Source code for NES, SNES, Genesis and Sega CD games released
category: general [glöplog]
Maybe some of you already know... but for those who don't know yet, the following might be interesting.
The programing veteran, Chris Shrighley, who has more than 30 years in the gaming industry has released the source code of some games he worked on (like for NES, Genesis and Sega CD). He also worked on the Sega CD version of Batman Returns.
Here is a list of games he released with full source code for "educational purposes only" on his private website:
Magician (NES)
John Smith Special Agent (aka James Bond Jr.) (NES)
Hero Quest (previously unreleased NES game)
Ex-Mutants (Genesis)
Cliff Hanger (Genesis)
Batman Returns (Sega CD)
Gargoyles (Genesis)
Gargoyles Protype/Test (SNES)
Source:
https://shrigley.com/source_code_archive/
The programing veteran, Chris Shrighley, who has more than 30 years in the gaming industry has released the source code of some games he worked on (like for NES, Genesis and Sega CD). He also worked on the Sega CD version of Batman Returns.
Here is a list of games he released with full source code for "educational purposes only" on his private website:
Magician (NES)
John Smith Special Agent (aka James Bond Jr.) (NES)
Hero Quest (previously unreleased NES game)
Ex-Mutants (Genesis)
Cliff Hanger (Genesis)
Batman Returns (Sega CD)
Gargoyles (Genesis)
Gargoyles Protype/Test (SNES)
Source:
https://shrigley.com/source_code_archive/
Um, is he allowed to do that? He doesn't OWN the code anymore, as far as I can see. Yes, he may have written the code, but as soon as he released it to his employers (Nintendo and Sega) THEY became the owners of the code.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Quote:
OH NO A CRIME HAS HAPPENED 30 YEARS OLD SOURCE CODE HAS BEEN RELEASED AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN LOST BECAUSE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY THEFT
huh that initial reaction opinion was totally not written by my lizard brain. now this the neocortex on keys: isn't that stuff practically abandonware, ie. on the gray area, that there's technically a copyright but it's not really enforced by anybody anymore. And isn't it also that such works essentially become "public domain" for private people?
Quote:
Um, is he allowed to do that?
Do you ask this question every time you start an Amiga game and read from the scroller "X cracked by Z"?
Depends on who owns the copyright (almost certainly not Nintendo or Sega), and if it's not himself, whether they gave him permission or not. Quotes like "a lot of the code is still owned by other people" (emphasis mine) and "If you feel that any of this source code infringes on your copyright" suggests a somewhat lenient attitude though. :) It's a bit like copyright infringing Youtube videos with "no infringement intended" in the description...
I only stated the above because I'm not sure how copyright works on the "big consoles". Otherwise, Nintendo (and I believe Sony, too) would have no problem with emulators, but they do, especially with their games.
@la_mettrie: I have no problem with those that remove ridiculous copy protection and add cheats so that people can enjoy the games fully, now I've experienced such cracker joys myself.
@la_mettrie: I have no problem with those that remove ridiculous copy protection and add cheats so that people can enjoy the games fully, now I've experienced such cracker joys myself.
Fortunately there are still some cool old-skool programmers out there, who are opened to share its knowledge. Big thank you!
Quote:
Otherwise, Nintendo (and I believe Sony, too) would have no problem with emulators, but they do
Emulators are legal, it's the distribution of games that is problematic.
Quote:
Emulators are legal, it's the distribution of games that is problematic.
I realise that, but what can be emulated on a PlayStation or S/NES emulator aside from games? Anything, but what else was written for those systems aside from games? That's my point.
Again, it's not emulation that is illegal, but the distribution. There's no problem if you e.g. insert an original Playstation disc into your CD-ROM drive and load it in an emulator. Sharing an image of it online is a different story.
I checked out the source code of Magician and noticed that the readme is from the year 2012.
Quick, grab it while you can.
Quote:
Depends on who owns the copyright (almost certainly not Nintendo or Sega), and if it's not himself, whether they gave him permission or not. Quotes like "a lot of the code is still owned by other people" (emphasis mine) and "If you feel that any of this source code infringes on your copyright" suggests a somewhat lenient attitude though. :) It's a bit like copyright infringing Youtube videos with "no infringement intended" in the description...
I googled around and it looks like the dude used to work for Psygnosis, which as far as I can tell has been out of business for a while.
I suppose some of those games were published by still existing publishers like Sony. They might defend the copyright, I guess.
Quote:
what can be emulated on a PlayStation or S/NES emulator aside from games?
Kind of fun to ask this on a website which has a catalogue of hundreds of demos for these platforms, don't you think?
Quote:
I suppose some of those games were published by still existing publishers like Sony. They might defend the copyright, I guess.
My understanding is that developers usually keep the copyright when entering into agreements with publishers, and therefore a publisher wouldn't have the incentive, or even the right, to sue for copyright infringement. Psygnosis is however a "wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment", so Sony could have sued for infringement as the copyright owner if any of the games were developed by Psygnosis, but none of them were.
Quote:
developed by Psygnosis, but none of them were.
I mixed that up. Pysgnosis published the Amiga version of cliffhanger. Never developed it.
Quote:
Um, is he allowed to do that? He doesn't OWN the code anymore, as far as I can see. Yes, he may have written the code, but as soon as he released it to his employers (Nintendo and Sega) THEY became the owners of the code.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Or they simply don't care to go after a developer who publishes 30+ year old code. :)
Wasn't the developer of Sub-Terrania a demoscener? Now *that's* a game I'd like to see the source to.
Not one scener, but a whole bunch of members of Crionics and Silents. Some of them went on to form the company behind the Hitman series.