5 ms·

Secret Agent ftw! Wacky Wheels! Commander Keen!

staindk 4y ago
Will always have a soft spot for CK! My dad introduced me to Keen, Prince of Persia (and other classics like Doom and Wolfenstein etc.) when I was tiny. I still recall how he contrasted the comical/arcade-y movement in Keen to the "realistic" movement in PoP. I was 3 or 4 years old, mind. It was great to see this [1] on HN the other day - it led me to this [2] video which kind of served to explain to my dad and I how he got the movement so right. Sorry weird tangent. Two other games I remember enjoying was The Incredible Machine and Chip's Challenge. TIM was amazing! Must remember to dig that out if I ever have kids. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32538026 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32538026 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbk5qH2-1S8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbk5qH2-1S8
- Mezzie 4y ago
  I believe both TIM and Chip's Challenge are available on Archive to play in browser. The first game I remember playing on my own is the first Commander Keen. I was very proud of being able to start and run it on my own from DOS (I was 3; using a text-only input mode is difficult when you're pre-literate!)
marginalia_nu 4y ago
Commander Keen was the first game I ever played. Took me a long while to figure out he had a raygun. Shooting was some weird combination of inputs, like ctrl+space, not the first thing you try. ... also * Raptor: Call of the Shadows. * Magus. * Jill of the jungle. * Mystic Towers. * Terminal Velocity. The Psygnosis logo was legit the coolest thing I ever saw when I was single digit years old.
- thesuperbigfrog 4y ago
  >> Shooting was some weird combination of inputs, like ctrl+space, not the first thing you try. Ctrl - jump Alt - pogo stick (after you obtained it) Ctrl Alt (pressed at the same time) - fire blaster If you did not time it well you could end up doing an "advanced" pogo high jump (by pressing Alt just before Ctrl) when you intended to zap a Vorticon. Commander Keen 4 improved the controls with a dedicated fire button. It also had one of the best control schemes, gameplay, and art for that generation of platform games.
- ethbr0 4y ago
  Yes! I get the intent of link's list as little-known games, but Command Keen (and the precursor id team) and Escape Velocity feel like they should at least be mentioned. They're far enough back a lot of people won't be aware of them, yet modern enough they're still playable.
- LegitShady 4y ago
  I bought raptor on steam a while back...

Will always have a soft spot for CK! My dad introduced me to Keen, Prince of Persia (and other classics like Doom and Wolfenstein etc.) when I was tiny. I still recall how he contrasted the comical/arcade-y movement in Keen to the "realistic" movement in PoP. I was 3 or 4 years old, mind. It was great to see this [1] on HN the other day - it led me to this [2] video which kind of served to explain to my dad and I how he got the movement so right. Sorry weird tangent. Two other games I remember enjoying was The Incredible Machine and Chip's Challenge. TIM was amazing! Must remember to dig that out if I ever have kids. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32538026 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32538026 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbk5qH2-1S8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbk5qH2-1S8

Mezzie 4y ago
I believe both TIM and Chip's Challenge are available on Archive to play in browser. The first game I remember playing on my own is the first Commander Keen. I was very proud of being able to start and run it on my own from DOS (I was 3; using a text-only input mode is difficult when you're pre-literate!)

marginalia_nu 4y ago

Commander Keen was the first game I ever played. Took me a long while to figure out he had a raygun. Shooting was some weird combination of inputs, like ctrl+space, not the first thing you try. ... also * Raptor: Call of the Shadows. * Magus. * Jill of the jungle. * Mystic Towers. * Terminal Velocity. The Psygnosis logo was legit the coolest thing I ever saw when I was single digit years old.

thesuperbigfrog 4y ago
>> Shooting was some weird combination of inputs, like ctrl+space, not the first thing you try. Ctrl - jump Alt - pogo stick (after you obtained it) Ctrl Alt (pressed at the same time) - fire blaster If you did not time it well you could end up doing an "advanced" pogo high jump (by pressing Alt just before Ctrl) when you intended to zap a Vorticon. Commander Keen 4 improved the controls with a dedicated fire button. It also had one of the best control schemes, gameplay, and art for that generation of platform games.
ethbr0 4y ago
Yes! I get the intent of link's list as little-known games, but Command Keen (and the precursor id team) and Escape Velocity feel like they should at least be mentioned. They're far enough back a lot of people won't be aware of them, yet modern enough they're still playable.
LegitShady 4y ago
I bought raptor on steam a while back...