Learn SNES development step by step. 83 examples organized by topic, building from basic concepts to complete games.

Learning Path

A curated progression — it doesn't list every example. Use the category table above for the full set; anything not listed here is a variant or deep-dive of a step below.

Level 1 – First Steps

#	Example	What You Will Learn
1	text/print_string	Your first ROM: text on a background, the VBlank rhythm
2	text/scroll_message	Move text – bgSetScroll on the text layer
3	sprites/simple_sprite	OAM, sprite display, CGRAM split
4	input/two_players	Joypad reading, multiplayer input

Level 2 – Graphics Fundamentals

#	Example	What You Will Learn
5	backgrounds/mode1	Mode 1 multi-layer backgrounds
6	backgrounds/mode1_bg3_priority	BG3 priority bit in Mode 1
7	backgrounds/mode1_lz77	LZ77-compressed background data
8	sprites/animated_sprite	Frame animation, sprite sheets, H-flip
9	sprites/dynamic_sprite	VRAM streaming, dynamic tile uploads
10	sprites/sprite_sizes	OBJSEL sprite size configurations
11	transitions/fading	Brightness control, screen transitions
12	transitions/mosaic	Mosaic pixelation effect

Level 3 – Scrolling and Effects

#	Example	What You Will Learn
13	scrolling/continuous_scroll	Streaming background scroll with dynamic tile loading
14	scrolling/mixed_scroll	Multiple BG layers scrolling at different rates
15	hdma/hdma_wave	HDMA scanline wave distortion
15b	hdma/hdma_wave_table	Raw HDMA table built in C, krom-style repoint animation
15c	hdma/hdma_indirect_gradient	Indirect HDMA: pointer table drives a backdrop gradient (krom port)
15d	color/hicolor_1792	H-IRQ CGRAM streaming: 1792 colors from a 4bpp BG (krom port)
15e	mode7/perspective_rotate	Full Mode 7 matrix per scanline: rotating perspective (krom port)
15f	backgrounds/mode5_hires	BG Mode 5 + interlace: 512x448 hi-res text (krom port)
15g	windows/window_multi_hdma	Both windows shaped per scanline: HDMA porthole grid (krom port)
15h	color/gradient_9bit	Brightness-dithered backdrop: the 9-bit color trick (krom port)
15j	color/hicolor_blend	RGB channel-split color-math blend: 3840 colors (krom port)
15k	color/direct_color	Direct color: 8bpp pixel bytes read as BBGGGRRR, CGRAM bypassed
16	hdma/gradient_colors	HDMA + CGRAM color gradients
17	scrolling/parallax_scroll	HDMA parallax scrolling
18	color/transparency	Color math (add/subtract blending)
19	windows/window	Hardware window masking
20	windows/transparent_window	Color math + HDMA windowed transparency

Level 4 – Advanced Topics

#	Example	What You Will Learn
21	mode7/rotate_scale	Mode 7 rotation and scaling
22	mode7/perspective	Pseudo-3D perspective (F-Zero style)
23	sprites/metasprite	Multi-tile composite sprites
24	input/mouse	Mouse detection, cursor, sensitivity
25	input/superscope	Light gun detection, PPU H/V counters
26	memory/hirom_demo	HiROM vs LoROM memory mapping
27	memory/save_game	SRAM persistence (battery saves)
28	audio/snesmod_music	SPC700 music playback via SNESMOD
29	audio/snesmod_sfx	Sound effects via SNESMOD
42c	audio/speech_synth	Phoneme-bank speech synthesis: the SNES says "OPEN SNES" (krom port)
42d	audio/play_noise	Drum kit from the DSP noise generator — zero samples (krom port)
42e	audio/pitch_mod	Hardware vibrato: PMON pitch modulation + LFO voice (krom port)
42f	audio/apu_switch	Hot-swap APU programs at runtime: apuReset() + IPL re-entry
42g	audio/soundboard	The audio v2 engine from pure C: dynamic samples, pan/pitch, echo

Level 5 – Maps and Complete Projects

#	Example	What You Will Learn
30	maps/dynamic_map	Dynamic tile map streaming
31	maps/slope_collision	Slopes and tile-based collision
32	basics/collision_demo	Bounding-box sprite collision
33	games/breakout	Complete game: sprites, input, game logic
34	games/likemario	Platformer with scrolling and animation
35	games/mapandobjects	Maps with interactive objects
36	games/mode7_racing	F-Zero-style racing: the Mode 7 camera, fixed-point physics, banked data
37	games/mode7_flying	Pilotwings-style flying: altitude-as-scale, shadow depth cue, landings
38	games/rpg	RPG template: a Tiled (.tmj) map drives terrain, collision and entities; 9-slice dialog box

Building

# Build all examples
cd opensnes
make
 
# Build a single example
make -C examples/text/print_string
 
# Clean and rebuild
make clean && make

Running

We recommend Mesen2 for accurate SNES emulation:

mesen examples/text/print_string/print_string.sfc

Use Mesen's built-in debugger to inspect VRAM, OAM, palettes, and registers in real time.

Tips

Follow the order – each example builds on concepts from earlier ones
Read the source – every main.c is commented to explain the "why"
Experiment – change values, break things, see what happens
Use the debugger – Mesen2's PPU viewer is invaluable for understanding VRAM

Ready? Start with text/print_string and build your first SNES ROM.

Audio Backgrounds Basics Examples Enhancement chips Colour Fundamentals Complete Game Examples HDMA & raster Input & peripherals Maps Memory Examples Mode 7 Scrolling Sprites Text Examples Transitions Windows

Category	Examples	What It Covers
text/	2	Text display, fonts, tilemaps
fundamentals/	1	Under-the-hood: raw tiles, direct VRAM writes
basics/	8	Collision, timing, scene stack, randomness, fixed-point, aiming, HUD panels, game skeleton
backgrounds/	8	BG modes 0/1/2/3/5, priority, LZ77, hi-res, offset-per-tile
sprites/	7	Sprite display, animation, OAM, metasprites, VRAM streaming, swarm
hdma/	5	Per-scanline HDMA effects: gradients, waves, raster
color/	7	Palette cycling, colour math, shadow/tint, direct colour, hi-colour tricks
windows/	3	Hardware window masking, shaped per scanline
transitions/	2	Screen transitions: fade, mosaic pixelate
scrolling/	3	Layer scrolling: parallax, streaming, per-scanline HDMA
mode7/	3	Mode 7: rotation, scaling, per-scanline perspective
input/	5	Joypads, drive a sprite, mouse, Super Scope, multi-player
audio/	10	Music and sound effects: SNESMOD and raw APU/DSP
maps/	4	Tile maps, dynamic streaming, slopes
memory/	2	HiROM mode, battery-backed saves
chips/	5	Enhancement chips: SA-1 and SuperFX/GSU coprocessors
games/	8	Complete game projects (Tetris, Breakout, Mario-like, map+objects, 1942-style shmup, Mode 7 racing + flying, Tiled-driven RPG)

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