Dauber On Gaming: My Favorite Video Game System

Like any other fat, nerdy guy, I enjoy a good video game. I don't care so much for graphics and sound as I care for playability -- a game is nothing if it doesn't have good action.

But before I move on, first thing I want to vent about is this term "gaming." I've only heard that term in the past ten years or so. Let me tell you what "gaming" is: it's "playing video games." That's what it was called back in the early days of video games. But now people want to make it sound like an intellectual pursuit, so they call it "gaming." Oh, just get over yourselves, people; you're not being an intellectual -- you're playing games. Nothing wrong with that in moderation.

Now...if you've read prior posts in this blog, you've probably concluded that I'm a fan of the old-school early 1980s classics, and you're absolutely right. My favorite games, of course, are those of the Atari Video Computer System, often referred to as the "2600." Why? Well, allow me to discuss.

Playability
Yes, the graphics are laughable by today's standards. The sounds are very blippy. But remember, the main thing for which I look in a video game is playability.

For the most part, the games on the 2600 are the types that are not winnable -- they just keep getting harder and harder as you continue, and they never come to an end. These games really scream for competitiveness -- they encourage you to beat your own record. Most modern games have this kind of a pattern: go through a few levels, battle the boss character, beat the boss character, go through more levels, battle the boss character again (with perhaps a slightly different setup), beat the boss character again, repeat this whole process a few more times, and then beat the boss's boss character (or perhaps the "CEO character," as some call it) in a much, much more elaborate situation, and the game's over. Once you do that, what's the point in doing it again? Give me a game of Pac-Man or Burgertime -- they don't come to an end; they just get more challenging.

Of course, there is a major exception to this scenario: a game called Adventure. You have three levels from which to choose, each of which has a definite ending. I don't know what it was about that game, but there was something about it to make me want to play it repeatedly on any of the three levels, and I know I'm not the only one.

Price
Back in the day, Atari games were priced comparably to today's games, if not more expensive (allowing for inflation, of course). But the older the title, the cheaper it was. I still have the box for my copy of Star Raiders, with a Circus World $2.99 price tag on it. I'm sure I only paid about ten bucks for Yars' Revenge. Mind you, this was when Atari was still at the height of its popularity.

But today, price is an even bigger factor in why I like Atari than it ever was before. Why? Well, because nowadays the games are cheap! You can get a buttload of 'em for like $20 on eBay. If you're lucky enough to see Atari games at garage sales or flea markets, they're usually, what? a buck a pop? And I'm blessed to live only a few miles away from a retro video game store that prices the games very reasonably. Yeah, the games are old, but the Atari 2600 library is so huge that it's nearly impossible to complete a collection. But that brings me to this point...

Homebrews
There's a very active "homebrew" community among Atari 2600 fans. In case you don't understand what I mean, a "homebrew" is basically a self-made video game for a given console. There are people who actually know how to program a 2600, test their software on emulators, and have cartridges manufactured. Does it sound kind of disturbingly obsessive to develop for a 30-year-old system? Yup. But you know what? The homebrews tend to be fantastic and really push the limits of the Atari 2600 hardware in ways that game companies never could (or just never did) back in the '80s. It's rare that there isn't a homebrew in development. I've played a few of these user-produced games (and own a few), and seriously, they're just as addicting and fun as the classics were back in the '80s:

Lady Bug -- based on the classic game of the same name. Play the arcade version. Then, play the Atari 2600 homebrew version. Now tell me which one was which. Betcha can't! What's interesting is that back in the day, Coleco was planning to release a version for Atari. Considering how crappy their Atari 2600 versions of Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Zaxxon were, maybe it's good that Lady Bug never came out.

Strat-O-Gems Deluxe -- basically, a homebrew version of the game Columns. You can't argue that the playability is there, but the graphics are also pretty impressive. And what's more -- and this is when it gets kind of scary how far a programmer for an obsolete system will go -- Strat-O-Gems Deluxe actually has voice synthesis. Yes, voice synthesis! A robotic voice, powered by an add-on called AtariVox (plugs into a joystick port, has a phono port for an external speaker), tells you, "Level One complete," among other things.

Toyshop Trouble -- Every year, the folks at Atari Age offer a holiday-themed homebrew for a limited run. John Payson's Toyshop Trouble is truly one of the most creative titles I've ever played. The musical soundtrack is a deceptively complex arrangement loosely based on the verses of "Jingle Bells." Details on the sprites and other graphics are amazingly precise for such a primitive game system. Your character is one of Santa's elves, whose job is to paint uncolored toys so that they're ready for Christmas. The game starts at December 1, and you're given a certain quota of toys you have to paint, and a guide as to what toys get what colors. Each day, more toys and colors get added to your quota. Basically, think of Lucy and Ethel wrapping chocolates, and you have the general idea of what the gameplay is like.

For more info on homebrews and the AtariVox, I strongly advise you to check out the hardware guide and forums on Atari Age.

Nostalgia
'Nuff said.

Modern stuff? No, thanks.
Wii, Playstation 3, whatever else have you...nuh-uh. Not cost-effective, not as playable as I'd like. I briefly considered getting a PSP, as it's more of a palmtop computer, but give me the classics...and by "classics" I mean the consoles manufactured from, say, 1977 to the time Atari 7800 was first manufactured. That's when games were truly fun, addicting, and as the years have proven, replayable.