GEMS

n/a

GEMS
System(s): Mega Drive, Sega 32X
Developer: Jonathan Miller, Burt Sloane, Chris Grigg, Mark Miller, Recreational Brainware

GEMS (Genesis Editor for Music and Sound effects) is a Sega Mega Drive sound driver developed by Recreational Brainware. Commissioned by Sega of America to assist Western developers struggling with the unfamiliar sound hardware, it went on to see use in nearly 200 released games.

History

Early Sega Genesis hardware documentation was limited in all areas, but especially in audio capabilities. Unlike Japanese composers, who were more familiar with writing sound drivers and working with FM synthesis, their Western counterparts struggled to produce quality sounds. Seeking to address this, Sega of America reached out to developer Recreational Brainware to produce a solution.

The team consisted of Jonathan Miller creating drivers and firmware, Burt Sloane programming, and Chris Grigg and Mark Miller providing the software’s overall design. The result was GEMS, a 16-bit sound driver with a focus on MIDI interactivity. Sega of America was very pleased with GEMS and went on to distribute it to their various developers and publishers. Western composers and musicians now had a more familiar and reliable method for translating their instruments to the Sega Genesis hardware.

While GEMS is a very capable driver in the proper hands, it has also grown to absorb much of the ire modern fans have for the “twangy” sounds of certain Western-produced Sega Mega Drive games. As the driver was both widely distributed to developers of all quality, and largely used by developers unfamiliar with the hardware, much of the system’s shovelware library share a distinct (and poorly received) sound.

Usage

By setting aside a shared memory space that allows the driver and game to directly communicate, music can be dynamically adjusted to match gameplay and easily integrated with the game’s programming. For example, pitch or tempo can be automatically adjusted per the amount of onscreen enemies or remaining health. Unfortunatel, while most sound drivers control playback speed with a single and easy-to-manipulate variable, GEMS requires the alteration of the entire track as stored in ROM to achieve the same effect.

Games that use GEMS

Mega Drive

• A Dinosaur's Tale (1993)
• Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1995)
• Action 52 (1992)
• Aero the Acro-Bat (1993)
• Aero the Acro-Bat 2 (1995)
• Andre Agassi Tennis (1992)
• Another World (1993)
• Arcade Classics (1996)
• Ariel the Little Mermaid (1992)
• Awesome Possum Kicks Dr. Machino's Butt! (1993)
• B.O.B. (1993)
• Ballz 3D (1994)
• Barbie Super Model (1993)
• Barney's Hide & Seek Game (1993)
• Bass Masters Classic (1995)
• Bass Masters Classic: Pro Edition (1996)
• Batman Returns (1993)
• Batman: Revenge of The Joker (1992)
• Battletech: A Game of Armored Combat (1994)
• Bloodshot (1994)
• Body Count (199x)
• Bonkers (1994)
• Boxing Legends of The Ring (1993)
• Caesars Palace (1994)
• Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball (1992)
• Cannon Fodder (1995)
• Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1993)
• Chakan (1992)
• Champions World Class Soccer (1994)
• Championship Pool (1994)
• ClayFighter (1994)
• Clue (1992)
• College Football's National Championship (1994)
• College Football's National Championship II (1995)
• College Slam (1996)
• Comix Zone (1995)
• Cool Spot (1994)
• Crystal's Pony Tale (1994)
• David Crane's Amazing Tennis (1993)
• David Robinson's Supreme Court (1992)
• Demolition Man (1995)
• Desert Demolition Starring Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote (1995)
• Dick Vitale's "Awesome, Baby!" College Hoops (1994)
• Disney's Aladdin (1993)
• Donald in Maui Mallard (199x)
• Doom Troopers (1995)
• Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994)
• Dragon's Revenge (1993)
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1995)
• Duke Nukem 3D (1998)
• Duke Nukem 3D (2015)
• Dune II: Battle for Arrakis (1994)
• Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (1992)
• Earthworm Jim (1995)
• Earthworm Jim 2 (1996)
• Ecco Jr. (1995)
• ESPN Baseball Tonight (1994)
• ESPN National Hockey Night (1994)
• ESPN Speedworld (1994)
• Eternal Champions (1994)
• Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing (1992)
• Ex-Mutants (1992)
• F1: World Championship Edition (1995)
• Fantasy Pinball (2008)
• Férias Frustradas do Pica-Pau (1996)
• Flashback (1993)
• Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (1995)
• Fun 'n' Games (1993)
• Garfield: Caught in the Act (1995)
• Garfield: The Lost Levels (1996)
• Gargoyles (1995)
• Garry Kitchen's Super Battletank: War in the Gulf (1992)
• Generations Lost (1994)
• Goofy's Hysterical History Tour (1994)
• Greatest Heavyweights (1994)
• Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude! (1992)
• Home Alone (1992)
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1993)
• Instruments of Chaos Starring Young Indiana Jones (1994)
• Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings (1995)
• Jammit (1994)
• Jeopardy! (1993)
• Jeopardy! Deluxe Edition (1994)
• Jeopardy! Sports Edition (1994)
• Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (1994)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (1994)
• Justice League Task Force (1995)
• Kawasaki Superbike Challenge (1994)
• Kid Chameleon (1992)
• Krusty's Fun House (1992)
• Madden NFL 96 (1995)
• Marko's Magic Football (1994)
• Marsupilami (1996)
• Menacer 6-Game Cartridge (1992)
• Mick & Mack as the Global Gladiators (1992)
• Mickey's Ultimate Challenge (1994)
• Monopoly (1992)
• Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
• NBA Action '94 (1994)
• NBA Action '95 Starring David Robinson (1995)
• NBA Hang Time (1996)
• NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
• NCAA Final Four Basketball (1994)
• NCAA Football (1994)
• NFL '95 (1994)
• NFL 98 (1997)
• NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana (1994)
• NFL Quarterback Club (1995)
• NFL Quarterback Club '96 (1995)
• NFL Sports Talk Football '93 Starring Joe Montana (1992)
• Nightmare Circus (1996)
• Normy's Beach Babe-O-Rama (1994)
• Outback Joey (1993)
• Outworld 2375 AD (1994)
• Paperboy 2 (1993)
• Phantom 2040 (1995)
• Pink Goes to Hollywood (1993)
• Pinocchio (1996)
• Pirates! Gold (1993)
• Pocahontas (1996)
• Power Monger (1993)
• Premier Manager 97 (1996)
• Prime Time NFL Football Starring Deion Sanders (1995)
• Prince of Persia (1994)
• Pro Quarterback (1992)
• Queen of Poker Club (199x)
• R.B.I. Baseball '94 (1994)
• Risk (1994)
• RoboCop Versus The Terminator (1994)
• Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball (1993)
• Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Space Exploration Game (1995)
• Scooby-Doo Mystery (1995)
• SeaQuest DSV (1995)
• Shadowrun (1994)
• Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye (1994)
• Shaq Fu (1994)
• Shizen Mahjong (199x)
• Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (1993)
• Spider-Man (1995)
• Spirou (1995)
• Spot Goes to Hollywood (1995)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past (1994)
• Stone Protectors (2022)
• Super Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game (1994)
• Super High Impact (1992)
• Super Mario World 64 (1999)
• Sylvester and Tweety in Cagey Capers (1994)
• TaleSpin (1992)
• Taz in Escape from Mars (1994)
• Taz-Mania (1992)
• TechnoClash (1993)
• Tecmo Super Baseball (1994)
• Tecmo Super Hockey (1995)
• Tecmo Super NBA Basketball (1994)
• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (1994)
• The Berenstain Bears' Camping Adventure (1994)
• The Death and Return of Superman (1995)
• The Great Waldo Search (1992)
• The Incredible Crash Dummies (1994)
• The Jungle Book (1994)
• The Ooze (1995)
• The Pagemaster (1994)
• The Pirates of Dark Water (1994)
• The Punisher (1995)
• The Ren & Stimpy Show Presents Stimpy's Invention (1993)
• The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare (1993)
• The Smurfs (1995)
• Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (1993)
• Tintin in Tibet (1996)
• TNN Bass Tournament of Champions (1994)
• TNN Outdoors Bass Tournament '96 (1996)
• ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (1993)
• Toxic Crusaders (1992)
• Toy Story (1995)
• Toys (1993)
• Troy Aikman NFL Football (1994)
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1996)
• Vectorman (1995)
• Vectorman 2 (1996)
• Virtual Bart (1995)
• Virtual Pinball (1993)
• Wacky Worlds (1994)
• Warlock (1995)
• Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars (1995)
• World Series Baseball '95 (1995)
• World Series Baseball '96 (1996)
• World Series Baseball (1994)
• World Series Baseball 98 (1997)
• WWF Raw (1995)
• WWF Royal Rumble (1994)
• WWF Super WrestleMania (1992)
• WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (1995)
• X-Men (1993)
• X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995)
• X-Perts (1996)
• Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel (1994)
• Akira (unreleased)
• Astropede (unreleased)
• Baby Boom (unreleased)
• Baby's Day Out (unreleased)
• Beethoven's 2nd: The Quest for Pups (unreleased)
• Beyond Zero Tolerance (unreleased)
• Chameleon (unreleased)
• DJ Demo Reel (unreleased)
• DynoBlaze (unreleased)
• GEMS Module Test Program (unreleased)
• Jelly Boy (unreleased)
• Lobo (unreleased)
• Monster Hunter (unreleased)
• Nuclear Rush (unreleased)
• Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors (unreleased)
• R.B.I. Baseball '95 (unreleased)
• Ship (unreleased)
• Slam: Shaq vs. the Legends (unreleased)
• Stone Protectors (unreleased)
• Super Star Wars (unreleased)
• The Head (unreleased)
• Untitled Xaropinho game (unreleased)
• WildSnake (unreleased)

32X

• Brutal Unleashed: Above the Claw (1995)
• Doom (1994)
• Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples (1995)
• Kolibri (1995)
• Motocross Championship (1995)
• NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
• NFL Quarterback Club (1995)
• RBI Baseball '95 (1995)
• WWF Raw (1995)
• WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (1995)
• Beyond Zero Tolerance (unreleased)
• Garfield: Garfield in TV land! (unreleased)
• Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings (unreleased)
• Spot Goes to Hollywood (unreleased)

Development kit

On September 24, 2007, drx released the official GEMS development kit.