Homebrew Game Club – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the Game Club, the gang takes on Courier, a cyberpunk adventure for NES by Khan Games. There’s also a half-baked conversation about AI-generated art that should be inconclusive enough to irritate our entire audience. After the end credits, please enjoy Bart’s short and sticky review of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”

Still need to play Courier? Get the game here.

For more Khan Games, check out Kevin's website.

Our next Game Club pick is Kudzu for the Game Boy. Find the Switch version on the Nintendo eShop, or get a physical cartridge from Mega Cat Studios.

As always, find links to our social media and more at: ⁠⁠⁠http://homebrewgameclub.com

The Game Club takes on Flea! and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle for NES and Dreamcast, two entertaining games about adorable parasitic vermin.

You can find links and information for both at the Lowtek Games website.

Our next Game Club pick is Courier for NES. Get it here.

Check out Nick's livestream playthrough of Flea! on the HBGC YouTube channel.

Here's a shot of that limited edition transparent cartridge (including audio cassette) from the Tapeworm Kickstarter.

You can watch Innards, Bart's 16-minute short film about a less friendly type of parasite, right here.

GitHub page for Short Stack by loopj (aka the "Wee Wii").

As always, find links to our social media and more at: ⁠⁠http://homebrewgameclub.com

Game Boy developer Ben Jelter joins the gang for a wide-ranging discussion on… Lots of things. Things like: Game design, GB Studio, his favorite homebrews, how to stay productive as a creative professional, hacker movies, the illusion of choice, Just World Theory, and what retro console he’s interested in developing for next (you won’t guess what it is). Oh, and we also talk about his excellent game The Machine, covered in depth on Episode 13 of our podcast. It’s a good time!

Find all of Ben Jelter’s games here: https://benjelter.itch.io/

Pocket Pixels on Mastodon: https://pocketpixels.club

Jeltron Games on Discord: https://discord.gg/uzZB2WuHY7

Still need to play The Machine? (Yeah, you do.) Get it here: https://incube8games.com/collections/boxed-games/products/the-machine-gbc

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

The Game Club takes on The Machine, a dystopian sci-fi dark comedy for the Game Boy Color with surprising depth. Conor theorizes on how to keep hippies from turning into cannibals, Bart clarifies that we’re not watching a completely unrelated movie, and Nick embraces ethically compromised decision making.

Still need to play the game? Get it here: https://incube8games.com/collections/the-machine

Or check out a free demo here: https://www.themachinegame.com/

Our next game is Anguna for the Game Boy Advance, Atari 2600, and NES. Download the GBA and 2600 versions for free here: https://www.bitethechili.com/

Get the NES version here: https://the6502collective.itch.io/anguna-scourge-of-the-goblin-king

Note: This month’s game club pick has nothing to do with The Machine movie starring Bert Kreischer and Mark Hamill, coincidentally releasing on the same day as this podcast episode. Here is a link to that film’s official website, which we include here as a courtesy to our listeners and definitely not in a shameless attempt to improve our search engine results! https://www.themachine.movie/

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Kevin Hanley, creator of NEScape! and co-host of the Assembly Line podcast, joins the Game Club to talk about his history as a developer, what he’s working on next, and why he thinks we’re in a “golden age” for NES homebrew.

Our NEScape! livestream from March 2022: https://youtu.be/xnHryQBMcyE

Kevin Hanley's website, where you can download many of his games for free: https://www.khangames.com/

Get NEScape! here (not the $999.99 version): https://khangames.itch.io/nescape

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

The Game Club takes on The Cursed Knight, a well-made Mega Drive game that really wants to give you a wedgie and stuff you into a locker. Bart defends his Nintendo bias, Nick rages about passwords, and Conor tries to stay positive. Bonus topic: What's your favorite food item in a video game?

Here's our full livestream playthrough of the game: https://youtu.be/H8eVlIJ7A1g

Still need to play The Cursed Knight? Find it on Steam or get a physical copy here: https://www.brokestudio.fr/product/the-cursed-knight-md/

Our next game will be The Machine for Game Boy Color. Get it here: https://incube8games.com/products/the-machine-gbc

NESmaker Byte-Off III awards video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLxGiWOWRWQ

Flying Arrows 2 Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studioloading/flying-arrows-2-gameboy-game-save-bolognanerd

Harlequest Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ross-codes/harlequest-a-new-3d-dungeon-crawler-for-the-sega-dreamcast

"Every Modern Mega Drive Game Ranked" video by St1ka: https://youtu.be/IR9R01ksI7M

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Nick talks to Francesco Bacchelli, the creative mind behind Game Boy developer Studio Loading. They discuss his inspirations, his approach to retro game development, and the positive aspects of working with a limited platform like the Game Boy. Hot on the heels of his first game Flying Arrows, Francesco is already moving forward with its sequel, Flying Arrows 2, and this time for a good cause: A portion of the funds raised for this game will go to help save Bologna Nerd, a retro gaming community center in Bologna, Italy.

Flying Arrows 2 Kickstarter (launching April 2023): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studioloading/flying-arrows-2-gameboy-game-save-bolognanerd

Crowdfunding campaign to save Bologna Nerd: https://ko-fi.com/bolognanerd

Seriously, check out this promotional video from Bologna Nerd, this place looks awesome: https://youtu.be/0pKpdmiCYng

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Grab your tweeter and channel your inner pirate radio broadcaster as the gang covers What Remains, a walkie-talkie* adventure game for the NES. Conor digs the 1980s vibes, Bart gets duped by a false ending, and Nick brings back the beeps... or, at least, one big one.

*Copyright 2023, Homebrew Game Club (yes we are owning this)

Still need to play the game? Get it here: https://iodinedynamics.itch.io/whatremains

Our next game will be The Cursed Knight for Mega Drive / Genesis. Get the Steam version here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052540/The_Cursed_Knight/

The 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards: https://forums.atariage.com/forum/203-atari-homebrew-awards/

Doodle World Deluxe on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250520/Doodle_World_Deluxe/

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Conor seizes control of the host mic to send the Game Club on a long, rambling, lightly edited conversation about several titles we played in 2022 that deserve more attention. Old games, new games, indie games, mobile games, AAA games – everything is up for discussion. (We even throw some homebrew games in there.) Other topics include game preservation, preorders, a debate about Patreon, online gaming with kids, and... lots of other stuff we'd usually cut.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Elden Ring
• Mushihimesama
• Itch.io homebrews
• The Machine
• No Man's Sky
• Puzzling Peaks
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Baba Is You
• Dawn of the Monsters
• Fortnite
• Atari 50
• Splatoon 3
• Hades
• Horizon: Forbidden West
• The Outer Wilds
• Sturmwind / Sturmwind EX
• Pine Creek
• Lonely Mountains: Downhill
• Gaiares
• Full Quiet 

Question of the 'cast: Should we launch an HBGC Patreon?

Quote of the ‘cast: "That's the whole 50 year arc of Atari... They finally met the aspirations of their own box art."

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com

Bart, Conor, and Nick head to 13th Century France in this deceptively compact tribute to ZX Spectrum platformers. We check out the original PC game as well as ports to the Spectrum, Mega Drive, NES, and Commodore 64. Sorry, Amiga and Ouya fans -- we tried.

Still need to play the game? Find the original (free) PC version and links to all ports here: https://locomalito.com/abbaye_des_morts.php

Our next game is What Remains for the NES. Get it here: https://iodinedynamics.itch.io/whatremains

Homebrew Publisher Survey by bbbbbr for GB Studio Central: https://gbstudiocentral.com/news/homebrew-publisher-survey/

Cocaine Bear for ZX Spectrum: https://azimov.itch.io/cocaine-bear

SkateCat available for preorders: https://twitter.com/dale_coop/status/1615788369270771712?s=20&t=dHWFV7Q9eOujVhrlzvC73g

NEScape! now available on Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/nescape-switch/

...and also on Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/nescape/9nmvx15m755v

Full Quiet for NES: https://fullquiet.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Note: Nick mentions that Full Quiet was Kickstarted in 2018. It was actually 2017. He regrets the error.

The Storied Sword free demo: https://gauauu.itch.io/the-storied-sword

As always, find links to our social media and more at: http://homebrewgameclub.com