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While preserving binary “playability” is important, the rapidly increasing longevity of titles and fighting bit-rot is an equally large challenge for both the g

While preserving binary “playability” is important, the rapidly increasing longevity of titles and fighting bit-rot is an equally large challenge for both the game and software industry. A game is rarely just the binary execution itself, but often depends on an interconnected mesh of services and downstream partners - most of which are rarely set-up/committed to multi-decade durability, especially as the surface area of problem domain, and actors/threats have grown. For example, who’d willingly port a service that only worked on Centos 5, with SHA1 hashed TLS, or the CDN service that your game update assets were delivered from in 2007. The techniques to isolate a game from its gradually crumbling ecosystem are an after-thought when priorities are survive to shipping. I’m not inferring this is right or wrong, just indicating that it is not even in the calculus on the path to shipping.

selfhoster11 5y ago
> For example, who’d willingly port a service that only worked on Centos 5, with SHA1 hashed TLS, or the CDN service that your game update assets were delivered from in 2007. Hardcore fans of the game. Instead of making the game abandonware, one solution is to open source the whole server-side shebang and let the community sort it out themselves. If it's too difficult, at least there will be some sample source code that is known to interface with the game, so alternative server-side implementations can be built.
- KronisLV 5y ago
  > Hardcore fans of the game. The problem with this is that it goes directly against the business incentives of the companies in control of the franchises. Just look at this: https://dontfeedthegamers.com/ea-battlefield-cease-desist/ https://dontfeedthegamers.com/ea-battlefield-cease-desist/
  - selfhoster11 5y ago
    This should be part of the copyright law. Just like trademarks are legally protected on a "use it or lose it", server-side code should be similarly placed in copyright deposition and released if the company is no longer willing to run the servers. Obviously if a company wants to earn "All Of The Money" on a franchise, they won't be doing that out of the goodness of their heart.

selfhoster11 5y ago

> For example, who’d willingly port a service that only worked on Centos 5, with SHA1 hashed TLS, or the CDN service that your game update assets were delivered from in 2007. Hardcore fans of the game. Instead of making the game abandonware, one solution is to open source the whole server-side shebang and let the community sort it out themselves. If it's too difficult, at least there will be some sample source code that is known to interface with the game, so alternative server-side implementations can be built.

KronisLV 5y ago
> Hardcore fans of the game. The problem with this is that it goes directly against the business incentives of the companies in control of the franchises. Just look at this: https://dontfeedthegamers.com/ea-battlefield-cease-desist/ https://dontfeedthegamers.com/ea-battlefield-cease-desist/
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  This should be part of the copyright law. Just like trademarks are legally protected on a "use it or lose it", server-side code should be similarly placed in copyright deposition and released if the company is no longer willing to run the servers. Obviously if a company wants to earn "All Of The Money" on a franchise, they won't be doing that out of the goodness of their heart.