Weasel @wildweasel@computerfairi.es

"Very broadly speaking, the video game industry has supported the idea of game preservation. But when it comes to copyright reform, consistently we’ve received pushback from the video game industry and its lobbying groups for even modest changes to copyright law to make it easier for libraries to do their jobs."

Me, on Marketplace today!

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/older-video-games-are-in-danger-of-going-extinct/

Friends, I've just had the most marvelous game idea.

(https://botsin.space/@possumeveryhour/110707842582916288)

DREAMM 2.1b7 is now up

https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/beta/

It's been a couple of weeks and I've been on vacation (and recovering from COVID), but I'm back and have some fixes for you.

• Fixed Linux case-sensitivity issue with Escape from Monkey Island saves
• Fixed crash when fielding an unexpected exception
• Fixed crash on failure to lock game texture
• Added stubs for the full set of Win98 kernel32/user32/gdi32 APIs
• Fixed occasional lost key up messages in Windows, which resulted in "sticky" keys
• Fixed handling of assert in Infernal Machine so it shows up and exits gracefully
• Added option to load game directly at startup in Infernal Machine
• Fixed difficulty configuring in Loom FM Towns version
• Added new 3D rasterizers reported via telemetry
• Improved error reporting for crashes and added reporting for unexpected exceptions
• Minor UI refinements

Movie pitch: our protag is very bad at a base-defending FPS, getting matched with worse and worse opponents, until they find themselves in a game with people who don't appear to be playing at all...
...because they're using the untraceable in-game voice chat to plan a robbery.

Protag listens in, eventually realizing that they have an opportunity to infiltrate and make off with the loot themselves. They manage to do so, tipping off the cops as they go, so now the bad guys are lootless and being pursued.

It seems like protag got away with it, and they give most of the loot to charity/some sort of good cause, so the audience is on their side. The bad guys are very bad, after all.

Twist: protag didn't get matched because of how bad an FPS player they are, they got matched because of a typo; their username is one character off from one of the robbers, so there's one member of the crew who's now confused why everyone says he was in that meeting.

Desperate angry bad guys are now inbound to protag's house for revenge/to get the loot back, and, bookending the movie with similar scenes, protag has to use the strategies they learned from the game to defend their house.

interviewer: give me an example of a time when you took control of a situation

me: no, YOU give ME an example

interviewer: lol okay, that was pretty impressive

me: I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go

interviewer: *being led away by security* what is happening right now

What religion is this because I'm interested

I think everyone has that one game they played a lot as a teenager but wasn't *that* great.

for me that was Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Deleted Scenes.

what's yours

Apparently the Freeware tactical fps from Japan "X Operations" had already celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. I never really see any coverage of this game in Western sources.
It was great. A free Counter Strike-meets-Rainbow Six kind of thing. Basic, but very functional. Both single and multiplayer. Lots and lots of content. Modding tools.

The world needs more Capybaras in their life.

happy 25th little web page. you're less ephemeral than most

something bittersweet to see a web page header "Long Live the Ephemeral!" with a date of june 1998

the iconoweb is so charming. there is so much to explore