Child's Play

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

Marc Fleury <marcfleury@sympatico.ca> wrote in message news:<Xns94F9AFF42883Dmarcfleurysympaticoc@207.35.177.134>...
> Why? Most of the kids I know still think that Super Mario Bros or even Pac-
> Man are fun games. And that's over TWENTY years ago.

On that same note, it reminded me of this article that EGM had about
this.

http://www.egmmag.com/article2/0,2053,1487038,00.asp

You guys should read it, it's great.

It's funny though, I'm only eighteen but I've played most of these
games, and enjoyed them very much. Although I don't know about E.T...
Probably the only reason I'd try that is to see just how bad it really
is.
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

On 30 May 2004 21:27:34 -0700, eli@pantheon.net (Eli) wrote:

>Marc Fleury <marcfleury@sympatico.ca> wrote in message news:<Xns94F9AFF42883Dmarcfleurysympaticoc@207.35.177.134>...
>> Why? Most of the kids I know still think that Super Mario Bros or even Pac-
>> Man are fun games. And that's over TWENTY years ago.
>
>On that same note, it reminded me of this article that EGM had about
>this.
>
>http://www.egmmag.com/article2/0,2053,1487038,00.asp
>
>You guys should read it, it's great.
>
>It's funny though, I'm only eighteen but I've played most of these
>games, and enjoyed them very much. Although I don't know about E.T...
>Probably the only reason I'd try that is to see just how bad it really
>is.

The funny thing is, E.T. isn't THAT bad. It at least made sense which
is more than can be said for the Raiders of the Lost Ark game (which
was programmed by the same guy and is part of the reason he got the
gig as the programmer for E.T.). To this day I have no idea what the
hell is going on in RotLA.
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

"Kevin Sullivan" <kevin@beestung.netHERWORLD> wrote in message
news:26flb0d4kvj2k97rb0ak9l6c6o1r36uup1@4ax.com...
>
> The funny thing is, E.T. isn't THAT bad. It at least made sense which
> is more than can be said for the Raiders of the Lost Ark game (which
> was programmed by the same guy and is part of the reason he got the
> gig as the programmer for E.T.). To this day I have no idea what the
> hell is going on in RotLA.

Are you talking about the Atari 2600 game where Indy would walk from "room"
to "room"? He had a whip to fight off Asps, Tsetse Flies, he could pick up
a few items, etc. I vaguely remember playing it at a friends house. I
remember doing things in the game, but don't really know why I was doing
them. The goals, if there were any, seemed vague.

Cay
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

"Kevin Sullivan" <kevin@beestung.netHERWORLD> wrote in message
news:26flb0d4kvj2k97rb0ak9l6c6o1r36uup1@4ax.com...
> On 30 May 2004 21:27:34 -0700, eli@pantheon.net (Eli) wrote:
>
> >Marc Fleury <marcfleury@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:<Xns94F9AFF42883Dmarcfleurysympaticoc@207.35.177.134>...
> >> Why? Most of the kids I know still think that Super Mario Bros or even
Pac-
> >> Man are fun games. And that's over TWENTY years ago.
> >
> >On that same note, it reminded me of this article that EGM had about
> >this.
> >
> >http://www.egmmag.com/article2/0,2053,1487038,00.asp
> >
> >You guys should read it, it's great.
> >
> >It's funny though, I'm only eighteen but I've played most of these
> >games, and enjoyed them very much. Although I don't know about E.T...
> >Probably the only reason I'd try that is to see just how bad it really
> >is.
>
> The funny thing is, E.T. isn't THAT bad. It at least made sense which
> is more than can be said for the Raiders of the Lost Ark game (which
> was programmed by the same guy and is part of the reason he got the
> gig as the programmer for E.T.). To this day I have no idea what the
> hell is going on in RotLA.

I was going to say the same thing. For as much criticism as E.T. gets, it
was actually very straightforward. There were six "rooms" all connected like
the sides of a die. Four of the rooms (horizontally connected) had pits
where you tried to find the three pieces of the phone. The top room was the
city (IIRC), where the FBI Agent, Scientist, and Elliott came from, and the
bottom room was the forest where you waited for the ship to arrive.
Considering how little time he had to create and program the game, I thought
Warshaw did a good job. The game roughly followed the plot of the movie, had
the music and a title screen (rare in those days) and was easy for kids to
play...except for falling in the pits a little too often. And I liked the
idea of icons representing various "zones" in each room-- the call Elliott
zone, the send Scientist back zone, the find phone piece zone, etc. It's not
a masterpiece by any means, but it definitely isn't the worst game of all
time.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, on the other hand, had a steep learning curve. I
remember it was one of the first Atari games where they had to set up a
hotline and would mail out a hint guide, because so many people didn't
understand what was going on. I loved it, though, once I figured it out. To
me, it was the natural successor to Adventure--similar ideas, but with an
inventory system and a larger playing field. How old were you when you
played it? Perhaps that had something to do with it. I think I was 15 or 16,
so I didn't find it confusing at all, but younger kids couldn't figure it
out.
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

"Android" <androvich@NOcomcastSPAM.net> wrote in message
news:n9Kuc.25125$4A6.20186@attbi_s52...
>
> I was going to say the same thing. For as much criticism as E.T. gets, it
> was actually very straightforward. There were six "rooms" all connected
like
> the sides of a die. Four of the rooms (horizontally connected) had pits
> where you tried to find the three pieces of the phone. The top room was
the
> city (IIRC), where the FBI Agent, Scientist, and Elliott came from, and
the
> bottom room was the forest where you waited for the ship to arrive.
> Considering how little time he had to create and program the game, I
thought
> Warshaw did a good job. The game roughly followed the plot of the movie,
had
> the music and a title screen (rare in those days) and was easy for kids to
> play...except for falling in the pits a little too often. And I liked the
> idea of icons representing various "zones" in each room-- the call Elliott
> zone, the send Scientist back zone, the find phone piece zone, etc. It's
not
> a masterpiece by any means, but it definitely isn't the worst game of all
> time.

All I remember about E.T. was continually falling into the pits and making
E.T.'s head extend...I had no idea what the hell was going on, what I was
supposed to do, any of that. Talk about no fun. Indy was bad, but at least I
could whip tse tse flies and buy items and some basic stuff-although I
didn't know what the hell was going on there either.
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

I did not have an 2600 as a kid- I had a Commodore 64 (my dad first bought
a Sinclair computer). My cousin though had one. I remember playing ET, or
watching my cousin play it, I can't remember which. It didn't seem that bad
of a game. Raiders of the Lost Ark made no sense- you could only vaguely
tell what was going on. I really liked MASH, though, that was great. I had
an Atari emulator and while back and I played all those old games. I don't
really understand why ET got the bad press it got. Sure, it was wierd and
quite possibly overrated (and overpriced) but the same can be said about
most Atari 2600 games. The machine just didn't have the power to make very
engaging games.
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

I loved it, though, once I figured it out. To
> me, it was the natural successor to Adventure--similar ideas, but with an
> inventory system and a larger playing field.


Now thats funny, I used to play adventure like a madman!! I think i
was like 7 or 8 back then adn would sit in front of the tv and play it
all day! I just read an article on it the other day, and how alot of
the makers of atari games were on serious drugs while they came up
with some of the games. Adventure had to be one of them! lol!!!
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

There were many engaging games back then, many people just forget how much
fun they were...
As lame as Atari Pacman, Combat, Yars Revenge, Space Invaders etc appear to
be now, back in their day they were addictive fun games.
Back when games were fun and could be played for weeks on end and still not
lose their appeal...
I personally think the best game that came out on the Atari 2600 was what
came with it... Combat......

Cheers
Microbot

"Magnulus" <magnulus@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:ccMuc.15175$Yf6.5136@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> I did not have an 2600 as a kid- I had a Commodore 64 (my dad first
bought
> a Sinclair computer). My cousin though had one. I remember playing ET,
or
> watching my cousin play it, I can't remember which. It didn't seem that
bad
> of a game. Raiders of the Lost Ark made no sense- you could only vaguely
> tell what was going on. I really liked MASH, though, that was great. I
had
> an Atari emulator and while back and I played all those old games. I
don't
> really understand why ET got the bad press it got. Sure, it was wierd and
> quite possibly overrated (and overpriced) but the same can be said about
> most Atari 2600 games. The machine just didn't have the power to make
very
> engaging games.
>
>
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

In article <40bc4ff5$0$31675$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>, Microbot wrote:
> There were many engaging games back then, many people just forget how much
> fun they were...
> As lame as Atari Pacman, Combat, Yars Revenge, Space Invaders etc appear to
> be now, back in their day they were addictive fun games.
> Back when games were fun and could be played for weeks on end and still not
> lose their appeal...
> I personally think the best game that came out on the Atari 2600 was what
> came with it... Combat......

Good game. Frogger is still my favorite Atari game, though.

Anyone remember Utopia on the Aquarius? Cool god game.

--
Neil Cerutti
"I know you're up here Tina. I can smell your
brain." --Return of the Living Dead
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

"Microbot" <dolbydigitalREMOVE@optushome.com.au> wrote in message
news:40bc4ff5$0$31675$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
> There were many engaging games back then, many people just forget how much
> fun they were...

My mom used to drop us kids off at school, come home, and play Pac-Man with
the neighbor's mom until they had to pick us up from school...
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

"Microbot" <dolbydigitalREMOVE@optushome.com.au> wrote in message news:<40bc4ff5$0$31675$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>...
> There were many engaging games back then, many people just forget how much
> fun they were...
> As lame as Atari Pacman, Combat, Yars Revenge, Space Invaders etc appear to
> be now, back in their day they were addictive fun games.
> Back when games were fun and could be played for weeks on end and still not
> lose their appeal...
> I personally think the best game that came out on the Atari 2600 was what
> came with it... Combat......
>
> Cheers
> Microbot

Combat was great! I was in Heaven the day they released Asteroids for
the Atari 2600.

Anyone over 30 will likely attest that just HAVING a game system at
home was surreal (when they first came out). The thing is, if a game
was good back then, it's pretty likely that it will still be good
today. It seems to me that many of the next gen developers are missing
one simple point: gameplay first, everything else second.

I mean, how many hours did you log into Space Invaders? I think a full
year of my life can be counted in quarters I spent.
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

eli@pantheon.net (Eli) wrote in message news:<f0a5dfa0.0405302027.3a41f1c9@posting.google.com>...

> Probably the only reason I'd try that is to see just how bad it really
> is.

I didn't mean this like it sounded. It meant to go more like this:
"I'd like to try E.T. to see what all this fuss is about."


mjay25@msn.com (Miles Noe) wrote in message news:<e94f0973.0406011155.113b7490@posting.google.com>...

> I just read an article on it the other day, and how alot of
> the makers of atari games were on serious drugs while they came up
> with some of the games. Adventure had to be one of them! lol!!!

Yeah, they would smoke pot at most of their meetings in Grass Valley.
True fact! At least, that's what I read in "The Ultimate History of
Video Games."
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games (More info?)

I'd have to agree there, Just to HAVE a games system at your house was
something that felt like it was too good to be true. Not the common thing
thats taken for granted today.
It was a time where Video Amusement machines ruled and it was only at places
such as corner shops where you could play such games as Pacman, Galaga,
Donkey Kong and Space Invaders.
It was not possible to play anything like these games at home until the
Atari 2600 VGS hit the shelf aimed at the home user, it was a dream come
true........
Games for it were not quite as attractive as what the Arcade had to offer,
but then again Arcade games were not that attractive or complex either,
which is no doubt why so many games did so well on the 2600....
Back then GAMES were FUN!!

I think I had just about every addon peripheral for the Atari 2600, Paddles
were annoying but needed for some games such as Indy 500, the numeric pad
was not used very often...
Even had a Keyboard for typing, used for that wonderful programming
cartridge which had no option to save what you had entered. lol
I think i went through over 20 hand controllers, they didn't last long.
Still have an original controller here somewhere... (They look great)

Cheers
Microbot

"Fizzlestix" <fizzlestix@metallica.com> wrote in message
news:24b523c1.0406011058.16c49909@posting.google.com...
> "Microbot" <dolbydigitalREMOVE@optushome.com.au> wrote in message
news:<40bc4ff5$0$31675$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>...
> > There were many engaging games back then, many people just forget how
much
> > fun they were...
> > As lame as Atari Pacman, Combat, Yars Revenge, Space Invaders etc appear
to
> > be now, back in their day they were addictive fun games.
> > Back when games were fun and could be played for weeks on end and still
not
> > lose their appeal...
> > I personally think the best game that came out on the Atari 2600 was
what
> > came with it... Combat......
> >
> > Cheers
> > Microbot
>
> Combat was great! I was in Heaven the day they released Asteroids for
> the Atari 2600.
>
> Anyone over 30 will likely attest that just HAVING a game system at
> home was surreal (when they first came out). The thing is, if a game
> was good back then, it's pretty likely that it will still be good
> today. It seems to me that many of the next gen developers are missing
> one simple point: gameplay first, everything else second.
>
> I mean, how many hours did you log into Space Invaders? I think a full
> year of my life can be counted in quarters I spent.
 
Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games (More info?)

"Microbot" <dolbydigitalREMOVE@optushome.com.au> wrote in message
news:40bc4ff5$0$31675$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
> As lame as Atari Pacman, Combat, Yars Revenge, Space Invaders etc appear
to
> be now, back in their day they were addictive fun games.

Personally, I think that Atari's Space Invaders version was better than
the original one. A true classic. Just the sound itself, the excellent
marching sound of the aliens made the difference.

Gus!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom