This looks extremely lame compared to today’s amazing visuals. But I can assure you that it kept me nailed to the screen for months. It’s not important what you see - it’s important what your imagination makes out of it.
I felt like Luke Skywalker saving the universe every day.
How often have I saved this planet?! How often have I risked my virtual neck for some stupid princess or small village? How often was I hurt, mangled and killed in my quest to save the universe?
And what did I get for it? Not even a permanent entry in the high score list of this universe!
I wish all my bonuses and extra lives would translate into the real world - I’d be richer then Bill Gates by now and rule this planet by magic and super weapons!
Hardly any game had such a cultural influence on modern culture than Dungeons & Dragons. It was the very basis of the Nerd culture of the 1980’s - and still is in the heads of many great makers of software, computers, gadgets and other important technology.
Gary Gygax -God of the Game Masters, Inventor of D&D in 1974 and overall storyteller - just passed away.
Since I grew up playing D&D - and then producing a role playing fanzine (on paper) I owe him a lot of inspiration, because it was that very hobby that got me into writing and publishing - and later into computer. Not to play, but to write about Role Playing Games.
More? a nice interview and some video over at BoingBoing and the ultimate Nerd discussion about his death and his influence on Slashdot.
Fighting against a Gorilla was never my passion. I prefer killing aliens. Donkey Kong was actually the first video game that actually had something like a story ("You player rescue girlfriend!") - and it also introduced to us the great Mario.
This was the first game of the amazing Shigeru Miyamoto - who never had written a line of code or designed a video game before this one.
In the end the Gorilla might have eaten all your money, but Nintendo and Mario were the real winner.
Ah, another classic! I remember endless nights in front of my first PC exploring the universe. This was so cool. Click here for a great fan page.
Still one of the greatest strategy games ever. It had a true 3d environment way before any competitor, it’s AI was aggressive and made single players battles interesting. The unit management and micro management excel still today. It offers true sea and air units. There are hundreds of new units and maps out there - plus a huge active community still developing additional goodies. Highly recommended if you like RTS - and you still get it in some shops for a couple of euros/dollars.
I love Mario - he is the gaming buddy at least two generations have played with. Will he one day become a fairy tale creature like Hänsel & Gretel - or simply a cultural icons like Mr Spock or Darth Vader?
Here some video and screen shots of the newest incarnation of the Super Mario Series.
I hope that all responsible parents bought their kids a virtual pet instead of a real one. First of all it’s much cheaper and easer to care for. If your brat succeeds in not killing the cyberpet until next xmas - then he or she is maybe ready for a real one.
Back in the days, when 3D mostly happened in your head and not onscreen. CGA graphics card were a joke. A cell phone has a higher resolution and more processing power these days.
I never liked this racing game, but the artwork and the music was always very cool and amazing.
Real kids should have real campfires. It’s much more fun. And real geeks will always prefer staying at home.
This xmas a lot of digital babysitters will arrive in many families. More and more people point out that stressful video games are not the best thing for a young mind. Overall it seems computer are not making pupils smarter anyway?! So should we ban computers from classrooms and school until kids reach a certain age - AND until they have mastered basic math and writing skills?!
Actually - being an avid gamer myself - I agree that gaming has a strong influence on the mind. It can be like a ‘rush’ of euphoria or an extreme strain being so narrowly concentrated on just one small screen. After a long gaming session my mind seems to ‘play’ the game long after I have stopped. It’s almost like a shadow or ‘burn in’ effect.
For me it makes perfect sense to say that a young persons mental energy and education should be focused on learning - while playtime (which is always learning as well) should be more relaxing and be a physical workout to balance mind and body. Most modern kids spent way to much time only in the mental sphere of school, tv and games - less in social and physical ’spaces’.
So parents - listen up!
I used to write game reviews and hint books for a living a long time a go. The only game I touch these days is Warhammer 40K Dawn of War - which is a nice small unit simulation with the right amount of carnage and actual strategy.
Since killing all the same enemies time after time the producer Relic will bless us with a new extension with two new races to slaughter: Sisters of Mercy (Nuns in Battlesuits) and Dark Eldar (Legolas bloody brothers).
Fire when ready!
This was the first time I saved the earth - I actually lost it many times as well. Can’t you people save yourselves?!
This game almost made me buy a playstation2. It’s so cool - and the soundtrack for the game is pretty cool as well. Why don’t you build your own prince out of paper from here (very cool!)? Why isn’t there a decent PS2 emulator for the PC yet?!?! Damn!
More? Offical Namco Site and the Damacy @ Wikipedia
Ah, the first of the God games. Dunno how many days of my life I wasted on this game? But it was a lot of fun. It’s good to be a God. Compared to today’s more complex and stunning building games it seems stupid and simple.
Of all the old school games I would consider Sinistar one of the hardest and most stressful ones. Shooting asteroids to get crystals to make bombs while the enemy also collected them to build the Sinistar (the ugly face you see above). Once it was alive - all heel broke loose. Oh boy …
Ah, the simple pleasure and stress of old school gaming - saving the world required less mutated hardware a few year ago.
Brilliant photo set on Flickr. Thank god Petromyzon saved these images from the trash. Sure it brings back many memories - but also gives some historic insights in the craziness of the video game revolution. I mean it’s crazy - you spent huge amount of money in a dark, beeping and blinking cave - for nothing but FUN.
The title melody still rings in my ears … so cool … another classic game! Read all about it here on Gamespy - and even download the MAME cartridge. Or simply play it here.
In an old BBC interview one of the head honchos in the gaming industry predicts even more realistic games: more artificial intelligence and of course graphics.
Excuse me, but I am not interested.
I want to play something fantastic, not something real. Anyone who has played a realistic flight simulator knows that such a ‘game’ is no longer one. It’s more like work. Also those super realistic graphics - they are boring and not so important. Also more ‘intelligent’ enemies: if they were really intelligent, they would blow most gaming kids out of their shooters or strategy games. Computer would beat us anytime.
Give us better game IDEAS, more fantastic environments and characters. Not the same old killing over and over again. A well played and interesting story captivates any audience: Shakespeare didn’t have George Lucas ILM for special effects or even woman with silicon titts. Chess is without bloody effects and is still a great game around.
Can’t wait for the ‘perfect girlfriend construction set’. Just wondering how much the upgrades will cost?
Gee, I loved this game. I even wrote a book about it - a long time ago (1990). I somehow miss these games with primitive visuals and weird 8-bit sounds. There was still enough space left to use your imagination. Todays 3D-Surround-Sound-Virtual-Worlds are just too perfect.
via Moby Games
