Homebrew game maker: make your own console games with AI

What homebrew means here

Homebrew is software that people write for a game console on their own, without the manufacturer publishing it. It has a long history on handhelds and home consoles: original games, tools, and demos, made by hobbyists and passed around as small files.

A homebrew game maker should make that route open to people who never learned a console's toolchain. Shiny Gen does it with an AI agent. You describe an original game, the agent writes it for one of our engines, and the output is a ROM file that runs in an emulator or on a flash cart.

It is the original-games side of homebrew. These engines build new games made in Shiny Gen only. They are not emulators, they cannot open or convert commercial ROMs, and they are not a way to patch someone else's game.

The consoles you can make homebrew for

Five engines, each aimed at one class of machine. The table says what you get and how far we have checked it.

Real-hardware testing so far: a GBA ROM on a Game Boy Advance and a DS Lite, and a GBC ROM on a Game Boy Advance and a ModRetro Chromatic, all through flash carts. We do not claim hardware support beyond that.

How a homebrew game gets made

1. Choose an engine. In Shiny Gen press +, choose New, then the console style. Each project starts blank so nothing you did not ask for ends up in it.
2. Describe an original game. The agent writes the program, draws the art, makes the sound, and runs the game with a virtual controller to find bugs.
3. Read or change the code. Every game is a source file in a C-like language of our own, with a build report that shows how full the cartridge is. It is not a toolchain you install, so existing C homebrew code does not paste in unchanged.
4. Export the file. Shiny Gen builds the ROM, boots it in a fresh emulator to confirm it starts, and gives it to you to keep.

Emulators, flash carts, and what to expect

A ROM is a file, and where it runs depends on what you run it with. A flash cart takes the file on an SD card and plays it on a real handheld. An emulator plays it on a computer or a phone. We use mGBA or Delta for .gba and .gbc, melonDS for .nds, Dolphin for .dol, and ares for N64.

Saves behave like a cartridge battery: they belong to the device you played on, and an exported game starts fresh. The ROM export post lists save types per engine. You can also try the pipeline cheaply, because the catalogue cartridge games have a Download ROM button for any logged-in visitor, with no purchase.

Homebrew-style games from the catalogue

Every game here was made by the agent. Console screens are shown at their native size and scaled up so the pixels stay sharp.

• 
  Game Boy Advance

  Shiny Monsters Advance

  An original creature-collecting game: a full adventure on a GBA cartridge.

• 
  Game Boy Advance

  Ember Courier

  Carry the ember through a night forest and light the five beacons.

• 
  Game Boy Color

  Shiny Fighter Color

  A Game Boy Color fighting game with eight playable characters.

• 
  Game Boy Color

  Shiny Kart Color

  A Game Boy Color kart racer seen from above, with little robot drivers.

• 
  N64-class

  Shiny Kart 64

  A 3D kart racer with laps, a timer, and computer rivals on an N64-class engine.

• 
  N64-class

  Shiny Mine 64

  A blocky 3D quarry game: mine stone and carry it to the altar before the day ends.

Who homebrew with AI is for

See the AI game engine page for the whole list of engines, including the Godot one for games that play everywhere.

What it costs

Full details are on the pricing page.

Homebrew game maker questions

What is a homebrew game maker?

A tool for making your own games for game consoles without the manufacturer's tools. Shiny Gen's version uses an AI agent, so you describe an original game and get a ROM file back.

Is homebrew legal?

Writing your own original game and running it on hardware you own is what homebrew has long meant. These engines make new games only and cannot open commercial ROMs. This is a description, not legal advice.

Which consoles can I make homebrew games for?

Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, an N64-class engine, a DS-class engine, and a GameCube-class engine. The first two are tested on real hardware through flash carts, and the other three in emulators only.

Will my homebrew ROM run on a flash cart?

For Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, yes: we have run exported files on a Game Boy Advance, a DS Lite, and a ModRetro Chromatic through flash carts. For N64, DS, and GameCube we only claim emulators so far.

Can I hack or play commercial ROMs with it?

No. The engines compile new games made inside Shiny Gen. They cannot play, open, or convert commercial or third-party ROMs, and they are not ROM-hacking tools.

Do I need to know C or assembly?

No. The agent writes and tests the game. If you do read code, each game is a C-like source file you can edit, but it is our own language and not a standard toolchain.

Is there a free homebrew game maker?

Starting, playing, and sharing are free, and AI generation uses gems that new accounts receive along with a free daily prompt. Downloading a ROM file needs any one purchase, from $2.99.

Can I make homebrew on my phone?

Yes, in a mobile browser or the iPhone, iPad, and Android apps. The Android app has no export button yet, so for the file itself sign in on a browser with the same account.