For retro game enthusiasts and aspiring developers, an exciting new resource has arrived: “Game Boy Coding Adventure.” Published by No Starch Press, known for its practical computing and gaming guides, this substantial 456-page book offers a deep dive into creating Game Boy titles. Unlike modern development tools, it provides a comprehensive guide to coding games and hardware functions using assembly language, mirroring the techniques used by developers in the early 1990s.
You can get “Game Boy Coding Adventure” in paperback for $50 or as a Kindle e-book for $35.
Written by industry veteran Maximilien Dagois, “Game Boy Coding Adventure” is a comprehensive guide to Game Boy development. Its subtitle, “Learn Assembly and Master the Original 8-Bit Handheld,” clearly defines its mission. Beyond just designing games, this guide delves into the inner workings of the Game Boy, explaining how it functions and interacts with game cartridges. While primarily focused on the original Game Boy DMG and Game Boy Pocket, it also includes sections on the Game Boy Color, Super Game Boy, and various accessories like the Game Boy Printer.
The book highlights that due to the Game Boy’s technical limitations, early developers relied on assembly language—a readable form of binary machine code—to communicate directly with the handheld’s processing chip. Readers will learn to write and debug code using RGBDS, a leading open-source assembler for Game Boy and Game Boy Color projects. Key topics covered include frame pacing, programming controls, and creating sound channels, with later chapters exploring advanced concepts like memory banking and serial communication.
A significant portion of the book focuses on the Game Boy’s 8-bit graphics, which are constructed from 8×8 tiles. You’ll discover how these tiles are assembled by VRAM to create backgrounds, windows, color palettes, and sprites–and how to animate them. All the projects featured in this book are designed to function on actual Game Boy hardware.
No Starch Press, known for its excellent tech and gaming how-to books, has a history of supporting niche development. They previously released a highly-rated beginner’s guide to modding Game Boy hardware. If you’re keen on exploring the Game Boy modding scene, that 256-page paperback edition is available for $25.
No Starch Press boasts a diverse catalog of books on programming languages and game development tools. Among their popular titles is “Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python.” They also offer “Mission Python,” an excellent resource for teenagers interested in creating space adventure games. The publisher isn’t shy about exploring niche development tools, providing guides for crafting interactive, text-based adventures with Twine and designing puzzle-platformers using PuzzleScript. Additionally, they publish a comprehensive series of books on Scratch, the widely-used block-based programming language developed by MIT Media Lab.
If you’re expanding your Game Boy library, consider The Game Boy Encyclopedia and The History of the Game Boy. Chris Scullion’s Game Boy Encyclopedia lists every game released for the GB and GBC in North America and Europe, with the hardcover currently priced at $24 (originally $43). For a deeper look, The History of the Game Boy offers an unofficial, behind-the-scenes account of the console’s creation and journey from 1989 to 1998. Authored by Florent Gorges, this meticulously researched book includes interviews with original Game Boy developers and was recently translated into English, appearing alongside The History of the Famicom/NES.
For those interested in the NES, last year saw the release of Classic Game Programming on the NES, a book dedicated to mastering the 8-bit console’s 6502 Assembler language, available for $40.47 (down from $50). Additionally, the Code the Classics series is perfect for learning to create retro games with Python and Pygame Zero. Code the Classics Volume 1 covers games inspired by 1970s and early 1980s classics, while Volume 2 focuses exclusively on the 1980s. Raspberry Pi Press published the second editions of both volumes recently, offering a fantastic way to learn Python and Pygame Zero game development.