[Other] I Know What Features I Want to Include, But I'm Not Sure If I Should Use a GBA or a DS ROM as the Base

[Kazaam!]

I've also asked this question on Reddit in the PokemonROMhacks sub. I want to see what answers I receive from the members of this community.

I have created an idea for a fan-made Pokemon game, and have a solid notion of what the locations will be like, how the story will progress, and what features I want included. I am ready to begin making the game, and after some consideration I believe that a ROM hack is how I should proceed with making it as opposed to using RMXP or building a game engine from scratch. However, I'm not sure which of making a GBA hack or making a DS hack is the best way to proceed.

One feature that I prioritize including is Pokemon-Amie or Pokemon Refresh, where a player has the ability to interact with their pokemon through petting them as well as other means. The most smooth way to implement this would be through a touch screen, which would only be possible in a DS hack. Unfortunately, DS hacking resources are lacking at this time. There is no D/P/Pt, HGSS, BW, or B2W2 decompilation project that is mostly complete and publicly available, and there is not a large selection of custom 3D models, buildings in particular, that a ROM hacker can download and use in their maps.

While a GBA hack cannot make use of a touch screen, resources abound for making one. From the pokeemerald decompilation project to the myriad custom tilesets scattered across the internet, a Pokemon GBA ROM hacker has everything they need to make a great game with relative ease.

Also, I want my game to be playable not just on a personal computer, but also on its native Nintendo handheld and on smartphones. I am aware that many people enjoy playing fan-made Pokemon games on small, portable devices, and that people are discouraged from playing fan games not made through ROM hacking methods because such games are not able to be played on portable platforms. This is one reason why I am not planning to build my game through RMXP.

So which type of ROM should I base my game on: GBA or DS?

 

[Anon822]

I've also asked this question on Reddit in the PokemonROMhacks sub. I want to see what answers I receive from the members of this community.

I have created an idea for a fan-made Pokemon game, and have a solid notion of what the locations will be like, how the story will progress, and what features I want included. I am ready to begin making the game, and after some consideration I believe that a ROM hack is how I should proceed with making it as opposed to using RMXP or building a game engine from scratch. However, I'm not sure which of making a GBA hack or making a DS hack is the best way to proceed.

One feature that I prioritize including is Pokemon-Amie or Pokemon Refresh, where a player has the ability to interact with their pokemon through petting them as well as other means. The most smooth way to implement this would be through a touch screen, which would only be possible in a DS hack. Unfortunately, DS hacking resources are lacking at this time. There is no D/P/Pt, HGSS, BW, or B2W2 decompilation project that is mostly complete and publicly available, and there is not a large selection of custom 3D models, buildings in particular, that a ROM hacker can download and use in their maps.

While a GBA hack cannot make use of a touch screen, resources abound for making one. From the pokeemerald decompilation project to the myriad custom tilesets scattered across the internet, a Pokemon GBA ROM hacker has everything they need to make a great game with relative ease.

Also, I want my game to be playable not just on a personal computer, but also on its native Nintendo handheld and on smartphones. I am aware that many people enjoy playing fan-made Pokemon games on small, portable devices, and that people are discouraged from playing fan games not made through ROM hacking methods because such games are not able to be played on portable platforms. This is one reason why I am not planning to build my game through RMXP.

So which type of ROM should I base my game on: GBA or DS?

Creating a custom mechanic like Amie/Refresh is a lot easier to do on the GBA with the decomps. I would also assume that making any other changes to the DS games is harder because the GBA games are better documented and 2D graphics are easier to work with than 3D.
So the question is: is the touch screen so important to you that you're willing to make every aspect of development harder?

 

[Kazaam!]

is the touch screen so important to you that you're willing to make every aspect of development harder?

Having a touch screen is important, but I don't think it's important enough that I'm willing to follow a much harder route to making my game. Great question, thanks for asking.

I've been thinking of ways I can implement interactive features like a petting feature without a touch screen, and I have some ideas. In the future, when a Gen 4 or 5 game decompilation project is near completion, I might remake the game for the DS.