Fans spend 8 years making the 1997 ‘Blade Runner’ game run on a modern PC #Gaming #BladeRunner
Via Vice – Blade Runner, the 1997 video game adaptation of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic, is a rare example of a beloved movie-turned-game. Unfortunately, it’s basically impossible to play these days, but some dedicated coders just made it a little easier.
Blade Runner’s source code was lost when the studio moved offices, creative director and Westwood co-founder Louise Castle told YouTuber RagnarRox in 2015. The game never had an official digital release, and the only way to play it is with the four original disks from 1997, or a pirated copy. Even then, the game requires additional fixes (which don’t always work) to play. As usual, dedicated fans are figuring out ways to get around these obstacles, however.
The four core people involved in getting Blade Runner on ScummVM have been working with the title for years. Thomas Fach-Pedersen, from Denmark, said he started the project eight years ago when he began reverse-engineering the game.
“It’s an interesting game, technically, because it’s basically constantly playing video loops start until it ends,” Fach-Pedersen said. “Even the settings menu is basically looping background with some text on top.”
ScummVM—a suite of retro game engine recreations that stands for “Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion”—Blade Runner finally makes it easier to play. While you’ll still need access to the original game, ScummVM takes the original game files and runs them in an environment that allows it to work on modern computers.
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