Getting started

Hi there! New here? No problem, so was I once!

So, you’d like to get started with NESmaker? You like to create your own game for the NES, but you can’t write code if your life depended on it? Or you have heard from NESmaker, but you have no idea where to start? No worries! This little page should get you started in no time.

Before we go, please note that NESmaker is a Windows only application. You may get it to run on a Mac or Linux computer through a virtual Windows machine like WINE though.

In short, you’ll have to go through the following steps: buy NESmaker, download NESmaker, install NESmaker and reserve a lot of time to go through the tutorials.

Buy NESmaker

First of all, you’ll have to buy the software. NESmaker is available at The New 8-bit Heroes‘ website. Go there and click one of the Buy NESmaker buttons. At the time of writing, the software costs $ 36, which honestly is a steal for a NES development IDE. You’ll probably need a PayPal account to buy it though. After payment, you’ll receive your license code in your mailbox.

Download NESmaker

After buying NESmaker, you’ll receive the download link and your license code in your mailbox. On the downloads page, you’ll find a few links to files. If this is your first time, you’ll only need the CURRENT NESmaker Version (v4.5.9). Based on your local Windows installation, choose the 32- or 64-bit version. The other downloads (like current core, current module folder and the NESmaker patch) are not needed as they are included in the current NESmaker version download.

Install NESmaker

NESmaker is a portable executable, so you can place it anywhere on your hard drive as there are no Windows dependencies. This also means you can install (or rather unzip) NESmaker in multiple locations on multiple hard drives if you desire to do so. There atually may be situations where this actually is applicable (like using a NESmaker folder for DPCM projects and one for non-DPCM projects), but that’s probably for another time. For now, just pick any location on your hard drive and unzip the download there. You’ll need to run the NESMaker.exe executable to get started. Enter your activation license code from the mail and you’re good to go! The license is for use on two computers – you can install NESMaker unlimited times per computer though.

Watch the tutorials

Okay, you’re all good to go now! You may want to dive in and get started playng around with your freshly installed NESmaker. I strongly suggest you take a step back first, as NESmaker may be quite an imposing and overwhelming piece of software to delve into without any knowledge. What you should do first, is follow the video tutorials that are available online. There are two lines of tutorials you should follow:

The official NESmaker module tutorials

It’s good practice to start creating a new game by loading in a module first. Modules are core code sets based on the type of game you’d like to create, whether it is a top-down maze or adventure game, or a scrolling or non-scrolling platformer. You can theoretically create a game without using these modules, but that means you’ll have to create the entire game from the ground up, including a core engine for inputs, graphics, scrolling… in other words, don’t do that right now. There are seven base modules:

  • Maze Game, an arcade-style top-down game. Think Pacman, Sokoban and the like.
  • Arcade Style Platformer, a per-screen platforming game like Bubble Bobble.
  • Top Down Adventure, like the classic Legend of Zelda.
  • Scrolling Platformer, a one direction scrolling game like Super Mario Bros.
  • Simple Shmup, a horizontal shoot ’em up module like Gradius.
  • Basic Brawler – a horizontal scrolling beat ’em up, like Double Dragon.
  • Mega-Metro-Vania, a two-way scrolling platformer. As the name suggests, this plays like Mega Man, Metroid or Castlevania.

The NESmaker website has a list of tutorials per available module. Every module has three tutorials:

  • The beginner tutorials, telling you how to compile the example games from the available assets and scripts. These are not that essential to follow in my opinion; you’re probably better off starting with the intermediate tutorials right away.
  • The intermediate tutorials, diving a bit deeper into what goes into compiling these games.
  • The advanced tutorials, touching upon a few more in-depth modification possibilities for your game.

The Twelve Days of NESmas

For Christmas 2020, The New 8bit Heroes released twelve tutorials which should get you up and running in no time. Where the official tutorials go through the available modules, Twelve Days of NESmas are more UI/topic based, touching upon pixel editing, animations, inputs, screens and stuff like that.

Thirteen Days of October

For Halloween 2024, The New 8bit Heroes released thirteen tutorials* which help you understand the software and the idea behind it better. This series of tutorials starts from the bare basic beginning but will feature some topics that may interest more experienced NESmaker users as well.

*at the time of writing, there are two tutorials published, with eleven more to come

Other sources

There are more tutorial videos available across the internet. Pay attention that the tutorial correspond with your version number! There are quite a few tutorials for version 4.1.5 around the ‘net, which are not of much use if you’re using a 4.5.x version of NESmaker, as a lot of its codebase and UI have been overhauled drastically.

…and now?

Congratulations, you’re ready to create your first game! Like Joe Granato, the spiritual father of NESmaker, I also suggest you make a bunch of burner projects before creating your first big release. Be prepared to run into a few walls while creating your games, just keep in mind that actually is part of the charm. And you always have the pretty open, accessible, warm and welcoming NESmaker community on your side. Whether it is in the Facebook group, the NESmakers forums or the Discord channel, there’s always someone who is willing to help you overcome your NESmaking struggles. Have fun creating your NES masterpiece!