My Pi arrived yesterday and I loaded it up with some full system libraries so my tiny easy to hook up anywhere classic video game library is ready. I put mine in a tiny NES case so it looks like the NES mini only it's way better. Here is a video.i found showing the menus I have, they have videos for every game as you scroll through your list, it's slick.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3pzxL7dKqUA

So I will be playing some old games. Trying out totally random stuff, most of it pure garbage but that's kind of the fun. Any suggestions, I hope this resurrects Leo.

Last night I tried out my first ever Atari games, from the 2600. I found  Chuck Norris Superkicks, come on with a title like that it has to be good. I can't even describe the shit I played, there is no real structure or anything. I saw a ton of straight space invaders clones. One called Evil Communists from space, it's just a reskin. I tried some Star Wars games, a little better but so simple that it's impossible to enjoy. I know there are a few gems, games ahead of their time that tried to have something of a structure.

One thing I clearly understand now is why the industry crashed, this is shit. Complete shit. It doesn't resemble games we love. The NES and SMB in particular is the real starting point for the games we love, everything that maters in game design can be traced back to that moment in time.the Atari was a really bad prototype that had to be burned down.

I'd like some pie now.  Warm, apple pie.

All right Vader, you got yourself a pi! Welcome to the club. Are you using RetroPie or are you going with a more hardcore programming approach?

As far as Atari 2600 games, there's very little I can recommend. Pitfall and Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns (don't confuse it with the mess that is Super Pitfall) are pretty much the only games for it I can recommend for actual enjoyment. Superman for the Atari is pretty decent too. Other than that, check out some other games just for curiosity and maybe any accompanying history lessons.

I primarily use my Pi for translated ROMs of Japanese games that never got published in the west, as well as for arcade titles through the mame emulators. Anyway once you reach the 8-bit and 16-bit games I'd love to know what you're playing. I can throw out a few recommendations too if you like.

BAMF back!  BAMF back!

Nice,  what do you recommend for Vader?

Nintyfan17 said:

I was thinking about getting one of these.

Dvader said:

Last night I tried out my first ever Atari games, from the 2600. I found  Chuck Norris Superkicks, come on with a title like that it has to be good. I can't even describe the shit I played, there is no real structure or anything. I saw a ton of straight space invaders clones. One called Evil Communists from space, it's just a reskin. I tried some Star Wars games, a little better but so simple that it's impossible to enjoy. I know there are a few gems, games ahead of their time that tried to have something of a structure.

One thing I clearly understand now is why the industry crashed, this is shit. Complete shit. It doesn't resemble games we love. The NES and SMB in particular is the real starting point for the games we love, everything that maters in game design can be traced back to that moment in time.the Atari was a really bad prototype that had to be burned down.

**There's only a few pieces of advice I can give when it comes to exploring games like these.**

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(1) The only entertainment value you'll probably get out of these is witnessing video game history first hand. If you want to see where the concepts of "Jumping" or "Running from left to right" come from in modern games, well here's your origin points.

(2) They're as conceptually simple as they can be. Literally, for a lot of the first generation of games, you couldn't even jump. There's a reason Mario being called "Jumpman" at first is a thing. Yeah. THAT simple. A lot of Atari 2600 games where single-screen, reflex and score-based gameplay affairs. Side-scrolling wasn't even a real thing. Rather than a smooth, scrolling transition, one screen would load (briefly) after you leave another. (Another reason why Super Mario Bros was such a marvel.) There's no character progression. There's barely "characters." I was awed by Mario having a discernable FACE. The first time I saw Mega Man BLINK I was dumbfounded.

(3) You'll see familiar names: Sega was around back then, so was Nintendo, but their games will be either licensed things (Star Trek) or so primitive, you won't care other than just curiosity. Activision has been around forever too and they were a MAJOR third party publisher even back then. Their games were of a slightly higher quality too.

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I'm gonna give you a list of games to look at and brief reasons why, but don't expect to be awed by any of them.

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• Adventure -- Even the name is as basic as they come. Use of weapons and items to progress. Look up the 'Golden Flea' to learn about the (probable) first 'Easter-Egg' in a game.
• Pitfall -- Psuedo-Side-Scrolling. The birth of the platformer. (Activision)
• Pitfall II -- Suprisingly advanced for it's time.
• Phoenix -- Advanced Shooter for it's time.
• Kaboom -- Pure reflex. You just have to.
• Tunnel Runner -- Birth of the 3D game.
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Like you wouldn't anyway.)
• Super-Cobra -- Competent side scrolling shooter. (Konami)
• H.E.R.O. -- Search and rescue game, surprisingly complex. (Activision)
• Donkey Kong -- So bad.
• Donkey Kong Jr. -- So much better, but still meh.
• Pac-Man -- Sooooo bad! (Rushed arcade port to capitalize on the craze.)
• Ms. Pac-Man -- What happens when they take their time.
• Space Invaders -- One of the FIRST arcade HUGE hits.
• Asteroids -- First example of video game price-gouging due to demand.
• Missle Command -- Imagine being a kid, growing up in the 80's where a Nuclear War was a real worry. This game was fun but nerve wracking at the same time, pretending you were defending your own home town from attack.
• Krull -- Based on the movie. Not bad.
• Reactor -- The music will NEVER leave your head.
• E.T. the Extra Terrestrial -- Witness the game that almost killed our beloved industry before it even had a chance. (It was Nintendo that brought us back from the brink.)

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--More to come!

God, ET was a shitstain of a game.