4 ms·

Sierra Christmas Card 1986: A Computer Christmas

92 points by LeoPanthera 4y ago

alimov 4y ago
I really enjoy how a lot of the top posts on HN end up generating related posts. I dont know if this post was somewhat related to the “40 years of PC Mag” post or not but to me it seems related. Anyway thanks for sharing.
- LeoPanthera 4y ago
  Just a coincidence! I didn't have any other post in mind.
kristopolous 4y ago
Getting a virtual keyboard on the screen would be a useful feature for mobile. I know it's all open source. Maybe just an input box that captures keystrokes and proxies them over. That'd be the easiest. How hard can this be? (It's always important to not honestly answer that question with open source)
- shrimp_emoji 4y ago
  Mobile's always gotta ruin everything.
  - kergonath 4y ago
    You have it backwards. The majority of internet traffic comes from mobiles. If anything, it’s the other way around, and website designers assuming everyone uses a desktop computer that ruins it for most people.
    - shrimp_emoji 4y ago
      Right, but look at it this way: 1. I'm not using a real computer 2. I'm accessing something built for real computers 3. The solution is to morph the thing I'm accessing around the device with horrible physical input/output that I'm using At 2 of those steps (probably all 3), I think you've made a mistake. And, yeah, most people make all 3. That doesn't make them correct or the thing you're morphing to the lowest common denominator better. From the creators' perspective, it's not the other way around; you're probably not going to be coding on a phone, for example. You're probably coding things on a real computer. When you're creating something new, whether you should cater that thing to mobile or not is a different matter. (Odds are, though, it's probably going to be a better experience when consumed on a real computer, too, just like for creating it.)
      - kergonath 4y ago
        > 1. I'm not using a real computer It has a CPU, some RAM, and I/O devices. It is a real computer, by any definition of “computer”. Just maybe not in a form factor you like. > 2. I'm accessing something built for real computers By and large, it’s not the people accessing the web who build it. Web developers just follow their audience. > 3. The solution is to morph the thing I'm accessing around the device with horrible physical input/output that I'm using It is not horrible, merely different. Some things are hard to do on a touch screen and easy on a keyboard, and some others are the other way around. The thing is, mobile-friendly web design does not imply desktop-unfriendliness. In this case, it is easy to add an input to show the keyboard. Particularly compared to putting a whole emulator on the same page. It also would not change a thing for desktop users.
- someweirdperson 4y ago
  Couldn't the browser see that javascript has added a handler for keyboard events, and use that information to display a keybaoard?
banana_giraffe 4y ago
I always liked the 1988 version better. To my memory, it sounds more like the Sierra games I knew growing up. Sadly the archive.org emulation doesn't seem to include sound, but there are a few youtube videos of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tleEygmmikI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tleEygmmikI
- LeoPanthera 4y ago
  Yes, agreed. If you can find a copy of it, it works perfectly in ScummVM. I will certainly having it running on a loop on Christmas Day.
- jay-anderson 4y ago
  https://archive.org/details/sierra-christmas-card-1988 https://archive.org/details/sierra-christmas-card-1988 - It's on archive.org as well. When I tried it the music didn't work though.
  - khedoros1 4y ago
    I downloaded the card and ran it in my own copy of Dosbox. The music started working when I cut down the speed to about 1500 cycles/ms, down from the 3000 that Dosbox defaults to.
Kye 4y ago
Also interesting: A Tandy Bear Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPYmpf64OfA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPYmpf64OfA
hestefisk 4y ago
Ahh, Sierra. All the hours spent playing LSL1-2-3. CGA soft porn.
user3939382 4y ago
Wow you can even customize it with a message of your own :)
UberFly 4y ago
Unless you experienced it first-hand, it's hard to explain how magical these kind of things were in the 80's. All week long I'd look forward to getting to play Lode Runner, Ultima III, Wizardry, etc on the weekends.
Cockbrand 4y ago
"This program is hard disk installable and is meant to be run in the morning and left running all day" - well, given the musical capabilities of the PC beeper, this is certainly not for the easily annoyed.
MrYellowP 4y ago
Knowing how Sierra games work ... how many different ways of dying does it contain?

92 points by LeoPanthera 4y ago

I really enjoy how a lot of the top posts on HN end up generating related posts. I dont know if this post was somewhat related to the “40 years of PC Mag” post or not but to me it seems related. Anyway thanks for sharing.

LeoPanthera 4y ago
Just a coincidence! I didn't have any other post in mind.

kristopolous 4y ago

Getting a virtual keyboard on the screen would be a useful feature for mobile. I know it's all open source. Maybe just an input box that captures keystrokes and proxies them over. That'd be the easiest. How hard can this be? (It's always important to not honestly answer that question with open source)

shrimp_emoji 4y ago
Mobile's always gotta ruin everything.
- kergonath 4y ago
  You have it backwards. The majority of internet traffic comes from mobiles. If anything, it’s the other way around, and website designers assuming everyone uses a desktop computer that ruins it for most people.
  - shrimp_emoji 4y ago
    Right, but look at it this way: 1. I'm not using a real computer 2. I'm accessing something built for real computers 3. The solution is to morph the thing I'm accessing around the device with horrible physical input/output that I'm using At 2 of those steps (probably all 3), I think you've made a mistake. And, yeah, most people make all 3. That doesn't make them correct or the thing you're morphing to the lowest common denominator better. From the creators' perspective, it's not the other way around; you're probably not going to be coding on a phone, for example. You're probably coding things on a real computer. When you're creating something new, whether you should cater that thing to mobile or not is a different matter. (Odds are, though, it's probably going to be a better experience when consumed on a real computer, too, just like for creating it.)
    - kergonath 4y ago
      > 1. I'm not using a real computer It has a CPU, some RAM, and I/O devices. It is a real computer, by any definition of “computer”. Just maybe not in a form factor you like. > 2. I'm accessing something built for real computers By and large, it’s not the people accessing the web who build it. Web developers just follow their audience. > 3. The solution is to morph the thing I'm accessing around the device with horrible physical input/output that I'm using It is not horrible, merely different. Some things are hard to do on a touch screen and easy on a keyboard, and some others are the other way around. The thing is, mobile-friendly web design does not imply desktop-unfriendliness. In this case, it is easy to add an input to show the keyboard. Particularly compared to putting a whole emulator on the same page. It also would not change a thing for desktop users.
someweirdperson 4y ago
Couldn't the browser see that javascript has added a handler for keyboard events, and use that information to display a keybaoard?

banana_giraffe 4y ago

I always liked the 1988 version better. To my memory, it sounds more like the Sierra games I knew growing up. Sadly the archive.org emulation doesn't seem to include sound, but there are a few youtube videos of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tleEygmmikI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tleEygmmikI

LeoPanthera 4y ago
Yes, agreed. If you can find a copy of it, it works perfectly in ScummVM. I will certainly having it running on a loop on Christmas Day.
jay-anderson 4y ago
https://archive.org/details/sierra-christmas-card-1988 https://archive.org/details/sierra-christmas-card-1988 - It's on archive.org as well. When I tried it the music didn't work though.
- khedoros1 4y ago
  I downloaded the card and ran it in my own copy of Dosbox. The music started working when I cut down the speed to about 1500 cycles/ms, down from the 3000 that Dosbox defaults to.

Kye 4y ago

Also interesting: A Tandy Bear Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPYmpf64OfA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPYmpf64OfA

hestefisk 4y ago

Ahh, Sierra. All the hours spent playing LSL1-2-3. CGA soft porn.

user3939382 4y ago

Wow you can even customize it with a message of your own :)

UberFly 4y ago

Unless you experienced it first-hand, it's hard to explain how magical these kind of things were in the 80's. All week long I'd look forward to getting to play Lode Runner, Ultima III, Wizardry, etc on the weekends.

Cockbrand 4y ago

"This program is hard disk installable and is meant to be run in the morning and left running all day" - well, given the musical capabilities of the PC beeper, this is certainly not for the easily annoyed.

MrYellowP 4y ago

Knowing how Sierra games work ... how many different ways of dying does it contain?