The Soapbox: Are modern games cheaper than ever?

Atlas Rogues went out without a bang, but with a whimper. It was so confusing to me that I couldn’t even find its location. It was gone after July 5, 2005. There is always hope that someone will be dedicated and work hard to bring the game back online. But that’s a huge effort for any game, or the spinoff of almost every game. It’s going be difficult to play this game after the servers are shut down. I was reminded of how we were blessed with new games being re-released each day. However, many of these games won’t be preserved.

This idea is intriguing to me. Is there any disposable purpose to modern games?

 

What brought you together from Quake and Diablo 1? Shogo, General Armor Division? Vampire: the Masquerade? Although they have many things in common, I believe that all of them are playable today. Even though some (Shogo) may need some extra work to run on modern systems, the fact is that most gamers can still access these files easily. You can legally obtain all of the games mentioned through Steam or GOG. Many of these games do not contain DRM so you can easily preserve the game for posterity by simply putting files on a USB drive and keeping it safe. Even if I no longer have the physical media, it is nice to have access to these files in case I need them.

What about the games of today and sports? While there are many single-player games that can last decades, there are also many titles that are vulnerable to the aging server. This is a very precarious situation, as any player who enjoys watching sunsets will know. It could be that you stop playing. You can create many websites with a simple flick of your hand or a quick edit to a spreadsheet.

 

It is hard to keep and hard to preserve.

These online games are not to be worried about. Many games are shut down, but one reason they remain online is because they are financially viable. Sometimes, a subpar game can stay online as long as it is making money. What happens when profits drop and the game is no longer profitable? It’s unlikely that many people will need to keep the material, and it’s likely there’ll be red tape which makes it difficult for gamers to obtain the documents. It reminds of how cars don’t have lights.

QuakeandNox is very useful for its ability to work. Because of their simplicity, it only requires a few gamers and a computer capable of running it. Because the files can be easily accessed by anyone with the CD, they can also be uploaded to the internet. They were released as soon as possible. Westwood Studios and the young mendits were concerned about how many people played the game on a monthly basis. They wanted the game to be fun enough to encourage people to purchase it.

This is not true fortlas Rogues or its online-only counterparts. Although you may believe you own the game and that you have a copy, you usually only have an installer which is free from servers. Even if you have the server files, the barrier to using a running rogue servers is higher than for anyone else who would like to play Calvary again. The chances of this game being remembered by the next generation is very slim.

It’s not something I enjoy doing, but I believe we can save all games, even the online-only ones. However, not all games are worthy of preservation. The first or last game of a game is the best game to preserve. It is not worth conserving a game that was created to make money. It requires something more than the money it made.

 

What MAKES a GAME VALUE PRESERVING?

Soon, a new book will be available. It was published in 2003, just a few years later. Everyone contributed something unique and made a difference to the game and its culture. Genshin is also important to preserve, even though it had monetization at the forefront of its plans, but it’s still a great game and set the bar for other gacha games. This kind of work was interesting for a larger crowd.

What about a game such as the E.T. market-threatening Atari 2600 game? The game was so disposable, it ended up in the garbage. The game is now worth saving because it wasn’t just part of early videogames, but also a mytho about its origin. It was fine, so why not?

 

Even though all gaming generations have games that are worth saving, I think that the special gaming era has more that will not be preserved because companies view them as short-term money makers rather than building a game that has a loyal and long-lasting fanbase that can go back to it and play it.

While I do not believe Atlas Rogues should be preserved, the demand for emulators and rogue servers is much greater than an intimate one. The emulator currently in use is built from an older version. Atlas Rogues is not likely to be affected by this. It is a wonderful thing, but it makes me want to be wrong.

This is the sad truth. You will find games in your app store that cannot be saved or recognized. They’re not likely to be a popular favorite and are just pure cash grabs. Many of them won’t be remembered or noticed in their lifetimes. They’ll be gone when they’re not popular. This may not be so bad, if you think about it. Is it really necessary to record every mobile clone?

It was worrying to me that the industry’s new attitude towards disposability would mean that many of these great games won’t be played in any format. It has been true for a long time that there are more games than you can shake an object at, but it is now more relevant than ever.

Enjoy them while they are still here. It is better to start playing your favorite games now.

Everybody has an opinion and The Soapbox allows us to indulge in ours. As Massively OP writers, we take to the soapbox to deliver editorials far beyond what is required (and that are unable to spread to other staff members). Are we lost?