Awesome Mega Drive Development
A curated list of useful resources for Mega Drive programming.
Despite being over 30 years old, the Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis) is still alive and kicking. A community of passionate fans has kept the 16-bit dream alive by releasing new projects and games throughout the years. If you've also always wanted to create your own Mega Drive game, then here is a list of various resources to help get you started!
Feel free to submit a pull request if you have anything to add to the list.
Contents
Documentation and Articles
Programming
Frameworks and Compilers
- SGDK - Allows you to develop Mega Drive games in C
- SecondBasic - Allows you to develop Mega Drive games in Basic
- Java Grinder - Allows you to develop Mega Drive games in Java
- 32x DevKit - Devkit, manuals and links for 32X development
- NEXTBasic - Page about the NEXTBasic compiler
- BasiEgaXorz - The Sega Genesis Tiny BASIC Compiler
- BlastForth - Development kit for the Mega Drive using the Forth programming language
- mdk - Barebones megadrive development setup.
- pysega - Sega Genesis / Mega Drive development kit (SDK) written in Python
- mddev - A small Megadrive devkit with learning purposes.
- GINCS Studio - A tool to create text adventures and visual novels for the Mega Drive (Page in Russian)
- MEGADEV - A Sega Mega CD development framework
- choice4genesis - A ChoiceScript clone that generates Sega Genesis ROMs; it can be used for visual novels or simple multimedia presentations
Toolchains
- Marsdev - Cross platform Mega Drive / 32X toolchain
- mdcc - Sega Mega Drive GCC Based Toolchain
- SGDK for Linux - A set of makefiles to get SGDK working on Linux
Engines
Snippets and Demos
Tutorials
Assembly
SGDK
- Ohsat Games - Various full project and one-off tutorials for SGDK
- Danibus - Various SGDK tutorials in Spanish and English
Tools
- Beehive - A complete content tool for the SEGA Mega Drive
- MDTools - A collection of several free tools designed to aid in development of Mega Drive homebrew
- Genesis Code - Visual Studio Code Extension For Use Easily SGDK and some other tools like Tiled.
- Color Mixer - Color Mixer for SEGA Mega Drive
- Sonic Retro Tools - Collection of tools and disassemblies by the members of Sonic Retro
- Palette Batch - Converts images to use certain color palettes (made for use with SGDK)
- 240p Test Suite - A test suite to evaluate upscalers and related equipment
- TILED-Python-to-C - A Python tool to convert Tiled XML data to C for use with SGDK
- Retro Graphics Toolkit - A graphics tool to convert images for use on retro systems
- TUME - An old map editor for 8bit and 16bit games
- Aseprite Mega Drive Digitizer - Display images from Aseprite on your CRT using the Mega Drive
- MCD-Verificator - A test program for CD core accuracy verification
Sound and Music
- Echo - A Mega Drive Sound Engine
- Mega PCM - A sound driver that exclusively plays digitized audio samples through an YM2612 sound chip's DAC channel
- Mega Drive MIDI Interface - Control the Yamaha YM2612 and PSG of the Sega Mega Drive via MIDI
- MDTracker - Native music tracker for the Mega Drive
- MDSDRV - A sound driver for Sega Mega Drive
- MML2VGM - Converts MML files to Mega Drive format
- Lusid-Dreams - A SID player for the Sega 32X
- VGM Music Maker Primer - A primer on creating music for the Mega Drive
- DefleMask Instrument Tutorial - A video guide to making FM instruments for the Sega Mega Drive
- GENNY VST - A VST for DAWs emulating Mega Drive instruments
- Chipsynth MD emulation (Video) - Video about rigs created for chipsynth MD's emulation
- Furnace - A multi-system chiptune tracker compatible with DefleMask modules
- Pseym - A retro-style YM2612 instrument editor
Open-Source Games
Reverse Engineering
Disassemblies
Communities
Boards
Discords
Extra hardware
- SVP chip development - Open-source hardware boards to turn retail Virtua Racing cartridges into a "devkits", an assembler for the SVP chip DSP, sources and docs.
- MegaWiFi - WiFi enabled cartridge for the Mega Drive
Other Sites and Resources