MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Old games vs. old books and music in the digital realm

Katsunami · 01-03-2017, 04:23 PM

In the Vent and Rant thread in the lounge, I've mentioned a few times that I intended to have GOG.com clear all games out of my library of which I knew I'd never be playing. Just before new year I had them do so.

Some of you may well know that I like GOG.com a lot because of their "You buy it, you own it" DRM-free policy. I went overboard through the years, by buing this favorite, that game I missed back then, such game that looked good, and another classic here and there. Most I bought during huge 60-90% sales, often for $1-$5.

At around 40 games, it wasn't nearly as bad as some people's Steam libraries I read about when looking around the internet though.... still, it feels better now that the games are gone and I only have the ones I'm going to actually (re)play (21, at this point). I've started to (re)play those games, from the oldest and shortest ones to the newest, and I'm going to do only one playthrough.

The oldest game I have that is unplayed was released in 1998; everything older that I (still) have on CD, released between 1992 and 1997, has been finished at least once.

During all of this, I realized something. I also have an e-book library containing 875 books, including over 50 Delphi classics. I'll never, ever read everything I own, but to be honest, it doesn't really bother me. Same with audio CD's. I've got over 800 CD's acquired over a 20 year time span, digitized into FLAC format. It'll take me two years to listen to each CD only once, if going by one a day. That also doesn't bother me.

Why did the many (often old) games bother me, and the books and music don't? I realized games will age technically, and books and music won't. I'll probably be able to pick e-books and music from my digital libraries for the rest of my life, at least with a bit of care with regard to formats.

I am 100% certain that in 10, 20, or even 30 years or later, programs will exist that show me EPUB files or play FLAC music. These formats are too common to just be dropped. If they happen to be dropped, other formats will have been developed. FLAC is lossless and can be converted to any other lossless format without damage, and EPUB is as lossless as possible at this point. I'm sure there will be ways to convert to newer formats down he line.

If there's software to use the original formats, or if the conversion is done well, the files will be as usable (or even more usable) in 10-50 years as they are now.

Not so for games. I've always had the feeling I'd need to be playing them NOW, because the clock is ticking and time is running out for them.

They become older, and some of the ones from the 90's are getting really hard to run on a new system. Some don't even work and need a virtual machine. Even if you get a game to run, you'll just have to compare games to one another; pick a 15 year old game, be it top-down 2D RPG classic such as Baldur's Gate, or a 3D shooter such as Return To Castle Wolfenstein, and compare it to a titles released in 2015-2016... or even 2010, for that matter. Even though those games looked good in their time, they look barely passable when compared to newer titles. I'm not even talking about the low resolutions such as 640x480 and 800x600 that are getting harder and harder to stomach on newer high-DPI monitors. Upscaling can only go so far.

Books and music only age in the style of writing, or orchestration/instruments used. However, you either like it, or you don't. Books and music don't become 'bad', or unusable, like games. It's up to you if you want to read them or listen to it, completely depending on taste.

There are some organizations that are trying to preserve old games. What are your thoughts about this? Is it worth trying to preserve a 1998 classic such as Baldur's Gate, in the hopes someone will try to play it in 2048; or in 2098? What about 2148 or even 2450?

Even though writings and music created 500-125 years ago are not the staple anymore, many, many people read them and listen to it.

Will people in 2150 be playing games created in 1980, 2000, or 2020?

Is it worth it, or even possible, to preserve old games, or are they doomed to be lost in oblivion?

01-03-2017, 04:23 PM	#1
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	Old games vs. old books and music in the digital realm In the Vent and Rant thread in the lounge, I've mentioned a few times that I intended to have GOG.com clear all games out of my library of which I knew I'd never be playing. Just before new year I had them do so. Some of you may well know that I like GOG.com a lot because of their "You buy it, you own it" DRM-free policy. I went overboard through the years, by buing this favorite, that game I missed back then, such game that looked good, and another classic here and there. Most I bought during huge 60-90% sales, often for $1-$5. At around 40 games, it wasn't nearly as bad as some people's Steam libraries I read about when looking around the internet though.... still, it feels better now that the games are gone and I only have the ones I'm going to actually (re)play (21, at this point). I've started to (re)play those games, from the oldest and shortest ones to the newest, and I'm going to do only one playthrough. The oldest game I have that is unplayed was released in 1998; everything older that I (still) have on CD, released between 1992 and 1997, has been finished at least once. During all of this, I realized something. I also have an e-book library containing 875 books, including over 50 Delphi classics. I'll never, ever read everything I own, but to be honest, it doesn't really bother me. Same with audio CD's. I've got over 800 CD's acquired over a 20 year time span, digitized into FLAC format. It'll take me two years to listen to each CD only once, if going by one a day. That also doesn't bother me. Why did the many (often old) games bother me, and the books and music don't? I realized games will age technically, and books and music won't. I'll probably be able to pick e-books and music from my digital libraries for the rest of my life, at least with a bit of care with regard to formats. I am 100% certain that in 10, 20, or even 30 years or later, programs will exist that show me EPUB files or play FLAC music. These formats are too common to just be dropped. If they happen to be dropped, other formats will have been developed. FLAC is lossless and can be converted to any other lossless format without damage, and EPUB is as lossless as possible at this point. I'm sure there will be ways to convert to newer formats down he line. If there's software to use the original formats, or if the conversion is done well, the files will be as usable (or even more usable) in 10-50 years as they are now. Not so for games. I've always had the feeling I'd need to be playing them NOW, because the clock is ticking and time is running out for them. They become older, and some of the ones from the 90's are getting really hard to run on a new system. Some don't even work and need a virtual machine. Even if you get a game to run, you'll just have to compare games to one another; pick a 15 year old game, be it top-down 2D RPG classic such as Baldur's Gate, or a 3D shooter such as Return To Castle Wolfenstein, and compare it to a titles released in 2015-2016... or even 2010, for that matter. Even though those games looked good in their time, they look barely passable when compared to newer titles. I'm not even talking about the low resolutions such as 640x480 and 800x600 that are getting harder and harder to stomach on newer high-DPI monitors. Upscaling can only go so far. Books and music only age in the style of writing, or orchestration/instruments used. However, you either like it, or you don't. Books and music don't become 'bad', or unusable, like games. It's up to you if you want to read them or listen to it, completely depending on taste. There are some organizations that are trying to preserve old games. What are your thoughts about this? Is it worth trying to preserve a 1998 classic such as Baldur's Gate, in the hopes someone will try to play it in 2048; or in 2098? What about 2148 or even 2450? Even though writings and music created 500-125 years ago are not the staple anymore, many, many people read them and listen to it. Will people in 2150 be playing games created in 1980, 2000, or 2020? Is it worth it, or even possible, to preserve old games, or are they doomed to be lost in oblivion? Last edited by Katsunami; 01-03-2017 at 04:32 PM.