Question: I feel stupid...

[TrackerXNinjaX]

Please, can someone tell me the difference between a hack and a game on the PC? I have never known the answer to this question, and i have searched for the answer recently. Please put me out of my misery...

 

[Buoysel]

This type of question should go in the ROM Hacking section, but thats okay your still new. Just make sure you find the right section before starting a new thread. If you are unsure where it should go ask a Mod.

I'll do my best to answer your question anyways, though I am not sure, you wrote your question weird.

ROM stands for Read Only Media, when you get a ROM on your computer, it is the exact same data that is on the game cartridge.

When someone hacks a ROM they basically open it up and change things around to their liking.

They then use an "Emulator" which has the the GameBoy's firmware, or Operating System (or OS for short). Every electronic device has a firware, with out it the device would be useless. Simple devices, like the Gameboy, have a small, simple (compared to your computers OS) OS. When using an emulator, your computer replicates the environment of the Gameboy virtually on your computer, when you have a ROM image on your Hard Drive, you can play GBA, GB, GBC, and DS games. As long as you have the correct ROM image and Emulator.


See here for more info:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisualBoyAdvance

Hope that helps.

 

[Spinor]

By what I've seen, here a ROM Hack is defined as an original Pokemon game edited with tools.

A game is made completely from scratch with game making software. But original sprites and music adding is acceptable.

 

[TrackerXNinjaX]

Thank you for answering my questions, i just never really bothered to find out until now. I thought that a hack is a semi-changed game, or a remake or such and a game being a totally original idea, new sprites, tiles, story concept, pallets, bad guys, new pokemon(sometimes)...you get the picture.
PKMN Fire Red+changes and inclusion of an old region..etc=HACK
PKMN Fire Red+New maps, sprites, new pokemon, new tiles, new story, etc=GAME

 

[Spinor]

As long as no original ROM is involved and you start from scratch, it is considered a game, your definition was slightly off and needed to include that.

 

[Tyrantrum]

This type of question should go in the ROM Hacking section, but thats okay your still new.

Just to let you know, he's asking what the difference between the two are, not help for any of the games. So this is just fine here.

 

[Ivysaur]

Not really, since this has nothing to do with the forum, really D:

And since the question is answered...