This compressed file contains 9 text files that make up the entire source code for the original Metroid game for the NES. These files are an expansion of SnoBro’s Source code he posted a few years ago. The code has been changed to be assemblable with Ophis instead of x816 because of memory issues. Labels corresponding to address values have been added to every line to make the code easier to follow for beginners interested in understanding the inner workings of a Nintendo game. The labels also make the code easier to debug if it is modified. At this time, the source code is still a work in progress but it is much farther along than the original document. The title page is completely documented. The intro routine, end routine, password scheme and sound engine are described in detail. About a third of the game engine is detailed and about half of each game area page.

Constructing video game characters in a 5x5 graphic. www.alexandershen.com

People are talking like Steam is forcing them to pounce on such deals when they happen even though they already have a huge backlog and may actually already own physical versions of half the games included.

What makes these plainly ridiculous bundles so attractive? I'm glad you asked, because I can think of at least three psychological principles at play here.

The Akihabara you can download here is my personal dream too. It is a set of libraries, tools and presets to create pixelated indie-style 8/16-bit era games in Javascript that runs in your browser without any Flash plugin, making use of a small small small subset of the HTML5 features, that are actually available on many modern browsers.

With this in mind, it seems appropriate to examine the most popular video game in America. Farmville is a free, browser-based video game that is played through one’s Facebook account. Users harvest crops, decorate their farms, and interact with one another, in what is ostensibly a game about farming. While this may sound like a relatively banal game, over seventy-three million people play Farmville. Twenty-six million people play Farmville every day. More people play Farmville than World of Warcraft, and Farmville users outnumber those who own a Nintendo Wii. This popularity is not surprising per se; even in the current recession, video game revenues reached nearly twenty billion dollars in America last year. The video games industry is a vibrant one, and there is certainly room in it for more good games.

Having once made the statement above, I have declined all opportunities to enlarge upon it or defend it. That seemed to be a fool's errand, especially given the volume of messages I receive urging me to play this game or that and recant the error of my ways. Nevertheless, I remain convinced that in principle, video games cannot be art. Perhaps it is foolish of me to say "never," because never, as Rick Wakeman informs us, is a long, long time. Let me just say that no video gamer now living will survive long enough to experience the medium as an art form.

Psychologist and gamer Jamie Madigan looks at the psychological ramifications of taking advantage of people's tendency to keep with the status quo - particularly with regard to sign-up options for media and how they could be applied to games.

This is by no means the be all, end all, definitive history of video game development studios. There is still room for additional studios and for clarification of individual studio history, as well as more connections between the shift of studio talent from one company to another.

Carnegie Mellon University Professor, Jesse Schell, dives into a world of game development which will emerge from the popular "Facebook Games" era.

With a horde of rhythm games now each requiring its own army of plastic toys to enjoy, we thought we'd try to simplify things for you. Introducing version 4.1 of the Instrument Compatibility Matrix. We'll keep updating this page as new information percolates out, hoping one day to fill in every square with a green "yes." Until that time, check out our chart skills below. (If we've gotten anything wrong, let us know and we'll look into it.

Cogs is an innovative new puzzle game for the PC and iPhone where players build an incredible variety of machines from sliding tiles. Immersed in a steampunk world with stunning visual design, Cogs is pure eye candy. And with 50 unique levels and three gameplay modes, we've packed in hours of entertaining, addictive fun.

With my most recent revisiting of System Shock 2 some time before the existence of BioShock, it was initially a jolt to recall how much more intricate and numerous its mechanics are than in its successor -- and to note how much BioShock directly inherited nonetheless.

SpyParty is an asymmetric multiplayer espionage game, dealing with the subtlety of human behavior, character, personality, and social mores, instead of the usual spy game explosions and car chases.

A computer mystery/romance set five minutes into the future of 1988.

I can guarantee at least ONE of the is a real feature:
* Discover a vast conspiracy lurking on the internet!
* Save the world by exploiting a buffer overflow!
* Get away with telephone fraud!
* HACK THE GIBSON!

Which one? You'll just have to dial in and see. Welcome to the 20th century.

The ultimate game of being better than all your friends at filling progress bars

So you don't have $380 to spend on a PlayStation 3 and Heavy Rain, huh? I know, it's a recession and all. But if you really want to experience the magic of David Cage's interactive drama wonderland of pressing buttons and things maybe happening, why not play our new free Flash game, Press X To Jason. Painstakingly recreating the opening of Heavy Rain, you must pursue your son Jason through a shopping mall to prevent a horrible tragedy. With four earnable achievements and a ranking system, this will get you up to speed for Heavy Rain in no time.

We've summarized Young's long address in this post. It was pretty incredible -- not only did Young lay out his idea of a clear plan for building and developing a large portfolio of very profitable App Store titles "at scale" (the company plans to release twenty new freemium products on the iPhone in the near future, as well as six titles on the iPad), but he made it very clear that he fervently believes that freemium and the model he's structured is the future of the video game business.

I finally understand why everyone has waxed lyrical about Gordon Freeman's second adventure for the last half-decade or more. Conducive to this is the fact that my tastes have matured, and my thoughts on games delved into deeper, more analytical territory. Articulating why I liked X and disliked Y is no longer particularly hard in most cases.

Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how.