Homebrew

Nintendo DS
Home made treats
With my 360 currently en route to Microsoft's great fixing factory in the sky, the solution to Summer's gaming drought has been snatched from beneath my blue tacked arcade stick. Soul Calibur IV received a right bashing at the weekend but it was that and the fizzy Geometry Wars 2 that hammered the nails in my Xbox's coffin. In light of such disaster i'm turning to the plucky DS and it's rich homebrew scene for inspiration. Also, Paul's on holiday so i'm double stuck.
As mentioned in last week's review of the Korg DS-10, there are few publishers who have tapped into the DS' real potential, with most content to serve up tweeny shovelware until the landfills are over brimming and we all live on the moon.
To run homebrew on your DS you need a special card that fits into the game slot. The R4 is one such device, and coupled with a memory stick, allows you to run home-made software downloaded legally from the internet (as well as turn it into a multimedia device for movie and music playback).
Obviously, the DS is a gaming device first and foremost and the homebrew scene has offered up its fair share of delights. Compared to big budget games though, there's an obvious difference in quality and size. However, titles such as AmplituDS, Tetra Master and Still Alive all shine in their own way.
AmplituDS is a clone of the PS1 game Amplitude (that eventually spawned Guitar Hero), which mixes psychedelic graphics with music based rhythm gaming. For a home coded game it's impressive, with the bonus being that you can create your own levels and use your own music.
Tetra Master is inspired by the card game found in Final Fantasy IX (another PS1 game) and faithfully recreates the addictive card battling gameplay with more suitable touch screen controls.
Still Alive is by far my favourite though. Based on the awesome game Portal, it's a 2D interpretation of a thoroughly 3D game, that requires you to solve puzzles by using space (and mind) bending technology. The transition to 2D works surprisingly well and even though controls can be a little fiddly, it retains all the cake filled charm of its step brother.
As well as games there are plenty of applications out there too. Filling the gaps in the DS' software library are a multitude of organiser, music and painting programmes. Colours! is another favourite of mine, which turns the DS into a canvas with unrivalled effect. The touch screen allows for a decent degree of pressure sensitivity and coupled with an assortment of brushes and transparencies, allows for a surprising degree of flexibility. The fact that you can transfer your paintings to a computer over WiFi is very nice indeed.
Music is where the DS is really benefitting from the homebrew scene though. From toy keyboards to fully fledged sequencers, coders have run riot, excited by the DS' touch screen, microphone and WiFi capabilities.
DSMIDI is a good first stop. It's PC/Mac software which allows the DS to communicate with your computer over WiFi. With that fundamental cog in place you can start to have fun. Using Kaos DS, you can turn your DS' touchscreen into a MIDI controller, playing with effects in software such as Ableton Live. Protein [DS] is fun little app that allows you to 'scratch' samples as if you were a vinyl genius. Mic recording and MIDI support open up more possibilities too.
Nitro Tracker is a more serious affair, allowing you to sequence, edit and record samples. It's a decent song making tool and for those into loop based music it hits the sweet spot. The touchscreen makes things quick and easy to use too, with drawable envelopes and the now standard MIDI present.
For me though, the real treat is Glitch DS. Turning pixels into partially randomised music may not sound particularly thrilling but when you base a sequencer around cellular automation (also known as the Game of Life), amazing things can happen. Sounding not too dissimilar to awkward electronica boffins Autechre, Glitch DS sequences up to six samples at once, asking you to draw a 'seed' on the touch screen, which then mutates, triggering your sounds semi-randomly. With various parameters to control, save states and MIDI syncing, Glitch quickly becomes a very powerful tool, suitable for live improvisation where every performance is different to the last. If you ever see someone making a racket with a DS, you'll know how, but not why.
Right, back to 'proper' games next week, I promise.