[TOS] Playpower.org: Open Source Games for Radically Affordable Computers

Greg DeKoenigsberg gdk at redhat.com
Thu Jul 30 15:28:31 UTC 2009


SO AWESOME.  OMG OMG OMG.

Wait...

...I go to your "developer wiki" and there's nothing there.

I NEED INFORMATIONS!!!

Here are my questions.

1. Have you successfully developed any open games yet?  Where is the code?

2. What's your platform?  Is it portable?  Is there an emulator, and if 
so, is that emulator packaged for use on Windows/Linux/MacOS?

--g

On Thu, 30 Jul 2009, Derek Lomas wrote:

> Hi Seay, TOS list, (and Sebastian!)...
> 
> Mel Chua has been encouraging me to post to the list, and now seems like 
> a good time.
> 
> I am one of the co-founders of Playpower.org, which is building 
> open-source 8-bit games for a $10 home-computer platform, which is 
> currently being sold at large scale in developing regions around the 
> world (China, India, Pakistan, nKorea, Brazil, Nicaragua, Boliva, 
> Ukraine, etc).  As improbable as it seems, chinese manufactures are 
> producing and distributing a 6502-based home computer that connects to a 
> TV for a screen, and comes with a full keyboard, mouse, game 
> controllers, and several cartridges.  It typically sells for less than 
> $20, and often as low as $10.  It is essentially a clone of the Nintendo 
> Famicom, for which the hardware patents have expired.  So this machine, 
> which is produced by the millions every year and distributed to street 
> markets the world over, is actually in the public domain (the software, 
> of course, is not).
> 
> Currently, the "Educational TV Computer" comes with a GUI OS, with a 
> variety of games, most of which are pretty bad (some are just funny... 
> 8-bit karaoke, anyone?).  There are some typing games (typing can be a 
> very economically transformative skill in many areas... the chinese 
> version enables people to type in Mandarin Chinese!!) and most 
> interestingly, the computer comes with a version of BASIC programming...
> 
> Playpower is currently made up of several dozen volunteers around the 
> world who are working to make new open-source learning games for use on 
> this platform.  As we have some relationships with the manufacturers, we 
> are hoping to produce a high-quality new cartridge of learning games 
> that could be packaged with the 8-bit computer instead of the current 
> cartridge.  That way, we could freely distribute our software around the 
> world, by leveraging the existing manufacturing and distribution network 
> of the grey-market.
> 
> I have used this platform with several engineering students, for their 
> senior project.  They learned SO much from this experience, which 
> combines an understanding of the computer hardware with the software 
> development.  They produced an 8-bit quiz game (a la Slumdog 
> Millionaire) and a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" game (both are 
> functional, neither is complete).
> 
> We are very interested in TOS, because we'd love to have student groups 
> working to develop open-source games.  Depending on the teacher or 
> student, there are many levels of technical engagement 
> possible--including ones that involve no programming, just game design.
> 
> If possible, we'd love to find persons interested in teaching with this 
> platform, helping us develop curriculum materials, or simply to 
> contribute to our open-source learning game development. 
> 
> Thank you, and nice to meet you!

I am so coming to CMU to meet you.

--
Computer Science professors should be teaching open source.
Help make it happen.   Visit http://teachingopensource.org.


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