Preface: To Publishers - Nintendo GAME BOY Programming Manual

PREFACE: TO PUBLISHERS

NINTENDO GAME BOY COLOR SOFTWARE PRE-APPROVAL
REQUIREMENTS
Prior to submitting your CGB software to Lot Check for approval, it is required that you submit it to the Licensee
Product Support Group for pre-approval. To assist us with the evaluation of your CGB software and/or product
proposal(s), please refer to the following requirements when submitting materials* for approval.
* Please do not send original artwork or materials, as they will not be returned.
CGB software and/or product proposals are evaluated based on the following criteria:
•
Use of Color
To ensure that the expectations of the Game Boy Color consumer are met, Mario Club will evaluate the use
of color in all CGB games (dual or dedicated) using the following criteria:
◊
Differentiation - If a game is to be considered CGB-compatible, then it must appear significantly more
colorful than a monochrome Game Boy game when "colorized" by the CGB hardware. The principal
measure of this is the number of colors in the background (BG) and the number of colors in the objects
(OBJ).
◊
Simultaneous Colors - Because CGB hardware automatically "colorizes" monochrome games with up
to four colors in the BG palette and up to six colors for two OBJ palettes (three colors per palette), a
game typically must display more colors than this automatic "colorization" to be considered a CGB
game.
◊
Appropriate use of Color - Objects in the game that are based on reality (trees, rocks, animals, and
so on) should be a color that we would normally associate with them. For fictional objects, colors
should be chosen to show appropriate detail and, when needed, to differentiate unlike objects.
◊
Variety of Colors - The CGB is capable of producing a wide range of colors (32,768 to be exact --
albeit not all at the same time). A CGB game should use this capability of the hardware to yield
distinctly different colors for objects, characters, areas, and so on.
◊
Contrast & Saturation - Two of the elements that make a game look colorful are high contrast and
"saturated" or vibrant colors. Pastel colors on a white background will not seem nearly as colorful as
the same colors on a dark background. Not every game can use a dark background, but the intensity
of the colors should still be maximized as much as possible.
Please detail or demonstrate how your game will utilize color capabilities of the CGB. Use whatever means
will best allow you to do so, such as artists renderings, programmed demos, ROM images, written
descriptions, and so on.
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Preface: To Publishers