GB BASIC

GB BASIC

Tony Wang · 2025 · Game Development, Design & Illustration, 1980s, 1990's, Crafting

PC
Positive93% · 14
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

Screenshots

About GB BASIC

GameBuilder BASIC (GB BASIC) is a retro Fantasy Console that generates ROMs compatible with the popular handheld game console. It has everything ready-to-use for writting code, making assets, compiling projects, running with the built-in emulator, exporting to runnable ROM, etc.

Why GB BASIC?



GB BASIC is programmable in a brand new BASIC dialect. The integrated assets editors are intuitive to use. You can generate real ROMs and play on any GB emulator or hardware.
  • GB BASIC compiles fast
  • GB BASIC generates ROMs for various mappers, devices and emulators

Features

  • Programmable in BASIC, an easy to learn and fun to use programming language
  • Easy to use API for graphics, input, audio, and other facilities
  • Built-in libraries for scene, actor, controllers, GUI
  • Built-in libraries for collision detection, persistence, RTC, etc.
  • Extension feature including mouse & touch, shell command, debugging, etc.
  • Handy tools for editing tiles, map, scene, actor, font, sound, etc.
  • Project can be exported into real ROM
  • Dozens of example projects

Specs

  • CPU: 4.19MHz/8.38MHz for classic/colored respectively
  • Threads: up to 16 concurrent execution contexts
  • Display: 160x144px
  • Code: BASIC, supports multiple source pages
  • Gamepad: 8 buttons (D-Pad + A/B + Select/Start)
  • Mouse and touch: supported by extension
  • Tiles: up to 256 units per page
  • Map: up to 255 tiles in one dimension per page; two layers (graphics, attributes)
  • Sprite: supports 8x8 and 8x16 sprites
  • Scene: up to 255 tiles in one dimension per page; four layers (map, attributes, properties, actors)
  • Actor: up to 8x8 tiles per frame; up to 256 frames per page
  • Font: supports TrueType (.ttf) and bitmap-based (.png .jpg .bmp .tga); up to 16px; 1bpp or 2bpp
  • Audio: 4 channels; supports importing from JSON, VGM, WAV, FxHammer
  • Palette: 2bit (4 colors) per tile, palette of map and actor is configurable for colored device
  • GUI: supports label, progress bar, menu, etc.
  • Persistence: supported
  • RTC: supported
  • Serial port: supported

Programming Paradigms

  • Imperative paradigm
  • Non-structured programming
  • Concurrent processing approach
  • Declarative paradigm
    • Data driven approach
  • DLC & expansions

    What Steam players say

    Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

    Recommended Oct 10, 2025
    I'm pretty sure bro just stole GB Studio, made it green, then injected a free fork of acesprite into it, and I can't say I'm mad. This rocks!
    12 found this helpful
    Recommended Sep 8, 2025
    🌟 "GB BASIC" A Nostalgic Dream for Retro Game Creators!🌟 "GB BASIC" is a delightful retro fantasy console that lets you create, compile, and export full Game Boy-compatible ROMs using a modernized BASIC programming language. As an Early Access title, it’s already a powerful tool for aspiring game developers and retro enthusiasts, offering an intuitive interface for coding, asset creation, and testing . The core appeal lies in its all-in-one design: you can write code, design tilesets, maps, sprites, and sounds, then instantly test your game via the built-in emulator or export it to a ROM for real hardware. The BASIC dialect is easy to learn yet supports advanced features like concurrent processing, declarative paradigms, and extensions for debugging or shell commands . With specs mimicking the classic Game Boy (160x144px display, 4.19MHz CPU, 4-channel audio), it authentically replicates the limitations and charm of 8-bit development . The developer, Tony Wang, is highly engaged, with a clear roadmap for v2.0 including tutorials, debuggers, and auto-completion . The community is small but passionate, with a perfect 100/100 score from 7 reviews praising its usability and potent…
    5 found this helpful
    Recommended Mar 10, 2026
    Now that the tutorial is completed, I can confidently say that this is a fantastic tool for creating homebrew gameboy roms. If you're already familiar with BASIC syntax, you'll likely feel very comfortable working with the editor. I'll be watching this tool's progress with great interest,
    2 found this helpful
    Recommended Nov 28, 2025
    What an incredible idea. I can't wait to make retro games with this thing!
    1 found this helpful
    Not recommended Mar 2, 2026
    This isn't a game, it's just a software application. "GB BASIC" lacks the basic mechanics make something a game. Lacking that, this is just an application that comes across as a rather aggressive, for profit attempt to get sued to oblivion by Nintendo. This is a construction kit designed to make Nintendo Gameboy ROMs without any apparent permission from Nintendo to make derivative works from their licensed technology. And this is being done for profit, to make sure there's financial liability on behalf of the developer, who we might as well refer to as "The defendant". Who has also decided to pollute the Steam games section with things that are obviously not games. Again, for profit. To make it clear what a game is and why this isn't one, it boils down to whether the software has any "game loops", which is the interaction between the player and the game itself. Here's an example of a game loop. In Dark Souls, you explore an area, encounter an enemy, fight that enemy and if the computer lets you survive, you repeat that loop with the computer providing you with new enemies. Another example is Candy Crush (while mobile games are awful, they are still games where this isn't),…
    Recommended Sep 16, 2025
    I love this fantasy console! I'm making a text adventure in this and totally recomend this for beginners and pro's alike it comes with templates and you can even start from scratch if you want, all around it's a great tool for learning coding! I made alot of changes to my game and I can easily say the sprite maker and other tools are easy and powerful! I used a lot of templates before stumbling on the Text Adventure. This tool is a must have! I'm even thinking about getting the Desktop Builder it's that good!

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