4 ms·

Here be four bits of dragons: the Mattel D&D Computer Game and the TMS1100

106 points by zdw 4y ago

nappy-doo 4y ago
I recently sold my copy of this game on BGG (35$?). Before selling it, my kids and I booted it up, and played it a few times, and it was still just as fun as I remember it being (which was nostalgically great for me, but just meh for the kids). I never bothered to open it up and see what was inside it. Cool post.
mmastrac 4y ago
Is it possible to read out the mask ROM on this chip without physically decapping it?
- classichasclass 4y ago
  (author) Unlikely, because the ROM contents are never emitted on any of the chip's lines. Perhaps in the future we can image chips without having to wreck them.
- djmips 4y ago
  Made difficult with the Harvard architecture.
- userbinator 4y ago
  If it's metal mask, it might be possible with sufficiently high-resolution x-ray imaging.
  - userbinator 4y ago
    Look at mask ROM design if you don't believe me. Metal shows up very contrastingly in x-ray images.
    - mmastrac 4y ago
      I'd love to figure out a shop that can do something like this for another chip I was hoping to read-out - one of the ones used for the old 1980's Casio keyboards.
robgering 4y ago
I played the Intellivision D&D game (briefly mentioned in the article) when I was about six years old. Scared the bejeezus out of me. I’ve never forgotten the creepy synth “music”. Somehow the Dracula game, which was ostensibly scarier, didn’t bother me at all, but the D&D synths left me shook.
- WillPostForFood 4y ago
  You can play the Intellivision D&D game at the Internet Archive. You need a keyboard with a number pad to emulate the Intellivision controller (you could possible remap in the emulator settings). The music is pretty creepy. https://archive.org/details/intv_Advanced_Dungeons_and_Dragons_1982_Mattel https://archive.org/details/intv_Advanced_Dungeons_and_Drago...
  - StanislavPetrov 4y ago
    The Intellivision controller was ahead of its time. The overlays it came with for different games really added to the gameplay.
didntreadarticl 4y ago
I had this when I was 8! It was actually really good. Quite complicated and innovative. You press on the square you want to go to and if there's a wall in the way it makes a noise. Really felt like creeping around in the dark. You had to really think about what was going on to not lose track of where you were. There was an advanced mode with 'doors' that were sometimes there and sometimes not. There was a slow creepy 'you have woken the dragon noise' that really let you know you were in trouble
gavinmckenzie 4y ago
Oh man, I got this for Christmas when I was 13 and spent nearly all of the holiday playing it. It was absolutely amazing, for 13 year old me. While my game is long gone, I still have the little metal figurines of the dragon and the treasure chest.

106 points by zdw 4y ago

I recently sold my copy of this game on BGG (35$?). Before selling it, my kids and I booted it up, and played it a few times, and it was still just as fun as I remember it being (which was nostalgically great for me, but just meh for the kids). I never bothered to open it up and see what was inside it. Cool post.

mmastrac 4y ago

Is it possible to read out the mask ROM on this chip without physically decapping it?

classichasclass 4y ago
(author) Unlikely, because the ROM contents are never emitted on any of the chip's lines. Perhaps in the future we can image chips without having to wreck them.
djmips 4y ago
Made difficult with the Harvard architecture.
userbinator 4y ago
If it's metal mask, it might be possible with sufficiently high-resolution x-ray imaging.
- userbinator 4y ago
  Look at mask ROM design if you don't believe me. Metal shows up very contrastingly in x-ray images.
  - mmastrac 4y ago
    I'd love to figure out a shop that can do something like this for another chip I was hoping to read-out - one of the ones used for the old 1980's Casio keyboards.

robgering 4y ago

I played the Intellivision D&D game (briefly mentioned in the article) when I was about six years old. Scared the bejeezus out of me. I’ve never forgotten the creepy synth “music”. Somehow the Dracula game, which was ostensibly scarier, didn’t bother me at all, but the D&D synths left me shook.

WillPostForFood 4y ago
You can play the Intellivision D&D game at the Internet Archive. You need a keyboard with a number pad to emulate the Intellivision controller (you could possible remap in the emulator settings). The music is pretty creepy. https://archive.org/details/intv_Advanced_Dungeons_and_Dragons_1982_Mattel https://archive.org/details/intv_Advanced_Dungeons_and_Drago...
- StanislavPetrov 4y ago
  The Intellivision controller was ahead of its time. The overlays it came with for different games really added to the gameplay.

didntreadarticl 4y ago

I had this when I was 8! It was actually really good. Quite complicated and innovative. You press on the square you want to go to and if there's a wall in the way it makes a noise. Really felt like creeping around in the dark. You had to really think about what was going on to not lose track of where you were. There was an advanced mode with 'doors' that were sometimes there and sometimes not. There was a slow creepy 'you have woken the dragon noise' that really let you know you were in trouble

gavinmckenzie 4y ago

Oh man, I got this for Christmas when I was 13 and spent nearly all of the holiday playing it. It was absolutely amazing, for 13 year old me. While my game is long gone, I still have the little metal figurines of the dragon and the treasure chest.