Classic Pre-90s Arcade/Computer/PC/Console/Electronic Games - Share Your Memories!

[Digital-Nitrate]

After some of us old timers started reminiscing over some of the classic arcade and computer games in the Poll: How Old Is The Average GTP Member? thread, it was then that the idea for this thread was suggested by TheCracker.

I'll be glad to share my experience and love for classic arcade and computer games when time permits, but just to get this thread started here are some little bits of trivia about some of my experience in classic electronic games....

I had the opportunity to play old main frame games, including Spacewars, from a very young age, thanks to my *father's involvement in the development of computer programming at Dartmouth.

* One of his claims to fame was that he was the one that wrote the program LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) which he made for his first year physics students... it was later turned into Luner Lander by Atari and became a big hit in the arcades and on their consoles.

Another game he made for his students that also has been copied several times by game developers was Pot Shot. This was a 2-player game where you have two cannons, each randomly positions on a hill with a mountain between them, whose height is also randomly determined by the game. There is also randomly generated wind speed and direction. Finally, each player must take in account all these factors to decide what angle and how much gunpowder they must use in order to get the cannon ball to make it over the mountain and hit their opponent's cannon.

This early experience led to a heightened and lengthy interest in computer games and of course arcade games. Oddly enough I never really got into console games until I won a PS2 back in 2001 as part of a prize for winning the Championship Daytona Tournament at Dave & Busters.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

From the before mentioned thread:

51 here and yes I remember when "pong" came out. When I was young and wanted to play a game it was a pinball machine at the local bowling alley.

42 here, and I too have fond memories of Pong, and of pinball, but in pool halls. At the tender age of ten, I used to hustle rich Dartmouth students in both pool and pinball, much to the chagrin of my parents. I was particularly good at a pinball game called Crazy Eight, which had an 8-ball theme.

Thanks to my father I occasionally had access to the PDP in the Kiewit Computer Center so I was able to hustle me some computer nerds in Space Wars as well.

Computer games have certainly come a looooong way since then haven't they!

Any way, it is nice to see we have some elder members here. 👍

Pong?

I have fond memories of the bong, does that count?

Anyhoo, I'm 31, though I rarely act my age... works wonders for my job, though.

Pong, Joust, Pitfall, etc.... I remember the Atari 2600 when it first came out... I convinced my folks that we would save SOOOO much money because you didn't have to stick a quarter in it every time you wanted to play. That was about 1984 I believe..., now it's 23 years later and I have spent untold thousands on in house video games (to save money at the arcade... )

Coleco Vision, Comadore 64....great memories..., great memories.

I still have a Coleco Vision, working, at my parents house. What was that one game, Dr. something or another... and then there was Ladybug, which was fun.

And Joust is a great game... truly classic. I need to get a copy for my NES or GBA or something now

...or XBL or PSN if you have a 360 or PS3. I got the PS3 version for just $5 and quite impressed how it plays with the controller. 👍

One of my all-time favorite arcade games was Tempest (the first time I reached the invisible level I freaked! )

Unfortunately, playing Tempest with a keyboard, mouse, or controller is TERRIBLE! You really have to have a high quality spinner, like the original arcade version, to accurately control your "man". Because of that I'm seriously thinking of building a MAME arcade cabinet just so I can relive many of my favorite arcade games as they were originally designed to be played. 👍

I get warm fuzzy feelings reading your posts.... Those were good times....

It makes me feel good to know I'm not the only person that enjoys these old games. Despite all the glitz and glamour of today's games 16 color goodness always draws me back.

Good times 👍 i think we might require an Old Skool (Pre '90) Computer Games thread to take this further.

And I think that brings us up to date.

 

[CDailey]

Longest thread title ever?


The only oldskool game I ever really played was Pacman and the original Mario/Kong game.

 

[Azuremen]

I'll be heading up to my parents some time this weekend I believe... I'll get some pictures of the old Coleco Vision, and I have an Intellivision laying around somewhere as well, with a couple of the peripherals.

I use to play the crap out of Galaga at arcades up till... now, because I still do. Of course, I turned 5 in 1990, so my way back gaming is limited.

 

[Serge.D]

Mr.Du! was my favourite game in the '80s.

 

[socomplayer2]

The First System I got was a ps1 with GT1 back for x mas in 1998 when I was 8 years old. I was hooked from the very beginning.👍

 

[Azuremen]

The First System I got was a ps1 with GT1 back for x mas in 1998 when I was 8 years old. I was hooked from the very beginning.👍

Yes, but thats hardly pre 1990's, now is it

And thank you Serge.D for reminding of that game's name - "Dr. Du"!!

 

[Quiet_Storm]

Duck Hunt for the NES! That game was so much fun and I remember wanting to shoot the dog for laughing at me.

 

[Duke]

Don't forget the "Minimum Wage" thread...

Zaxxon was my game. I was never much good at Robotron or Defender, but I could run a game of Zaxxon forever. I was pretty good at Joust, too.

Dude - I pwned this game, too:

And even more so, the sequel, Race Drivin, which had the two tracks from the original Race Drivin (Speed and Stunt), plus a Super Stunt track and an Autocross course. I was all over the Super Stunt track. Race Drivin had without a doubt the best force feedback I felt between 1990 and when I bought my DFP in 2005.

You could drive a little thing like green Miata, or a red Ferrari clone, and maybe a yellow hot rod.

Ahhh, I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure it did. I always used to drive the Miatoid 'Roadster' with a manual trans. I still remember the first time I made it through the barrel roll part of the road - a big cork screw, no wider than the regular road, and with no guard rails. Over the Hump, and then into the full-pipe tunnel with the train in it, so you had to do an Italian Job number up the side to get around the train.

The thing about it was, it was a long course, and you got enough bonus time to do another lap if you were good. So as long as you could knock off consistent, fast laps, you could play forever. I spent many lunch hours of my first full time job playing the version on the right:

 

[Joey D]

Hard Drivin'! Oh man that brings back memories, I used to run home from grade school to play that on my Sega Genesis! That seriously just made my night.

 

[Kylehnat]

I wasn't allowed to have a video game console until I was 15. That first summer with N64 was completely wasted indoors . Nevertheless, I was always partial to Excitebike. Best 2-D motorcycle game EVAR!!!!

 

[YSSMAN]

Some of my fondest memories, oddly enough, came from the good ol' game Oregon Trail.

You remember, don't you?

...We always had fun in class putting each other in the game and seeing how quickly we would die-off. Better yet, shooting anything that moved when you needed to hunt. Rabbits, squirrels, buffalo, deer, etc...

Good times! Its a damn shame they haven't made a new one!

 

[Azuremen]

They have made some more updated versions of the game that escaped the super block era of graphics, I do believe. Either way, great game and lots of fun, killed quite a bit of time with it in school, I do believe... long long ago. Then I discovered Warcraft, but thats a different story :goofy:

And why are you still up, seriously? Go to sleep Brad I'm the forum insomniac, and this place dies right around now

 

[zoxxy]

Not really pre-90's, but Altered Beast.

"Welcome to your doom!"

 

[Greycap]

Mine don't probably classify as pre-90s either but they're definitely classics.

Beginning with the Wolfenstein 3D. I don't think I have to explain any more. Then came Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe, still one of the greatest flight simulator. Its good partner on my ancient machine was Red Baron, eventually getting Aces Of The Pacific on its side.

Now I play Medal Of Honors and Combat Flight Simulators. Why to give up good genres?

 

[Flerbizky]

Here's a favorite from back then :

http://www.c64.com/?type=1&id=80

 

[Pupik]

We had an Atari 2600 in 1980; It came with Night Driver, Breakout, Superman, Combat, Space Invaders, and Hangman. Eventually, I wound up with about 50-60 games (when people ditched their collection for an NES around 1986-88, they were happy to donate). Kathy saved her collection of 2600 games, and we fire up the 2600 every so often. Some games no longer work anymore, since the "card" tends to corrode in the humidity.

I stuffed many quarters/tokens into Bump 'n' Jump, Pole Position, Pole Position II, Final Lap, Final Lap II, Hard Drivin', Super Monaco GP, WEC LeMans...before there was Gran Turismo (and a driver's license) this was how I got my race on.

 

[BMW POWER]

I use to waste my 80's years on this thing.....
The MB Vectrex

 

[Serge.D]

I use to waste my 80's years on this thing.....
The MB Vectrex

My nephew had a Vectrex and we spend hole days playing on it,and I
remember that each game had a different screen.

 

[Diego440]

It's been said that if you've owned at least seven of the consoles exhibited here, you're lucky to have a girlfriend/wife

 

[Joey D]

Wow I own 10 of those...guess that's why I'm single eh?

 

[Serge.D]

It's been said that if you've owned at least seven of the consoles exhibited here, you're lucky to have a girlfriend/wife

I have only 4 of them.
Sega Mega Drive,Sega Mega Drive II,P.S. and P.S.II.

 

[Thirdeye]

I've owned 12 of those at one point, and have a girlfriend

 

[Solid Lifters]

I said my peace in this thread... https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=39739

 

[YSSMAN]

It's been said that if you've owned at least seven of the consoles exhibited here, you're lucky to have a girlfriend/wife

Good thing Chelsi likes videogames and still plays with her NES...

 

[Azuremen]

Good thing Chelsi likes videogames and still plays with her NES...

Drunk ninja post!

I am gonna fly down theres and amazes her with my NES and SNES collections, because I am simply pwn.

Though, more on topic, I only own a few system, but my Family has about 10 or so... One of the Ataris, Coleco Vision, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, N64, GCN, Xbox, PS2, Wii (my parents got it for THEM

 

[YSSMAN]

People still think my collection of X360, XBOX, PS2, Gamecube and N64 is a bit nerdy... I'm pissed that my Dad sold my SNES without asking...

 

[BigdaddyGT]

Not really pre '90's, actually 1991, but did anyone play F22 Interceptor for the Genesis?
That game rules!

 

[Tornado]

Not really pre-90's, but Altered Beast.

Which was a launch game for the Genny, which originally came out in 1988.

My father had a Commodore 64 and an Intellivision. My mother had an Atari 5200 and an 800XL. Its a wonder they ever got married, if my parent's stories are true. I remember playing my dad's Intellivision and Commodore 64 for the decade or so he kept it after I was born (the 5200 had crapped the bed at that point, and mom had had nothing but problems with her 800XL). My first system was a second hand Master System gotten for my 5th birthday (we had a Genny and NES, but that was dad's and mom's respectively). I had good fun on the system while I had it, and it outlasted the Genny and the NES before finally succumbing to age in 2003.

 

[Silverzone]

My grandparents had an old DOS game that was rad. Their were two gorillas on tall buildings, and the object was to blow up the other side of the screen with exploding banannas. I loved that game. I also loved Wolfenstein 3D... I was only 3 when I killed my first digital nazi.