Homebrew Game Club

In this episode of the Game Club, the gang takes on Courier, a cyberpunk adventure for NES by Khan Games. There’s also a half-baked conversation about AI-generated art that should be inconclusive enough to irritate our entire audience. After the end credits, please enjoy Bart’s short and sticky review of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” Still need to play Courier? Get the game here. For more Khan Games, check out Kevin's website. Our next Game Club pick is Kudzu for the Game Boy. Find the Switch version on the Nintendo eShop, or get a physical cartridge from Mega Cat Studios. As always, find links to our social media and more at: ⁠⁠⁠http://homebrewgameclub.com

The Game Club takes on Flea! and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle for NES and Dreamcast, two entertaining games about adorable parasitic vermin. You can find links and information for both at the Lowtek Games website. Our next Game Club pick is Courier for NES. Get it here. Check out Nick's livestream playthrough of Flea! on the HBGC YouTube channel. Here's a shot of that limited edition transparent cartridge (including audio cassette) from the Tapeworm Kickstarter. You can watch Innards, Bart's 16-minute short film about a less friendly type of parasite, right here. GitHub page for Short Stack by loopj (aka the "Wee Wii"). As always, find links to our social media and more at: ⁠⁠http://homebrewgameclub.com

In the first-ever live HBGC show, the gang interviews NES developers John Vanderhoef and Greg Caldwell. John is the Byte Off Award-winning creator of the Orebody series, including Hunt the Wampus, Orebody: Binder's Tale, and Oratorio. Greg Caldwell is a member of Retrotainment Games, developers of classic homebrew titles Full Quiet, Haunted Halloween '85 and '86, and Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum. Find more about the Orebody series at its Twitter / X page. For Retrotainment Games, check out their website. As always, find links to our social media and more at: ⁠⁠http://homebrewgameclub.com

Special guest host Chris (aka Deadeye) joins Conor and Nick for a deep dive into Retrotainment Games’ brilliant but baffling Full Quiet for NES. Conor reveals his new game design concept (the F.A.R.T.W.A.L.K.), Nick dusts off his memories of Russian literature, and Chris… probably isn’t used to this amount of profanity in a homebrew podcast. Still need to play Full Quiet? Find it on Steam, Nintendo e-Shop, or Xbox, or ⁠get the cartridge here. Our next Game Club picks will be Flea! and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle for NES and Dreamcast. Find links to both at Lowtek Games’ website. Check out Chris' Homebrews in Focus on YouTube. You can find the Full Quiet wiki here (expect spoilers). Join the Full Quiet speedrunning Discord server here. Ron Gilbert on “The Monkey Island rubber chicken problem” and designing obscure puzzles in games. Legacy of the Wizard (NES) game map. As always, find links to our social media and more at: ⁠http://homebrewgameclub.com

In this extra special bonus episode, Conor, Bart, and Nick scour the "Ask the Podcast" channel from the HBGC Discord server to catch up on unanswered questions over the last year. Questions like: How long should a homebrew game be? What's your favorite video game movie? Is Atari still Atari? And what's your desert island laundry detergent? The gang even employs artificial intelligence to answer the most pressing question of our day: What is the Frogger frog's job? Nick also offers his extended take on Breath of the Wild. (It's long.) Frogger Club music: "Dark Atmospheres 01" by dave_wheatley via Pixabay Got your own questions for the podcast? Join our Discord server, find us on social media, or buy some merch at homebrewgameclub.com.

The Game Club whets their appetites for cyberpunk cool with the demo for Courier, a hackeriffic new adventure for NES from Khan Games. Courier is available on Kickstarter until January 31, 2024. Grab your copy here.

The gang takes on three very short but action-packed shoot 'em ups: Omega Blast for the Mega Drive, Dangan GB2 for the Game Boy Color, and Flight of Pigarus for the Master System. We also reveal the winners of our 2023 shoot 'em ups high score competition! Still need to play the games? All are available as free downloads here: Omega Blast Dangan GB2 Flight of Pigarus Our next game will be Full Quiet for the NES. Find it on Steam, Nintendo e-Shop, or Xbox, or get the cartridge here. We got interviewed about our Discord channel for Full Quiet! Read about it here. Reddit AMA by toggleswitch about First Press Games ***Please note: the deadline to submit games for the MAGfest Indie Retro Homebrew Showcase was December 15, 2023. You can find out more here. 8-Bit Xmas 2023 Gunhawk by Skyboy Games Bleeper! Get one before they sell out. Ben Jelter's game Talbut. As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

The Game Club takes on Doodle World and Kubo 3, two NESmaker games created with contributions from children. But are we the right audience for this type of game? We invite some guest experts on the show to discuss. Still need to play the games? Find Doodle World here. And here’s the link to Kubo 3. Our next Game Club picks will be shoot ‘em ups Flight of Pigarus, Omega Blast, and Dangan GB2. Join the high score tournament on our Disc ord server to win one of two very cool prizes. Entries accepted through December 18, 2023. Discord link and more available at http://www.homebrewgameclub.com. Get free ROMs for all three games at these links: Omega Blast (Mega Drive) Flight of Pigarus (Master System) Dangan GB2 (GB Color) R.I.P. Rani Baker, NES developer. Her itch.io page is here.

The Game Club takes on three iterations of Nathan Tolbert's Zelda-inspired Anguna series on the Game Boy Advance, Atari 2600, and Nintendo Entertainment System. Conor attempts to define the "walkie-pokey" genre, Nick has a question about where those arrows are coming from, and Bart shares a wholesome story about George Clooney and a litter box. Still need to play Anguna? Find links to all versions here: https://www.bitethechili.com/ The next Game Club picks will be Doodle World and Kubo 3 for NES. Get Doodle World here: https://natepeters.itch.io/doodle-world And find Kubo 3 here: https://dale-coop.itch.io/kubo-3-nes-game-by-sj-games AtariAge acquired by... Atari?! https://forums.atariage.com/topic/354609-atariage-atari/ Play all 82 Game Boy Competition 2023 entries here: https://itch.io/jam/gbcompo23/entries As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Twitter, now rebranded "X," has been an important avenue for homebrewers and other indie game developers to connect with each other and promote their work. Tech industry veterans Conor and Nick discuss the decline of the app under Elon Musk, the rise of alternative platforms, and what it might all mean for the homebrew community. This is an update of a similar episode from December 2022. Find that one in our feed, or listen here. You can find links to ALL of our social media accounts (regardless of where they are as you're listening to this) at homebrewgameclub.com.

Game Boy developer Ben Jelter joins the gang for a wide-ranging discussion on… Lots of things. Things like: Game design, GB Studio, his favorite homebrews, how to stay productive as a creative professional, hacker movies, the illusion of choice, Just World Theory, and what retro console he’s interested in developing for next (you won’t guess what it is). Oh, and we also talk about his excellent game The Machine, covered in depth on Episode 13 of our podcast. It’s a good time! Find all of Ben Jelter’s games here: https://benjelter.itch.io/ Pocket Pixels on Mastodon: https://pocketpixels.club Jeltron Games on Discord: https://discord.gg/uzZB2WuHY7 Still need to play The Machine? (Yeah, you do.) Get it here: https://incube8games.com/collections/boxed-games/products/the-machine-gbc As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

The Game Club takes on The Machine, a dystopian sci-fi dark comedy for the Game Boy Color with surprising depth. Conor theorizes on how to keep hippies from turning into cannibals, Bart clarifies that we’re not watching a completely unrelated movie, and Nick embraces ethically compromised decision making. Still need to play the game? Get it here: https://incube8games.com/collections/the-machine Or check out a free demo here: https://www.themachinegame.com/ Our next game is Anguna for the Game Boy Advance, Atari 2600, and NES. Download the GBA and 2600 versions for free here: https://www.bitethechili.com/ Get the NES version here: https://the6502collective.itch.io/anguna-scourge-of-the-goblin-king Note: This month’s game club pick has nothing to do with The Machine movie starring Bert Kreischer and Mark Hamill, coincidentally releasing on the same day as this podcast episode. Here is a link to that film’s official website, which we include here as a courtesy to our listeners and definitely not in a shameless attempt to improve our search engine results! https://www.themachine.movie/ As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Kevin Hanley, creator of NEScape! and co-host of the Assembly Line podcast, joins the Game Club to talk about his history as a developer, what he’s working on next, and why he thinks we’re in a “golden age” for NES homebrew. Our NEScape! livestream from March 2022: https://youtu.be/xnHryQBMcyE Kevin Hanley's website, where you can download many of his games for free: https://www.khangames.com/ Get NEScape! here (not the $999.99 version): https://khangames.itch.io/nescape As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

The Game Club takes on The Cursed Knight, a well-made Mega Drive game that really wants to give you a wedgie and stuff you into a locker. Bart defends his Nintendo bias, Nick rages about passwords, and Conor tries to stay positive. Bonus topic: What's your favorite food item in a video game? Here's our full livestream playthrough of the game: https://youtu.be/H8eVlIJ7A1g Still need to play The Cursed Knight? Find it on Steam or get a physical copy here: https://www.brokestudio.fr/product/the-cursed-knight-md/ Our next game will be The Machine for Game Boy Color. Get it here: https://incube8games.com/products/the-machine-gbc NESmaker Byte-Off III awards video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLxGiWOWRWQ Flying Arrows 2 Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studioloading/flying-arrows-2-gameboy-game-save-bolognanerd Harlequest Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ross-codes/harlequest-a-new-3d-dungeon-crawler-for-the-sega-dreamcast "Every Modern Mega Drive Game Ranked" video by St1ka: https://youtu.be/IR9R01ksI7M As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Nick talks to Francesco Bacchelli, the creative mind behind Game Boy developer Studio Loading. They discuss his inspirations, his approach to retro game development, and the positive aspects of working with a limited platform like the Game Boy. Hot on the heels of his first game Flying Arrows, Francesco is already moving forward with its sequel, Flying Arrows 2, and this time for a good cause: A portion of the funds raised for this game will go to help save Bologna Nerd, a retro gaming community center in Bologna, Italy. Flying Arrows 2 Kickstarter (launching April 2023): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studioloading/flying-arrows-2-gameboy-game-save-bolognanerd Crowdfunding campaign to save Bologna Nerd: https://ko-fi.com/bolognanerd Seriously, check out this promotional video from Bologna Nerd, this place looks awesome: https://youtu.be/0pKpdmiCYng As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Grab your tweeter and channel your inner pirate radio broadcaster as the gang covers What Remains, a walkie-talkie* adventure game for the NES. Conor digs the 1980s vibes, Bart gets duped by a false ending, and Nick brings back the beeps... or, at least, one big one. *Copyright 2023, Homebrew Game Club (yes we are owning this) Still need to play the game? Get it here: https://iodinedynamics.itch.io/whatremains Our next game will be The Cursed Knight for Mega Drive / Genesis. Get the Steam version here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052540/The_Cursed_Knight/ The 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: https://forums.atariage.com/forum/203-atari-homebrew-awards/ Doodle World Deluxe on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250520/Doodle_World_Deluxe/ As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Conor seizes control of the host mic to send the Game Club on a long, rambling, lightly edited conversation about several titles we played in 2022 that deserve more attention. Old games, new games, indie games, mobile games, AAA games – everything is up for discussion. (We even throw some homebrew games in there.) Other topics include game preservation, preorders, a debate about Patreon, online gaming with kids, and... lots of other stuff we'd usually cut. Mentioned in this episode: Elden Ring Mushihimesama Itch.io homebrews The Machine No Man's Sky Puzzling Peaks Cyberpunk 2077 Baba Is You Dawn of the Monsters Fortnite Atari 50 Splatoon 3 Hades Horizon: Forbidden West The Outer Wilds Sturmwind / Sturmwind EX Pine Creek Lonely Mountains: Downhill Gaiares Full Quiet  Question of the 'cast: Should we launch an HBGC Patreon? Quote of the ‘cast: "That's the whole 50 year arc of Atari... They finally met the aspirations of their own box art." As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Bart, Conor, and Nick head to 13th Century France in this deceptively compact tribute to ZX Spectrum platformers. We check out the original PC game as well as ports to the Spectrum, Mega Drive, NES, and Commodore 64. Sorry, Amiga and Ouya fans -- we tried. Still need to play the game? Find the original (free) PC version and links to all ports here: https://locomalito.com/abbaye_des_morts.php Our next game is What Remains for the NES. Get it here: https://iodinedynamics.itch.io/whatremains Homebrew Publisher Survey by bbbbbr for GB Studio Central: https://gbstudiocentral.com/news/homebrew-publisher-survey/ Cocaine Bear for ZX Spectrum: https://azimov.itch.io/cocaine-bear SkateCat available for preorders: https://twitter.com/dale_coop/status/1615788369270771712?s=20&t=dHWFV7Q9eOujVhrlzvC73g NEScape! now available on Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/nescape-switch/ ...and also on Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/nescape/9nmvx15m755v Full Quiet for NES: https://fullquiet.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Note: Nick mentions that Full Quiet was Kickstarted in 2018. It was actually 2017. He regrets the error. The Storied Sword free demo: https://gauauu.itch.io/the-storied-sword As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

It’s a NES demo extravaganza as Nick, Conor, and Bart check out all sixty-seven 2022 NESDev and NESmaker Byte Off III competition entries. Assuming they were able to figure out the spreadsheet first. NESDev Competition results (with links to demos): https://itch.io/jam/nesdev-2022/results NESmaker Byte-Off III competition main page: https://www.thenew8bitheroes.com/byte-off-iii Byte-Off III game demos: https://theretroverse.com/special-events/byte-off-2022/ Music break #1: Stage 1 theme from Tactus by zeta0134 Music break #2: Irritating Ship by Trirosmos As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Does Elon Musk have entrepreneurial brain worms? Tech industry veterans Conor and Nick discuss.