Jared “Gapporin” Bottorff has written an excellent overview of homebrew and flashcards for the Nintendo DS. Here is part one of Jared’s four part series.

DS Flashcards and You
Part I: Introduction/DLDI/The Games
by Jared “Gapporin” Bottorff

So you’ve bought a flashcard for your Nintendo DS. You’ve taken that first step into the world of DS homebrew. There is one question, however, that still lingers: Where to begin? The sheer amount of applications and games available is staggering, and no one certainly has the time to try everything that has come down the pike. That’s where I hope this guide comes in handy – as a reference to simplify the world of DS homebrew and to point out the best of what it has to offer.

Before we get into the meat of the subject, though, there should be a few words about the concept of “DLDI patching”. In ye olden days of DS homebrew, it was the homebrewer’s responsibility to make sure that his program worked in every card available at the time. Of course, this required very extensive betaing and development, and the author usually had to outsource beta testing to multiple people, as he often did not own or have access to every type of card available. Even under these circumstances, compatibility was very low from card to card.

When DLDI was created, however, this changed dramatically. DLDI stands for “Dynamic Linked Disc Interface”. DLDI’s main purpose is to allow homebrew programs to read and write files on the memory card inserted into one of the DS’s slots. Since every card works differently, different patches have been created for each card. If a homebrewer adds the ability for his program to be DLDI patched, it means that his program ensures compatibility between cards, no matter how it was originally programmed. Not all programs have the ability to use DLDI, but most homebrewers now use it as the “de facto” mode of compatibility.

How DLDI works is thusly: For example, a person who wants to use homebrew on their DS has a Supercard DS One card. They would need two different files: The DLDI patcher itself and a specific DLDI driver for the Supercard DS One. After loading the driver into the patcher, the person would then point the patcher to the DS homebrew file they would like to patch. The DLDI patcher inserts the specific patch onto the DS file, and the file is then ready to be transferred onto the flashcard. A file can be patched indefinitely, so that when you want to change the DLDI driver used on a DS file, the new patch simply overwrites the old one.

If the above sounds complicated, it’s really not. You simply have to make sure that you have the right driver for the flashcard that you use, and the DLDI patcher simply does the rest. Some manufacturers have even taken it one step further, and added the ability for the flashcard to auto-DLDI patch any file with their specific driver once that file is first run. It’s virtually pain free, and it saves the homebrewer tons of testing and headache.

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So now that you know how you can run homebrew on your card, let’s start running down some of the better homebrew games that are available to play:

– Closed: Some may remember Notporn, which was a series of difficult puzzles using various methods of Internet and web browser manipulation. Closed brings the same idea to the DS. You are given a scene, and it’s up to you to figure out the clues in order to solve the puzzle. Some scenes may be solved by using the screen. Some scenes may be solved by physically manipulating your DS in other ways. A real mind binder.

– Kongregate: Simple to play, but hard to master. In this game, your stylus acts a magnet, attracting to small dots to the wherever you press on the screen. You cannot touch these dots, or you will lose. A small grey box also appears on the screen, which your stylus also cannot touch. You also cannot lift your stylus up away from the screen at any time during the game. The object of the game is to make the small dots smash against the box without either of them. Very simple in concept, but once the dots start adding up and adding up, it becomes a frenzy to avoid all the objects on screen. Deceptively fun.

– Lemmings DS: A port of the Amiga version of Lemmings, faithfully recreated for use on the DS. Not only are all the original Lemmings levels available, but all the levels from “Oh No! More Lemmings” are included, plus the 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994 Christmas Lemmings levels. That’s almost 300 levels to play through! Other features include the ability to create your own levels, plus automatic progress saving, which means that you don’t have to remember any more long passwords. Lemmings DS also makes use of the DS stylus, and has the option to magnify and zero in on any part of the screen.

– Nethack DS: The classic Nethack game ported to the Nintendo DS. Even though Nethack can be easily played on just one screen, both screens are used in this port. The top screen displays information and status messages, while the bottom contains your playfield. The stylus is implemented for movement and menu selection (but the joypad can be used as well). You can also have the option to use enhanced graphics and tiles, or scale it back and use the old ASCII art for your character and enemies. A great time waster.

– No Place To Hide: A series of ten mini-games that all have one goal in mind: Avoid all objects. Using the stylus, you must guide your character away from the multiplying baddies filling up the screen. Seems simple in execution, but it becomes harder to succeed as the game progresses. Each mini-game has its own theme, and some of the games have additional requirements besides avoiding (for example, one uses the joypad instead of the stylus).

– Omalone: Here’s an interesting puzzler. The object of the game is to push your opponent’s pieces off the board. The game boards look like a variation of Chinese checkers, with each player’s pieces off to its own side. The way you push your opponent’s pieces off is by grouping your pieces together and moving them in the direction of your opponent. If you want to push one of your opponent’s pieces in a certain direction, you have to move two of your pieces against your opponents. If you want to move two of the opponent’s pieces, you have to group three of yours together, and so on. A lot of strategy has to be involved if you want to win. There’s seven different characters to play against (plus a couple unlockable), with varying difficulties either skewed towards the player or the CPU. You can also play a 2-player game using the same DS, or over a Wi-Fi connection.

– Pocket Physics: Not really a game, per se, but one you’ll still spend quality time playing. You are given a blank screen, and the ability to draw two types of lines: Blue and red. Red lines are static, and stay in place wherever they are drawn. Blue lines are affected by physics, and drop, bounce or roll. You can use these two types of lines to draw various contraptions. For example, a red line may be a wall or a floor, and the blue line may be drawn into a wheel. Once you draw everything you would like and see the results of added physics, you can either start it over and make modifications to your original plan, or pick up from where it ended and add more objects. An interesting diversion.

– Puzzle Maniak: Like the name suggests, this game for puzzle maniacs. Twenty-seven different puzzle games are integrated into one. The selections range from the well-known (Sudoku, Lights Out, Picross, Mastermind) to the more obscure (Tents, Netslide, and Inertia). The game even features a Daily Challenge, in which players compete on a new puzzle each day for points and bragging rights.

– Sensitive DS: Based off the old Commodore 64 game, Sensitive requires the player to move around a certain shape or outline in order to reach an Exit square. However, it usually must be attempted in one try, because once you cross certain sections of the outline, they disappear and you cannot retrace your steps. Not only does Sensitive DS have multiple puzzles, there is also an “Endurance” mode in which you have to beat a series of puzzles without dying, or else you must start at the beginning.

– Spout: An interesting shooter concept. In Spout, you play as…well, a spout, shooting out multiple streams of dots in one direction. However, gravity plays a part as well. To levitate upwards, you must shoot your dots downwards to propel yourself up. The object of the game is to get as high as you can. There are dirt-like shapes and obstacles blocking your path in the air, though. To destroy them, you must shoot your stream of dots into the obstacle, but being careful not to run into any other obstacles or fall down to the ground. The majority of the game is spent balancing out trying not to run into any obstacles while trying to stay in the air. There are many versions of this game available for the DS, but I recommend SpoutEx, which adds color, sound and score keeping to the main game.

– Square DS: A port of the flash game Squares, you control a small black square with your stylus. The goal is to avoid red squares that cross the screen while collecting black squares similar to your own. The more you collect black squares, the bigger the main square gets, and thus, the harder it is to avoid the red ones. Fortunately, there are black circles that give you power-ups, such as more points, invincibility and size shrinkage. On the other hand, there are red circles that can be collected, but make your job more difficult. Simple and addicting.

– Tetatt DS: A Tetris Attack clone created for the DS. Although it may be a takeoff of an already popular game, Tetatt shows a lot of potential. The graphics and music are all original, and the creator throws in a variety of modes, such as Endless and even Wi-Fi play. In addition, all the high scores are saved onto the card when you play. If you’re a fan of Tetris Attack, you’ll feel right at home with Tetatt DS.

– Word Up!: If you’ve ever played Scrabble Blast, Boggle or anything else similar in execution, then you already know the basic premise of this game. Multiple lines of letters fill up the bottom screen of the DS, which each letter containing a different point value. Your job is to make a line from one letter to another and make words from the different letters. Once a word is formed, those letters disappear and more drop down. If the top screen fills up with letters as well, the game is over. Bombs are special items that can wipe out single lines of letters from the screen. What makes “Word Up!” stand out, however, is simply the presentation of the game. The game looks, feels and is programmed so professionally, it is probably one of the very few DS homebrew programs that could justify having a price tag attached to it. There’s also an unlockable “Arcade” mode that contains half the fun just trying to rack up enough points to try to unlock it. A very solid title.

– World Of Sand: If you’ve ever dabbled with the World Of Sand flash game, you know what to expect here. Another “non-game”, the concept of World Of Sand is unique. Four different colors of sand particles drop from the top of the screen. These can be turned off and on, and there’s a variety of objects to use with the sand. Walls can be built to keep sand in sections, and effects such as green plants may affect one type of sand and not the others. Despite the fact that there is no real object to the game, that does not stop some people from spending lots of time with it.

Next time in Part II, I will talk about the various emulators you can run on your Nintendo DS, and get you on your way to playing all the classics from yesteryear.