1988 Retro Game Tycoon - Chapter 104



Only Noblemtl

Episode 104 – MD devkit: Super Mega Drive

“Sir, are you sure this is okay? No matter how much I think about it, this is impossible. Mega Drive game development is harder than you think. Many game companies are having a hard time.”

After the meeting, Managing Director Nishikawa came running and asked with a worried look on his face.

“A month? That’s too short. I’ll go to the boss right now and get on my knees and ask him to reconsider.”

“No, sir. That would be nothing but a joke. I understand your concern, but I was never being rude. I suggested a month because I thought it was possible.”

“But it’ll take time just to figure out the Mega Drive system, right?”

“I already know enough about the Mega Drive. I analyzed the entire arcade board and console to use as a reference when we were making the arcade board. If I had the equipment, I could start developing right here right now.”

“but···.”

“Sir, don’t worry too much. When the CEO first said he wanted to do this and that, I was skeptical. I wondered if it would work. But the CEO eventually did it all. That’s why we are here now.”

“That’s right. Our CEO is also a programmer. To be honest, he’s younger than me, but his coding skills are so great that I sometimes feel like an idiot. Sega is a great game company, but I don’t think there’s a developer here who’s better than our CEO.”

“I agree with you. The CEO is not the type of person to brag about something like this. If the CEO said it could be done within a month, then it is definitely possible.”

As Managing Director Nishikawa continued to worry, AD Choi Han-il, Captain Ko, and Captain Park also stepped forward.

I feel good that people trust me like this, but my face feels a little hot. But I also feel a little proud because I feel like I’ve done well so far.

Nishikawa also nodded slowly.

“Is that so? If you, who are making games together, say that, then I understand. Sorry, CEO. I think I was too anxious and only thought about myself. We are in the same boat, so I will trust you, CEO. If there is anything you need, just tell me.”

“Thank you. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed, sir.”

For most game companies, porting a game in just one month is not an easy task, no matter how much 16-bit development experience they have.

There are several different programming methods for handling a function that appears to be the same to the naked eye.

Even if the same CPU is used, the overall system configuration is different, so in the end it is no different from rebuilding the game from scratch.

However, since we are not developing a new game, the amount of thought put into the game content is significantly reduced.

Sega people also knew that very well, so they accepted it without hesitation.

But I’m someone who in my past life even created an emulator that could run Mega Drive games on a PC.

If it’s the Mega Drive system, then I already know it inside out. Of course, it’s been a while so my memory isn’t perfect, but that feeling comes back quickly as I play.

Since I have already mastered the necessary assemblers, MD game development itself is not difficult.

Rather, the real problem lay elsewhere.

“First of all, the capacity is a concern. I know that most MD games are around 4MB. I will try to match that as much as possible, but the capacity may increase somewhat.”

“If it were 10 or 20 megabytes, it would be a problem, but if it were 5 or 6 megabytes, it would be possible. has already been released as 5 megabytes. Please make sure it doesn’t go over 6 megabytes.”

“Then I will try to make it as minimal as possible. And regarding the game content, what do you think about the content where the hero fights against the Japanese yakuza or the Japanese military? I don’t know about the US, but do you think it will be a problem selling it in Japan?”

“Well… it’s hard to say for sure, but I don’t think it’s a big problem. In any case, the most important thing is whether the game is fun or not. No matter how much you cry out for world peace or put in content that promotes patriotism, if the game isn’t fun, it’s a total failure.”

“I don’t plan on changing the content too much either. If I change the background or the content, it’s no longer .”

“Yes, don’t worry too much. The mainstream generation in Japan today is the generation of the Zengakuto Movement, which carried out a fairly radical ideological movement in the 1960s. There are quite a few people who are ashamed of Japan’s militaristic history. And for children, as long as they have fun and enjoy fighting, that’s all that matters.”

“I feel reassured when you say that. For now, I’ll keep the game as is, but I’ll think about whether there are any areas that need to be modified.”

“Okay, then I’ll start by getting the most urgent development kit. Can I send it by airmail?”

“No. If possible, I would like to bring it myself. Even I can’t do anything without the development kit.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to find out right away. I’ll leave for a moment.”

We suddenly got busy.

Originally, we were planning to just have dinner and return home after the meeting, but since we were pressed for time, we decided to just receive the MD development kit and waited while having dinner.

“I’m sorry. We don’t have any development kits left at headquarters right now, so we’re rushing to get them from the warehouse. I’m really sorry, but could you wait a little longer?”

“Then I’d rather stay here for a day and leave tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll also organize my future plans.”

We changed our schedule in a hurry. Sega arranged accommodations for us and also changed our flight tickets.

The hotel soon became our emergency conference room. I went into an emergency meeting in my hotel room about the MD transplant of and future plans.

“I don’t know how many development kits we’ll be able to get right now, but for now, I’ll be the main programmer since I know a lot about Mega Drives. And if you can get one person from each team, Team A and Team B to help, I think we can finish it within a month.”

“Then I will do it.”

“Yes, we will do it.”

Captain Ko and Captain Park immediately offered to do it. But I shook my head.

“No. You two have your own development projects to work on. Captain Ko has to prepare a big-screen action game, and Captain Park has to create Moon Force. They’re important, but there’s no need to put all three of the company’s best programmers on a single port. That’s a waste of manpower.”

“But considering the importance of overseas expansion, isn’t it right for us to focus here now? And, frankly, I want to show Sega what kind of accounting we are.”

“Captain Ko clenched his fists and said, but I shook my head.

“No. Because of overseas expansion, the two of you need to focus on your original project. There isn’t much time until CES. I will focus on developing the MD transplant work.”

“Sir, are you doing this because you think we are unsatisfactory?”

Captain Ko asked with some hesitation.

“That’s not true. Why do you think so?”

Among the programmers in our company, the oldest, Dae-ryong Ko, has good programming skills, but this is his first time developing a game.

So, even though I was the captain, I worked a little slower than others in the beginning, and maybe because of that, I had a bit of a sense of entitlement.

“No, that’s not it. I plan to write most of it myself.”

“Why do you try to shoulder all the burden by yourself?”

AD Choi Han-il asked with a worried expression.

I was a little taken aback. No, you’re the one who has to shoulder all the burdens of the world?!

“It’s not for anything else, it’s just pure efficiency. It wouldn’t matter if I had more time, but I said I would do it within a month. We don’t have time for trial and error right now. It’s the most efficient for me to focus on what I know for sure and finish it. There’s no other reason.”

Once I complete the code, programmers can use it as a textbook and learn while accumulating MD development know-how.

“Of course, it is important to enter the global market through Sega, but there is no need for the whole company to risk its life by hanging on to it. We have something we originally wanted to do. We are just using Sega. Right now, it is just a coincidence that the timing is right.”

I told people who were getting too serious to just relax their shoulders.

When we look at it objectively, the only reason Sega is interested in us is because of timing.

Next year, companies with a certain amount of development know-how will begin releasing games for the Mega Drive one after another.

However, even though it’s almost the first anniversary of the release of the Mega Drive, I’m still worried because there aren’t enough games released.

That’s why I asked Sega to publish it directly, something that would normally be unacceptable.

We’re going to hop on the Sega bus for a while until we can develop our own console, and Sega can fill in any missing software.

It was a symbiotic relationship where we used each other out of necessity for a while, so the fate of the company was not at stake.

“And, you should also know that this is not a consideration for the two captains. Rather, it is more like a test for the two of you to advance as full-fledged game developers. While I focus on the transplant, the two of you also need to show sharp planning skills and leadership in your own projects.”

“All right.”

The two captains looked nervous at my words.

I don’t want to show off, but the opportunities and experiences the two of them have received from our company so far are by no means small. In fact, considering the times, it’s like receiving a miraculous buff.

As the company is growing rapidly quantitatively, the qualitative growth of its members must follow suit.

In particular, the two captains leading the development team had the heavy responsibility of raising their stats in various aspects, including not only programming but also directing and leadership.

AD Choi Han-il has already been hired after his expertise has been sufficiently verified, but the two captains still have a long way to go.

Of course, I won’t take my hands off directing, but there is also a need to watch over the captains so they can grow.

While I was organizing the interior like that, Managing Director Nishikawa knocked on the hotel door.

“Sir, we only have two kits available right now. I’m truly sorry.”

“Is that so? It’s a bit too little, but two is fine. I was planning to focus on the work with the minimum number of people anyway.”

“I’m sorry, but instead our boss said he would lend us a development kit for free for a month.”

“Yes? Really?”

If you become a third party, you will need to purchase a development kit from the console company. The development kit is a much higher-spec machine than the game console, and since you purchase the necessary software as a package, it is also expensive.

“Yes, if it fails, we will immediately collect it, and if it succeeds, we will provide two units free of charge. This is my opinion, but I think the CEO is also very excited about this project.”

“We have enough money to live like this. Anyway, we appreciate your consideration and will use it well.”

I unpacked the ‘Super Mega Drive’, a development kit for the Mega Drive, from the box.

“Is this it?”

Captain Park asked with a surprised expression after seeing the MD development kit.

The Super Mega Drive consisted of two computer motherboards stacked one on top of the other, without a separate case.

“It’s not exactly like that, but if you think of it as a development computer on the bottom and a Mega Drive on the top, it’s pretty close. For more technical details, please refer to the manual here.”

Mr. Nishikawa gave me a brief explanation about the Super Mega Drive and handed me the manual.

The Super Mega Drive was a high-performance development computer that also included an emulator that functioned exactly like the Mega Drive.

Developers can create a game on a development kit and then run it on the same device to check if it runs without any problems.

The development kit had numerous input/output ports, and even included a cartridge for directly inserting a Mega Drive ROM pack.

I’ve developed my own MD emulator, but this was my first time seeing the original development kit hardware.

As the 90s progressed, Sega also realized the importance of third parties and continued to upgrade their development kits to support third parties more actively.

It comes with a case, smaller size, and a CD-ROM drive for the Mega Drive CD version. All I’ve seen are later upgraded versions.

The original development kit had an in-circuit emulator called the ICE system at its core, along with assembly software and various tools for debugging.

“I have everything I need. Thank you, sir. By the way, is there a store nearby where I can buy a monitor, keyboard, and mouse? I want to check if they work properly.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, don’t buy it. Just use what I have at home. My house isn’t far from here, so I’ll be back soon.”

“No, sir. I don’t want to bother you like that.”

“Oh no! It’s not worth it. Please wait a moment. I’ll order some room service while you wait. Enjoy your meal.”

Managing Director Nishikawa went out with his staff and arrived before room service even arrived.

We connected the monitor and keyboard to the Super Mega Drive and powered it up. After it booted up, the Sega Development Tools program appeared. Inside was a simple example game.

Below the top menu bar, there was a window to enter code, and at the bottom, a memory indicator was displayed that showed the memory addresses being activated in real time.

The example program also ran without any problems.

“Perfect. Now I just need this to make into a Mega Drive game. Can I borrow your monitor and keyboard until tomorrow morning, sir?”

“That doesn’t matter, but what are you trying to do? Could it be that…?”

“Yes, I’m going to start development right now.”

“What? Is that possible?”

“I brought the hard drive containing the source code and visual assets for just in case. I didn’t bring it for this purpose, but I didn’t know it would be so useful.”

I took the hard drive out of my bag and connected it to the development kit.

“Where do you plan on starting, sir? From stage zero?”

“I guess so. I think it would be best to start with the most basic one. Oh, and AD Choi Han-il. Could you please think of a Japanese karate master character? I think it would be good to have a character that fits Japan better.”

“All right.”

AD Choi Han-il went out with Managing Director Nishikawa and returned after renting a few movies from a nearby video store. He started sketching while watching the movies on a VTR with the sound off.

Now the hotel room has been transformed into our temporary Japanese office.

As I started typing away at the keyboard, tracing code from existing programs, I began to recall memories of creating an MD emulator little by little.

“There are two MD VRAM ports, right?”

“Yes, it is a dual port configuration with access in both horizontal and vertical directions.”

The two captains would spread out the Super Mega Drive manual and when I asked them about the system from memory, they would immediately look it up and tell me.

Gradually, the Mega Drive system began to take shape in my head.

The speed of your keyboard tapping becomes faster and faster, and the rhythm becomes more upbeat.

As soon as I injected code into the freshly opened development kit, the system started pulsing and the hotel room came to life.

Managing Director Nishikawa was blankly staring at us.