A Homebrew Draws Near!

A blog series by @Scrobins

Special Episode: The State of Homebrew 2024

Homebrew continues to evolve at a steady pace. A few years ago, I solicited input from the community on a survey I made and used the results as a snapshot and symposium of the state of homebrew. The results afforded some meaningful insights that helped me better understand the community and added nuance that challenged my assumptions. While enough time hasn’t passed to revisit the same questions, it feels like a good time for a new snapshot covering new questions of concern.

I posted a new survey for the community, inquiring into topics that seemed to come up again and again lately, such that I wanted to see if there was a consensus view to the pressing questions of the moment, or what insights would emerge if people were asked to articulate their thoughts. While some respondents roasted me because apparently they wanted to take the surveys but not be required to answer every question (which seemed strange to me), most provided fascinating answers. Though homebrew is a niche within a niche, and I by no means expected a large sample, I am grateful to the 31 people who participated.

I originally asked these questions in May 2023, and I didn’t take a close look at the responses until the following January, when I was ready to begin preparing this post. Picking up this project after a few months of not looking at it has helped to separate me from my original opinions on these subjects and hopefully withhold judgment on others’ thoughts toward them. I want to appreciate the range of perspectives you all have, and I am excited to digest this community’s views, presenting a sort of symposium on the issues faced by the homebrew community.

For this Second State of Homebrew, I wanted to touch on subjects that were important to the homebrew community. One topic seemed obvious: where do people draw their own lines with regard to piracy in gaming, both generally as well as where homebrew is concerned? As the developers creating for this niche run the gamut from experimenting hobbyists to industry veterans to companies with serious capital supporting them, questions of how players view piracy here can have a significant impact, especially where the game is still available, is only available in a particular format, or is only available on the secondary market at a high collector’s price.

In a completely different train of thought, I wanted to gather information that might be useful to homebrewers and the larger community. How is everyone getting their homebrew news? What add-ons appeal to them in Kickstarter campaigns that might nudge them to back at higher tiers? This also seemed like a good opportunity to crowdsource everyone’s thoughts and report back any consensus that appeared. As a result, maybe future Kickstarters can be more appealing or be inspired to offer newer, more intriguing add-ons.

What feels especially important to me is how I’ve encountered other pieces of these conversations in the months following the survey. Hot takes on Twitter (I will never call it X) continue to spew forth insights or colorings of the piracy, preservation, and purchase debate.

And illustrative metaphors drive the point further

Meanwhile at Midwest Gaming Classic earlier this year, I spoke with a few homebrewers who openly wondered what add-ons encouraged interested in their Kickstarter campaigns and were curious to read the results of the survey.

So to jump in, let’s start with who participated in the survey. This time I didn’t ask for people’s usernames so they could be completely anonymous (though some answers were so…illustrative? colorful? that there was zero doubt as to the author’s identity). Nonetheless, there were 31 separate responses, most of whom identified as developers (23), though many also identified as players (10). Some respondents were solely players (8). Meanwhile 2 identified as publishers. And 1 identified as all three categories.

Next I was curious about where people in the community get their homebrew news. How do they stay up to date on releases that might interest them? The overwhelming choices were developers’ social media and webpages, as well as Discord and gaming forums such as VGS. Discord in particular has spawned a multitude of homebrew servers, with a new channel appearing with each new game and podcast. Despite this flood, two specific places have emerged as primary centers of discussion: VGS Brewery for technical discussion, and the Homebrew Game Club homebrew news sub for general chat.

Who wouldn’t want to hang with these guys?

I’d like to know from participants and readers what makes a developer’s site or social media appealing? Is there a threshold minimum/maximum amount of posting that keeps you informed of worthwhile material without overwhelming your feed? For me there are some projects I must force myself to remember who is behind them because they seldom post, whereas with others I feel like I have to endure an onslaught of inane thoughts just to stay abreast of the 15% of posts that are relevant to their game. One developer’s Twitter was even littered with posts about the clothing he fashioned for his high-end sex doll, which made keeping up with news a potentially NSFW risk!

Most respondents felt there were gaps in the homebrew news they received. Some expressed the sentiment that developers don’t promote themselves well enough; and it can be especially easy to miss their posts if they have relatively small followings. Instead, many rely on information shared by people they know and seeing those games on their feeds. I know some devs feel a certain apprehension about promoting themselves. For them, we as fans need to engage and encourage them so they feel more comfortable sharing. For the devs who post too much, I would want them to spin off their development progress posts to a different Twitter or other such channel so I can ignore their unrelated thoughts.

And if you don’t use social media at all, then you’re SOL

Respondents cited a particular gap in news about Japanese homebrew as well as NESmaker games. These areas can be particularly confusing. Unless they receive NES ports by someone like Justin Orenich/Neodolphino or are otherwise marketed in the West, Japanese homebrew tends to fly under the radar of homebrew fans. It’s made more difficult when various barriers render purchasing overseas tedious to impossible. Meanwhile, though NESmaker is a thriving community, one may not be aware of it outside its dedicated forum, Discord, and Facebook group unless you’re friends with some of its devoted evangelists like Dale Coop, Jordan Davis, Joe Sherman, and John Vanderhoef. Harder still is learning which NESmaker games receive a physical release, because while some developers go the Kickstarter route, or are published by one of the more prominent distributors, just as many games see small self-published releases that operate solely within the NESmaker communities. Even the likes of dedicated collect-‘em-all supporters like Christian Deitering find themselves scrambling when a dev brings a spontaneous 5-cart physical release of their game to a convention unexpectedly.

Though some respondents suggested a vendor-neutral newsletter, I wonder if any publication could keep pace. On the one hand, as a means of providing news & updates just to keep fans informed, a simple, even-handed newsletter could be very useful. However if that newsletter were to also provide news on release dates, it could find itself struggling to turn out issues quickly enough, especially for smaller, self-published, spontaneous released.

From the availability of news, I want to transition to the availability of games as an introduction to the central topic of this survey: piracy. A significant piece of why piracy in homebrew occurs is because of availability: either a game is no longer available in the primary market and cannot be found easily in the secondary market, or can only be obtained at exorbitant cost; or a game is only available for purchase in a format a player doesn’t use, such as a cart-only release for a game where a potential customer only plays digitally. Most respondents expressed there were games available in one format they wished was available in another, especially noting cart releases they hoped for future rom availability. In particular respondents requested rom releases for Retrotainment Games’ releases, Star Keeper, and Super Russian Roulette, among others.

When I decided to take up this survey, I noticed a strong philosophical split over the ethics over piracy and reproduction. Though there have been some good discussions across Discord, I wanted to see if there was any consensus on where the lines were drawn, and with the safety of anonymity, gauge who among us has engaged in piracy in a hopefully judgment-free environment. To that end though I am strongly anti-piracy, in my earlier years as a homebrew collector, I purchased reproductions of games that were not available on cart, even asking some Etsy stores to make carts for me if I sent them a rom I purchased from the developer. One of those sellers then made extra copies and started selling them on their site and eBay, to my horror. Admittedly, I still have some of them, in addition to hacks and translations I bought. When the opportunity to buy a legitimate copy came, I jumped on it and gave the pirated copy to my best friend who enjoys homebrew but otherwise doesn’t buy them, so I can at least expand his exposure to homebrew. I only have a couple of games left in this category, but I don’t look back fondly on purchasing them, and I try to instead use them to prod devs to release their games on cart, though it’s not their responsibility to clear my conscience. Do you have any similar stories or confessions to share?

For your penance, I ask you to do 5 Sneak ‘n Peeks and 2 Mad Wizards

To begin on a common ethical question: is rom sharing ethical if the rom or other form of digital file is available for sale from the developer? Respondents strongly voted no 26 to 5 in that scenario. Perhaps we should inquire into everyone’s thoughts on whether this applies to all gaming, or if there are different feelings toward homebrew. I pointedly made that distinction for other ethical questions but neglected to do so here. However I imagine the key part of this scenario is that the game is still available for purchase from the developer. If the developer is a homebrew creator, the sentiment might be more acute as someone with thinner profit margins than a company that can absorb losses more easily.

On another broad question, I asked if repros were more acceptable if they were clearly distinct from the original. While some bootlegs can be easily spotted, and more can be identified upon closer inspection, there was considerable controversy a few years ago when someone showed off her “perfect repros” of the NWC 1990 cart, and sold several on NESdev. As a result, several of these carts are now in the wild and only a “secret mistake” is what distinguishes them from their genuine counterparts, to the detriment of potential collectors and the benefit of shady or ignorant sellers. 

The “perfect repros”

In order to prevent, or at least limit others from taking a repro and fraudulently selling it as genuine, should they be apparently distinct? Respondents were split, with 16 saying yes and 15 saying no.

The next several questions I asked on the subject were multiple choice, marking where respondents drew ethical lines on piracy. The overwhelming majority of people felt it was not ethical to produce unauthorized repros of homebrew games if legitimate copies were available by a margin of 26 to 1 (4 said it was sometimes ok). A majority of people felt it was sometimes ethical to produce unauthorized repros of homebrew games if carts were no longer available or never were, with 17 saying it was sometimes ok to 4 yeses and 10 nos. An overwhelming majority felt it was not ethical to buy unauthorized repros of homebrew games if legitimate carts were available by a margin of 28 to 1 (2 said it was sometimes ok). And a majority felt it was sometimes ethical to buy unauthorized repros of homebrew games if carts were no longer available or never were, with 16 saying it was sometimes ethical, compared to 4 yeses and 11 nos. The implicit conclusion here is that people draw their moral boundaries around availability: repros are more regarded as more acceptable where there is no availability, and perhaps there is less of a sense of taking away from a developer’s potential earnings.

Warning: actual pirates may not be as adorable

Having now set the stage on piracy and gotten respondents primed on where their own ethical lines are drawn on the subject I asked several additional questions, inviting more open-ended responses for people to color their opinions and provide nuance that my questions couldn’t capture. Homing in on the homebrew scene, I asked if piracy was ever justified given the indie nature of homebrew. A common argument in favor of piracy generally is the “lack of harm suffered” by big companies and the marginal impact of a stolen game on their bottom line. What is the feeling when applied to homebrew devs with razor thin profit margins? The consensus was generally no, piracy was not justified, but some comments noted flexibility if the game was no longer available, or stressed the consent or ability of the developer to benefit from piracy.

In anticipation of that first point I also asked if piracy of homebrew was justified if no digital version was legitimately available as well as if the game were no longer legitimately available at all. If the game wasn’t available digitally, respondents still generally didn’t feel piracy was justified. Again though, some people noted gray areas, highlighting the importance of the developer’s permission, but also its impact on further justifying rom sharing. Interestingly, when asked about piracy when the game was no longer available at all, there was much more of a split. In this scenario, the gray area came into sharper relief as respondents explored their feelings beyond “it depends.” One wanted to know why a game was no longer available. Another stated piracy was ok if the developer was also “gone,” either having passed away or retired from the scene. Here someone made the argument that the developer was not benefitting, and therefore piracy was morally equivalent to a used game: “you can’t steal something that’s not for sale,” while another pointed out their opposition to piracy but said they still engaged in it because it was minor and thus felt ok doing it anyway. This strikes me as one of those sentiments that is simultaneously wrong and not wrong. Yes, the stakes are low, but when we justify bad behavior simply because it isn’t that bad, we’re already sliding down the slippery slope. It’s reflective of a level of entitlement we see in gaming where some gamers feel “I want it, therefore I should have it” and the argument is less a logical point than an excuse.

Some of the fun in thinking about these questions and how to word them is in the follow up questions and rabbit holes they take me down that I am eager to explore with you. Once I knew I wanted to ask about piracy where a game was no longer available, I wondered about the role of value on the secondary market or the impact of collectors. To what extent does value play a role in the ethics of piracy? If Star Keeper was able to be copied and shared, would its high value make it more likely to be pirated? As it turned out, most respondents said a game’s price or value had no effect. Instead, several pointed to the degree of separation the secondary market had relative to the developer that made piracy less objectionable to them.

I’ve now asked questions trying to draw lines to understand the boundaries of piracy and the sense of morality among respondents. But perhaps I should stop dancing around the issue and get to the heart of it. Who here has ever pirated a homebrew? There was an even split, with 17 people admitting to pirating, and 14 saying they hadn’t. A solid number in both camps. In the hope of protecting developers, I asked what ideas anyone had to defend against piracy, if anyone felt so inclined. The three most common answers were fascinatingly wildly different: one suggestion was to use crazy mappers or nonstandard components that would frustrate efforts at emulation or reproduction; another said to simply make rom sales available for more games; while a third stated no defense was needed as piracy was too small an issue to make a concerted effort against. All of these are potentially effective approaches depending on how developers feel about the issue. If they feel piracy is an inevitable cost of doing business, by all means let it go. But if you want to address it, which path do you want to take: do you want to prevent piracy itself by using unique parts or draw people away from piracy by marketing your game as broadly as possible?

A related subject to the issue of piracy is preservation. Piracy and preservation have become intertwined over the years as the latter has been used as an explanation to engage in the former. Before going any further I will say that I believe preservation is an important goal for gaming and especially for homebrew, which ensures the hard work of talented developers endures, and the history of gaming can be seen and learned from. That said, I also believe many in gaming treat “preservation” as a magic word to excuse unethical behavior that is not in fact done in the name of preservation. If you aren’t consistently engaged in preserving games, you are not a preservationist and have no business using it to justify piracy. You’re just someone random person cosplaying in the hard work of others to tell yourself it’s ok pirate, because your entitlement apparently needs that little bit of justification.

Truth hurts

But what do others think about this issue? Respondents had a varied view of preservationists, but a plurality shared a sense that it could/does bleed into piracy. Several people felt that piracy is necessary for preservation, with one person going so far as to say that preservationists are pirates, but it is not their burden to defend someone else’s work. A similar number of people said piracy and preservation are unrelated, though another focused instead on preservation not being equivalent to distribution, and that the distribution of preserved games is where there can be a problem. A few people offered solutions, suggestions developers & publishers work directly with preservationists, even providing access when they are no longer selling their game as a means of limiting pirating. To that end I asked if developers would work with a reputable preservation organization to preserve their game. Most developers (22) said they would.

How might a preservation organization serve the homebrew community? We established that most developers are interested in working with preservationists, but how can we ensure a preserved space that doesn’t undermine developers’ ability to reap the benefit of their work? An overwhelming majority thought that preservation organizations should or might be allowed to provide access to homebrew games after a given period of time, with 14 saying yes, 14 saying maybe, and 3 saying no. The most common answers for how long that period should be were: whenever the developer gives permissions, abandons their rights, or 10 years after the game’s release.

Pivoting away from piracy to focus instead on players’ preferences, I asked about whether gamers were getting the games they wanted in their preferred format. A solid majority (19 to 12) wished more homebrew that was only available digitally also received a cart release. On the flip side, a slightly stronger majority (20 to 11) wished more physically released homebrew also had a digital release. So despite the piracy issues, developers please consider the missed opportunities when you don’t release your games on rom AND cart! Speaking of publishing, in the past few years, homebrew has been able to grow in large part thanks to the rise of more publishers. Were there any that respondents especially associated with quality? A host of names were given (including one that was given as an example of poor quality (you’re on notice Piko Interactive)) but three companies were repeated among the group: Broke Studio, Limited Run Games, and Mega Cat Studios. In addition to being important sources of quality cartridges, respondents noted how often publishers were excellent resources for learning about new releases.

An icon of quality

While we’re on the subject of releases, the homebrew scene has been blessed with many great new releases, several of which have received their support through crowdfunding campaigns to help them across the finish line. Part of what developers and publishers put together to add a little pizzazz to their releases includes add-ons or variations to the games for a few dollars more. It’s a homebrew tradition that goes back to the earliest releases, such as the beer that came with the limited edition of Larry and the Long Look for a Luscious Lover or the extra levels in the limited edition of Armed for Battle.

Homebrew that goes down smooth

With all the platforms and extra goodies, I thought this might be a good opportunity to poll fans which parts of these campaigns people like the most. Out of a given selection of platforms for the purchase of homebrew games, three clear favorites emerged: Kickstarter/Indiegogo, Itch.io, and Discord/developer’s website. With regard to homebrew add-ons of goodies, there was a three-way tie for stickers & pins, the game’s soundtrack, and an alternate label or cart color. Close behind however were strong showings for extra gameplay and figurines or plushies. However these were the results when I created a list of options. What if respondents were able to make their own suggestions for add-ons? Several great ideas came through. Unique among them were a dev journal and other “making of” materials, extras relating to the theme of the game such as a vinyl by Space Raft or real tea accompanying Mr. Lee’s Alishan Tea House, and special boxes to contain extras like those provided with Tanglewood and Sam’s Journey so the items don’t become scattered junk.

Beautiful, organized, limited

Meanwhile an important way for gamers to learn about and get excited for a new game is to see its development in progress or watch someone play it live. Gamer livestreams are hardly new, but development livestreams have been an increasing phenomenon. Though mostly used as a tool to keep the developer accountable, do these streams have the added effect of generating excitement for the game? There was no consensus whether participants found developer streams informative or entertaining, with 11 saying yes, 7 saying no, and 13 saying maybe. Furthermore, respondents were split on whether livestreams helped their decision to buy or play a game, with 15 saying yes, 13 saying no, and 3 saying maybe. However a majority did feel that developers joining others’ livestreams to chat with the streamer and other viewers added value, with 18 responding affirmatively, 15 disagreeing, and 8 saying maybe.

Finally, I asked what other relevant questions or debates people felt were worth discussing. I received a lot of interesting topics, which I may touch on the next time I do a State of Homebrew survey. The following are the most fascinating and common among them. In a world more conscious of the environment, should we be more aware of the impact of manufacturing games along with the paper and foam used in CIB releases, as well as the electrical consumption of older gaming consoles versus modern ones. In an ever-diverse world, how does homebrew ensure a greater variety of voices are heard in a hobby that is very white, male-dominated? How do we make the homebrew scene more discoverable to the wider gaming world? Should the term “homebrew” be retired in favor of “indie retro” or “aftermarket,” or at least reserved for small-scale hobbyists in the midst of an increasingly professionalizing scene? With the popularity of NESmaker and GB Studio, are there too many cookie cutter releases that undermine the allure of the gems developed with these same tools?

Several of these topics would be great ideas for future survey questions, though some others I think are perhaps more problematic in what lies beneath them, and I would like to conclude this post with my thoughts on some of those subjects. I understand how the entrance of more highly skilled developers into the homebrew scene has led to their chafing at a term that reflected what was originally a community of hobbyists tinkering in their spare time. The appeal of a broader term for the community, or something to define this “weight class” as one respondent described it makes some logical sense in light of the immense progress this space has witnesses in just a few short years, especially if it helps set expectations. Personally, I like the term “homebrew” as it reflects the origins of this tightknit community and what makes it interesting. Ultimately developers here should call themselves what they want, whether that’s homebrew, indie dev, or whatever, as long as they focus on themselves and their work and not denigrating the work of other developers, defining themselves by comparison. Thus I don’t agree with a “weight class” distinction that serves to imply a difference in quality by any metric.

Regarding NESmaker & GB Studio, these tools have lowered the barriers to entry of homebrewing, enabling some great talents to learn in a less daunting way and create some wonderful new games. However these tools have also attracted a swath of opportunists who grind out generic swill at the same price as shelf-worthy gems, creating a saturated market of mediocrity that dims the charm of homebrew altogether. Some of these are just people eager to put their first game on a cart and share it with others. Yet the sheer volume has caused many in the community, myself included, that once collected every release to be more discriminating, and at times cynical in our purchases and crowdfunding pledges.

Obviously this is no fault of the developers of these tools, NESmaker & GB Studio are important markers of educational opportunity that have inspired many of its followers to do likewise and share wisdom that has further lowered barriers and encouraged the sort of experimentation that homebrew is known for. The problem lies in those not trying to do anything new, if there’s evidence of effort in the first place. Manuals printed on an inkjet printer, stapled crookedly together is not indie, it’s lazy. A beat-‘em-up with the same enemy sprites, the same levels with simple color changes, and next to no animations is redefining the minimum for a game.

At the end of the day, something that brings this much more community and enthusiasm is an absolute net plus for homebrew, even if it means being more discerning with our purchases

Using AI for your graphics is basically just having a computer make your pixel art and tracing the results. Meanwhile, using AI for box art is insultingly overlooking the talented artists eager to collaborate while you save a buck in the name of embracing technology, a technology that is non-consensually pulling from human artists’ work anyway.

What does this all mean for the state of homebrew? The scene has developed so much, pushed decades-old consoles further than ever before, and ignited the imaginations of our inner children. But with these heights, new questions and concerns are also raised. Some are not unique to homebrew at all, permeating the gaming world, but the unique aspects of homebrew mean these issues have different impacts as well. Were you one of the respondents to this survey? What were your thoughts on the results? Keep an eye out for more conversations and your favorite game when…a homebrew draws near!