Interview with Loopy
Jay Lanagan - May 26, 1999
How or what was it that interested you in emulation, particularly to write an emulator?
A few years ago someone showed me an Apple2 emulator. It's a computer I played with a lot when I was younger, so naturally I got a big kick out of it. The source code was distributed with the emulator, so I learned how it worked and decided I could make one myself.
As far as LoopyNES goes, what do you see yourself doing to it in the near future? What would you like to add the most?
I think what it needs most now is more mapper support. It handles relatively few mappers, compared with the other popular emulators out there.
(If not answered in the last question) Do you plan to add Famicom Disk System support ever?
I'd like to try sometime.. but for now, it's not a very high priority. (Actually, earlier versions of my emulator had some support for it, but only a couple of games worked so I didn't tell anyone.)
NES emulation currently seems at a halt, do you think there will be a revival or second coming?
No, I'd be surprised if there was. I wouldn't say a halt, but it's become saturated.. there are still NES emulators being made but they're all similar and people have lost interest.
As far as LoopyNES's releases go, why do you choose to release "secret betas" instead of normal versions?
It's not meant to be a big secret or anything, I just wanted to keep the 'unstable' versions away from the general public.
Why did you choose to disable the sound in the "secret betas"?
The sound was being rewritten. It wasn't complete so I left it out.
What would you say has been the hardest mapper to emulate? and why?
Hmm.. well so far, I've avoided the hard ones :) Maybe mapper 9 (MMC2). It's not so much hard as it is a pain in the neck. It works much different from the other mappers, the PPU code needs some messy modifications to make it work right.
Do you have any other projects that you are working on involving emulation? if so what?
Nope, LoopyNES is my only project.
What would you say your favorite NES game(s) is(are)?
Well.. I can't think of any particular favorites. Just the classics, you know.. Zelda, Metroid, Megaman, etc.
What are your views on emulation of next-generation systems?
For pushing the technical limits of emulation, they're great. Unfortunately, they attract bad attention from game companies and give emulation as a whole a bad image. I really think they're more trouble than they're worth; other than the novelty of them, I don't think they have much purpose. The usual reasons given for game emulators (nostalgia, preservation, etc.) don't apply.
Do you think there will ever be a truce between the IDSA, Nintendo, and other companies which from time to time like to put a scare into emulation?
No, probably not.. I don't think it matters much though. Emulation will go on, no matter what the big companies try to do about it.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, and if you have anything else you would like to add, please do so.
Thanks to everyone who's given me their support, you've been great.
