The History of 3D Graphics on the Gameboy Advance | minimme

minimme1 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
667K views · documentary · evergreen · Uploaded 2020-02-20

minimme traces the timeline of 3D graphics engines on the Game Boy Advance, from early experiments to commercial 3D games, covering techniques such as voxel rendering. It is a history and showcase of what developers coaxed out of the limited hardware.

HN people recommend it as the best overview of how 3D on the GBA progressed over the console's life, usually in threads about GBA ports and homebrew 3D engines.

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3 comments from Hacker News

@warning262022 · in “Tomb Raider 1 Ported to Game Boy Advance”

> as far as i know, beyond anything on the gba ever There were actually a few commercial 3d rendered GBA games! They weren't very common, but perhaps the most graphically impressive was Asterix & Obelix XXL, a 3D platformer: [LINK] Some others are showcased here: [VIDEO]

@koofdoof2022 · in “Quake on the Game Boy Advance [video]”

For a good overview of the progress of 3d GBA graphics over the console's lifespan I'd reccomended this video history: [VIDEO]

RecommendsView on HN
@phire2023 · in “Pico3D: Open World 3D Game Engine for the PicoSystem (RP2040 Microcontroller)”

Beyond the tech demos There are dozens published 3D games. The most impressive is the GBA port of Driv3r. More or less stripped down Grand Theft Auto 3 style sandbox game, squashed down onto the GBA. Driv3r Video: [LINK] History/showcase of various 3d GBA games: [VIDEO]