Back to Walter Day Conversations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first message originally came from 'Twin Galaxies' www.twingalaxies.com
RMRUCZEK
TG Board of Directors
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:04 pm Post subject: You Can STart Right Now !!
The Gamers Church of Mame is Accepting New Members... Link
Twin Galaxies Forums
www.twingalaxies.com
Emulation Gaming
Church Main MAME BBS Page Link
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
****************************
THE CHURCH OF MAME
Celebrating our 45th Anniversary !!
The "Church of MAME" is a tax-exempt religious organization established for the sole
purpose of celebrating the euphoric high achieved by setting video game world records.
We firmly believe that with each record achieved, through the accompanying euphoria
experienced, that you become closer to the state of being necessary for arcade game play
"perfection".
Our origins are established way back in the early 1960's when the preservers of the
Universe chose our planet as the proving ground for their beliefs that cultivating an
entire world that slowly but surely became better and better at video games would
ultimately create a global euphoric energy that would consolidate and embody the coming
of their legendary all-mighty creator...a name which cannot be pronounced, but according
to ancient writings and legend, resembled "Quarsimius ad!%! BEzentzi(a) RhekarT".
They opted to infuse several test subjects with ideas that would spawn off the first of
what would turn out to be thousands of video games throughout the globe over the next five
decades.
The plan was simple. Train the human beings first with simple, two-color challenges, then
as the aggregate player count grows, so would overall skill and experience, and ultimately
this first test generation of followers would overcome monochrome challenges, and then
develop, absorb and later pass down to new followers the skills necessary to overcome
color and multi-dimensional challenges, all the while testing their newfound skills at
a geometrically increasing number of challenges both in scope and complexity.
The collective energies expended by these followers, and the resultant euphoric energy rush
from the millions of high scores established, would one day pool to embody the legendary
Creator.
The experiment worked, and slowly the preservers opted to bring public their master plan.
They cleverly sent a mental signal of suggestion to a game developer in the middle of the
second decade of the experiment so that a partial name of the creator would be embraced
and remembered by the growing number of followers.
I remind you, the creator's unpronounceable name is...
"Quarsimius ad!%! BEzentzi(a) RhekarT".
Titles were suggested over the years to train followers in attaining various states of being.
Titles that would forge gamers with the need for endurance, force gamers to maintain their
state of mind over mind-numbing repetitive routine and other states of mind were common.
A few of us that are "in the know" have been secretly tracking and fostering the development
of these skills, providing a chronicle of previous achievements in the hopes that greater
achievements will one day be established. The leader of this project was selected by the
preservers as he seemed to personify the charisma and fortitude necessary to mobilize the
followers across the world to challenge themselves even further towards greater and greater
achievements.
The fact that he came from an unobtrusive locale was a perfect fit for the role. The
teachings would spread slowly but surely over time, and entering it's third decade, the
"Cultivator" as he was referred to by the preservers had done his job well...millions of
followers, now referred to as "gamers", all across the glove joined together in an
unfettering quest to improve their achievements time and time again.
The "Cultivator" expanded his inner circle of leaders over time, each focused on cultivating
a niche of followers across the globe. Calling themselves "referees", the game plan is that
some followers need to be presented with the right bait to joining the flock. Thus, over time,
newer and newer "platforms" were conceived. Small wonder that they were, as the plan for
expansion crosses hundreds of years. This is but the first generation test.
Is it any wonder that some followers have even achieved a cult-like status among themselves,
distinguished by their inspirational achievements?
And for each achievement that reaches its zenith, more must be created, thus the preservers
empowered one of the "Cultivator's" most trusted officials to set forth and cultivate
hundreds of "Inaugural Records", the theory being that when one challenge reaches it's
Zenith, the euphoric energy subsides as other followers lose the faith when they cannot
attain that goal threshold, so new challenges must be conceived.
To keep the energy flow going, periodic events were conceived, as well as a written text
of all that was accomplished to spread the word across the globe.
And yet...all was not complete. These "platforms" could only reach so far across the planet.
So the preservers enlightened one person with the vision for "MAME", and they saw that it
was a good thing. For you see, "MAME" could reach followers all over the globe, without fear
that the follower had no monetary means to afford the teaching tool.
Worldwide penetration was better than expected. The mission now is for the "Church of MAME"
to attract new followers through it's many chapters, including the splinter religion known
as "MARP" which disagrees with some of the precepts of the preservers, but whose ultimate
goal still creates the same euphoric energy that swathes this planet daily, and increases
constantly over time.
The "Church of MAME", a project stemming from the "Twin Galaxies" collective
database of followers and their achievements, requires that all new followers
provide certain key personal information, so as to establish a collective
database and target which followers have accomplished the most over time. While
the "Cult of MARP", a larger though less ancient entity, allows their followers
anonymity. Either way, the energy created cannot be claimed by either "Church",
and soon, someday soon, the creator will emerge. Xanadu is at hand.
QRS1...you have been persuaded into joining BOTH "Churches" !! So convincing are the
goals and rewards of each that you have voluntarily opted to experience both. The
collective euphoric energies are now increasing at a rate even higher than expected.
The creator, whose name cannot be pronounced but who is known for these past two decades
by the simple acronym "Q*Bert" (see above), shall soon emerge. And then, the followers
of the "Church of MAME" and the "Cult of MARP" shall see that their day-in and day-out
performances were not in vain.
Followers, now, can enjoy opportunities to establish a release of their inner euphoric
energies via simple, complex, monochrome, color, two dimensional, three dimensional,
cooperative, virtual, and other forms of challenge.
The "Church" requires no money to join. Every quarter placed into an arcade title, every
monetary unit expended to purchase console titles or the consoles themselves, all contributes
to a greater good.
The preservers were wise to inspire selected followers with the vision to establish the
multitude of platforms that we now have come to know quite well. With diversity came
different challenges and "companies"...fronts for gathering monetary contributions to aid
the preservers in their worldwide cause...which churned out challenges on a regular basis.
Some followers, the "designers", were more inspired than others. Two that are largely
regarded by the preservers as having been their best students of fostering new challenges
were assigned the initials "EJ" and "SM"...their true names are listed in the master plan
of the preservers which foretold which followers would help, or hinder, worldwide
penetration of their beliefs.
The names of these and other creative "designers" are sometimes hidden in various game
titles. The preservers also believed that while the euphoric challenge of completing a
title or achieving a "high score" as the expression goes, was not enough to perpetuate the
"Church", so designers hid special challenges within the games themselves, to further
captivate the euphoric energies of the gamers worldwide as they competed their latest
challenges. Known as "easter eggs", a name coined by one of the designers at some point,
they provide a small but meaningful additional way to bolster the worldwide euphoric energy
as each new "easter egg" is uncovered.
This is the "Church of MAME". We are here. We will be here tomorrow. We will be here the
day after that. We cannot be stopped. And soon...one day, soon...we will have you as a
member.
Enjoy normal life now, mortal, while you still can.......
********************************************
Okay, hope that clears up the "Church of MAME". You're all members, now...you know this,
of course.
Robert
_________________
Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade marathon champion
rmruczek(at)doremus. (work E-MAIL)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saint Paul Coin-Op Commentary below:
Paul Dean Commentary on the above post on The Church of Mame, and intellectuals ideals
to follow below:
Paul Dean
Are there secret messages in video games that only a select few can decipher from
those Game Designers that put those messages in the source code?
Have players (Gamers) been searching for the Nirvana within Video Games from
the beginning of the Golden Age, 1980's through today over 25 years later?
Do players come from all over the world to compete with other players in hope
of capturing the perfect game and of unlocking certain secrets of the video game
inspite of huge costs of travel, practice and time?
Is there a since of well-being only felt by the few players who have mastered video
games?
Is Mame, "Emulated Classic Video Games" a religion that can be obtained by practice
and patience living in the now in order to reach the ultimate high which is becoming
the master of many games and being recognized as such?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mame, A Religion? Have we opened Pandora's Box?
Mame is just a fancy name for home video games that emulate the arcade video games
of the past that we used to see all over the Continent in the early 1980's. These
ancient games are being given a second life and a second run by those who used to
play them when arcades existed everywhere.
Where Does Religion Come in with a regard for video games? Has anybody ever
seriously answered this question?
Some Definitions first to describe what it is we are defining:
Religion: A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human
destiny. "A behavior, process or structure whose orientation is at least partially
Supernatural." For Jung, the unconscious had a religious function, and religion rests
on an instinctive basis.
A means of getting in touch with and of attaining at-oneness with "ultimate reality."
a belief in a deity and practice of worship, action, and/or thought related to that deity.
Loosely, any specific system of code of ethics, values, and belief. belief in supernatural
or divine power that invites expression in conduct and often involving ethics and a
philosophy (or a specific system of such belief and conduct)
Everybody wants the great awakening and there are some select few who feel a
certain awakening from the mastering of video games.
Art Analogy to that of Video Game Playing:
If you speak to the greatest artists in the world they will tell you that God
guides their hand at every step of the process. They cannot create anything
until they feel this connection. The work has been created by god through
their hand, only after they have cleared all other things out of their mind.
A Euphoria is felt and a connection of one-ness and of the perfect clear thought
and clear vision is a common occurrence among the greatest artists. They cannot
give up this form of expression because they feel enlightened every time they
put their craft to work. This expression is so powerful that the artist will
miss food and drink and even sleep in order to keep in touch with this vision
they can touch when in the middle of their craft. Time stops and everything
is in the now, and nothing else matters when the concentration on the palette
is intense. The moment is fleeting and very hard to reach but worth hundreds
of hours of work just for a few minutes of such a feeling.
All of the emotions and expressions of a gamer who plays at the highest levels
are the same as the great artists? This illusive feeling of being in touch
with God can only be achieved when the player has a perfect game and there
is almost an out of body experience because everything seems so automatic.
After many hours of mind numbing performance with no room for error, a player
may feel light headed or dizzy and may start to hallucinate just because it
is so hard to keep a perfect game for 11 hours or more without food or drink
or rest. As the player steps in to the perfect game they refer to it as being
in the zone. Other players start calling this player God like because of the
unusual magnified concentration and speed of perfect controls and solution
oriented pace.
In the end you have the high score and the perfect game or a game that was
in the top 1% of players. The score was nice, but now the high is over and
the connection to God or to that perfect feeling is gone, until the next game.
It may take hundreds or thousands of games to get back to that feeling of
oneness with the game, the programming, and your maker.
Players will be flocking from all over the world to one destination on
June 2, 2005 to once again find this illusive feeling of what a perfect
game can give you if it is your time. Just like the three kings traveled
to Bethlehem, all great players will make their journey to one of the last
great classic game arcades, Funspot, in New Hampshire to the World Classic
Video Game Tournament.
This meant that the players would have to travel from their hometowns to
the place of their Video Game Fathers hometown in which their names are
on the special list. The list
Who is the leader and what keeps this thing going of constantly competing
for the best high score in the world and the chance for fame and perfection?
Walter Day is the keeper of high scores since 1981.
I believe in the promise that the long-awaited High Score will come from one
of the prenamed members on the list inspired
by Walter Day, but how can I be sure that what will happen at Funspot or what
will even happen to me? It is all based in faith beyond myself that the scores
will come and that the players will step up and beat those 20+ year old scores
that haven't seen the light of day until now.
Those players who have retired have not forgotten the past. They remain in the
video game industry long after there scores have been beaten. They are programmers,
computer consultants, accountants, engineers and scientists. There concern is
to push the envelope a little bit further for perfection and constant improvement
and I can only hope that there legacy is remembered decades from now for they
are the ones that built this everlasting covenant of the high score. I would wish
that their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among
the peoples." Of course this will not be because there are not enough writings
to keep there memories alive.
The player nor the game will never disappear entirely but will be remembered
as the precursor to the future.
God is within the individuals reach if only for a second, as long as that
individual is willing to give up everything in order to achieve the perfect game.
Until then we can only watch in wonder as scores are being pushed to higher
and higher levels making it seem impossible to beat --
Thank you to those players who are willing to give up everything in order to
reach perfection.
Pilgrimage Coming Soon, June 2-5, 2005 Funspot
Those called to action by Walter Day, the Chief of High Scores: Link
Who is Going to Funspot 2005??
Here's the list of People Definitely Attending
This list will be updated as people announce their plans on the forums...
Definitely Coming:
Abdner Ashman
Anna Cram (everything)
Brian Kuh
Christian Cram (everything)
Darren Harris
David Cruz (Tron)
Donald Hayes (Everything)
Fred Pastore
Greg Erway
Jason Cram (everything)
Joel Hedge
Kelly Flewin (Consoles and anything he can get his hands on)
Martin Bedard
Mike Stulir
Perry Rodgers
Robert Mruczek
Shawn Cram (everything)
Tim McIlroy
Todd Rogers
Walter Day
Here is the list of people who have been emailed invitations, urging them to come
to this year's event...
Ben Carter (Centipede)
Bill Carlton (Asteroids)
Brandon Erickson (Star Wars)
Carlos Krueger (Consoles)
Chip Sbrogna (Cliffhanger)(Will be in China)
David Foley (Ultracade)
David Palmer (Everything)
Dennis & Sascha Blechner (Time Crisis)(Can't come)
Don Morlan (Joust)
Donn Nauert (Everything)(Email Bounced Back)
Doug LLoyd (Pac-Man)
Dwayne Richard (Funky Fish)(Thinking about it)
Ed Ray (Centipede)
Eric Olofson (Everything)
Eric Furrer (Space Invaders)
Evandro Tessari (Brazil)(Moon Patrol)
Frank Breneman (Pac-Man)
Gary Hatt (Everything)(Thinking about it)
Gary Whelan (Galaxian)(Thinking about it)
George Weller (Karate Champ)
Glenn Cravens (Consoles)
Graham Dingsdale (COnsoles)
Greg Sakundiak (Everything)
Hector Rodriguez (Consoles)(Email bounced back)
Hugh Falk (Everything)
Jack Gale (Everything)(Thinking about it)
Jamie Allen (Classics)
Jay Woodard (Star Wars)(Email bounced back)
J.D. Lowe (Consoles)
Jean Baudin (Pooyan, Mad Planets)
Jeff Peters (Everything)(Thinking about it)
Jerry Byrum (Defender)(Email bounced back)
John McCann (Gorf)
John Rhodes (Joust)(Email bounced back)
John Thomas & Josh Powell (Wizard of Wor)
Juan Torres (Defender)
Kevin Booth (Consoles)
Leah Banks (Ms. Pac-Man)
Les Martin (Pac-Man)(Email bounced back)
Mark Androvich (Consoles)(Email bounced back)
Mark Robichek (Frogger)
Mark Little (SpyHunter)
Mark Soileau (Wizard of Wor)
Michael Eide (Dig Dug)
Michael Weeg (Asteroids)
Mike Klug (Pole Position)(Thinking positively about it)
Mike Lockhart (Scramble)
Mike Morrow (Everything)
Nicholas Legare (Strikers 1945)
Pablo Bert (Consoles)
Pete Wrench (Gorf)
Rick Carter (everything)(Thinking positively about it)
Rick Smith (Defender)(Email bounced back)
Robert Bonney Griffin(Everything)
Rodrigo Lopez(Consoles)(Thinking positively about it)
Ron Hallett (Galaga)
Stephen Knox (Consoles)(Can't come)
Steve Harris (Everything)
Steve Sanders (Everything)(Email bounced back)
Steve Reisenberger (Robotron)
Steve Wiebe (Donkley Kong)(Thinking about it)
Stuart Morrison (Consoles)
Tim Baldarramos (Pac-Man)
Tim Curtis (Space Firebird)
Todd Cravens (Classic)(Thinking about it)
Tony Bueno (Mr. Do)
Tony Perkins (Everything)
Tristan Ducluzeau (French Player)
Van Burnham (Email bounced back)
Wolff Morrow (everything)
Zack Hample (Arkanoid)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RMRUCZEK
TG Board of Directors
Location: Brooklyn, NY Link
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 10:55 pm Post subject: The Mystery of Q*Bert
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO: Tommi:
Ah...you reminded me of the mystery contained within "Q*Bert".
Rumour has it that those unpronounceable phrases that the character utters when he
gets hit, as well as the noises that the purple enemies make as they chase him,
are part of the secret ritual to bring the euphoric energies together and bring
the embodiment of the creator back into existence once again.
Of course, that could just be a hokey coincidence. Or is it???
Robert
_________________
Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade marathon champion
rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)
******************************
RMRUCZEK
TG Board of Directors
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:01 pm Post subject: One More Thing...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO: Tommi:
And for anyone who has every heard stories of gamers who attempted marathons at
"Q*Bert" only to start hallucinating"...now you REALLY got to wonder whether there's
more to that game than meets the eye!!
The more devoted the player (i.e. the longer they play), the more they start to
hallucinate.
One player just got a 1.5M on TGTS via MAME...this might be the latest convert!!
And considering one of my fellow referees is very, very good at FHMC Q*bert, you
have to wonder about him, too.
Just kidding of course. Maybe. Maybe not.
Robert
_________________
Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade marathon champion
rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Church of Pac man Link
First Church of Pac man Proverb Link
First Church of Burger Time Link
The Second Coming of Space Invaders (The End of The World?)Link
The Motley Mame Church of Classic Video Games Link
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mame Platform and Definition:
Human With Bird
In computer games, MAME is an acronym for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. According
to the official MAME website (http://www.mame.net), the first official MAME release
(0.1) was released on February 5 1997 by Nicola Salmoria. MAME tries to faithfully
emulate as many different arcade machines and games as possible, and has been ported
too many different platforms.
MAME's purpose is to preserve gaming history, and to stop vintage games from being lost
or forgotten. As of version 0.90 (actually the 134th proper release), released January 4,
2005, MAME now supports 3005 unique games and 5393 actual ROMsets (each game may just
have the original or have one or more clones as well - see below) and is growing all
the time. However, not all of the games in MAME are playable, about 670 ROMsets are
marked as not working in the current version.
Contents
1 How MAME works
2 Emulation philosophies
3 ROM images
4 Legal status of MAME
4.1 Legal status of MAME ROMs
4.2 Is it wrong to use MAME?
5 Mame Licence
6 External links
How MAME works
MAME is a software program which runs on personal computer hardware, with versions for
Windows, Macintosh, and Unix operating systems. MAME itself performs several functions:
a CPU emulator, which emulates the CPU of the original arcade machine; an input emulator,
which maps the arcade buttons, joysticks, and so on to PC devices; and an emulator for
the arcade game display and sound equipment. The only thing missing from MAME is the ROM
image, which is the program from the original arcade game which made the game run. When
MAME is run, it is running the original game from several years ago - just on different
hardware.
Emulation philosophy
The stated aim of the project is to document hardware, and so MAME takes a somewhat
purist view of emulation, prohibiting cheap hacks that might make a game run properly
or run faster at the expense of emulation accuracy. In MAME every emulated component is
replicated down to the smallest level of individual registers and instructions. Consequently
MAME emulation is very accurate (in many cases pixel- and sample-accurate), but system
requirements can be high. Since MAME runs mostly older games, Moore's Law ensures that
a large majority of the games run well on a "midpoint" 2 GHz PC. More modern arcade
machines are based around fast pipelined RISC processors, math DSPs, and other devices
which are difficult to emulate efficiently. These systems may not run quickly even on
the most modern systems available. It's a common, and mistaken, assumption that the speed
problem is due to these games' use of 3D graphics. MAME does not use hardware rasterization
on 3D games because you can't guarantee identical output between different brands of cards,
or even revisions of drivers on the same card. Consistency of output across platforms is
important to the MAME team - the Macintosh and Unix/Linux ports are just as important as
Windows. An apocalypse is immanent.
ROM images
In most arcade machines, the data (consisting of the game program, graphics, sounds, etc.)
is stored in read-only memory chips (hence the name "ROM"), although other devices such
as cassettes, floppy disks, hard disks, and compact discs are also used. These devices
can be read in a process called "dumping" to create computer files containing the same
data; these files are often generically called "ROM images" or "ROMs" no matter what kind
of device they originally came from. To play a particular game, MAME requires a set of
files (called a ROM set) containing all the data from the original machine, however MAME
itself does not include any of these files.
MAME handles these data files in two ways: CHD (Compressed Hunks of Data) files hold the in
ZIP archives, one for each game.
There are three types of ROM sets:
Original game ROM sets. These are the games which the MAME development team has decided
are the "original" versions of each game. Except for the files contained in BIOS ROMs
(if needed; see below), the ROM files for these games contain everything those games
need to run. The "original" set is generally defined as the most recent revision of the
game, and if multiple regional versions are available, the "World" or US revision.
Clone ROM sets, which are different versions or variants of the originals (for example,
Street Fighter II Turbo is considered a variant of Street Fighter II Champion Edition).
BIOS ROM sets, which are the ROMs in common between all games on various standardized
arcade systems (e.g. Neo Geo). They basically 'boot' the hardware, then allow the regular
game software to take over.
There are a few legal ways of getting these ROMs:
If you own the actual arcade game board and an EPROM reader, you can read the ROMs
yourself.
Some companies, such as Capcom and Atari, offer ROMs for sale either separately or
included with other products.
For two ROM sets, Gridlee and Robby Roto, the game's copyright holders have given
permission for them to be freely distributed. These are available at the MAME website.
For one ROM set, the game's copyright has expired or is otherwise nonexistent. This
currently only applies to Polyplay, whose copyright was held by VEB Polytechnik
Karl-Marx-Stadt. As the former East Germany collapsed, there does not seem to be a
copyright holder for this piece of software anymore.. This is also available at the
MAME website.
There are numerous questionable ways of getting these ROMs:
Downloading from websites; although many sites like mame.dk (http://www.mame.dk)
have stopped offering ROMs, they can still be found.
Downloading from binaries newsgroups on Usenet.
Downloading via various peer-to-peer methods such as eDonkey2000, BitTorrent, and IRC
Fserves.
By sending the required number of CD-Rs/DVD-Rs to people who will burn and mail these back
with the ROMs on, in exchange for shipping costs.
These methods are questionable because they are definitely illegal for games where one
doesn't own the original, and their legality is not clear even when one does own the
original, at least in the United States - US law allows a backup copy to be made for
personal use, but presumes that the user will make this backup themselves. Disc burning
services are especially questionable because of the potential argument that their service
is commercial in nature; although burning services usually charge only for media and
shipping costs, there are in fact a number of pirate merchants illegally offering MAME
ROM discs for sale for a profit on eBay and elsewhere.
Since all the ROMs and associated files would fill at least 35 CD-Rs or 7 DVD-Rs,
downloading the whole collection is not an option for people with dial-up Internet
access, although when the CHD files are omitted the download size is significantly
smaller. People with fast, unmetered Internet connections who don't mind leaving the
download running for a few days or even weeks can feasibly get the full set via Bittorrent.
Although it requires a lot of downloading, people do this for several reasons, ranging
from simply wanting to have a full collection (derisively called "PokéROM" by the MAME
developers, since their activities resemble the phrase "Gotta catch 'em all!" from the
Pokémon television series) to wanting to help preserve arcade history-the more places
these ROMs are stored, the less likely it is that they will be lost.
Legal status of MAME
Owning and distributing MAME itself is legal in the US, as it is merely an emulator. Some
companies (notably Sony) have attempted in court to prevent emulators from being sold,
but they have been ultimately unsuccessful ([1]
(http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,34281,00.html)). As of yet, no legal action
has been brought against the MAME team.
While emulators are legal, ROM images are covered by copyright law. The MAME license
explicitly forbids people from distributing it along with ROM images.
Legal status of MAME ROMs
If you own the actual arcade game, making a backup copy of your ROMs for your PC is legal
in the US. Some ROM images (such as Atari's) are available for purchase legally. However,
in practically all jurisdictions, it is not legal for an individual to have ROM images that
aren't either legitimately bought or from a game they own.
Most people believe that you'll probably never get into legal trouble by using MAME. For
the "classic", pre-1990 games, this is almost certainly true, as the market value of the
ROM images is negligible. However, some recent, post-2000 games have been added to MAME.
Some think such games should not be included, because they risk unwelcome attention from
the copyright holders. Certain people quote a "5-year rule", stating that 5 years is how
old a game should be before being emulated in MAME. However, there is no legal basis for
a such a rule. The website mame.dk was shut down due to a dispute with a copyright holder.
It was reopened for awhile, and it is currently closed again, claiming that the bandwidth
costs more than the revenue generated by the website. At one point, The MAME team adhered
to a 3-year rule. But that has since been thrown out the window. MAME now has no real
"year rule". Instead when MAME dev feels that a game is no longer being manufacturered
or no longer popular in arcades, only then it will be added, and not a moment sooner.
There are two reasons for this rule: To avoid harming the profits of arcade companies,
and to lessen the possibility of future lawsuits. They fear that, just because MAME has
not yet been subject to legal action, doesn't mean it will never be.
Many copyright holders are currently ignoring the MAME ROM distribution activity. This
may change in the future. Some people argue that, as long as it's for personal use and
the user isn't selling the ROMs, it's perfectly legal. They argue that the copyright
holders have abandoned their copyright by not enforcing it for many years; most of the
games are no longer being manufactured. There is no legal basis for these claims. The
actual legality of ROM downloading depends on the country, although all arcade games are
still protected by copyrights in almost all jurisdictions, and will remain so for decades
yet. The MAME community has shown itself to be reasonable. However, when a company requested
ROMs for its games be removed from mame.dk, the maintainers of that website immediately
complied.
The RIAA is cracking down on file sharing users for trading songs. The same may someday
also happen with MAME ROMs, or ROMs of other kinds of gaming emulators; ROM sites have
been targeted in the past by the IDSA (now the ESA). If an individual did get sued by a
copyright holder, they would probably feel compelled to make a legal settlement. If they
were to choose to fight the claim, they would have to spend a large share of money on
their legal defense, even if they ultimately would win; so settlement would probably be
the most viable option.
It is rumored that the operators from the mame.dk website have shut down their site
because they were concerned about personal liability, and not because of the expense
of running the website. Someone who obtains a set of ROM images probably faces a much
smaller legal liability than someone who has distributed ROMs to several other people.
Is it wrong to use MAME?
Almost all users of MAME think there is nothing wrong with using MAME for old games that
can no longer be purchased or found in modern arcades. Many people think that current
games should not be emulated or played in MAME.
Here are some arguments in favor of MAME's legitimacy:
The copyright laws are overly restrictive. The copyright terms are too long, especially
when applied to software. These restrictive laws were purchased by big business' lobbying.
Using MAME is a form of civil disobedience.
The copyright holders have abandoned their copyright, because they no longer actively
sell the ROM images and they do not enforce their copyright. ROM images have already
been distributed for years without the copyright holders complaining.
It does not harm anyone. The market value of the ROM images is negligible.
Some people purchased console versions of games, which were advertised as replicas of
the arcade version, but are sometimes inferior. In that case, if someone bought the Atari
2600 version of Pac-Man, they should be entitled to use MAME to play the arcade version
of the game.
Arguments against MAME include:
Using a game that you haven't paid for is copyright infringement and should be treated as
such.
Game copyright holders have not assented to their games' free use simply by virtue of
not posing legal challenges against their distribution; the logistics of trying to sue
every person who ever sent or received a ROM file make defending the copyright
prohibitively expensive.
Widespread unauthorized distribution of games functions as a deterrent against the
future development of games, which would mean that using MAME is contrary to gamers'
own interests.
Interest in vintage gaming is strong and growing; the ROMs' market value is not negligible
and possibly still appreciating. This notion is supported by the fact that some older
arcade games are being re-released in arcades, like Taito's re-release of Space Invaders
for its 25th anniversary, and re-sold in compilation packs for modern video game consoles
illustrating that games covered by MAME are still sold in some cases.
Mame License
Although it allows many of the same liberties, MAME is not FLOSS.
MAME may be freely distributed in source or binary form. The right to reuse source code is
project's source code freely available.
Derivative works are allowed (although in some cases discouraged; the MAME team would
rather have contributions submitted to the main project). There are some restrictions
on what derivative works can change. Especially, derivatives are forbidden from enabling
games which are purposefully disabled. As discussed above, this helps ensure MAME does not
take revenue from real arcades.
External links
Official MAME website (http://www.mame.net/)
Latest official source patches and WIP information (http://haze.mame.net/)
Mame's History.dat website (http://www.arcade-history.com)
Yahoo! listing of MAME websites
(http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Games/Video_Games/Classic_Arcade_Games/Emulation/MAME/)
ODP listing of MAME websites
(http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Emulation/Arcade/Multi_Hardware/MAME/)
StarROMs (http://www.starroms.com/) - An authorized merchant of Atari ROMs for use with MAME
Robert M. finds God in the details Link
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you,
Paul Dean, spy hunter champion, Millennium June 28, 1985
www.spyhunter007.com
Netflix Free Trial
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Coin-Op World Records]
Click At Desired Graphic Text For Each Introduction
Biography Commentary Questions
Click On Below Graphic Text For Spy Hunter Introduction
Tournament and Guinness Book Results From 1983-2004
Click On Below Graphic Text For All Video High Scores thru 2004
The Golden Era
Click On Below Graphic Text For Material On The Golden Years Of Video Games 1980's
Click the Below Graphic Text to read my Conversations With Walter Day
June 9, 2004 Walter Day states, "No Replay Necessary" for Paul Dean
Find A Video Game Auction Near You
Home Page
