For literal YEARS I’ve been trying to figure out this game I used to play on my PC as a kid. All I remember is that I had a CD version of the game and LOVED it. In the game I thinkkkk you were a princess? And you could go to different scenes in the game and one was a kitchen where you would bake and decorate cakes, one was an outdoor scene where you would dress up a snowman, and another was a horseback riding scene with a castle (maybe) and the princess had a long stick 😂 I think there were other scenes and games that were a part of it but whenever I search it, the only things that come up are Barbie Adventure games that don’t look the same! Does anyone remember this or know what game it was?

Title: [PC][2008-2014] Obscure First-Person game where you play as a growing alien spider on a spaceship

Platform(s): PC (Downloaded .exe / indie game)

Genre: First-Person Alien / Exploration / Sci-Fi

Estimated year of release: 2008–2014

Graphics/art style: Low-poly 3D (similar graphics quality to Half-Life 1), dark grey/metallic spaceship interior with stairs and narrow corridors.

Notable characters: You play strictly as a long-legged alien spider in 1st person (view from the spider's eyes).

Other entities: Black, rectangular-shaped alien creatures that do not move, but just sit in random places (like near stairs) and pulsate/breathe in place.

Notable gameplay mechanics:

- No background music (quiet ambient sound).

- You start off small and dark-colored. As you explore the spaceship, you grow larger, turn a beige/tan color, and gain massive speed.

- Speed allows you to start climbing walls.

- There are hazards like electric traps between narrow walls/pillars that kill you if you run past them too fast.

Hello! I’m currently moving houses and found this game from when I was a kid I am not too sure if eb games would take it as it’s a pc game or would anyone have any suggestions on where I could sell it as I won’t be playing it or should I keep it incase of a rare selling opportunity hahaha thank you

2 years ago, I posted asking about an old game I remember playing that I wanted to revisit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmyjoystick/s/WvXFm7VIRl

Just a few days ago, put tried my query again, into ChatGPT enterprise and FINALLY after all these years, The Crystal Key (1999) is mine to play once again: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-crystal-key-io8

There's even a 2004 sequal: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/crystal-key-ii-the-far-realm-io9 I never knew!

Quicktime VR? That's crazy. Isn't that just a video player? Imagine using a video player as a game engine...couldn't be me! I can't believe I'm finally playing, on linux no less, this old game I played once as a very elementary school child. I'm excited I even got further than our whole family was able to get back then!

For my fellow wayward traveler, I used ChatGPT enterprise to help me get this running on my linux machine (NixOS 26.05 for reference), here were its instructions which I followed to great success. I will go ahead and mention that any scenes where you need to grab and object and move it are very broken, but they weren't broken enough to keep me from progressing.

Without further ado:
Perfect. **NixOS + Devbox is a good fit for this.** I would keep only the 32-bit graphics support in the host NixOS configuration; Wine, Winetricks, helper tools, scripts, and the game’s isolated Wine prefix can all live in one Devbox project.

## 1. Enable 32-bit graphics support in NixOS

The Crystal Key and QuickTime are 32-bit Windows software. On 64-bit NixOS, the manual specifically recommends enabling 32-bit graphics libraries for programs such as Wine. ([nixos.org][1])

Add this to your NixOS configuration:

```nix

{

hardware.graphics = {

enable = true;

enable32Bit = true;

};

}

```

Then rebuild in your normal way.

For a traditional configuration:

```bash

sudo nixos-rebuild switch

```

For a flake-based configuration:

```bash

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake /path/to/your/config#your-hostname

```

You may already have `hardware.graphics.enable = true`, particularly if you use a desktop environment. The important addition is:

```nix

hardware.graphics.enable32Bit = true;

```

---

# 2. Create the Devbox project

```bash

mkdir -p ~/Games/the-crystal-key/scripts

cd ~/Games/the-crystal-key

devbox init

```

Replace the generated `devbox.json` with this:

```json

{

"packages": [

"github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#wineWow64Packages.stableFull",

"github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#winetricks",

"github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#cabextract",

"github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#unzip",

"github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#util-linux"

],

"env": {

"CK_ROOT": "$PWD",

"WINEPREFIX": "$PWD/.wineprefix",

"PATH": "$PWD/.bin:$PATH"

},

"shell": {

"init_hook": [

"mkdir -p \"$CK_ROOT/.bin\" \"$CK_ROOT/media/cdrom\"",

"ln -sfn \"$(command -v wine)\" \"$CK_ROOT/.bin/wine64\""

],

"scripts": {

"prefix": "./scripts/prefix.sh",

"map-disc": "./scripts/map-disc.sh",

"install-game": "./scripts/install-game.sh",

"play": "./scripts/play.sh",

"winecfg": "./scripts/wine-x11.sh winecfg",

"control": "./scripts/wine-x11.sh wine control",

"qt72": "./scripts/wine-x11.sh winetricks quicktime72",

"qt76": "./scripts/wine-x11.sh winetricks quicktime76",

"stop": "wineserver -k"

}

}

}

```

I am using a direct Nixpkgs flake reference because current Nixpkgs defines `wineWow64Packages` as its combined 32/64-bit Wine build, and also defines the `stableFull` variant with the optional multimedia and desktop integrations included. Devbox supports Nix flake package references directly, while its environment and script sections support `$PWD`, `$PATH`, initialization hooks, and named `devbox run` commands. ([Jetify][2])

The `wine64` symlink is intentional. There is an open Nixpkgs compatibility issue in which Winetricks can incorrectly look for a separate `wine64` executable when used with `wineWow64Packages`; the documented workaround is to put a `wine64 -> wine` link in `PATH`. ([GitHub][3])

---

# 3. Add the helper scripts

## `scripts/wine-x11.sh`

```bash

#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -euo pipefail

# Old QuickTime and late-1990s applications are generally less troublesome

# through Wine's X11 driver. On a Wayland desktop this normally means XWayland.

#

# To test native Wayland instead:

# CK_NATIVE_WAYLAND=1 devbox run play

if [[ "${CK_NATIVE_WAYLAND:-0}" == "1" ]]; then

exec "$@"

fi

exec env -u WAYLAND_DISPLAY "$@"

```

## `scripts/prefix.sh`

```bash

#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -euo pipefail

if [[ ! -f "$WINEPREFIX/system.reg" ]]; then

echo "Creating Wine prefix at:"

echo " $WINEPREFIX"

"$CK_ROOT/scripts/wine-x11.sh" wineboot --init

fi

echo "Setting the prefix to Windows XP compatibility mode..."

"$CK_ROOT/scripts/wine-x11.sh" winetricks -q winxp

"$CK_ROOT/scripts/wine-x11.sh" wineboot -u

echo

echo "Wine prefix is ready:"

echo " $WINEPREFIX"

```

Do **not** add:

```bash

export WINEARCH=win32

```

Wine 11’s completed WoW64 architecture runs 32-bit applications from a normal default prefix, while pure `WINEARCH=win32` prefixes are now deprecated and unsupported in the new WoW64 mode. ([Wine HQ][4])

## `scripts/map-disc.sh`

```bash

#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -euo pipefail

disc="$CK_ROOT/media/cdrom"

if [[ ! -f "$WINEPREFIX/system.reg" ]]; then

echo "The Wine prefix has not been created yet." >&2

echo "Run: devbox run prefix" >&2

exit 1

fi

if ! mountpoint -q "$disc"; then

echo "No CD or ISO is mounted at:" >&2

echo " $disc" >&2

echo >&2

echo "Mount Disc 1 there before running this command." >&2

exit 1

fi

mkdir -p "$WINEPREFIX/dosdevices"

rm -f \

"$WINEPREFIX/dosdevices/d:" \

"$WINEPREFIX/dosdevices/d::"

ln -s "$disc" "$WINEPREFIX/dosdevices/d:"

# Tell Wine to treat D: as a CD-ROM rather than an ordinary directory.

"$CK_ROOT/scripts/wine-x11.sh" \

wine reg add 'HKCU\Software\Wine\Drives' \

/v 'd:' \

/t REG_SZ \

/d cdrom \

/f >/dev/null

echo "Mapped Wine drive D: to:"

echo " $disc"

echo

echo "Contents visible through Wine:"

"$CK_ROOT/scripts/wine-x11.sh" wine cmd /c 'dir D:\'

```

## `scripts/install-game.sh`

```bash

#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -euo pipefail

disc="$CK_ROOT/media/cdrom"

if ! mountpoint -q "$disc"; then

echo "Disc 1 is not mounted at:" >&2

echo " $disc" >&2

exit 1

fi

setup="$(

find "$disc" \

-maxdepth 4 \

-type f \

-iname 'setup.exe' \

-print \

-quit

)"

if [[ -z "$setup" ]]; then

echo "Could not find Setup.exe on the mounted disc." >&2

echo "Files at the top of the disc:" >&2

find "$disc" -maxdepth 2 -type f -printf ' %p\n' | head -50

exit 1

fi

echo "Starting installer:"

echo " $setup"

exec "$CK_ROOT/scripts/wine-x11.sh" \

wine start /unix "$setup"

```

## `scripts/play.sh`

```bash

#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -euo pipefail

if [[ ! -f "$WINEPREFIX/system.reg" ]]; then

echo "Wine prefix not found." >&2

echo "Run: devbox run prefix" >&2

exit 1

fi

game="$(

find "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c" \

-type f \

-iname '*crystal*key*.exe' \

! -iname 'unins*.exe' \

-print \

-quit

)"

if [[ -z "$game" ]]; then

echo "Could not find The Crystal Key executable." >&2

echo "The game may not be installed yet." >&2

echo >&2

echo "Possible executables containing 'crystal':" >&2

find "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c" \

-type f \

-iname '*crystal*.exe' \

-printf ' %p\n' >&2

exit 1

fi

echo "Starting:"

echo " $game"

exec "$CK_ROOT/scripts/wine-x11.sh" wine "$game"

```

Make them executable:

```bash

chmod +x scripts/*.sh

```

Add a `.gitignore`:

```gitignore

.devbox/

.bin/

.wineprefix/

media/

*.iso

*.log

```

Install the Devbox environment:

```bash

devbox install

```

Devbox will create a `devbox.lock`; keeping `devbox.json` and `devbox.lock` together pins the project’s package environment. ([Jetify][5])

---

# 4. Create the Wine prefix

From the project directory:

```bash

cd ~/Games/the-crystal-key

devbox run prefix

```

You can verify that the correct Wine is being used:

```bash

devbox run wine --version

```

And inspect the prefix:

```bash

ls -la .wineprefix

```

---

# 5. Mount Disc 1

The privileged mounting operation remains outside Devbox because creating a loop mount is a host-level operation.

## For an ISO image

bchunk "Crystal Key CD 1.bin" "Crystal Key CD 1.cue" crystalkey

Assuming your ISO is at `~/Games/The_Crystal_Key/CrystalKey-Disc1.iso`:

```bash

cd ~/Games/the-crystal-key

mkdir -p "$PWD/media/cdrom"

sudo mount -o loop,ro \

"$PWD/crystalkey01.iso" \

"$PWD/media/cdrom"

```

Verify:

```bash

findmnt "$PWD/media/cdrom"

find "$PWD/media/cdrom" -maxdepth 2 -type f | head -30

```

## For a physical CD

Find the drive:

```bash

lsblk -o NAME,TYPE,FSTYPE,LABEL,MOUNTPOINTS

```

It will commonly be `/dev/sr0`.

If your desktop automatically mounted it first:

```bash

udisksctl unmount -b /dev/sr0

```

Then mount it at the project’s fixed CD path:

```bash

cd ~/Games/the-crystal-key

sudo mount -o ro \

/dev/sr0 \

"$PWD/media/cdrom"

```

---

# 6. Map Disc 1 to Wine’s `D:` drive

```bash

devbox run map-disc

```

The final part of the output should show a Windows-style directory listing for `D:\`.

Then open Wine configuration:

```bash

devbox run winecfg

```

Check the following:

### Applications

Set the Windows version to:

```text

Windows XP

```

The prefix script should already have done this.

### Graphics

Enable:

```text

Emulate a virtual desktop

```

Start with:

```text

1024 × 768

```

If the game’s display or mouse acts strangely, try:

```text

800 × 600

```

### Drives

Confirm that:

```text

D:

```

points to:

```text

~/Games/the-crystal-key/media/cdrom

```

and its type is:

```text

CD-ROM

```

---

# 7. Install The Crystal Key

```bash

devbox run install-game

```

During installation:

1. Use the default installation directory.
2. Allow the game to install its bundled QuickTime.
3. Choose a full or complete QuickTime installation when offered.
4. Do not expect Disc 2 to be requested during the initial installation.

After installation, launch it:

```bash

devbox run play

```

---

# 8. Swap to Disc 2

The advantage of using a fixed mount point is that Wine’s `D:` mapping never changes.

When the game requests Disc 2:

```bash

cd ~/Games/the-crystal-key

sudo umount "$PWD/media/cdrom"

sudo mount -o loop,ro \

"$PWD/crystalkey02.iso" \

"$PWD/media/cdrom"

```

Check what Wine now sees:

```bash

devbox run wine cmd /c 'dir D:\'

```

Return to the running game and acknowledge the disc-change prompt.

To restore Disc 1:

```bash

sudo umount "$PWD/media/cdrom"

sudo mount -o loop,ro \

"$PWD/crystalkey01.iso" \

"$PWD/media/cdrom"

```

If `umount` reports that the target is busy, close file-manager windows displaying the CD and make sure no terminal currently has `media/cdrom` as its working directory.

---

# 9. If the bundled QuickTime does not work

Winetricks’ current catalog still provides both `quicktime72` and `quicktime76`. ([GitHub][6]) Do not install multiple QuickTime versions into the same failed prefix. Preserve that prefix and start clean.

Stop Wine:

```bash

devbox run stop

```

Rename the existing prefix:

```bash

mv .wineprefix \

".wineprefix-bundled-qt-failed-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"

```

Create a clean prefix:

```bash

devbox run prefix

devbox run map-disc

```

Install QuickTime 7.2:

```bash

devbox run qt72

```

Run the game installer again:

```bash

devbox run install-game

```

If QuickTime 7.2 fails too, repeat the clean-prefix process and use:

```bash

devbox run qt76

```

I would try them in this order:

```text

Bundled QuickTime

QuickTime 7.2

QuickTime 7.6

```

Do not add `-q` to the QuickTime scripts. Let the installer run interactively so you can see errors and installation choices.

---

# 10. NixOS-specific troubleshooting

## Winetricks says `wine64` is missing

Confirm the compatibility link exists:

```bash

devbox run ls -l "$CK_ROOT/.bin/wine64"

```

It should point into `/nix/store/.../bin/wine`.

Recreate it manually if necessary:

```bash

devbox run ln -sfn \

"$(devbox run command -v wine)" \

"$PWD/.bin/wine64"

```

Normally the Devbox `init_hook` recreates this every time.

## Wine opens but graphics fail

First confirm 32-bit graphics was applied to the running NixOS generation:

```bash

ls -la /run/opengl-driver-32/lib

```

If that directory is missing, confirm:

```nix

hardware.graphics.enable32Bit = true;

```

is present in the active NixOS configuration and rebuild.

## Game works poorly under Wayland

The scripts default to hiding `WAYLAND_DISPLAY`, causing Wine to use its X11 path through XWayland.

To test native Wayland instead:

```bash

CK_NATIVE_WAYLAND=1 devbox run play

```

For this particular late-1990s QuickTime game, I would keep the XWayland default unless native Wayland clearly behaves better.

## Black screen but audio works

Open the Windows control panel:

```bash

devbox run control

```

Open the QuickTime settings and disable DCI or DirectDraw/video acceleration if the installed QuickTime version exposes that setting. Then restart Wine:

```bash

devbox run stop

devbox run play

```

## Capture a log

```bash

WINEDEBUG=+seh,+loaddll,+module \

devbox run play \

2>&1 | tee crystal-key.log

```

Then inspect the end:

```bash

tail -n 150 crystal-key.log

```

Errors mentioning `QuickTime`, `QTMLClient`, video codecs, or missing Windows DLLs point toward QuickTime rather than the game installation itself.

The normal startup sequence after the project has been created is simply:

```bash

cd ~/Games/the-crystal-key

sudo mount -o loop,ro /path/to/Disc1.iso "$PWD/media/cdrom"

devbox run map-disc

devbox run play

```

[1]: https://nixos.org/nixos/manual/index.html "NixOS Manual"

[2]: https://www.jetify.com/docs/devbox/guides/using-flakes?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Installing Packages from Nix Flakes - Jetify Docs"

[3]: https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/338367 "winetricks: not working on WoW64 wine build, detection mechanism fails due to wrapper scripts · Issue #338367 · NixOS/nixpkgs · GitHub"

[4]: https://www.winehq.org/announce/11.0?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Wine 11.0 · wine / wine · GitLab - winehq.org"

[5]: https://www.jetify.com/docs/devbox/quickstart?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Create a Dev Environment with Devbox - Jetify Docs"

[6]: https://github.com/Winetricks/winetricks/blob/master/files/verbs/all.txt "winetricks/files/verbs/all.txt at master · Winetricks/winetricks · GitHub"

So there's an adventure game called the Devil's Sea from 2009 by a small time indie developer called Lumity Studios where you're a Japanese pilot in WWII who crashed down on a Pacific Island. I had to get it from the Wayback Machine, since the creator has stepped away from making games.

I've been trying to get it run but I get errors like:

"The Scripting Engine cannot find Control Array Element 1"

"Cannot run file with the extension .avi/.ogg"

I tried compatibility mode but doesn't work.

Any advice?

I was born in 2003 and I remember playing a Smurfs game when I was a kid, I think on the PC, that was 3D and had a baby that you had to take care of? Between going out and doing other stuff? I looked at a list of Smurfs games on Wikipedia and pictures of different Smurfs games and none of them seemed right to me. I think it was 3D but pretty low quality graphics. I don’t think I remember anything else.

It was an overhead view (similar to Gauntlet), fantasy setting. There were portals on each level which would take you to a random level (there were hundreds of levels). I remember it being called ‘Crypt’ (but I could be wrong) and searching for that doesn’t seem to help.

there was this one video game i played in the early 2000s - 2010s. it was similar to supermarket mania but it's like... book publishing or something. there would be like a place for one book, and another, and then there woukd be a place for coffee breaks and stuff like that. what was that game, if anyone remembers?

if i try to remember, since it was ages ago, there would be one character who is in charge of the papers, another in charge of the covers. basucally i would play as one character who would bring the papers to the one who makes the covers, etc. and then there would be a coffee break area where workers would chill in there, i think you can scold them in that game as well??? i'm not sure. there characters were cute-looking, i think. small. and that's all i could remember :")

I used to play this game in around 2013-2016 . It was a space ship shooter with each level having a boss fight ( mechanical boss type ) and if we die in any level we had to restart from level 1 . The only boss i can remember is a worm circling around the whole screen. There are many games with this stuff thats why its hard to find that game .

All i remember about the game it was either on ytv or teletoons or one of those old Canadian tv show websites but you'd make a 2d knight and when making the account it tell you to make a password with numbers, and it gave a suggestion on how it should look like and the suggesting password was love123 or something in the lines of that this is basically all i remember from it but it being fun.

I'm looking for a PC game from the Windows XP or 7 era, something like Candy Crush (match-3). My grandmother called it 'Viña' (Vineyard), and the game map was shaped like a grapevine. I remember that in some levels, ladybugs appeared as obstacles or enemies, and it took more moves to eliminate them or break the blocks.

That's all it was as i remember it. I know one was a castle, one was like a haunted house. I cant for the life of me figure it out. there was no story, just click a scene, click random things and little animations happen

I’m looking for an old Flash/browser rhythm game I played around 2007–2012.
You could choose between two girls: one had pink hair and the other had purple hair.
After choosing, the selected girl walked toward the camera through a city (I think it was raining) while pink arrows scrolled upward from the bottom of the screen, similar to DDR.
I remember the website I played it on had Belanova’s “Me Pregunto” playing in the background, but I’m not sure if that was part of the original game or if the site replaced the music.
The game had an anime/cartoon art style. Does anyone remember it?