Project Our Proud Digital Heritage: Project-Related Archaeology Thread (Read 131 times) GARBAGE RETRO NOSTALGIA REFERENCE BULLSHIT

denzquix

#1 October 09, 2013, 12:08:26 am
  • Avatar of denzquix
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Member
  • Joined: Aug 22, 2012
  • Posts: 630
so, the main thing is obviously Windows Solitaire
 


 
 

pedantically speakin', what Windows calls Solitaire is more correctly named Klondike -- "Solitaire" is no specific game at all, it's an umbrella term meaning any kind of table-top game that you play by yourself
 

Solitaire was made a standard component in 1990 as kind of a tutorial/demo, "to soothe people intimidated by the operating system", in particular by familiarizing them with the exotic practice of drag & drop

Solitaire is also well known as the classic method, pre-ubiquitous-Internet, for bored office workers to avoid working

the card deck rendering system was actually not part of Solitaire itself, but a shared system file called CARDS.DLL
there were even tutorials made about how to use this DLL to render your own card games

(however, CARDS.DLL has not been a part of Windows since Vista, when Solitaire's graphics were modernized for a discerning 2006 audience...)

 

CARDS.DLL deck art by Susan Kare


Last Edit: October 26, 2013, 09:33:32 pm by denzquix
  • Back to top

denzquix

#2 October 09, 2013, 12:23:54 am
  • Avatar of denzquix
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Member
  • Joined: Aug 22, 2012
  • Posts: 630
Quote from: denzquix on October 09, 2013, 12:08:26 am
Solitaire was made a standard component in 1990 as kind of a tutorial/demo, "to soothe people intimidated by the operating system", in particular by familiarizing them with the exotic practice of drag & drop
it is the natural instinct of the videogame to distance itself from the operating system, to stand apart in a parallel universe from the desktop

so there's something disorienting & odd about games that try to work with, not fight against, the operating system aesthetic...








Last Edit: October 14, 2013, 09:36:30 am by denzquix
  • Back to top

denzquix

#3 October 09, 2013, 12:27:58 am
  • Avatar of denzquix
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Member
  • Joined: Aug 22, 2012
  • Posts: 630
Quote from: denzquix on October 09, 2013, 12:08:26 am
Solitaire is also well known as the classic method, pre-ubiquitous-Internet, for bored office workers to avoid working
if this project was not going to be a standalone game, but part of something larger, it would probably be sliced up into chunks and be a recurring game-within-a-game, where the protagonist gets stuck at a desk in an office at several points in the game and has to play this thing just to make time pass till the next plot-progression event...
Last Edit: October 09, 2013, 12:28:57 am by denzquix
  • Back to top

denzquix

#4 October 11, 2013, 08:22:33 pm
  • Avatar of denzquix
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Member
  • Joined: Aug 22, 2012
  • Posts: 630
Quote
Solitaire was made a standard component in 1990 as kind of a tutorial/demo, "to soothe people intimidated by the operating system"
one of Microsoft's schemes to soothe the intimidated user is the immortal MICROSOFT BOB (1995)
 


it was intended as a full replacement for the Windows desktop interface, using a cartoon house and cartoon character "assistants"

the "assistant" concept was later reused in Microsoft Office in the form of an anthropormorphic paperclip, and Bob's dog character was directly reused (in 3D modelled form) in the search function of Windows XP
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xflQN-csX8M

Last Edit: October 11, 2013, 08:27:24 pm by denzquix
  • Back to top