Homebrew? Yes or No?

[Mr Hudson]

I know there is a lot of talent and amazing projects that people have turned out, but some people are purists and only will collect/play titles that were originally released?

 

Would like to hear others opinions on the matter!

[Lord Mushroom]

I will play a good game no matter when it was made.

[+x=usr(1536)]

2 minutes ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I will play a good game no matter when it was made.

Ditto.  A good game is a good game, and there's no such thing as being a 'purist' when software has never stopped being released for the platform.

[+Gemintronic]

New games for old consoles keep them relevant.  Never limit your enjoyment.

[carlsson]

I believe to collect and to play video games are two different things. Many people do both, but they're not strictly related. A collector may be motivated by a known set of games to find, and eventually the collection is finished. With the vast output of quality aftermarket (homebrew) games, the number of games never ends. Instead there tends to be a lot of limited edition runs, titles that are nearly impossible to obtain in order to keep your collection complete. Just today I read elsewhere on the forum a post that someone would stop buying homebrew games, whether it is because the money runs out or if it is because many of those have small and sometimes time or location limited releases it didn't say.

 

So yes, I'm sure there are people who consider a collection to only consist of the original games, but who will play any new game and perhaps pick up a few of their favorites in physical form next to their collection.

[+Nathan Strum]

Homebrews brought me back to playing my 2600 (over 20 years ago!). I doubt I would've hooked up my original hardware again without new games to feed it.

 

There are now over 45 years of 2600 programming knowledge, experience, and history feeding the development of new games, and well over 20 years of that just within the homebrew community alone. There's a wealth of shared knowledge, development tools, code, and people willing to step in and lend a hand to each other when creating games, and the results often far exceed what was available back-in-the-day. There are no deadlines, so homebrews can be developed over the course of years - polished to a degree that constraints would never have permitted at the likes of Atari or Activision. If it plays on an original 2600, and is a fun game, I don't care how or when it was created. I get just as much enjoyment out of new homebrews, as I got (and still get) from the likes of H.E.R.O., Demon Attack, Ice Hockey, Midnight Magic, and other classic titles.

[Keatah]

My original game collection kinda-sorta just happened. As a kid of the 70's I just accumulated cartridge after cartridge after cartridge. And at some point I made a sign saying "Arcade @ Home". And inside this room (my bedroom actually) were all my cartridges and game systems. Including a vast array of Apple II material - on it's way to being bigger than the embattled and infamous Diaz hoard.

 

There somewhere along the way it became a collection. There was no on/off date. Spent a ton of time making weekend trips getting those cartridges in combination with other recreational activities.

 

Homebrews are simply continuations and evolutions of what we were doing in the 70's & 80's. The methods and implementations have changed. I no longer do the wall-of-carts thing or the stacks and sprawls of multiple systems. It's all super-convenient emulation via an AIO mini-PC.

 

But the essence remains. And has even generated new nostalgia and sentimentality along the continuing journey.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Keatah

[+sramirez2008]

My “collection” includes originals and homebrews that have all been opened and played. That’s right, every single OG CIB has been opened.
 

These days I only purchase homebrews since I’ve collected all of the originals that I ever wanted.

[+sramirez2008]

19 minutes ago, Nathan Strum said:

If it plays on an original 2600, and is a fun game, I don't care how or when it was created. I get just as much enjoyment out of new homebrews, as I got (and still get) from the likes of H.E.R.O., Demon Attack, Ice Hockey, Midnight Magic, and other classic titles.

This!

[Video]

I love games. Honestly, other than being spell other than mask rom, I see no difference in a modern homebrew and original bitd titles. Many of those were also made by a lone programmer.

[Cebus Capucinis]

"Why would anyone want to play HOMEBREWS? Yuck. They're nowhere near as polished or interesting as commercially produced talent."

 

-The Circus Convoy Guys (or so I'm told)

[Corby]

OMG!!! Why would anyone try to make a homebrew game!?? For example, some fool..not naming names.. *coughcoughHARDWORKcough*  tried to make a knightrider game! Like reeeeeally! The Hoff would flip get drunk and eat a hamburger. 

[Marcos Moutta]

No homebrew at all! In fact, I only collect OFFICIAL Atari games. Activision was a homebrew company!

[+Gemintronic]

I'm always confused by the differentiation between homebrew and any other 2600 game.   I mean, older titles had garbage and also pure gems.  Homebrew has garbage and pure gems.  Both "categories" of 2600 titles also have ranges of prices and availability. 

 

The main difference is: homebrew is not finite.  New titles will continue to come out as long as we collectively dig the Atari 2600.

[jhd]

 

I will only purchase games at local retail. I have therefore not acquired any "new" games in many years. I am not an active collector.

 

If a homebrew title that appealed to be were to be made available for sale in a local shop, I would buy it at a reasonable price. 

 

Therefore while I am not philosophically opposed to homebrew games, it is very unlikely that I will ever actually purchase one.   

 

[+KaeruYojimbo]

12 hours ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

They're nowhere near as polished or interesting as commercially produced talent."

They never said that.

 

What they said was they'd play a little real life Bloody Human Freeway with anyone who so much as implied that the game they made at home in their spare time was a homebrew.

 

At least that's what I was told they said.

[Mockduck]

Homebrews are neat, but I am not considering it part of what theoretically someday would be a "complete" Atari 2600 collection. Then again, I'd not short-hand it and say it would be a complete Atari 2600 collection from the console's original run. I don't feel the need to "collect" homebrew like I do other Atari carts, but I'm sure glad Circus Convoy and the Atari XP line came out, and I've picked up a few great homebrew games over the years. 

[Keatah]

What defines "homebrew" vs "commercial" anyway?

[+x=usr(1536)]

32 minutes ago, Keatah said:

What defines "homebrew" vs "commercial" anyway?

Whether or not they're published by Audacity Games 

[jhd]

36 minutes ago, Keatah said:

What defines "homebrew" vs "commercial" anyway?

 

Good point.

 

For example, both Air Raid and Extra Terrestrials were sold at retail during the mid-1980s, albeit in extremely small numbers and in only a limited geographic area.

 

Most people would agree that these titles would constitute commercial products, even if they were produced under conditions very similar to modern homebrews. 

[zzip]

I like homebrews to see what cool things people can make the old hardware do.

 

But because that's my interest, I'm not a fan when developers use "hardward assists" that wouldn't have been viable BITD (like ARM chips in carts).   I'd rather see what you can do with period-correct hardware.

[+Nathan Strum]

I'm a fan of gameplay.

[Chris+++]

1 hour ago, Nathan Strum said:

I'm a fan of gameplay.

 

Stated by one of the most skilled graphical and packaging artists since Atari games went homemade.

 

(I know: That's irrelevant. I just found it funny, this contrast between the ephemera for which you're known, and the game-play on which you actually focus. It was too amusing not to point out.)

 

 

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

I enjoy games that were released during the retail shelf life of the console and those that are made now.

 

We're all so very fortunate that people are still making incredible games for our favourite consoles. I actually find it baffling that there are people who limit themselves to playing games only up to the artificial cutoff point of 1992 (for Atari 2600) when homebrew games started being made only just a short 3 years later. There are 28 glorious years of homebrew games to be enjoyed vs 15 years of the original run, I hope more people are able to discover the decades of amazing games they've been missing out on.

 

- James

[doug0909]

I enjoy both, but I am getting a bit burnt out of the port to everything phenomenon. Yes, I'm aware homebrewers can, one way or another, create better or more complete ports than professionals back in the day, and also create ports nobody would have expected back then. Awesome that people are doing that. 

 

But I usually prefer trying a game with an entirely new gameplay concept, or a port which adds interesting new options (like coop) for the first time...