Hi there,

i am currently working on a project about permacomputing and the role retro games and demakes could take in solving issues such as e-waste, planned obsolesence, use of hardware and software.

This post and the short survey were created without the use of any AI so please mind any misspellings. 

I used to play a lot of games in the early 2000s and still play if i find the time to do so. Some months ago, i was able to turn the question of why more and more graphics and cpu power is needed for running current games while there is a stagnation in audiovisual quality and  support timelines end into a research project. Yes, the answer might be obvious - because of the economy, the better faster stronger credo, the need for something new. But how can this cycle be changed, how can players obtain more rights, how can perfectly working hardware be used for a longer period of time, and the most important question: what can be learned from the thriving retro scene and demakes for creating a more sustainable gaming and IT sector?

It would be great if i could have 3-4 minutes of your time for this survey:

https://www.research.net/r/demakes

Thank you very much!

Kind regards,

Thomas

I find the survey’s framing to be strange. By only considering retro games and demakes, it suggests that modern software otherwise cannot be low-end/thin/performant.

I certainly agree that all hardware should be used to the fullest, to the extent that is practical, but that does not mean I should also use decades old software that could potentially be ridden with bugs and security vulnerabilities.

"how can perfectly working hardware be used for a longer period of time"

Install Linux on it!

Seriously, they are light weight Linux distributions like Lubuntu and AntiX Linux that run modern browser, office suite (LibreOffice) and games on 10 to 15 years old hardware.

Bazzite seems to be a great Linux distro focused on modern games and maximum flexibility to choose games and game launchers.

Thanks for sharing the solar low tech magazine. Apparently my steel bike has the lowest CO2 emission over its lifetime. :-) I never compare that. It is just that I do my best to maintain it.

Your graph show the favorite tools: Ubuntu and LibreOffice. Pain points tend to go away after the initial habituation phase.

Last time I checked the Steam client required Windows 10 which would completely ruin all the efforts any game developer made to build backward compatible games. For example all my Windows builds are compatible all the way back to Windows XP 32-bit!

I like the idea, especially from a sustainability angle. Retro games and demakes can promote reuse of hardware, but I think modern software can also be optimized to run efficiently so maybe both approaches can coexist.