While Nintendo is busy hampering the momentum of homebrew developers on the Wii, it's business as usual for the scene with the Nintendo DS. Programmer T4ils has put out a v1.1 update for StillAliveDS, his popular 2D remake of Valve's first-person action/puzzler, Portal.

In addition to general improvements and bug fixes, the indie game now features an in-game level editor! The video above demonstrates how easy it is to lay out and test your own stage. After you've saved your map, you can even upload it to the online Custom Game Directory from your DS!

It's strange to see a homebrew title implementing such a relatively advanced feature (for the DS) that only a few commercial games support -- Picross DS, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, N+, Steal Princess, and Bangai-O (sort of). If you have the tools necessary for loading homebrew games on your DS, you should be playing this!

Following on the heels of Homebrew Week, our coverage of the DS's indie development scene, programmer T4ils has released StillAliveDS, a fantastic 2D remake of Valve's first-person action/puzzler, Portal.

Much like the PC game, players must rely on their wits (and a portal gun) to transport themselves around each stage, aiming shots with their stylus and grabbing pieces of cake along the way. It might not have the graphics of the original, but it definitely has the feel and charm. Hit the screenshots in the gallery below to see what we mean.

Along with the maps included with the game, T4ils has also released an editor for players to create their own levels. We haven't tried it out yet, but there's even some built-in functionality for sharing and downloading maps right from your DS. And it's all free for you to download and play!

Not sure about how to get started with playing homebrew games on your Nintendo DS? Luckily for you, we've written up a (Semi) Ultimate Homebrew Guide with information on the hardware you'll need and how to set it all up! How awesome of us!

[Update: For those of you having trouble getting past the menu screen, walk up to the box in the middle of the room and try to grab it with your stylus. This may take a few tries, unfortunately, but we found it easier if you're just a few pixels away from the box. After you grab the box, carry it over to the "Story" box. ]

See also: Show and Tell: Lies, damned lies, and DS Lites


[via Dev-fr]

If there's anything we like, it's customization. Call us crazy, but even if it's, uh, not the best, we'll usually find something to say about it*. Lately, though, we've been blessed here in the Show and Tell corner with some really awesome submissions from readers who've been taking the look of their Lites into their own hands. Reader Josh didn't draw the art that he's used to adorn his DS, but he made it work on the case, so we'll credit both him and the artist. Can you puzzle out what it is? If not, teleport past the break to see it in full-sized glory. Actually, go whether you can guess or not!

Got something you want to show off to all the other DS fans? We like just about anything with a little Nintendo flavor, so snap a few pics, tell us your story, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest.

*We didn't say it would be necessarily positive, but in that case, the artist herself seemed to be with us!

For this blogger, Hatsune Miku is something to be feared. Something about the creepy voice makes this blogger cringe like that scene where Freddy is scratching his claw against a chalkboard. Except, you know, less awesome.

But, the fears of one man are not to affect an entire country, as the fake thing has become quite the icon in Japan. In fact, Miku has become so popular that she is to star in a real game. Titled 13-sai no Hello Work DS, the game will have players tapping away on a virtual keyboard, eventually working their way up to the stage to sing with Miku.

We wonder how long it will take for someone to turn GLaDOS into a pop diva over here, since nobody can seem to get enough of that song? Actually, she might already kind of be one ...

[Via Siliconera]

This may be our second reference to "Still Alive" (aka "that song from Portal") in as many weeks, but some things can't be helped. This time the song is parodied by Rob Balder, and tells the woes of an end boss that Nintendo fans might be more familiar with.

That's right, the song features none other than Bowser, and he's not too pleased with Mario. Check after the break to listen to the parody, which is aptly called "Still Annoyed."

We don't normally have any reason to talk about the Frag Dolls at all, since the "competitive gaming" community doesn't really associate itself with the DS that often. And we really try to avoid that Portal song whenever possible, which is usually pretty easy for a DS site to do. (Yes, it's a funny song, but it has been run into the ground, okay?) But we do cover Jam Sessions advertising, and that's exactly what this video blog entry from UK Frag Doll Kitt is.

In this video, Kitt performs Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" using nothing but a DS Lite and a copy of our favorite guitar non-game. And it's pretty good! If you don't mind listening to "Still Alive" again. At least the computer-simulated guitar is thematically appropriate.