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HYDRA Game Development Kit
The HYDRA Game Development Kit launched in September 2006, and was developed by André LaMothe who designed the prior XGameStation series of consoles. Like the XGameStation, HYDRA is an open system, allowing anyone to create games for it. However, while still designed to teach electronics and programming, the system places greater focus on homebrew games. Compared to the prior XGameStation consoles, the HYDRA uses a more complex and powerful CPU - the then recently released Parallax Propeller processing unit, which has eight 32 bit RISC CPUs called cogs with 32 KB built in RAM and 32 KB built in ROM. Specifications The HYDRA Game Development Kit has the following specifications: It has a Propeller CPU at 160 MIPS, (80 MHz, 20 MIPS per cog) 8 PIC-like CPU cores each with 496 32bit-words of workspace plus a shared 32 KB RAM and 32 KB ROM and 128 KB serial EEPROM. Its ports are: two NES Compatible Game Ports, one USB Programming port, one Serial Port ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XGameStation Series
The XGameStation is a series of embedded systems, primarily designed as a dedicated home video game console, created by Andre LaMothe and sold by his company Nurve Networks LLC. Originally designed to teach electronics and video game development to programmers, newer models concentrate more on logic design, multi-core programming, game programming, and embedded system design and programming with popular microcontrollers. Prototype Versions The XGameStation was originally conceived of as a handheld system called the nanoGear based around the 68HC12 microprocessor, a modern derivative of the 6809. The system would also contain modern derivatives of the 6502 and Z-80 microprocessors, for retro coders and hackers, and to make emulation of classic computer and video game systems easier. After several iterations, the plan changed to use an ARM microprocessor and an FPGA on which a custom designed GPU was implemented. But after finishing this project it was decided that the resulting sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André LaMothe
André LaMothe is a computer scientist, author, hardware engineer, and game programmer, known for writing books about game development."XGameStation--The Ultimate Console? Just Make Games Yourself," Hyper 120, October 2003, page 26."Let the X Games Begin" by Alex Handy, Make Magazine, issue 04, 2005, pages 48-50."André LaMothe," Baker & Taylor Author Biographies, January 3, 2000, accessed 5/20/2023. Game design and programming LaMothe is an independent game designer who was CEO of Xtreme Games and also developed video games for Microsoft Windows. In the gaming industry LaMothe has a reputation as the "Yoda of game design," encouraging and teaching other programmers. He and Alex Varanese also designed the XGameStation Micro Edition as a game development tool for hobbyists and students. LaMothe is also the hardware evangelist for the upcoming Intellivision Amico and the founder of Nurve Networks LLC and iC0nstrux.com. Writing career LaMothe is an author of multiple books on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parallax Propeller
The Parallax P8X32A Propeller is a multi-core processor parallel computer architecture microcontroller chip with eight 32-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) central processing unit (CPU) cores. Introduced in 2006, it is designed and sold by Parallax, Inc. The Propeller microcontroller, Propeller assembly language, and Spin interpreter were designed by Parallax's cofounder and president, Chip Gracey. The Spin programming language and ''Propeller Tool'' integrated development environment (IDE) were designed by Chip Gracey and Parallax's software engineer Jeff Martin. On August 6, 2014, Parallax Inc. released all of the Propeller 1 P8X32A hardware and tools as open-source hardware and software under the GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0. This included the Verilog code, top-level hardware description language (HDL) files, Spin interpreter, PropellerIDE and SimpleIDE programming tools and compilers. Multi-core architecture Each of the eight 32-bit cores (termed a ''cog' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spin (programming Language)
The Parallax P8X32A Propeller is a multi-core processor parallel computer architecture microcontroller chip with eight 32-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) central processing unit (CPU) cores. Introduced in 2006, it is designed and sold by Parallax, Inc. The Propeller microcontroller, Propeller assembly language, and Spin interpreter were designed by Parallax's cofounder and president, Chip Gracey. The Spin programming language and ''Propeller Tool'' integrated development environment (IDE) were designed by Chip Gracey and Parallax's software engineer Jeff Martin. On August 6, 2014, Parallax Inc. released all of the Propeller 1 P8X32A hardware and tools as open-source hardware and software under the GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0. This included the Verilog code, top-level hardware description language (HDL) files, Spin interpreter, PropellerIDE and SimpleIDE programming tools and compilers. Multi-core architecture Each of the eight 32-bit cores (termed a ''cog' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XGameStation
The XGameStation is a series of embedded systems, primarily designed as a dedicated home video game console, created by Andre LaMothe and sold by his company Nurve Networks LLC. Originally designed to teach electronics and video game development to programmers, newer models concentrate more on logic design, multi-core programming, game programming, and embedded system design and programming with popular microcontrollers. Prototype Versions The XGameStation was originally conceived of as a handheld system called the nanoGear based around the 68HC12 microprocessor, a modern derivative of the 6809. The system would also contain modern derivatives of the 6502 and Z-80 microprocessors, for retro coders and hackers, and to make emulation of classic computer and video game systems easier. After several iterations, the plan changed to use an ARM microprocessor and an FPGA on which a custom designed GPU was implemented. But after finishing this project it was decided that the resulting s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The International System of Units (SI) defines the prefix ''kilo'' as 1000 (103); per this definition, one kilobyte is 1000 bytes.International Standard IEC 80000-13 Quantities and Units – Part 13: Information science and technology, International Electrotechnical Commission (2008). The internationally recommended unit symbol for the kilobyte is kB. In some areas of information technology, particularly in reference to solid-state memory capacity, ''kilobyte'' instead typically refers to 1024 (210) bytes. This arises from the prevalence of sizes that are powers of two in modern digital memory architectures, coupled with the accident that 210 differs from 103 by less than 2.5%. A kibibyte is defined by Clause 4 of IEC 80000-13 as 1024 bytes. Definitions and usage Base 10 (1000 bytes) In the International System of Units (SI) the prefix ''kilo'' means 1000 (103); therefore, one kilobyte is 1000 bytes. The u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game Development Kit
Game development kits (GDK) are specialized computer hardware, hardware and software used to create commercial video games for game consoles. They may be partnered with game development tools, special game engine licenses, and other middleware to aid video game development. GDKs are typically not available to the public, and require video game developers, game developers to enter an agreement, partnership, or program with the hardware manufacturer to gain access to the hardware. As console generations pass, development kits often get sold through websites like eBay without repercussions. This is often because the console manufacturers discontinue certain development programs as time passes. Overview In the 1980s, computing did not involve 3D modelling or any complex programming due to the limitations of hardware. This, combined with the hobbyist nature of early computer game programming, meant that not many individuals or smaller companies would develop for consoles. Even when co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PIC Microcontroller
PIC (usually pronounced as ''"pick"'') is a family of microcontrollers made by Microchip Technology, derived from the PIC1650"PICmicro Family Tree", PIC16F Seminar Presentation originally developed by General Instrument's Microelectronics Division. The name PIC initially referred to ''Peripheral Interface Controller'',"MOS DATA 1976", General Instrument 1976 Databook and is currently expanded as ''Programmable Intelligent Computer''."1977 Data Catalog", Micro Electronics from General Instrument Corporation The first parts of the family were available in 1976; by 2013 the company had shipped more than twelve billion individual parts, used in a wide variety of embedded systems. The PIC was originally intended to be used with the General Instrument CP1600, the first commercially available single-chip 16-bit microprocessor. The CP1600 had a complex bus that made it difficult to interface with, and the PIC was introduced as a companion device offering ROM for program storage, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiny BASIC
Tiny BASIC is a family of dialects of the BASIC programming language that can fit into 4 or fewer KBs of memory. Tiny BASIC was designed in response to the open letter published by Bill Gates complaining about users pirating Altair BASIC, which sold for $150. Tiny BASIC was intended to be a completely free version of BASIC that would run on the same early microcomputers. Tiny BASIC was released as a specification, not an implementation, published in the September 1975 issue of the People's Computer Company (PCC) newsletter. The article invited programmers to implement it on their machines and send the resulting assembler language implementation back for inclusion in a series of three planned newsletters. Li-Chen Wang, author of Palo Alto Tiny BASIC, coined the term "copyleft" to describe this concept. The community response was so overwhelming that the newsletter was relaunched as Dr. Dobb's Journal, the first regular periodical to focus on microcomputer software. Dr. Dobb's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forth (programming Language)
Forth is a procedural, stack-oriented programming language and interactive environment designed by Charles H. "Chuck" Moore and first used by other programmers in 1970. Although not an acronym, the language's name in its early years was often spelled in all capital letters as ''FORTH''. The FORTH-79 and FORTH-83 implementations, which were not written by Moore, became de facto standards, and an official standardization of the language was published in 1994 as ANS Forth. A wide range of Forth derivatives existed before and after ANS Forth. Forth typically combines a compiler with an integrated command shell, where the user interacts via subroutines called ''words''. Words can be defined, tested, redefined, and debugged without recompiling or restarting the whole program. All syntactic elements, including variables and basic operators, are defined as words. A stack is used to pass parameters between words, leading to a Reverse Polish Notation style. For much of Forth's existe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
