How to Install Micro Mages (Or Any Windows-Only Steam Game)

Reading Time: 5 minutes.

Why am I writing a How To article for a game? Because it’s a bit tricky for macOS users, and I thought I’d clear some stuff up. Why am I writing a How To like this for a game at all? There are a few reasons. First, one of the methods is a bit difficult for anyone who’s not familiar with Terminal, and I think it would be nice to teach you a new trick. You’ll thank me later. Secondly, this will teach you how to install ANY game that’s not available for your platform on Steam. Thirdly, it’s a game available for PC and NES emulators, which means you can play this game on a Windows PC, sure, but also on your Mac, Linux machine, smartphone, web browser, and more. Finally, because this is an NES game.

This is a brand new NES game. For real! Micro Mages was created thanks to Kickstarter. One of the rewards was a digital copy. That part of the reward has already released. I’m going to wait to review the game until later this month or June though, because I want to review the actual NES version along with the digital copy. An actual NES cartridge! How cool is that?

However, if you backed Micro Mages on Kickstarter or already want to buy it on Steam or some other platform, you may be confused. It’s easy to do on Windows, because the developers made a Windows version. But what about macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, or other users? That’s going to be a bit more tricky. However, it’s not too difficult, and at least one of the methods is as easy as downloading and installing anything else from the web. So, let’s get started!

Installing for Windows

I’m including this section, but you really don’t need it. You can install this game via Steam here. It’s also available on their website, where you can download it via Itch.io. Congrats, you’re done! Gaming on Windows is really the only thing Windows is good for, so enjoy! (I’m not bitter, you are!)

Playing Via an Emulator

For macOS, Linux, Android or iOS, a web browser, or any other platform that supports NES emulation (like certain consoles), you’ll be able to play the game only through an NES emulator. Since there are many ways to do this for many platforms, as well as many emulation apps, I can’t go into great detail on this. However, I can point you in the right direction.

macOS

For macOS, I highly recommend OpenEmu. It has multiple emulators, so you’ll have more than just an NES system, but many others as well. I personally have used Nestopia for years, and only recently started using OpenEmu, but the latter seems better because it can bring all your digital consoles and games in one place. If you only need an NES, Nestopia is fantastic.

If you have an old PowerPC based Mac, you can try RocksNES, but I can’t guarantee that’ll work, as I don’t have my PPC Mac handy right now.

Mobile, Linux, Consoles, Etc?

What about Android, Linux, iOS, or others? On Android, you can find emulators on Google Play. iOS is a bit more tricky. Apple got very good at pulling emulators from the App Store, even hidden ones, and they block third party developers via certificate quite easily. However, you can download the source code, compile it yourself, and install it on iOS. I can’t teach you how to do all of that here, but it’s not too hard using Xcode. Just search GitHub for a decent iOS NES emulator project with a lot of followers and contributors.

You can also play using a web browser. There are a few available that allow you to play by uploading a ROM.

Once you have an emulator handy, you’re ready to play Micro Mages on any platform. You just need the ROM. Let’s get into how to install that next.

Installing for macOS or Mobile

These instructions will be for how to install the game for macOS. If all you have is a Mac, this is the place to start. If you’re looking to install it via a mobile device, I highly recommend you use a computer to do so first. However, there is one way to install just via a mobile device, which I’ll outline below.

Using Itch.io (Only Mobile Method!)

Okay, full disclosure, this is the easy way. In fact, if you bought Micro Mages through Kickstarter, you likely got an email a few days ago with the install instructions. The Itch.io method is definitely the easiest. If you’re using a mobile device, this is also the only way to install this.

Kickstarter backers

For Kickstarter backers, just click the link in the email. That’ll take you to the Itch.io hosted website. You do not need an account. I know, I misread the first time and thought I would have to make an account, so I installed it via the far more difficult Steam method outlined below. Yes, I’m a very smart idiot.

All Others

For everyone else, you’re going to have to buy the game through Itch.io, which will involve signing up for an account if you don’t have one already. Once you do, you can follow the same method above for downloading the ROM file, not the game or installer for Windows.

Using Steam (macOS and Linux)

Let’s say you’re someone who hates all other game platforms and will only use Steam. Fine. Or, maybe you’re a very dumb smart person who misread the webpage late one night and figured Steam was the only way to install without making a new account. (It’s not.)

Here’s how to do it.

NOTE: The commands below are for the macOS version. You can find the Linux commands here, but they aren’t much different.

Buy the App

First, you’ll need to own Micro Mages. To do this, open Steam, and either buy it, if you weren’t a Kickstarter backer, or go to Games -> Activate a Product on Steam, and enter the key you received in the backer email for your free download.

That’s the easy part. For Windows users, you’re done, start playing. For anyone else, read on.

Installing Steam Command Line Tools

First, you’ll need to install the Steam command line tools. To do this, we’re going to have to open Terminal. This is an app on your Mac, it’s in Utilities -> Terminal. You can also just press Command + Space and type in “Terminal,” then press enter.

With Terminal open, enter the following commands, hitting enter after each line:

cd ~/

mkdir SteamCmd

cd SteamCmd

curl -sqL "https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_osx.tar.gz" | tar zxvf -

That will install the Steam command line tools.

Installing the Game

mkdir ../MicroMages

./steamcmd.sh +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows +login yourUserNameHere +force_install_dir ../micro_mages +app_update 1065020 validate +quit

cd ../MicroMages/ROM

open .

And that’s it! Copy-paste the above commands, replacing only the part that says “yourUserNameHere” with your own Steam user name. Since you already bought the game, Steam will let you download it.

If you followed the above instructions, you’ll now have a Finder window open with your ROM for Micro Mages. You can now drag and drop this into OpenEmu, put it in a ROMs folder on your machine, or just play it from here. Your choice!

Windows Only Steam Games

This is how you’d install any Windows-only Steam game. You would just replace the “1065020” in the command above with the unique Steam game ID number from the Steam game’s URL. Then you’d have the .exe file, which you can execute using an emulator, Windows PC virtualization, or install on your Windows partition.

Any Other Methods

Feel free to comment below if you have a different way of installing this game (and other Windows-only Steam games). Also, drop me a line if you’re unable to get these working yourself, I’ll be happy to help.

Enjoy Micro Mages or whatever game brought you to this post!