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Retro games on the internet
If you're harbouring nostalgia for the pioneering days of computer gaming, the net might just provide the retro fix you're looking for, writes Andrew Stucken
PlayStation, Wii, X-Box – the constant genetic mutations of electronic games consoles is simply bewildering.
Now into its seventh generation, the industry is constantly reinventing itself at breathtaking speed.
For those of us in at the beginning in the 1970s, today’s systems are as far removed from our long obsolete toys as the latest Airbus behemoth is from a Sopwith Camel.
But the internet being the internet, a bit of nerdy nostalgia is not hard to come by.
There are online archives where old computer games can be downloaded – freeware, and shareware.
From creaky Spectrum creations to adapted Arcade amusements to ancient PC games, thousands are available.
Games designed for computers are divided into DOS and Windows (DOS being the system that ran PCs pre-Windows).
The development of the PC in the 1980s gradually killed off the older games consoles but spawned a slew of new DOS games.
Over 400 of these can be downloaded free at sites such as www.dosgames.com or www.dosgamesarchive.com and can be played on modern PCs. Shareware of course requires a donation to the creator if found useful.
For some games it is necessary to slow down your superspeed modern computer so that old games are playable. Otherwise the aliens which you effortlessly zapped 25 years ago will attack you at lightning fast modern processing speeds.
Software called an emulator, such as DOSbox, will need to be downloaded and installed first. DOSbox is open source and thus free to download and there are many other programmes available – see http://www.geocities.com/kulhain/ for an extensive set of links.
Be prepared for possible pop-up invaders alongside your Space Invaders and make sure you protect your PC with a functioning firewall and up-to-date antivirus programme.
A world of warning, however – it can be difficult to ascertain the copyright status of all the games available. To avoid breaching copyright law, you will need to check to see whether games are legal to download and use.
Sticking to shareware and freeware PC games is probably the safest policy but many other games can be legally downloaded and used - provided they are for your own use and not commercially distributed. Games not originally designed for PC can be transferred to using a ROM – Read Only Memory.
ROMS copy the programme on the embedded chip in the cartridge, handheld device, etc., so that they can be used on PC. Some ROMs are officially licensed and available for purchase. The vast majority of games which have ever been created are out of production and copyright holders of some games have offered free licenses for them, provided they are not distributed for profit making purposes. Unlicensed ROMS can be illegal and are best avoided.
