Just for kicks, I decided to try and install FreeDOS into the free version of VMWare server yesterday. The installation went very nicely and before long I was mucking around in the console. I decided to try and play a game in this environment. Having used FreeDOS before, I knew it would work with the operating system, but I was unsure how playable it would be under VMWare.

The first game I tried was Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold and it ran quite well. I was encouraged so I decided to try a more complex game. I chose DOSDoom because I love the game and it seemed like the next logical step. It also ran well. To try out your own game, just run an ISO generation tool on the installed directory, and attach the ISO to your VMWare guest. If you’re running Xandros, use the ‘mkisofs’ command:

$ mkisofs -o /tmp/doom/cd.iso /tmp/doom/DOOM/

Assuming your installation directory is located under ‘/tmp/doom/DOOM’, this command will quickly generate an ISO file. To make it easier on yourself, I would just throw all of your favourite games into one ISO, burn the CD, archive it (you can edit it later if you want to add more games), and use that whenever you feel an itch to play.

This technology is a fabulously free alternative to building your own RetroBox, but maybe not as much fun to put together.

Categories: Games, Retro, Software
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A friend of mine wrote an article a few days ago suggesting that emulation may meet its end in the not-so-distant future because the computing power necessary to emulate the new hardware used by today’s consoles would be too vast. I agree with him completely, but I still have reservations about this statement for a couple of reasons.

First, until recently, consoles were always lagging behind computers in terms of pure processing power. Programmers and hardware engineers have always been able to do more with less on static systems like the Nintendo 64 or Turbo Grafx 16. The consoles had specialized hardware in them which could accelerate common operations used by games. Thus, the console stayed with exactly the same hardware during the lifetime of the product but often continued to look good in the eyes of the consumer because of these extra hardware features. Computer hardware, on the other hand, continued to get better but because of complex operating systems like Microsoft Windows, the computer games often had to play catch-up. For example, during the late 1980’s and and 1990’s, a side-by-side comparison would have been difficult at the best of times because the consoles often ran completely different games from the kind played by computer enthusiasts. Not to mention, the computer often had to contend with many more software layers than a barebones console. It was and still is today, impossible for a computer to run a game without some overhead from the operating system, hardware drivers, other applications, etc. In stark contrast, consoles usually had a bare metal operating system with a spartan software architecture; essentially nothing more than a boot loader and perhaps a small firmware BIOS.

In a bizarre twist of evolutionary electronics, consoles are becoming more and more like computers, complete with powerful operating systems (albeit dumbed down and with minimal functionality exposed). Admittedly, these machines do have powerful hardware, but then again, so do modern computers. Another twist is that the software running on these consoles (ie: the games) is becoming more and more compatible with the software used by modern day computers. With multi-core processors, hyper-complex acclerator cards, and virtualized hardware environments, computers running emulation software could map a number of hardware features used by today’s consoles more easily than ever before.

So what’s stopping emulation from taking off? There are a few big, perhaps insurmountable, issues to contend with before we start playing Xbox 360 games on a Mac. First, the games are so much larger, and the software needed to make them work is equally large, which means if you want to run those games on systems which weren’t designed to run them in the first place, you’ll need to handle the hardware issues as well as the software requirements. For example, on an Xbox 360 there are Microsoft libraries which handle such mundane things like drawing menus and windows, handling kernel events, DirectX libraries for input control and graphics acceleration, etc., will all need to be available on the target platform. So, you had better start coding now, and maybe with a bit of luck, you’ll finish before you’re dead. The second big issue is security. It’s complex. It’s big. And depending on the system, it could be distributed throughout the software and hardware in a tangled mess designed to keep people like you from writing software like ZSNES.

Bottom line: if you want to play PS3 or Xbox 360 games while you can still hold the controller, then you had better fork out the cash for a new or used system because those clever teenagers who wrote the early generation of emulation software, won’t be able to make a dent in the new console market.

Categories: Games, Hardware
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“Radical Express – When it totally, no doubt for sure has to be there awhile previously.” Sigh. You just can’t buy quotes like that anymore. I often wonder if there is still a market for adventure games like the Space Quest series. I’m not just talking about games with elements of adventure thrown in, I’m talking about games with intriguing environments (either dimension is fine), a detailed and enjoyable script, some decent voice acting (if need be), and that’s about it. No flash in the pants particle effects (unless you chose 3D and it happens to fit the story), no multi-player options, no level-editing tools, and a distinct lack of hands-on combat. Although a little combat can be used effectively; just look at the Monkey Island series: “Your mother is a cow!”

Given the recent trends in the market today, it wouldn’t be as large as, say, Halo 3 in North America or even Sim City V in Vietnam, but perhaps there could still be a decent market for small companies on the Wii, Xbox Live arcade, or even somewhere amongst the desktop market? After all, it is relatively painless nowadays to write games for the three major desktops: Microsoft Windows, Xandros, and Mac OS X. A three or four person company could do quite nicely.

Categories: Games
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The first game I’ll introduce for Mac OSX is called the Doom Legacy project. It is available for other platforms, but I find the implementation for the Mac is superb. I have the 19″ iMac computer and it looks absolutely amazing. It’s also a blast to play with mouse look and fast monsters enabled. It’s like playing Ultimate Doom all over, except this time, the game stopped off at the local store for bad asses and purchased a can of whoop ass.

The new engine can use the resources from Ultimate Doom, Doom, or Doom II. They have added a variety of subtle enhancements which aren’t too over the top. The rendering engine uses OpenGL which looks very nice on modern machines. I cranked the game’s resolution to 1680×1050 and I never looked back.

Expect more information about this game in the future.

Categories: Games, Mac OSX
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I’m replaying Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter and it amazes me that the game has held up for so long. After thinking about it for a bit, and rewriting this entry more than once, I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what technology the game uses, whether or not your board game pieces are made out of pewter, or if the game comes with a secret decoder ring. What matters most is the game itself or more specifically:

Is the game fun to play today? And remember that meaning changes every 24 hours.

This may seem like something obvious, but so many companies miss the boat. I see compilation CDs with several games available for play, but I shake my head when only half of them are fun to play now. They may have been fun a few years ago, when the technology or technique was new at the time, but many just don’t cut the mustard. I see polls for Golden Eye (N64), citing that it should be released for the Wii. Why? Have you played the game recently? I absolutely loved it when it was released. The multi-player games were quick and exhilarating. I played that game with my brother-in-law until my eyes were bloodshot. If you play it now with some friends, you may find it just doesn’t have any appeal. The single player mode is marginally better; the missions are still challenging but it lacks a certain panache. After an hour of game play, you’ll probably be checking your watch or thinking about how much you’d rather be helping Roger Wilco defeat The Sariens once again.

Categories: Games
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I was playing Rayman Raving Rabbids the other day and I found it to be a lot of fun. The idea for the game is simple, you progress through the game by making your way through a long chain of mini-games. The game has more of a story to it than Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, but the action is much less intense, which may make it more enjoyable for younger players or adults who find Smooth Moves a little too extreme.

You start the game as a prisoner who has been locked away in a cell under a stadium. You’re hated by crazed, extremely volatile, and rudely demonstrative rabbits. The rabbits absolutely despise you and relish watching you hurt yourself through a series of gladiator style games. As you finish each level, however, their attitudes slowly change. They eventually start cheering for you with banners and noise makers. Hearts fall from the stands and a fan club soon starts gathering outside your door. It’s enjoyable to watch their mood change over the course of the game, and you start to develop a sick satisfaction with punishing your furry friends in the mini-games. After all, these rabbits once cried out for your head to be removed with a rusty chainsaw (I’m guessing here because you can’t really understand what they’re saying).

Despite the ease in which I was progressing through the levels, the dancing mini-game makes the game worthwhile. In this mini-game, you find yourself on stage with bunnies steadily entering the stage to your left and right. In order for the each bunny to leave the stage without incident, a spotlight must be turned on at exactly the right moment. You control the spotlight and if you time it correctly, and the bunny is on the designated spot, then he disappears happily; otherwise, the game warns you to find your groove. Too many mistakes will lead to the power being cut off and the mini-game abruptly ends. The beauty of this scenario is the beat used to control the bunnies stepping onto the stage. There are a number of recognizable songs and licensed songs from artists like Cyndi Lauper or the Misirlou song (also played in Pulp Fiction).

Categories: Games
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