CJ takes us behind the scenes of Hackweek to share how he built a custom Sega Genesis game from scratch, complete with assembly code, level loading, and retro hardware tricks. From SGDK to parallax faking, this episode is a deep dive into old-school game dev with a modern twist.
<h3 class="code-line">
<a></a>Show Notes</h3>
<ul>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=00:00">00:00</a> Welcome to Syntax!</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=00:44">00:44</a> Why a Sega game?
<ul>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Genesis">Sega Genesis</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_System">Sega Master System</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRVr1heimY8">MKBHD Retro Tech: Sega</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=06:55">06:55</a> What is it running on?</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=07:49">07:49</a> Working with assembly code.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=10:11">10:11</a> <a href="https://github.com/Stephane-D/SGDK/?tab=readme-ov-file">Sega Genesis Development Kit</a>.
<ul>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://github.com/Stephane-D">Stephane-D GitHub</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=10:54">10:54</a> <a href="https://github.com/And-0/awesome-megadrive">Awesome Megadrive</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=12:02">12:02</a> Booting on an emulator.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=13:07">13:07</a> <a href="https://segaretro.org/Gens_KMod">Gens and KMod</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=15:54">15:54</a> Compiling stage.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=17:44">17:44</a> <a href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=zerasul.genesis-code">Genesis Code VS Code Extension</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=18:22">18:22</a> Images and Assets.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=19:46">19:46</a> Loading images with bitmap.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=23:50">23:50</a> <a href="https://megacatstudios.com/blogs/retro-development/sega-genesis-mega-drive-vdp-graphics-guide-v1-2a-03-14-17">Megacat Studios</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=25:21">25:21</a> Z index?
<ul>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt73KPS_23w">Faking Parallax</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=27:34">27:34</a> Specific code examples.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=27:51">27:51</a> <a href="https://github.com/GerardGascon/PlatformerEngine/blob/main/PlatformerEngine/src/map.c">Platformer Engine</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=30:01">30:01</a> Platformer Sample Game.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=30:44">30:44</a> LDTK (Level Designer Toolkit).</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=33:13">33:13</a> Tiled Collision mapping.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=37:42">37:42</a> What about debugging?</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=39:37">39:37</a> Loading in levels.
<ul>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/RetroGameMechanicsExplained">RetroGameMechanicsExplained</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD8kCGBi4wI">Sega Mega-CD Development Unit</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=43:56">43:56</a> Challenges with graphics.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="#t=49:56">49:56</a> Adding music.
<ul>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Super-Cartridge-Multi-Sega-Genesis-Consoles/dp/B0B5V9HHY8">Super Cartridge</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://krikzz.com/our-products/accessories/flashkitmd.html">Flahskit Programmer MD</a>.</li>
<li class="has-line-data">
<a href="https://krikzz.com/our-products/cartridges/flashkitmd.html">Flashkit Cart MD</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="code-line">
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