Post on 31-Dec-2015
Final Dragon
My First Game Boy Advance Game
Final Dragon…
• Is a role playing game
• Was developed only for the Game Boy Advance platform
• Uses 2-D graphics
• Uses .s3m music and sounds
• Was written in C++
• Was tested on actual Game Boy Advance Hardware
Graphics
• Graphics are tied strongly to hardware
• The Game boy Advance uses only 2-D graphics system
• Most graphics modes use a tile-based system supported by hardware
Metamap Decoding
• Final Dragon uses a metamap tiling algorithm
• Metamaps are maps that represent larger tiles than hardware supports
• To the left we see 16 by 16 pixel metatiles
Metamap Decoding
• The gameboy advance uses 8 by 8 pixel tiles
• Final Dragon uses the metamap decoder to create an array of 8 by 8 pixel tiles for use in hardware
Metamap Decoding
• The 8 by 8 pixel map is sent to hardware along with a tileset and palette
• Each eight-bit integer value in the map represents an 8 by 8 pixel tile in the tileset
• Each tile in the tileset contains 64 eight-bit integer values each representing a palette entry
Benefits of Metamap Decoding
• Metamaps take up one fourth the space of regular maps plus a small amount for the metamap lookup table
• Metamaps are used extensively in game logic and collision detection
• Game modifications are made simpler by bringing the graphic data and game logic data into one file
Sound
• Sound is implemented using .s3m files
• .s3m files are Scream Tracker files
• Tracker files can be thought of as midis that use wavs for instruments
• Each .s3m file can include up to 16 channels or wavs
• .s3m files are very small compared to sound files of similar quality
Benefits/Disadvantages
• Easy to implement using Krawall open source solution
• Most .s3m are free to download and use
• Includes both music and wavs for sound effects
• Hard to find good .s3ms
• Making you own .s3ms is a long and tedious task
• Hard to understand and use .s3ms for a beginner programmer for the Game Boy Advance
Game Structure
• Very basic HP/MP system
• Uses two types of magic, attack and heal
• Attack magic is significantly stronger than regular attacks
• Heal magic heals about half of your hitpoints
• The MP cost for heal and attack stays constant as the MP increases
Plot
• The Gnome King asks you to save their kingdom from the Blue Dragon
• You venture forth to retrieve the crystals from dungeons to gain access to the Blue Dragons cave
• You defeat the Blue Dragon
• You win
Tools Used
• Visual HAM 2.8
• Krawall API
• ModPlug
• Mappy
• PaintShop Pro
• XG-Flash
Program Screenshots
Challenges Overcome
• Learning the Game Boy Advance hardware
• Finding a toolkit
• Learning how to incorporate tilebased graphics and sprites
• Learning how to include music and sound on the Game Boy Advance platform
• Time constraints
Future Upgrades
• More dungeons
• Deeper plot
• Better Graphics
• A whole new character development system
• More monsters and a different battle interface
• More spells and items
What have I learned?
• Platform specific programs are challenging and more difficult to program
• How to properly implement metamaps
• How to use and create .s3m Scream Tracker files
• Roleplaying games take a lot of time and effort to create
• My next game will be a puzzle game
Questions