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Step 8Where Do I Go From Here?
Having trouble getting started with the whole chiptune composing thing? Need inspiration, tips, tricks, and a place to show off your latest tune? For all things chiptunes, and by extension retro gaming, there's 8bitcollective.com . They have a vibrant community of chiptune composers who would be more than willing to help you out in your career.
Want to expand the capabilities of your ArduinoBoy? Your ArduinoBoy has a built-in function that mGB doesn't actually utilize: MIDI out, specifically, MIDI synchronization. Nanoloop and LSDJ , however, are not only compatible with the ArduinoBoy hardware, but they are able to use this unutilized feature, allowing you to synchronize your GameBoy's sounds with other programmable MIDI instruments, like drums.
Okay, you are now a successful chiptune composer and performer, but now you have a bunch of gigs to go to and you want to lighten the load as much as possible. What are you going to do? Well, so long as you are only using the ArduinoBoy's MIDI in port, you can severely reduce its size. Simply use as small an Arduino clone you can find and leave out the MIDI out port. After all, it seems to work for trash80.
As for me, I'm looking to make a few improvements to my prototype while simultaneously learning more about how it works and how I can compose some real music with it. I'm thinking about designing a few PCBs in Eagle CAD for two different versions: one that uses through-hole components and DIP package ICs, like this one, and another that uses surface mount components whenever possible so I can try out the hotplate reflow solder method and make (hopefully) the smallest full-fledged ArduinoBoy ever made.
Above all, whatever you decide to do with your ArduinoBoy, have fun. If you aren't having fun, then you are obviously doing something wrong. Remember that like everything else in life, composing chiptunes is not about beating someone else. It is about beating yourself, making each tune you compose better than the last. Nobody ever got famous for doing something they didn't love.
Questions? Comments? Marriage proposals? Death threats? Post them below.
Want to expand the capabilities of your ArduinoBoy? Your ArduinoBoy has a built-in function that mGB doesn't actually utilize: MIDI out, specifically, MIDI synchronization. Nanoloop and LSDJ , however, are not only compatible with the ArduinoBoy hardware, but they are able to use this unutilized feature, allowing you to synchronize your GameBoy's sounds with other programmable MIDI instruments, like drums.
Okay, you are now a successful chiptune composer and performer, but now you have a bunch of gigs to go to and you want to lighten the load as much as possible. What are you going to do? Well, so long as you are only using the ArduinoBoy's MIDI in port, you can severely reduce its size. Simply use as small an Arduino clone you can find and leave out the MIDI out port. After all, it seems to work for trash80.
As for me, I'm looking to make a few improvements to my prototype while simultaneously learning more about how it works and how I can compose some real music with it. I'm thinking about designing a few PCBs in Eagle CAD for two different versions: one that uses through-hole components and DIP package ICs, like this one, and another that uses surface mount components whenever possible so I can try out the hotplate reflow solder method and make (hopefully) the smallest full-fledged ArduinoBoy ever made.
Above all, whatever you decide to do with your ArduinoBoy, have fun. If you aren't having fun, then you are obviously doing something wrong. Remember that like everything else in life, composing chiptunes is not about beating someone else. It is about beating yourself, making each tune you compose better than the last. Nobody ever got famous for doing something they didn't love.
Questions? Comments? Marriage proposals? Death threats? Post them below.
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Thanks in advance,
Sukoa