Rust x GBA: Setup and Pixels
This article provides a guide for setting up a Rust project to build a basic ROM that runs on the Game Boy Advance, targeting developers familiar with Rust and software development. The author shares their motivation for choosing the GBA as a low-level platform, citing its technical constraints and hardware capabilities as ideal for learning. The tutorial draws from existing resources and crates like 'gba' and 'agb', as well as inspiration from other developers' blogs and technical documentation.
- ▪The guide assumes prior knowledge of Rust and focuses on building a basic Game Boy Advance ROM using the language.
- ▪The author chose the Game Boy Advance for its 32-bit Arm processor, hardware features like input buttons and screen output, and strict technical limitations.
- ▪Two Rust crates, 'gba' and 'agb', are highlighted for GBA development, with 'gba' offering minimal restrictions and low-level access.
- ▪Key learning resources mentioned include Shane Snover's dev blog, Kyle Halladay's GBA tutorial series, and the technical reference 'Tonc'.
- ▪The completed tutorial code for the first lesson is available on GitHub for readers to access and use.
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Rust x GBA: Setup and Pixels published: 2026-05-15 tags: [ #rust, #code, #gba, #gaming ] This guide will show you how to setup a Rust project that builds a basic rom which runs on the Game Boy Advance. It assumes you already know the basics of Rust and are familiar with software development. If you aren't familiar with Rust, checkout the [Rust Book](doc.rust-lang.org/book/) as it a great resource for learning the very rewarding programming language. If you want to skip ahead, the completed lesson code and all code for this tutorial can be found here: [Lesson 01](github.com/undecidedapollo/gba-tutorial/tree/lesson-01) Background This is the part where I tell you my life story before giving you the recipe to make "Chocolate Chip Cookies".
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