Retroguru
Retroguru have been developing computer games for different operating systems since 2011 with three main focuses:
- Development on and for retro hardware
- 100% free and ad-free games as download ( freeware ).
- Multiple ports to different systems
The international collective has over 40 team members and is related to the demo scene . All projects are carried out decentrally, with Salzburg in Austria as the main location .
The focus is on developing computer games, primarily for old computers such as B. the Commodore Amiga or old consoles like Sega Dreamcast or Sony PlayStation Portable (as homebrew software). Other supported systems are e.g. B. Nintendo Wii , Nintendo GameCube , Atari Lynx , Pandora , Sega Mega Drive or PlayStation 2 .
In most cases, the economic relevance of the platforms is no longer given; this means that some of the hardware has not been produced for many years, and official games are no longer released.
In some cases, consoles need to be modified because they are unlicensed publications. Mainstream systems such as Windows, Android, Linux and Mac OS X can also be found, but exotic operating systems such as NetBSD , Amiga OS4 , AROS and SymbianOS are also being considered. Porting up to 20 systems per game is not uncommon and a distinctive unique selling point. The team has also developed a taste for the obscure over time. There are ports on Korean handhelds from Game Park , Motorola's MotoMagx or TI Nspire CX .
The games are (still) closed source, but will be released to interested programmers on request.
Some members are considered retro experts in their field and are consulted at irregular intervals by foreign-language media. Lectures on the development of retro games are given regularly.
Retro style
Almost all works are characterized by a retro style, whereby nothing is imitated, but in most cases is also technically retro. The games are primarily designed for a resolution of 320x240 pixels, although the number of colors is also limited. Musically, four-part Amiga ProTracker modules are used. The relatively modest data size is advantageous over streamed music. Using the example of the Fruit'Y game , a soundtrack with 11 songs compressed into 80 kilobytes fits.
Programming is always done with the intention of ensuring the highest possible portability. A separate engine, which was written in ANSI-C 90 , is used for this purpose . The game development library is libSDL . Due to the high availability of SDL ports for a wide variety of systems, Retroguru games can also be ported relatively quickly to other systems. Assembler is used for older computers and consoles where the CPU is rather weak .
With the use of old technology such as graphics and music, there is no space problem with publications on diskette. LibSDL is used for somewhat newer consoles and computers with more powerful CPUs.
history
The team became popular with Giana's Return , an unofficial successor to the C64 classic The Great Giana Sisters , first published in 2009 at the Bünzli demo party . The game even had the blessing of Armin Gessert , managing director of Spellbound Entertainment and the rights holder at the time. Various trade magazines, but also daily newspapers reported on this game. At the time of publication, the team name “Giana's Return Team” was in use and was only changed retrospectively to “Retroguru” in 2011 in order to ensure a uniform appearance to the outside world, as the team's constellation remained similar. The strategic mistake of not offering the first three games ( Giana's Return , Sqrxz and Sqrxz 2 ) immediately under Retroguru led to less visibility to the outside world.
Remakes or modifications of well-known computer games have always been the inspiration for Retroguru games. For example, Xump is conceptually based on the C64 game Sensitive and Fruit'Y on the Amiga game Gem'X by Kaiko.
Hermes and Trap Runner are purely in-house developments . Productions for Commodore computers not only served as a source of ideas, but also became an object of development in 2012. The group's first Amiga game was a much improved version of Sqrxz . This was followed by three independent parts, Trap Runner (in cooperation with Night Owl Design) and the latest Amiga work from 2020 with Fred's Journey (in cooperation with Cosmos Designs).
Developed games
| Publishing year | title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Giana's Return | |
| 2010 | Sqrxz (remake) | Amiga OCS / ECS: in-house production |
| 2010 | Sqrxz 2 | Amiga OCS / ECS: in-house production |
| 2011 | Sqrxz 3 | Amiga OCS / ECS: in-house production |
| 2014 | Sqrxz 4 | |
| 2014 | Xump | Atari Lynx: Songbird Productions, Evercade (both worldwide)
Dreamcast: in-house production |
| 2015 | Fruit'Y | Dreamcast: DragonBox |
| 2017 | Hermes | Dreamcast: DragonBox (EU distribution), Video Games New York (USA distribution) |
| 2018 | Trap runner | Amiga OCS / ECS: APC & TCP |
| 2018 | Super Nutmeg (WIP) | |
| 2020 | Xump 2 | Sega Mega Drive: DragonBox |
| 2020 | Fred's Journey |
Physical productions
In the early days of Retroguru, they relied solely on digital publishing. The production of physical data carriers only developed on demand in 2012 due to the increasing popularity and presence in the specialist media.
Atari Lynx
Retroguru have also been active on the Atari Lynx since 2019. The game was licensed to Songbird Productions (USA) and Evercade (UK). The ROM file can be downloaded for free.
Commodore Amiga
The first Amiga games Sqrxz and Sqrxz 2 were occasionally presented and given away at retro fairs or similar retro events in German-speaking countries. Due to the increasing challenges of finding new 3.5 "double-density floppy disks , Sqrxz 3 was produced semi-professionally at cost. Further Amiga games of the team are currently being made available to the public with APC & TCP for a fee and much more professionally. The floppy disk images (.adf image) for emulators are free.
Sega Dreamcast
The Dreamcast was predestined for the production of physical data carriers, because the Dreamcast also accepts regular CD-ROMs in addition to its own GD-ROM format . Xump was produced in-house using a Lightscribe CD and given away to visitors at the 2014 edition of the Retrobörse in Bavaria. Condition was a selfie of himself and his Dreamcast. Fruit'Y and Hermes followed as a professional physical release via DragonBox. Hermes also has a USA publisher with Video Games New York. The CD images (.cdi image) for emulators or for self-production are free.
Sega Mega Drive
In summer 2020, Xump 2 kicked off the first physical mega-drive game Xump 2 with the long-established publisher DragonBox. The first press copies are already in circulation.
reception
The 12 games to date have attracted attention over the past few years in relevant specialist press such as magazines ( Amiga Future , Retro Gamer Germany , Retro Gamer UK, MACGamer, RETURN Magazin, but also in books or on the radio. The cover of Amiga Future was repeatedly published by Retroguru An incomplete press review is available on the group's homepage.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Shahzad Sahaib: information about closed source / open source. Retrieved May 14, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Tom Middler: 20 Years of the SEGA Dreamcast. October 23, 2019, accessed on May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ club SUBOTRON: LETS PLAY Stage. September 16, 2017, accessed May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Sven Wernicke: 10th Long Night of Computer Games. April 27, 2016, accessed May 17, 2020 .
- ↑ Vedder & Triace: Fruit'Y Soundtrack. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
- ↑ Amiga Future: Trap Runner for Amiga OCS / ECS on disk. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
- ↑ Buenzli 2009 :: pouët.net. Retrieved May 13, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Frank Magdans: Why reinvent the wheel? April 4, 2009, accessed May 15, 2020 .
- ^ Krone-Zeitung: "Giana Sisters" - Continuation as a free game. August 17, 2009, accessed May 14, 2020 .
- ↑ RETURN magazine: Retroguru - Forward into the past. A look back . Ed .: RETURN Magazin. No. 31 .
- ↑ 8bit-ninja: Retroguru Interview. April 11, 2012, accessed May 13, 2020 .
- ↑ Night Owl Design
- ↑ Evercade: Atari Lynx Collection 1. Accessed May 17, 2020 .
- ↑ RETRO magazine: Xump giveaway for Dreamcast for visitors to the Retrobörse in Rosenheim (2014). Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
- ↑ eSeL RECEPTION: Giveaway campaign Sqrxz for Amiga OCE / ECS for visitors to the Retrobörse Vienna (2012). Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
- ↑ Retroguru: Sqrxz 3 for Amiga OCS / ECS on floppy disk! Retrieved May 14, 2020 (English).
- ↑ 9781789821987: The AZ of Atari Lynx Games: Volume 1 . Ed .: AG Books. UK 2019, ISBN 978-1-78982-198-7 .
- ↑ Diverse: Retroguru press article. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .