September 8th, 2025 × #SegaGenesis#RetroGaming#GameDev#VibeCoding
CJ Made A Sega Game in 2025
CJ shows off the custom Sega Genesis game he built for Sentry Hack Week, running on real hardware off an Everdrive. Learn how SGDK, Tiled, custom Java extensions, and a vibe-coded palette tool make 1989 hardware surprisingly approachable.
wesbos Host
stolinski Host
w3cj Host
#935
CJ takes us behind the scenes of Hackweek to share how he built a custom Sega Genesis game from scratch, complete with assembly code, level loading, and retro hardware tricks. From SGDK to parallax faking, this episode is a deep dive into old-school game dev with a modern twist.
Show Notes
- 00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- 00:44 Why a Sega game?
- 06:55 What is it running on?
- 07:49 Working with assembly code.
- 10:11 Sega Genesis Development Kit.
- 10:54 Awesome Megadrive.
- 12:02 Booting on an emulator.
- 13:07 Gens and KMod.
- 15:54 Compiling stage.
- 17:44 Genesis Code VS Code Extension.
- 18:22 Images and Assets.
- 19:46 Loading images with bitmap.
- 23:50 Megacat Studios.
- 25:21 Z index?
- 27:34 Specific code examples.
- 27:51 Platformer Engine.
- 30:01 Platformer Sample Game.
- 30:44 LDTK (Level Designer Toolkit).
- 33:13 Tiled Collision mapping.
- 37:42 What about debugging?
- 39:37 Loading in levels.
- 43:56 Challenges with graphics.
- 49:56 Adding music.
Hit us up on Socials!
Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
