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FAQ: How do I research old games?
1. Get copies of old games/play old games to research:
To buy old consoles and games, try neighbourhood garage sales, Ebay, Craig's List, Kijiji or other online classifieds. In the UK, there is Retro Games and Console Passion, two online shops. In Canada and the US, try Old School Gamer. Another option is to buy the new packages of retro games for Xbox, PS2, PS3, etc. I have not checked these to determine how accurately the sound has been rendered. Another, (not legal) option is to use an emulator and roms. Emulators are PC/OS programs that will "emulate" old games systems. Google "emulators" and you'll get the idea. Then you need the software, "roms", to play on the emulator. Note that not only are these not legal, but in many cases the sound is inaccurate. I noticed a discrepancy of half a semitone on an old emulator.
2. Get copies of old games music:
There are many websites dedicated to old games music, in MIDI or in a "game rip" format (i.e. removing the code from the old game, and then having an emulator to play it). In most cases, you will also need a player (basically, a sound chip emulator), which may or may not be accurate in terms of its reproduction. The legalities of this are in question, but as far as I am aware, nobody has been sued for using old game music rips
3. Play these old game audio rips: You can get plugins for Winamp, from Zophar's Domain, or use a straight game audio player, such as Meridian, Deliplayer, or Audio Overload.
4. Get copies of old sound chip information:
I didn't have any trouble finding old sound chip spec sheets or info online. Try Alldatasheet.com or Chip directory. You can also try patent sites such as Free Patents Online.
5. How do I record audio from my game?
It depends on your game, and your system. If you just want to record from your PC, I use Freecorder, which is like a "screengrabber", but for audio. If you're using a console, look for a headphone jack on the older games systems (e.g. Gameboy). Then you just need a cable to plug it into your microphone jack on your soundcard and record from there (I use Soundforge for that). More recent games systems typically have stereo phono outs you can use to record.
6. How do I record video from my game?
Again, it depends on your system. There are screen-grabbers for PC, such as Fraps that you can download free. Some emulators provide a "video record" option. Most video screen capture software will give you enormous files with really ridiculous formats that will not play on other people's computers. To solve this, I use the wonderful program, Virtual Dub.
© 2007 Karen Collins