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Classic Games (Games) Businesses NES (Games) Software Apple Linux

Classic Gaming with Zelda Homebrew 58

Posted by Zonk from the i-am-a-prisoner-in-the-dungeon-of-the-castle dept.
Belgarath writes "Zelda Classic is a free homebrew clone of the original Legend of Zelda for the NES. Additionally, it allows people to create their own zelda quests and games using the handy editor (called z-quest) included in the software. Until now only windows versions have been available but there are beta test groups for the Linux and Apple platforms."
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Classic Gaming with Zelda Homebrew More

Classic Gaming with Zelda Homebrew

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  • another game for mac! (Score:3, Funny)

    by bach37 ( 602070 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @10:34AM (#10631260)
    Yes! Make that now 5 total games for mac!

    /Okay maybe not so funny. (Yes, I am an iBook user- just trying to make a joke before you all mod me to hell.) :)
  • I've always wanted to re-play Zelda with new (more SNES-ish) graphics! The "Basic 1st" [armageddongames.net] is what you're looking for.

    Oh...and apple? Why's this under apple?

  • Why do we celebrate clones? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Temporal ( 96070 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @10:58AM (#10631516) Journal
    Honestly. Why re-make Zelda when you could be creating something completely original? I mean, if people want to remake Zelda, copyright violations aside (and yes, they are violating copyrights), it's up to them how to spend their time. But, honestly, the tendency for open source game developers to spend massive amounts of time simply copying something we already have disappoints me. I would be far more interested if someone had created an entirely original gameplay engine and an entirely original game to go with it. And really, it isn't that hard. In my experience, inventing your own gameplay mechanics is far easier and more fun than implementing them.
    • Er. On further inspection I'm not sure if this thing is even open source. Not that that was a central part of my argument, though. Should have used the term "amateur", I guess.
    • I'd imagine if you knock ZClassic, you probably don't play any Doom or Quake mods, do you?

      It's not just a 'remake' of Zelda, it's a remake with an editor.

      Yeah, it's not quite the same as making a whole new game, but think of it less as a game and more of a toolset with a demo game, like Neverwinter Nights or some of the id game engines (I've heard people before say games like Quake 3 were less of a full game and more of a starting point for mods). What better way to show off a Zelda toolset than with a ti
      • That's great. I am glad that they included an editor, and that people are creating somewhat-more-original games with it. But why not create an original gameplay system with an editor, rather than a copy of Zelda with an editor? As I understand it, quests made with ZClassic all use Zelda-style gameplay mechanics (correct me if I'm wrong).

        And the answer I see is this: By copying Zelda, they can capitalize on the Zelda name, saying "Hey look! You can make your own Zelda with this!", thus drawing attentio
        • People who are hardcore fans of a series often do whatever they can to expand on its world.

          Re-making older games as a fan project is just another aspect of the same mentality that produces fan fiction/art, cosplaying, etc.

          For example, if I had the time and the money, I would love to do something like this for Soul Reaver. I like playing Soul Reaver-esque games, but I would enjoy an updated version with improved graphics and mod-ability even more, because it's that particular game world that I like.
    • Also, it seems silly to create something that not only was already done, but can be played via existing NES emulators!
    • You never had a hobby? These guys obviously love Zelda and wanted to see if they could code it. They also wanted to play new levels/quests in the old game. They're not trying to make money, it's an homage, like a bar band covering their favorite supergroup's song. It may technically be copyright violation, and will probably get shut down, but since there's no profit motive I can't see where this is doing any harm.

      As for creating something new... Maybe, like many programmers, they don't have a good enou
      • I have a hobby... I write software and design games for fun. The difference is that I always make an effort to create something completely new rather than copy someone else. Not only do I find it more fun, but the results are more interesting and rewarding. Honestly, I never understood why someone would want to create an exact clone of some other person's work, but apparently it's just me.
        • I've never personally understood why a man would want to have sex with another man, or why some people like the taste of straight gin. Apparently there are a variety of people in this world with different likes and dislikes, and some of them aren't exactly the same as either you or I.

          By the way, are your games really completely new? Are you inventing new genres that aren't at all based on any existing game genres (fps, puzzle, rts, rpg, etc.)? Truly original ideas that aren't related to/derived from other
    • Yes, but Zelda is a classic worthy of celebration. Much like how people keep remaking and re-releasing much loved movies and songs, videogames deserve the same treatment. Now, whether they're being remade for the benefit of humanity or because someone wants to feel closer to a classic somehow is another story discussion, but the draw is definitely there.

      Plus, it's a great way to get to understand the decisions that went into the creation of the classic without the hassle and failures of from-scratch deve
    • the tendency for open source game developers to spend massive amounts of time simply copying something we already have disappoints me

      The tendency for other people to do things in their spare time to entertain themselves and others like them but not you is truly a great human failing- If only someone would write an epic novel to memorialize this for future generations: I've tried posting on slashdot but I'm yet to convince any accomplished writers to write stuff to my specification for free...

      In my expe
      • Presumably why there's no code to download from your game site, right?

        Entirely moot point. Fate of Io, in its charter, states that it is not serious and will most likely never produce an end product. That has nothing to do with its originality and everything to do with my available free time. Another of my projects -- Evlan, the programming language -- is equally original and is very much serious. In fact, I'll have the first usable version of it done in the next week.
    • Because technical people who have the skills to develop these tools and create great game engines generally are not artsy creative people with the ability to create interesting game stories.

  • Did this too...got a letter from a lawyer. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Tronster ( 25566 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @12:06PM (#10632247) Homepage
    I took on the Nehe Open Source Zelda [gamedev.net] project two years ago. We made much progress (portals from overworld to underworld, most all weapons implemented, etc...) and then we got a letter from Nintendo's lawyers about the graphics. We had lifted them from an emulator (screen shots and Photoshop-action) and so we needed to scrap them.

    The project could have continued but that took a significant amount of air out of my sails. I gave the code to a friend at the BaltoLUG who added SDL to it and made it work on Linux. This new project is still up but not being actively developed: Openlynks [sourceforge.net]. Sadely, the level editor was made in Visual Basic 6 and so unlike the C++/OpenGL game engine, it hasn't been ported over.

    The remains of the project pages are here [tronster.com].
    • Hey Tronster this is Dom

      > Not being actively developed

      Oh I wouldn't say that.. the Dreamcast port has been hogging up all my time (what time??). Its about 99% finished, I'm havin some issues with the alpha blending.

      The codebase was too complete to let it sit idly, you guys did a great job with the game.

      As for the map editor, once I'm finished the DC port, I have plans to make a GTK based one.

      My roomate who redid the graphics originally said he'll update them when we move from 8x8 to 16x16 tiles, ma

  • Shut down... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by TLSPRWR ( 711680 )
    I predict less than a week before Nintendo finds and shuts this project down like they have all the other remakes/original games based off their intellectual property.
    Yes, as a webmaster, I've gotten a cease and desist letter for hosting a Mario fangame site, and there are countless examples of other fan projects that are released FOR FREE but Nintendo doesn't like someone using their characters. Sega, however is VERY lenient [emulationzone.org], and we know they know about us.
    • Good thing that Zelda Classic 1.84 is pretty much a finished project, unlike various other remake projects that get shot down before they have a finished product. So even if it gets shut down, it'll still be floating around on various seedy places on the internet. Though I havn't tried it under DOSBox.

      However, later versions (which do nothing to the origional quest, simply add more tools and items for homebrew Zelda Quests) and the betas are a little less stable, from what I have heard at least, though

  • Nin ten dont stop (Score:2, Interesting)

    by eamonman ( 567383 )
    Hopefully Nintendo won't squish this project now that it's made the front page of Slashdot. Their website does appear to mention Nintendo's copyright on the page, but that doesn't mean they have big N's permission.

    But I would think (hope) that Nintendo wouldn't really have a problem with them as:
    1. It's non-profit.
    2. It maintains a brand awareness of their product.
    3. It doesn't look like people are trying to ruin /change the image of Zelda/Link (at least not in a bad way). I don't feel that this is on
    • Nintendo would have a problem with from the perspective of precedent. If you let this one project continue, then you're sending the message that it's OK to use Nintendo IP without permission or license as long as you stay within a certain context. So while a majority of the people at Nintendo may feel flattered and find this project rather cool, their legal department will not want to establish any sort of precedent that ripping of the Big N is OK.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @12:19PM (#10632370)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Differences between Classic and Original. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Pentomino ( 129125 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @12:34PM (#10632552) Homepage Journal
    I tried this back in college, when it was just for DOS. Fun stuff, though you can tell that some parts of the game are based on idealized memories.

    For example, we all knew that blue Tektites were more likely to drop 5-Rupee pieces than most characters, and blue Moblins were more likely to drop bombs. But in Zelda Classic, it seems they drop these respective treasures three or four times per screen. Makes it a little too easy, I think, but nobody to my knowledge has reverse-engineered the game to the point where we understand what the probabilities really are.

    But the one feature I love the most about Zelda Classic: you can switch B-button weapons without taking five seconds to scroll up to the selection screen. I love that. I wish the N64 ports had that.
  • The interesting thing about this is you can create your own levels. I wish they would make something like this for Link to the Past.

    Free Flat Screen HERE! [freeflatscreens.com]

    • Closest thing I've heard of is a ROM hacker program called Hyrule Magic [google.com] (can't find the exact URL, and just about to leave work to go home).

      Not sure what all it can do though; I've only used it to import a sprite-edit to make Link have blond hair and Wind Waker colored jerkins (it looks really good in-game, if I do say so myself)
      • As someone who has not only been around before the first release of Hyrule Magic and knows the author but has even added code to it myself (at least I think they are still using my code) I must say that Hyrule Magic is one of the 2 best editors for any ROM that I have ever seen/used.
        The other one is Lunar Magic, an editor for the SNES classic Super Mario World.

        If you like zelda and editing, Hyrule Magic is a serious tool.
        And if you like zelda, play the excellent Zelda 3 Challenge hack when it is released.
  • Nintendo has been rereleasing alot of their classic games for different systems. If I worked at Nintendo I would certainly look at something like this as a threat to profit. Were it an original game within the zelda mythos it would be harder to make that argument (well, not for their lawyers I imagine).

  • Pull the story and bury it. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    As the person who submitted this story to slashdot I am appalled that slashdot would edit and rewrite my entire submission, taking it out of context and important information with no respect to journalistic integrity or respect for the internet community.

    As such I do not want my name on something that is not my work, and ask that you pull this story and bury it on ethical grounds.

    - Belgarath
  • Anyone have a link for the OS X download? I can't find it anywhere...
  • This is AWESOME! I spent many hundreds of hours of my youth playing Zelda. The only game I've played that comes close in terms of crack-addict potential is Fable for the XBox.
  • I can't start on Zelda when I haven't finished Photoshop!

  • Man, what resolution is that.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by llamaluvr ( 575102 ) on Tuesday October 26, 2004 @11:47PM (#10638902) Journal
    ...like, um, 4*3???
  • Sign up for the OS X version in their forum [armageddongames.net]. Click on ZC Discussions, then search for "mac" and your find it.

  • Setting a few thing's straight... (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Zelda Classic isn't completely legal. We know that. We've known it for a long time. We've made an effort to spot out what we'd need to change in case we did get a "Cease and Desist", but we haven't. Nintendo knows we're here, we've been on thier radar on more than one occasion. First time they came, saw what we were donig and left. Second time we were reported as a clone, an NoA official dug deeper and a few peopleexplained what Zelca Classic really was. They have'nt touched us since.

    Zelda Classic was orig

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