We can imagine what makes for a good prison guard: somebody who has seen the show Oz and is skilled in the ways of the nightstick. What else could a wannabe prison guard need? Nintendo, apparently.
At North Branch Correctional Institution, prison Warden John A. Rowley mentioned that the state-of-the-art touch-screen system that the prison uses to control the population is, apparently, very similar to that of the DS. He commented that "Nintendo was a great tool to train today's officers." We couldn't agree more, since the DS is not only a great handheld system for gaming, but also a cheap way to introduce folks to the interface of a touch-screen, not to mention how to effectively use a stylus.
So, while the Warden comments that Nintendo helped train his guards, we think the system can go further. It can train grandparents on how to use a PDA (or you can turn it into one for them), among other things. What a great little system!
[Via Kotaku]
This week, the staff at DS Fanboy dedicated themselves to all things homebrew. If you own a DS and aren't checking out some of these hobbyist applications, you're missing half the fun of the system. Let us help you get started, find the best games and other software, and troubleshoot your problems, and you'll be reproducing Rembrandts* in Colors! in no time.
*provided you actually have some shred of artistic talent
Homebrew dev dishes on the DS scene
The man behind Laser Hockey DS on the scene, his recommendations, and the lessons Nintendo could stand to learn from homebrew.
One thing that's been brought up countless times in DS-related discussions is "if only it could be used as a PDA." Well, with the right combination of hardware and software, it can! But just how well does it stand up to other devices with that classification? Read on as I take the DS through its paces to see how it performs as a personal digital assistant.
We love homebrew, and we know a lot of you are fans of the homebrew scene as well. Unfortunately, we all can't be blessed with programming skills, but if you were, what kind of homebrew would you make? What programs, applications, or games would you like to see on your DS? Who knows, maybe some homebrew geniuses out there will see your desires and get some ideas -- we can hope, can't we? After all, our DS can do many things, but it can't do everything.
John Harris's outstanding, exhaustive GameSetWatch column, @Play, focuses this week on the topic of homebrew roguelikes for the DS. There are a few roguelikes available in retail format -- the Pokemon Mystery Dungeons, Izuna, and, soon, Shiren the Wanderer -- but those are all examples of the "Mysterious Dungeon" subgenre, and also cost money, which these homebrew versions do not (barring the initial outlay required to run homebrew.) And these games are the good kind of free, not the 'five-finger-discount' kind.
Not only does Harris provide a guide to different roguelike games for the DS, he kindly offers a guide to getting them on there. If you're a roguelike player, you may not be familiar with the concept of making things easier for yourself, but you may be able to adapt.
One of the many reasons that we love the DS is because it does pretty much everything. Not only can you play games to your little heart's content, but you can also use your DS to call people, store data, and slap bitches.* Noticeably, however, the DS was in need of a killer music app. That is, until now.
DScratch appears to be the next best homebrew on the market, giving you the opportunity to experiment with audio manipulation on your DS. The app comes with the following features:
load .wav file or live-recorded audio
scratch
pitch control
FX "Retrig"
Midi OUT (wireless)
stylus control
NDSMotion control
Wondering how it all works? Well then, watch the video that we've ever-so-kindly embedded for you up top. If you feel so inclined, you can download this homebrew for free here, but first take note of the issues with the program (like its incompatibility with R4). Also, since this app is only in its alpha stage, you might want to wait until the bugs and kinks are worked out before adding this to the repertoire of your DS. Unless you're into bugs and kinks ... in which case, who are we to judge?
*DS Fanboy does not advocate the slapping of bitches in real-life scenarios.
There are a lot of homebrew devices out there for the DS, and they all (apparently) have their ups and downs. Compatibility issues, wildly varying costs, and possible difficulties loading content onto the cartridge come to mind, leaving the homebrew neophyte afraid to get started.
A lot of you seem to have made the jump somehow, meaning that you now have information that could lead others toward an informed purpose. What kind of homebrew device are you using? Are you pleased with it, and would you recommend it to others? Does it have any drawbacks?
If The Martian DS looks a little rough on the edges, it's because the title was originally created by a team of three for a 72-hour game development competition four years ago. The resulting project is actually quite impressive, considering, and we're happy to see that one of the original developers took the time to create a homebrew port of it for the DS.
Short but sweet, The Martian DS is a side-scrolling shooter in the vein of Alien Hominid. Players roam the city picking up weapons and power-ups while dodging constant gunfire from the local law enforcement. The game really suffers from the lack of a soundtrack, but the original character sprites, especially the donut-heaving boss, makes up for it.
Just when you think we've established what the Nintendo DS is capable of graphics-wise, homebrew developer Phillip Bradbury comes along and smashes those preconceptions with a Videlectrix port for the ages. If you thought Population: Tire shook the scene with its innovative touchscreen controls, prepare to be brought to your knees by Secret Collect. Epic in every sense of the word, this remake is half Indiana Jones, half God of WarThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:
"The greatest secrets man has ever known have been scattered all over the globe and its [sic] your job to find them."
Homestar Runner's Strong Bad stars in the game, represented by a magnificently detailed, red square. You'll navigate the agile hero through fifteen blocky mazes and collect yellow squares to advance to the next spine-tingling level. Picking up the blue power-ups (also squares) will boost your speed, keeping you ahead of the labyrinths' treacherous monsters -- so treacherous, they're invisible to the naked eye!
The original Flash version is also available online for those of you who either lack the tools to play homebrew games or don't have enough room on your hard drive for the 18KB download.
Though newcomers to the homebrew scene likely missed Blast Arena Advance when the title was released mid-2005, and even longtime followers of the community probably acted too slow to pick up one of the original 41 cartridges that were manufactured and distributed later on, there may still be a chance for you to make things right.
Developer Matthew Carr (Lemmings DS port) has made available 150 more Blast Arena Advance carts for approximately $14, warning timid buyers that this limited run will be the last for this project. Already, over sixty of the semi-transparent, teal-colored carts have been sold. The penny-wise among you could always download the ROM posted on Matthew's site instead, but you'd have one more hole in your collection of rare GBA games.
From its minimalist-but-stylish graphics to its immediate accessibility, there's plenty to compare between Blast Arena Advance and the bit Generations' series presentations. You can play the entire game using just the D-pad, collecting flanges and dodging debris from exploding stars while the soundtrack -- music so good you'll try your damndest to survive longer just to hear more of it -- paints in the scenery missing from the black background. Fling yourself past the post break for some video we took of us playing Blast Arena Advance.
We would trade our souls for a DS version of X-Com: UFO Defense, had we not already sold the bedraggled things to Milhouse at a discount price of five dollars of course, but it looks like Blue_knight's homebrew port of the tactical RPG is coming along well enough. Three cheers for hobbyist programmers!
He has added a lot since we last covered the project -- tile selection, a tweaked UI, and an "entity rendering system." Though we're not sure what exactly that all means, the screenshots we grabbed and added past the post break look promising.
Now if you'll excuse us, we have some souls to track down. Last we heard, Milhouse exchanged them for Alf pogs. Alf pogs! Remember Alf? He's back ... in pog form.
With the approval and source code of Cave Story's father, Pixel, homebrew developer RavenWorks has spent the past year porting the indie classic to the DS. We've called the PC title to your attention before, praising it as one the most charming and polished titles we've ever had the pleasure of playing.
The project was originally bound for the GBA, but RavenWorks eventually migrated his code and rewrote the graphics engine to take advantage of Nintendo's new hardware. Current plans for the touchscreen include a map display and a "tap-to-switch-weapons interface" (accompanying L/R weapon switching).
Cave Story: DS's newest demo allows you to explore the game's levels and mess with NPCs, its memorable soundtrack playing all the while. Though scripting, weapons, and many other features haven't been included yet, we're just happy to see that progress is still being made on the port. Make sure to download the demo and let RavenWorks know that his efforts are appreciated!
If you don't have the homebrew tools necessary to test this early build, we have a few screenshots for you to preview in our gallery. You can also disguise yourself with a Mimiga mask and sneak past the post break for some shakycam video we dug up.
Looking back at the game now, Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll's stylus controls can't compete with the level of immersion and intuitiveness we're seeing with the Wii's labyrinthine games -- Mercury Meltdown Revolution, Dewey's Adventure, and Kororinpa: Marble Mania. Thanks to homebrew hardware like the MK6-Motion and the DS Motion Card, though, we can now emulate the same motion-sensing features on our handhelds.
It's unlikely that any commercial release will ever acknowledge these unauthorized add-ons, but homebrew developers have already put out over twenty games and demos that use the data gathered from the accelerometers/gyroscope. Check past the post break for videos and screenshots of three puzzle titles that've been rigged to detect your tilting DS.
We usually wait until a homebrew project has had time to mature past its alpha builds before calling the game to your attention, but we take exception with any and all plans for a portable X-Com: UFO Defense. Our love affair with the turn-based, tactical title has been a romance with few equals, inviting comparisons with Shakespeare's tragic coupling of Romeo and Juliet. Should society ever try to separate us, you'll find that we've already taken measures to leave this miserable world, our lifeless arms entwined with X-Com's diskettes even in death.
Blue_knight has posted screenshots of the progress he's made so far with adapting the game's data for the DS. The handheld clone already features tileset loading/creation, four height views, and touchscreen support for scrolling around the battlescape. Though there's still a lot left to implement, like fog of war and a map overview on the second screen, that hasn't stopped us from scouting countries for potential bases and trading tips on how to best attack Chryssalid terror sites.
Pokesav is an editor program that allows you to hack your PokemonDiamond and Pearl saves, adding rare Pokemon, changing their abilities, and doing all kinds of crazy hacky stuff. It appears that not only can you generate any Pokemon, you can then assign them abilities outside their type, and with more PP than the abilities can usually have. You need some kind of homebrew ability to do this, obviously, since you need to get your savegames onto the computer.
There's even a database of downloadable Pokemon, so you can get started cheating right away. We wouldn't recommend you use ill-gotten Pokemon online, but for your own use, we don't see why you should be bound by the limitations of the game.
Check after the break for a tutorial video sent to us by the Hall of Bards. Pokesav is serious business.
John Harris's outstanding, exhaustive GameSetWatch column, @Play, focuses this week on the topic of homebrew roguelikes for the DS. There are a few roguelikes available in retail format -- the 
There are a lot of 
If The Martian DS looks a little rough on the edges, it's because the title was originally created by a team of three for a 72-hour game development competition four years ago. The resulting project is actually quite impressive, considering, and we're happy to see that one of the original developers took the time to create a homebrew port of it for the DS.
Just when you think we've established what the Nintendo DS is capable of graphics-wise, homebrew developer Phillip Bradbury comes along and smashes those preconceptions with a Videlectrix port for the ages. If you thought 
We would trade our souls for a DS version of 
With the approval and source code of Cave Story's father, Pixel, homebrew developer RavenWorks has spent the past year porting the indie classic to the DS. We've called the 
Looking back at the game now, 
We usually wait until a homebrew project has had time to mature past its alpha builds before calling the game to your attention, but we take exception with any and all plans for a portable 
