C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

I:   Retro Warp.com
II:  Site Content
III: Emulation
IV: Legal
V:  Contact
VI: Linking to Retro Warp

Retro Warp.com
1) History of Retro Warp
2) Graphics and Design
3) Staff and Contributors

What is Retro Warp and what is it's purpose?
Retro Warp.com was founded in late 2007.  In it's original form, it was called "Unlimited Lives" and was a sub-section of the webmaster's personal site.  While creating the first reviews for Unlimited Lives, an emphasis on layout and design utilizing actual in-game graphics was established (see Graphics and Design for additional information).  Following completion of these initial reviews (for the NES releases Castlevania, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Adventures of Bayou Billy), it became clear that Unlimited Lives was taking on a life and style all it's own.  Following the advice of a friend, Unlimited Lives was removed from Bomb's the Word.com on April 26, 2008.  Upon discovering that the domain name "unlimitedlives.com" was taken, several other options with retro gaming themes were considered including "prossessdraculasrib.com".  The moniker of Retro Warp was finally chosen to signify the site's nostalgic style and content.  With the three reviews already written for Unlimited Lives as the first viewable content, Retro Warp.com was born on May 1, 2008

Retro Warp's mission is to support continued appreciation for classic video games by serving as a comprehensive resource both for nostalgia seeking fans and curious gaming newcomers.

The Graphics and Design of Retro Warp
Retro Warp utilizes graphics from classic games in nearly every aspect of presentation.  This includes backgrounds, character sprites, lettering, etc, etc.  Many of the graphics were extracted from the games by Retro Warp staff.  Links to websites which served as a resource for additional graphics can be found in the Links portal.  Graphics are altered for layout and web publication in Adobe Photoshop.  Animated graphics were created with a combination of Adobe Photoshop and ImageReady.  Due largely to the graphical style the site strives to achieve, Retro Warp was created to cover mostly 2D, sprite-based games.

Retro Warp is designed to not only provide a wealth of knowledge about classic games, but also to emulate the environments and atmospheres these games portray by using graphics from the games themselves.  Content is currently divided into six major "portals": Home, About, Review Database, Articles, Sprites and Links.  To allow for easy navigation between portals, links to each are provided on all of the site's six main pages.  However, a java download may be required to view and use the navigation menu in all portals except Home.
The Home Portal is unique in its layout and serves as site index.  It is also home to "The Retro Wire", which provides news about site updates, emulation, and classic gaming.
The remaining portals are designed to compliment one another in layout while also providing contrast through differing themes.  Currently, there are no plans for future alterations to these layouts.  However, themes are subject to change.  A list of themes currently featured and games which provided graphics will be listed on this page under the Site Content section.
The Database, Articles, and Sprites portals serve as navigation to associated content.  See the Site Content section for more information.
The About and Links portals serve as Retro Warp information and gaming-associated website resources and contain no links to content.

Staff and Contributors
As the site is still under heavy construction and generates no profits, there are currently no plans to incorporate paid staff members.  However, unpaid contributions are welcome and will be credited when used.  For more information on submissions, please contact the webmaster.

The Retro Warp Team:
Matt Bomberger  Webmaster, Reviewer, Head Writer

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Site Content
1) Game Review Database
2) Articles & Special Features
3) Sprites
4) Links
5) Past and Current Portal Themes

The Game Review Database
The Database portal is categorized by platform and is designed to be the main feature of the site.  Reviews are created using graphics from the game covered and feature a wide variety of information and goodies including screenshots, tips, controls, cover art, and more.

Each game covered also receives a Warp Score.  The Warp Score system is a 4 point scale that Retro Warp uses to rate games in the categories of Graphics, Gameplay, Sound, Reputation, and Replay Value.  Based on these ratings, an overall Warp Score is assigned.  Here's how the rating scale works:
 

	Pathetic		Above Average
	Embarassing		Excellent
	Poor		Impressive
	Decent		Groundbreaking
	Average	---	---

Database Stats
Platforms Covered: 8 (Arcade, Atari 2600 & 7800, ColecoVision, NES, SNES, Sega Master System and Sega Genesis)
Reviews Available: 10 (Most Recent: Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu)
Average Warp Score: 3.2/4.0
4.0 Overall Warp Score Recipients: Castlevania (NES), Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES), Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES), The Legend of Zelda (NES), Ninja Gaiden (NES)

Articles & Special Features
The Articles & Special Features portal houses specialized content which relates to classic gaming and articles from Retro Warp staff members and contributors.  Visit this portal for more information on the content contained there.

Sprites
The Sprites portal features logos, sprites and sprite sheets created by the staff and contributors of Retro Warp.com.  This portal currently contains two categories: Logos and Characters.  The Logos section is categorized by platform.  The Characters section is categorized by platform and title.

Links
The Links portal provides additional resources for classic gaming.  The Links are categorized as follows:
Friends of Retro Warp: Staff favorites which have set up a link exchange with Retro Warp.com
Series Specific: Sites dedicated to a specific series of titles (IE: Castlevania games, Mega Man games, etc.)
Gaming Resources: These sites are topic specific and mostly dedicated to certain consoles (IE: Arcade Flyers, SNES, etc.)
Sprites: Sites which feature downloadable sprites and/or sprite sheets
Emulation: Links to sites which are dedicated to emulation information and downloads
Strategy:  Sites with resources to help you if you're having trouble completing a certain game (walkthroughs, cheats, etc.)

Past and Current Portal Themes
 

Emulation
1) What is it?
2) Legal Considerations
3) Sprites
4) Recommended Emulators
5) Resources for further information

Emulation Basics
Basically, an emulator is a program which duplicates the functions of one system within a different system.  For those who create video game emulators, this means attempting to produce an exact reproduction of a console or arcade gaming experience on a personal computer.  Most of the gaming emulators you'll find on the web are relatively simple to use.  However, there are often multiple emulators available for one platform.  There are many sites available on the web which will provide useful recommendations on which ones are best for which platform.  For my own personal recommendations, see the Recommended Emulators section below.

The Legalities of Emulation
The download and possession of emulators is completely legal.  The games themselves are a different story.  Due to copyright law, games WILL NOT be included when you download emulation software.  In order to run games within an emulator, it is necessary to possess a ROM which contains the game's software.  Unfortunately, possession of these ROMs is illegal and could potentially lead to prosecution.  Some ROM and emulation sites will tell you that downloading a ROM for a game you already own is legal and permitted.  They'll also suggest that if you don't own the original media, deleting the ROM within 24 hours of download is an acceptable alternative.  We can neither confirm nor deny the truthfulness of these statements.  Because of these legal complications, links to ROMs WILL NOT be provided on Retro Warp.com.  If you are still interested in downloading ROMs, any internet search engine currently available should easily point you in the right direction.  However, please note that the downloading of illegal ROMs is not promoted by Retro Warp.com and you should proceed at your own risk.

Sprites: What are They?
In computer graphics, a sprite is a pre-rendered (usually 2D) image or animation that is integrated into a larger environment.  In video games, the term is mostly applied to the visible characters on the gaming screen.  However, the term can also be applied to backgrounds, items, text, level maps, etc.  With the increasing abilities of photo manipulation software and emulation, the act of "ripping" and editing sprites from 2D video games has become a minor internet phenomenon.  Due to the increased popularity of "spriting", many emulators contain features which help to make ripping sprites easier.  Creating animated and stationary sprites can be a complicated process for beginners.  A basic knowledge of emulation and photo editing software is required.  If you're interested in making sprites of your own, I suggest the following online resources:
Suggested Emulators for Spriting by Platform: http://forums.bobandgeorge.com/viewtopic.php?t=13798
Custom Spriting Guide: http://dragonflycave.com/recoloring.aspx
Various Tutorials: http://www.spriters-resource.com/resources/tut.php

Recommended Emulators by Platform
This is a list of the emulators Retro Warp prefers to use.  When two suggestions are provided, the one marked "Best" denotes that emulator which most accurately emulates the intended platform and supports the most number of related games.  For those interested in spriting, I have also provided recommendations for those emulators which will make the process much easier (marked as "Sprite").
 

Legal

Feel free to use any of the character sprites found in the Sprite portal for personal or non-commercial use.  In the hopes of fostering the continued growth of appreciation for classic video games, Retro Warp encourages the use of sprites for gaming-related website development.  However, please provide appropriate credit and a link to Retro Warp.com.  The use all other graphics is restricted.  Permissions may be obtained by contacting the webmaster.  See the Contact section below.

The games represented on Retro Warp.com and their associated characters, storylines, images, and other elements contained therein are the intellectual property of their respective holders.  Retro Warp.com uses these properties in a non-commercial manner in the hopes of increasing appreciation for their contribution to gaming history.

Retro Warp.com  © 2007-2008.  All rights reserved.
No part of this website may be reproduced without permission.
This website is not affiliated with any company.  All patents and trademarks are owned by their respective holders.

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Contact

The webmaster may be contacted at the following address: webmaster@retrowarp.com

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Linking to Retro Warp

Retro Warp is more than happy to provide a link to any gaming related site in exchange for a link on your site.  Please email the webmaster with your url and a banner or button if you've got one.  Try to keep your buttons in the neighborhood of 88x31 pixels; for banners: 468x60.  Animated gifs are encouraged!

When linking to Retro Warp, please use one of the provided banners or buttons if possible.

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