4 ms·

Keeping in mind how ridiculously primitive and cumbersome Atari 2600 was to program on, I think it's actually remarkable how functional E.T. is (adding in the t

by h3mb3 4y ago

Keeping in mind how ridiculously primitive and cumbersome Atari 2600 was to program on, I think it's actually remarkable how functional E.T. is (adding in the time pressure and all). I never got around to read Racing the Beam [1] but Retro Game Mechanics Explained on YouTube has a good demonstration [2] on how the graphics programming seemed like a nightmare compared to later computers and game consoles. Just positioning things on screen required calculating machine cycles of other preceeding instructions. Refactoring must've been fun. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_the_Beam https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_the_Beam [2] https://youtu.be/sJFnWZH5FXc https://youtu.be/sJFnWZH5FXc

raverbashing 4y ago
Yes, that video made me... annoyied It's like the video unit actually made things harder. Even for the technology of the time and what they wanted to do, it could be better.
coredog64 4y ago
I have fond memories of many 2600 titles that are contenders for the title of “worst video game”: E.T., Superman, and Pac-Man Not to get all grumpy old man, but the alternative was pumping quarters into one of two machines at the local ice cream parlor or begging my parents to endure Chuck E. Cheese. The reality is that these games were entertaining and a reasonable substitute for goods that were economically out of reach.
- squarefoot 4y ago
  > I have fond memories of many 2600 titles that are contenders for the title of “worst video game”: E.T., Superman, and Pac-Man A lot of famous movie themed games sucked back then because of the same reason: game producers wanted to easily cash on fans wanting to purchase anything with that movie title on, and with usually a very short time span at disposal before the craze waned, they put together the smallest crap necessary to allow that title on the box. I soon learned to ignore any game taken from famous movies, except the Indiana Jones themes ones later on the Amiga, but they already had a functioning engine and making a point and click adventure was just a matter of design following some movie parts plots and aesthetics.
- rufus_foreman 4y ago
  I spent many hours in 1982 doing yard work to buy Pac-Man for the 2600, and for me not only was it not a reasonable substitute for the arcade version, it was cromulent enough to disabuse me of the notion of working to buy things for a decade or so. I guess I was a grumpy young kid. Plus, didn't you have 7-11's where you lived?

by h3mb3 4y ago

raverbashing 4y ago

Yes, that video made me... annoyied It's like the video unit actually made things harder. Even for the technology of the time and what they wanted to do, it could be better.

coredog64 4y ago

I have fond memories of many 2600 titles that are contenders for the title of “worst video game”: E.T., Superman, and Pac-Man Not to get all grumpy old man, but the alternative was pumping quarters into one of two machines at the local ice cream parlor or begging my parents to endure Chuck E. Cheese. The reality is that these games were entertaining and a reasonable substitute for goods that were economically out of reach.

squarefoot 4y ago
> I have fond memories of many 2600 titles that are contenders for the title of “worst video game”: E.T., Superman, and Pac-Man A lot of famous movie themed games sucked back then because of the same reason: game producers wanted to easily cash on fans wanting to purchase anything with that movie title on, and with usually a very short time span at disposal before the craze waned, they put together the smallest crap necessary to allow that title on the box. I soon learned to ignore any game taken from famous movies, except the Indiana Jones themes ones later on the Amiga, but they already had a functioning engine and making a point and click adventure was just a matter of design following some movie parts plots and aesthetics.
rufus_foreman 4y ago
I spent many hours in 1982 doing yard work to buy Pac-Man for the 2600, and for me not only was it not a reasonable substitute for the arcade version, it was cromulent enough to disabuse me of the notion of working to buy things for a decade or so. I guess I was a grumpy young kid. Plus, didn't you have 7-11's where you lived?