As to Darrell and the 2600 port stuff, I'd say it's really no wonder we're able to make better ports now than then. There are so many changed factors--no time crunch, no trade secrets--plus the advantage of using modern dev tools (when feasible) and resting on the shoulders of giants, so to speak. I'm not trying to reduce Darrell's achievements in any way (I'm sure they're fantastic), but just saying it's not always fair to blame the legacy programmers for a shoddy port. If researching the history of things like E.T. and Atari Pac-Man have shown me, those programmers were very seldom in anything like an ideal situation. (It's not like we're talking about lazy or incompetent programmers here, at least for the most part.) :P
The best programmers of the past are on par with the best homebrew programmers of today and vice-versa, which is a compliment to both. Each had their own challenges. The programmers of the past did it as part of their full-time job and were financially compensated in some manner, while today's homebrewers do it in their spare time and have little compensation to show for it (probably worse than writing books for us). All of the other factors you say are true as well - today's homebrewers have many of the past experiences to draw upon, better and quicker dev tools, etc. However, the biggest distinguishing factor to my mind tends to be cartridge capacities. While 2K - 8K was the norm back in the day, up to 64K is not unheard of today. That's a big difference and a big benefit to the modern hombebrewer versus what original programmers were dealing with. Of course, having 30+ years of knowledge to drawn upon is probably right up there as well.
One of the greatest developments on the Atari 2600 homebrew scene - which is inarguably the best homebrew scene on the planet - was the development of Batari Basic, which opens the 2600's imposing architecture to those of us without engineering degrees. While it can't realistically generate something the level of a Medieval Mayhem, it DOES generate commercial quality games. Exciting stuff, as is most everything it seems targeted to the platform, be it hardware or software. It's the perfect combination of nostalgia and just good enough hardware with accessible controls, etc.
As to Darrell and the 2600 port stuff, I'd say it's really no wonder we're able to make better ports now than then. There are so many changed factors--no time crunch, no trade secrets--plus the advantage of using modern dev tools (when feasible) and resting on the shoulders of giants, so to speak. I'm not trying to reduce Darrell's achievements in any way (I'm sure they're fantastic), but just saying it's not always fair to blame the legacy programmers for a shoddy port. If researching the history of things like E.T. and Atari Pac-Man have shown me, those programmers were very seldom in anything like an ideal situation. (It's not like we're talking about lazy or incompetent programmers here, at least for the most part.) :P
The best programmers of the past are on par with the best homebrew programmers of today and vice-versa, which is a compliment to both. Each had their own challenges. The programmers of the past did it as part of their full-time job and were financially compensated in some manner, while today's homebrewers do it in their spare time and have little compensation to show for it (probably worse than writing books for us). All of the other factors you say are true as well - today's homebrewers have many of the past experiences to draw upon, better and quicker dev tools, etc. However, the biggest distinguishing factor to my mind tends to be cartridge capacities. While 2K - 8K was the norm back in the day, up to 64K is not unheard of today. That's a big difference and a big benefit to the modern hombebrewer versus what original programmers were dealing with. Of course, having 30+ years of knowledge to drawn upon is probably right up there as well.
One of the greatest developments on the Atari 2600 homebrew scene - which is inarguably the best homebrew scene on the planet - was the development of Batari Basic, which opens the 2600's imposing architecture to those of us without engineering degrees. While it can't realistically generate something the level of a Medieval Mayhem, it DOES generate commercial quality games. Exciting stuff, as is most everything it seems targeted to the platform, be it hardware or software. It's the perfect combination of nostalgia and just good enough hardware with accessible controls, etc.
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director | Armchair Arcade, Inc.
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.