How do you prefer to compose? Pen and manuscript paper? Recording ideas from a piano? Firing up your favorite music software? How about … coding in 65c816 Assembly language?
The trio behind this video prefers the latter, more intensive approach, to get close to the chip hardware by communicating directly with the Super NES. It’s one heck of a way to make an invitation to an event, but that’s just what they’ve done, in celebration of Blip Festival Tokyo 2012, in a kind of audiovisual spectacular. With code by Batsly Adams, music by Zabutom, and graphics by KeFF, the result is a throwback to the demoscene of yore. (Kris Keyser notes that I should point out that the SNES is sample-based, not synthesis based as you might have with the NES. It’s still … a lot of work.)
YouTube looks good, but running this directly looks better, so you can point your SNES emulator at this free file:
Quoth Andrew: “The hardware is a bitch – but it has some really sweet features … the 65c816 – 8/16 bit selection blows.”
Amen, brother. Thanks to music hacker Todd Bailey for the heads-up.