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Post by gliptitude on May 26, 2015 1:11:37 GMT -5
Has anybody else ever seen or heard of this electro-mechanical game by Midway? m.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Om2vxFxqoI saw it at my local retro arcade last weekend and was really delighted by the visual effect. .. It's hard to capture the effect in a photo or video, and somewhat relies on low lighting. It didn't necessarily work very well or provide much fun in terms of gameplay, but it is pretty over the top in optical novelty, which is something I've been interested in for a long time. (I thought i started a thread about this, half silvered mirrors etc, years ago, but it didn't come up in my search). .. S.A.M.I. Has a half silvered mirror, (with a mechanical arm behind it, invisible except for the red LED's representing your missiles), AND it has a friggin' film projection of the planes you shoot at! .. The projection is at such an angle that the planes appear smaller at a distance and get larger as they approach. .. Your tank and missiles appear like holograms above a real three dimensional terrain, with scrolling enemies in the sky. .. Technically not a video game i guess, but having a film strip moving picture makes it pretty close to one in my opinion.
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Post by VectorX on May 26, 2015 8:22:49 GMT -5
That's pretty cool. Some of those old mechanical/not quite video arcade games had some pretty neat gimmickry to them.
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Post by Rapetou33 on May 26, 2015 12:37:19 GMT -5
Thank you very much for sharing this ! I love these simple electro mechanical devices. Of course the game play is not that fantastic, but i have a deep admiration and respect for the engineers capable of producing the very first video games with nearly no electronic components. I am fond of these prehistoric games !
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Post by gliptitude on May 27, 2015 17:34:46 GMT -5
I love these simple electro mechanical devices. Cool. Are there any other particular machines that you have taken note of and could refer me too?
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Post by VectorX on May 27, 2015 17:49:38 GMT -5
Phantom was kind of neat for its time, having targets appear for you to shoot from a barrister, doorways, etc.
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Post by VECTREXER on May 29, 2015 3:25:02 GMT -5
Yes I have heard of it and played it before. In fact a lot of the older EM games I have played. Another one I liked was Desert Fox www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7561. Not as visually cool as S.A.M.I. in game play but it still made a lot of money at the location where it was setup (lower Level next to the snack bar at Southroads Mall in Tulsa) Played S.A.M.I. and quite a few other visual EMs at Bell's Amusement Park in Tulsa (also gone now). Their arcade was fun. Think of it an older Skee Ball setup with lots of video and EM games on an opposite side. This was before Check E Cheeses and their standard of every game being a ticket reward setup. Still, a favorite EM game I love is the Midway Whirly Bird. This is a non-projection EM game. highscore.com/s/12070. youtu.be/nsIdrxEWgIE
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Post by jfmateos on May 29, 2015 13:37:35 GMT -5
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Post by VectorX on May 29, 2015 13:53:16 GMT -5
^There was also somewhat of an American version of a toy like that too. I ran across the ad for it on YouTube a couple of years ago and recalled seeing it in the 1970s (can't remember the name of the product though).
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Post by jfmateos on May 30, 2015 2:30:43 GMT -5
If you could remember vectorx... i would really like to see it
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Post by Rapetou33 on May 30, 2015 3:25:35 GMT -5
That Whirly Bird is really similar to a Spanish game: SOS Helicopter www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju3zUE3WoTcI have repaired a couple of them Mine still not repaired due to lack of time ...): Haven't you seen on ebay the russian-like version ?
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Post by Rapetou33 on May 30, 2015 3:49:35 GMT -5
I love these simple electro mechanical devices. Cool. Are there any other particular machines that you have taken note of and could refer me too? I just remember I played an arcade game at a funfair in 1976 (was 7). I had to shoot alternating red and blue illuminated bi-planes which were coming from the left of the screen and disappearing to the right (some kind of rolls) on a dark background. I was using an "external machine gun" and the aiming was not precise. The plane was flashing when hit and then crashed. I think that shoot angle was crucial so that it seemed that hits were more due to random than skills. Anyway , I have kept this in memory as it brought me on a lot of joy and my very first contact with so-called video games I would love to see it again , pics, videos appreciated Thanks in advance.
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Post by VectorX on May 30, 2015 9:12:43 GMT -5
If you could remember vectorx... i would really like to see it Ah, found it! The Vertibird! Funny to see Vectrexer's name pop up during one of the posted videos too.
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Post by VECTREXER on May 30, 2015 13:52:21 GMT -5
If you could remember vectorx... i would really like to see it Ah, found it! The Vertibird! Funny to see Vectrexer's name pop up during one of the posted videos too. Yes, on of my other collectables. It was great find and digitizing that commercial. In regards to the SOS HELICOPTER, not really either the SOS HELICOPTER or the Vertibird either. If you really want to compare The Midway Whirlybird to something then I would say it might of had an idea spark from the Louis Marx toys MARX-A-COPTER and the Hammerer & Kühlwein tin toys Strato-Copter. The SOS HELICOPTER is cool and I have not noticed it before. Thanks for bringing it up here. :-) I've had those in the past as well. Included the MARX-A-COPTER set was a pre-recorded soundtrack on a cardboard record you ripped from the contents and played on your turntable. It's a cheap kind of plastic-cardboard record you would find in many toys from the era, as well as on the back of cereal boxes.
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Post by VECTREXER on May 30, 2015 14:00:53 GMT -5
What year did the SOS Helicopter come out? Do you have one?
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Post by jfmateos on May 30, 2015 15:08:10 GMT -5
I have 2... both where broken and I repaired them (i am very proud of it because they are very complex toys).
SOS Helicopter is a evolution of "Rescate Espacial" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le4qKwom-A0) that won the prize to the best toy "molinillo de oro" in 1969.
I think SOS Helicopter is from the end of the 70'
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