For a school project I need to recreate the game Ender plays against an older boy in chapter 5 of Ender's Game. It's in page 46 of my copy if you want to read the section.
The book doesn't go into much detail about the gameplay, so I was wondering what other people thought when they read the book.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Good heavens, it's Dig-Dug! Just ... souped up with better graphics.
Posted by Aerto (Member # 8810) on :
Dig-Dug! Now there was a classic game. Right up there with River Raid and Adventure. They just don't make games like that anymore. (Is it bad that in my mid-20s I'm already sounding like a nostalgic 70 year old?)
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by Aerto: Dig-Dug! Now there was a classic game. Right up there with River Raid and Adventure. They just don't make games like that anymore. (Is it bad that in my mid-20s I'm already sounding like a nostalgic 70 year old?)
But I totally agree with you...there is no skill games out there really anymore it seem to be all about shooting all you can shoot and killing all you can kill!
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
The weird thing is how much better I was, back in the day, at all those games that required "skill" than I am at all those silly non-skill-requiring games that are popular nowadays.
Posted by ArCHeR (Member # 6616) on :
OSTY: Look into real-time strategy. That's a genre that takes skill.
It's also what the final "game" in the book would be... Actually, I'd imagine many games in the arcade would be RTSy...
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
There's a difference between skill and the lightning swiftness that kids have and adults don't.
Posted by Aerto (Member # 8810) on :
I'm not sure Dig-Dug took skill, but it sure was a lot more fun than running around blowing the crap out of everything that moved, in my ever so humble opinion.
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
But Dig-Dug kind of involved blowing up wind-up monsters, didn't it? At least as far as I recall...
Posted by TrapperKeeper (Member # 7680) on :
Have any kids from the 80's gone back and tried to play any of the original Nintendo games again?
I used to think Contra was easy, tried it a year ago or so and couldnt get past the first level.
Posted by Aerto (Member # 8810) on :
You did have to use a pump like object to blow up moles in Dig Dug, but it isn't exactly like the "ultra-violence" (a little Clockwork, anyone?) present in games today. I'm not really worried about these games affecting the people who play them, I just don't find it fun wander around shooting everything.
I broke out the Nintendo a year or so ago and played a little Final Fantasy. Not quite the same as the Final Fantasys they make now, what with the nonexistent plot. Still fun though.
Posted by TrapperKeeper (Member # 7680) on :
Aerto, might I ask what games you are playing today that are just run around and shoot stuff without any strategy involved?
Posted by Aerto (Member # 8810) on :
Actually, pretty much the only games I play today are RPG, adventure, and sports. (And not very many of those either. Getting older kinda stinks) I know First-person shooters have evolved since the time of Doom (the classic run around and kill, kill, kill) and I don't doubt that they now require more strategery than before. The last FPS I played was some version of Quake (III, maybe?) and I just didn't get much enjoyment out of it.
Posted by TrapperKeeper (Member # 7680) on :
Well, not sure youd be interested, but Half life 2 and Counter strike source are both very much thinking games. If your computer can run em, theyre worth checking out.
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
Absolutely....I play Counter-strike a lot, and there is a lot of teamwork, planning, and execution involved that are a bit different from what you are describing. If your computer can't run Counter-strike Source, then the original is still fun IMHO. America's Army is similar. If you really want to get the most out of it, join a clan and compete with others--its a completely different game than 'pubbing' (playing with random people on public servers).
Posted by Aerto (Member # 8810) on :
Thanks for the info. I've thought about playing the original Half-Life, just never had. And I know my computer couldn't handle the new games. I'm sure I have an unfounded bias against FPSs but life would be boring without a few of them.
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
quote:Originally posted by TrapperKeeper: Have any kids from the 80's gone back and tried to play any of the original Nintendo games again?
I used to think Contra was easy, tried it a year ago or so and couldnt get past the first level.
Have they? Nintendo has repackaged any NES game worth its salt about 6 times over.
Of course If you NES still more or less works, that doubles the fun. (Mine does, for the most part)
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Last Christmas Kristine gave me one of those great multi-game fullsize arcade machines. I play at many of the games, but I got serious about Millipede (someday I'll hit 200,000; I'm getting close) and Mr. Do.
The only drawback is that people try to revive Breakout-based games without using paddle controllers! You can't play pong-like games without potentiometers. Period. And those controllers are gone - so the games are also lost.
I would pay good cash for a game that plugged a pair of potentiometers (paddle controllers, a dial you turn) into a USB port, with a version of Super Breakout ... I'd be addicted all over again!
Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :
*smells a get-rich quick scheme*
Wait a tick...I'm a band director, I'll never get rich!
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I've thought about building myself a MAME cabinet, and while I haven't gone quite so far as actually, you know, buying the materials and building one, I have spent a bit of time looking at plans for them.
A lot of the old arcade games I loved featured a paddle, so I tried to find a design that included one. The best I could find was designs that featured a "spinner". Spinners don't seem to be paddles, exactly, but they apparently will do the job (unless you're wanting one of the 8 position paddles that were used in games like Frontline and Elevator Action. Then you seem to be just plain out of luck).
So, OSC, if you're interested in a paddle substitute, here you go. Here are some rough instructions detailing how to install a spinner. On that second site, the author says
quote:Someone who played Tempest in the 80s will notice a drastic difference in this spinner and the "real" thing. However, with some adjustments to the MAME analog settings, most spinner games play very well.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Where I work for my school newspaper my collegues are playing DDR, you know, Dance, Dance.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Gah, I can never see that acronym without thinking 'East Germany' and wonder what the heck that has to do with games.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I used to love DDR, until I messed up my leg and my PS2-roommate moved out.
Posted by Catseye1979 (Member # 5560) on :
I still play my Nintendo every now and then and sometimes when my brother is around we plug in our old Intelivision II (which my parents got when I was a baby) and play some the really old games. I was really glad to see them start releaseing Intelivision games on the Playstation 2,since now I don't have to worry too much about the Intelivision breaking down, (although some of my friends are starting to think the thing is indestructable).
Posted by smitty (Member # 8855) on :
Our Intellivision II had the controllers go out - I kept that thing for over a decade, actually planning on tearing it apart and trying to fix it. It had some of the games I miss the most.
Posted by Catseye1979 (Member # 5560) on :
My brother and I, when I was about 6, wore out our controllers, lucky for use they were still selling controllers at the time, the second pair of controllers have lasted 19 years so far, which is surprising considering the intensity my brother and I play the game Sea Battle.
Posted by Julian Delphiki 2 (Member # 8864) on :
um...dig-dug was weird to me...it always seemed just a bit perverted when you really think about it XD
Posted by JemmyGrove (Member # 6707) on :
My brother and I have been collecting Nintendo games (for the original NES) for several years now even though we're both well into our twenties (we have over 160 games at last count). He has them in Utah now -- I felt it prudent to leave my video games behind when I moved to start a new career -- and I've had some serious bouts of withdrawl. I even went so far as to rent an XBox with a couple games to satisfy my cravings. And at the end of three sleepless days (and nights -- it's a serious addiction) I was left feeling unfulfilled and longing for the "good ol' days" and my Nintendo.
I'm not trying to downplay the modern stuff. I'm sure it does for some people what Nintendo still does for me, which is to say it gets them hopelessly addicted to a pathetic, geeky waste of time that can't possibly have any good points in the world.
If I could go back, would I do it all over again? Probably. Heck, I'm still doing it all over again. *grin*
Posted by ArCHeR (Member # 6616) on :
OSC, are you saying that it only takes speed to be good at RTS? Play Age of Empires III. That'll learn ya
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