Case study

openblack: rebuilding Black & White from original game data

openblack reimplements Black & White (2001) in C++ with OpenGL and Vulkan rendering, loading assets extracted from the user's original game. Its repository includes utilities for game formats such as GLW visual effects and a library for LHVM script bytecode. Several non-desktop builds are described as experimental.

Targets: Game
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
Evidence class: C1 partial scope or analysis entry

Stars: 1.6k
Last commit: 2026-11-01
Language: C++
License (GitHub): GPL-3.0

GitHub data as of 2026-11-10

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Evidence

Demo screenshot from the project's public documentation

Observed: Code, documentation, download and demo observed; a full-reconstruction candidate for manual Class 0 review.
Scope: Partial
Checked: 2026-11-09

How evidence classes are assigned

Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: Requires assets extracted from an original Black & White installation.
Prerequisites: Building uses CMake and a C++ toolchain; the documented setup uses vcpkg for dependencies.
Limits: Several cross-platform builds, including Android and iOS, are experimental.
License: Licensed under GPL-3.0.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{openblack-engine-case,
  title = {{openblack: rebuilding Black \& White from original game data}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/openblack/openblack}},
  url = {https://github.com/openblack/openblack},
  urldate = {2026-11-06},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/openblack-engine-case/}}
}

Plain text

openblack: rebuilding Black & White from original game data. https://github.com/openblack/openblack (accessed 2026-11-06). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/openblack-engine-case/

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About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.

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Primary sources

readme.md GitHub · openblack/openblack · Revision 744c0fe
apps/glwtool/readme.md GitHub · openblack/openblack · Revision 744c0fe
components/ScriptLibrary/README.md GitHub · openblack/openblack · Revision 744c0fe