This week, I worked extensively on my Hack #2. In my previous flog, I stated that I wanted to create a ROM hack for this project. Luckily, with a bit of technological finagling, I was able to use ROM hacking software to work on my project. I have a Mac computer, so I initially thought I wasn’t going to be able to ROM hack (Mac OS is notorious for being restrictive on things of this nature compared to Windows machines). So, I worked around this problem by temporarily borrowing a Windows laptop from Davidson T&I. On Monday, I was able to check out a rental computer for 2 weeks and I was able to immediately use the software I needed. The software, Hex Maniac Advance, is an open source, all purpose editor that specializes in GBA (Gameboy Advance) Pokémon games. To start, I had to download a few different applications for the software to work properly. Once everything was set up, I downloaded a Pokémon ROM from the internet (Pokémon Ruby Edition) and uploaded it to the software. There aren’t many tutorials or videos on how to begin using the software, so it was quite difficult to navigate and understand the interface at first. After browsing through and exploring for a few hours, though, I discovered ways to edit sprites, scripts, in game events, and map configurations. Throughout the week, I worked on my Hack by redesigning character sprites, Pokémon sprites, and in game text. To offer a critical stance on the underlying implications of the Pokémon objectives, I redesigned the game to be about animal cruelty. I worked pretty hard throughout the week, as I expected the project to be due on Thursday, but because of the extension, I am able to take a bit of a break before it is due this coming Tuesday. Although, I’m quite grateful for this extension because I don’t think I would’ve had enough time to produce a well thought out artist statement within the time frame. Overall, I am quite pleased with how my ROM hack is coming. This process has been extremely fun (yet painful, I’m so sorry to all the poor Pokémon I’ve redesigned) and makes me curious about how much more I can discover about the platform over the weekend.
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