Hobbyist Developers: Studying Notable Nintendo DS Homebrew Games

Abstract

Within game development are dichotomies such as commercial and non-commercial games or licensed and unlicensed games. Amateur hobbyist game developers often create unofficial games for platforms without the consent of the hardware publisher known as "homebrew" games. The following paper is a historical analysis of homebrew games for the Nintendo DS console, focusing on notable releases from these young developers. The games and project discussed were released from 2004- 2013, when the handheld was still actively supported by Nintendo. This study reveals how amateur game developers developed the skills the needed to become professional programmers later, how developers from France had a notable influence on the community, and how these programmers were typically young adults or adolescents. This research contributes to video game history by exploring the releases of unofficial games and the budding scholarship on homebrew development.