Modules:
Adventure
Arcade Platformer
Brawler
Horizontal Shooter
LR Platformer
Maze
MetroVania
There are 7 different modules to choose from in NESmaker 4.5.9. There is also an empty module that will let you create most of your game code from scratch. So what are these 7 different modules? Well, in simple terms they are starting points for your game. If you want to create a game like Zelda, then you need to choose a certain module that is set up for that. If you want to make a platform game like Super Mario, then you have to select a different module. It’s important to understand that these modules are starting points. You can modify or add code to do whatever custom things you need in your game. However, that requires programming in 6502 Assembly Language. Let’s take a look at the different modules.
Adventure
Official NESmaker Tutorial (Adventure)
Scrolling: No
This module is probably the best choice when you want to make a Zelda style game. It has a top-down view setup. So there is no gravity here, which means you can’t jump or fall down (unless you make some custom code for that). The player can move up, down, left and right, and you can go to different screens when you walk to the edge of the screen. This module is set up to handle random drops from enemies (pickup objects), NPCs, melee attack and has a lot of elements like that, which comes in handy in this type of game. This is probably one of the most complicated modules and is generally not recommended as your first project.
Arcade Platformer
Official NESmaker Tutorial (Arcade Platformer)
Scrolling: No
If you want to make a game like Donkey Kong or Popeye, then this is the module for that. Here we have platform physics, which allows jumping and falling. Curiously enough, by default the player does not change to a jumping state when he jumps. So in other words you need to modify the code slightly in you want a unique animation frame for jumping. This module is perfect if all you want to do in your game is avoid enemies and pick up stuff (like for example coins or diamonds). But, of course, like all modules in NESmaker you can modify or add code to do all sorts of things. This is a perfect module to make your first test game with.
Brawler
Official NESmaker Tutorial (Brawler)
Scrolling: Yes (from left to right)
This module is the one to choose if you want to make a Double Dragon style game. Making a brawler game with this module requires a lot of knowledge about how NESmaker works. Things like making enemies move in a pattern or setting up the player attack is not quite straight forward. Although you can set up a (very basic) working beat-em-up game with this, you probably want to add or modify things here and there. Therefore, this module is not recommended as a first project to learn NESmaker.
Horizontal Shooter
Official NESmaker Tutorial (Horizontal Shooter)
Scrolling: Yes (autoscroll from left to right)
If you want to make a shoot-em-up game that automatically scrolls from left to right then this is the module for you. This module is set up so you can have both normal enemies and tile based bosses. There is no gravity is this module, which means that movement of the player will be up, down, left and right. For some reason diagonal movement was not added to the default module, but that can be added later with some custom code. Like with all NESmaker modules, this will allow you to make a basic game. There are for example no special power ups that changes the way you move or shoot. But, again, if you want that sort of thing it’s possible to add custom code for that.
LR Platformer (Left to Right)
Official NESmaker Tutorial (LR Platformer)
Scrolling: Yes (from left to right)
This is the perfect module for making games like Super Mario Bros. 1. The screen scrolls from left to right, but not the other way. So if you want to make a game like Super Mario Bros. 2 where you can scroll in both directions, then you need to choose the MetroVania module instead. In this module there are pre-made tiles that allow you to jump underneath them to reveal pickup items, and by default you can jump on enemies to kill them. This module is fairly simple and can be a good choice as a first project, if you want to learn a little about scrolling as well.
Maze
Official NESmaker Tutorial (Maze)
Scrolling: No
This is the easiest (and perhaps the best) module to start with. The setup is as basic as you can get it. There’s no gravity, so you move up, down, left and right on the screen. This module was not intended to be used for making an adventure game. Therefore it is best to design the game map with single screens. If you want to be able to move around on the map, then you should probably choose the Adventure module instead. This module is perfect for making games like Pac-Man, where you navigate around on the screen, picking up stuff and avoiding enemies. It is worth noting that to go from one screen (level) to another when you for example pick up all the items, requires a bit of custom code.
MetroVania
Official NESmaker Tutorial (MetroVania)
Scrolling: Yes (both directions)
This is probably the most popular module for making platform games. This works a lot like the LR Platformer module, but here you can scroll the screen in both directions. That is the main difference between those two modules. Jumping on enemies to kill them has been removed, but with a simple copy and paste from the LR Platformer module it is very easy to add the code back in. By default you can also go up or down a screen by using ladders or just by making holes you can jump down. However, some people experience glitches when doing that, so there are some fixes for it on the NESmaker forum. There is also an input script for shooting (with an ammo system). If you want to make a Metroidvania style game, this is the module for you.