

Nintendo's SmileBASIC for 3DS - donut
http://smilebasic.com/en/moviemessage/

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byron_fast
The program they are calling "SmileBASIC" was formerly known as "Petit
Computer" and for some reason has been removed from the Nintendo store, but
was previously available on the DSi and 3DS.

This new version was released in Japan and slated for an English release but
they postponed it to add a whole pile of new features and have the new release
coincide with the English release as well, supposedly also including the new
features.

The previous editor was a little painful on the small device, but this new one
looks to have a bunch of features that make the New 3DS a viable editing
device. More importantly they claim you will be able to share your programs
using their cloud service; sharing programs wasn't really viable before (using
QR codes).

Most importantly of all you can use every part of the 3DS, including the
microphone and all the controls, though I believe the camera can't be used
because of Nintendo rules. It's even possible to make networked games for
3DS's in the same room.

Previously there was voice synthesis as well but only in Japan. It has a
really fantastic collection of sprites and sounds which is what gets you
creating quickly.

Phone controls simply don't compare to Nintendo controls; anything else is
somewhat moot beyond that. A pure touchscreen game is always limited in ways
that a D-pad and buttons are not.

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donut
Thanks for this background. I would've loved to have something like this when
I was growing up. I'm sure I'd enjoy playing with this today, when it's
released in English.

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glhaynes
The title seems to imply that this is made by Nintendo but that's not the
case.

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donut
You're right, my apologies. I saw (c) 2011 Nintendo in the footer, and thought
it was by them. Upon closer reading I see that SmileBoom Co. Ltd were just
acknowledging use of Nintendo trademarks!

Can someone edit the title to be "SmileBASIC for Nintendo 3DS"?

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gcb0
ha! ios and android are still consume-only devices... and a game console is
now where you create.

~~~
yellowapple
There are actually quite a few ways to write software on Android for Android,
my favorite at the moment being Ruboto (at least when used with the Ruboto IRB
app).

~~~
gcb0
really? comparing that slick UI with a text area on your phone?

~~~
yellowapple
Hey, the condition was whether or not one can program on iOS or Android. One
can program on Android with Ruboto. Question answered, never mind UI
"deficiencies".

In reality, Ruboto IRB's UI isn't _that_ bad (it supports command history, and
isn't stuck with a Gingerbread-era UI like most program-Android-on-Android
environments are (I'm looking at you, Android Forth)). It's also significantly
less bad on a tablet with a keyboard (or even without the keyboard).

