I'm currently building myself a Gamebase (a very versatile emulator frontend) with the best games from inception upto 1984 (ie pre-NES) as this is the era I'm least familar with. So I thought I would start with the game that kick-started the industry - Pong. I've decided I would like the top 5 Pong style games released in this period.
Stipulations are it must be on a system that was available to the mass public ie Arcade, Console or Home Computer.
These are the ones I have found:
My thoughts at the minute are:
1). Tennis - Odyssey
2). Pong - Arcade
3). Tennis - PC-50X Family
4). Video Olympics - Atari 2600
5). Tennis - VideoBrain
What are your 5 favourite Pong games ? Do you now any more from 1972 - 1984 that are not listed. Your feedback and knowledge is appreciated.
Your Top 5 Pong Games
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
Windjammers (aka Flying Power Disc) (1994) - Neo Geo
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
One of these might be considered historically important, if only because of who made them, and that they sold a million copies each in Japan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_TV_Game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_TV_Game
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
Ahh of course the Nintendo one, good call.
Will check out Windjammers but was looking for more 1st/2nd generation console / home computer / arcade games.
Will check out Windjammers but was looking for more 1st/2nd generation console / home computer / arcade games.
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
Interesting topic. Can you 'emulate' pre-microprocessor games? I thought the best you could do was simulate them. If you look back on the literally dozens of machines of the 1st generation, many of those from 1977, I believe, used the same chip - the AY-3-8500, a sort of Pong-on-a-chip. The manufacturer was General Instruments which did tennis, hockey, and handball, plus auto-scoring, and two settings for paddle size, ball angle, and auto-serve. All for $4, according to a Len "Having fun with transistors" Buckwalter book of 1977. I think there was a light gun game on the chip, but often unused. Then multitudes of calculator or other companies built cabinets for that same chip. So all those machines are essentially the same, save different controllers, etc.
Now the Atari Pong though, that is different, with seven different rebound angles on the paddle - something that was also likely on the Atari Pong Arcade game, but some arcade guru will have to testify to that. The Magnavox Odyssey sometimes had multiple dials on them to let the paddle go back and forth as well as up and down, and the other is an 'English' dial. So, those were different from the competition too. In a way, these were console wars too, with it seeming to be Atari versus Coleco and All Comers until the Fairchild came out.
Of course, generation uno is more than Pong. There are other 'ball and paddle' (often nice smooth paddle controllers) games were breakout and pinball. I'm not much for the pinball, but I find breakout fun with the analog control. I also recall a console with I think 3 built in games, one of which you bounced the ball on a paddle and then shot through three stacked lines as a 'basket' for 1-3 points. There were also tank and car racing games pre-cartridge too. Oh, and there were two standard types of light gun games. Those old light guns were startlingly realistic to our modern sensibilities, and were not easy at all.
Another issue is that images are not sprites, I believe. Home consoles had to wait until the Atari 2600 for that, so the ball and especially the paddles for me seem to leave ghost trails on the screen. Its all part of the charm (or dirty contacts, one or the other)
Now the Atari Pong though, that is different, with seven different rebound angles on the paddle - something that was also likely on the Atari Pong Arcade game, but some arcade guru will have to testify to that. The Magnavox Odyssey sometimes had multiple dials on them to let the paddle go back and forth as well as up and down, and the other is an 'English' dial. So, those were different from the competition too. In a way, these were console wars too, with it seeming to be Atari versus Coleco and All Comers until the Fairchild came out.
Of course, generation uno is more than Pong. There are other 'ball and paddle' (often nice smooth paddle controllers) games were breakout and pinball. I'm not much for the pinball, but I find breakout fun with the analog control. I also recall a console with I think 3 built in games, one of which you bounced the ball on a paddle and then shot through three stacked lines as a 'basket' for 1-3 points. There were also tank and car racing games pre-cartridge too. Oh, and there were two standard types of light gun games. Those old light guns were startlingly realistic to our modern sensibilities, and were not easy at all.
Another issue is that images are not sprites, I believe. Home consoles had to wait until the Atari 2600 for that, so the ball and especially the paddles for me seem to leave ghost trails on the screen. Its all part of the charm (or dirty contacts, one or the other)
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
I often get pulled up on forums for stating emulator rather than simulator, I just forget. WinArcadia simulates the AY-3-8500 chip Pong systems including the two light gun / target variations.
I'm really interested in the 1st and 2nd generation gaming as there is comparatively little around on the games. Most major games magazines didn't start until the early 80's.
I'm really interested in the 1st and 2nd generation gaming as there is comparatively little around on the games. Most major games magazines didn't start until the early 80's.
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
[QUOTE=scotland17]Interesting topic. Can you 'emulate' pre-microprocessor games? I thought the best you could do was simulate them.[/QUOTE]
I believe that's probably the correct way of looking at it. If a processor is not involved, technically "instructions" aren't being interpreted by an emulated CPU. OdyEmu claims to be a Magnavox Odyssey emulator, but even if emulation could be claimed at the functionality level (that's also simulation, technically), its functionality to reproduce those screen overlays is definitely simulation.
I believe that's probably the correct way of looking at it. If a processor is not involved, technically "instructions" aren't being interpreted by an emulated CPU. OdyEmu claims to be a Magnavox Odyssey emulator, but even if emulation could be claimed at the functionality level (that's also simulation, technically), its functionality to reproduce those screen overlays is definitely simulation.
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
For first generation stuff, maybe old-computers.com might help. At least they have lots on hardware. I'm not sure where computers fit into the console generations (is a C64 2nd generation or 3rd). Some of the games of the time on early computers were type in your own code varieties. Examples were text based Apollo landers or an ASCII Star Trek game. While there may not be magazines, there were books. As for the 2nd generation, there are lots of books for Atari home computers and games for them. For games of that generation, you are already at a great site.
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Your Top 5 Pong Games
This is definitely one of the best sites for old game reviews, but I'm lookIng at even earlier and obscure early generation game reviews such as Odyssey 1, RCA Studio II, Channel F, APF, Commodore Pet, early Apple 2 etc.
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Re: Your Top 5 Pong Games
Here is a neat article from about 1975, Creative Computing Magazine, by David Ahl. Creative Computing was a very early book covering the emerging 8 bit computers. You might know him as the author of that big yellow book, BASIC Computer Games.
So, if you take your Pong neat, here is Playing Pong to Win (or, "Beyond avoid missing ball for high score")
So, if you take your Pong neat, here is Playing Pong to Win (or, "Beyond avoid missing ball for high score")