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Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

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Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#51

Post by cout »

vanderZwan wrote: post #27
vunderba wrote: post #15

Neat concept. I had to dig through a lot of the docs before I could get a good grasp of exactly how this works, though. It's an OS that mounts/searches all drives (such as an SD card reader) for the first available KZI file which is a format that describes how a specific game is run (the runtime, additional gamescope options, etc). While the idea of essentially mimicking old school carts by having a dedicated SD card…

> It's an OS that mounts/searches all drives (such as an SD card reader) for the first available KZI file which is a format that describes how a specific game is run (the runtime, additional gamescope options, etc). I hope it also supports putting multiple games on one cartridge and choosing between them at boot time? Don't see a reason to waste a multi-gigabyte SD card on a single ROM of a few megabytes.

Is it still possible to buy smaller SD cards in bulk, maybe 8mb or 16mb? The smallest I could find was 128mb for about the same price as a 2gb card.

While I like the idea of physically separate cards for each game, at $10 per card it seems economically limiting.

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#52

Post by npteljes »

deadbabe wrote: post #38
vanderZwan wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's an OS that mounts/searches all drives (such as an SD card reader) for the first available KZI file which is a format that describes how a specific game is run (the runtime, additional gamescope options, etc). I hope it also supports putting multiple games on one cartridge and choosing between them at boot time? Don't see a reason to waste a multi-gigabyte SD card on a single ROM of a few megabytes.

It’s more romantic to have each game on individual cards that you can touch and feel rather than cramming a bunch of them onto one card. When you hold a game cart in your hand, you can close your eyes and imagine holding that entire game’s essence in the palm of your hand, you can see it and picture it, and in this sense it’s no longer just bits of data, but rather an entire world just waiting to be explored. These p…

That's a flawed premise, as games totally don't suck today. There are so many to choose from, and people create new ones all the time, experiences where you can clearly feel that they poured their hearts and sweat into it.

For me, the practicality of gaming doesn't get in the way of the same enjoyment that you described feeling. I love it that I can have my favorites and current ones loaded in a single console, which I hold exactly as dearly as you described with the game cartridge. To me, most games are experiences though, and therefore I have no use for the media, packaging etc after I have experienced it. When I want to refresh my memories, I rather look at the screenshots and videos I took of the game, rather than the box or cartridge, as the media I created is much more personal.

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#53

Post by npteljes »

tines wrote: post #45
stuaxo wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, but we didn't realise what we were throwing out. Having a tangible thing somehow makes it mean more, think about picking out a record or CD to play and leaving it to play as opposed to scrolling through infinite music to choose what to play.

Thank you. Why do so few people understand this?

Because it's not understanding, which would imply an objective truth, but a subjective experience. I personally have great appreciation to music and games, but really dislike physical media at the same time. The way I like to experience them is much better supported by the digital solutions, than the analogue.

Although, to be honest, if the digital world didn't exist at all, I'm sure I'd manage to have a good time all the time. It's just that now that it exists, I prefer it more - streaming over physical media for example.

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#54

Post by npteljes »

stuaxo wrote: post #42
anal_reactor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Practicality is exactly why we abandoned the old designs.

Yep, but we didn't realise what we were throwing out. Having a tangible thing somehow makes it mean more, think about picking out a record or CD to play and leaving it to play as opposed to scrolling through infinite music to choose what to play.

We are "throwing out" outdated parts of culture, and for one, I'm mostly indifferent to that. For one, because I'm sure that there will be people who dislike this and try to preserve it, and so, it won't be all be lost forever. Secondly, because culture will always find a way, and I sense the strength in me to find it as well. I have experienced many times that I have listened to all the good music, played all the best games, or seen the most impactful movies. And yet, I always seem to find something that completely blows my mind.

>Having a tangible thing somehow makes it mean more, think about picking out a record or CD to play and leaving it to play as opposed to scrolling through infinite music to choose what to play.

The same could be said in reverse. Just to highlight that this is a subjective experience, and not an objective truth. "Having an infinite pool of music somehow makes in mean more, as opposed to the dusty collection that you happen to have at home".

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#55

Post by cornholio »

Waterluvian wrote: post #41

My kids play the N64 more than the Wii because the Wii is quite frustrating to set up and maintain batteries and controller connections. The Switch is even more awful, but they’ll play it handheld. The PS5 is complex but generally straightforward. It helps that the controllers are big and we have a nice, clean charging dock for them. The Switch charging dock is finicky and annoying with the tiny controllers. I think…

> They want to play games, not operate a console.

I've gifted my decade old development laptop (after a beefy RAM+SSD upgrade to the best modern version it supports) to my 7 y/o nephew and he seems satisfied. It cold boots Windows 10 in less than 30 seconds and he can play Minecraft, Roblox, BeamNG, watch Youtube etc. in the living room where he can be supervised, without hoarding the family TV with their console.

Sure, a lower friction device is preferable, but the ultimate thing is that it plays the games they and their friends play.

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#56

Post by andrepd »

anal_reactor wrote: post #48
tines wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. Why do so few people understand this?

Because it's not fucking practical. You do it once, it's cool. You do it twice, all right. You do it three times, it's annoying. Most people live in tiny apartments and are overworked, when they have a moment to play games, the "click to run" experience is vastly superior over searching for something in a mountain of plastic that could've been a chair or a plant instead. I think that what you really want is going bac…

> Because it's not fucking practical. You do it once, it's cool. You do it twice, all right. You do it three times, it's annoying. Most people live in tiny apartments and are overworked, when they have a moment to play games, the "click to run" experience is vastly superior over searching for something in a mountain of plastic that could've been a chair or a plant instead.

There's already every single mainstream platform offering what you want. This is clearly a niche product serving a niche usecase: recreating the experience of physical carts like an SNES or a PS2 or a Gameboy. Some people, necessarily a minority, enjoy this. Why are you so angry? I don't get it.

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#57

Post by npteljes »

brabel wrote: post #2

Before reading this I didn’t realize how today gaming is different from 80’s and 90’s gaming , to the point Kazeta is a thing! I thought that mostly, CDs had replaced cartridges and loading games became slow, but apparently subscription plans, online chat and “micro transactions” are now accepted as standard gaming?!

Of course. Physical media is long out. What was the last time you saw a laptop with a DVD drive?

On PC especially, online is first. Games come with update managers, "launchers", and that's the absolute standard - publishers either roll their own, or submit to established ones like Steam.

Micro-transactions are accepted, but far from universal. People bemoan them for some reason, but I'd say that the vast majority of games don't have it.

Subscriptions normally come with games with a managed online gaming experience. How else are supposed to be funded, I wonder? I think it's normal to pay for a service, be that gaming, or a gym membership.

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#58

Post by robbbbbbbbbbbb »

Such a cool concept! For anyone who didn't slog through their docs, the recommended hardware system (and the box in their product shots) is the Geekom A5 https://www.geekom.co.uk/geekom-a5-mini-pc and the 8BitDo Wireless controller https://www.8bitdo.com/ultimate-2c-wireless-controller/

Those + some SD cards and a spare evening for setup makes this a really tempting £400 project.

Re: Kazeta: An operating system that brings the console gaming experience of 90s

#59

Post by slightwinder »

stuaxo wrote: post #42
anal_reactor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Practicality is exactly why we abandoned the old designs.

Yep, but we didn't realise what we were throwing out. Having a tangible thing somehow makes it mean more, think about picking out a record or CD to play and leaving it to play as opposed to scrolling through infinite music to choose what to play.

The simple reason is: picking things is annoying. Organizing physical objects is even more annoying, especially if they are bigger. Then you need more physical objects, to organize the physical objects you use, this takes up even more space. And physical organization is also very limited. You have no database, no dynamic filters, no metadata... At the end, having a tangible thing wears off very fast and just becomes a burden.
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