Example Games
The Nethercore repository includes 46 working examples organized into 8 categories. Each example is a complete, buildable project (Rust, C, or Zig).
Location
Examples are organized by category:
examples/
├── 1-getting-started/ (4 examples)
├── 2-graphics/ (6 examples)
├── 3-inspectors/ (13 examples)
├── 4-animation/ (6 examples)
├── 5-audio/ (5 examples)
├── 6-assets/ (7 examples)
├── 7-games/ (2 examples)
├── 8-advanced/ (3 examples)
└── examples-common/ (support library)
Learning Path
New to Nethercore? Follow this progression:
- hello-world - 2D text and rectangles, basic input
- triangle - Your first 3D shape
- textured-quad - Loading and applying textures
- procedural-shapes - Procedural meshes with texture toggle
- paddle - Complete game with the tutorial
- platformer - Advanced example with physics, billboards, UI
By Category
1. Getting Started
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| hello-world | Basic 2D drawing, text, input handling |
| hello-world-c | Same example in C (demonstrates C FFI) |
| hello-world-zig | Same example in Zig (demonstrates Zig FFI) |
| triangle | Minimal 3D rendering |
2. Graphics & Rendering
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| textured-quad | Texture loading and sprite rendering |
| procedural-shapes | Built-in mesh generators with texture toggle (B button) |
| lighting | PBR rendering with 4 dynamic lights |
| billboard | GPU-instanced billboards |
| dither-demo | PS1-style dithering effects |
| material-override | Per-draw material properties |
3. Inspectors (Mode & Environment)
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| debug-demo | Debug inspection system (F4 panel) |
| mode0-inspector | Interactive Mode 0 (Lambert) explorer |
| mode1-inspector | Interactive Mode 1 (Matcap) explorer |
| mode2-inspector | Interactive Mode 2 (PBR) explorer |
| mode3-inspector | Interactive Mode 3 (Blinn-Phong) explorer |
| epu-showcase | Curated preset environments + interactive layer controls (F4) |
4. Animation & Skinning
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| skinned-mesh | GPU skeletal animation basics |
| animation-demo | Keyframe playback from ROM |
| ik-demo | Inverse kinematics |
| multi-skinned-procedural | Multiple animated characters (procedural) |
| multi-skinned-rom | Multiple animated characters (ROM data) |
| skeleton-stress-test | Performance testing with many skeletons |
5. Audio
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| audio-demo | Sound effects, panning, channels, looping |
| tracker-demo-xm | XM tracker music playback |
| tracker-demo-xm-split | XM tracker music with split sample workflow |
| tracker-demo-it | IT tracker music playback |
| tracker-demo-it-split | IT tracker demo with separate sample assets |
6. Asset Loading
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| datapack-demo | Full ROM asset workflow (textures, meshes, sounds) |
| font-demo | Custom font loading with rom_font |
| level-loader | Level data loading with rom_data |
| asset-test | Pre-converted asset testing (.nczxmesh, .nczxtex) |
| gltf-test | GLTF import pipeline validation (mesh, skeleton, animation) |
| glb-inline | Direct .glb references with multiple animations |
| glb-rigid | Rigid transform animation imported from GLB |
7. Complete Games
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| paddle | Classic 2-player paddle game with AI and rollback netcode |
| platformer | Full mini-game with 2D gameplay, physics, collision, UI |
8. Advanced Rendering
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| stencil-demo | All 4 stencil masking modes |
| viewport-test | Split-screen rendering (2P, 4P) |
| rear-mirror | Rear-view mirror using viewport |
Support Library
| Library | Description |
|---|---|
| examples-common | Reusable utilities (DebugCamera, StickControl, math helpers) |
Building Examples
Using nether CLI (Recommended for Game Developers)
Many examples include a nether.toml manifest:
cd examples/7-games/paddle
nether build # Build WASM and create .nczx ROM
nether run # Build and launch in emulator
Building All Examples (For Nethercore Contributors)
To build and install all examples at once:
# From nethercore repository root
cargo xtask build-examples
This builds the Cargo-based examples and installs them into your Nethercore data directory under games/ (the command prints the exact path).
Example Structure
Most Rust examples follow this pattern:
category/example-name/
├── Cargo.toml # Project config
├── nether.toml # Game manifest (optional)
├── src/
│ └── lib.rs # Game code
└── assets/ # Assets (if needed)
Learning by Reading Code
Each example includes comments explaining key concepts:
#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
//! Example Name
//!
//! Description of what this example demonstrates.
//!
//! Controls:
//! - ...
//!
//! Note: Rollback state is automatic.
}Browse the source on GitHub or navigate to examples/ in your local clone.