Waka Waka Waka... Beyoop.
It's hard to believe Pac-Man is now 25 years old. I was just the right age to appreciate arcade video games, being in junior high and high school during its heyday. Today every kid seems to be born with a PS2 or Gamecube or X-Box attached, and even adults get into it. I had a friend several years ago who told me she and her husband were totally addicted to this one game and invited me to come over and play it sometime. Someone I know recently confided to me she wasn't getting any action in the sack, because her other half was totally addicted to a game that had just come out. Even my dad bought a Gamecube a few years back; during the holidays there's quite a few of us taking turns playing different games, from Sonic the Hedgehog to Pro Basketball to Zelda. My mom told me one night she woke up at 2 a.m., found the other side of the bed empty, and went through the house only to find my father still putting his Gamecube through its paces.
But these systems are the games of today. Back in the day, before even Atari, there were just pinball machines. Then there was Pong, and a few years later, a handful of other games, including Sea Wolf. (Pong and Sea Wolf were the first two video games I ever played). Pong was interesting for the first five minutes, but I liked Sea Wolf at the time (although I haven't seen a working Sea Wolf game in years). It was this submarine game, where you peered through a faux conning tower with buttons on the side. On the screen, you'd see different submarines and ships, and you'd try to shoot at them. A pizza joint where we lived had a pinball game or two and a Sea Wolf, and I'd play them while my family was waiting for dinner to be served.
About a year after I'd discovered Sea Wolf, Pac-Man hit the street and things were never the same. The game's instant popularity led to the rise of arcades, which quickly proliferated from a handful of games and pinball machines to new games that were added all the time. My friends and I would empty our pockets weekly as we headed off to our local arcade to check out the new games and play old favorites. I was never the type to enjoy games where you had to memorize five or six different buttons or controls, so the games I liked and played were, I suppose, "tame." Everyone played Pac-Man, but since the board remained the same (and if you memorized it, could win by following the same path every time), it was sort of a boring game after a while. The following year heralded the arrival of Ms. Pac-Man, which was a far more interesting game, and one of my all-time favorites. I have the Namco disc here at home with Ms. Pac-Man as one of the game choices, and I play it still from time to time. I'd prefer to have an original cabinet game, but right now money and space doesn't permit this. Ms. Pac-Man is still around in a lot of places though, and came out in a special anniversary cabinet version a couple years back, paired with Galaza, so it's possible I might try to pick up one of those.
Another game many of us liked was Donkey Kong, and it's one of the few games I'd love to have. I've been told surviving arcade cabinet and cocktail table versions are rather expensive though, so it may be a while before I can nab one and enjoy the experience of Mario battling Kong for the blonde girl. *grin* I haven't seen this game in a long, long time.
More and more games popped up in the next couple of years. Some games that we played were Joust (not one of my particular favorites), Tempest, Millipede and its cousin Centipede, Galaga, Pole Position, and Amidar. Others were Star Wars (still one of my favorites, and every once in a while I spot a machine and play for old times' sake), Elevator Action (a cool spy game-- at least it was cool to me!), Tron (the game was better than the movie, IMHO), Q*bert, Dig Dug, Tetris, and all the inevitable spin-offs of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. I didn't care for most of these, although Donkey Kong Jr. was mildly entertaining. One of the best (but more expensive games to play!) during this period was Dragon's Lair and its cousin, Space Ace. This game was designed partially by Don Bluth, who used to work for Disney and then set up his own animation company ("The Secret of NIMH", "An American Tail", etc.). It was about a knight named Dirk who was searching for the beautiful princess, and he goes through this castle with all its perils and dangers. It was a cartoon within a game, and you had to use the joystick to make choices to help Dirk survive. There would be hints in the form of little flashes of light or other visual triggers to help you escape death. Unfortunately it cost fifty cents compared with a quarter, so it took a long time to master the game. Space Ace was the space version of the game, and while it was neat, I preferred Dragon's Lair. There was a sequel, Dragon's Lair II, but I barely got a chance to play it. It was an expensive game to purchase and maintain, so there weren't that many of them around, and I haven't seen one in probably fifteen years or so.
Before long, the games matured, the types of games broadened, contracted, and flatlined; there seemed to be more and more martial-arts games, superhero games, genre games, gimmicky games... There was even a Michael Jackson game, Moonwalker. I saw one the other day, and told the wife that the vendor should put a sign up on it stating "Must be over 18 to play."
All the old games started being replaced by others, and the arcades of my youth slowly vanished, one by one. In the town where I grew up, a high of five arcades is now reduced to just one. The development and rise of Atari and its brethren meant you didn't have to go downtown, you didn't have to spend a small fortune (for a kid, $25 is a chunk of change!), and you could eat and drink all you wanted, lie around in whatever state of dress (or undress!) you wanted, and just pay once for a system and a few games, and that would be that. Now it's a whole industry, with competing systems and a variety of games with graphics that are light years beyond the age of Pong. You've even got some very *ahem* interesting games, such as Grand Theft Auto (which I have yet to play). By the time I was in high school, the game scene had changed, I'd discovered the other half of the human race (read: GIRLS), and more important things were happening, or so I thought. But lately, now that we have a Gamecube and I've been playing some of the older titles, my interest has been reawakened.
A very good friend of mine shares my interest in the old games, and with the blessing of a *very understanding* wife has built up a small collection of games in his garage. He's passed on tons of useful information and we talk about games from time to time. I haven't seen the bulk of his current holdings, but hope to do so eventually.
There used to be a museum in St. Louis that had a number of games, and I always hoped to go there. Unfortunately, it closed its doors last year. Now that we're celebrating a milestone, maybe someone will bring a version of this back...?
In any event, happy birthday to Pac-Man, and many thanks to Namco for introducing him to the world.
But these systems are the games of today. Back in the day, before even Atari, there were just pinball machines. Then there was Pong, and a few years later, a handful of other games, including Sea Wolf. (Pong and Sea Wolf were the first two video games I ever played). Pong was interesting for the first five minutes, but I liked Sea Wolf at the time (although I haven't seen a working Sea Wolf game in years). It was this submarine game, where you peered through a faux conning tower with buttons on the side. On the screen, you'd see different submarines and ships, and you'd try to shoot at them. A pizza joint where we lived had a pinball game or two and a Sea Wolf, and I'd play them while my family was waiting for dinner to be served.
About a year after I'd discovered Sea Wolf, Pac-Man hit the street and things were never the same. The game's instant popularity led to the rise of arcades, which quickly proliferated from a handful of games and pinball machines to new games that were added all the time. My friends and I would empty our pockets weekly as we headed off to our local arcade to check out the new games and play old favorites. I was never the type to enjoy games where you had to memorize five or six different buttons or controls, so the games I liked and played were, I suppose, "tame." Everyone played Pac-Man, but since the board remained the same (and if you memorized it, could win by following the same path every time), it was sort of a boring game after a while. The following year heralded the arrival of Ms. Pac-Man, which was a far more interesting game, and one of my all-time favorites. I have the Namco disc here at home with Ms. Pac-Man as one of the game choices, and I play it still from time to time. I'd prefer to have an original cabinet game, but right now money and space doesn't permit this. Ms. Pac-Man is still around in a lot of places though, and came out in a special anniversary cabinet version a couple years back, paired with Galaza, so it's possible I might try to pick up one of those.
Another game many of us liked was Donkey Kong, and it's one of the few games I'd love to have. I've been told surviving arcade cabinet and cocktail table versions are rather expensive though, so it may be a while before I can nab one and enjoy the experience of Mario battling Kong for the blonde girl. *grin* I haven't seen this game in a long, long time.
More and more games popped up in the next couple of years. Some games that we played were Joust (not one of my particular favorites), Tempest, Millipede and its cousin Centipede, Galaga, Pole Position, and Amidar. Others were Star Wars (still one of my favorites, and every once in a while I spot a machine and play for old times' sake), Elevator Action (a cool spy game-- at least it was cool to me!), Tron (the game was better than the movie, IMHO), Q*bert, Dig Dug, Tetris, and all the inevitable spin-offs of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. I didn't care for most of these, although Donkey Kong Jr. was mildly entertaining. One of the best (but more expensive games to play!) during this period was Dragon's Lair and its cousin, Space Ace. This game was designed partially by Don Bluth, who used to work for Disney and then set up his own animation company ("The Secret of NIMH", "An American Tail", etc.). It was about a knight named Dirk who was searching for the beautiful princess, and he goes through this castle with all its perils and dangers. It was a cartoon within a game, and you had to use the joystick to make choices to help Dirk survive. There would be hints in the form of little flashes of light or other visual triggers to help you escape death. Unfortunately it cost fifty cents compared with a quarter, so it took a long time to master the game. Space Ace was the space version of the game, and while it was neat, I preferred Dragon's Lair. There was a sequel, Dragon's Lair II, but I barely got a chance to play it. It was an expensive game to purchase and maintain, so there weren't that many of them around, and I haven't seen one in probably fifteen years or so.
Before long, the games matured, the types of games broadened, contracted, and flatlined; there seemed to be more and more martial-arts games, superhero games, genre games, gimmicky games... There was even a Michael Jackson game, Moonwalker. I saw one the other day, and told the wife that the vendor should put a sign up on it stating "Must be over 18 to play."
All the old games started being replaced by others, and the arcades of my youth slowly vanished, one by one. In the town where I grew up, a high of five arcades is now reduced to just one. The development and rise of Atari and its brethren meant you didn't have to go downtown, you didn't have to spend a small fortune (for a kid, $25 is a chunk of change!), and you could eat and drink all you wanted, lie around in whatever state of dress (or undress!) you wanted, and just pay once for a system and a few games, and that would be that. Now it's a whole industry, with competing systems and a variety of games with graphics that are light years beyond the age of Pong. You've even got some very *ahem* interesting games, such as Grand Theft Auto (which I have yet to play). By the time I was in high school, the game scene had changed, I'd discovered the other half of the human race (read: GIRLS), and more important things were happening, or so I thought. But lately, now that we have a Gamecube and I've been playing some of the older titles, my interest has been reawakened.
A very good friend of mine shares my interest in the old games, and with the blessing of a *very understanding* wife has built up a small collection of games in his garage. He's passed on tons of useful information and we talk about games from time to time. I haven't seen the bulk of his current holdings, but hope to do so eventually.
There used to be a museum in St. Louis that had a number of games, and I always hoped to go there. Unfortunately, it closed its doors last year. Now that we're celebrating a milestone, maybe someone will bring a version of this back...?
In any event, happy birthday to Pac-Man, and many thanks to Namco for introducing him to the world.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 6:28 PM
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