Support NeoGAF

[Rydeen]

From their Motherboard section, really excellent article on the history of Nesticle, and where the original developers are now:

NESticle got around the problems of its competitors by being fast, easy to use, and free—though not open-source. It focused on usability over accuracy, which turned out to be a bit of a breakthrough for emulation of the time. The emulator was almost entirely the work of Addis, though it had Bloodlust branding and visuals. Petty played a very tiny (but noticeable) role in the emulator's creation—he drew the famed bloody hand that was the program's mouse cursor, along with Shitman, a character from the discarded Contra-style game, showing up in the emulator's "About" menu.

"I think rather than setting out to make Bloodlust emulators, he simply used the 'brand' he had already established," Petty explained. "I'm happy he did—those emulators allowed people to re-experience many of the games that inspired Bloodlust."

The emulator's style has always been something of a trademark—for some, even a deterrent, just like the look of the Bloodlust's games. But the emulator's success was hard to ignore.]

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-story-of-nesticle-the-ambitious-emulator-that-redefined-retro-gaming

I definitely recommend reading the article, as there's a number of revelations about the NES emulation scene, the NES Mini, and the emulated port of Super Punch-Out!! in Fight Night Round 2 that blew my mind.

 

[jett]

That really took me back, thanks for sharing. Early in the emulation heyday Zophar's Doman was my interweb home in a way. It was such a fascinating time, new emulators and updates just showed up every single day.

The revelation that Sardu had in fact coded a SNES emulator is amazing.

 

[Rydeen]

The revelation that Sardu had in fact coded a SNES emulator is amazing.

Yeah that little revelation blew my mind as well, also the lovely irony that something of NESticle was ultimately used in an official Nintendo release warms my heart. Hackers and bedroom programmers really are the bedrock of the games industry, whether big companies want to admit it or not.

 

[Later Alligator]

Wow. I worked with Donnie for years and had no idea that's who he was

 

[Tyrael]

Awesome article, thanks for sharing!

I have fond memories of that time, it was the golden age of the emulation scene.

I always wondered what had happened to Sardu and what made him quit the scene, and thanks to this article now I know.