Opinion

The Current State of Mac Gaming: Looking Ahead

mossy_11 on Saturday, 27 February 2010. Posted in Opinion

Dead-Mac

Mac gamers are a sad bunch. Every few years someone or something comes along that is going to transform the Mac gaming landscape. But nothing happens. Promise after promise has been broken, and few good things have emerged. So you can excuse the cynics who say gaming on the Mac will never amount to anything. Most look elsewhere for their gaming fix, either unsatisfied with or unaware of the paltry offerings on display, especially given the oftentimes-long delays and poor performance compared to other platforms. It seems like the Mac just isn't on anyone's radar. But, as has been the case in looking at the past and present of gaming on the Mac, the issue is more complicated than it at first seems.

The Current State of Mac Gaming: Don't Forget the Little Guys

mossy_11 on Tuesday, 16 February 2010. Posted in Opinion

Small developers have long had a strong following on the Mac, from the early days of shareware with Pangea Software, Duane Blehm, John Calhoun, and Cyan (amongst others), to the emergence of Ambrosia Software, Spiderweb Software and Freeverse in the mid-90s, and countless others who have tried their luck making games for the Mac.

minimac2sc4

The Current State of Mac Gaming: Commercial Reality of Today

mossy_11 on Sunday, 07 February 2010. Posted in Opinion

Last time, I wrote about history of gaming on the Mac.  We took a look at how it came to be in such a sorry state by the time Apple announced the move from PowerPC to Intel architecture.  We left off with the reaction to the Intel switch from developers, commentators and users. Some predicted the transition would be the final death-knell of Mac games, since there was no longer a barrier to playing Windows games on the Mac. Others suggested it would kill the porting industry, but only harm rather than destroy business for the few surviving developers of original Mac games. The more optimistic types thought it might be a boon for Mac gaming, as both porting and multi-platform development would be significantly easier now that Macs were built from the same parts as their PC brethren.

zoolander_imac_1

The Current State of Mac Gaming: How It Got This Way

mossy_11 on Monday, 25 January 2010. Posted in Opinion

The Mac isn't exactly known for its ability to play games. And given the repeated snubbing from big publishers and developers in recent years, this isn't without reason. But it hasn't always been a wasteland for games, sparsely populated by a handful of the PC's sloppy seconds. In this series of articles I will discuss the highs and lows of Mac gaming.  We start with some history, then we will look in-depth at the current situation, and finally we will take a look to the future.

Original-1984-Mac-128k-Brochure-

Will the tablet succeed?

Niemann on Friday, 22 January 2010. Posted in Opinion

Next week we will be introduced to a new product from Apple.  This product will be the long rumored tablet-device which Steve Jobs has been intimately involved with for the past couple of years.  I don't care what the device is called (my money is with iPad at this point), what I do care about it is what the device can do for me.  I'm a gamer; so why should I care?

500x_apptabnew2

Why Emulation?

M.I.K.e on Wednesday, 06 January 2010. Posted in Opinion

Today I wanted to explore why emulation techniques were devised and what makes this hobby so fascinating. I list and explain the most obvious reasons, but this topic surely is very personal and thus the reasons for it quite subjective. Feel free to mention your reasons for the interest in emulation in the comments.

code

State of NES Emulation

Niemann on Wednesday, 23 December 2009. Posted in Opinion

In 1983 the world of console gaming changed with the introduction of the Family Computer from Nintendo.  The Famicom (Family Computer) didn't find its way to North America, Europe, and Australia until 1985 as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES); and singlehandedly ended the video game dark ages.  Today the Nintendo Entertainment System still ranks in the top ten of best-selling video game systems, and is by far the most emulated video game system.

Screen_shot_2009-12-23_at_1.42.59_PM

Nintendo standardized the practice of producing the hardware and a small collection of software for their system, while licensing third-party developers to also produce games.  This gave the NES a huge software collection, launching the franchises of Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest.  Individual classics include Duck Hunt, Golf, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Baseball, Tetris, and Excitebike.