What's the point of homebrew?

[Alato]

There was another thread pretty recently about the current state of homebrew and that got me thinking;

Why do we hack our consoles? I'm talking about exploiting closed hardware to run code & develop unofficial software.

I got into homebrew during the height of the DS scene, and times were different. Aside from the relative ease of acquiring a flash cart and running homebrew on it, there were some clear benefits to doing so: suddenly, I was using my DS as an mp3 player, I was downloading and watching movies/TV shows anywhere, I was reading e-books, doing my homework, running GBC and NES games, and even using IRC chat while in my bed (Plus there were some cool homebrew games released, too).

Things are different now, though. Namely, everything I mentioned can be accomplished on my smartphone- plus a lot more. Amateur game development is as accessible as it's ever been. Developing homebrew on consoles like the 3DS, Wii U, Switch or whatever is a lot more tedious and difficult than developing software for a smartphone or computer.

So what's the purpose? Why do you do it? I'd love to hear some thoughts.

 

[8BitWonder]

Other:
I initially hacked my 3DS to try my hand at C and C++ with small apps, eventually branched off to Lua too.

At this point though I do a little bit of everything you've listed in the poll on multiple systems.

 

[Deleted User]

I've often asked this question myself many, many times.

Part of it is so that you can have a nifty little emulation devices that, in many cases, is portable, and runs on the same hardware that gets new and current releases. Sure, you could probably buy a dedicated emulation machine or cobble together a Raspberry Pi into a case with buttons and a battery, but why spend that extra money in the first place if you've already got an old 3DS lying about?

Also, "backups" are a huge incentive for modding a system. Some people are just plain broke, and want to play the latest releases, legality not withstanding.

Homebrew games are less and less a reason for modding systems, especially considering how easy it is to release a game the official way these days. Back in the days of the DS and PSP Scenes, developers had to pay hundreds of dollars to work on big, expensive devkits. Nowadays, companies make it easy for you to release your game for a small fee and minimal effort.

On a more personal note, I keep oscillating between being involved in the Homebrew scene and being inactive. However, I will admit one thing, though; the 3DS Homebrew Scene was the driving factor for helping me learn C/C++, and much of my (probably very little) knowledge about the languages is derived from messing around with useless Homebrew applications cough cough like FidgetSpinner3DS cough cough. It's practically a godsend now, considering how bad my C Professor in Uni is this semester.

I guess I still keep a passing interest in Homebrew scenes because it's what keeps me learning and programming. Without scenes like these, I don't think I would've had the incentive to learn more about coding and go through with being a Computer Science Major.

 

[Deleted User]

Essentially to run unsigned code for more controll over my console,aswell as everything else such as backups,emulators,mod menus.Anything that you cant do on ofw cfw will allow a homebrew app which is unsighned code that will bypass that limitation.

 

[Kawaii]

Its just human. Curious, rebellious, creative nature of us. Why follow the rule when you can bend it. Dont tell me you dont ever once bend the rules and comes out proud about it.

Essentially restricted hardware are sets of rules that ordinary people need to follow. Those tallented get more out of it by bypassing the restriction and might as well helps others along the way.

This pattern is seen everywhere around us. We human will always look for improvement hence the reason we advance since stone age

 

[Sakitoshi]

backups and emulators are the main reason why everyone jumps on the hacking bandwagon unless you are the hacker that did the hacking to prove yourself and/or because you can.

 

[VinsCool]

Because it's fun to make your console do things that wasn't intended to.

 

[Shadowfied]

Usually to play backups. And honestly, yeah, mostly backups. I'm in that shitty situation where I love having physical games but I practically refuse to carry around a bunch of cartridges (which is why PC is perfect for this, since practically all games are redeemed digitally, so you get both).

With the Switch, I'm excited to see the scene do Nintendos job better (or rather, at all) and see if it can reach what it should be as well, a tablet. Maybe some sort of web browser (at the very least, a shortcut to the built in applet meme) and a video player, a Plex client, etc. In fact, I'd be pretty damn excited if we could get the thing multi booting with Android. Would be nice to have a fully functional tablet and an awesome game system all in one.

 

[DarthDub]

I like tinkering.

 

[FAST6191]

My device. My rules. I know what computing can accomplish and while I don't care if some commercial entity does not think they can make it work I want to be able to try my hand. This can range from modifying existing code (I have endless time, better tools and the desire to use it -- I can fix or alter your game into something I want to play more than the baseline), making ways to have that existing code more convenient (be that a SD card loader or just being able to chain together a few services for my particular whims), bypassing whatever restrictions might have been placed (my device, my rules again) through to writing new stuff to doing things that software patents (*spits*) or general legal types would never allow.

More practically I ask myself the same question all the time now.
During the original xbox it was a fantastic and reasonably powerful device that 90% resembled a PC (something most know how to code for), had a nice controller and plugged into my TV. Despite lacking VGA or something the wii was kind of similar.
The GBA and DS did also represent some of the best in class devices that were portable with a usable screen, and a network stack in the case of the DS.

Today I have so many better choices by default as far as openness goes, better choices as far as computing power goes, conventional consumer "TV" screens long ago gained VGA and then HDMI and also gained useful resolutions, and best in class controllers can be piped in over bluetooth or USB (there is a reason console controller adapters thrived until the 360 came along).

I still want to see all the hacks and devices blown wide open as I can think of no good reason for it not to be done, however I am not sure it represents something very special as much as "why not?".

 

[RHOPKINS13]

I've been softmodding all my consoles since the original Xbox. Homebrew is pretty cool, XBMC was amazing back then. Suddenly I felt like my Xbox could do anything, I even used it to throw up a photo slideshow for my grandparents' 50th anniversary. I also put together usb adapters so I could use a keyboard, mouse, and flash drive on my Xbox. Lol, I even used it to watch porn in my bedroom (used LinksBoks to surf the web and download videos, then switched to XBMC to watch them.)

Yes, most homebrew games would be easier to develop for a smartphone, but I think there's something cool about running your own code on a console that normally would prevent it. In college I ported one of my C++ assignments to the Wii, complete with wiimote input. My professor was very impressed, and it was fun to do.

Some of the most common homebrew apps that get released are emulators. I myself am very excited to play some SNES games on my Switch, on the go. To me it feels much more natural to play emulated games on an actual gaming device than it does on a smartphone. With gaming consoles you don't have near as much stuff running in the background, and emulators written for them are optimized better for them. Plus I hate fiddling with bluetooth controllers on a smartphone.

And of course backup loading is probably the number one reason people hack their consoles. And considering I have a 5 year old at home, I can attest that there are legitimate reasons for it aside from piracy.

 

[Brigand]

We pay so much for electronics, I reckon we should be able to push them to their absolute limits. This is what hacking/homebrew can achieve. Not to mention it's fun and interesting!

 

[AdenTheThird]

I Homebrewed my 3ds mostly so I could use PKHeX, but I learned a lot about what it could do, and eventually got a Play Coin setter, CTGP-7, and VirtuaNES before switching to CFW.

 

[Condarkness_XY]

The point of homebrew? Well, I would say the ultimate point is to explore a systems capabilities. Some homebrew work some do not, it depends on the system and it's specs.