| Maybe it was the recent Atari 2600 milestone anniversary
that fueled nostalgia for the golden days of computer and
console gaming. Every Game Boy must ponder his roots from
time to time. But whatever is driving the current retro
gaming craze, one thing is certain: classic games are back
for a big second act, and they're being played in both old
and new ways.
Whether you've just been attacked by Space Invaders for the
first time or you've been a Pong junkie since puberty, Chris
Kohler's Retro Gaming Hacks is the indispensable new guide
to playing and hacking classic games. Kohler has complied
tons of how-to information on retro gaming that used to take
days or weeks of web surfing to track down and sort through,
and he presents it in the popular and highly readable Hacks
style.
Retro Gaming Hacks serves up 85 hard-nosed hacks for
reviving the classic games. Want to game on an original
system? Kohler shows you how to hack ancient hardware, and
includes a primer for home-brewing classic software. Rather
adapt today's equipment to run retro games? Kohler provides
emulation techniques, complete with instructions for hacking
a classic joystick that's compatible with a contemporary
computer. This book also teaches readers to revive old
machines for the original gaming experience: hook up an
Apple II or a Commodore 64, for example, and play it like
you played before.
A video game journalist and author of Power Up: How Japanese
Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, Kohler has taught
the history of video games at Tufts University. In Retro
Gaming Hacks, he locates the convergence of classic games
and contemporary software, revealing not only how to
retrofit classic games for today's systems, but how to find
the golden oldies hidden in contemporary programs as well.
Whether you're looking to recreate the magic of a Robotron
marathon or simply crave a little handheld Donkey Kong,
Retro Gaming Hacks shows you how to set the way-back dial.
|
Biting the hand that feeds IT 
Published by: O'REILLY & ASSOCIATES