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Editorials   Game Boy Advance of the Future!
- By Eric Tajchman

The Game Boy Advance is being redefined constantly by the breakthroughs of existing technologies and introduction of new technologies. Many people expected no more than SNES quality graphics from it, but games such as Golden Sun and Rayman have radically altered this perception. Now, the Game Boy Advance is being pushed to the limits again. Raylight Studios has introduced its Blue Rose 3D engine for the Game Boy Advance that uses polygons instead of pixels or sprites. Polygons, eh? That’s right, fully 3D polygonal worlds and advanced 3D character rendering. Though Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for the Game Boy Advance uses polygons to render characters and levels into 2D, this goes beyond all previous expectations. The Blue Rose 3D engine has enough potential to create impressive-looking PSX-rivaling graphics and games, if it is everything that it promises. But I’m not here to talk specifically about Raylight’s Blue Rose 3D engine. I’m here to talk about the long-term Game Boy Advance, the Game Boy Advance of 5 years from now.

With the way that the graphical revolutions have been coming frequently, it’s very hard to picture what the Game Boy Advance is incapable of doing. In only one year of the system’s release, the 32-bit system that wasn’t made for 3D processing is producing 3D graphics.

First, more SNES games will become updated ports on the Game Boy Advance . . . obviously. There were many popular games for both the Genesis and SNES, so it’s probable that both Sega and Nintendo would choose to port over those titles highly acclaimed on the two rivaling 16-bit machines.

Second, the improving technologies that already exist can allow for graphically superior games than before . . . obviously. Raylight’s Blue Rose 3D engine rivals a first-generation Playstation game. The demo pictures show a Wipeout type futuristic racer, a 3D-modeled airplane and a PSX Resident Evil type of corridor shooter.

Third, new technologies can offer leaps never before imagined . . . obviously. Think about how far the SNES came technologically. Rare’s Donkey Kong Country used new, innovative and slick graphics and the console had only been released for 3 years. The Game Boy Color had a port of this game with almost as impressive graphics as the SNES version, and the game went down from a 16-bit architecture to an 8-bit architecture. The more time you have with a machine, the more familiar you can become with it and create new technology to push the system into a direction not yet thought of.

That is why I predict that someday, maybe 3 or 5 years from now, we will be seeing N64 ports on the handheld. But I hear you say, “What?! That’s insane!! That could never happen!! Are you high on NyQuil?!” Well, I may be a little woozy, but the thought can’t escape the bounds of reality. Sure, the graphics may be downgraded a bit, but with leaps and bounds being made now, it’s not far that we may be seeing Super Mario 64 on the little 32-bit machine. Granted, not all of 64-bit system’s games could be ported over as some are just way to large to fit onto a GBA Pak and the Game Boy Advance may not have the memory to handle the processing required for a game. Yet, even this may be overcome with technology’s rapid pace forward.

Already, it’s possible for 3D graphics to be used on the system. So with the introduction of 3D gaming, there must be developers who utilize 3D. It’s not improbable to think that one developer could even go on to improve the 3D engine or even create a better one. This natural evolution of technology offers a variety of options for which the imagination may use. It’s hard to tell what the limits of the handheld are.

Look for pictures of Raylight’s Blue Rose 3D engine later next week.