Computer programmer Byuu marks 15 years since the launch of his popular video game console emulator, Higan.
Higan, commonly stylized higan, is a leading emulator for multiple video game consoles, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Developed by Byuu, also famed for Bsnes, or bsnes, a dedicated Super Nintendo emulator, the software this month celebrates its 15th birthday.
Initially released on October 14, 2004, and written in C++14 and C99 for operating systems including Windows, Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD, the most recent stable release was published by Byuu on November 19, 2017, under a GNU GPLv3 license.
“October 14, 2019, marks 15 years since the launch of Higan,” explains Byuu, who recently participated in a highly successful Reddit AMA—or ‘Ask Me Anything’—event hosted by the popular PC gaming community, r/pcgaming. The interactive interview event, he reveals, attracted dozens of questions and hundreds of comments from more than 50 enthusiastic Reddit users. “Taking place on Saturday, September 28, my AMA was also a nice way to mark this month’s anniversary of the initial release of Higan,” adds Byuu.
Other AMA events hosted by r/pcgaming in 2019 have, alongside Byuu, featured names including Stone Lantern Games, Finite Reflection Studios, Alien Pixel Studios, Modus Games, Triumph Studios, Virtuverse, and Gunfire Games, as well as Gamecube and Wii emulator Dolphin, Xbox 360 emulator Xenia, and PS3 emulator RPCS3.
Byuu also recently announced the launch of Byuu.net. Dedicated to helping other emulator developers, both veteran and aspiring, the website promises free technical writings on emulator software development.
Through Byuu.net, Byuu intends to publish regular technical writings and in-depth articles and resources, completely free of charge, dedicated to the development of software emulators and broken down into seven primary sections including ‘Video,’ ‘Audio,’ ‘Game Bugs,’ ‘Compact Discs,’ and ‘Advice.’
Technical articles already published to the website by Byuu include ‘Advice: We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants,’ ‘Game Bugs: Super Nintendo,’ ‘Compact Discs: Disc Structure,’ ‘Audio: Dynamic Rate Control,’ ‘Video: Color Emulation,’ and more.
A computer programmer with more than two decades of experience, Byuu has been employed as a software engineer for the past 13 years. His primary focus, he says, is on systems programming. Working as a developer in emulation has, Byuu reveals, proved a constant challenge, and one which has helped him to grow both professionally and as a person. “I feel privileged,” he adds, wrapping up, “to be able to be a part of this scene.”
To learn more about Byuu, visit https://byuu.org/. To learn more about Higan specifically, meanwhile, or to download a free copy of the popular video game emulator, head to https://higan.byuu.org/.
