Lover of calculators developing new Zelda game for TI-83

by Blake Snow { Aug 17th 2006 at 5:25PM }

GameSetWatch interviewed one Spencer Putt who has been programming TI-83 graphical calculator games for years. In 2004 he released a port of Harvest Moon (SNES) and is now working on a new Zelda game which is about 50% complete (screenshots here). From the interview: "My goal was to recreate the feel of the games on this crappy little system that every student has... Though I'm using the Link from Link's Awakening (and if you've seen some of the videos, many other characters as well), all of the tiles are new, the dungeons and puzzles are new, and story is new."

College Calculus will never be the same.

[Thanks, Gaye Mann]

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tyler @ Aug 17th 2006 5:32PM

Hah! Finally! I don't have the patience or motivation to do this, much less the skill, but I always hoped someone else would! Thank you Sir!

Derbeste @ Aug 17th 2006 5:42PM

Now if only this guy put the same amount of effort into his math...........

I'm just waiting for the C&D on this one....maybe even from Bizarre. ;)

Huzzah!! @ Aug 17th 2006 5:53PM

Calculator harvest moon would be REALLLLYY boring. But Zelda- I used to have a good one, but it was never finished, so you couldnt beat it.

So maybe this one WILL be finished!

Can I get a HUZZAH!!!?

Andy @ Aug 17th 2006 6:04PM

Brilliant! I had one of these calculators at school! Trouble is, 3 of the lines went after i dropped it - wonder if i'll still be able to play?!?!

socrates @ Aug 17th 2006 6:10PM

Whatever, the PS3 is better!

dvnt @ Aug 17th 2006 6:16PM

I always wondered what those kids in High School did that obsessed over those damn graphing calculators and flaunted them like they were devices to control the cosmos. "OMG I can play SNAKE on my calculator!"

In their free time they program Zelda... That's glutton for punishment +1 right there.

BPM? @ Aug 17th 2006 6:27PM

Thanks for trolling, socrated. :)

Hmm... too bad TI-86 (what I have) isn't compatable with 83 games and apps. :/

Mark D. @ Aug 17th 2006 6:47PM

I prefer to use an emulator with my phone to play S/NES games in class.

3 hour lectures are fun as hell.

32_footsteps @ Aug 17th 2006 6:49PM

You know, I'd be really worried about Sony if the PS3 wasn't better than a 10-year old graphic calculator.

Zelda Legend @ Aug 17th 2006 7:18PM

Ha! That looks so great!! :D

sphrog @ Aug 17th 2006 7:36PM

I'm really glad you guys featured this, it's turning out to be a great project. Spencer is a really talented programmer, and the whole TI programming community is surprisingly one of the biggest around for homebrew applications. I really hope he's able to complete this before some disaster befalls the project, as has been the fate of the past two or three attempts to bring Zelda to the TI-83. :(

Also, I really hope Joe P. finishes Metroid 83 some day :P

Cody S. @ Aug 17th 2006 7:43PM

Damn you Joystiq. You've got me interested in this stuff again.

MetaHuman @ Aug 17th 2006 7:51PM

Don't people realize the TI-86 is where it's at? I mean, it's WAAAYS more powerful for crying out loud!

:)

Anyways that was the big thing at my high school. However, while my TI-86 (which I actually found off the street 0_0) is slightly more capable, it was much less common. :(

socrates @ Aug 17th 2006 7:59PM

Oh ye of multiple footsteps - If only those 13 stars came with a better joke detector =)

32_footsteps @ Aug 17th 2006 8:33PM

I don't know, I detect funny jokes just fine.

Exbzurg @ Aug 17th 2006 8:50PM

actually the 86 is not more powerful than the 83+... the 86 runs at 6mhz while the 83+ runs at a blazing fast 8mhz. True the 86 has more ram topping at 96kb but the 83+ has something called flash rom which elimates the need for so much ram...
also... www.ticalc.org theres more than just zelda people! Mario,pac-man,space invaders... these calcs have a big freeware section to them... True the calcs are a bit expensive but if you can get one cheap or for free from school/friend then you've got yourself a very nice portable gaming device with a better homebrew scene than the n-gage and gizmondo combined!

socrates @ Aug 17th 2006 9:25PM

Oh SNAP. Hey, I never said it was a good one!

But it doesn't make sense to see what is clearly a bad joke, scratch your chin, and then type a response that is both obvious and literal. Unless you were just in a mood to hear yourself talk/type.

"Actually, Geeves, I don't see a chicken crossing this road at all. Mmm. Yes. Quite."

bm @ Aug 17th 2006 9:46PM

I'm sure I played a perfectly functional Zelda clone with LA-ripped graphics on the TI-83 when the thing came out nearly ten years ago. Time travel, woo. :D

All joking aside, I'm sure this is much more advanced than the one I played back then (don't remember much of it). I do remember the smearing/ghosting of the TI-83, which was much worse even than the original Gameboy, made it nearly unplayable.

White Rose Duelist @ Aug 18th 2006 9:09AM

But does it work for the TI-89 Tituanium?

unimental @ Aug 18th 2006 10:08AM

I spent a good portion of my college classtime programming number guessing games into my old TI. Pretty simple stuff... input a number and it tells you if you're too high or too low. It did, however, provide stats at the end such as number of guesses and a ranking.

And now I'm at work posting on Joystiq.

Some things never change.

eialba @ Aug 18th 2006 1:58PM

wow. come on guys.ti-83 and ti-83 Plus are by far the most successful, most capable, and easiest to use calculator made by TI. I've been using TI graphing calculators since seventh grade. I had an 86 first, then an 83 plus (which 7 years later I still have and enjoy), an 89, and an 89 Titanium. I've written several games for them, mostly for 83 plus.

86 is NOT where it's at. 83 plus has Flash ROM, making it much better than the 83 or the 86. 89 takes calc gaming to another level, with awesome 3d engines being created to make ports of Duke Nukem, Doom, etc. The graphics are amazing on it.

TI gaming is addictive and fun. You should definitely try it.

eialba @ Aug 18th 2006 2:02PM

"But does it work for the TI-89 Tituanium?"

You cannot transfer games between differently numbered TI calcs (82,83,85,86,89,92). What you might do is retype in all the commands into the other calculator. Unless it's in assembly language. Your best bet is to download games from websites.

I'm not sure about those new-fangled 84s.