Classic Computers vs. Classic Computing

From: Iggy Drougge <optimus_at_canit.se>
Date: Fri Sep 14 20:31:49 2001

Jeffrey S. Sharp skrev:

>> What really puts me off emulators is that they're so awfully lame. How
>> can an emulator be lame? Well, it's not as much the emulators as the
>> crowd surrounding them. They're usually Win#? kids who know nothing
>> about old computers, really don't care, and just want games, games,
>> games, all for free.

>Many kids (and adults alike) run emulators (e.g. a Super NES (older 16-bit
>game console) emulator) to play games because the emu offer more
>capability than the games' original platform. For instance, in some RPGs,
>you can only save your progress within the game at certain times, which
>can be few and far between. With an emulator, you can suspend the virtual
>machine at any time you like and save memory contents and execution
>context(s). Later, you can resume exactly where you left off.

I regard that as cheating. =)

>Emulators also offer more portability than the real thing. A laptop with
>emulators for NES, SNES, NeoGeo, Genesis, etc. can go in much smaller
>places than the corresponding collection of the real hardware.

Tough luck, I say. Get a Game Boy.

>Most of the people who run these emulators are somewhat classic-aware and
>are doing it for nostalgia. You have to remember that games have advanced
>quite a bit since those days. Today's "Win#? kids who [...] really don't
>care, and just want games, games, games, all for free", with their 1GHz
>computers and ultra-fast 64MB-equipped 3D accelerators, expect much more
>graphically from a game. To them, older games are bland and boring and
>wouldn't be worth the time to run in an emulator.

I think you're wrong here. I encounter this kind of kid a lot due to the game
network sharing spaces with SUGA. Granted, they run a lot of fancy 3D games,
and use a tone of disguest when speaking about graphics cards which have more
VRAM than my previous computers had main RAM. But along with all the Quakes
and Warcrafts, there are directories named "ROMz", with a lot of 8- and 16-bit
games. They think they're fun, and why not? These games offer experiences
which aren't available in today's games.
Then there is the great retro trend as well, but I don't like it one bit. It's
like any sub-culture which is invaded by media-aware, trendy people with no
real regard for the core of the current fad, aside from the coolness factor.

Of course, when I'm stuck with a PC, the one thing I use it for is running
emulators. I don't care for PCs one bit, but at least I can play Super Robot
War then. =)

--
En ligne avec Thor 2.6a.
Menyn ?r inte lika sexig som telnet, det ?r h?rt men sant.
    Petri Oksanen #38 p? SUGA BBS
Received on Fri Sep 14 2001 - 20:31:49 BST

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