Retro Gaming Hacks

How This Book Is Organized

The book is organized into several chapters, organized by subject:

Chapter 1, Playing Retro Games

Get that old Atari out of the attic! If no Atari is to be found in your attic, get one off eBay. In this chapter you’ll learn about playing with the “real thing,” setting up classic game systems, fixing broken hardware, and getting good deals on buying games.

Chapter 2, Playing Neo-Retro Games

You don’t have to fuss with classic hardware if you don’t want to. The hacks in this chapter cover new hardware and software that plays old games, whether on an all-in-one joystick or on the PlayStation 2.

Chapter 3, Playing Arcade Games on Your Computer

You don’t have space in your apartment for three thousand arcade machines. Or do you? In this chapter we’ll cover MAME—the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator—from all the angles, learning how to play classic arcade games on PC and other platforms.

Chapter 4, Playing Classic Console Games

Emulators aren’t just for arcade games. You can use these clever software programs to fool your computer into thinking that it’s a Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, or practically any other retro game console imaginable.

Chapter 5, Playing with Early Personal Computers

For many of us, our first retro game experience wasn’t in front of a console—it was hunched over the keyboard of a classic Apple ][ or Atari 800XL. In this chapter, we’ll bring back those classic computers, showing you how to set them up or emulate them.

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