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Post by VectorX on Dec 12, 2012 20:32:01 GMT -5
I was just wondering what people felt about it here on the forums. Believe it or not, though--and people might want to skin me alive for this, what with creating these forums and the Vectrex wiki--the Vectrex actually isn't my #1, omg favorite console ever. However, when you look at the competition, you have to admit what it's up against is hard to beat. My all-time favorite console is the Atari 2600. I was young, this new gaming industry (actually commercial video games still isn't a very old industry, arguably, at only a little over 40 years now) was booming all around, and there were tons of games everywhere. More and more limits of the 2600 were pushed all the time, and it was really astounding all the milestones the console accomplished: it was produced for three decades, had all kinds of controllers for it (one would argue having more and more to buy would make a mess and add to expenses, but what the hey, gaming was still really new and this is what we had at the time), and hundreds of games. Pretty impressive considering it was a pain in the ass to program for. Now there are dozens, if not a hundred or more homebrews (I don't know, really) to add to its total, not to mention hundreds of hacks as well, and tools/services to make your own games with now...still more limits to push there. Then the #2 console for me is the Sega Genesis, which is, again, hard to beat, due to there being several hundred games for it, backwards compatibility with the Master System (with the adapter), opening up many more games, being able to pause games (nice concept! Not many 2600 games had that feature back in the day!), save games, some games could literally go on for years (I spent a year alone just gathering information for Starflight), not to mention games that were way the hell bigger than just a couple of generations before, etc. etc. Then there's the Vectrex. Part of how I rank a console is due to its original library, which it didn't have that much of one. Granted, the poor people at GCE and Western Technologies had all kinds of stuff they wanted to do with it (make it into a home computer, add a touch screen, release more educational programs, etc.), but couldn't due to Atari's b. s. and the game crash killing it off early, plus some games seemed to have been rushed (what the hell happened with the infinity levels on Clean Sweep?) /weren't very good unless you had another player (Rip Off) or had various hindrances to them (the too-sensitive controls on Hyperchase). However, with homebrewers (thank God for them!) expanding the borders of the Vectrex for years now with all kinds of stuff (new controllers, it has over 100 games now), it is a nice system to have if you can get your hands on one. (Guess this is a late Thanksgiving-type post, to sum it up  ) |
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Post by gliptitude on Dec 12, 2012 21:27:47 GMT -5
Well, I rank Vectrex at the very top. Some of my reasons are idiosyncratic and to some extent I identify myself with the Vectrex, and feel inclined to champion this console because it's not something most of my friends would even know about if it weren't for me. Still I think it is just the coolest thing ever and I can't believe that it even exists. VECTOR GRAPHICS ARE THE SH!T! To me the NES is the main competitor for all time greatest console. Perhaps there is some generational identification here as NES was my own childhood equivalent to the 2600 for you (Darryl). The NES was an ubiquitous console, with tons of great games. Atari may have been the pioneer and the one that really caused all this to happen, with the introduction of the 2600. But those games are barely playable for me and many of them are downright terrible.  Though there were some seeds of it prior to the NES, it was really the NES (in my view) that created a home gaming experience that not only rivaled the arcades, but re-interpreted gaming in a way that was native to the home experience. The classics of this console were not recreations of the arcade experience, they were adventure games that would generally be unsuitable for the arcade, games that you could spend a lot of time with. NES games very often had a beginning and an end, and they incentivized you to progress to the end. It was an experience specifically (and very effectively) tailored to the home audience, in an unprecedented way. At this point I think video games are a novelty of the past, (like cinema). The arcades that still exist are dominated by gun games/driving sims/fighting games, and really pinball machines and gambling machines have outlasted what we call video games. Modern console gaming has preoccupied itself with realism, technology fetishes and some sort of hybrid cinema substitute. ... A majority of modern games that I find to be successful are exceptions to the rule and almost always have some distinguished affinity with games from the past. Truthfully, there are several consoles that are indispensable to me, in addition to Vectrex, and I wouldn't want to have to choose. I suppose you could get the most robust experience out of a hacked Xbox, loaded with emulators and ROMs. And still more robust than Vectrex would be any number of consoles with a great number of long and involved games. ... But none of these pique my imagination the way Vectrex does. Everything else seems to serve an addictive routine. Vectrex was an exhilarating discovery for me about one year ago and certainly part of the fun has been finding this myself and culling it from the distant past, observing the curious artifacts of an iconic and one of a kind machine. Perhaps if Vectrex was as ubiquitous as the others I would feel differently. But to me this console is the only one that is really a wonder. |
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Post by VectorX on Dec 12, 2012 21:44:58 GMT -5
Still I think it is just the coolest thing ever and I can't believe that it even exists. VECTOR GRAPHICS ARE THE SH!T! Yep. A lot of game consoles that are out, especially back then, when everything was new, has something unique about each and every one of them. Obviously for the Vectrex it was vector graphics. Even though only being in black and white it's still something to see. People are STILL enthralled by the Minelayer coming out to this day, 30 years later! It's so simple, only lasting a couple of seconds, yet is very iconic, among all kinds of other obvious things (Web Wars, scrolling on Hyperchase, shooting yourself on Narzod, "eek! Help! Spike!", etc.). |
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Post by gauze on Dec 13, 2012 8:52:44 GMT -5
I find making best of lists very hard since some days it's one thing and other days it is a number, if you just consider the console itself, the Vectrex wins hands down. Anything after 2nd wave isn't a consideration for me (ie stuff up to 1983), the hardware of the other machines jut isn't as interesting and they didn't have Minestorm built in for game library 2600 is hard to beat. For nostalgic purposes Intellivision, 1st one I owned. |
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Post by TrekMD on Dec 13, 2012 9:54:20 GMT -5
I consider the Vectrex on a league of its own for a very simple reason - it is the only home system with true vector graphics. |
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Post by sj on Dec 13, 2012 10:26:30 GMT -5
I consider the Vectrex on a league of its own for a very simple reason - it is the only home system with true vector graphics. Yep. Same reason. 2600 is my second choice but it's a fair way back. |
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Post by ledzep on Dec 14, 2012 20:17:16 GMT -5
I rank it the highest. Because it's the only vector system around, because the controllers are great (analog stick, arcade-style buttons), because it has many arcade ports (including non-vector conversions), because of the 3D viewer and light pen, and because of the overlays. I only wish it had gotten a couple more years to work with and had a couple more controllers (spinner and trackball).
It is tied with the Atari 5200 and just barely above the Atari 2600 for me. I grew up with the 2600 but that thing was designed so badly that getting a great game out of it took a huge effort. It had a lot of great games but a load of crap games, too. The Atari 5200 on the other hand had mostly good games that looked like what the box claimed they would look like. Meaning arcade conversions and also the graphics in general were good enough.
Not only that but the Vectrex has the best homebrew scene. It might not have the most homebrew games coming out but almost all of them are good or great. The only obvious gap are the Atari vector conversions but someday, I hope, that will no longer be the case.
But I'm biased, my favorite video games are almost all vector games. Only Xevious and Star Raiders rank up there with Tempest, Space Wars, Rip-Off, Space Duel, etc.
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Post by VectorX on Dec 14, 2012 21:21:41 GMT -5
But I'm biased, my favorite video games are almost all vector games. Only Xevious and Star Raiders rank up there with Tempest, Space Wars, Rip-Off, Space Duel, etc. That's great! Tempest and Major Havoc are mine (hence putting him/it in the new banner). |
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Post by gliptitude on Dec 14, 2012 22:47:49 GMT -5
That's great! Tempest and Major Havoc are mine (hence putting him/it in the new banner). I dig the new banner. |
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Post by VectorX on Dec 14, 2012 23:03:56 GMT -5
Thanks, about TIME someone made a comment about it!  (No, I didn't do it actually, just modified it by putting the Vectrex in from the first one and swapping out the Warzone tank with M. Havoc.) |
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Post by woodentulip on Dec 31, 2012 11:46:19 GMT -5
I would rank the Vectrex very high for reasons Steve Jobs would agree with. (He did work at Atari too Mind You...)
Simplicity (A Steve thing.) the All-In-One box turned into the same thing for the Macintosh.
Ease of use -- this is due to the controller being setup very much like proven arcade cabinet layouts.
Robust Design -- Of all the legacy platforms, the vectrex demonstrates the usability of the design (a robustness in chronological terms.) as well as durability in the unit and the controller. (In fact I prefer repairing this type of electronics than some of the advanced technologies used today.)
Elegance (A Steve thing if there ever was one.) A box that just does what it sets out to do. It's not a hybrid (Famicom) and it does not use any resources other than Mains power, and a small desktop/tabletop footprint, and it can fit in with other 1980's video equipment. (The PS2 was the first to follow in that design language with the "Vertical Orientation")
The Add-on's were unique and specific. The Light pen, and the 3D imager. Both unique, and specific to the Vectrex and not portable to other designs / systems.
The Closest device to match is the Nintendo Gameboy. IMHO the GameBoy Advance SP is the closest match.
-sean
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Post by VectorX on Dec 31, 2012 13:22:34 GMT -5
Robust Design -- Of all the legacy platforms, the vectrex demonstrates the usability of the design (a robustness in chronological terms.) as well as durability in the unit and the controller. (In fact I prefer repairing this type of electronics than some of the advanced technologies used today.) Really? I heard the Vectrex can be difficult to work on. Or did you mean the controller? Or are you just an all-around electronics wiz or something? |
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Post by gliptitude on Dec 31, 2012 13:30:46 GMT -5
Heh, interesting that you do not mention the VECTOR GRAPHICS sean.
I guess I disagree a little bit on the elegance of the design, but otherwise I can't dispute your claims. Interesting that you compare it to Game Boy; indeed they are THE two standouts of game consoles that actually give some serious attention to the appearance and function of the physical consoles themselves. ... They are intriguing objects to behold, even when they are not being used.
Elegance, like you say, is native to Macintosh product design. But with a consumer gaming console like Vectrex, there is naturally a commercial disadvantage in design resources. It's a very clever design, but still has the build of a toy, in my opinion. The overlay mounting system in particular seems like the result of a cost saving improvisation (snapping behind tabs), and I would definitely prefer something more secure and mechanical. The tab that unlocks the controller from the console also makes me nervous. The orientation of the single speaker is very efficient, but probably not the most effective audio solution. ... But for sure I can't deny it is an intriguing presentation, and yes there is some elegance to it.
But the most elegant thing about Vectrex has got to be the vector graphics!!!
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Post by VectorX on Dec 31, 2012 13:35:47 GMT -5
^I'd say probably 100% of people agree on that last part. And it can do bitmapped graphics as well, but we don't care about those anywhere as much ;D
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Post by kokovec on Dec 31, 2012 15:26:27 GMT -5
The Vectrex is #1!
The design is very elegant. If you look at the logic built around memory chip selection, the CRT X/Y drivers, joystick DAC, sound chip, etc... you'll understand that for that period in time it's a well designed machine. Mine still works after over 20 years. That's quite a feat.
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)
(No, I didn't do it actually, just modified it by putting the Vectrex in from the first one and swapping out the Warzone tank with M. Havoc.)
