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Revision as of 21:06, 23 February 2008 by Nitro2k01 (Talk | contribs) (Account registration)

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Welcome to the GBDev Wiki.

Account registration

To avoid spam, and because this Wiki is of pretty narrow interest, I have decided to employ a strict account activation system. In order to create and edit pages, you first need to create an account, and then send an e-mail to me at [nitro2k01@gmail.com] telling me which user name you registered with. Sorry for the inconvenience, but in my opinion it's easier to activate users one by one than it is to clean up the Wiki from spam.

Unregistered users can still participate in page discussions though.

About the GBDev Wiki

The GBDev Wiki is an effort to collect and systemize information about the Gameboy-Z80, its hardware, tools for software development, perhaps example source code, and serve as a reference for people who might be interested in Gameboy software development and hardware modification. The information is out there. But as I see it there are a couple of problems that with the fact that the information i scattered over the internet.

  • It might be hard to find some of the more obscure information. Having the information in a Wiki will make it more readily accessible for those who might search for it.
  • Most information on the net is not editable. By putting this information in a Wiki, anyone can contribute to the information.
  • As time passes by, some information will vanish, because people who used to develop for and document the old Gameboy models will probably have forgotten their passwords/not care about their old web space accounts, etc. I will guarantee that he information in this Wiki will survive many years to come.

Therefore, I believe a Wiki is a good format for the information.

Mission/Guidelines

What goes into the wiki?

  • Technical documents that exist as text documents should be converted to Wiki formatted pages.
  • Emulators, debuggers, compilers and other tools should have their own page with a short description. If applicable, screenshots and other useful information should exist on the same page.
  • Hardware information, such as schematics, pinouts and other information. One problem here is that I have a limited space so, adding too many images will make me run out of space. Using free image hosts is not a good option either, since they will sooner or later expire, and thus it is counter-productive to the mission of this Wiki.
  • Games - This is not a game database, alas no (commercial) games should be added. If information about a game is added, there should be a good reason. A couple of possible exceptions: Pocket Music, Gameboy Camera, documentation of games that are using interestig programming techniques.
  • I officially support the idea of adding information about Gameboy music and related software here. However, this Wiki should be more of a technical database, not a general chiptune Wiki. So no artist bios and the like here. The [8bitcollective Wiki] is better suited for such articles.

What about the structure?

Here are some suggestions of categories/article series:

  • Gameboy models (Where each model has a page with information, release year, model number, quirks etc)
  • Music software
  • Other homebrew
  • Tutorials
  • Development tools
  • CPU and I/O reference
  • Peripheral devices, both official ones (Such as the printer) and homebrew devices (Like FirestARTer's MIDI converter) Where applicable and possible, such articles should contain some information on how to interface the peripheral.

Copyright Issues

I expect most information added to this Wiki to be implicitely or explicitely in the public domain, or being an original creation for the Wiki. But nevertheless, I want all information to have a source. (Even if that source is yourself) This is not only a copyright issue, but I aso want all information to be traceable. However, if in doubt whether to add a certain piece of information, ask me at nitro2k01@gmail.com

MediaWiki information

Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.

Getting started