75 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
75 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
# Vision and Philosophy
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**Project Name**: NekoBoy
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**Tagline**: *Pocket-sized passion. Meaningful play. Music that stays with you.*
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## Core Vision
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NekoBoy is a pocketable, open-source handheld gaming console designed to recapture the emotional impact and creative joy of classic 2D gaming while offering modern tools and developer accessibility.
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We believe games and music should feel personal. We want developers (from complete beginners to experienced creators) to be able to make experiences that feel meaningful — games that players remember not just for the mechanics, but for how they made them feel.
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## Core Philosophy
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### 1. Emotion Over Realism
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Modern games often prioritize graphical fidelity. NekoBoy prioritizes **feeling**. We focus on beautiful movement, expressive music, and simple-but-deep gameplay that can create strong emotional responses.
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### 2. Purposeful Gaming
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Physical cartridges encourage intentional play. Instead of endlessly scrolling through digital libraries, players choose a cartridge and engage with it more deliberately.
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### 3. Developer Empowerment
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The project is built to be approachable. A strong **Core Abstraction Layer**, a capable PC **Emulator**, and clear tooling (including `neko-asset`) allow developers to create content on their computer and move it to real hardware with minimal friction.
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### 4. Music as a First-Class Citizen
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Music is central to the NekoBoy experience. The platform includes a powerful FM + PCM audio system and **NekoTracker** — a dedicated music creation tool that can run both on PC and directly on the hardware.
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### 5. Open Source & Community
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Everything — hardware, firmware, software, and tools — is open source. We want the community to understand, modify, and improve the system.
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## Target Experience
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- **Form Factor**: Pocketable (GBA-like size or slightly larger)
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- **Controls**: SNES-style layout with 4 shoulder buttons
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- **Display**: 4.3" 800×480 IPS
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- **Battery Life**: 10–12+ hours of gameplay
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- **Development**: Create on PC using the emulator → Run on real hardware with minimal changes
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- **Music Creation**: Use NekoTracker on PC or directly on the console via cartridge
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## Benchmarks
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NekoBoy should comfortably run games in the style of:
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- **Vampire Survivors / Holocure** style games (many on-screen sprites, simple AI)
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- Scaled versions of **DOOM** and **Minecraft**
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- Rich 2D platformers and action games with layered graphics and expressive music
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## Key Design Principles
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| Principle | Meaning |
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|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| **Unified Development** | Write once, run on emulator and hardware with minimal changes |
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| **Hardware/Software Balance** | Offload graphics and audio to FPGA so the CPU can focus on game logic |
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| **Developer Accessibility** | Modern tools + clear documentation + helpful abstractions |
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| **Musical Depth** | Rich FM synthesis + PCM with character (including optional lo-fi) |
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| **Emotional Focus** | Prioritize feeling and memorability over technical spectacle |
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| **Open & Hackable** | Easy to understand, modify, and extend |
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## What NekoBoy Is Not
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- It is **not** trying to compete with modern high-fidelity 3D games.
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- It is **not** a high-powered emulation machine.
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- It is **not** overly complex or bloated.
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Instead, it aims to be a focused, coherent platform where creativity and emotion can flourish within well-defined (but expressive) boundaries.
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## Success Criteria (v1)
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- Developers can create games and music primarily on their computer.
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- Games and music created on PC can run on real hardware with minimal modification.
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- The audio system can convincingly recreate (and expand upon) the emotional range of classic FM soundtracks.
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- The graphics system supports rich 2D visuals while remaining efficient.
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- New developers can understand the system and start creating with reasonable effort.
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---
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*This document defines the "why" behind NekoBoy. All technical decisions should ultimately serve this vision.*
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