If you're looking for a break from your Xbox or Playstation, why not indulge in a blast from the past? As thanks to the Internet Archive, 900 retro video games made between the 1970s and 1990s are now available for free in your web browser.
The Internet Arcade -- as it's been dubbed -- is a digital platform, which is currently hosting games that used to be only accessible when coins were popped into arcade machines. The conservation efforts undertaken by the Internet Archive has changed all that, however, allowing you to resurrect your interest in these once forgotten games.
The software follows on from last year's JavaScript port of the MESS computer software emulator, which saw the Internet Archive release a tool that let modern browser users run decades-old software on them.
This time round, the collection of games found on the Internet Arcade is quite expansive, ranging from "early 'bronze-age' video games, with black and white screens and simple sounds, through to digitised voices, images and music."
Although there are no explicit instructions on how to get started, the basics are easy to grasp. Press "one" to select your game, "five" on your keyboard to insert a coin to activate your virtual arcade experience, and deploy the ALT and the arrow keys to get the action started.
While dipping into games from the past might be an enjoyable experience, the work done by the Internet Archive points to the importance of both preserving and remembering the game relics that spawned today's high-tech counterparts.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
