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If you've been reading Time Extension for a while, you've probably seen us cover some of BillyTime!Games' ROM hacks before.
Over the last decade, the self-described "retro gaming mad scientist" has lent his hacking skills to a number of fascinating projects: everything from providing optional ways to play some of your favourite (and least favourite) classic games to even creating an offline recreation of Sega Channel (Sega, TCI, and Time Warner's discontinued cable video game service).
Eternal Champions, Super Star Wars, Silver Surfer — the list of titles he's turned his hand to over the years goes on and on. Arguably, his finest work, though, is still Ghostbusters: Special Edition, a patch he developed in collaboration with Danilo Dias and Master Linkuei, which was originally conceived as a simple patch to introduce the missing Ghostbuster Winston Zeddemore to Sega and Compile's 1990 Sega Mega Drive / Genesis run 'n' gun platformer. Originally released in 2023, this hack has been updated several times over the past few years, most recently reaching version 3.0 last week.
As a result, we wanted to chat with the ROM hacker about the journey so far, from the origins of the project to the latest update and some of the ideas that failed to make the cut. Luckily for us, he was more than happy to take us behind the scenes of his project, sharing his process and what goes into making a hack like Ghostbusters: Special Edition possible.
Time Extension: You first landed on our radar through your work on Ghostbusters: Special Edition. I’m curious, what was your introduction to ROM hacking before then?
BillyTime!Games: I started ROM hacking 10 years ago. I was doing a crappy Let's Play with friends where we would point a phone at a TV and simply record. I wanted to have a game to call my own and started working with Super Mario World and Lunar Magic, and thus BillyTime! - The Video Game was born. In fact, my little green guy came from that exact project!
I did a few more SMW-related projects such as Marvel Quiz Quest and a few other unremarkable hacks, but things started to get serious as I started to branch out. I talked to Jlukas on GameFAQs of all places, as he helped me start my journey to learn ASM with The Addams Family Values - Afterlife Edition in 2019. I was excited and happy that I could revive a game I felt had flaws and work to make things better for myself and players. Jlukas doesn't get enough credit for his contributions, so I do want to take a moment to say thank you.
From there it was time to tackle another game, but this time, for the Sega Genesis. I had trouble figuring the system out at first, thinking I could just poke around code and see what works. That was a rather wishful, if not dumb, idea. So I sought out Tony Hedstrom and spent a considerable amount of time learning from him. His help was instrumental in helping me truly understand what I could do with the system and how to explore the inner workings of my favourite games. The end result of his teaching became the first revision of Eternal Champions - Special Edition. Again, many thanks to Tony for his help in getting me started with work on the Genesis.
Time Extension: You’ve told us in the past that Ghostbusters: Special Edition originally came about because of a desire to introduce Winston to the game, but the project has ultimately grown a lot since then. What made you want to develop the hack further, adding things like guest characters, secret mini-games, and more?
BillyTime!Games: Master Linkuei had the original Idea for Winston, and I was fully on board to make that happen. I give him all the credit in the world for that idea. After we cleared the initial idea, Danilo Dias finished the GFX for Winston and the firehouse ending, and I snuck Louis in at the last minute as an Ed Boon-style joke for fans and to match the roster for New Ghostbusters II before release.
After this, I felt like we had room to expand and take this idea even further. I really wanted Ghostbusters - Special Edition to be memorable and to set the tone that nothing could truly be impossible in the hacking scene and maybe raise the bar just a little bit. Five characters simply wasn't enough for me, and I always felt this game could benefit from more of everything. Even then, it still might not be enough. I wanted a game that players could come back to and keep finding new things. Ghostbusters had a sense of mystery and the unknown to it, and I fully wanted to exploit that aspect to its full potential.
I really love the franchise, and I love Sega. It was a match made in heaven, and it is still wild to think that we made all of this together across different continents for everyone across the globe to enjoy. We (Myself, Linkuei and Danilo) even did an interview together online with Ghostbusters Ireland to talk about the hack and what our ambitions were. I got to do an interview with Sega Bits to talk more about the hack solo. And it also grabbed the attention of AEW Star Kenny Omega. I'm still very proud of these moments, and it is those memories and that passion for the franchise that still pushes me to continue my work with Ghostbusters.
Time Extension: What does the pipeline look like, from having a concept to integrating it into the original Mega Drive / Genesis game? Are there any special tools you’re using?
BillyTime!Games: Three of the biggest tools in my arsenal are HxD Hex Editor, Notepad++, and GensR57 Shell Mod. Basically, I think up an idea, and I pursue a RAM address for a particular function. Say, for example, the Proton Pack Damage Values. I look up how much damage the normal buster does and how I can upgrade that for a specific character or cheat to do 2x or 3x damage. When I feel I have something I can work with, I develop a proof of concept.
From there, I then have the means to expand the code to take on more variables, more cheats, and various conditionals. But it all starts with making sure it can be done first.
Graphics-wise, YY-CHR, Hivepal, and The Sega Compressor have been a big boon to the project, as more graphics can be decompressed from Nemesis format to edit and reinsert at various points of the game. That is how we ended up being able to have more portraits, victory screens, a new HQ scene and just make everything look much more polished than the usual ROM hack. Some of the tools here are outdated by a heavy degree. But I like to use anything that just works for me.
Time Extension: What have been some of the biggest challenges of introducing so much stuff into the game?
BillyTime!Games: Bug testing, easily. So much gets added at one time, it can be hard to diagnose what went wrong. Sometimes it's a bad opcode; other times the bug in question is much harder to find. The ROM itself has annotations of the inner functions to make coding and identifying everything much smoother. So that was a good idea that paid off in the long run, and I use this method with all my hacks now.
Time Extension: I’m guessing memory must be one of the biggest issues. Could you talk about some of the memory techniques you’re taking advantage of?
BillyTime!Games: 512 KB was a pretty small amount of space to work with. The total game size was expanded twice. However, space hasn't been much of an issue yet. We were able to pack a lot in with just 1.5MB. In theory, we could fit in some more if we chose to. Relocating code to future-proof further additions was probably the most painstaking part.
Time Extension: Since we last spoke about it, probably back in 2023 (oof!), what has been going on with your projects?
BillyTime!Games: There is a lot to talk about with Ghostbusters. Originally, 3.0 was simply a planned MD+ patch; instead, it turned into me packing more and more things in because ultimately I wasn't fully satisfied with what I had. I wanted to make a ROM hack to remember, and Ghostbusters really had the potential to be just that. So I stirred up and pursued more crazy ideas, concepts and drawings to make what I could consider the ultimate ROM hack to match something crazy like Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
Janine and Sigma got upgrades to further differentiate them from the mainline cast. Title screen colours and Sega Logos have been randomised, pulling the idea from Eternal Champions. The new Columns mini-game (Big shout-out to YoSoyNacho for helping me include this feature!) allows players to take a break from busting ghosts and match gems in the shape of Sam-Hain and The Terror Dogs, Zuul and Vinz Clortho. The newest update packed in enough secrets to keep people playing and searching for a while. Here is a hint, oops! All guest characters.
Do I consider the Project finished? Probably not. The MD+ patch is still on the table, and there is still plenty of room to update the game further if I so choose. So the door is always open if I ever get the itch to go back to the well.
Time Extension: The last update introduced Kylie Griffin from the Extreme Ghostbusters. Is there a possibility of you introducing more characters from that show or the extended Ghostbusters universe in the future?
BillyTime!Games: There were a few ideas to include: Slimer, Dana Barrett, Ron Alexander from the IDW Comics, Vigo the Carpathian, Mr Stay Puft, Filmation Ghostbusters, and even Ray Parker Jr. There were many candidates and ideas. I won't rule anything out; there were a few that actually came close to being in the game proper. That is without even getting into ideas for guest characters either.
Time Extension: Ghostbusters Special Edition isn’t the only ROM hack you’ve worked on. I’ve previously spoken to you about your Sega Channel Revival project. For those unaware, could you give a quick overview of that project and why it interested you?
BillyTime!Games: I never had Sega Channel growing up, and it bothered me for a long time. I just wanted it back in any way, shape or form. Sega Channel Revival is an offline month-by-month simulation of what Sega Channel was like. As close as I could manage with the help of a custom Genesis Plus GX Emulator that supports bloated, oversized ROMs and the SSF2 mapper used by Super Street Fighter 2.
There was an idea from the very beginning of my ROM hack career to do something with Sega Channel Demo 4 that was dumped by Local H on Sonic Retro back in 2011 or so. The main idea was to get it to load a game. RocketRobz' 6-Pak disassembly (that's RocketRobz', of TWiLight Menu++ fame) was a big indicator that something could be done. Somewhere around late 2021, I cracked the code of multi-game bank switching and how to boot into other games via Genesis Plus GX by randomly booting 10-in-1 ROMs to see if anything actually worked. From there, I worked on the first 32MB ROM and briefly settled with the concept.
Eventually, hacking the menus to cut it down didn't feel right. I wanted something a bit more pure. So constant refinement went into making Sega Channel Revival what it is today. It's not perfect and may never be. But it was nice to recapture a memory I originally missed out on the first time.
Time Extension: You’ve also worked on a lot of other miscellaneous hacks. A lot of which deal with making older games more approachable (for instance, games like Silver Surfer), or introducing SRAM. How do you decide what projects you want to tackle? Do you ever take requests or feedback from players?
BillyTime!Games: I take a page from Dennaton Games (Hotline Miami). Their approach is "We want to pursue what we think would be cool." I paraphrased a bit there. But I basically code for myself.
I tackle what I want and sometimes look back at feedback from yesteryear as my research. The Angry Video Game Nerd has been a major influence in some of my work, such as Batman Eternity, Dennis the Menace Redux, Ultimate X-Men, and even, you guessed it, Ghostbusters. In addition, a lot of the games I do hack are also games I really enjoyed when I was little. So there is a bit of bias in what I like to work on.
I try not to take requests if I don't feel passionate about something; I don't care for the pressure that brings. One user once told me to die because I wouldn't take on an SRAM hack for Shadow Dancer within a specific timeline. That was more than enough for me to put my foot down. But that said, feedback is welcome and can make things a bit better in cases where the players know the game better than I do and I have a better idea of what changes to make.
Eventually, I will cave if a request is too great and I build the courage to pursue it. The Real Ghostbusters as playable characters was a heavily requested feature due to the cartoonish nature of the original. Their appearance alone generated a lot of buzz online.
Time Extension: Something I feel has always been a problem for ROM hackers is other people monetising your work without permission, potentially putting you at risk of being caught in the crossfire. I’m wondering, have you ever encountered any of your hacks being sold without your permission? Do you have any strong thoughts on the topic?
BillyTime!Games: Absolutely! I have seen a Ghostbusters Special Edition copy floating on eBay for a solid 200+ dollars. I don't have any strong opinions about my hacks being sold. I can't stop it, and I don't have any interest in chasing down every single copy of my works in existence, but quite a bit is out there in the wild.
My opinion is this: digitally, I can support and bug-fix any kind of error you encounter. Whether it is my fault or something unforeseen. With physical, I cannot do that. I cannot refund you, as I myself have not made a cent off my work, nor do I have any intention of doing so. My work is strictly a hobby. A simple labour of love.
Time Extension: Before releasing Ghostbusters Special Edition 3.0, you suggested you might take a bit of a break from ROM hacking after the release of the latest update. Is that still the plan? What’s next for you?
BillyTime!Games: A break is definitely happening for sure. I have plans to go on a vacation at the end of the month after judging entries for the SNES DEV Game Jam 2026 on Itch.io, where I plan to get a crack at finally visiting Hook & Ladder 88, the legendary Ghostbusters Firehouse itself!
It's unclear what my future holds for now, but if I get the itch again, I won't be gone very long.