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Post by wyldephang on Jan 31, 2013 23:43:26 GMT -5
But it looks like the game you link has the ship stuck in the middle. Well, I tried. Other than the games that have been mentioned already, I can think of only one other title that would fit into the category as you've defined it: Maelstrom. It's an obscure title that appeared on the Macintosh in the early 1990s; it achieved some popularity among Mac gamers, but it never spawned any direct sequels, only a number of software revisions. I must have run into it numerous times throughout my childhood, as it seems every one of my elementary schools (I attended four) were loyal to Macintosh computers. Let's make it certain, however, that Maelstrom isn't so much an "Asteroids-like" game as it is an "Asteroids clone." Even though the vector graphics are gone, it maintains the classic fixed-screen wraparound mechanics, full 360° range of movement and requisite thrust function, and the musical tension that occurs when the stage is almost clear. That the formula has been kept so true to the original is a testament to the game's enduring perfection. I have a copy of Asteroids for the Game Boy Color, which tinkers with superficial design and gameplay elements, but leaves the core of the classic game untouched.
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Post by gliptitude on Feb 2, 2013 13:32:22 GMT -5
ha ha. well, I am glad you are participating in this conversation wyldephang. ... I wonder if your literary take on things could help deepen the discussion...
My initial post was somewhat ambiguous, but I am really interested to make sense of my experience playing Asteroids, and TO RELATE THAT TO SOMETHING NEW AND MEANINGFUL. ... Really more generally, if there is another sort of game that affects yourself in a similar way, I think that that is most relevant to the conversation.
I find it interesting that with such an often imitated formula as Asteroids - the original seems to remain the most essential implementation. Maybe that is somewhat debatable and maybe you could say Asteroids is not entirely the first of its kind, but I know that there is a consensus that Asteroids is more loved than Asteroids deluxe, even though the sequel added numerous enhancements. And as attractive as Space Duel is, it too lacks the immediate gratification of Asteroids. It is just such an iconic game.
Meh, I am getting bogged down writing this and anxious to complete it and get going. I was trying to relate this to some brainstorming of new Golden Age game concepts and also to reference Gravitar as the most successful Asteroids inspired game. Although it is a well known title, I would still call it a pretty esoteric one, (especially in retrospect, trying to present this game to a modern audience). And although you could reasonably call it a totally different type of game than Asteroids, designer Mike Hally's original concept was "a combination of Lunar Lander and Asteroids", (according to wikipedia). ... In evaluating Gravitar, I think you have to admit that this combining of two games is much more than a simple sum of ingredients, that the resulting game is a totally new and whole one.
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Post by celtroniclabs on Feb 3, 2013 18:41:28 GMT -5
Asteroids did not start the "left, right, thrust and fire" type genre. It just ended up being one of the most well known games of that type. Space War! was the first game of that type, dating back to the old MIT PDP-1 game.
Cinematronics' version, Space Wars, released in 1977, was the first of the type, as a coin-op vector game, and of course the first vector coin-op period. Atari lifted MANY details and ideas from Space Wars and implemented them into Asteroids. Including the "asteroid" itself, as Space Wars had a lone one floating around the screen.
It was humorous to hear so many kids, back in the day, when Star Castle debuted, state that Cinematronics had simply copied general game play elements from Atari's Asteroids game and that Atari was the pioneer of that kind of game.
Another non-original Asteroids element, was the space ship seen on the Asteroids marquee, which looked strikingly similar to the Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galatica.
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Post by gliptitude on Feb 4, 2013 15:05:05 GMT -5
Asteroids did not start the "left, right, thrust and fire" type genre. It just ended up being one of the most well known games of that type. Space War! was the first game of that type, dating back to the old MIT PDP-1 game. Yeh, I was aware Spacewar! predated Asteroids, and I think that I mentioned Space Wars among the others in my first or second post, asking if others considered this to be in the same genre. But surely as you have come to confirm my eventual and most concise generalization "left, right, thrust and fire" - Space Wars is that, and it did come first. Space Wars is actually also one of the very few vector cabinets I have actually played. (See topic I started in Vector Coin-op section, "..cabinets in Los Angeles"). I suppose it is a bit ironic that these kids in the day called Star Castle an Asteroids copy, considering especially the association between Cinematronics and Space Wars. ...But also considering how radically different the initial concept of Star Castle was, during development, I think it's fair to say that Asteroids may have been a direct influence on the final product. The initial idea wasn't even a shooting game. I'd say that Asteroids is more than just "one of the most well known games of that type". First off, it is probably THE best known. Second, it is the most playable of it's kind. And third, it certainly has been CONSCIOUSLY imitated by others, dozens of times. In Space Wars the control scheme seems an issue of convenience to me, while in Asteroids this control scheme is OPTIMAL, and at the root of why the game is fun. ...But perhaps you can tell me differently, that the original Spacewar! designers were actually particularly inspired with the left,right, thrust controls...
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Post by celtroniclabs on Feb 15, 2013 23:06:44 GMT -5
Gliptitude - I will respond to your last post at another time. I have already done enough typing, regarding vector games, for one evening (on your other thread about the WOTW overlay). My eventual response should be fun to read :-)
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Post by gliptitude on Feb 16, 2013 13:16:12 GMT -5
Gliptitude - I will respond to your last post at another time. I have already done enough typing, regarding vector games, for one evening (on your other thread about the WOTW overlay). My eventual response should be fun to read :-) Looking forward to it. I enjoy your detailed postings and I definitely have been learning from them. Heh, but it's not exactly what I've been looking for. I can appreciate your historical reviews, but I am more of an "idea man". I do think that history and innovation go hand and hand though, so please keep it coming.
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