Hack70.Rediscover Classic DOS Games

Hack 70. Rediscover Classic DOS Games

Remember that game? You know, the one with the thing that stayed on the ground and the thing that went up in the air with the beeps and the boops ?

DOS games were a funny affair. If you were a home computer fan from the days of 8-bit home computers like the Atari, C64, and Apple ][, you probably thought it was an odd transition to go from all that color and sound to a computer with no sound card and, at best, four washed-out pastel colors. But then you picked up an EGA card. And then a Soundblaster. And next thing you know, you had a CD-ROM drive in your computer. Sure, it was a few hundred dollars above and beyond the original cost of your computer, but you finally had sixteen colors on your screen and multichannel sound.

Of course, if you were one of the lucky owners of a PC that had fancy audio and graphics features out of the box, you started having fun before the rest of us. Who can forget the venerable Tandy 1000, which had the graphics and sound capabilities of a PCjr, but stuck around a bit longer? In fact, if you run the installers for some classic DOS games, you'll still see a configuration option for Tandy Graphics.

There were plenty of games to be had on the shelves of video game stores back then, but there are plenty of classics that weren't quite as mainstream. If you hounded the bulletin boards back in the old days, you might remember such classics as Sopwith and Alley Cat.

Once you know how to get FreeDOS [Hack #68] running on your old hardware, or after you've settled into DOSBox [Hack #69] as your DOS environment of choice, you're ready to dig up the classics and return to the day when shareware games splashed their ordering information on screen as soon as you chose "quit".

7.4.1. The Old Days of DOS

Two of my favorite video games of all time are CGA classics. In Bill William's Alleycat (Figure 7-9), you played a cat that jumps around an alley, avoiding dogs, catching mice, trying to stay in one piece, and maybe meeting up with your girlfriend. Most of the action takes place in the alley, but once you jump into an open window, you'll find yourself avoiding a broom. Get to the right place, and you'll be taken to a mini-game (for example, jumping into the fishbowl transports you to a large pool where you're avoiding electric eels and trying to eat fish).

You can find Alleycat at a number of sites listed in the section "Finding the Classics".

Sopwith, shown in Figure 7-10, is a classic that puts you in the cockpit of a prop plane and pits you against cows, birds, and other players. You can find Sopwith at http://www.classicgaming.com/sopwith. The author of Sopwith, Dave Clark, has released the source, and lots of great stuff has followed. Sopwith.org is the main site for all things Sopwith. Pick up a copy of the game or one of its variants, and even a map editor so you can make your own levels. And don't miss Sopwith 3, a modern remake that maintains the classic look. CGA never looked so good.

As EGA and VGA took hold, DOS games started to get much better. Apogee's shareware Commander Keen series was, for many people, the first time an IBM PC game could feel like a real video game system. It may have not been Nintendo, but many long nights have been sacrificed to this series.

Figure 7-9. Hopping around clotheslines and garbage cans in Alleycat

Figure 7-10. Step away from the cow

7.4.2. Finding the Classics

If there's an old game you remember, chances are pretty good you can find it out there. If it's a shareware or freeware game, you shouldn't have any trouble finding it online. There are a few sites out there that catalog these classics:



The DOS Games Archive

This site (http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/) has a catalog of games with links to downloads. You can filter by shareware, freeware, and demo games, as well as the genre of game you're interested in. In addition, this site features interviews with DOS game developers, discussion forums, a newsletter, and more.



DOS Games

At the time of this writing, DOS Games (http://www.dosgames.com/) boasted links to 400 classic DOS games. You'll find them organized by genre here, along with descriptions and downloads.



FreeDOS Links

FreeDOS [Hack #68] is a retro-DOS geek's best friend. They also have a great set of links to DOS games and other resources.

One of the great things about old shareware and freeware is that the creators of these games meant for them to be distributed far and wide, so you don't have to explore the dark corners of the Internet to find games to play. This approach works fine as long as you can still find the person you're supposed to pay when it comes time to unlock the rest of the shareware game you're addicted to.


I don't mean to ignore all the commercial games that were available. Some of the earliest games I played included the Ultima series and Sierra OnLine's King's Quest, Gold Rush, and Manhunter. Fortunately, many of these games are available in CD-ROM collections. Although you will probably have trouble finding these games on the shelves in mainstream video game stores, they can often be found in the bargain bin or on auction sites such as eBay.

To get a (usually) daily dose of yesteryear, there are a couple of weblogs that I find essential. Abandonia (http://www.abandonia.com/) posts a screenshot and game description to their home page on a daily basis. Virtual PC Guy (http:// blogs .msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/) is Ben Armstrong, a Program Manager on Microsoft's Virtual PC team. He posts a mixture of technical stuff about Virtual PC and Virtual Server, but frequently posts some tips about getting an old DOS or Windows game running under Virtual PC.

Brian Jepson



Retro Gaming Hacks
Retro Gaming Hacks: Tips & Tools for Playing the Classics
ISBN: 0596009178
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 150
Authors: Chris Kohler

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