Internet Archive: Old-school Windows 3.1 games, programs now run on OS emulator

By Steve Pak, | February 11, 2016

SkiFree Windows 3.1 Game

SkiFree Windows 3.1 Game

Classic Windows 3.1 games and programs have just been added to Internet Archive's stockpile of old-school PC software. Retro DOS games and PC viruses have already been added to Archive.org. Its new collection includes a treasure chest of over 1,000 games and almost 300 productivity tools run on a JavaScript version of the DosBox emulator, which boots up Microsoft's 16-bit Windows operating system and then loads the selected program.

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The website's Windows 3.x Showcase section has a ton of classic games. They include Wheel of Fortune: Deluxe Edition, SkiFree, and Pipe Dream.

Internet Archive has also added a stock installation of the Windows 3.1 OS. It includes the classic Minesweeper game, and classic productivity programs such as Write and Paintbrush, according PCWorld.

The site has also taken steps to shrink the size of each DosBox instance. Tech historian Jason Scott and a volunteer created a system with no optimization for each app, which allows new ones to arrive faster.   

Internet Archive's browser is very steady. For example, the gaming experience of playing Wheel of Fortune as players spin the wheel and Vanna White turns letters is the same as in 1991/1992.

Some of the games are difficult to search for because they are named based on their filename instead of the name of the game, according to Mashable. However, the famous games are easy to find.  

Besides the famous games the Windows 3.1 collection also includes little-known but fun titles. For example, Election '92 gives players the chance to throw pies at Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, or Ross Perot.  

It is likely that many of the classic programs are still copyrighted. However, the website argues that it runs the software in a non-commercial way for the purpose of preservation and education.

One of the main functions of preserving vintage games and programs is to show how interface design has evolved during the past few decades. The classic games also have a unique look.

Microsoft released Windows 3.1 in April 1992, which featured better system stability, more multimedia support, and workgroup networking. The Bill Gates co-founded company supported the OS until the end of 2001, and followed it up with Windows 95.

Here's a parody of the SkiFree game:



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