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What do you do with this game that came from the future?

  • Play the game, then toss it aside.

  • Try to market/sell/trade-in the game and see how much you can get away with it.

  • File a trademark claim for this game.

  • Sell it to the highest bidder.

  • Reverse engineer the game.

  • Hide it in secret and take it with you to your grave.

  • Donate to charity.


Results are only viewable after voting.

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,706
No PC satisfies this condition. A PC that was high-end in 1995 is not low end in 2020, it's a toaster / doorstop. Progress has slowed but not to that extent, and new tech, hardware capabilities, etc are introduced that soon make it to even "low end" PCs. The game would be either comparable to current games (which isn't terribly exciting), or very unpleasant to play on current PCs.

Just flip the question. What game could you send back now that would be playable in on a 1995 computer? Would someone from 1995 benefit from it in any way? The biggest benefit I could see would be an indie game that you could extract 25 years of gameplay evolution from.

(you can and maybe should simply bypass this issue by sending a whole portable system with the game).

What if its a very good indie game using an older game engine
 

Weltall Zero

Game Developer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
19,343
Madrid
What if its a very good indie game using an older game engine

Sure; I mean, people are making games for 1980s microcomputers and consoles that are often better than anything that was made back then; but these are not exactly mainstream and rarely the recipients of "great acclaim". Are we talking of sending one of these, or, say, a Switch with BotW? Because it's really night and day between these two scenarios.
 

bad poster

Banned
Jan 6, 2018
428
As a gamer, I can only assume that technological progress is a straight unbroken line stretching into infinity. I won't be able to play the game because I don't have a 64K TV.
 

Nax

Hero of Bowerstone
Member
Oct 10, 2018
6,674
Depending on the game, that could be like $100k in the bank. So potentially easy choice.
 

theosmeo

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
773
not entirely sure what you mean by donate to charity, like the funds from selling it? probably wouldnt go for more than $400 or so

if i even had some way to play it i would, then id donate it to a games museum and hopefully it could be ripped and distributed for free as well
 

night814

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
15,040
Pennsylvania
Given how games looked 20 years ago compared to now I don't even know if i would comprehend anything about it. I envision some ready player one type vr stuff in the next 5 years or so, beyond that is crazy talk trying to think where the tech will go.
 

JustinH

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,399
Voted "Hide it in secret and take it with you to your grave." but really I think I'd probably end up destroying it.

I've seen movies... nothing good could come from this.

Honestly though, I'd try to play it, but me trying would probably look a little something like this...
eZNW63a.gif
 

night814

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
15,040
Pennsylvania
Voted "Hide it in secret and take it with you to your grave." but really I think I'd probably end up destroying it.

I've seen movies... nothing good could come from this.

Honestly though, I'd try to play it, but me trying would probably look a little something like this...
eZNW63a.gif
How are controllers going to look in 20 years too, I have a feeling we will be beyond twin stick and even mouse and keyboard for PC and maybe using some sort of virtual controller where the system itself can see your movements and uses that for controlling. Sort of like Kinect I guess but even beyond that.
 

FaffEra

Chicken Chaser
Member
Nov 8, 2017
384
UK
Reverse engineer the physical format it's on, sell it to a big corporation.
Reverse engineer game, sell off bits of middleware, new graphical effects and optimisations.
Reverse engineer engine, become dominant engine for next 20 years.

Or, market new amazing engine, put out "render demos" from this future game, get tons of investment, bail with the money.
 

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
39,042
I'd take a screenshot of it running on Stadia just to troll the haters

Honestly though ... I'm a software engineer who works with smart people, I'd probably try to get a group of hobbyists at my work to reverse engineer the binaries and glean what useful tokens of development experience and new techniques we can get from it.
 

Piggus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,700
Oregon
I mean as said, you wouldn't be able to play it, and even if it were a PC game, it probably wouldn't even boot. It would be trying to run on hardware and APIs/drivers that don't yet exist.

But assuming it comes with some means to play it, then it depends on the game. If it's DOTA 4 or something, I'd be interested in the graphics and nothing else. But if it's GTA or some kind of big open world game, I'd be too excited not to check it out. Then I'd spend the next 25 years being disappointed in everything leading up to it. :p
 

rpm

Into the Woods
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
12,356
Parts Unknown
That's why there are "other" options in the poll.

*wink*

Don't worry, later on, I'll explain what each of the choices meant.
- For those who chose this poll option, you are the type of person who is moderately curious, with a bit of a realistic imagination. You have the foundation of a scientific mind, answering questions with objective factual evidence, and aren't persuaded by peer pressure.
Did I stumble into a Buzzfeed quiz?

I'm no time travel expert but I think any attempt to make the game known (as a complete, finished product) would probably cause a time paradox (if, for example, Cyberpunk 2077 went back in time to 1995, and that was public info, I don't think CD Projekt Red would be making it in 2020).

I'd probably upload it onto the Internet. Let software engineers and gamers alike enjoy it. Can't infringe on a copyright that won't exist for another 25 years (and I'd probably be the copyright owner anyways, maybe? And thus I could just release it under Creative Commons), and fuck it, let's see how time travel works, what's the worst that could happen, paradox shmaradox if you know what I'm saying

(I voted "donated it to charity" since that's the closest option to what I would do, and I would give the original copy to a museum if they wanted it)
 
Last edited:
Oct 25, 2017
10,767
Toronto, ON
Ghost Of Christmas Future Taunts Children With Visions Of PlayStation 5

Once the capabilities of the system are conveyed to the children, the Ghost likes to push them further over the edge by showing them games specially targeted to their age group.

Younger children, he said, salivate upon seeing Level One of Zonic Fugue. In it, Zonic, the indigo-colored son of Sonic The Hedgehog, faces off against Chuckles The Echidna in a Terrordactyl sky-joust, attempting to earn the Ankle Rockets he needs to gather the five Chaos Sapphires that, when combined, form the master key that opens the Melody Dome.

To break the spirits of children 12 and up, the Ghost runs a brief demonstration of Back To Werewolf Island. The horror-action thriller, he said, will be produced in full 10.8 Omneo sound and feature new music from 40 of 2016's hottest skagcore acts, including FU3P, Dredgerous, and Frances Cobain.

"Sometimes, the kids will start getting defensive and say, 'Yeah, well, I don't know any of those characters, so big deal,'" the Ghost said. "That's when I pull out DC vs. Marvel."
 

Gonzon06

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 28, 2017
86
Try to figure it out while opening the studio that'll eventually release this game, then send back to my younger self
 

Jacobson

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,444
File a trademark for the name/logo whatever and hope that the developers buy it from me in the future or something. or create a website then sell it
 

Akela

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,849
I think the only think you could possibly do with a 2045 game on a 2020 PC is try to decompile and analyze the individual components. You wouldn't be able to play it even with the highest end workstation PCs available today, and even if you had the performance needed you wouldn't have dependences such as the OS, drivers, APIs and hardware features needed to make it run anyway.

But if the code could be decompiled, that could probably tell you a whole lot about the hardware and software that exists in the future. And hey, you'd probably be able also get an understanding of the game's gameplay, maybe even view the art assets of the game (I mean the .obj file format used 3D assets is now 30 years old and still in use, so I'm sure a lot of data formats used in the 2040-era game will be familiar as well.)

That's assuming the game is a digital file, if it's a physical game existing on some future medium then the medium itself would probably be more interesting to researchers.
 

ThisIsBlitz21

Member
Oct 22, 2018
4,662
How about play the game, then file a trademark, make copies of it to sell, THEN sell the "original copy" to highest bidder.
 

Vex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,213
I 'd make a post on era....


...in great detail about how I am going to destroy it. No one could stop me in time. Fools.
 

brokenswiftie

Prophet of Truth
Banned
May 30, 2018
2,921
I'll probably keep it till the hardware to play it is out
Then probably demo it to publishers and get funding and release it
 

Deleted member 31133

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 5, 2017
4,155
No way to play it.

It would be like somebody in 1995 getting a copy of Last of Us PT2. It'd look mind-blowing from the box, but they would have no way of playing the game.
 

Adam_Roman

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,068
I'd stare longingly at the quantum disc it's stored on and wonder how it operates in a state somewhere in between spinning and not spinning.
 
Aug 10, 2019
2,053
Interesting question. I understand what you mean, but the way you asked it was strange and unclear.

There's nothing on earth that would keep me from playing that thing.
 

Ravager777

Member
Jan 1, 2018
877
I would look into the data on the disc and see who created the game. If they are around yet, I would give it to them or keep it until they exist and give it to them then.
 

KushalaDaora

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,838
Go tell ERA that Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2 will be released in 2045.

People will laugh, I'll bookmark the thread then 25 years later I'll bump the thread to laugh at everyone.
 

EvilBoris

Prophet of Truth - HDTVtest
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
16,686
I'd sell it to a tech firm.

then immediately realise this is how Skynet came into existence
 

Deleted member 29682

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 1, 2017
12,290
Just flip the question. What game could you send back now that would be playable in on a 1995 computer? Would someone from 1995 benefit from it in any way? The biggest benefit I could see would be an indie game that you could extract 25 years of gameplay evolution from.

Maybe a version of Dwarf Fortress with hard limits to prevent too much CPU usage?
 

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,793
How would I be even able to play it? I don't own a console, PC, TV (or whatever people will play videogames on in 2045) that could run it.
 

MikeH

Member
Dec 3, 2018
212
Make a thread titled "Do you think your 2080 Ti is not shit? Try running this game at 4k" and bet money on it.

I would be rich by the end of the day.
 

Grue

Member
Sep 7, 2018
4,930
I die with game in my possession. Devs inspired by my story and the notoriety surrounding the game create said game I took with me to my grave. It releases in 2045 with lots of polish and great acclaim. A grave robber digs out the copy of the game I had, uses it, it works on modern hardware. Sends it back to the past for a few laughs. I stumble upon it again.The loop never ends.

SUPER

HOT

SUPER

HOT

SUPER

HOT