ElllULflTOR • CORTinueD PROm 5
find a copy of “Super Mario
Bros.” on the Internet as a
ROM image, load up the
emulator and then open
the ROM image of “Super
Mario Bros.” The game will
work jyist like it did when
the NES was hooked up to
the television years ago.
The emulation
community has been around
for a very long time. The
first emulators were weak
and often riddled with bugs
and incompatibilities. The
community got better at
programming over time,
and the NES emulation
community was the catalyst
for the explosion in
popularity.
The explosion in the
NES community was partly
because of the NES’ faulty
hardware. Who doesn’t
remember having to blow
the dust out of the NES
cartridge to get a game
to work properly? With
emulation, the problem of
asphyxiation was alleviated
SNES -and Genesis
emulators soon arrived as
well. Today, this community
of dedicated gamers has
created emulators for video
game consoles all the way
up to the Sony PlayStation,
N64 and even the Game
Boy Advance.
Arcade emulation has also
become a big community, as
gamers want to relive the fun
of those games. The most
popular arcade emulator is
The first emulators
were weak and
often riddled with
bugs and incom
patibilities.
MAME, or Multiple Arcade
Machine Emulator. MAME
can currently emulate 1000+
arcade games spanning
from the humble beginners
such as “Pong” and “Space
Invaders,” to late ‘90s games
such as “Mortal Kombat”
and “Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles: Turtles in Time.”
Some dedicated gamers even
go to the length of creating
their own arcade cabinets to
store dedicated computers
that only emulate arcade
games. These cabinets vary
in size and design.
Emulation has also helped
to bring several Japan-only
releases to the United States.
Such most wanted games
as the original “Mother,”
known as “Earthbound”
in America, and “Final
Fantasy” III and V, have
been dumped onto ROM
images and distributed
online. These ROM images
were even translated by
many fans and recoded into
English.
The arguments for and
against emulation have
been heated and lengthy.
Many gamers believe that
emulation helps to preserve
the games of the past as
well as the memories that
are associated with those
games. Other gamers point
out the legal ramifications
of emulation.
Legally speaking, the
problem with ROM
images is that without the
permission of the original
copyright holder, a ROM
image is illegal. Copyright
holders have often gone to
the length of getting several
prominent ROM sites shut
down. The legal difficulties
of emulation are quite like
the MP3 problem of today.
Video game companies
have found their own ways
to combat the problem of
emulation. While many
companies use legal means
to put an end to the
problem, others use the
business end of things to
appeal to gamers craving
nostalgia.
In the past few years,
video game companies have
begun to compile some
of their classic games into
compilations and releasing
them at lower prices. Sega
has brought together many
of its “Sonic” games into
one disc called the “Sonic
Mega Collection.” Capcom
has released the “Mega Man
Anniversary Collection,” as
well as the just-released
“Mega Man X Collection.”
SquareSoft has re
released many of their
games from the popular
“Final Fantasy” series
on the Sony PlayStation
and the Nintendo Game
Boy Advance. Gaming
companies are coming to
realize that there is a market
for nostalgia.
Wikipedia.com defines
emulation as “a program
for a computer, or other
computing device, that
can emulate a video game
console or handheld, so
a computer can be used
to play games that were
created for that console or
to develop games for that
console.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu
iiudists • connnucDrooms
dictates. They don’t go nude
in inclement weather or in a
setting where nudism is not
appropriate, such as work.
“One of the people, years
ago, here made the mistake
of trying to fry bacon
naked,” Shaw said. “You
don’t do that.”
Shaw mentioned two
national nudist organizations,
the American Association
for Nude Recreation and
The Naturist Society, which
he called primarily “political
lobbying groups.”
“You have to be constantly
on the alert for local and
state governments wanting
to pass anti-nudity or
anti-adult entertainment
ordinances that could impact
family-oriented nudist
facilities,” he said.
While the original owner
was in charge of Cedar
Creek, Lexington County
was passing anti-sex
oriented ordinances. The
original owner sent people
to the hearings and county
supervisors eventually
amended the ordinances to
say that facilities such as
Cedar Creek are exempt.
One of Cedar Creek’s
more widely known
accomplishments is
Nudestock, a three-day
concert that attracts nudists
from all over the Southeast,
and even from as far away as
Hawaii.
The event usually features
seven or eight bands. While
the bands’ members are not
nudists, they are certainly
welcome to perform nude,
said Shaw.
He’s never been able to
find any nudist bands, he
said, although he added
that he’s sure they exist
somewhere.
Another well-known event
that Cedar Creek sponsors
is the 5K run-walk. All
proceeds from this event go
towards the Pelion Branch
Library in Peiion, S.C.
“This past year they were
able to buy outside benches
that people can sit on with
the proceeds they got from
us,” Shaw said. “They’re
very grateful that we took
them on as a charity.”
Anyone interested in
attending a Cedar Creek
function can contact the
park at (803) 894-5159,
or through the American
Association for Nude
Recreation at 1-800-TRY
NUDE.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu
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—.1
Recipe of the Day
Country Breakfast Casserole
Provided by: ■www.allrecepies.com
What you need:
1 (16-ounce) package breakfast sausage
1 chopped green onion
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 (2.64-ounce) package country gravy mix
6 slices bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
12 tablespoons melted butter (optional)
paprika to taste (optional)
What to do:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Grease an 1 lx8-inch baking dish.
Brown sausage in a large skillet; drain fat.
Combine sausage with green onion and spread
■ evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. Top with
shredded cheese. Whisk together eggs, water, milk |
and gravy mix; add mixture to baking dish. Arrange
| bread squares evenly on top. If desired, drizzle melted
j butter over bread and sprinkle with paprika.
Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a
knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Set
| aside 10 minutes before serving.
Solutions
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