The Internet Archive decided to expand its already massive online collection with programs from the Windows 3.1 era, including more than 1000 games.
Among this massive list of classic titles, old-school gamers will definitely recognize names like Hoyle Solitaire, The Even More Incredible Machine or Another World. Archivist Jason Scott wrote the following on the official blog:
“We’ve now added over 1,000 programs that run, in your browser, in a Windows 3.1 environment. This includes many games, lots of utilities and business software, and what would best be called “Apps” of the 1990s – programs that did something simple, like provide a calculator or a looping animation, that could be done by an individual or small company to great success. (…) The colorful and unique look of Windows 3/3.1 is a 16-bit window into what programs used to be like, and depending on the graphical whims of the programmers, could look futuristic or incredibly basic (…) For many who might remember working in that environment, the view of the screenshots of some of the hosted programs will bring back long-forgotten memories.”
The Internet Archive offers an opportunity to experience several programs from that era, except for titles like Pac Man which are not open source.
Earlier this week, they also launched the (pretty weird) Malware Museum, a collection of programs and viruses distributed on home computers in the late ’80s and ’90s.
