“Pst. Spread the word.”, and a link. A simple enough message, and if it weren’t for two things, I would most likely have skimmed over it. The first was that it was a link to an EFF article, and digital rights are a subject close to my heart. The second was that the person messaging me, Rebecca Hernandez (Videogame archivist), knows her chosen subject, and knows threats to videogame archiving and historical study. The article is here, is short, and to the point: The ESA has denied videogame archiving (The practice of preserving original elements of gaming history, such as original cartridges, code, systems and supplementary materials) an exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s Section 1201.

What does that mean? It means that the ESA has effectively taken a position of “Archiving is no different to hacking a game to get around DRM.”

It’s no real surprise that the ESA has made this move, as one of its primary goals is very similar to those of the MPAA and RIAA (To protect the interests of its member corporations in terms of copyright protection.) However, there are several things that make this position short sighted.

The History of Videogaming Is Important (And Much Has Already Been Lost)

We have not always been interested in the archiving of gaming history beyond the hobbyist  collectors, and there have been many stories, over the years, of lost videogame history. Some pieces get unearthed from time to time, like prototypes of games never released, but many, many more get lost to time, improper archiving, accidents, and theft. For example, when asked about the possibility of a HD version of Homeworld Cataclysm, to go with the recent remake of Homeworld, it was mentioned (Or rather, repeated) that the source code for the game had been lost.

There are many potential factors to why this is (Copyright and assets shared among multiple studios, the closure of Relic, to name but two), but it is important to note that, if this is indeed true (And there has been no contrary evidence from any of the corporations who were involved in Cataclysm’s creation to date), then a lot of that work… Is just gone.

“But We Can Rebuild It!“

Yes, this is true. Indeed, Homeworld HD is itself a recreation, one that tries to both recreate the feel of the original game, while updating the engine and some of the mechanics… But it is not, and never will be, the original game. Why is this important? Because methods change. Because programming languages used change. Because the original Homeworld was designed for earlier architecture (Part of the reason a HD remake is “good” is that, put plainly, it will actually run on modern systems without hassle, unlike the original, which doesn’t play well, or rather, consistently well with modern systems.)

Even if the audio and art assets were used as the base for a recreation, along with what is known of how the original Cataclysm works in terms of game rules and physics, it cannot be considered, and never will be considered, anything more than a recreation. It would be a piece of gaming history, it’s true, and perhaps worthy of archiving itself. But it’s not the original.

“But We Have Abandonware/ROMs!”

About that: Those are still against the law. It’s only considered a grey area because when companies do say something along the lines of “Excuse me, we’re planning to rerelease that/we’re still selling that/we don’t want you to offer that, even though we don’t sell it anymore, because it’s still ours” , most abandonware sites listen. In the eyes of the law, it’s still piracy. And, in the case of ISOs, IMGs, CUEs and ROMs (Among many other three letter acronyms for files used in emulation) that are meant to be games for other systems? Well, I’ve got another newsflash for you there…

…None of them are the original game anymore either. Sometimes, it’s due to the circumvention of anti piracy measures (And there have been a lot of different types over the decades), sometimes, it’s due to the fact that the games are compressed and repackaged (The majority of Atari ST Disk Images fall under this category and the next). Sometimes, it’s because either the game or the emulator had to be hacked to allow the damn thing to run. For a little more detail on that, this article by Byuu of Ars Technica goes into why emulation is… Well, actually, the clue’s in the name, but the devil is in the details.

Authentic Originals are important. This doesn’t mean that the ROMs and Emulators themselves aren’t worthy of archiving. But there will always be differences, sometimes small, sometimes big, in how a game plays, looks, and acts when it’s emulated, as compared to being played on an original system. A relatively modern example would be Unreal 1 Engine games, such as Klingon Honour Guard (Microprose) or the first Aliens Vs Predator FPS (Rebellion Developments). I can tell you from experience that they were fairly fast on systems of the time, but if you play them now? You’ll have difficulties with everything from frame rate limitation to random slowdown.

“Oh, They’ll Change Their Minds Once We’ve Lost Enough 80s and 90s Games”

A lot of those have been lost already. Guess what? Beyond fans who know a game exists, but can’t find a copy? Not many fucks being given. Individual members of a games company may love a game they have created, but in the corporate sense? Once a product has become obsolete, unless signs of demand for a remade version of that product appears? There’s no reason to care about it.

If that doesn’t convince you, let me just add that between 75% and 90% of films from 1894-1930 are lost. Gone. Kaput. There’s comparatively less films lost as time goes on, but that gives you some idea of how an evolving artform (Like games, which is less than 60 years old itself) can lose the majority of its roots pretty quickly. You may have heard of Theda Bara, but I can guarantee you won’t have seen around 36 and a half of her films. Because they, also, were lost. And one of the major contributors? Lack of proper preservation methods.

“Okay, You’ve Convinced Me This Might Be An Issue. But Why Is It Bad?”

Games, like any other media, build on both our culture and what has come before, for good or for ill. Sometimes we build up, sometimes we build sideways, and sometimes, we ignore the lessons other games, and for that matter, their creators and owners, have taught us. Every time we lose all originals (or authentic copies) of a game, or its materials, we aren’t just losing a product: We’re losing sources we can analyse when studying game design, and the history thereof. We’re losing historical evidence that yes, attitudes to games were different, and so were the creators’ attitudes toward their players. We’re losing memories, and lessons, and information. And telling museums and preservation projects, such as the Internet Archive or the Videogame History Museum, that they can be charged for copyright infringement opens the door for all sorts of skullduggery.

DMCA takedowns have already been wielded to silence critics and unpopular reviews, so it’s important to ensure that archivists and educators in the game industry wishing to preserve, teach, or study gaming history, culture, and materials have the ability to do so without undue interference. Authenticity and consistency aren’t the only thing important in archiving and game studies… Security is important as well.

“What Can I Do About It, Then?”

As far as the DMCA clause 1201, there’s a comment form here . Many of these clauses are important, but as far as videogame archiving goes,  subclasses 23 (Abandoned Software) and 4 (Audiovisual media for Museum/Historical/Nonprofit Use) are the most important, but subclass 1 (University/College Educational Use) would also be of use. There are other subclasses, and, if you care about how copyright is enforced, it may well be a good idea to weigh in on them.

For further reading and potential avenues of supporting videogame archiving and studies, there are several organisations and individuals you can talk to. We’ve already mentioned the Internet Archives and the Videogame History Museum, but there’s also the National Videogame Archive (UK) , Stanford’s How They Got Game Research Project (Dealing with the history of videogaming culture), DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association, on the academic studies end) , and, of course, the individual without whom this article would not exist, Rebecca Hernandez, aka 8BitArchivist , who has tirelessly campaigned for the improvement of videogame archival practices.

Filed under: Culture by admin

Become a Patron!

Yes, The Mad Welshman is open for business! Reviews, opinions, posts about PC gaming and gaming history, hopefully interviews, and possibly my Let’s Play stuff as well (We’ll see what happens there), all can be found here!

…Or not, because… Well, look at the date, and the site. Did you seriously think I would go back into reviewing with a draft site (And this is a very rough draft, which will be updated pretty much live, design wise, and definitely logo wise) and not a single (Actual) article? (I like the better planned jokes of April Fools, but I’d rather write something clearly unbelievable in a hopefully entertaining way on that day)

No, instead, today, I’m gonna post a lil’ bit of what is going to go on the about/contact page, let you know who I am, why I think you can trust me, and what’s going to happen.

So, for those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter, but heard about this from a mate, here’s the skinny:

Not my normal look, but still a fun one.

My name is Jamie Durbin, also known as JamieTheD, Jay LPs Shizzle, and The Mad Welshman. I’m a 33 year old Let’s Player (That’s talkin’ over videogames), ex barman, a film extra at least once, I like to play with my voice and sing, do digital art… and for about three years total, I was a game reviewer, first for a lil’ site called Gamerfill (Defunct), second for a canadian site called Game-Boyz. Both of those are links to old reviews, and you can find others at the same sources. Third and fourth sources would be my Let’s Play channel, and my current, somewhat sporadically written blog. All of these should hopefully demonstrate I’ve grown as a reviewer and a writer, and at least a lil’ bit as a person. My first game was Rogue, on a terminal, and my first home system was a BBC Micro. (God I feel old…) End of establishing this whole “cred” thing.

Problem is, like many folks who got their start in Games Journalism on the hobby end of things, I didn’t make much out of it, and you can help me change that. Provided, of course, you like my work. No, don’t worry about looking for a Patreon, that won’t be up until the site is good and ready. But it will be up, and if you like my work, I’d love it if you helped me make this a full time job.

So here’s the deal:

Publishers, Developers

• Do get in touch, through themadpembsman@gmail.com (Or, if you already know me from my Game-Boyz/Gamerfill days, that other address you probably already have), and ask me if I’m interested in covering your games. Odds are I will be, but there’s only got a rough estimate for when the site’s going to be ready, so until I say it is, don’t be disappointed if I say “I am, but in all honesty, I’m probably not going to be able to get the site up before release, so you might be better off with someone else.” I’d rather know you’re there, and that I’m in your contact list.
• IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: I know full well I’m not qualified to do the majority of sports games. Just strike me off the list as far as NFL, FIFA, or Stanley Cup Throwdown is concerned. Sports management games, or strategy games with a sport theme I’m much better about, and racing games are just fine, but I’d rather not do anybody a disservice by writing an article about FIFA ’16 when I know damn well the last football game I played was Sensible Soccer, and I sucked at it.
• If you’re disappointed/angry with a review, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re both aware that games journalism can feel in conflict with developers or publishers, and I’d rather discuss things than have a screaming match about them. Especially get in touch if I’ve got something factually wrong, because that will need to be corrected. I don’t want you to be afraid to talk to me, because I’m pretty sure we both want games to be cool and interesting and enjoyable. On the flip side…
• There are no scores, and my overall opinion is not likely to change. I still think Blur’s components fit badly together, I still think Dungeonbowl’s design was flawed, and I still think Space, Pirates And Zombies wasn’t that hot. That I’m not hot on your game or don’t like it doesn’t make you bad people, and I want to make sure I don’t get personal, because that’s pretty shitty.
• If you end up liking my work enough to want to help me succeed, anything more than £5/week will have to be disclosed by me, because that’s the minimum I’d consider a “Significant amount” for conflict of interest purposes. Do us both a favour, and please don’t go above that if you do.

Readers/Viewers

• There will be no scores, no pretty numbers. Sorry, but I really don’t believe they’re useful, and I’ve had this opinion for a long time. You want scores, you probably want somewhere else. You want to read or watch (I’m planning some video content, as time permits) where I think a game’s going to be enjoyed in our big ol’ community, and what I think of that game, you’ll be coming to the right place. Similarly, if you’ve come to read about discussions of games past, the culture that surrounds games, and (if this goes full time) some of the shiny events folks put on to share their games, that’s stuff I definitely want to provide.
• If you like my work, there’s gonna be a Patreon, and I’d like it if you contribute to that. Won’t force you, won’t be hiding content from you.
• Because I like discussion, not hitting the “delete” button fifty odd times before said discussion can be found, there is a process for gettin’ in touch, but it won’t be through comments on the articles themselves. Mail me. Your mails have the chance of becoming part of a regular article (Haven’t decided between every fortnight, or every month) where I look at a selection of these mails, and hopefully build a discussion out of them. But because I like discussion, not “You suck”, “Go die in a fire for dissing this game I like”, and the like, be aware that trash-talk mails go straight in the trash, and the author goes on my mail blocklist the first time it happens. I love it when people disagree, and raise points about things, because there’s always something a player, any player, is going to miss, but keep it civil, keep it as spoiler free as you can, and in return, while I can’t guarantee a reply, I can at least say I’m going to try to read them all. Obviously, this may prove foolhardy over time. But for now, we’ll see how it goes.
• There’s gonna be at least one article a week right now, obviously getting more articles the more successful this site is. In the case of reviews, I will take my time before writing a review, so don’t expect day one reviews of a 4X or big RPG.  On the flipside, yes, you can cement your opinion of an RPG after 26 hours of play, even the big ones like Skyrim, and yes, when a game bluescreens your computer for the 4th time in a row, it is time to say “This game is unplayable.”
• I do have a twitter (@TheMadWelshman) , but, like any sensible netizen, I exercise the right to mute/block you if I don’t think we’re going to get along, and report you if you’re being an asshole to me or my friends. So again, be civil, be cool.

Okay, that’s mostly over. What’s left is gettin’ in touch. It’s nice and simple. Themadpembsman@Gmail.com . Please make your subject lines clear (COMMENT: [subject] for commentary , NEWS/REVIEW/PREVIEW/INVITE: [Subject] for pub/dev stuff. I know that isn’t always possible in the pub/dev case, but the easier it is for me to auto-sort, the more time I have for replying).

If you got to the end of this lil’ fireside yak, thanks for reading, I hope you’ll enjoy my content in future!

EDIT: themadPEMBSman@gmail.com (Man, what a great start we’re off to! :V )

Filed under: Site Announcements/News by admin

Become a Patron!

Lorem Ipsum is a strange game. In fact, arguments have sprung up all over the internet as to whether Lorem Ipsum is a game, a “reading simulator”, or an extended interactive hate mail to a Lauren Ibsen (Although the evidence for this theory has been somewhat scant on the ground, this critic notes). I’ve played it, in the sense that I have opened the program and experienced what I have to offer, and I’ve got to say…

…I’m pretty bloody impressed.

The game, at first, appears very scant. There is a page of latin text, and your options, at first, are to scroll to the next page, or close the program. A very linear start, and it is at first discouraging that scrolling down reveals… Another page of the same latin text. Indeed, scrolling back and forth between the first fifty pages reveals exactly the same paragraph, repeated the same three times, regardless of input.

But the fifty first was the revelation. Yes, there were still three paragraphs, but one of them was now sideways. And it was in this moment that I truly understood the message of Lorem Ipsum. Or rather, I thought I did. I thought it was about nonconformity. But pages 52-101… Were exactly the same as 1-50. It was discouraging. Was I meant to feel discouraged? I genuinely didn’t know. But now, I wanted to find out. And page 102 seemingly gave me the answer. One of the Lorem Ipsums of the page was hyperlinked, and also sideways. I clicked… And was immediately booted back to the beginning of the document. A detailed examination of pages 1-102 showed no differences, so I can definitely confirm: This game has fail states, and they are fairly arbitrary. But this, also, had to mean something.

In the end, I found no meaning. I’d scrolled through 500 pages, gotten kicked back to the beginning and read laboriously through each time, until I felt I could recite Lorem Ipsum from memory. I tried the kickbacks in combination. I saw it sideways, I saw it mirrored… But the Lorem Ipsum only ended on page 501, without fanfare, and I was devastated. It had no meaning.

But it was never meant to have meaning. Lorem Ipsum is a nihilistic work, meant to show us the pointlessness of our toil with a nonsense latin paragraph used in book-keeping, repeated just over 1500 times. No matter how you look, the game hammer home that your seeking is pointless.

I need a drink after playing this game, and you probably will if you play it.

EDIT: I have also been informed that, while I was counting pages, there were in fact page numbers. They don’t count 1, 2, 3. There is no order I can see, no pattern. Why did anybody hate gamers so much that they made this game?

UPDATE: By screen capturing each of the 501 pages, players were able to find 501 copies of the same image, each shifted by precisely 1mm vertically. From this, they were able to piece together this image.

No, I don’t know what it means either.

Filed under: You Really Can't Tell? by admin

Become a Patron!

Everybody who’s anybody in the strategy gaming world knows Crusader Kings 2. Like any good strategy game, it’s spawned narrative Let’s Plays (Including one which featured a Rap Battle, Flamboyant Schemers), stories of gambits succeeded and lost, and even moments where the game’s logic is a little strict or loose have spawned their own fantastic tales, such as vassals who conquered the rest of the world while their liege did… Well, nothing.

But the gaming world was shocked at the announcement that the game, already rich with DLC, was going “Free to Play”. In a way, it was almost a betrayal. But, our source at Paradox states, an inevitable one.

“Even though our downloadable content has often been rich in additions, and we have a reputation for listening to our players… They still weren’t satisfied. We thought about donating to Tarn Adams, maybe employ him to create an all encompassing DLC for Crusader Kings 2, but that was a dead end. [laugh] Dwarf Fortress really is his life project, so he politely declined, and, as developers who love games, we respect that.”

“So, in the end, we decided to take our modular design philosophy with Crusader Kings 2 to its logical progression.”

At this point in the presentation, all seemed sensible. All was right with the world. But it was not to last.

“The core of the game, as we see it, is the conquest and the economics, centred on South Africa, so this will be the free to play content, with micropayments unlocking a variety of features: Europe, marriage, colonisation (New World is included, don’t worry about that!), with the higher level strategic content (Religion, plots, european and muslim technology, and breeding) obviously costing a little more. It’s a fairly complex game, but it can be broken down into simple elements, and, beyond the conquest… Not a lot of those elements are really necessary, at least as far as the larger demographic shows. Everybody wants to rule the world. Not so many people are fond of the… responsibilities of rulership. So they can now have all of the fun, but very little of the responsibility.”

Crusader Kings 2: Online will be released in June 2015. The UI will largely remain unchanged.

Filed under: You Really Can't Tell? by admin

Become a Patron!

Things are being edited. Thanks for your patience!

Filed under: Site Announcements/News by admin

Become a Patron!