkei, but anyone who smirks at this title is undoubtedly an old-timer in their late 50s or early 60s. While the Game Boy and “Love’s Place of Exile” seem like they’d reach a maximum value in terms of the distance between those two points, for the old-timers who’ve had a vicarious experience with it, the value is actually minimal—and I’ll prove it. Incidentally, the “Love’s Exile experience” refers to the experience of these “old-timers” themselves; the term Love’s Exile is simply used to describe it. I should note in advance that these “old-timers” are still alive today and have not developed a relationship as deep as that between Kikuji and Fuyuka.
A while after my first Game Boy book was published, my editor contacted me to say, “We’ve received a fan letter from a woman—it’s an email, though.” I’ve published several books, but this was the first and only time I’ve ever received a direct fan letter. It read: “I was so moved to learn you could do things like this on the Game Boy. Right now, I’m holding my Game Boy and letting my imagination run wild.” It’s actually me who’s the one letting my imagination run wild—and I’m good at it. She included her email address, so I wrote her a reply. I got a response right away. I think the first time we met was at the Gajoen, which was part of the Nokia office at the time. For some reason, I remember meeting her along with a senior colleague. She was in her late 20s, cute-looking, married, and wearing the platform boots that were all the rage back then. She looked like she belonged walking the streets of Shibuya—there was absolutely no “Akihabara vibe” about her whatsoever. Partly because I was busy with work, we probably only met two or three times during the day, and the only “Aruke” element to it was that she’d been moved by my work and came to meet me”…
Apparently, he’d never programmed before, but the results were amazing. He learned how to set up tools and build projects, and he was able to create simple games on his own and colorize my own version of “Memory.” It made me realize how important it is to publish a book. Getting carried away, I went on to write two more books on development, but I didn’t have two loaches…
It was an idyllic time.
Looking back now, it was a dreamlike era. Back then, 8-bit CPUs were still in active use, so there was a lot more one person could handle, and it was easier to keep an eye on everything. These days, you inevitably have to bypass security measures just to get started. Well, maybe the current retro gaming boom is a reaction to that.
Deliverables
The old-timers’ ramblings went on for too long. This is one of the reports I posted a few years ago as part of my end-of-life planning—there are others as well, so please be sure to check out the site.