Hi, I was wondering how they actually develop games for playstation, x box, and all the other console games. Do they start out with the code on pc then convert it to consoles? Any help would be appreciated. Any good sites or tutorials you reccomend??

Well, first you ask the maker of your console for a development kit (not sure exactly how to go about asking though), then you pay them a large pile of cash and they give you all the docs on how to program for it, a compiler, and a device that hooks from your computer''s serial port to a game pak-shaped thing, and you just stick that into your system and it runs off your computer. At least that''s what I''ve gathered so far. Of course, if there''s an emulator for the system out, and a compiler that works for it, you can make a game without paying the console maker. Of course, you won''t be able to sell it unless you still pay for the kit, which means that if you don''t have a cartridge manufacturing plant at home (or somehow obtain one of the device things), you won''t be able to play it on the actual system. Unless of course if it''s a Playstation game, then all you have to do is burn it to a CD.

Hope that cleared things up a bit. And here''s a site you can start at: http://www.agbdev.net/gbadev/
That''s only really good if you want to make Gameboy Advance games, but it''ll give you an idea of what non-licensed console development is like.

---

-Deku-chan

DK Art (my site, which has little programming-related stuff on it, but you should go anyway^_^)

The previous response was correct in that you have to get a dev kit from the console manufacturer. These usually cost many thousands of dollars putting them out of reach of the hobbyist developer.

Dreamcast and X-box development is the easiest to get into because they use Windows and DirectX as their platform.

For home-brewed console development, check out these sites...

Jeff Frohwein''s Software/Hardware Dev''rs
Everything you need (compilers, emulators, demos) for Gameboy and Gameboy Advance development.

Hitmen Console Development
Gameboy, C64, Playstation, Dreamcast, etc.

Making Games For The Dreamcast Using Standard GNU Tools
The first article in a series right here on GameDev.Net explaining how to use free GNU tools to develop games for the now discontinued Dreamcast.


Steve ''Sly'' Williams  Code Monkey  Krome Studios