Explore – Impact of Computing Innovations Written Response Submission Template Please see Assessment Overview and Performance Task Directions for Students for the task directions and recommended word counts. Computational Artifact 2a) The computing innovation represented by my computational artifact is the Visual Boy Advance gaming emulator. This software functions by imitating other computers, like GB Advance, Classic, and/or Color emulators, to run each platform’s specific games. Its purpose is to revive old platforms and allow for discovery of game history [2]. My artifact describes how the gaming emulator can be used to play 1992 Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: III. The game’s original medium was the SNES, but by using emulation, users can play copies of the game’s 2002 GB Advance release. This undoubtedly renders the intended content pixel for pixel. 2b) I used Google Slides to create the background and text for my computational artifact. Then, I selected images from Google that best represented the functions of the Visual Boy Advance gaming emulator. I copied-and-pasted these specific images from their original sites to my Google Slides document. After that, I cited the origin of my images with numbers in brackets. Computing Innovation 2c) One beneficial effect that the Visual Boy Advance gaming emulator has on society is ensuring that the most obscure video game titles stay alive in some form [1]. In using this software program, old games meet the light of day and are reconfigured to run on any compatible device. Video gaming enthusiasts can modify existing games for their personal purposes: changing the difficulty level, altering graphics, and/or translating languages so that users from other countries can play the game [2]. While emulation on the Visual Boy Advance is legal, proliferation of its specific game files [ROMs] violates copyright law [3]. One harmful effect that the emulator has on society is that it perpetuates usage of illegal Nintendo ROM files that are often distributed through websites like EmuParadise and many others. The Nintendo Corporation has been threatened by emulation software running AP Computer Science Principles Effective Fall 2017 Page 1 of 2 ROMs, since emulation violates intellectual property rights of video game developers [5]. Emulation software undermines the entertainment software industry that makes over 15 billion a year and provides countless jobs [4]. 2d) The data that the Visual Boy Advance gaming emulator consumes are ROMs, which are read-only memory chips that copy the data within a video game cartridge [2]. References 2e) [1] Pot, Justin. ''Why Are Video Game Emulators So Important? (Because They Preserve Our History)" How-To Geek. How-To-Geek, 6 Oct. 2018, https://www.howtogeek.com/347530/the-importance-of-emulation-for- games-preservation/ [2] Rouse, Margaret. “What is ROM emulation? - Definition from WhatIs.com” WhatIs.com. WhatIs.com, May 2012, https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/ROM-emulation [3] Hertz, Noah. "Video Game Emulation: Privacy for Preservation" Spire Magazine. Spire Magazine, 28 Aug. 2018, https://spiremagazine.com/2018/08/28/video-game-emulation/ [4] Nintendo. "Nintendo - Corporate Information | Legal Information (Copyrights, Emulators, ROMs, etc.)" Nintendo. Nintendo, Date Unknown, https://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp [5] Farrand, Benjamin, ‘Emulation is the Most Sincere Form of Flattery: Retro Video Games, Rom Distribution and Copyright’ (March 8, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2018883 AP Computer Science Principles Effective Fall 2017 Page 2 of 2
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