This post tries to document the many eccentricities M-Tee and I ran into while trying to build a game for the Nintendo E-Reader using tools meant for the NES. My hope is this can help others do what we did, because the E-Reader is a fun peripheral!
Dizzy Sheep Disaster: EX is coming this year to your e-reader and phone! Check it out here!
What is the E-Reader?
The E-Reader was a relatively short-lived device made for the Gameboy Advance – it allowed you to scan physical trading cards with your GBA. Scanning cards allows you to unlock things like new levels in Super Mario Advance 4, or new items in Animal Crossing. The E-Reader can also scan cards to play games, such as those on some Pokemon cards of the era, a very limited number of Game and Watch games, or some classic NES games. That’s where this project comes in – since the console’s release some very smart people have built tools around this platform, enabling custom cards!
After discovering this, I started work on creating my own game using my knowledge and skills from years of hacking on NES games. After getting some of the basics down, I was able to bring on the ever-talented M-Tee to help shape the design and provide amazing graphics. The result is Dizzy Sheep Disaster: DX, an upcoming full game for the E-Reader!
Read on to learn some of the strange things we found out.