{"id":2573,"date":"2025-03-02T21:57:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T20:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastpixel.de\/?page_id=2573"},"modified":"2026-04-05T23:08:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T21:08:44","slug":"gbcbag","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.eastpixel.de\/de\/gbcbag\/","title":{"rendered":"GBCbag"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Distribute your Gameboy (Color) game as a standalone application (even on Steam)<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

WHAT IS GBCbag?<\/h3>\n

First to know: GBCbag supports both GameBoy and GameBoy Color games!<\/strong><\/p>\n

GBCbag 2 is a play on the words Gameboy (yep, that old 1980s gaming console by Nintendo) and backpack. It’s like a backpack (in the form of a standalone Windows, Linux or macOS program) in which you pack your self-developed Gameboy or Gameboy Color game and then distribute this complete package as a standalone application.<\/p>\n

The player only has to double-click on a single file to use it, just as they are used to.<\/p>\n

GBCbag 2 supports savestates, custom input configurations and game controllers. GBCbag 2 includes various display shaders, for pixel-perfect or typical retro-looking image output. GBCbag 2 is open-source.<\/p>\n

See also: https:\/\/eastpixel.itch.io\/gbcbag<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

DOWNLOAD<\/h3>\n

To download GBCbag 2, please visit: https:\/\/eastpixel.itch.io\/gbcbag<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Requirements:<\/strong>
\nThe offered Windows version requires Windows 10\/11.<\/p>\n

Compiling: The macOS version requires Apple Silicon (M1 and later).
\nFor compiling on Linux and macOS, .NET 8 Framework and SDL2 must be installed.<\/p>\n

\n

COMPILE GBCbag YOURSELF<\/h3>\n

If you like to compile GBCbag yourself, just follow our tutorial:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.eastpixel.de\/howto-self-publish-nesbag2-or-gbcbag2-from-sourcecode\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

PRE-DEFINED KEYBOARD LAYOUT<\/h3>\n

If you start GBCbag 2 out of the box, you’ll find a pre-defined button layout:<\/p>\n

\"NESbag<\/p>\n

You can configure your keyboard or gamepad directly via Settings > Controls menu.<\/p>\n

\n

CONTROLLER AND KEYBOARD SUPPORT<\/h3>\n

You can configure your keyboard or gamepad directly via the Settings > Controls<\/em> menu.<\/p>\n

\n

WHAT YOU GET<\/h3>\n

You will receive a .zip file containing all the necessary GBCbag 2 files.<\/p>\n

\n

CONFIGURATION PARAMETER<\/h3>\n

There are some configuration parameters in the “settings.json” file you can change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Parameter<\/td>\nContent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
GameTitle<\/td>\nYou can write your game title here, it will displayed on top of the GBCbag 2 window and inside the Help > About window<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GameWebsite<\/td>\nYou can set a individual URL, it will be display inside the About window below the Game Title
\nPlease enter a fully correct URL, for example: “https:\/\/www.eastpixel.de”.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AutoFullscreen<\/td>\ntrue or false | to start GBCbag 2 in fullscreen set\u00a0 the parameter “true” otherwise set it “false”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Version<\/td>\nenter the version number of your game, it will displayed inside the Help > About window<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EnableVFilter_BRZ<\/td>\nto enable these display filters in the Settings > Video filter menu, set the parameter to “true”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EnableVFilter_HQ<\/td>\nto enable these display filters in the Settings > Video filter menu, set the parameter to “true”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EnableVFilter_Scale<\/td>\nto enable these display filters in the Settings > Video filter menu, set the parameter to “true”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EnableVFilter_Sai<\/td>\nto enable these display filters in the Settings > Video filter menu, set the parameter to “true”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EnableVFilter_Prescale<\/td>\nto enable these display filters in the Settings > Video filter menu, set the parameter to “true”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EnableNbSaveStates<\/td>\nenable (“true”) or disable (“false”) game savestates
\nThe savestates are accessable via “Game” menu or via F1 \u2013 F7 (loading) or Shift+F1 \u2013 Shift+F7 (saving)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please do not change any of the other parameters by hand.<\/p>\n

\n

CONFIGURATION: DEFINE THE GAMEBOY MODEL<\/h3>\n

If you wish, you can specify the GameBoy model (Classic, GameBoy Color, Super Game Boy) that GBCbag 2 should emulate when your game starts.<\/p>\n

To do this, go to the Settings > Controls and Video > General<\/em> menu and specify the device. The setting is automatically saved in the “settings.json” file.<\/p>\n

\n

FAQ<\/h3>\n

1. How to use GBCbag 2?<\/strong>
\na) Download the release version of GBCbag 2 and unzip.
\nb) Copy your Gameboy (Color) game as a ROM file with the name \u201cgame.gb\u201d into the \u201cgame\u201d directory.
\nc) Play your game or share the complete files and folders as you like.<\/p>\n

2. How to change the icon to match it my game?<\/strong><\/p>\n

a) Prepare your own icon as a PNG\/ICO file in at least 256×256 pixel
\nb) Download the free tool “ResourceHacker”<\/a> by Angus Johnson
\nc) Watch this short video: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nth2gLPlN98<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Are there any technical dependencies in order to use GBCbag 2?
\n<\/strong>The Windows version requires Windows 10\/11.
\nFor compiling on Linux and macOS, .NET 8 SDK and SDL2 must be installed.<\/p>\n

4. Is the source-code available?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. Please visit this link: https:\/\/codeberg.org\/eastpixel\/gbcbag2<\/a>
\nYou can use, modify and distribute the source code and compile your own program versions. Please always respect the GPL V3 license.<\/p>\n

5. Can I publish my game on Steam with GBCbag 2?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, of course. Out of the box , there are no restrictions.<\/p>\n

\n

QUESTIONS?<\/h3>\n

If there are any questions or issues surrounding this tool, please get in touch with Christian @ EASTPIXEL via Discord<\/a> or the Kontakt<\/a> page of this website.<\/p>\n

\n

HOW TO USE – INSTRUCTIONS<\/h3>\n

General<\/h3>\n

Check the table with configuration parameters on this page, to find out what you are able to configure.<\/p>\n

Windows version<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. The Windows version requires at least Windows 10\/11 64bit.<\/li>\n
  2. Download the .zip file, unpack it.<\/li>\n
  3. To change the game: Put your game (named “game.gb”) into the “Game” folder.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Linux version<\/h3>\n

    Due to the large number of Linux distributions, I do not provide a pre-compiled Linux binary file at the moment. Of course, a Makefile is included in the source code.<\/p>\n

    Steamdeck<\/h3>\n

    Thanks to LowtekGames<\/a> for try out GBCbag 2 on Steamdeck and confirmed it’s working. If you have any questions, come over to our Discord<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Mac version<\/h3>\n

    You can compile the tool directly from source by using the free version of JetBrains Rider.\u00a0The process is identical to compiling with Visual Studio on Windows.<\/p>\n

    Ready-to-use macOS version:<\/strong> I can also provide a finished macOS version, but you will have to sign it with an Apple developer account before you can pass it on. As I don’t have the resources for an Apple developer account, I can’t sign the macOS versions myself.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n

    CHANGELOG<\/h3>\n

    Version 2.6.0<\/h3>\n