Emerald Nova & 7Shades Talk Homebrew Game Development at MegaCon 2026

On May 9, Emerald Nova and 7Shades took the stage at MegaCon 2026 in Orlando, Fla., to share their expertise on homebrew retro game development, specifically focusing on the Sega Saturn. Their panel offered lots of great insight into the hobby and advice for folks interested in making their own homebrew games.

Key Takeaways for Retro Dev:

• Community and Resources: Emerald & 7Shades emphasize the importance of joining communities such as SegaXtreme and utilizing mature, community tested tools to avoid common pitfalls and time-consuming obstacles.
• Monetization Considerations: Emerald & 7Shades explain that modern retro dev often relies on leaked official source code and tools, which are still under copyright and directly impact the potential for monetization of the project. They emphasize the importance of using open source tools and libraries whenever possible.
• Hardware Considerations: Emerald & 7shades describe Saturn’s architecture, noting its complexity in terms of development. With multiple CPUs and distinct video processors (VDP1 for sprites/polygons and VDP2 for backgrounds), it offers both challenges and unique creative opportunities.
• Technical Workflow:
  • Game Engines: They recommend JO Engine for beginners and SRL (Sega Ring Library) for those ready to move into C++ development.
  • Assets: Optimization is crucial, so it’s important to employ the use of quads instead of triangles for rendering, manage memory via palleted sprites, and mirror textures for symmetry.
  • Tooling: Developing custom level editors or creating Blender add-ons is often necessary for professional-level results.
• Advice for Beginners: Emerald & 7Shades recommend starting with smaller projects to avoid “scope creep”, and be sure to focus on and prioritize the player experience as your ultimate metric of success, even if the code itself isn’t perfect.

Q&A Highlights:

• Emerald & 7Shades field questions regarding the difficulty of genres like open-world RPGs, due to memory limitations.
• They offer insights and personal takes on using AI in development (not recommended for hardware-specific code, often resulting in incorrect function calls).
• They also emphasize that while Sega Saturn development is a niche, it’s rewarding and has a highly active community for those who appreciate the technical mystique of the hardware.