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Enjoy 900 Classic Video Games from Your Browser for Free

Enjoy 900 Classic Video Games from Your Browser for Free

Posted by Aaron on 5th Nov 2014

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With all the next-gen consoles and new releases coming out, it can be easy to forget about the video games that started the gaming industry and transformed into the juggernaut it is today. Gamers everywhere now have a way to experience classic games such as Defender, Frogger, Tron, and Centipede all from the comfort of their web browsers.

Over the weekend, The Internet Archive released 900 emulated, old school games from a variety of different platforms, such as the arcade and the Atari. The JavaScript Mess (JSMESS) was created by Jason Scott and a team of developers who emulated games from the 1970s to the 90s.

“The game collection ranges from early "bronze-age" videogames, with black and white screens and simple sounds, through to large-scale games containing digitized voices, images and music,” a posting on the site says. “Most games are playable in some form, although some are useful more for verification of behavior or programming due to the intensity and requirements of their systems.”

There are a few of titles, however, that have some issues, such as broken scaling and control problems.Regardless, most of the games are a joy to play and are sure to transport many nostalgic gamers back to their childhoods.

“In the right browser, on a speedy machine, it almost feels perfect,” Scott wrote in a blog post.

Scott also hopes that fans of the games will go further than being drawn to their old favorites and trying out new titles.

“And my hope is that a handful, a probably tiny percentage, will begin plotting out ways to use this stuff in research, in writing, and remixing these old games into understanding their contexts,” Scott wrote. “Time will tell.”

Remembering where video games have come from is invaluable to paving the future of the industry. Jason Scott and his developers have done their part in helping to remind gamers how it all started.