16-Bit Racing Game Engines

[kidThunder]

Does anyone have any idea where I can find a Racing game creator tool on the Internet? I am looking forward in becoming a future game designer soon and I want to know.

Thanks.

[AMT]

If you want to learn to make games, finding a tool is the wrong thing to look at. You're going to need to learn to program. My suggestion is using Game Maker, from www.gamemaker.nl to start off. This is what I learned on, and it's a great peice of software. Check out the community there, follow some tutorials, and you'll be making simple games after a little while. Just so you know, programming isn't always easy, and can be a bit daunting to learn, but personally I think it's totally worth it.

[Tael]

XNA Game Studio Express. If the thought of writing a game entirely from scratch scares you, then you're not really cut out for it.

[watkinzez]

I'm assuming you mean something that enables you to use Mode 7. That's something I wouldn't mind fumbling about with.

[DragonFireKai]

I'm assuming you mean something that enables you to use Mode 7. That's something I wouldn't mind fumbling about with.

Ah, the 16 bit Glory days.

[lazygecko]

Mode7 was terrible and should remain buried forever.

[Devyn]

^^ ....Yeah. And this is coming from the guy who said that the Ninja Gaiden trilogy "wasn't really that good." Okay, Gecko. Whatever you say.

[PassivePretentiousness]

Mode7 was terrible and should remain buried forever.

Overrated, not terrible. Mode7 was before even starfox, wasn't it?

[watkinzez]

I've never been able to enjoy a Mode 7 game. Figured it would be interesting to see how it works, though.

[lazygecko]

Mode7 was a badly used gimmick. In racing games, there was no sense of speed and, perception was ruined and it was next to impossible to make out curves from a fair distance. One of the worst offenders is Contra 3 where they threw in those downright frustrating and completely unneccessary top-down levels. All it was good for was some fancy alternatives to scrolling backgrounds.

^^ ....Yeah. And this is coming from the guy who said that the Ninja Gaiden trilogy "wasn't really that good." Okay, Gecko. Whatever you say.

Ninja Gaiden was a generic platform concept with some of the most basic enemy patterns out there. Bosses weren't much more interesting either. It was like a run n' gun without the elements that actually makes that genre fun. The game was years behind Revenge of Shinobi, released in the same year.

Shadow of the Ninja/Blue Shadow, another NES game with a similiar theme released in the same period had tenfolds better execution.

[Devyn]

Well, I'd have to say that you're in the minority there. There was nothing generic about it, and there's nothing generic about mode-7 racing games like F-Zero. Mode 7 was amazing for its time, and so were the first two Ninja Gaiden games on the NES.

The nes Gaiden games were the first home console games to introduce cinema style scenes on home consoles (well, the first to do it right, at least).

The action was fast, the spells were cool, the music was excellent. Climbing, flipping, while shooting different kinds of magic, just trying to survive - with excellent graphics. Not to forget a real cool storyline.

And I've played Revenge of Shinobi, and no - It is not "years ahead" of Ninja Gaiden.

So, I guess I'm done here. Feel free to continue, because I like debate (and no, I'm not arguing, I'm just proving that I'm right).

[Cerrax]

In most cases mode 7 is gimmicky and is usually used for nothing more than enhancing cutscenes and making map screens fun. But anyone who says F-Zero doesn't give a sense of speed or is too difficult to see to make out the landscape is completely off their rocker. Other games have also been able to use Mode 7 effectively (though they are few).

F-Zero

Pilotwings

Super Star Wars Trilogy (especially Episodes V andVI)

Terranigma

[Devyn]

Megaman X, Super Turrican, Actraiser, Final Fantasy 2, and about a million others.

[Calpis]

Aside from all the comments about mode7 and Ninja Gaiden, I mostly agree here. Using game creator engines to create your own game will only act as a crutch that will hurt your game in the end. Learn Object-Oriented Programming and once you're used to it try to create a couple simple games (start with something like tic tac toe or checkers).

[Cerrax]

Megaman X, Super Turrican, Actraiser, Final Fantasy 2, and about a million others.

Mega Man X doesn't have mode7. Actraiser is not a good example of mode7. Its only used on the map screen (which is not bad, but it doesn't really push the boundries of mode7 either). Most of the other games you mentioned also only use it as a gimmick or simple gameplay enhancer. The games listed use it very prominently as a serious part of the game.

[Antipode]

I thought Mario Kart Super Circuit on the GBA used Mode 7 really well.

[Devyn]

Mega Man X doesn't have mode7. Actraiser is not a good example of mode7. Its only used on the map screen (which is not bad, but it doesn't really push the boundries of mode7 either). Most of the other games you mentioned also only use it as a gimmick or simple gameplay enhancer. The games listed use it very prominently as a serious part of the game.

Well, yeah it was gimmicky, but it looks good either way. And yes, Megaman X does use mode 7 in some situations (see the amoeba mid-boss in Spark Mandrill's stage, which looked way cool back then), and X2 and X3 also had a built in 3-d graphic chip for enemy designs.

It was used quite effectively in Final Fantasy 2 - it was used on the overworld for traveling and flying in airships and it also enhanced the graphics in many situations (like when a large boss is obliterated).

But don't ask me about programming games, because I don't know shit about that.

[KyleJCrb]

Overrated, not terrible. Mode7 was before even starfox, wasn't it?

Yes, a couple years before.

[lazygecko]

The nes Gaiden games were the first home console games to introduce cinema style scenes on home consoles (well, the first to do it right, at least).

The action was fast, the spells were cool, the music was excellent. Climbing, flipping, while shooting different kinds of magic, just trying to survive - with excellent graphics. Not to forget a real cool storyline.

The concept and controls were a very minor refinement of Castlevania, which was often critizised for being stale. Not exactly an ideal way to portray the agility and flexibility of a ninja. The cutscenes were well executed, but fancy plots and images isn't enough to gratify me if the game itself cannot deliver. And I'm fairly confident you can find a console game that pulled off something on the same level if you dig deep enough in the bowels of Japan.

And I've played Revenge of Shinobi, and no - It is not "years ahead" of Ninja Gaiden.

Aside from the superior sword logic, double jump and ability to do a multi-shuriken attack, powering up shurikens to deflect projectiles, the fact that enemies can do more than just walk from left to right, much more interesting boss fights, multi-layered paths in stages, etc.

Megaman X does use mode 7 in some situations (see the amoeba mid-boss in Spark Mandrill's stage, which looked way cool back then), and X2 and X3 also had a built in 3-d graphic chip for enemy designs..

I'm fairly sure that mid-boss used scaling effects, but I'm too lazy to go and double check that. X2 and 3 used a chip which rendered wireframe models, which was used just once or twice throughout the entire games and had a larger impact in that it just needlessly added to the cartridge costs.

[Tael]

The Racing Game Starter Kit for XNA Game Studio Express has been released. Go here:

http://creators.xna.com/Education/StarterKits.aspx

Screenshots:

http://arenawars.net/XnaRacingGame/Images/RacingGameScreenshotBig01.jpg

http://arenawars.net/XnaRacingGame/Images/RacingGameScreenshotBig02.jpg

http://arenawars.net/XnaRacingGame/Images/RacingGameScreenshotBig03.jpg

http://arenawars.net/XnaRacingGame/Images/RacingGameScreenshotBig04.jpg

[Devyn]

Oh, this just retarded. I really like Ninja Gaiden. It's one of my favorite games. And Mode 7 was really cool, but its time has been done for a long time.

That's it. Damn, we're a bunch of nerds.