3 ms·

It's fun to see the retro gaming aesthetic come to the world of creativity software. I wonder what other categories of software could you pull this off? For ex

It's fun to see the retro gaming aesthetic come to the world of creativity software. I wonder what other categories of software could you pull this off? For example, I couldn't imagine anyone waxing nostalgic for the UX of an old word processor app.

atrus 2y ago
Oh you'd be surprised haha, I see lots of older writers missing the older word processors.
drewser42 2y ago
George R.R. Martin famously writes his novels on DOS with WordStar.
palmotea 2y ago
> For example, I couldn't imagine anyone waxing nostalgic for the UX of an old word processor app. I can. An old world processor may have a much more keyboard-optimized UX. Also, there were a lot of thoughtful people working decades ago when old computer technology was new. Thoughtfully designed software from 1989 could probably beat the latest 2025 jank in many ways.
reaperducer 2y ago
I wonder what other categories of software could you pull this off? Just a few weeks ago, people on HN were waxing poetic about the Lotus 1-2-3 user interface, as someone ported it to Linux.
- cestith 2y ago
  Plenty of people use Midnight Commander or Total Commander both of which hearken back to Norton Commander for DOS (back before Norton sold to Symantec).
plastic3169 2y ago
Like vi(m) or emacs?
- yoz-y 2y ago
  T602
cestith 2y ago
I know quite a few people who use old form design software, old contact managers, old email clients, old text editors, old spreadsheet packages, old CAD software, and yes even old word processors because they prefer the interface. Of course “old” is subjective. There are WordStar, MS Word, MS Works, and WordPerfect for DOS. There are early Windows versions of Word and WordPerfect. There’s 1-2-3, Excel, and others for decades or one could go all the way back to VisiCalc. I know people who still use Mutt or Pine for email.
justin66 2y ago
> I couldn't imagine anyone waxing nostalgic for the UX of an old word processor app. This is a very strange sentiment in general, since word processors are pretty much the only retro software that's worth keeping and using today - professional writers often hang onto them. It's especially strange to hear in a place where people routinely use fifty year old text editors.
- rikroots 2y ago
  You made me go and search for for my first-ever favourite word processor. It turns out that Wordworth v7 is available for download via the Internet Archive[1]. Apparently there was a v7.1 release back in 2008[2] but I can't locate a download of it - not even on Aminet![3] Next, I need an Amiga emulator that runs on a MacBook Pro ... [1] - https://archive.org/details/wordworth-7 https://archive.org/details/wordworth-7 [2] - http://www.classicamiga.com/content/view/5010/175/ http://www.classicamiga.com/content/view/5010/175/ [3] - https://www.aminet.net/search?query=wordworth https://www.aminet.net/search?query=wordworth
  - justin66 2y ago
    Neat! And slightly amazing they did a release as recently as 2008.
2mlWQbCK 2y ago
Not just a modern application with a retro gaming aesthetic, but this year I got heavily into using (ex-Autodesk, now open source) Animator as my programmer art application of choice. Actual 16-bit software. https://github.com/AnimatorPro/ https://github.com/AnimatorPro/ https://github.com/AnimatorPro/Animator-Pro/tree/f5ed37135ad1f3e2788a43a25774eb46b2c0cc9a/bin/dos/v https://github.com/AnimatorPro/Animator-Pro/tree/f5ed37135ad... Fun restrictions to work with/around and it has some fun features too. Running in DOS also makes it run everywhere, including on my phone. Would be happy to use more old DOS software, but I just have not found more that seemed as useful (maybe VGAPaint 386 for a different paint app?). No constant (forced) upgrades to keep up with. I can compromise a lot with features if it means that I can spend years/decades on mastering a tool instead of just barely keeping up with how the latest version works. (Guess that is why I always liked Emacs so much.)

atrus 2y ago

Oh you'd be surprised haha, I see lots of older writers missing the older word processors.

drewser42 2y ago

George R.R. Martin famously writes his novels on DOS with WordStar.

palmotea 2y ago

> For example, I couldn't imagine anyone waxing nostalgic for the UX of an old word processor app. I can. An old world processor may have a much more keyboard-optimized UX. Also, there were a lot of thoughtful people working decades ago when old computer technology was new. Thoughtfully designed software from 1989 could probably beat the latest 2025 jank in many ways.

reaperducer 2y ago

I wonder what other categories of software could you pull this off? Just a few weeks ago, people on HN were waxing poetic about the Lotus 1-2-3 user interface, as someone ported it to Linux.

cestith 2y ago
Plenty of people use Midnight Commander or Total Commander both of which hearken back to Norton Commander for DOS (back before Norton sold to Symantec).

plastic3169 2y ago

Like vi(m) or emacs?

yoz-y 2y ago
T602

cestith 2y ago

I know quite a few people who use old form design software, old contact managers, old email clients, old text editors, old spreadsheet packages, old CAD software, and yes even old word processors because they prefer the interface. Of course “old” is subjective. There are WordStar, MS Word, MS Works, and WordPerfect for DOS. There are early Windows versions of Word and WordPerfect. There’s 1-2-3, Excel, and others for decades or one could go all the way back to VisiCalc. I know people who still use Mutt or Pine for email.

justin66 2y ago

> I couldn't imagine anyone waxing nostalgic for the UX of an old word processor app. This is a very strange sentiment in general, since word processors are pretty much the only retro software that's worth keeping and using today - professional writers often hang onto them. It's especially strange to hear in a place where people routinely use fifty year old text editors.

rikroots 2y ago
You made me go and search for for my first-ever favourite word processor. It turns out that Wordworth v7 is available for download via the Internet Archive[1]. Apparently there was a v7.1 release back in 2008[2] but I can't locate a download of it - not even on Aminet![3] Next, I need an Amiga emulator that runs on a MacBook Pro ... [1] - https://archive.org/details/wordworth-7 https://archive.org/details/wordworth-7 [2] - http://www.classicamiga.com/content/view/5010/175/ http://www.classicamiga.com/content/view/5010/175/ [3] - https://www.aminet.net/search?query=wordworth https://www.aminet.net/search?query=wordworth
- justin66 2y ago
  Neat! And slightly amazing they did a release as recently as 2008.

2mlWQbCK 2y ago

Not just a modern application with a retro gaming aesthetic, but this year I got heavily into using (ex-Autodesk, now open source) Animator as my programmer art application of choice. Actual 16-bit software. https://github.com/AnimatorPro/ https://github.com/AnimatorPro/ https://github.com/AnimatorPro/Animator-Pro/tree/f5ed37135ad1f3e2788a43a25774eb46b2c0cc9a/bin/dos/v https://github.com/AnimatorPro/Animator-Pro/tree/f5ed37135ad... Fun restrictions to work with/around and it has some fun features too. Running in DOS also makes it run everywhere, including on my phone. Would be happy to use more old DOS software, but I just have not found more that seemed as useful (maybe VGAPaint 386 for a different paint app?). No constant (forced) upgrades to keep up with. I can compromise a lot with features if it means that I can spend years/decades on mastering a tool instead of just barely keeping up with how the latest version works. (Guess that is why I always liked Emacs so much.)