Final Dragon My First Game Boy Advance Game

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. s 3 m 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. s 3 m files • . s 3 m files are Scream Tracker files • Tracker files can be thought of as midis that use wavs for instruments • Each. s 3 m file can include up to 16 channels or wavs • . s 3 m files are very small compared to sound files of similar quality

Benefits/Disadvantages • Easy to implement using Krawall open source solution • Most. s 3 m are free to download and use • Includes both music and wavs for sound effects • Hard to find good. s 3 ms • Making you own. s 3 ms is a long and tedious task • Hard to understand use. s 3 ms 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 Mod. Plug Mappy Paint. Shop 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. s 3 m Scream Tracker files • Roleplaying games take a lot of time and effort to create • My next game will be a puzzle game

Questions