DisplacedGamers

Crashing Tetris! The Logic Behind the Madness – Behind the Code Leveled Up

This has been a really big year so far for Tetris on the NES. Players have found ways to provide controller inputs at speeds the programmers of the game didn’t anticipate. A technique called “rolling” has allowed players to move pieces at such fast speeds that they can progress beyond level 150! Unfortunately, this might […]

DisplacedGamers

The Wacky Frame Rate and Game Engine of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (NES) – Behind the Code: Leveled Up

While I was working on the previous episode of Behind the Code and researching Jekyll’s walking speed in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES, I noticed that the frame rate was rather odd. Turns out it is REALLY odd. If you’ve played the game, you may have noticed that the speed is inconsistent. […]

DisplacedGamers

Reprogramming Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for NES – Behind the Code

A friend of mine rented Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it was new, and we gave it a try. It was certainly different than any of the other games we had played on the NES. Try playing Contra or Punch-Out and then switching over to a game that demands patience like this one does. […]

DisplacedGamers

Why is Platforming so Difficult in the Terminator for NES? – Behind the Code

Have you ever played The Terminator for the NES? Landing is difficult. Jumping is inconsistent. Sometimes you appear to land but fall through the ground! Sometimes you fall off the edge of a platform while running even though you swear you pressed jump before you got there. Sometimes jumping to the first ledge works but […]

DisplacedGamers

The Physics Nightmare and Bizarre Jumping of Strider (NES) – Behind the Code

NES Strider feels janky. We’ve known that since it was released. But how bad could it be? … Oh! Absolutely terrible! Jumping, running into a wall, and falling – simple things in any other game seem to be half-baked in Strider. The physics are worse than you could possibly imagine. Why do you slam your […]

Alex Mitchell

Celeste-style Total Conversion for SMB Released

I’m sure I’m not alone in my affection for the indie platformer, “Celeste”. Released in 2018, Celeste’s mix of easy to learn but difficult to master platforming, its driving soundtrack, and its timely narrative made it an indie darling that is still popular today. To wit, ROM hackers w7n, Morshu, StudsX, karmic, and Eden GT […]

DisplacedGamers

NES Sprites, OAM, and the Battle for Priority – Behind the Code

Sprite limitations and flicker define what the NES is. They are a part of history. This video dives into Object Attribute Memory – OAM – to explain why the system is limited to eight sprites on a scanline as well as how both sprite limitation and sprite priority are used by programmers to add some […]

Upgrade Your NES Games With HD Graphics Packs

Retro Gaming is a funny thing, we’ve seen romhacks, homebrews, FPGAs and emulators, so you’d think we’d have exhausted all options by now. Turns out that’s not the case, because a new scene cropped up right under our noses: HD Graphics packs for NES games. That is to say, you take the original NES rom, […]