Old Tyme Arcade games!

Anyone here ever play any of these?

I've played all of them at some point. I like Battlezone. I was horrid at Pac Man. Remember Dig Dug?

I've played all of them at some point. I like Battlezone. I was horrid at Pac Man. Remember Dig Dug?

I may have seen Dig Dug-- I don't remember.

At the time I thought that Battlezone was one of the most interesting-- and presented some interesting challenges. (I got bored with Pac Man after a while...)

At the time, very few people I knew had ever played Battlezone-- many had never even heard of it.

After my time. I was a pinball player.

Interestingly, while the game arcades are long gone, a "new" trend is happening, a "new" type of game arcade. And-- its pinball! Its actually starting to be revived. (Less mechanical & more electronic gizmos-- but pinball machines are starting to come back. I don't know how popular they will become though).

And a while back I heard old-fashioned bowling alleys are coming back as well...

I had a pinball machne in my rec room. It was not one of the electronic ones, but the old-fashioned one that had a couple of flippers at the bottom of the area that flipped that ball back up again. Lots of bells and the clicking of the score advances. My brother had a baseball one, and I spent a lot of my time enjoying playing them. It was an ongoing expense however, because it did break down now and then, and there not many people who could fix them.

I used to play Pac-Man, which I think must have been on my first computer, a Commodore 64.

i think part of the fun with the old (mechanical) ones was the action on the levels, and the noises they made.

Have you ever heard of Pachinko? I used to own one for years, but gave it away. (Totally mechanical-- no electricity at all. It mounts vertically on the wall). I regret  giving it away - its probably worth a lot of money now.

CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia

Wiki article: link

I was never familiar with Pachinko.  This is typical of the vintage mechanical Gottlieb pinball machine I owned.

When I was stationed on Okinawa, Pachinko Parlors were very popular.......in out barracks, we had a couple pinball machines and then one of the early Pacman tabletop machines.  We found that pointing a degausser device at the coin return, would advance credits on the machine......

We also had a soda machine and a beer machine......

I used to make good use of the beer machine as well-- it was one of my favourites!

But did you have one of these??  

Ice cold whiskey out of a vending machine...boy have times changed!

I don't remember those--- but they look like fun!

We had a beer can dispensing machine in our barracks next to the soda machine. Put in your quarters and select your brand. The only problem was that the beer was 3.2 beer and not full strength. Most of the beer sold on base was 3.2.

We had a beer can dispensing machine in our barracks next to the soda machine. Put in your quarters and select your brand. The only problem was that the beer was 3.2 beer and not full strength. Most of the beer sold on base was 3.2.

I've heard that  the people most into machining "unusal" things are the Japanese-- apparently they have vending machines that dispense all sort of strange stuff. (When I get a chance I will google that).

When I was stationed on Okinawa, Pachinko Parlors were very popular.......in out barracks, we had a couple pinball machines and then one of the early Pacman tabletop machines.  We found that pointing a degausser device at the coin return, would advance credits on the machine......

We also had a soda machine and a beer machine......

People have all sorts of electronic devices for human use-- but I wonder-- how many actually had computer games for their pets?

Cats playing "Game for Cats" with Apple iPad

Two Siberian cats like to play "Game for Cats" with Apple iPad
Note that the iPad has Invisible Shield screen protector.

Siperiankissat leikkivät iPadillä
iPadissa on Invisible Shield suojamuovit.

Cats are:
Aq-Bars Ace of Spades, Ässä
Aq-Bars Barbarit'zka, Karkki

My cats would LOVE this game!!!  What cuties!

They are really cute cats.

I love the way the brown one, after failing to catch the creature on top of the iPod, keeps putting his paw under the iPad-- to try to catch it underneath! 

I used to play Pac-Man, which I think must have been on my first computer, a Commodore 64.

You were ahead of me-- my first computer was a 386 (it had Windows, but only 2 MB of Ram-- not enough to run Windows. I only use DOS programmes at first). Never did games. Only Wordperfect 5.1, DB III+, and Lotus 123. Also did programming with GW Basic. Harvard Graphics 3.0.

[I played the video games in arcades....]

My first computer was a TRS-80, and it didn't have enough memory for those arcade style games.  I was lucky it had ping pong...

My first computer was a TRS-80

I had heard of it but never actually seen one. I found information about it on Old Computers.net:

TRS-80:
T=Tandy
RS=Radio Shack
80=Z-80 microprocessor 

Where's the computer? It's in the keyboard! As one of the first home computers ever, the TRS-80 was a great success. Tandy wasn't expecting many sales, but this, their first computer, sold 10,000 units in the first month alone. It includes everything you need to have a real computer of your very own - the computer, monitor and cassette deck for loading and saving data. 


Yes, these were the days when you bought, loaded and saved your data and programs on cassette tapes. 

Floppy disk drives didn't come into common use until (Cont'd HERE)

I had a TRS-80 model 3.  It cost $1800 and I took out a loan on my house to buy it-- I want to say that was 1982 or 1983...   Slow was the game and no memory was the name.  Only 64K memory.  You couldn't do crap with it, except basic programming in basic, even the programs I bought from Radio Shack designed to work on it didn't.  That should have told me something...  

What I loved about Pacman is he at3e all day long and never gained an ounce!

E.

P.S. A Zissen Pesach forthcoming.

I really prefer the Chukkah latkes and Purim homentashen to the Pesach menu, but then we must remember what the Jews escaping from Egypt had to eat.

OK, I'm ignorant.  I always thought that God sent them manna from heaven.  And that it was wonderful!  In my mind, I always thought it was sweet like sweetened with honey, and sort of like a bread fruit, but full of energizing protein...  I always thought of it as easy to gather and a glorious Gift from God.  I never really thought that it would be awful to eat...

So, where did I go wrong?

OK, I'm ignorant.  I always thought that God sent them manna from heaven.  And that it was wonderful!  In my mind, I always thought it was sweet like sweetened with honey, and sort of like a bread fruit, but full of energizing protein...  I always thought of it as easy to gather and a glorious Gift from God.  I never really thought that it would be awful to eat...

Perhaps you were in the wrong part of the desert-- did you, by any chance, forget to bring your GPS?

Funny!!!

Every day I learn something new that I thought I already knew...  

I used to play Pac-Man, which I think must have been on my first computer, a Commodore 64.

A while back I discovered an excellent site about old computers: 

oldcomputers.net

Its great for looking up a specific computer, but also a lot of fun just to browse. Here's part of their entry re: the Commodore 64:

Although it looks like an unimpessive keyboard-like box, the  Commodore 64  was incredibly popular. More C64s have been sold than any other single computer system, even to this day. That's about 17 million systems, according to the Commodore 1993 Annual Report. 

In a  1989 interview , Sam Tramiel, then-president of Commodore, said that "When I was at Commodore we were building 400,000 C64s a month for a couple of years." 

The C64 looks nearly identical to the  Commodore VIC-20 , released in 1981. They are similar, but the C64 is more powerful with more features. 

The C64's microprocessors support two high-resolution graphic modes, smooth scrolling, "sprites", bit mapping, character collision resolution and character mapped graphics, not to mention three . . .  ( Cont'd HERE )

Does any of this bring back memories?

More about the popular Commodore:

Although it looks like an unimpressive keyboard-like box, the  Commodore 64  was incredibly popular. More C64s have been sold than any other single computer system, even to this day.

"Does any of this bring back memories?"

Yeah, it does. I remember that in storage I probably have a bunch of those old 5 1/4 inch floppy disks, but I don't have anything that will play them left.

. I remember that in storage I probably have a bunch of those old 5 1/4 inch floppy disks, but I don't have anything that will play them left.

I saved one old 5 1/4" floppy from long ago (must've been the late 1970's..?). And of course I also don't have anything that can read it. 

The first computers I owned always had internal drive for the newer 3 1/2" floppies. But the recent ones don't have that anymore. I recent threw out a few boxes of 3 1/2 " ones, knowing I'd never look at them again. (Several had some original programmes I wrote long ago-- in GW Basic programming language!)

My previous laptops always had internal CD & DVD drives, but the latest model I have (about 4 years old now) doesn't. Which is good actually, it makes it much lighter. 

Disk drives are no longer necessary. A tiny flash drive (memory stick) can store the Encyclopedia Britannica and the whole of Beethoven's works (thanks to Israel where they were invented). I've seen that cars now have USB sockets to accommodate them.

Does any of this bring back memories?

Of course it does.

I used to play Pac-Man, which I think must have been on my first computer, a Commodore 64.

Playing in arcades was fun..but so was playing at home on computers or game consoles.

Which reminds me of this video satire ( Downfall - 2004 film* ). Its an oldie, some some of the technologies referenced are pretty much obsolete):

Hitler gets banned from Xbox Live

___________________________________________________

*  Downfall  ( German :  Der Untergang ) is a 2004  German - Italian - Austrian   historical   war   drama film  depicting the final ten days of  Adolf Hitler 's rule over  Nazi Germany  in 1945. It was based on several histories of the period. The film was directed by  Oliver Hirschbiegel , and written and produced by  Bernd Eichinger . The film received critical acclaim upon release and was nominated for the  Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film .

Hitler gets banned from Xbox Live

That link no longer works-- here's one that does:

Pac-Man succeeded by creating a new genre and appealing to both genders.[12] Pac-Man is often credited with being a landmark in video game history, and is among the most famous arcade games of all time.

The character also appears in more than 30 officially licensed game spin-offs, as well as in numerous unauthorized clones and bootlegs. According to the Davie-Brown Index, Pac-Man has the highest brand awareness of any video game character among American consumers, recognized by 94 percent of them.

Pac-Man is one of the longest running video game franchises from the golden age of video arcade games, and one of only three video games that are on display at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. (along with Pong and Dragon's Lair).

It was the first one I ever played. But I never got to the higher levels because I discovered others I found to be more interesting.

These were so much fun!  I've played all 4 of your examples, and loved them!

I chose the first three because I remember them as being very popular-- and Battlezone because it became my favourite (although I didn't think it was as well known).

There was a place with battlezone near where I lived-- I went there and played 7 days/week! I was definitely addicted. 

It was also the only one where I became good enough to get to the really high score levels, and as with many games the higher levels got really interesting. Battlezone was also the only one where I became good enough to enter the "High Score" -- which was quite a thrill the first time I did it!

I never got to enter a high score on these kinds of games...  On pinball, yes, but not these.  But I had fun, and that was the purpose!!!

I was never really good on any of these (except for Battlezone) because I didn't play them often enough. The main reason I was able to score so high on Battlezone is that I played it every day.

But something else probably helped as well-- the location where it was was never very crowded--  there weren't a really large number of people playing games there. So-- I guess I didn't have much competition for "high score" at that locale! 

(I had also played some pinball at times, but for whatever reason, I never got as involved with pinball as I did with these electronic arcade games),

I was never really good on any of these (except for Battlezone) because I didn't play them often enough. The main reason I was able to score so high on Battlezone is that I played it every day.

But something else probably helped as well-- the location where it was was never very crowded--  there weren't a really large number of people playing games there. So-- I guess I didn't have much competition for "high score" at that locale! 

(I had also played some pinball at times, but for whatever reason, I never got as involved with pinball as I did with these electronic arcade games),

Phoenix Arcade game - Comment #1 of 2

One of my favourite Arcade Games was Phoenix. At lower levels it looked a bit similar to "Space Invaders" but as you got to higher levels it got very complex. Also occasionally unpredictable-- it required great skill & could be very nerve-wracking!

Part of Phoenix description from Wikipedia ( Link ):

Phoenix  is an outer space-themed, fixed shooter video game similar to Taito's  Space Invaders  and released in 1980. The game's developer is unknown. According to Centuri's Joel Hochberg, the game was licensed from "a smaller Japanese developer." ^[1]  Amstar Electronics (which was located in Phoenix, Arizona) ^[2]  licensed the game to Centuri for manufacture in the United States. Taito released the game in Japan. ^{[3] [4]}

The  Phoenix  mothership is one of the first video arcade game bosses to be presented as a separate challenge. ^[5]  This was before the term  boss  was coined.

Wiki explanation of "Boss" (Link):

In video gaming, a  boss  is a significant computer-controlled enemy. ^[1]  A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a  boss battle  or  boss fight . Boss battles are generally seen at the climax of a particular section of the game, usually at the end of a stage or level, or guarding a specific objective, and the boss enemy is generally far stronger than the opponents the player has faced up to that point. ^[2]

 A boss enemy is quite often larger in size than other enemies and the player character. ^[3]  Most commonly, bosses are very hard or impossible to defeat without knowing the correct fighting approach. Bosses take strategy and special knowledge to defeat, such as how to attack weak points or avoiding specific attacks.

The "Boss" (in Phoenix it was the Mothership)  made it a fascinating challenge-- and IMO one of the games with the biggest "Adrenaline-rushes"!

[More on this game-- plus an actual video-- in next comment re: Phoenix]

Phoenix Arcade game - Comment #2 of 2  

Wiki explanation of "Boss" (Link):

In video gaming, a  boss  is a significant computer-controlled enemy. ^[1]

Most commonly, bosses are very hard or impossible to defeat without knowing the correct fighting approach. Bosses take strategy and special knowledge to defeat, such as how to attack weak points or avoiding specific attacks.

The "Boss" (in Phoenix it was the Mothership)  made it a fascinating challenge-- and IMO one of the games with the biggest "Adrenaline-rushes"!

The  Phoenix  mothership is one of the first video arcade game  bosses  to be presented as a separate challenge.

More from Wikipedia:

 The ship is equipped with a shield that can be used to zap any of the alien creatures that attempt to crash into the spaceship. The player cannot move while the shield is active and must wait approximately five seconds before using it again. 

Rounds 1 and 2  – The player must destroy a formation of alien birds. While in formation, some of the birds fly down  kamikaze  style, in an attempt to destroy the player's spaceship by crashing into it. Hitting a bird flying diagonally awards a bonus score. The birds are yellow in round 1, pink in round 2. The player's spaceship is given rapid fire for round 2, where the birds fly somewhat more unpredictably. These rounds are highly reminiscent of  Galaxian .

• • Rounds 3 and 4  – Flying eggs float on the screen and seconds later hatch, revealing larger alien birds, resembling  phoenices , which swoop down at the player's spaceship. The only way to fully destroy one of these birds is by hitting it in its belly; shooting one of its wings merely destroys that wing, and if both wings are destroyed, they will regenerate.
  • From time to time the birds may also revert to the egg form for a brief period. The birds are blue in round 3, pink in round 4.
  • Round 5  – The player is pitted against the mothership, which is controlled by an alien creature sitting in its center. To complete this round, the player must create a hole in the conveyor belt-type shield to get a clear shot at the alien.
  • Hitting the alien with a single shot ends the level. The mothership fires missiles at the player, moves slowly down towards him, and has alien birds (from rounds 1 and 2) protecting the ship. Defeating all of the birds will produce a new wave.
  • The game continues with increasing speed and unpredictability of the bird and phoenix flights.

-->[Video of the Game will be posted in my next comment]

PHOENIX ARCADE GAME - VIDEO (Cont'd from prior comment)

The game continues with increasing speed and unpredictability of the bird and phoenix flights.

Interesting!

A break from politics . . .

A break from politics . . .

Yup.

Pachinko

Pac-Man was fun

WARNING -  THIS SEED IS NON-POLITICAL

PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!