pocket-physics
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Confessions of A Homebrew Virgin
Write us something about homebrew, my overlords command me, and my heart skips a beat. You see, I have a dark secret that, until now, has remained private: you could write what I know about Nintendo DS homebrew on the back of a postage stamp. And not even one of those bigger special edition stamps they introduce at Christmas, but a regular tiny stamp.A lot of you, I suspect, will be in the same boat as me, and this article is addressed to all of my fellow homebrew neophytes. Rather than simply pretend to know what I'm jabbering about, I thought I would be open about my newbie status, and write something about my first tentative steps into the world of homebrew.For this exercise, I deliberately set aside three hours (spread over a few days) to learn about and download as much homebrew as possible. I had several questions I wanted to answer: Was getting into homebrew as difficult as I always imagined? What would I gain from it? How useful are current online resources to somebody who knows nothing on the subject? Is it worth the expense? Find out by heading past the break for a view of Nintendo DS homebrew through the eyes of a rookie!
A database of physics for your pocket
If you're into the homebrew scene and you're not playing Pocket Physics, you should be. Not only is the game (or non-game, depending on how you view it) incredibly charming, but it also has a lot of great features. Take, for example, the ability to save your creations. As you may or may not know, we're big fans of user-created content, so we're always curious about what kinds of levels other people are making. Now, though, we don't have to just settle for curiosity. Thanks to return1's Pocket Physics dump, players of the homebrew can both upload their creations and download other users' content conveniently.There are already seventy-five files available at the site, so you'll definitely be able to feed any physics-engine addictions that you may be suffering from.[Via NDS Homebrew]
MarkerMan, MarkerMan, doing the things a marker can
We haven't heard much about Glyphic Entertainment or the studio's Warlords DS port since publisher Strategy First dropped all of its DS titles, so we assumed the worst for the Ohio-based developer. Apparently, however, they picked up another publisher for Warlords DS (Fog Entertainment) and are hard at work on an original game for the Wii and DS -- Markerman!MarkerMan!'s mobility and physics-based puzzles are like a cross between Kirby: Canvas Curse and Crayon Physics (or its DS homebrew equvalent, Pocket Physics). We would accuse it of looking too much like Crayon Physics, actually, especially with the identical soundtrack, but there's still plenty of time for Glyphic to establish MarkerMan's character before the game's scheduled "Q3 2008" release.Though it doesn't look like a high-budget production at all, that's part of the charm! We're in love with the graph-paper background, crayon scenery, and the stick-figure dog. We wish we had a stick-figure dog, now.[Via GoNintendo]
The homebrew cookbook: Recipes and recommendations for 2007
When we think about DS homebrew, we imagine a bunch of talented people with their laptops hooked up to their bathtubs, using all sorts of magic and blood rituals to produce the things that they do. It's one thing for paid developers to make games, what with their fancy-schmancy development kits and other perks. Homebrewers, on the other hand, don't get as many helpful tools, or recognition, or rewards for their labor. That's why we're completely in awe of the homebrew community.Because of that, we compiled a list of some of our favorite homebrew creations of this year, with our best guesses on how they were made.**Note: DS Fanboy strongly recommends that you don't try these recipes at home.
Pocket Physics brings a taste of Crayon Physics to the DS
We thought that Crayon Physics would be just perfect for the DS, and apparently, we weren't the only ones. In fact, the game has even inspired homebrewer 0xtob to make a similar application for the DS, called Pocket Physics. The homebrew might not be nearly as fleshed out as the original, and it's more of a demo than an actual game, but we still love it.To understand the gist of Pocket Physics, watch the (low-quality) video of someone playing it after the break. You can also check out the program for yourself here.
