Software Update
I have now fiddled around with the old games my stepmom found, and the results are in.
Starship Titanic: Installs, fails to load.
Riven: Fails to install due to inability to recognize and work with Quicktime 7
SimCity 2000: Installs in seconds and runs like a dream, albeit in very poor resolution.
This is more or less the exact opposite of what I had expected to happen, though in retrospect it makes sense. SimCity doesn't have to fiddle around with plugins - they hadn't been invented yet. Everything it needs is on the CD and doesn't require any fancy Windows doohickeys that have appeared or disappeared or been tinkered with in the intervening 15 years. It just works. So if any of you with older machines (and/or more tech savvy than me) have interest in owning Riven or Starship Titanic let me know and I'll send you my copies. But in the meantime my inner urban planner will be developing to her heart's content.
Starship Titanic: Installs, fails to load.
Riven: Fails to install due to inability to recognize and work with Quicktime 7
SimCity 2000: Installs in seconds and runs like a dream, albeit in very poor resolution.
This is more or less the exact opposite of what I had expected to happen, though in retrospect it makes sense. SimCity doesn't have to fiddle around with plugins - they hadn't been invented yet. Everything it needs is on the CD and doesn't require any fancy Windows doohickeys that have appeared or disappeared or been tinkered with in the intervening 15 years. It just works. So if any of you with older machines (and/or more tech savvy than me) have interest in owning Riven or Starship Titanic let me know and I'll send you my copies. But in the meantime my inner urban planner will be developing to her heart's content.