Personally, I have fond memories of playing some of the educational titles out there, and I consider many of them to be quality games. On the other hand...I would imagine that software like "Microsoft Encarta" would NOT qualify since they function more like an application than they do as a game. Then again...I recall that Compton's Encyclopedia was accepted for both the
Philips CD-i and
Sega CD. I suspect that the reason for this was because they were featured on a gaming console vs. a computer-based operating system, and their inclusion was more for system preservation than anything. But then I come across dumps like
Wordworth 6 Office for the Amiga CD...I say "hmm".
So perhaps my original question is bigger than I realized:
what is redump's objective? Is it to preserve game-related discs only? Or is it to function as a TOSEC-ISO replacement (i.e. dumps with proper pregaps and offset values)? If it's more like the latter, then I suggest we begin categorizing the dumps more along the lines of TOSEC (i.e. Application, Educational, Games, Coverdisc, Samplers). Placing dumps like Compton's Encyclopedia into the "Games" category is...well, simply not correct.
That being said, if redump's mission is only about preserving game-related discs then I would propose that the guidelines be something like the following:
- For discs supported by a computer-based operating system (PC/Mac/Amiga/etc.)...only discs featuring some level of gameplay, focus on games, and/or game support should be approved for dumping. This would allow for any category to be dumped so long as the disc was ultimately game-related.
- For discs supported by a predominantly game-based console system (Sega CD/Xbox/GameCube)...anything & everything may be dumped since it lends to the overall preservation of the system.
- For discs supported by a mixed-media console system (Philips CD-i/Commodore CDTV)...only discs featuring some level of gameplay, focus on games, and/or game support should be approved for dumping. This would allow for any category to be dumped so long as the disc was ultimately game-related.
However...if redump is looking to expand the preservation beyond just games...then we primarily need to be more adamant about properly categorizing the dumps in the database.
My goal here is merely to establish a decision on the matter so as not to waste anyone's time dumping out-of-scope software. It's always good to review one's mission statement every once in a while to make sure things are operating as they should...
Cheers!
-MrTikki-
