| Project Unreality | |
| Developer: | BlackBag |
| Latest Release Version: | 0.4a -1 |
| Discontinued: | yes |
| Programming Language: | C, C++ |
| Operating System: | Windows |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Video game console emulator |
| License: | Freeware |
Project Unreality was a video game console emulator for the Nintendo 64.[1] It was notable for being one of the earliest attempts at Nintendo 64 emulation (predating UltraHLE by nearly a year), and the first Nintendo 64 emulator to successfully boot a commercial game.[2] [3]
Development on Project Unreality started in late 1997, just over a year after the launch of the Nintendo 64.[4] In its earliest days, Project Unreality had few contemporaries; at the time, emulators for current-generation consoles were often hoaxes[5] or "shells" with extremely limited emulation capabilities.[6]
By early 1998, Project Unreality could emulate homebrew games to some extent.[7] The emulator's initial release saw its ability to boot commercial games, a first for any Nintendo 64 emulator.[8]
In May 1998, lead programmer Michael Tedder announced that Project Unreality would be "put on the back burner for now", though no future updates were ever released.[4] Slashdot later reported that one of Project Unreality's developers was hired to a game studio, leaving the emulator's development in limbo.[9] This news coincided with Tedder's hiring to Z-Axis, where he continued to work until early 2000.[10] [11]
Though Tedder repeatedly claimed that Nintendo hadn't contacted him regarding Project Unreality,[4] [6] the rumor that Nintendo halted the emulator's development spread throughout the emulation scene; it has been suggested that UltraHLE's development was carried out in secret directly as a result of this rumor.[12]
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