The Digital Press

A project has revived classic Silicon Graphics (SGI) demos from the 80s and 90s, making them playable directly in modern web browsers using WebAssembly and SDL2. These demos preserve the original source code, allowing users to experience early computer graphics history without needing old hardware.

Why it matters: It preserves and makes accessible pioneering computer graphics demos, maintaining digital heritage for new generations.

The big picture: SGI was a major player in early 3D graphics, influencing gaming, simulation, and visual effects industries.

To do: Future improvements include better rendering with OpenGLES/WebGL, more demos, and enhanced user interface features like virtual mouse and keyboard.

Commenters say: Many express nostalgia for SGI’s demos and hardware, share memories of specific demos, and hope for more demos and features to be added.