I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform

by Nathan Altice

The complex material histories of the Nintendo Entertainment System platform, from code to silicon, focusing on its technical constraints and its expressive affordances. In the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System videogame Zelda The Adventure of Link , a character famously I AM ERROR. Puzzled players assumed that this cryptic mesage was a programming flaw, but it was actually a clumsy Japanese-English translation of “My Name is Error,” a benign programmer's joke. In I AM ERROR Nathan Altice explores the complex material histories of the Nintendo Entertainment System (and its Japanese predecessor, the Family Computer), offering a detailed analysis of its programming and engineering, its expressive affordances, and its cultural significance. Nintendo games were rife with mistranslated texts, but, as Altice explains, Nintendo's translation challenges were not just linguistic but also material, with consequences beyond simple misinterpretation. Emphasizing the technical and material evolution of Nintendo's first cartridge-based platform, Altice describes the development of the Family Computer (or Famicom) and its computational architecture; the “translation” problems faced while adapting the Famicom for the U.S. videogame market as the redesigned Entertainment System; Nintendo's breakthrough console title Super Mario Bros. and its remarkable software innovations; the introduction of Nintendo's short-lived proprietary disk format and the design repercussions on The Legend of Zelda ; Nintendo's efforts to extend their console's lifespan through cartridge augmentations; the Famicom's Audio Processing Unit (APU) and its importance for the chiptunes genre; and the emergence of software emulators and the new kinds of play they enabled.

Genres: Nonfiction, Games, Gaming, Technology, Video Games, History, Computer Science

440 pages, Hardcover

First published May 8, 2015

Reviews

[Bob Mackey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most books on video games end up disappointing me. Outside of small and vanity press labors of love, too many of them simply regurgitate well-known facts for the sake of a breezy, accessible history. Of course, coming from MIT Press, my hopes were much higher for I Am Error, and Nathan Alice's work definitely left me impressed. Its biggest value can be found in its specificity; these 300 pages are slavishly devoted to explaining the inner workings of the NES/Famicom, and no single electron is left unexplored. The result is a fascinating look into a video game system that defined a generation, and the many games that succeeded through the work of savvy programmers working within their chosen hardware's strict limits.

I Am Error can get a little dry at times, and its academic nature points to why Altice shies away from visual aids—the images included certainly help, but there definitely could have been more. Even with these minor issues, though, I Am Error stands as one of the most comprehensive video game books I've ever read. The high price and lack of a digital version may have you shying away, but, for anyone interested in the NES, it's definitely worth the investment.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very in-depth breakdown of the Famicom and Nintento Entertainment System (NES), covering hardware, software, and the development process. Chapters on the music chip (2A03) and emulation were particularly interesting. This book feels more like a series of essays than one narrative.

Chapters focus on particular topics, and often dig into a particular game to go along with the discussion. The back history and design differences between Famicom and NES were a welcome addition, as most of the Nintendo things I have read focus on the US. The other thing to know is that this book can get dry at times; it could be overly technical for some readers. It took me a month to read. While it definitely fits into the Platform Studies series of books, it is not as well written as the first that I read, Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. I would suggest that anyone interested in the topic read a single chapter first. 3½ stars.

[Jude Hoekstra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indispensable book for anyone interested in the history of the NES/Famicom. So much that's been written about video game history is just the repetition of facts everyone already knows. Not this book, it's an actually deep dive into the history and the technology behind the most important and exciting period in console history. By the end I felt like I'd learned everything I wanted to know about the subject, which is rare for any non-fiction book. The one thing I could potentially see people not liking about this book is it gets very technical in many parts, having any knowledge of computer hardware or assembly code will help to understand these sections, but isn't strictly necessary, as the author tries to explain these parts in ways the average person could understand.

[Sandy Maguire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to review this book. It's all over the map. I liked the history of how the NES was made, and then delve into the weird limitations of the hardware. The fact that I didn't *know* these were limitations of the hardware really makes me appreciate the software engineering that must have gone into making games for the NES. All in all, I suspect you already know if you're going to read this book, and it's about what you'd expect it to be.

[Justin Liew · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you grew up playing NES games, and are a software developer, this is the book for you. I Am Error is a comprehensive history of the Famicom/NES platform, with a bent towards the platform and its place in popular culture. Japan's influence on the Famicom and how they brought the console to the USA is especially relevant given the recent controversy around Alison Rapp.

The technical explanations are in depth and clear, and for those with a technical bent there are some really interesting creative ways that developers worked with the limitations of the platform, especially on the audio side of things. It's also amazing that 6 people simultaneously developed Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda.

The final sections talk about emulation and the speedrun culture that was born from NES emulators.

Overall this is a comprehensive and deep look at the NES, a platform that changed the console market and has a lasting and nostalgic legacy. Highly recommended.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great technical depth and cultural context, perhaps the second book (after The Future Was Here: The Commodore Amiga) to fully live up to the premise of the "Platform Studies" series. Nonetheless it's very very dry. It's a good read if you're technically oriented and interested in the subject matter, but not really otherwise (whereas I would recommend the Amiga book to literally everyone).

Best chapters are on the FDS and the 2A03. The 2A03 chapter might be a good standalone read for those interested in chiptunes.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't your standard book and at times reads almost like a manual. If you ever wanted to know how the NES actually worked this is the book for you, with in-depth detail. I'm surprised there is a market for a book like this but I'm glad there is. This book isn't for everyone. However those who it is for will really enjoy it.

[ADAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dense, meticulously-researched history of Nintendo's early years in the video game market, starting with Donkey Kong and ending with the retirement (and beyond, via emulators) of the NES and its Japanese cousin, the Famicom. This book is part of the MIT press "Platform Studies" series, which began in 2009 with the Atari study, "Racing the Beam." Unlike "Racing the Beam," which used six individual Atari games to explore six different mini-epochs in the technical and sociological history of that console, this book aims for a more holistic, less encapsulated history of the NES. Chapters are focused less on individual games, and more on wider topics (platforming, sounds synthesis, various disk peripherals). The result is more broadly informative, but perhaps less immediately compelling.

Lengthy explanations of the nuts and bolts of the assembly language that effects our favorite classic games drive the narrative. If you're looking for a nostalgia kick, you'll learn lots about things like why the console and games were shaped the way they were, the strategy behind the "black box" art design of the system's launch titles, and cool facts about why Super Mario can scroll right but never left (or up or down), while Link can move in all four compass directions. But be aware: if technical terms like "bank switching," "pattern and attribute tables," and "meta-meta-sprites" intimidate you, this book might not be the breezy beach read you're looking for.

[Nathan Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really adored this book. This is finally the one book that was every bit as technical as I wanted it to be. The book both analyzed the 8-bit Nintendo console as a technical platform and as an institution. Starting with how the hardware was designed and what games it was intended to implement. Then, what limitations did the hardware impose, how did that affect the games, and how did the designers work around those limitations?

It made me look the NES games differently then I had before and inspired me to fire up an emulator to do some game hacking. Specifically, the book talks about how Sprite 0 is used to determine the current scanline and switch the current scrolling settings of the game (From static to horizontal or vertical scrolling). I wondered what would happen if you moved that sprite. The answer: it makes the game behave in really interesting, wonky ways. If you understand this paragraph, or it intrigues you at all, serious pick up this book right away.

The last chapter is all about the music of the system and way above my head as I understand almost nothing about music theory, but a delightful read.

My only complaint about this book is that it ends. I just wanted it to go on forever. I really hope he writes another, similar title on another console. I don’t care which one – I’d read it in a heartbeat.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after going through online tutorials and instructional documents about the NES, mostly on nesdev.com, and creating a small example project using c with cc65 ( https://github.com/lucasw/nes_cc65_demo ) that runs at least in the fceux emulator. It's likely I won't go much further than what is currently there: moving player and enemy sprites around the screen over a scrolling background with a couple of sound effects, or go as far as to invest in flash cartridge to play it on a real Nintendo.

Given all that, the substantial technical parts of the book won't be nearly as interesting to someone who doesn't have their own project in mind, I probably would have skimmed over them without understanding deeply if I hadn't tried out it for myself first.

One major misconception cleared up for me in this book and elsewhere is that sprite flickering wasn't a glitch that was a product of an overworked 8-bit system, but rather and intentional way of getting around sprite limitations- had game programmers not directed the sprites to flicker the hardware would have not shown those sprites at all, possibly resulting in invisible enemies that would have still hurt the player.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nintendo designed the Famicom as a system that could accurately replicate the arcade experience of Donkey Kong (explaining why the system was so well-suited to platformers in general), but they had to remove the pie factory level from the system’s DK port because the horizontal-scrolling conveyor belts were likely to exceed the hard 8-sprites-per-scanline limit and necessitate excessive flickering.

If this fact isn’t interesting to you, then this probably isn’t the book for you. If, however, you’re also a professional software developer with a decent understanding of assembly code who grew up in the NES era, then this is probably the world’s most perfect book. I wish there was more detail about how the various on-cartridge memory mapper chips allowed developers to do what they did with games like Punch Out!, but the deep dives into Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bro’s., and the Legend of Zelda were fascinating, and the chapter on mid-90’s emulation brought back memories of living through the explosion of NES and SNES emulation.

So yeah, those on my Goodreads friend list probably won’t be interested in this one.

[Kevin Mccormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, highly recommended for anyone with a technical background and nostalgia for the NES. Really thoroughly and accurately researched, and covers a good range of topics.

I did feel that some of the themes of the book, specifically the philosophical claims and musings, etc., were a bit over-the-top. These might have been attempts to make the book a bit less dry, but they were unnecessary, and the book still felt dry anyway. I also felt that the sections on emulation and speedrunning, while interesting, didn't really fit with the rest of the content of the book. Instead, I would have preferred more content on the variety of NES hardware peripherals, such as the Power Glove, Power Pad, and the NES Miracle keyboard.

My other complaint about this book is the writing style. This book is written more like a college textbook, and less like a non fiction or reference text. I have a physical copy but wish I had a digital copy, since I had to reference a dictionary very frequently while reading this book! As a result, I worry that this makes this wonderful content less accessible that it needs to be.

[Nathan D. Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Am Error is by far the best book you'll find on the Nintendo Entertainment System as a Platform. There are books out there that off a better history of its development, the culture surrounding it, and so on, but if you really want to know exactly how ingenious some of the hardware choices were, as well as how the NES was able to start a side-scrolling revolution with extremely limited memory (spoiler alert: clever programming, at least in the beginning, wins the day), you definitely don't want to miss this book. There is some assembly code to look at that can't really be avoided, but Altice does well to explain how it all works in layman's terms.

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book sits in a strange intermediary place. I guess I was hoping for more technical detail, and others might hope for more history and narrative context, but one gets a weird mix of both. I suppose it achieves what MIT's platform series sets out to do, although I'm not sure if I can recommend it even to those passionately interested in the NES (you probably know most of what's in this book already). It's good that it exists, though, since I feel like a lot of the details are things that have mostly been passed on in a quasi-oral tradition.

It did make me feel like playing Zelda 2 again though.

[Bugzmanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia meets tech specs. I've used this as accompanying reading while developing own NES emulator.

The book covers:
- nes/famicon platform history and culture around it
- platforms hardware specs
- big hit games: their creation background and quirks of the design

It's a fun read for those who really love the platform and willing to struggle through PPU or APU specs.
If you ever wondered why is there so much flickering in games like Contra Force or why do games fade to black before introducing large bosses at the end of a level.. this book has all that covered )

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super in depth, very interesting. If you are a fan of NES and were alive when the console debuted you will have so many questions answered in great detail. It does get a bit in the weeds with details but if you understand computing, video game design and graphics it is fascinating and an interesting history of a cult technology.

[David Dinaburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

[note from 2023: please see this review on dinaburgwrites.com, or check out other related things!]
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I wrote a long preamble that covered much of my personal history with the NES before segueing into I AM ERROR’s laudable dearth of anecdote. I thought the juxtaposition clever, but while editing it seemed both trite and self-indulgent; satirizing tedium with tedium is still tedious to experience, no matter how amusing.

I AM ERROR elucidates the functional, physical aspects of the Famicom and applies that knowledge onto the end product; it is why Mario looks the way he looks, or moves the way he moves; why the bushes and clouds in Super Mario Bros. are made from the same tiles (did you recognize they were palette swaps of each other? I didn’t.)—form following function in a restrained medium of expression:

If the Famicom only had four colors total, the two stacked bits from the pattern table bitplanes would be sufficient to describe any tile. However, the Famicom allocates thirty-two bytes of VRAM to eight individual palettes—half devoted to sprites and the other half to background tiles—containing four colors each. Every sprite and background tile onscreen may select only one of its four allotted palettes at a time. However, the first color of each four-color block must be identical—shared across all palettes—limiting the PPU to rendering twenty-five individual colors onscreen simultaneously.

Though the shared color may seem like an arbitrary constraint, it is actually a clever means to “erase” portions of sprite tiles that are meant to be transparent. When a sprite is on top of a background tile, any color bit set to the shared color will permit the underlying background tile to show through. Mario’s constituent sprites in Super Mario Bros., for instance, use only three colors: red for his hat and overalls; a muted brown for his hair, eyes, sleeves, and boots; and olive for his skin and overall button. All other pixels in the Mario tiles are set to sky blue, but they render transparent, permitting the background to pass behind his body as he moves.

I AM ERROR handles the density of the material in an impressive way, slowly ramping up the technical details until you are comfortable distinguishing between OAM cycling and VRAM attribution. The Famicom is unique in having a split PPU architecture, but honestly, without the book sitting in front of me, I cannot recall a more detailed breakdown. I AM ERROR is, much like a videogame begets multiple playthroughs, a book that calls for repeated readings.

It never takes the shortcuts upon which the vast majority of books about videogames thrive—tales of the author’s personal experiences—the type of tales that I had to forcibly excise from this review. This is a scholarly work that has eschewed the profligate memoir genre and stripped away the cobwebs of sentimentality; it provides an actual look at what powered the movable images that pepper the collective childhood memories of my generation. Much of the target audiences for early videogames are now adults, but videogames remain a nascent form of entertainment. Under all of the nostalgia creeps a haunting truth; our generation takes the cultural ubiquity of gaming history for granted; fluency in videogames’ genesis tale is slowly ebbing away. It will dissipate back into the ether, and soon. Written records are required as the creator generation passes away; that point is eloquently made though easily missed in I AM ERROR as it is inexplicably buried in the second appendix:

One problem facing videogame bibliography is the medium’s relative youthfulness. Commercial videogames have only been with us since the 1970s. Generations of consoles and games still litter yard sales, attics, pawnshops, and thrift stores. Our familiarity with and access to videogames is taken for granted, since many of us are old enough to recall first-hand experience with the entire history of videogames--a claim that cannot be made by scholars of other media. There is an implicit assumption that we all know what a Super Mario Bros. cartridge looks like, so why bother with thorough descriptions?

The lack of directed personal narrative creates an uncluttered playground for the mind to explore, a landscape over which to drape one’s own videogaming history. By contrast with the modern style of non-fiction writing—letting the author tells stories to convey facts—the text here offers historicity and authority to a device representative of an industry often treated as frivolous. I AM ERROR is wonderful to read, a needed piece of academia that anyone with the memory of holding a controller can come away from richer. And it is likely that most readers will come equipped with their own personal stories of the NES, content to act as their own Virgil through the surfeit of technical details. Just don’t write another Nintendo memoire, okay?

[Nick Massa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting hardware history of the NES. Approachable but complex writing style with detailed explanations that get very in the weeds. Didn't understand everything but will likely read this one again.

[Ryan MacInnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded down. Very interesting and technical book about the history and sociology and technology of the NES, a system I didn’t play much. Much of the hardware limitations lead to the classic games we think of today. A fascinating read, though the author does NOT dumb it down for you.

[Hjorprimul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched, and in depth look at the Famicon and NES. Highly recommended for anyone who is curious about the hardware, and also has fond memories of the consoles.

[Enno · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine, but not as compelling a read as the first book in the series.

[William Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delving into not just the technical affordances, inspirations and quirks of the NES, but also looking at its predecessors (arcade cabinets), aspirational software and more, "I Am Error" is a tome of knowledge.

Enlightening in many ways, this book covers, the language of the NES (6502 asm) in brief to give better context of the inner working of the machine.Business decisions on production (hardware/software) are also covered at a distance to which does not obscure other aspects.

Masterfully written, informative and entertaining.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey! Look what I picked back up off the shelf and finished!

I'm not sure who the audience for this book is. I'm not quite sure if I am the audience. It got a little too technical for me at times, although Altice does a fairly good job of simplifying and explaining the ins and outs of programming for his readers to understand, I felt lost more than once.

I have a deeper appreciation for the Famicom/NES hardware and what those dreamers were able to coax out of it. And know a little bit here and there of how they did it.

[Koen Crolla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent effort. The Famicom and NES have been taken apart and obsessively studied in ways that the other subjects of the Platform Studies series haven't, over the years, but even if he doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table, Altice at least manages to put everything together. He indulges in the series' usual habit of occasionally vomiting near-meaningless humanities buzzwords onto the page, but it's honestly not as bad some of the others in that respect.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're at all interested in the workings and impact of the NES, this book makes it fascinating and accessible. Altice manages to straddle the line between impenetrable technical detail and hand-waving half-explanation.

[Jonathan Chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty quick read when you're able to skip over the low level details on how the Nintendo works. The bits of information as to why developers did x, y, and z and how various machines came to market was super interesting.

[Bret Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book about the NES and all things surrounding it. It sure have a lot of technical details for those interested.

[Zach Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got lost in the technical speak for a while, but when I got it I loved it.

[Manuel Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dont expect a light reading, this book comes with a lot of technical aspects, you got plenty of programming explanations but also a good description of the era of the NES console