Project Unreality

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]

Project Unreality

Project Unreality version 0.4a -1
Developer(s)	BlackBag
Initial release	February 27, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-02-27)
Final release	0.4a -1 / May 25, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-05-25)
Written in	C, C++
Operating system	Windows
Available in	English
Type	Video game console emulator
License	Freeware

History

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]

Discontinuation

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]