social.noyu.me

it’s a space where technology does not have to die. it’s a space where APIs that would long since have been removed are kept alive, and those that are removed are replaced via various efforts (like my own)

it’s a space where “DirectX 7” can be as beautiful as “DirectX 12”

it’s a space where being able to interact with history is an expectation of its participants. what other software space is like that!! legacy systems are often resented and hardware and software vendors try to kill them. yet Microsoft can never kill DirectX 9, because gaming!

and it goes beyond Microsoft. we expect emulators to exist. we expect that games from 40 years ago shouldn’t just die. no other software space is like that.

it’s also a space where software can be finished. where software does not have to be kept “up-to-date”. where the original expression of an idea is respected.

it’s a wonderful space.

but why is it like this? well, because people continue to fight, each in their own way, to keep it this way. it’s not a given that games will be like this forever. but they must!

wow this very slightly took off, check out my related full-time passion project: https://touchhle.org/

oh, you know what other tech space also has this “never out of date” quality?

music!!! look at MIDI: a protocol from 1981, more than four decades ago, and yet modern consumer and professional electronics still support it with flawless backwards compatibility. what a rarity.

I recently decided to learn to play the keyboard. instead of buying new, I got a ~20 year old keyboard with built-in synthesis, MIDI etc.

to my delight, it took no special effort to use it with my thoroughly modern PC and Mac. with a generic adaptor, it was plug and play.

in fact, I could have had the same experience with almost any keyboard manufactured since the late 90’s… or in fact even the 1980’s, if I didn’t want General MIDI. I dare you to find another port on a modern computer that has compatibility that far back (excepting audio and AC)

(ok, ok, I know Ethernet is a thing. networking is sticky huh.)

I think my life goal is to stay firmly within the intersection of technology and art. That’s a space I can work in without having to give up my head or my heart.

(I knew this a few years ago already. It’s the primary selection criteria I use when trying to decide which side projects are worth pursuing… and indeed careers.)

@hikari (joking devils advocate) oh u mean like html?????? hMMM?????

@hikari yes! very much agreed

we don't think that's an accident, music people know what's up

@hikari this is really cool

@eniko thanks!!!

@hikari yes! And simultaneously to that, it can be amazing to replay some 10-year old game and see that it got a few subtle updates, too. (Happened to me recently when replaying Don't Starve and Stardew Valley :)) really feels like best of both worlds!

@hikari Yep, this is me!

@hikari it seems the focus has shifted entirely. Today it's about graphics, and how-to extract the most money (in-game items, subscriptions, ...). Back then game-play / story-telling was priority - arguably, also due to technical limitations.

@franz among the big game publishers? yeah, absolutely. but there’s still indies

@franz (and everything in-between, of course)