WarioWare DIY is a game that somewhat allows you to code games. Aimed at children, many esoteric limitiations were arbitrarily choosen to keep the created games "simple". So, I'll focus on some of its oddities and features because the it also includes an in-game tutorial! Loaded with so many things, the European version (that I use) is 128MiB! Probably not compressed, it's not an issue because it is in a cartridge that won't require installing to the internal memory of the DS (that wasn't made to install any game anyways).
In fact, at the time, to get the game, you could go to a game store (and hope the game is there), buy it (typically ~35€ at the time, but now actually sells cheaper), put the cartridge in your DS (even at the store!) and it's already working! (though, you may want to return home to play...)
Interestingly, there is a Wii version of the game for 800 Wii points. WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase is more of an add-on to WarioWare D.I.Y. because it makes it simpler to share and browse µGames and it contains some, however, it doesn't have an editor.
As a tradition of the WarioWare series, the games you can do are short and simple.
| "Game Length" | Duration |
|---|---|
| Short | 4s |
| Long | 8s |
| Boss | ∞ |
The boss mode is selected only with "cheats".
What happens when you edit the drawings of a µGame/comic named "Mario Paint"?
| Tool | Language | Description | Some cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoujinSoft Store | JavaScript? | Allows anyone to share content! No account needed!!! | Web |
| DIY-Fi | Allows a Wii or a DS to connect to the Doujin Store | The Doujin Store cannot send a game after selecting it on a computer. | |
| DIY-Edit | Java | Modify ".sav" and modify, inject or extract ".mio" from a ".sav" | Only allows ".sav" files of 32MiB. Thus 16MiB has to be padded with 0 No (or weird) European/Unicode text encoding support. main ignores String[] args. There are no settings anyway. |
| CrygorTool | ??? | Modify ".sav" and modify, inject or extract ".mio" from a ".sav" | Windows only, and thus suffers from lack of Unicode support. A bit unoptimised. It seems to ignore args. There are no settings (that could enable Unicode). |
| miotool | C++? | Modify, inject or extract ".mio" from a ".sav" | Not open source? Windows only. Tempers the Serial Number with the name of the developper. (How egocentered!) |
| mioedit | C++? | Edit bitmaps of a ".mio" | Not open source? Windows only. |
| bmp4mio midi2mio png2mio | ??? | Converts some stuff into MIO files. | I haven't used them yet. |
Your created games can be uploaded online with this notice from Nintendo:
If you don't understand what's written, ask someone who does!
[] Games, record and comics ("Content") transmitted through the Distribution Centre may be passed on to third parties. Please note that once you transmit Wontent through the Distribution Centre, third parties can share it with other and you can no longer retrieve or delete it.
[] If your Import setting is set to Allow, your Content, as well as your Content title and creator name, may be modified by recipients or other third parties. Refer to the instruction booklet for details on how to prohibit editing of your Content.
[] Content may be removed at Nintendo's discretion, without warning.
| Import setting | Equivalent CC license |
|---|---|
| Allow | 0 |
| Disallow | CC BY-SA-NC-ND |
In fact, it is very hard to keep track of previous creators.
As always, there is no way to prevent someone from copying or modifying any digital (data or) software. Thus, what a DRM can do, is only to pose a legal threat, and make copying more complicated. Thus, for WarioWare DIY, most MIO editors (like DIY-Edit) can toggle the "Import" setting.
WarioWare DIY has no anti-piracy nor 3rd party spoiling AFAIK. So, if you have any issue, it's something else:
| Error | Why? | A solution |
|---|---|---|
| Save issues Doesn't load | Some flash cards are shipped with a buggy kernel that wouldn't handle NAND saves corectly. | Change the kernel for TwilightMenu++ for example. (It may take 20" to load initially) |
| Checksum | A checksum is used to check for ".sav" corruptions | If you tempered the ".sav", question yourself, because latest tools support handle checksums correctly. If you haven't tempered the game, then, the cartridge may be failing! Do a backup! In any case, the game may correct the checksum and should not display the message anymore. Otherwise, IDK... |
| No WiFi | 3DS, DSi or DS: WarioWare DIY yet runs in DS mode. It only supports WiFi 1, with Open access or WEP. Other encryption like WPA will not work. However, WEP is deprecated insecure. | Use an Open or WEP encrypted WiFi hotspot. The best (if you can) is to make a hidden WiFi that is WEP encrypted and has MAC filtering allowing only the DS. |