New Scaratings

"Spacewar" was the 1st vector directed computer game. (The first version was completed in 1962.)

Son of a gun, you can actually play it on line. Here's the link:

http://spacewar.zorg.org/play-spacewar.php

Game play is a little bit cumbersome, as it is entirely on the keyboard. However, it will be good for the youngsters on this thread to play it. It will teach their fingers how to play computer games from the dawn of time. The youngins have been spoiled by all of those games that let them just move their mouse around and click. Here's the chance to play one of the games that helped create the wonderful games we have today.

Heck, give it a try. It will be fun, but I doubt any of you will ever put it in your top ten list.

Please let me know if you tried the game.



That's how the game was first played

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"The game is afoot."

Tony,

Here's a pictorial walk down memory lane:



Sorry, There is no sound, but I figure your imagination can take care of that.

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"The game is afoot."

Wow, my face lit up seeing those pictures That definitely takes me back. The only saving grace being that I can still play every one of those on my MAME emulator but still not quite the same. A place like that would've definitely been my second [possibly first] home.

Also, there's a really cute song that came out in '82 I believe by Buckner and Garcia called Pac-Man Fever. That song pretty much describes my younger years to a T.

Cheers and thanks for the great pics!
--Tony

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The 1st arcade style coin operated game was "Computer Space", released in 1971.

It looks a lot like "Spacewar", and probably played fairly similarly. More than likely, it's out there on the Internet to play online or to download.

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"The game is afoot."

It's great to reminisce, isn't it...? It's sad to think that all of the video arcades are gone. Don't remember the last day I walked out of the video arcade in the Louisville Galleria all those years ago. Never dreamt that I could never go there again...

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"The game is afoot."

What if our favorite games were combined...?

Here is a link to some pretty funny stuff:

http://www.heyactiongames.com/top-tens/ ... rossovers/

"Zoo Tycoon" vs "Grand Theft Auto"




This is just one of ten zany combinations this guy has created. Each explains how these new games would play. I think it's pretty damn funny. Check them out.

p.s. Sadly, they can't be played. Damn, they don't really exist.

p.p.s. Anyone got some of their own ideas about two games they would like to see combined? How about "Golden Tee Golf" vs. "Frogger"? Those little amphibians would hop across the fairway, while golfers tried to knock them off. In turn the frogs would gobble up the golf balls that missed them, and hop off with them to the safety of the closest water hazard. Sounds like fun to me.

........ VS. ........

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"The game is afoot."

That be it! I still need to get you the copy of it

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"Bruce Lee" (1983/84) is a great early DOS game. Try to find it. I think you will have fun playing it.

Here's some video of the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2U_kjHh-uQ

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"The game is afoot."

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"Janitor Joe" (Also know as "Jump Joe") is another very early DOS game. If you can find it, play it. It's fun to play.

This is a game created by Kevin Bales back in 1984. Kevin Bales was one of the early computer game pioneers, who developed many games.

Here is a very short video of the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqU_1900ek

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"The game is afoot."

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I guess my mother must have bought it in 1972, because after Googling the Magnavox Odyssey system, every site says that the year it came out was 1972. However, my confused memory thought it was earlier. Mom never told dad how much she spent for it. Dad is dead, but mom is still alive, so I guess it's safe now to ask her what it cost.

Though it was a novelty at the time, it wasn't very good. It had "Table Tennis" and several other games, which were pretty much just variations of "Table Tennis", with different names, that might have added a goal to hit, but you still just "ping-ponged" the ball back and forth until someone scored. ("Table Tennis" was almost exactly like "Pong".)

I think SCAR once said he had the system as a kid. Do any of you old timers remember the Odyssey system, that you just plugged into your TV?

p.s. The Magnavox Odyssey system is NOT a recommendation. It sucked.

p.p.s. After Googling Odyssey, I've found out that this system acutally had a bunch of add-ons that might have made it better, but mom never bought them.

p.p.p.s. Magnavox's Odyssey was the 1st home gaming system.

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"The game is afoot."

Wanna listen to the song...? If so, click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-MONIvP6kI

Here are the lyrics to "Pac-Man Fever":

"I got a pocket full of quarters, and I'm headed to the arcade.
I don't have a lot of money, but I'm bringing ev'rything I made.
I've got a callus on my finger, and my shoulder's hurting too.
I'm gonna eat them all up, just as soon as they turn blue.

Chorus:
'Cause I've got Pac-Man fever;
Pac-Man fever.
It's driving me crazy.
Driving me crazy.
I've got Pac-Man fever;
Pac-Man fever.
I'm going out of my mind.
Going out of my mind.
I've got Pac-Man fever;
Pac-Man fever.
I'm going out of my mind.
Going out of my mind.

I've got all the patterns down, up until the ninth key.
I've got Speedy on my tail, and I know it's either him or me.
So I'm heading out the back door and in the other side;
Gonna eat the cherries up and take them all for a ride.

Chorus

I'm gonna fake it to the left, and move to the right;
'Cause Pokey's too slow, and Blinky's out of sight.

Guitar solo

Now I've got them on the run, and I'm looking for the high score;
So it's once around the block, And I'll slide back out the side door.
I'm really cookin' now, eating everything in sight.
All my money's gone, so I'll be back tomorow night.

'Cause I've got Pac-Man fever;
Pac-Man fever.
It's driving me crazy.
Driving me crazy.
I've got Pac-Man fever;
Pac-Man fever.
I'm going out of my mind.
Going out of my mind.
Repeat and fade"
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You are right. It was 1982. Sometime we need to get together, so you can sing it to the whole bar.

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"The game is afoot."

Remind me sometime. I have that song, as well as one they came out with about Donkey Kong

I just did--thanks, Cloudy! I have always wanted to play this game because I know it was the first of its kind, and I actually found it very enjoyable. All those quarters I spent years ago playing "Asteroids" turned out to be helpful in navigating this one.

Thanks again!

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

If I had saved all those quarters that I spent playing video games, I could have upgraded my car to a model that I wouldn't have had to repair every weekend.

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Middle age is when a broad mind and a slim waist exchange places.

ANON, welcome to the club. There aren't many of us still alive, who ever played "Spacewar". Did you win...? I never did, but it's kind of fun to play a game from the distant past just the same.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. You might want to try some of my other recommendations. Most of them are a lot better, and there are more to come...

p.s. I sucked at "Asteroids". Only played it a few times at the arcade, and as soon as another machine opened up, I moved on over to something else.

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"The game is afoot."

Sounds good. I guess we need to get you and TIAMAT together sometime, so you guys can sing a "Pac-Man Fever" duet. If you guys are any good, you might have new careers, and make gazillions of dollars...! Hell, you've got the "Donkey Kong" song too. Sounds like a good beginning for your first album.

p.s. I'll buy all of your CD.s.

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"The game is afoot."

I hear ya, man... If I could get all those quarters back, as well as the gazillions of dollars I've spent buying computer games, I could probably pay my mortgage off. However, there is the fun factor to be considered... Shucks, we only go through this life once. I think we should enjoy it, and have as much fun as we can, until we wind up in the back of a black limousine...

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"The game is afoot."

"Martian Gothic: Unification" is perhaps the best computer game I have ever played. It throws everything at you. There's a lot of combat and shooting. There's a lot of figuring things out. There's a lot of finding things. There's a lot of strategy. There's a lot of combining things. There's a lot of everything that makes a good computer game. This game has my highest recommendation.

I think it might be available online for a download, but if you buy it in the box, you need to go to their web site for a patch, without which you cannot complete the game.

"Stay alone, stay alive..."

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Here is a link to one site that says it has the patch, but other sites may have it too:

http://www.fileplanet.com/90633/0/0/0/1/section/Patches

Here is a link to a site that says you can download the whole game for free. (I hope it works.)

http://www.playdownstation.com/2010/12/ ... ation.html

Here's a link that shows you some video of how the game begins (Sadly it only shows you the boring part of the game's beginning, and doesn't know that Kenzo is whom you need to start with.):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8eK2okiiXI

Here's another video of the game, with a voice over, from some guy who made it. I'm still disappointed because it doesn't get into the real fighting. I also don't agree with where he is moving the characters.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnjGu0tW ... re=related

One more link for some video of the game (It also has voice over from some idiot, who doesn't know how to play the game.), and it still doesn't show you the exciting battles that your characters will have.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiuJ39Tn ... re=related

I will tell you this much about the game. You can die in this game in many ways, so you often need to save your progress at critical points. Use your "saves" wisely. Don't use them up in the early part of the game. You can only save a game by getting to an "in game" computer. (Those are computers you actually find within the game as you progress.) Each one of them has a limit to how many saves you can put on it.

I sure hope somebody gives "Martian Gothic: Unification" a try. I'm pretty sure you will put it in your top ten best computer games of all time, if you do.

"Martian Gothic: Unification" get's CLOUDY'S highest recommendation...! ! !

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"The game is afoot."

I don't think we want to subject that many people to that kind of torture.
It is a great song though. Still even hear it on the radio in these parts once in a while.
Cheers!

Wow this brings back memories too. I think I have this for my C64 but definitely remember playing it on some platform.

Ahh, come on... I think YODA has been practicing, and would like to sing a "Pac-Man Fever" duet with you. This could be your big break into show biz.

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"The game is afoot."

Did you beat the game...?

"Bruce Lee" was a fun game from the early years. I have actually beaten it several times. Though it's nothing close to a top ten game, it is still worth playing. Got a feeling that those, who have never played it, will find it somewhat challenging. The game ain't a cake walk, but it's fun...

Give "Bruce Lee" a try. It's a pretty good game.

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"The game is afoot."

I will be AWOL until April 22nd. Going to see my lady friend in Upstate New York tomorrow. Not sure if I will be able to keep up with you guys while I'm gone, but keep those posts coming. I'll try to catch up with you all, when I get back to Louisville.

Goodnight...

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"The game is afoot."

Kind of--of course I was only operating one ship and the other ship was a sitting target, so the real challenge was not getting sucked into that black hole. It has a pretty powerful pull, doesn't it?

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

I believe i did or at least got close. I remember getting to some of the upper levels and a guy throwing fireballs at you. I can't remember if he was the end bad guy though. The memory gets a bit fuzzy at times. lol. I think they loosely based Shinobi off this game. you weren't bruce lee but was a ninja and it was a side scrolling game like that.