Decompilation is the process of translating a compiled program’s bytecode back into a higher-level programming language, like C. There’s a vibrant and growing scene of engineers working to decompile classic video games, and some of the most prominent projects have focused on the Nintendo 64. Recent successes include Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Paper Mario.

Ethan Roseman and Mark Street are both software engineers with experience in the decompilation scene. In addition to their work on specific games, they’re active in creating open-source tooling for the decompilation community, including Splat which is a binary splitting tool, and Decomp.me which is a collaborative decompilation and reverse engineering site.

Ethan and Mark join the podcast to talk about N64 game decompilation, surprising discoveries in the game code, tool development, and much more. Be sure to check out the Decomp.me Discord to learn more.

Joe Nash is a developer, educator, and award-winning community builder, who has worked at companies including GitHub, Twilio, Unity, and PayPal. Joe got his start in software development by creating mods and running servers for Garry’s Mod, and game development remains his favorite way to experience and explore new technologies and concepts.