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Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

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Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

#1

Post by diasks2 »

I developed a game called "Putter King Adventure Golf" for iOS and Android back in the 2010s. It's long since disappeared from the app stores, but my son recently asked if he could play it, which got me thinking about whether it might be recoverable.

I'm wondering if there's any way to find a copy of it somewhere on the web (I assume it was probably pirated at some point during its lifetime). And if I could find it, what would be the best approach to get it running again?

Has anyone here successfully recovered and revived their old mobile apps? I'd appreciate any suggestions on:

* Where to look for archived APKs or IPAs * How to sideload/run old mobile apps on modern devices * Whether emulators might be a viable option

Re: Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

#4

Post by vintermann »

sandreas wrote: post #3
torunar wrote: post #2

I found an Android version of your game on 4pda, Russian forum about devices and apps: https://4pda.to/forum/index.php?showtopic=290300#entry102680...

Amazing! Now you need to find a device that can still run it :-)

Probably safest to run it in an emulator with no internet access, given where it was found.

Re: Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

#6

Post by jimkleiber »

I'm not sure where to find the APKs/IPAs, but once you do, I wonder if using Claude Code or some other LLM tools could help you update the app (or reverse engineer) for modern OS versions. It's something that I've been thinking to do for my 2012 obsoleted microjournaling app.

Re: Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

#7

Post by ImPrajyoth »

sandreas wrote: post #3
torunar wrote: post #2

I found an Android version of your game on 4pda, Russian forum about devices and apps: https://4pda.to/forum/index.php?showtopic=290300#entry102680...

Amazing! Now you need to find a device that can still run it :-)

Emulator with gen ai tool! That's it! Sanitize it then fix.

Re: Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

#8

Post by mkl »

Try searching this:

  "Putter King Adventure Golf" "apk"
It brings up a few possibilities, many in other languages. Possibly these, but I haven't actually downloaded it and they seem a bit dodgy:

https://www.dertz.in/games/download-Putter-King-Adventure-Go...

https://apkpure.com/cn/putter-king/com.putterkingllc.putterk...

Re: Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

#9

Post by mschuster91 »

vintermann wrote: post #4
sandreas wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazing! Now you need to find a device that can still run it :-)

Probably safest to run it in an emulator with no internet access, given where it was found.

APKs are signed so assuming OP can verify his own certificate he might be lucky enough to not have to dig that deep.

Re: Ask HN: How can I recover and run my old mobile game from the 2010s?

#10

Post by mrweasel »

fastball wrote: post #5

Where did the source code go? I have all the code from dumb little games I made (and never released) from almost 20 years ago.

I've lost so much code, photos and other digital assets over the years. I regret losing most of it, yet I can seem to get started on archiving the things I care about.

So many funny little project, so much code I'd like to revisit, so many photos lot.

Any recommendations on how to start a life as a digital hoarder?

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