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My Collection: XBox

Tuesday, August 29th, 2017

I received my XBox as a Christmas gift back in 2003. This was more than two years after it had been released, and by then there were many games already available. I actually owned one, D&D Heroes, that I had bought several months earlier. I guess I knew what Santa was bringing me for Christmas that year 🙂

While I didn’t buy an excessive amount of games for the system, I played it fairly frequently for the next 2.5 years and remember enjoying it. Some games, such as Morrowind and the Otogi series were particularly good. But the last game I purchased was in early August of 2006. Since I never had an XBox 360 or an XBox One, that day ended my time as an XBox player.

That is the sum total of my XBox collection (except the console, of course); 38 games for which I spent (in total) only about $450. I very rarely spent full price for an XBox games, and many of them cost me under $10. One of them cost only $5 new and a certain trilogy cost even less:

Those are the three Burger King games released in 2006. They retailed for $4 apiece but I recall there was a deal when you bought all three at once (maybe $10 for the set). They’re simplistic – today they’d be called ‘mobile games’ – and little more than curiosities, but a memorable part of my collection.

These two games are the highlights of my collection:

The Otogi series is a magnificent set of two games set in mythical Japan. Complex and challenging, they are mission-based action games featuring absolutely beautiful graphics, destructible environments and lots of intricate combat. Developed by From Software, both games contain elements that would resurface in the Souls series, and in my opinion these two are important milestones in the history of the action-RPG. They are so good in fact, that these two games along justified the XBox for me. Neither were released for any other console, or have even been rereleased or remastered.

As for strangest game, that award would go to a demo I have of a Magic The Gathering action game from 2003:

Entitled Battlegrounds, this is a terrible RTS-style game where you frantically summon creatures and cast spells to defeat your opponent in real time. There’s no cards, or even decks, and it only has superficial resemblance to an actual game of MTG. While I’ve only got the demo, I obviously wasn’t (and aren’t) impressed enough to buy the actual game!

The final XBox game I ever bought was this one:

Since I had the system out and connected for a bit of nostalgia, and since JJ were visiting, it seemed like a good time for an old fashioned retro gaming tournament! So once again KLS, JBF and myself sat ourselves down and answered the question of who was the superior videogamer. The ‘standard rules’ applied (one game each, no practice, winner goes first on next game) and we – as always – only played games with a score.

Here’s the per-game result:

And here’s the cumulative score result:

It seems I haven’t lost my mojo!

Anyway the XBox has now been boxed back up and returned to ‘deep storage’ where it will remain for at least another decade or so. Unlike almost every other system I own there are no games for the XBox I’ve always been after, so if and when I get it out it will probably just be for another go at Otogi or maybe Solomon’s Key. Who knows if the system will even work then…

Speaking of old games tourneys, we’re off to NH for another visit to Funspot this weekend. Watch this space for photos…

Posted in Games, Retro | Comments Closed

My Collection: NES

Wednesday, May 17th, 2017

I owned an NES way back in prehistory (ie. ‘The Australia Era’) and – at the time – played to death all the classics like Super Mario Brothers, Zelda 1 and 2 and Metroid. A couple of years after arriving here in the US, with the SNES in decline and the Playstation and Saturn already released I bought my second NES. It was September 24, 1995 to be exact, cost me $49.99, and I also spent an additional $90.50 buying up a library of 15 games.

I unpacked the NES from deep storage last weekend for a whirl and was pleasantly surprised to find that it still worked, that I actually had a TV that I could connect it to (a non-trivial exercise in this day of HDMI-only ports) and that – most incredibly – the batteries on every single game still worked!

The NES was released way back in 1983, and discontinued in the USA in 1995. I actually bought mine in a fire-sale after it had been discontinued, and therefore mine is the last version of the console ever manufactured. It’s amusing to me that I owned both the first and last versions, and wish I still had the one I bought back in 1987 (when it was first released in Australia).

After the initial flurry of purchased in September 1995, I bought the odd game here and there over the next six months and then stopped. I remember playing it avidly during this time, and the save files on my games support this, with most of the RPGs having maximum-level parties saved. But I suspect somewhere during 1996 I packed it into storage and moved on to the 16-bit CD-based machines.

With the unusual exception of Christmas 2002 (on which day someone gave me Ultima 2 NES for a gift!?) I hadn’t purchased any new games until a couple of weeks ago, when I got these guys for $5 apiece:

This was mostly because I watch lots of retro gaming online, and wanted to try out some shooters on the NES. These three are all ports of fondly-remembered arcade games and are brutally difficult on the NES. I was laughing out loud as I was in some cases getting game overs within a minute of starting, and remembering how such difficulty was the norm rather than the exception in those days 🙂

Then I dug out the RPGs…

That’s my actual party in Ultima 2, strangely named after the noble gasses! The game is a reasonably faithful port of the old PC classic but runs so slowly as to be almost unplayable by todays standards. I found this to be true for almost all of the ‘CRPG-type’ games (such as Bards Tale, Ultima, Wizardry etc.) and since the games can’t be accelerated when played on original hardware I doubt they hold much appeal today.

There are however certain exceptions, such as this still-playable and wonderfully-packaged Japanese installment in the Might and Magic series:

Or Solstice, a game that has become a bit of a cult-classic among certain aging ‘isometric‘ fans 😉

This latter one is ludicrously difficult, and yet I recall spending hours upon hours playing it way back when!

Here’s a photo of most of my NES library:

Almost everything in the above photo cost me $5, with a few (DW4, Startropics 2, FF1) costing $10-15. About half of the boxed games were new (you can still see the plastic wrap on many) and include all the manuals, maps etc. Needless to say these are in pristine condition. Even many of the used games came with most of the inclusions as well, and everything in the photo still works and (if applicable) has a working battery.

As with much of my game collection a lot of this material has gained value over the years. While I didn’t exhaustively check, Castlevania 3 as an example cost me $5 new (the price tag was still on the wrapper!) and now would fetch twenty times that. Amusingly my most ‘valuable’ game may be Godzilla 2 (which was also purchased new): boxed copies on ebay sell for over $200!

If you’re wondering about the major gaps in my collection – SMB, Metroid etc. – I have ports of them on other systems so never felt the need to get them for the NES. As you can see I prioritized RPGs, and as such ended up building a collection worth a nice amount these days. But I’ve got no plans on selling it, and back into storage it will all go.

By the way if you have any requests for the next one of these posts let me know. There’s a great many systems left to cover (basically I own everything since the NES excluding the 360 and XBox1) and I do plan on getting to them all eventually.

Posted in Games, Otaku, Retro, Tech, Time | Comments Closed

Youtube Retro Gaming

Sunday, April 30th, 2017

If your a 21st century boy like me, you’ve turned your back on television and now watch content delivered almost entirely via internet streaming. As in Youtube and/or Twitch. I’m taking a moment here to plug some of my favourite creators, because you may enjoy them too.

A brief description though for the luddites out there who don’t know what I’m talking about (ie. born before 1970). It’s fairly common now for people to have ‘cut the cable’ which means no longer pay for television. In the USA almost no-one uses (or even knows about) TV delivered over the airwaves, so if you don’t pay for cable TV, you basically don’t have TV. This isn’t a problem though since many shows are available via the internet and you can watch them on your TV by connecting an internet-connected computer (or similar) to your set.

But in recent years people have been moving toward watching material created by ‘normal’ people and distributed via Youtube or a popular gaming site called Twitch. Viewership of these non-traditional entertainment channels has been skyrocketing and now rivals or (for certain demographics) exceeds viewership of traditional TV. And I suppose I am now one of these viewers. So here’s what I watch on Youtube…

Mamemeister

Mamemeister is a gaming geek in his mid 40s that lives in Scotland. He has created hundreds of Youtube videos about all sorts of games and game systems dating from the very early days to the relatively recent, with an emphasis on 8-bit UK computers. He’s relatively prolific, releases videos in numerous different series, is quite a character and reminds me a lot of myself. He’s also not very good at games, which can be a bit alarming to watch sometimes but quickly became part of his appeal for me.

Some representative examples:
– One of his worst game ever videos (for Green Beret on C+4)
– A chronicle of C64 game loaders (so much nostalgia!)
– One of his ‘They did what’ series videos (Llamasoft in this case)

In addition to the above he’s done massive series on arcade games by year, on shooters by letter, and many different ’10 minute mashups’ where he just plays a random game for 10 minutes. I’ve watched almost everything he’s done and he’s probably my favourite streamer.

Kim Justice

Kim is another game streamer, again with an emphasis on 8-bit classic computing but very much inclusive of the 16-bit and later years. She produces immaculately researched, edited and scripted videos which range from relatively simple game reviews all the way up to lengthy multi-part documentaries on game companies, series or individuals. Incredibly watchable; try some of her videos if you have even a passing interest in video games.

Examples:
– A documentary on ZX Spectrum cover tapes
– 75 minute documentary about Psygnosis
– List of best/worst wrestling games

Much like Mamemeister, almost everything Kim does is worth watching. His multi-part documentaries in particular are fascinating, with subjects such as Peter Molyneux, Gremlin Graphics or Jack Tramiel. He’s also done a lengthy ‘A-Z of video games series’ which is equally great. If you like the above three I’m pretty sure you’ll like it all.

The Spectrum Show

This is a 60-episode series all about the ZX Spectrum. The creator – Paul Jenkinson – has done a fantastic job and although the content may be a bit dry for most, I binged it all (probably 40ish hours) in only 4 days! He goes into exhaustive – obsessive maybe! – detail about all things Spectrum, and it’s a wonderful celebration of nostalgia and love for the computer I most wanted to own but never did.

Example episodes:
– An entire episode dedicated to Spectrum magazines (Episode 40)
– A review of weird hardware (Episode 51)

Despite the above examples, if you are interested in this show I suggest watching in order. I myself can’t wait for the next series!

Nostalgia Nerd

All about computing nostalgia, this youtuber (as with the others) creates documentaries and showcases of old hardware and software, again with a UK slant. He strays away from gaming more than the others, but at the same time tends to feature more obscure or interesting one-off videos. He may not produce as much as say Kim or Mamemeister, but I still watch almost everything he does.

Examples of his more unusual videos:
– Creating and testing a thermometer attachment for a C64
– Connecting an ancient phone to the internet
– Running a Y2K test in 2017

Although I didn’t include any examples, his game content is top-tier too. Check out his recent doco on the ‘Rise Of The Triad’ game for example.

Techmoan

This guy had loads of subscribers and you may already know about him. He makes video documentaries about ‘the best and worst of technology’ which are exquisitely made and extremely watchable. I particularly enjoy his videos on old or obsolete technology. If you have even a passing interest, check him out and get hooked.

Example of obscure tech documentaries (he covers brand new stuff too!):
– Minidiscs (I was a big fan!)
– A calculator watch from 1977
– Atari music visualizer (this one is just for you Sue!)

Don’t you love the crisp, white backdrops he uses? Techmoan is a strange name though, he obviously loves it all; the weirder and older the better 🙂

There are a few others I watch, mostly system specific stuff (such as Xyphoe for Amstrad) but these are the ones for which I pretty much watch everything they put out. Between all of them there’s a few hours every week, so it’s an easy replacement for TV.

We’re also getting a bit into Twitch streaming as well… but that’s another post 😉

Posted in Games, Miscellaneous, Otaku, Retro, Tech | Comments Closed

Ten More Treasures

Thursday, April 20th, 2017

I’m in the middle of a lengthy reorganization of our ‘library’ room, which contains 6 bookshelves and loads of books, toys and other stuff. I spend a lot of time in this room doing my crafting and hobbie stuff and I’ve wanted to reorganize it for years.

This has entailed throwing away some books (and magazines, of which I had scads), putting others in storage, and generally moving stuff around. It’s taken ages, been harder than I thought, but has at the same time been a lot of fun since I’ve ‘rediscovered’ so much stuff I had almost forgotten I owned or simply hasn’t had the attention it deserved.

This then is a post containing ten items that live in the room. All unusual, all treasured, and all still getting a featured position in the reorganized library 🙂

PS2 Slime controller (2005). This is a fully functional PlayStation 2 controller modeled after the famous slime from the Dragon Quest series. I bought it when it came out but never used it much since it’s uncomfortable to hold. Over the years it’s become a bit sticky since it has a rubber surface and while it’s appreciated in value it’ll just sit smiling on my shelf for ever 🙂

Viewtiful Joe bobblehead (2003). This was a promotional item given away with early purchases of the game. It’s ceramic, looks like a bootleg and the head is a bit too heavy for the spring. It’s weird and has been a shelf fixture for over a decade. Amusingly this item is now ‘worth’ more than the game on eBay!

Darth Maul cookie jar (1999). I’ve mentioned this before on the blog; it was my first (and last? ever QVC purchase and is still my favourite piece of Phantom Menace merchandise. It’s fairly large (about 20 cm tall) but impractical for storage so for me it’s always been decorative. Another item that has appreciated in value.

A tiny castle (?). I don’t know where or when I got this but it may very well date to my teenage years. Items like this (and little dragons) were somewhat common decades ago and I always liked them and used to own a few. Alas this is my only one now and I love it. Incidentally if you ever see anything like this (the very small size is important) it may make a good gift…

Bootleg R2 droid figure (?). I got this in England last year, specifically by trading tickets for it in an arcade in Margate. I like R2 figures, and something about this one – with its wrong colours and mismatched leg lengths – is endearing. Although 100% bootleg, this is a key item in my Star Wars collection 🙂

Burger King bobblehead (2006). These were sold at Burger King to promote the Super Bowl over a decade ago! It’s so weird I love it. Another item that is ‘worth’ (on eBay) several times what I paid for it.

R2-D2 plastic mug (2012). This was sold (and may still be today) at the Disney movie park in Florida. It’s gigantic, and yes I found space for it in my suitcase when we visited 5 years ago 🙂

Dragonlance stained glass (1997). These were sold for $90 exclusively at the Gen-Con convention in 1997. I bought this a couple of years ago for much less at a local shop, and the seller had had it since she bought it at Gen Con back when they were sold! It’s quite pretty, made of painted glass with real metal lines between the colours. I’d like to hang it but it’s quite heavy and I don’t have an appropriate window so it rests against the wall. It’s tough to find these (there were three designs) for sale now but they seem to go for a premium.

Darth Maul glass ornament (2010?). It’s hard to find info on this online. I’m pretty sure I bought it at Target, which means it should have been fairly common, but I can’t find any on auction or sold online so I’m not exactly sure when it came out. It’s a highly detailed blown glass Christmas ornament modeled (again) after Darth Maul from Star Wars. It’s super creepy but also lovely and another treasure in my SW collection. No I’ve never put it in the Christmas tree!

This Doctor Who trading card (1996). This is card #26 from the 1996 Cornerstone Doctor Who card set. I’ll admit my memories of how I obtained this are clouded… can one of you fill me in? (No I didn’t write that outrageous slander on the card!)

My next goal is to organize the attic. Lord knows what I may find up there! If I ever get around to it, you can expect to see some very unusual ‘treasures’ here once I’m done!

Posted in Blog, Games, Miscellaneous, Otaku, Retro, Toys, Trading Cards | 2 Comments »

Bonus Game Included (on c-side)!

Thursday, April 13th, 2017

Back in 1983, Pete Shelley (ex-Buzzcocks) released his second solo LP called XL1. Despite having great success with his first album, mostly due to the hit single Homosapien, this followup wasn’t very successful. And yet it was a bit of a landmark album for a very unusual reason: the album came with a piece of ZX Spectrum computer software.

For those unaware, games were often distributed on tape in those days. Rather than using digital media, computers often input data via an audio signal, which therefore meant using cassettes or (much less commonly) vinyl records to distribute software. This was the heyday of the 8-bit games industry, and more cassettes containing software were being sold than containing music. It was a natural idea for a band to include software on a record… but Pete Shelley was the first to do it.

While the program was nothing more than a visualizer, it may have been the very first visualizer! The idea was you’d load it up on your spectrum and start it playing at the same time as the record, and then watch the pretty visuals play out on the screen while you sang along with the lyrics. Here’s the whole thing on Youtube (remember the software itself was silent):

Here is a fascinating account of the production of the software by the guy that made it. I particularly like how they put out a lock-groove on the vinyl version to save speakers (and ears!) since the raw audio of the code is just screeching white noise. Amusingly, in researching this post i found a forum post where someone described returning the cassette to swap it for the version without the game since he hated having to fast-forward through the screeching sound of the software every time he listened to the album 🙂

I can’t find any reports on whether this was a success, or even made a ripple in the games/music industry. I’m sure it was a novelty, but I wonder how many Pete Shelley fans made use of this even in those days? Either way it hardly set a precedent, and I know of no other examples of a band including visualizers on their albums…

In the early 1980s text adventures were a big deal, and successful enough that there was even a ‘do it yourself’ program called The Quill that allowed anyone to make their own game. One such person that did was Dave Greenfield, member of the band The Stranglers. He wrote a game called Aural Quest that was included at the end of side two of the (cassette only) versions of their 1984 album Aural Sculpture:

It’s a long-ish game (for a text adventure) in which you play the manager of the band as they tour around the world (starting in the UK, via Europe to Tokyo and eventually Brisbane) and get into misadventures. It was apparently quite challenging and since it was mostly ignored by the gaming press in those days players must have had a terrible time beating it without assistance. Here’s a video of a playthrough:

As best I can tell, this was the first and quite possibly only game actually included on an officially released album. Certainly it was the only game released on an album in audio format; if software was ever included these days it would be as a digital file on the CD. (Let’s ignore for the fact that even CDs are mostly dead…)

As a last curiosity, how about the Thompson Twins game? They were a synthpop band from the early 1980s, and in 1984 a ZX Spectrum game based on their single Doctor Doctor was released on flexi-disc only as a promo attached to a computer games magazine:

The game was a graphic-adventure, quite short and apparently quite bad. It lives on via emulation and you can see a full playthrough of the c64 version on Youtube:

This release is remarkable for many reasons:
– The fact that it was ever made in the first place
– The fact that it was only distributed as a free magazine promotional item
– The fact that it was distributed on vinyl disc rather than cassette

This last fact is notable: users would have had to record the disc onto cassette first before being able to load it into their computers. This wouldn’t have been difficult, but is just an unnecessary step and is probably what led to flexidisc software distribution never catching on! (Wikipedia has a good article on this game including the development, and additional research suggests the oft-delayed c64 disc version is extremely rare these days.)

I was a Thompson Twins fan in those days. I would have played this! I suspect the flexi was stripped from magazine covers in Oz though, and I can barely believe any Australian readers sent off for the c64 disc? Adam… did you?

And that’s that. I became curious about the idea of 8-bit band-related software-on-albums a while ago and this post has been percolating for some time. But despite my attempts this is all I can find. There were of course unofficial items (such as Jethro Tull and Beatles adventures written on The Quill) and actual games based on bands (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) but none of these were distributed by the band or on vinyl record.

However… there was another unusual method of software distribution in the 1980s, in some ways even stranger than including code on vinyl albums. Maybe that’ll become a future post…

Posted in Art, Music, Retro, Tech, Time | 2 Comments »

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