Retrogaming

Akihabara – Super Potato Retro Game Shop, in Tokyo, Japan
Retrogaming on a "Night of computer games" in Leipzig 2012

Retrogaming, also known as classic gaming and old school gaming, is the playing or collecting of older personal computer, console, and arcade video games in contemporary times. Usually retrogaming is based upon systems that are obsolete or discontinued.

Retrogaming has three main activities; vintage retrogaming, retrogaming emulation, and ported retrogaming. Vintage retrogaming includes games that are played on the original hardware. Emulation involves newer systems simulating old gaming systems, while ported retrogaming allows games to be played on modern hardware via ports or compilations. Additionally, the term could apply to a newer game, but with features similar to those of older games, such as an "retro RPG" which features turn-based combat and an isometric camera perspective.

Participants in the hobby are sometimes known as retrogamers in the United Kingdom, while the terms "classic gamers" or "old school gamers" are more prevalent in the United States. Similarly, the games are known as retrogames, classic games, or old school games.[1]

Retrogaming has existed since the early years of the video game industry, but was popularized with the popularity of the Internet and emulation technology.[2] It is argued that the main reasons players are drawn to retrogames are nostalgia for different eras, the idea that older games can be more challenging, and the simplicity of the games that requires less hours of gameplay.

Retrogaming and retrocomputing have been described as preservation activity and as aspects of the remix culture.[3]

The first known instance of the term "Retro" in terms of gaming came from the RetroGames[4] videoGame store launched in 1997 followed by the emulation website retrogames.com in 1998[5]. The original name was coined by Robert Frasure of RetroGames when he found that "Flashback Games" was taken.

Games

Retro games are generally those produced from the 1970s to 2000s, and can include video games for systems and consoles from the 1st through 6th generations of video game consoles[6] as well as personal computer games for the Commodore 64, MSX, ZX81, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga, NEC PC-88, PC-98, Sharp X1, Sharp X68000, ZX80, FM-7 and DOS platforms. Arcade games are also popular, especially early games by Konami, Sega, Atari, Taito, Williams Electronics, Namco, Nintendo, Technos, Capcom, and SNK.[6] Games in this era were frequently attributed to individual programmers, and many retro gamers seek out games by particular developers, such as Tomohiro Nishikado, Shigeru Miyamoto, Shigesato Itoi, Bill Williams, Eugene Jarvis, Dave Theurer, Nasir Gebelli, Yuji Naka, Jeff Minter, Yuji Horii, Yu Suzuki, Tony Crowther, Andrew Braybrook, Hideo Kojima, and Hironobu Sakaguchi. Some games are played on the original hardware; others are played through emulation. Some retro games can still be played online using just the internet browser via DOS emulation.[7] In some cases, entirely new versions of the games are designed, or remade. As well as playing games, a subculture of retrogaming has grown up around the music in retro games.

Retrogaming methods

In the wake of increasing nostalgia and the success of retro-compilations in the sixth and seventh generations of consoles, retrogaming has become a motif in modern games, as well. Modern retrogames will impose limitations on color palette, resolution, and memory well below the actual limits of the hardware in order to mimic the look of older hardware. These may be based on a general concept of retro, as with Cave Story, or an attempt to imitate a specific piece of hardware, as with La Mulana and its MSX color palette.

This concept, known as Deliberate Retro,[8] began to gain traction thanks in part to the independent gaming scene, where the short development time was attractive and commercial viability was not a concern. More recently major publishers have started to embrace modern retrogaming with releases such as these: Mega Man 9, an attempt to mimic NES hardware; Retro Game Challenge, a compilation of new games on faux-NES hardware; and Sega's Fantasy Zone II remake, which uses emulated System 16 hardware running on PlayStation 2 to create a 16-bit reimagining of the 8-bit original.

Vintage retrogaming

Used Super Famicom consoles and games sold in like new condition in Akihabara. Some used games are sold with or without any packaging.[9]

Vintage retrogaming involves players collecting the original hardware, cartridges, and discs the video games were originally released on.[10] The hardware collected includes arcade systems, old home consoles, and their cartridges and discs. Some of these collectables can be fairly expensive and hard to find, limiting the access to these old games.[11][12]

Retrogaming emulation

Retrogaming emulation involves older gaming systems being emulated on new hardware. It bypasses the need to collect old consoles and original games. ROMS, read only memory files, are taken directly from the original cartridge or disc from third parties. They are then typically put online through file sharing sites and played via emulators on modern hardware.[10] Since emulation is a more accessible way to take part in retrogaming, it helped to popularize and expand on the hobby.[2]

Ported retrogaming

Ported retrogaming involves old games being played on new systems, just as emulation. It differs from emulation because the games are being rewritten for the new system and don't use the original ROM files.[10] Ported games are available through official collections, console-based downloads, and plug and play systems.[2]

Remakes

Modern retrogaming may sometimes be more broadly applied to games, made by companies and volunteers alike, that feature retro-style designs and reimaginings with more modern graphics. These enhanced remakes include Pac-Man: Championship Edition, Space Invaders Extreme, Super Mega Worm, 3D Dot Game Heroes. Some are based directly upon the enhanced emulation of original games, as with Nintendo's NES Remix.

Screenshot of Paku Paku, a Pac-Man remake that targets the obscure and seldom used 160×100×16 mode of the CGA graphic card.[13]

When remakes are created by an individual or a group of enthusiasts without commercial motivation, such games sometimes are also called Fangames. These are often motivated by the phenomenon of abandonware, which is the discontinuation of sales and support by the original producers, who may no longer exist. Examples for fan-made remakes are many adventure games such as King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown or King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones, and other remakes of classical games such as Civilization's free counterpart titled Freeciv.

The nostalgia-based revival of older game styles has also been accompanied by the development of the modern chiptune genre of game music. Chiptunes are characterized by severe limitations of sound imposed by the author's self-restriction to using only the original sound chips from 8-bit or 16-bit games. These compositions are featured in many retro-style modern games and are popular in the demoscene.

Re-releases

With the new possibility of the digital distribution in mid-2000 the commercial distribution of old classical game titles became feasible again as deployment and storage costs dropped significantly:

[...] we can put something up on Steam [a digital distributor], deliver it to people all around the world, make changes. We can take more interesting risks.[...] Retail doesn’t know how to deal with those games. On Steam there’s no shelf-space restriction. It’s great because they’re a bunch of old, orphaned games
— Gabe Newell, Rock, Paper, Shotgun[14]

A digital distributor specialized in bringing old games out of abandonware is GOG.com (formerly called Good Old Games) who started 2008 to search for copyright holders of classic games to re-release them legally and DRM-free.[15]

Notable online platforms for classic video game re-releases include Nintendo's Virtual Console and Sony's PlayStation Network.

Recently, mobile application developers have been purchasing the rights and licensing to re-release vintage arcade games on iOS and Android operating systems. Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., a Japan-based arcade, mobile and home video game publisher, created a spin-off to the classic Pac-Man called Pac-Man Bounce. Bandai kept the core principles of the old Pac-Man game but added new features, levels, and styles of play. Pac-Man Bounce is currently only available in the Canadian and Australian app markets but is expected to be expanding worldwide soon. Square-Enix has even followed suit, releasing titles like Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy, and Tomb Raider.[16]

Plug-and-play systems

Plug-and-play systems have been released or licensed by companies such as Atari, Sega, and Nintendo. These systems include stand-alone game libraries and plug directly into the user’s television.[10]

Retrogaming community

The Art of Video Games premiered at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2012.

The video game industry has an active audience, including the retrogaming sector. The retrogaming community has both online and physical spaces where retrogames are discussed, collected, and played.[2]

Online retrogaming community

There are several websites and online forums devoted to both retrogaming and video games in general. The content on these online platforms typically includes reviews of older games, interviews with developers, fan-made content, game walkthroughs, and message boards for discussions.[2]

Fighting game community

The competitive Fighting game community traces its legacy from old-school arcades.[17] Some fighting games have continued to receive arcade releases after the end of the arcade era.[18] Face-to-face competition of Super Street Fighter II Turbo has been featured in the Evolution Championship Series.[19]

Exhibitions

There are several events that retrogamers can take part in. Exhibits typically include vendors, retrogames available to play, tournaments, costumes, and live music. such as the Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo, run by Phase 3 events. This event has been occurring annually since March 17, 2012.[20]

Retrogaming in museums

Retrogaming is recognized by museums worldwide. For example, the RetroGames arcade museum of Karlsruhe, Germany was founded in 2002[21][22] and the Computerspielemuseum Berlin was founded in 1997. Some classical art museums bear a video gaming retrospective, as with 2012's Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibition titled The Art of Video Games[23] or as part of the Museum of Modern Art "Applied Design" exhibition in 2013.[24]

Though many abandonware titles are available for free download on third-party websites, the duration of copyright on creative works in most countries is far longer than the era of home computing. Emulators are typically created by third parties, and the software they run is often taken directly from the original games and put online for free download.[10] Some companies have made public statements regarding the issues, such as Nintendo, stating that "the introduction of emulators created to play illegally copied Nintendo software represents the greatest threat to date in the intellectual property rights of video game developers”.[25] However, video game developers and publishers typically turn a blind eye to emulation.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ GOING RETRO: 14 Old School Games You Can Play On Your iPhone Right Now
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 S., Heineman, David (2014-01-22). "Retrogaming as Nostalgia by D. S. Heineman". Journal of Games Criticism. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  3. ↑ Yuri Takhteyev, Quinn DuPont (2013). "Retrocomputing as Preservation and Remix" (PDF). iConference 2013 Proceedings (pp. 422–432). doi:10.9776/13230. University of Toronto. Retrieved 2016-03-26. This paper looks at the world of retrocomputing, a constellation of largely non-professional practices involving old computing technology. Retrocomputing includes many activities that can be seen as constituting “preservation.” At the same time, it is often transformative, producing assemblages that “remix” fragments from the past with newer elements or joining together historic components that were never combined before. While such “remix” may seem to undermine preservation, it allows for fragments of computing history to be reintegrated into a living, ongoing practice, contributing to preservation in a broader sense. The seemingly unorganized nature of retrocomputing assemblages also provides space for alternative “situated knowledges” and histories of computing, which can sometimes be quite sophisticated. Recognizing such alternative epistemologies paves the way for alternative approaches to preservation.
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/19990922031733/http://www.geocities.com:80/Tokyo/1424/
  5. ↑ http://retrogames.com/
  6. 1 2 Scott, Jennifer (2017-06-28). "Retro gaming: Why players are returning to the classics". BBC. Archived from the original on 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  7. ↑ "10 best retro games you can play online". Mwave.com.au. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  8. ↑ "Deliberately Retro". giantbomb.com. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
  9. ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-12-crippled-by-nostalgia-the-fraud-of-retro-gaming
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "What is Retrogaming?". wiseGEEK. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  11. ↑ http://igcritic.com/what-happened-to-classic-video-game-packaging/
  12. ↑ http://www.racketboy.com/retro/nintendo/snes/the-rarest-and-most-valuable-super-nintendo-snes-games
  13. ↑ Knight, Jason. "Paku Paku – A game for early PC/MS-DOS Computers". deathshadow.com. Retrieved 2013-01-16. Contents of DEATHSHADOW'S MADNESS © Jason M. Knight unless otherwise noted All code presented on this site is released to the Public Domain. There'll be none of that open source licensing malarkey in here – If you going to give something away, LANDS SAKE JUST GIVE IT AWAY!!!
  14. ↑ Walker, John (2007-11-22). "RPS Exclusive: Gabe Newell Interview". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2013-06-28. The worst days [for game development] were the cartridge days for the NES. It was a huge risk – you had all this money tied up in silicon in a warehouse somewhere, and so you’d be conservative in the decisions you felt you could make, very conservative in the IPs you signed, your art direction would not change, and so on. Now it’s the opposite extreme: we can put something up on Steam, deliver it to people all around the world, make changes. We can take more interesting risks.[...] Retail doesn’t know how to deal with those games. On Steam [a digital distributor] there’s no shelf-space restriction. It’s great because they’re a bunch of old, orphaned games.
  15. ↑ Caron, Frank (2008-09-09). "First look: GOG revives classic PC games for download age". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2012-12-27. [...] [Good Old Games] focuses on bringing old, time-tested games into the downloadable era with low prices and no DRM.
  16. ↑ "Secret of Mana for iOS & Android". The Classic Gamer. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  17. ↑ Bowman, Mitch. "Why the fighting game community is color blind".
  18. ↑ "A Brief History of 2D Fighting Games".
  19. ↑ Walker, Ian. "Evo 2015 Super Street Fighter II Turbo Side Tournaments Unveiled, Registration Now Live".
  20. ↑ VGE. "Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo". www.vancouvergamingexpo.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  21. ↑ RetroGames e.V. (german)
  22. ↑ Schmitz, Peter (2002-07-19). "Erster eingetragener Verein für Computer- und Konsolenspiele-Oldies eröffnet" (in German). Heise.de. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  23. ↑ Snider, Mike (2012-03-13). "Are video games art? Draw your own conclusions". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  24. ↑ Antonelli, Paola (2012-11-29). "Video Games: 14 in the Collection, for Starters". Inside / Out. A MoMA/MoMA PS1 Blog. Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  25. ↑ "| Nintendo – Corporate Information | Legal Information (Copyrights, Emulators, ROMs, etc.)". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
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