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A curated list of awesome Game Boy (Color) Development resources, tools, docs, related projects and open-source ROMs. Inspired by the [awesome](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome) list thing.
- [Emulation of Nintendo Game Boy](https://github.com/Baekalfen/PyBoy/blob/master/PyBoy.pdf) - Overview of the Game Boy hardware with the perspective of building an emulator.
Although this documentation is focused on the original (1989) Game Boy (DMG), the *Game Boy Color* (GBC) and *Super Game Boy* (SGB) are very similar systems, with few important distinctions, such as:
If you aim to develop your software for SGB or GBC, or you want to know how it runs on the others system, you may want to take advantage and adapt to these differences, check the [Game Boy Color](#game-boy-color) category and look for specific references to GBC/CGB and SGB in the documentation.
- [devrs.com/gb](http://devrs.com/gb) - Jeff Frohwein’s page: old home of the scene, a lot was posted here: code examples and full sources, complete documentation, guides and tutorials, various tools.
- [Game Boy Programming Manual](https://archive.org/download/GameBoyProgManVer1.1/GameBoyProgManVer1.1.pdf) - **Official** Game Boy programming and hardware manual by Nintendo. Pretty much everything in the console is covered and explained.
- [The Cycle-Accurate Game Boy Docs](https://github.com/AntonioND/giibiiadvance/blob/master/docs/TCAGBD.pdf) - A precise documentation by AntonioND to make a cycle-accurate Game Boy emulator.
- [Introduction to Game Boy Hacking](http://pepijndevos.nl/sha2017/workshop.pdf) - Workshop introducing basic assembly, debugging and reverse engineering.
- [Assembly Language Programming Course](http://cratel.wichita.edu/cratel/ECE238Spr08) - Machine and assembly language programming concepts that illustrate basic principles and techniques. Application through study of the Z80 chip and Game Boy programming assignments (Center for Research in Arts, Technology, Education, and Learning CRATEL at Withicha State University).
- [Gameboy 2BPP Graphics Format](http://www.huderlem.com/demos/gameboy2bpp.html) - Information on how the Game Boy interprets VRAM tile data to color pixels.
- [Game Boy Crib Sheet](http://gbdev.gg8.se/files/docs/GBCribSheet000129.pdf) - A handy printable reference sheet with ASM opcodes, memory locations, and much more.
- [The Game Boy Project](http://marc.rawer.de/Gameboy/Docs/GBProject.pdf) - Provides a study on the hardware and detailed constructional information for the realisation of three 8-bit bidirectional parallel ports.
- [Related custom hardware](https://github.com/Gekkio/gb-hardware) - by gekkio.
- [fruttenboel](http://verhoeven272.nl/fruttenboel/Gameboy/index.html) - Page with loads of information on the actual hardware, custom boards to interface with the console and other related projects.
- [Game Boy hardware database](https://gbhwdb.gekkio.fi/) - Data and photos of various types of Game Boy consoles.
- [Game Boy Camera RE](https://github.com/AntonioND/gbcam-rev-engineer) - Documentation about GB Camera and tools used to reverse engineer it by using Arduino UNO.
- [Creating photorealistic images with neural networks and a Gameboy Camera](http://www.pinchofintelligence.com/photorealistic-neural-network-gameboy/)
- [The Game Boy Printer](https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art2.html) - An in-depth technical document about the printer hardware, the communication protocol and the usual routine that games used for implementing the print feature.
- [Ben Heck Reverse Engineers Game Boy Printer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43FfJvd-YP4)
- [Arduino Game Boy Printer Emulator](https://github.com/mofosyne/arduino-gameboy-printer-emulator) - Emulating a Game Boy Printer via the Game Boy Link cable with an Arduino Nano.
- [Gekkio's Game Boy cartridge types](http://gekkio.fi/blog/2015-02-14-mooneye-gb-gameboy-cartridge-types.html) - An overview on existing cartridge types.
- [Reiner Ziegler's Game Boy page](http://www.reinerziegler.de/readplus.htm) - Commercial and homemade programmable cartridges and programming systems. Tutorials, wiring and schematics provided.
- [MBC1 and MBC2 cartridges circuits](http://fms.komkon.org/GameBoy/Tech/Carts.html) and explanation on how these MBC actually bank switch and control RAM.
- [GB Rom List](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cOS__xEj8bBT7cqEDgJcYStKuFAS8mMA4uErx9kA40M/edit?usp=sharing) - Navigable table of every GB game released with details on their cartridges.
- [Game Boy cartridge PCB photos](http://gekkio.fi/blog/2016-03-19-game-boy-cartridge-pcb-photos.html)
- [Emulating a GameBoy Cartridge](https://dhole.github.io/post/gameboy_cartridge_emu_1/) - Emulating the functionality of a Game Boy cartridge with the development board STM32F4.
- [Homebrew Hub](https://gbhh.avivace.com) - Every unofficial homebrew ever produced for Game Boy playable online (mobile/touch too): a community-lead attempt to collect, archive and save every unofficial game, homebrew, demo, patch, hackrom for Game Boy (Color) produced by the community through years of passionate work.
- [The Game Boy Developer's Kit (GBDK)](http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/) - A set of tools that enable to develop programs for the Nintendo Game Boy system in **C**. Includes a set of libraries for the most common requirements and generates image files for use with a real Game Boy.
- [ZGB](https://github.com/Zal0/ZGB) - A little engine for creating games for the original Game Boy (expands gbdk, more info [here](http://zalods.blogspot.com/2017/01/zgb-little-engine-for-game-boy.html)).
- [DevSound](https://github.com/DevEd2/DevSound) - Sound driver embeddable in homebrews which supports pulse width manipulation, arpeggios, and multiple waveforms.
- [Game Boy Tile Data Generator](http://www.chrisantonellis.com/gameboy/gbtdg/) - HTML5 / JS web application that will convert bitmap images to hexadecimal data appropriate for use in tile based graphical applications, specifically GB.
- [Harry Mulder's GB Development](http://www.devrs.com/gb/hmgd/intro.html) - Some sources and home of Game Boy Tile Designer and Game Boy Map Builder tools.
- [GBZ80 to items](http://issotm.github.io/gbz80toitems3/) - An online converter, translates gameboy assembly into Pokémon R/B/Y items ([Source](https://github.com/ISSOtm/gbz80-to-items)).
- [gbdk-lib-extension](https://github.com/ProGM/gbdk-lib-extension) - A small set of sources and tools for the Game Boy Development Kit by Michael Hope.
- [GB-convert](https://github.com/exezin/gb-convert) - Game Boy tile conversion and map editor tool (converts to assembly).
- [cart-dumper](https://github.com/Palmr/cart-dumper) - Game Boy Cartridge Dumper ROM.
- [Dot Matrix Game Editor](http://www.dotmatrixgame.com/) - An IDE for Game Boy programming in a C-like language called GBL, with many other features like tile and map extraction, WLA-DX assembly, and more.
- [Game Boy Text Tools](https://github.com/raphaklaus/gameboy-text-tools) - Set of tools for text manipulation and translation of Game Boy ROMs written in NodeJS
- [Atom language package for RGBASM](https://atom.io/packages/language-rgbasm) - Atom syntax highlighting for RGBDS assembly.
- [gbz80-highlight](https://github.com/ISSOtm/gbz80-highlight) - Notepad++ and gedit syntax highlighting files for RGBDS assembly.
- [Vim syntax file for the Game Boy assembler RGBASM](http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=819) - Vim syntax highlighting for RGBDS assembly.
- [Vim syntax file for RGBDS](https://github.com/Leandros/dotfiles/blob/master/.vim/syntax/rgbds.vim) - Another Vim syntax highlighting file for RGBDS assembly.
- [rgbds_textmate](https://github.com/Bananattack/rgbds_textmate) - Some syntax highlighting rules for coding in Z80 assembly as a Textmate language plugin. Works in Sublime Text 2 and 3\. The syntax is particularly designed for RGBDS and Game Boy-specific Z80 instructions.
- [Assembly tutorial by David Pello](https://avivace.com/apps/gbdev/salvage/tutorial_de_ensamblador%20[La%20decadence].html) - Good document to actually learn to produce working asm code for gb. Brief explanations of many important topics. Many examples with commented source code.
- [assemblydigest](https://github.com/assemblydigest/gameboy) - Exploring Game Boy programming techniques:
- [Making an Empty Game Boy ROM (in RGBDS)](http://assemblydigest.tumblr.com/post/77198211186/tutorial-making-an-empty-game-boy-rom-in-rgbds)
- [Making an Empty Game Boy ROM (in Wiz)](http://assemblydigest.tumblr.com/post/77203696711/tutorial-making-an-empty-game-boy-rom-in-wiz)
- [Making Art for the Game Boy](http://assemblydigest.tumblr.com/post/77404621743/tutorial-making-art-for-the-game-boy)
- [Beginner's Guide to Reverse Engineering GB](http://web.archive.org/web/20150511145100/http://www.bennvenn.com/Beginners_Guide_To_Reverse_Engineering.htm) - Some starting tips on disassembling and reverse engineering.
- [gb-template](https://github.com/exezin/gb-template) - A template with basic functions pre-made such as joypad input, DMA transfers, and map/tile data loading.
- [Game Boy Assembly Language Primer](http://www.devrs.com/gb/files/galp.zip) - Simple template code with memory defines, copy routines and IBM font tilemap.
- [Super Game Boy development](https://imanoleasgames.blogspot.no/2016/12/games-aside-1-super-game-boy.html) - Step by step tutorial to implement Super Game Boy features (frame and palettes).
- [DMA hijacking](https://github.com/avivace/awesome-gbdev/blob/master/articles/dma_hijacking.md) - A simple technique that allows you to run custom code in most GB/SGB/CGB games, provided you have an ACE exploit. [Demo video](http://gbdev.gg8.se/forums/viewtopic.php?id=430).
- [8-Bit Wonderland](http://belial.blarzwurst.de/gbpaper/paper.pdf) - Well-written introductory document about how the Game Boy works and how to start developing working code for it.
- [Grooves Game Boy Programming](https://github.com/gbdk-salvage/grooves-game-boy-programming) - A complete set of lessons about implementing various game mechanics in a Game Boy game.
- [GBDK Sprite](http://gbdev.gg8.se/wiki/articles/GBDK_Sprite_Tutorial) - Presents a workflow for getting multiple sprites to display and animate.
- [GBDK Color](http://gbdev.gg8.se/wiki/articles/GBDK_Color_Tutorial) - Extends your knowledge of basic spriting on the Game Boy by adding colors to sprites, backgrounds and the window layer.
- [GBDK Joypad](http://gbdev.gg8.se/wiki/articles/GBDK_Joypad_Tutorial) - Details the use of the joypad with GBDK.
- [GBDK Configuring and Programming Tutorial](https://videlais.com/2016/07/03/programming-game-boy-games-using-gbdk-part-1-configuring-programming-and-compiling/) - Configuring GBDK, Using Tiles, Colliding Sprites, GBTD, GBMB, Memory Management and ROM Banking.
- [Burly Bear vs. The Mean Foxes](http://sebastianmihai.com/main.php?t=18&) ([GBC](http://sebastianmihai.com/main.php?t=55&n=Gameboy-Color-development-Burly-Bear-vs-The-Mean-Foxes-GBC-version) port)
### Hack ROMs
- [Trainin' in a Winter Wonderland](https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=276298) (Pokemon Gold (U))
- [pokemontools](https://github.com/pret/pokemon-reverse-engineering-tools) - a python module that provides various reverse engineering components for various Pokémon games.
- [Reverse Engineering a Gameboy ROM with radare2](https://www.megabeets.net/reverse-engineering-a-gameboy-rom-with-radare2) - A walkthrough to reverse engineer a Game Boy ROM challenge using radare2.
- [Disassembling Link's Awakening](http://kemenaran.winosx.com/posts/category-disassembling-links-awakening/) - A series of blog posts about disassembling Link's Awakening DX.
- [ArduinoBoy](https://github.com/trash80/Arduinoboy) - Serial communication (MIDI) from an Arduino to the Game Boy for music applications such as LittleSoundDJ, Nanoloop, and mGB.
- [Piglet](https://github.com/danShumway/Piglet) - A LUA-driven AI that plays classic Game Boy color games using experimentation. In active development.
- [gbdk-n](https://github.com/rotmoset/gbdk-n) - Aims to update the gbdk libraries to be compatible with new versions of SDCC and provide helpers for building roms.
- [Wiz](https://github.com/wiz-lang/wiz) - A high-level assembly language for writing homebrew on retro console platforms (Game Boy, NES, Atari 2600, and more).
- [mGB](https://github.com/trash80/mGB) - A Game Boy cartridge program that enables the Game Boy to act as a full MIDI supported sound module.
- [GBVisualizer](https://github.com/LIJI32/GBVisualizer) - Demonstrating the use of two undocumented Game Boy Color registers, nicknamed PCM12 (FF76) and PCM34 (FF77), which can be used to read the current PCM amplitude of the 4 APU channels.
- [GBVideoPlayer](https://github.com/LIJI32/GBVideoPlayer) - A technical demo demonstrating how the Game Boy LCD controller can be hacked to make a Game Boy Color play a full motion video in color, together with music.
- [gb-save-states](https://github.com/mattcurrie/gb-save-states) - Patches to add save state support to Game Boy games when playing on the original hardware.
- [Archive of related files](http://gbdev.gg8.se/files/)
- [The Game Boy Archive](https://github.com/gb-archive) - A library of Game Boy related software, hardware and literature. Aimed to mirror and preserve old and fragmented contributions from the last three decades.
- [The Game Boy Archive - Salvage](https://github.com/gb-archive/salvage) - Old articles, FAQs and various documents.
### Articles, posts and sites
- [Making a Game Boy game in 2017:](https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DoctorLudos/20171207/311143/) A "Sheep It Up!" Post-Mortem (part 1/2)
- [Nintendo's fake logos](http://fuji.drillspirits.net/?post=87) - Every cartridge has to show the authentic logo to be considered valid and be run, but obviously some companies managed to exploit the check system.
- [Booting the Game Boy with a custom logo](https://dhole.github.io/post/gameboy_custom_logo/) - Bypassing the Nintendo logo check.
- [GBDK Developers](http://gbdk-developers.com/) - Active blog about everything related to the scene. Including features, insights and interviews.
- [pdroms.de](http://pdroms.de/news/gameboy/) Game Boy releases.
- [Game Boy Demospotting](http://gameboy.modermodemet.se/en) - A collection of demos.
Thanks to [every](https://github.com/avivace/awesome-gbdev/graphs/contributors) contributor of this project, Jeff Frohwein, Pascal Felber, KOOPa, Pan of Anthrox, GABY, Marat Fayzullin, Paul Robson, BOWSER, neviksti, Martin “nocash" Korth, Nitro2k01, Duo, Chris Antonellis, Michael Hope, Beware, Jonathan “Lord Nightmare” Gevaryahu, Carsten Sorense, Sindre Aamås, Otaku No Zoku, GeeBee.