RetroFab: Playable 3D simulations of vintage electronic games | Hacker News Reader

RetroFab: Playable 3D simulations of vintage electronic games

itizso.itch.io

179 pointstodsacerdoti34 comments

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This is really well done. While I've seen other simulations of hand-held games, I really appreciate how they even include the instruction booklets with many of them. It really gives the feeling of actually having these games, some of which (several Game & Watch games) I owned as a child, and many others that I always wanted but didn't.

WOW -- thank you for transporting me back to the mind-bending hell that is that 1989 TMNT game! I remember convincing my mom to buy me that at Meijer, and riding in the back seat of the car at night, squinting, only able to see the LCD screen for a split second at a time, each time we passed another street light lol

In case you haven’t seen this nostalgic strip

https://imgur.com/gallery/memories-yOgNF7w

I like that Nintendo DS Game & Watch Collection is included, so we are basically playing an emulation of an emulation :)

Also, I never knew Game & Watch were cloned by Elektronika. It's funny to see what are almost the exact same games with subtle differences (e.g. "Octopus" vs "Ocean Secrets").

Here's this too!

https://www.emuvr.net/

I was hoping RetroFab was going to be electro-mechanical games.

You might like this music video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVDaT6b8Lbc

When I was growing up it was family tradition to try and set the high score on the bathroom Yahtzee machine when occupying the porcelain throne. Now I can keep that tradition going in any bathroom I happen upon :)

Unfortunately, it seems to lock up if I try to "roll" with all dice held; that's supposed to just skip the roll.

That is an astonishing list of games. I was surprised to have memories of so many of those rush back, even just from the picture.

How is this legal? Surely they do not have permission from all those rightsholders to reproduce and distribute their IP like this.

Especially Nintendo. They've got quite a few Nintendo ROMs.

Early LCD machines had no ROMs I think.

Firstly, who cares? It would be a sad day when Bandai goes after a non-commercial homage to 1980s LCD games they probably forgot about.

Since 2003, the Copyright Office has granted a DMCA exemption in particular for preservation of video games, e.g., https://www.copyright.gov/1201/docs/librarian_statement_01.h...

> Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access.

Most recently, in the 2024 review of DMCA exemption requests, no video game companies objected:

> The Software Preservation Network (‘‘SPN’’) and LCA jointly petitioned to renew the exemption for individual play by gamers and preservation of video games by a library, archives, or museum for which outside server support has been discontinued, and preservation by a library, archives, or museum, of discontinued video games that never required server support. No oppositions were filed against renewal, and one individual filed a comment in support.

Itch.io itself is able to host the project thanks to DMCA safe harbor provisions.

But itch.io is not a library. That exception is explicitly for "a library, archives, or museum." Even if they were technically a library, courts have already ruled that mass unlimited lending is not what they meant by 'individual play'.

I think this is pretty clearly infringing, the only issue is that the rightsholders themselves have to be the ones that bring a suit against them.

What makes itch.io not qualify as a library, archive, or museum?

I would also argue that it doesn't matter whether itch.io itself is one. An archive hosted on that platform isn't any less of an archive.

According to the DMCA, legally, it does matter, because there is a very clear definition of an "eligible archive" that itch.io does not meet for the exemption to be valid. You also have to apply for the exemption explicitly, and renew it regularly.

There is a long laundry list of specific requirements in order to be considered an eligible library, archive or museum that qualifies for the DMCA exemption, which you also have to apply for and continually renew: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2021-23311/p-191

Here are just some of them:

(ii) For purposes of paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section, a library, archives, or museum is considered “eligible” if—

(A) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are open to the public and/or are routinely made available to researchers who are not affiliated with the library, archives, or museum;

(B) The library, archives, or museum has a public service mission;

(C) The library, archives, or museum's trained staff or volunteers provide professional services normally associated with libraries, archives, or museums;

(D) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are composed of lawfully acquired and/or licensed materials; and

(E) The library, archives, or museum implements reasonable digital security measures as appropriate for the activities permitted by paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section.

I still have my Donkey Kong 2 and Jnr. Unfortunately I played my Turtle Bridge that I got when I was probably 7 or so to smithereens.

I wore out the buttons and also as a kid you can't help but touch the screen, so it had several sections that no longer displayed properly.

Wow! This is really cool. I love this idea and the implementation, great job!

So cool, I picked up some of these from my parents house a few months ago. My kids have spent a grand total of about 1 minute on them, very unimpressed :D

If you like retro and 3D, emuVR is also completely amazing <3 And free open source unlike this (as far as I can this this is not)

Man, the LCD graphics look so good. Insane amount of polish too. I can't imagine how you could polish this any more.

I was like, "Do they have Wildfire? Do they have Wildfire...? Yes they have Wildfire!" Thanks for sharing this!

Tried Yahtzee, it doesn't look like you can remove the hold on a die after you've rolled?

It's probably enough to leave a comment on the page if the author is active on itch

Did that thanks! The game's page doesn't allow comments but the one with the list of games does.

edit: I also found a discussion forum: https://itch.io/board/2744567/feedback

Update: author fixed it within a few hours.

Frogger is surprisingly playable :)

I still have the physical Western Sheriff one. Really good for its day.

Wow, there goes 20 minutes. Really enjoyed it, thanks.

is that MAME in the backend?

Very well done. Congrats.

Very nicely done!

this is absolutely well, very well done!

Thank you!!

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