Okay, so I’ve been on this retro gaming kick lately, right? And I remembered this ancient DOS game, “Volleyball”, from back in the day. I used to play it on my grandpa’s old computer – the one that took up half the desk and sounded like a jet engine taking off. I just had to find it and play it again for some nostalgia trip.
The Hunt Begins
First things first, I scoured the internet. I mean, I really dug deep. Lots of dead ends, sketchy websites, and forum posts from like, 2005. It was a digital archeological dig, I swear. I couldn’t find my grandpa’s pc at home.
DOSBox to the Rescue
Then, I remembered DOSBox. This thing is a lifesaver for old games. It’s basically a little program that pretends to be an old DOS computer, so you can run those ancient games on your fancy new machine. I downloaded the latest version, which was pretty straightforward.
Finding the Game Files
The tricky part was actually finding the “Volleyball” game files. After a lot more searching (and a few more dead ends), I finally stumbled upon a website that had *’s a website with lots of dos games. I downloaded a file, fingers crossed that it wasn’t some virus in disguise.
Getting It Running
Okay, so I had DOSBox, I had the game files… now what? I unzipped the game files into a folder. Then, I launched DOSBox and had to use some basic DOS commands. My grandpa taught me a little command before, but I still looked up some old DOS commands online to remind myself. You know, things like “cd” to change directories and “dir” to see what’s in a folder. It felt like hacking into the mainframe, even though it was just a simple simulation.
I typed in the command to mount the game folder as a virtual drive in DOSBox.I have to type command to run the game.
Victory! (Sort Of)
And… it worked! I saw the pixelated title screen, heard those beepy-boopy sounds, and it was like being transported back in time. The controls were a bit clunky (it is an old game, after all), but I was actually playing it! I even managed to win a few rounds, though my skills were definitely rusty.
My takeaways
- Patience is key with these old games. Finding them and getting them running can be a bit of a hassle.
- DOSBox is amazing. Seriously, it’s like magic for retro gaming.
- The internet is a treasure trove, but you sometimes have to dig through a lot of junk to find the gold.
- My grandpa has good taste of the pc games, lol.
It was a fun little project, and it definitely scratched that nostalgia itch. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go try and beat my high score…
