Retrogame Archeology: Exploring Old Computer Games

by John Aycock

Drawing on extensive research, this book explores the techniques that old computer games used to run on tightly-constrained platforms. Retrogame developers faced incredible challenges of limited space, computing power, rudimentary tools, and the lack of homogeneous environments.

Using examples from over 100 retrogames, this book examines the clever implementation tricks that game designers employed to make their creations possible, documenting these techniques that are being lost. However, these retrogame techniques have modern analogues and applications in general computer systems, not just games, and this book makes these contemporary connections. It also uses retrogames' implementation to introduce a wide variety of topics in computer systems including memory management, interpretation, data compression, procedural content generation, and software protection.

Retrogame Archeology targets professionals and advanced-level students in computer science, engineering, and mathematics but would also be of interest to retrogame enthusiasts, computer historians, and game studies researchers in the humanities.

Genres: Nonfiction

241 pages, Hardcover

Published May 17, 2016

About the author

Associate professor in Computer Science at the University of Calgary.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your idea of a good time is ~200 pages of technical analysis detailing how old 8-bit games worked, then I'd highly recommend "Retrogame Archeology". Like most books in the nostalgia-driven retrogame genre, Professor Aycock takes us on a trip down (64K) memory lane, except that his emphasis is on unearthing and preserving the many snippets of hidden technical cleverness (at an assembly-instruction level of detail) -- little gems forged by the brilliant, unsung programmers who came before us. This was a great read, and I wish there were more books like this.

My only caveat is that it's a Springer book, so gads, it's expensive (even the cheaper Kindle version is $0.33 per page).

[Codepoetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this well-researched Springer academic book, a computer scientist disassembles old video game code and explains how the games were constructed to run on severely resource constrained devices such as the Atari 2600 game console, and the Apple II personal computer. Some of the techniques are best lost to the sands of time, while others, such as bank switched memory, are still in use today. You'll need to understand at least some 6502 assembly language to get the most out of this academic book.