This is probably going to be an odd topic considering I've never released much of any considerable significance, save for one or two Pokemon-related programs with limited functionality.

I did have a bunch of unfinished, unreleased projects though, encompassing Pokemon, Digimon, Phoenix Wright, and even a very limited form of YuGiOh! for the calculator. Beyond simple game engines and released pixel works, none of them went anywhere.

It was after I got my first three-day weekend in a long time that I attempted to work on Pokemon, but I wound up wasting the entire time over trivialities in the game engine and realized these were feelings I've had before that made me stop development a long time ago. I'm not happy doing this. I love the Pokemon games. I'll continue to play new iterations in the main series for a long time. But I've gotten far too familiar with its inner workings than I care to admit, and I'm tired of working within the constraints of the existing franchise.

This is stifling my creativity, and I didn't have much to start with. Hence I've decided to only work on original projects.

The only good things I got from this was a very detailed and in-depth understanding of the BASIC libraries provided by KermM, and a great many small routines using and demonstrating them effectively. I'm still working on some of these, and I will eventually focus on a single game to use them with.

I also hope to delve more seriously into ASM. I'm not having a good time of it at the moment, but I'm going to try to get more organized.

My current project is a perfected scrolling 2-layer top-down tilemap. The defining features of this engine will be seamless scrolling over the entirety of large maps. The engine will be designed to be feasible with maps of up to 256x256 dimensions, and will also feature incremental steps, collision detection, and interactible objects (on the second layer). I aim for it to be compatible with any map dimension given, as well as being able to traverse not only from one point of the map to another (like teleportation), but to other maps entirely.

It will make considerable use of StringTile and will also juggle many data-modifying DET( commands, which could theoretically make tilemaps of any size possible, memory permitting. If I'm successful, it will be more impressive considering it's in BASIC.

The drawing routines seem to be functional, and I'm currently working on the selection of map chunks to be displayed, and the timing to find new chunks without causing noticeable lag.

Pics when I have them.

TL;DR: I don't want to make a Pokemon game. Is the issue the morality of using the intellectual property of the Pokemon games and the other franchises that you discussed? Is there a possibility that it is more that you've restricted yourself only to existing games, which are larger and more expansive than you have the skill/patience/whatever to complete, and you just need to get your feet wet as far as released programs first with a few slightly smaller projects? Just bouncing some random ideas around, don't get offended.

Also, it doesn't necessarily have to be a direct port- Pokemon topaze turned out great, after all...

I'm looking forward to that tilemapper though...

I'm not, and it can be both. But it is true that there's been a nagging in the back of my mind that making a Pokemon game isn't a real accomplishment. Even if I did finish it, the credit I can attain for it is limited. Also, because the scope for a Pokemon game is so huge as far as content goes, I've been monopolizing my time with it, when I could be working on programs far more beneficial to my skills.

I do want to make a few small projects, but it's not a precursor to me taking up Pokemon again. Morality isn't a terribly huge problem now, but If I kept up my efforts, it'd bug me more later, I don't want to dedicate my next 8 years developing Pokemon for the 83+, which according to TI is on it's way out.

If I kept to original creations, I might make something that I could improve on and showcase later on my portfolio. I could never properly do that with my existing projects.

That's fair, and it's that very reason I suggest to some programmers that they take on a few smaller projects before attacking certain big projects. I figured you're sufficiently experienced that that wasn't a concern, but I guess it's never too late to need some short projects to spur you along.

It's going to be a long time until the TI-83+/84+ series goes away. People have too much invested in them.

A very fair point.

Yeah I don't know what my long term goals are yet. college has been difficult.

I assume you mean your long-term programming goals, rather than your long-term life goals (though they may be related)? Either way, hope you get a chance to figure it out.

both, but my life goals are too long term for me to care now, I probably don't really have or need any.