I would love to hire you for some work if you are ever interested in that! Great work on this! Email me johnroo@theretroroomgames.com
TheRetroRoomRoo
Creator of
Recent community posts
I am so glad you checked out the game and my story. I really appreciate that. I am so grateful. The Gameboy scene is definitely growing. If you want to email me, id be happy to link you with my box supplier! johnroomusic@gmail.com I know these things are hard to find and Im always happy to share and help grow this community.
Feel free to pick up a physical copy of the game here:
www.theretroroomroo.bigcartel.com
To start, I'd like to say I am making this post for educational purposes. To let current and future beginner developers know that they can accomplish their goals and make the game they dream of making, just as I have. This is the story of how I developed my first game and did a physical release for the Gameboy.
I would like to give a brief history of my game development experience. I started around 2013 with Unity. I created a few 3d demos, one being a space game and another being a stupid little zombie AI system. Nothing that panned out. I was quite overwhelmed with the entire concept, so overwhelmed that I walked away from game development for a few years. In that time I started programming microcontrollers with my dad as a hobby and made some successful small projects. I came back to game dev with a different attitude. I wanted to finish a game. I wanted to make something with a start, middle, and end. It didn't matter to me what the game was about, I just needed to know what the definition of fun was, and to create a game from that. The process turned into something much more challenging than that, but being armed with that sort of attitude I was able to start my project for my first game Quest Arrest. I always loved the point and click Police Quest games as a kid, but the genre was outdated, so I decided to make a game with the style inspired in the same ways, but a much different playing type. An RPG.
cont-
The development of the game was a huge educational process for me. To understand how a game even works fundamentally was a lot larger than what I could have anticipated. It gave me a huge new appreciation for developers of all types. The challenges they face and trials they go through to make something for others to have fun. This is a very cool thing to do, and while the process does come with some monetary gains sometimes, I still believe that to bring joy to others is what a game developer has in mind when creating a game. At least that was my mindset by the time I was done with my game Quest Arrest for Gameboy. I enjoy the process all the way through and I think that it is important to note, do things you enjoy doing. Not every part of the process is fun, but recognize what you enjoy about the process and understand what you love to do within game design. In the future you might team up with others. With that being said, game design is not exactly what you would think it is. A lot of people go in thinking that it is relative to playing games, but the process is much different hahah.
I finally finished development after a long 9 months of work and education. I WAS FINALLY DONE. I gave the game away completely for free. Let as many people play it as wanted . It actually is still hosted as free on my itch profile. I later ported the game to PC and Android and the feeling had never been better. I finally created a game and released it. The reception was good. I am so grateful for the retro gaming community and their response. I could never as for a better community. I did it!!! I created a game! Something even I enjoyed to play, much less others. I had accomplished my goal of making a game and it was time to make physicals. Physicals were a second goal on my list.
cont-
I always thought that making physical copies of a game would be easy.. Slap some art onto some cases and start selling. It didn't really pan out that way, as I am learning a lot of things in game design are deceptive in this way. They seem like something straight forward and easy, but turn out to be a real pain. I teamed up with my good friends @BudgetNostalgia and he designed a really cool cover art design as well as sticker art for the carts themselves. The art was inspired by other Gameboy games, with that we wanted it to fit right in with the others on the shelf for collectors. The next step was designing a cool manual. Each page needed to be useful for informing the player on how this game works. How the controls work. The universe and how you fit into that universe. Maps and hints. Thank you notes. All of the things that you would expect to see in a manual. Designed methodically with perfect dimensions by BudgetNostalgia , I finally had the print files for manual.
cont-
Now to find a way to get these physically created. I began by buying a flash device and a few knock off Mario and Pokemon carts. I ripped the stickers off and dove right into using this flashing device to put my game on these carts. The software was slightly outdated, but it was relatively easy to sync the device with the carts and dump my rom. InsideGadgets provided me with the flashing device for about $40. I finally was able to see my game on physical hardware for the first time. It was a life changing feeling. This was the moment that I knew. This is it, I am making this game. I needed a manufacturer for each part of the process. The carts. The stickers on the carts. The inserts. The manuals. The boxes themselves all needed to be created perfectly by dimensions of which match other Gameboy games. After finding some good people to work with I ended up printing 100 complete in box copies of my game. It was quite expensive and I, as most developers, am quite broke. It came as a surprise that all 100 copies of the game sold out in 1 day and I was absolutely baffled. I still am. The support that I have received and continue to receive has inspired me to greater heights and I cannot thank the community enough for showing me that I CAN do this. I can follow my dreams of being a game developer. I CAN make a game. I CAN make physicals and guess what?!?! SO CAN YOU! If I can do it, so can you.
In conclusion, I have since be so inspired by all those in the community that supported my dreams to do game development. The Quest Arrest saga is just getting started. I have started created other games as well that I am really excited to share, but I learned a world from releasing my very first physical game. The process was unbelievable and if you are planning to do it my advice is this, it's going to be very challenging ALL the way through the process, but in the end it is very worth it to even release just a digital game. The feeling of accomplishment is massive and you will never regret making a game. Put your heart and soul into your projects and they will come out the best that you can do. That's all that needs to be done, is the best that you can do. You will always grow and get better. There were times when I wanted to give up. Times when I thought this process was above me, but I rose above those feelings and accomplished the goals that I set my mind to. You can do the same thing. I am now working on multiple new bigger projects and I will continue chasing my game development dreams. I have also since restocked the Quest Arrest store and added merch! Thanks so much for reading my story, I definitely hope it helps you find your way in your development path.
Feel free to pick up a physical copy of the game here:
www.theretroroomroo.bigcartel.com
or play for free here:
https://theretroroomroo.itch.io/questarrest
Thanks again for reading my story! I hope it helps you accomplish your goals and dreams.
To start, I'd like to say I am making this post for educational purposes. To let current and future beginner developers know that they can accomplish their goals and make the game they dream of making, just as I have. This is the story of how I developed my first game and did a physical release for the Gameboy.
I would like to give a brief history of my game development experience. I started around 2013 with Unity. I created a few 3d demos, one being a space game and another being a stupid little zombie AI system. Nothing that panned out. I was quite overwhelmed with the entire concept, so overwhelmed that I walked away from game development for a few years. In that time I started programming microcontrollers with my dad as a hobby and made some successful small projects. I came back to game dev with a different attitude. I wanted to finish a game. I wanted to make something with a start, middle, and end. It didn't matter to me what the game was about, I just needed to know what the definition of fun was, and to create a game from that. The process turned into something much more challenging than that, but being armed with that sort of attitude I was able to start my project for my first game Quest Arrest. I always loved the point and click Police Quest games as a kid, but the genre was outdated, so I decided to make a game with the style inspired in the same ways, but a much different playing type. An RPG.
cont-
The development of the game was a huge educational process for me. To understand how a game even works fundamentally was a lot larger than what I could have anticipated. It gave me a huge new appreciation for developers of all types. The challenges they face and trials they go through to make something for others to have fun. This is a very cool thing to do, and while the process does come with some monetary gains sometimes, I still believe that to bring joy to others is what a game developer has in mind when creating a game. At least that was my mindset by the time I was done with my game Quest Arrest for Gameboy. I enjoy the process all the way through and I think that it is important to note, do things you enjoy doing. Not every part of the process is fun, but recognize what you enjoy about the process and understand what you love to do within game design. In the future you might team up with others. With that being said, game design is not exactly what you would think it is. A lot of people go in thinking that it is relative to playing games, but the process is much different hahah.
I finally finished development after a long 9 months of work and education. I WAS FINALLY DONE. I gave the game away completely for free. Let as many people play it as wanted . It actually is still hosted as free on my itch profile. I later ported the game to PC and Android and the feeling had never been better. I finally created a game and released it. The reception was good. I am so grateful for the retro gaming community and their response. I could never as for a better community. I did it!!! I created a game! Something even I enjoyed to play, much less others. I had accomplished my goal of making a game and it was time to make physicals. Physicals were a second goal on my list.
cont-
I always thought that making physical copies of a game would be easy.. Slap some art onto some cases and start selling. It didn't really pan out that way, as I am learning a lot of things in game design are deceptive in this way. They seem like something straight forward and easy, but turn out to be a real pain. I teamed up with my good friends @BudgetNostalgia and he designed a really cool cover art design as well as sticker art for the carts themselves. The art was inspired by other Gameboy games, with that we wanted it to fit right in with the others on the shelf for collectors. The next step was designing a cool manual. Each page needed to be useful for informing the player on how this game works. How the controls work. The universe and how you fit into that universe. Maps and hints. Thank you notes. All of the things that you would expect to see in a manual. Designed methodically with perfect dimensions by BudgetNostalgia , I finally had the print files for manual.
cont-
Now to find a way to get these physically created. I began by buying a flash device and a few knock off Mario and Pokemon carts. I ripped the stickers off and dove right into using this flashing device to put my game on these carts. The software was slightly outdated, but it was relatively easy to sync the device with the carts and dump my rom. InsideGadgets provided me with the flashing device for about $40. I finally was able to see my game on physical hardware for the first time. It was a life changing feeling. This was the moment that I knew. This is it, I am making this game. I needed a manufacturer for each part of the process. The carts. The stickers on the carts. The inserts. The manuals. The boxes themselves all needed to be created perfectly by dimensions of which match other Gameboy games. After finding some good people to work with I ended up printing 100 complete in box copies of my game. It was quite expensive and I, as most developers, am quite broke. It came as a surprise that all 100 copies of the game sold out in 1 day and I was absolutely baffled. I still am. The support that I have received and continue to receive has inspired me to greater heights and I cannot thank the community enough for showing me that I CAN do this. I can follow my dreams of being a game developer. I CAN make a game. I CAN make physicals and guess what?!?! SO CAN YOU! If I can do it, so can you.
In conclusion, I have since be so inspired by all those in the community that supported my dreams to do game development. The Quest Arrest saga is just getting started. I have started created other games as well that I am really excited to share, but I learned a world from releasing my very first physical game. The process was unbelievable and if you are planning to do it my advice is this, it's going to be very challenging ALL the way through the process, but in the end it is very worth it to even release just a digital game. The feeling of accomplishment is massive and you will never regret making a game. Put your heart and soul into your projects and they will come out the best that you can do. That's all that needs to be done, is the best that you can do. You will always grow and get better. There were times when I wanted to give up. Times when I thought this process was above me, but I rose above those feelings and accomplished the goals that I set my mind to. You can do the same thing. I am now working on multiple new bigger projects and I will continue chasing my game development dreams. I have also since restocked the Quest Arrest store and added merch! Thanks so much for reading my story, I definitely hope it helps you find your way in your development path.
Feel free to pick up a physical copy of the game here:
www.theretroroomroo.bigcartel.com
or play for free here:
https://theretroroomroo.itch.io/questarrest
Thanks again for reading my story! I hope it helps you accomplish your goals and dreams.
Absolutely! I love hearing feedback in general. I am currently working on other projects and it's always good to listen to those who play my games and make sure they are heard in future development prospects. My only goal is to make fun games. I can always grow, so I love talking about what can make things better or what was appreciated about the games.
Hey RikOclon, first of all I'd like to start by saying thanks so much for checking out the game and coming here to talk about it! I really appreciate your input! As far as the exploit goes, I actually discussed this with a few other people and we decided not to remove it just so if a player were to find them(this one in particular), they can use it to their advantage to see both sides(good & bad cop environments) of the world without having to go back and play the entire game. I used it throughout testing and decided to never patch it out.
I am glad you're enjoying it so far, there will be a physical release of the game coming soon that I am very excited about. Be sure to look out for that. I do plan to continue the Quest Arrest "franchise" with another upgraded game. I will make sure to keep these notes in mind when moving forward with the second game. If you run into any more bugs or have any more suggestions or comments, feel free to bring them here and I would love to talk about them! I can't wait to see if you find any more! Thanks again for playing!
Thank you so much for your input. I really find this interesting in terms of game development, especially on independently developed games. Its like you said only one is violence. A developer could also add a vile character who might portray sexism or other types of hatred, even in a comedic intentionally insulting fashion like South Park, and how that reflects on the outlook of a development team or developer is really the question. I guess its like you said... its subjective to the way it was released and the audience its going to.
When creating games, sometimes portraying adult themes, like violence or swearing, can be a common thing. Sometimes we even see despicable villains do horrible things. How far is too far when creating adult themes in your games? Does it reflect on the developer when they add extremely vile characters or distasteful subject matter in a villain for example? Whether it be in a comedic way or intended to be serious content, I am curious of the connection players distinguish with these types of content pieces and their creators.
I started with Unity and quickly got confused and quit. I recently picked up GBstudio and it gave me inspiration to try and learn code. My first game is called Quest Arrest. Quest Arrest is a gameboy game where you play a detective solving crimes in a city. It is actually my only game, but I am currently developing another in AGS, which along with GBstudio has given me a good beginner experience with gaming coding logic. I will definitely be making many more games! Hopefully more and more advanced as I go.
I come to all of you from Texas, United States. As many of you may know we are seeing protesting over the horrible murder of George Floyd, and to remain silent is something I cannot do. This injustice should never happen in this country or any where in the world. The police do not have the right to murder people in the street. We have a problem in this country. A big problem with police brutality and it needs to stop. I recognize that my own game has police violence and, at times, it may seem like it sheds light or supports police violence, but I think it goes without being said that I do not condone any of the actions that happen in this game happening in real life. It was intended for entertainment purposes only, and I believe it should only be taken as a parody of the reality that we face here in the United States. I did not create this game with the intention of making controversy, I only wanted to make a fun game and have always had fun with police games. This statement is being made because I felt a slight bit of guilt when thinking about my game held up next to the violence that happens in real life, and then I remember I left the choice to be bad up to the player and that might not reflect on what you would do in real life. Games are fantasy and they give us the availability to be who we are not. I hope everyone who plays my game knows where I stand and continues to enjoy my game with knowing where I personally stand. I stand with the people. I always have and always will. I decided to postpone the physical release of this game with it being the obvious choice that the media attention should go toward the protest and I should not intrude on that in any way. I do plan to release Quest Arrest physical at a time when legislation for actual change happens in the United States. Until then you will find me screaming with the people! "No justice, No peace!".
-John Roo ( TheRetroRoomRoo)
I am so happy to annouce that my game Quest Arrest has been ported to PC and is getting a physical release!
The game follows the main protagonist, recently promoted, Detective Allison Bennett on her quest for clean up her city, Strange Meadows, after the recent crime spree that has thrown the city into chaos. Athena, and her gang, has been terrorizing the residents and has set her sights on taking over the city for herself.
There are different endings depending on your credibility. Credibility is the system that determines whether you are a good cop or bad cop. Arresting people will gain you credibility (but it’s not an easy task). Killing the enemies will turn the city against you from fear and they will treat you differently. So you need to be careful out there, good cop or bad cop, that’s YOUR choice.
Good Cop or Bad Cop? That’s up to you Bennett!
Quest Arrest started as a Gameboy game that grew into a webplayer game. It now has grown also into full on Windows game! The new version includes a Windows installer and a standalone version! You can still play Quest Arrest for free through the web player or download the Gameboy rom and play it how you please. A physical release is coming soon, so be sure to follow @QuestArrest on Twitter for updates. Thanks so much for checking out the game!
CONTROLS FOR WEB PLAYER AND MOST EMULATORS:
- LEFT ( Left arrow)
- UP (Up Arrow)
- DOWN (Down Arrow)
- RIGHT (Right Arrow)
- A (Z Key)
- B (X Key)
- START (Shift key)
- SELECT (Shift key)
Follow Quest Arrest on Twitter!
![](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzMwNDkwNjIuanBn/original/whWE5j.jpg)
QUEST ARREST
The game follows the main protagonist, recently promoted, Detective Allison Bennett on her quest for clean up her city, Strange Meadows, after the recent crime spree that has thrown the city into chaos. Athena, and her gang, has been terrorizing the residents and has set her sights on taking over the city for herself.
There are different endings depending on your credibility. Credibility is the system that determines whether you are a good cop or bad cop. Arresting people will gain you credibility (but it’s not an easy task). Killing the enemies will turn the city against you from fear and they will treat you differently. So you need to be careful out there, good cop or bad cop, that’s YOUR choice.
Follow on Twitter for updates!
That is a good question! It is completely up to you! The people of the town will treat you differently based upon the choices you make, and the game will play out and end differently based up on the choices you make. At the end of the day, the choice is yours to make!!
So what do you choose? Good cop or bad cop?