MetaFilter posts tagged with Games and history

Flash Friday: Second Empire Artistic Demimonde Edition

Iridic — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:46:15 -0800

In the new game Avant-Garde, you play an up-and-coming artist in 19th century Paris, a contemporary of Manet and Bouguereau. Carve and sell allegorical statue groups! Get snubbed by Napoleon III! Subsidize Gustave Courbet's drinking! Compose and promulgate your own aesthetic manifesto!

"Some remarkable Books, Antiquities, Pictures and Rarities of several kinds, scarce or never seen by any man now living."

Kattullus — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:35:31 -0800

Musæum Clausum is a catalog of invented books, pictures and antiquities written by 17th Century Englishman Sir Thomas Browne. It is a fantastical and witty meditation on the ravages of time on literature and other works of man. The Musæum Clausum is perhaps the finest example of the invented, or invisible, library, a genre which seems to have originated with Rabelais. The genre has been of special interest to Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog (older posts), where he has written about the invisible libraries of writers such as Charles Dickens, Neil Gaiman, H. P. Lovecraft and invisible libraries in video games. The natural medium for invisible libraries might be pictures, and Musæum Clausum inspired a suite of etchings by Erik Desmazieres.

Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021

valkyryn — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 06:07:42 -0800

Got a few hours to kill and want to spend a little time in gaming history? Don't have anything else to do until 2013? Check out Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021 (wiki) (previously), one of the earliest 4X games ever made, dating to 1987-88. The original version was DOS-based, but the creator, George Moromisato, released a Windows version in 2004 which has significant updates. The premise of the game is fairly straightforward: you take on the role of the emperor/empress (the game permits you to select your gender, though it doesn't make much of a difference) of a fledgling interstellar empire. The goal is to conquer your section of the galaxy, which contains nineteen different planetary classes and three species of nebula, using seven ship-types and four kinds of planetary defenses with eight megastructures thrown in to keep things interesting. Of the four types of raw materials, three--metals, chemicals, and supplies--are available in functionally unlimited quantities, while the fourth--"trillum"--used as fuel for your starships, is exceptionally limited. The game can be viewed as a sort of long-term efficiency engine, where players try to maximize their allocation of trillum. Too much spent on planetary defenses and logistical matters and you won't have enough to move your fleets. Too little, and someone else will come around and ruin your whole day. More details. The original 1988 DOS version had one arguably crippling limitation: no more than 9999 of any given type of object could be present in one location. So a fleet with 9999 of the toughest kind of ship was almost impossible to overwhelm with larger numbers of weaker ships, because it was impossible to concentrate forces that way. Even worse, you could wind up losing vast quantities of precious trillum to the void if a planet produced more than 9999 units in a single turn: the excess was simply wasted. The 2004 re-release fixed that problem. Now, conquering undesirable worlds, stripping them of their trillum reserves, and casting them off is an entirely viable if not necessary strategy. Moromisato is reportedly working on Anacreon 3. Moromisato is also the creator of Transendence (wiki, game wiki), an Elite/Escape Velocity successor (previously) with a decent amount of Nethack thrown in for good measure which is now in version 1.01.

The Extraordinary Quest to Put All the Super Mario Games On One Timeline

reenum — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 13:27:31 -0800

Stephen Totilo of Kotaku tries to determine the correct chronology for all the games in the Super Mario canon.

40 years of arcade gaming

JHarris — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:50:04 -0800

Atari, the first successful arcade video game company, would have been 40 years old today. The blog Arcade Heroes takes the opportunity to look back over 40 years of arcade gaming (from Atari and other companies) with flyers and video. Part 1 (1970s & 80s) - Part 2 (1990s to present). (WARNING: huge pages ahead with lots of flash videos.)

Making Games

Bora Horza Gobuchul — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:14:30 -0800

The Valve Employee Handbook [PDF]. An oral history of computer gaming, with Sid Meier (Civillisation I - V, Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon) and Ralph Baer (Pong, the Simon platform), from Vice TV's Motherboard. Also: interviews with classic computer game programmers: Eugene Jarvis (Robotron: 2084, Defender), Jeff Minter (Gridrunner, Revenge Of The Mutant Camels, Gridrunner, Llamatron) and many more, together with the Giant List of Classic Game Programmers. (Previously, a decade ago).

Leisure Suit Larry

Trurl — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:43:03 -0800

Leisure Suit Larry is a series of adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009. The main character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing (but still somewhat lovable) "loser" in his 40s. The games follow him as he spends much of his life trying (usually unsuccessfully) to seduce attractive women. Watch someone else play Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards or play it yourself. (h/t spec80)

"as far as I'm concerned, Montezuma has always been a prick"

Kattullus — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:48:11 -0800

National Characters is a long, multi-part essay about how computer games deal with the concept of nations and turns it into a game mechanic. The author, Troy Goodfellow of strategy gaming blog Flash of Steel, focuses on how the fourteen indistinguishable national factions of the original Sid Meier's Civilization have been treated by different games through the years. The fourteen original civs: America Aztecs Babylonians Chinese Egyptians English French Germans Greeks Indians Mongolians Romans Russians Zulu There are also two epilogues. The first about the also rans, Arabia, Japan and Spain, nations not featured in Civ 1 that have become mainstays in historical strategy games. In his proper epilogue Nations as Characters, Goodfellow sets out some of his conclusions. Bonus: In 2008 Goodfellow explored how the Roman Empire has been portrayed in computer strategy games through the decades in special series.

The world of perfect video game emulation

The Devil Tesla — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:30:58 -0800

Accuracy takes power: one man's 3GHz quest to build a perfect SNES emulator. The author of the SNES emulator bsnes talks about the difficulties in creating emulators that accurately simulate classic game consoles, and why it will take lifetimes to generate enough computer power to perfectly recreate the most modern consoles.

Games and resources from museums for children

paduasoy — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:33:46 -0800

Show Me is a site collecting games and resources for children from UK museums. Online games include: what it is like to be a bat; the Fire of London; Darwin's Fooststeps; Joust; Nit Fit; decorating a Greek pot; MP for a week; Egyptian mummies; Victorian house; Pest Detective; Treasure Hunt; dressing a Victorian; Victorian millionaire; portraits; Roman coins (needs sound); Thingdom and Roman baths. Other resources linked to, or articles on the site itself, include: exploring an Anglo-Saxon village; archaeology at a school in Essex; video about the history of writing; smells at Jorvik; making your own picture of a mythical creature (Word file); child life in Victorian Wales; legend about a Viking stone; and resources about the Romans. There are also natural history jokes and emails from children. There is a lot more on the site, though there are some broken links (all the ones above are working at the moment).

"no holds barred, no avenue in Toytown left untraveled, no chamber in the Castle Colorforms, unexplored..."

jessamyn — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:20:25 -0800

"From 1965 to 1971, we played together, inventing one thing or another.... But, like the bride of Bluebeard, there was one door I was not allowed to enter. That was the door marked “Colorforms”. That alone was off limits. Harry had invented Colorforms, the vinyl plastic pieces that stuck to a shiny surface. And he was convinced that there was no idea or application involving Colorforms, nor could there be, that he had not thought up already.... [H]e would entertain no further discussion on the subject. The very mention of “stick-ons” was off limits. The door to Colorforms was shut and bolted. Until 6 years later, through a curious set of circumstances, I broke it down once and forever." The Colorforms Years is Mel Birnkrant's illustrated history of two decades of ups and downs working with Colorforms, the first plastic-based creative toy and one of the first toys promoted in television commercials. If you grew up in the 1970s, you will probably recognize many of these toys: Pound Puppies, Peanuts, Mickey Mouse, Holly Hobbie, McDonalds, and more.

The Philosophers' Game

Iridic — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:40:08 -0800

Rithmomachia: the Philosophers' Game. The basic rules. A contemporary account. Its place in Utopia. An implementation. More period games.

It's Friday already in Europe, time for flash fun.

Kattullus — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:12:58 -0800

Educational gamesmaker Preloaded has recently made two strategy games for English TV station Channel 4. 1066 is a mix of tactics, insult-typing, bowmanship, rhythm-game and narration by Ian Holm. Trafalgar Origins is all Napoleonic high seas derringdo all the time, as you sail your English ship in real time against the damnable French and Spanish. Whether you want to hoist the sails or call your opponent a stench weasel, they are fun little games which have the added bonus of teaching you about British history. Both games can be played solo or multiplayer. [via Rock Paper Shotgun, where they like those games quite a lot]

Oral History of Gaming

Kattullus — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:51:16 -0800

On a snowy Valentine's Day weekend in Michigan Sid Meier creates a game in 48 hours called Escape from Zombie Hotel! He's there to judge a 48 hour game design contest at his alma mater, University of Michigan but decides to also work on a game alongside the student teams. He also talks about his career, focusing on his early days. This is the third installment of motherboard.tv's Oral History of Gaming series. The first profiles Ralph Baer, the inventor of the first home gaming console, and the second is about Eric Zimmerman, designer of Sissyfight. Sadly, the awesome-looking Escape from Zombie Hotel has note been released, but the oher games designed during the contest are available here. [via Rock Paper Shotgun]

"Will you still need me? / Will you still feed me?"

bardic — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:10:35 -0800

"What were arcades like?"

640K ought to be enough for anybody

netbros — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:11:05 -0800

The History of Computing Project is a collaborative effort to record and publish the history of the computer and its roots. The site includes a chronological timeline, biographies of computing pioneers, a look at computing hardware through the years, as well as software and games. Having a 30-year career in the field, I am partial to mainframe computing. I started my career in 1973 working on this machine, and ended it on this one, with many in between. Other mainframe timelines: IBM mainframes Viking Waters Computer history: IBM 360/370/3090/390

Let's go Nintendo

dhammond — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:56:22 -0800

Everything you need to know about playing Nintendo.

Life before the Ashes

randomination — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 07:07:11 -0800

Stoolball is the medieval ancestor of cricket and baseball. First mentioned in print in 1671, it was reputedly played by milkmaids, who used their bare hands as bats. The game is still played today in some parts of south-east England, but luckily with frying pan-shaped contraptions instead. An important rule is that not following the spirit of the game will get you sent off the pitch. Here are some pictures of games in progress, along with other medieval bat-and-ball games such as Nipsy and Knur & Spell. Or, if you don't like ball games, try another medieval sport, dwile flonking (play online in flash).

Grob spike-attack, Santasiere's folly, and the vulture defense

blahblahblah — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 10:43:34 -0800

Chess has a long, if somewhat shrouded, history, with beautiful chess pieces found dating from the 5th century. It has spawned hundreds of fascinating stories, and many interesting names for moves. For the last five decades, the history of chess and computers have been intertwined in many ways. Chess continues to adapt to a new age, with controversies around computer-assisted cheating, attempts to sex-up chess books, thousands of variants, and an amazing online database that can search through recorded games for the last 200 years.

You hear bats. You feel a draft. You smell a Wumpus.

BlackLeotardFront — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:46:18 -0800

The Dot Eaters. A dauntingly comprehensive history of video games, beginning with proto-PONG and Spacewar!. If it's difficult to navigate through Captain O's prize matrix, use the handy timeline/scape (the dates don't work, so don't try). It's an interesting site, for sure, but if it doesn't pique your interest maybe the links page will, since it's the largest I've ever seen. In just minutes I found the First Church of Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros fanfiction (@), and a great Robotron shrine. Plus, this noise (wav).

Time wasting without killing electrons

Mitheral — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:39:46 -0800

The Online Guide to Traditional games has a short history with pictures of many games that were in existence prior to 1900 and are still played today. Some, like Mancala, much prior to 1900. Also collected by the same author are the rules for many of the games.

Now entering nerdspace.

voltairemodern — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 09:16:48 -0800

A Brief History of Game: A nine-part review of the major highlights in rpg history. Other interesting if generally unrelated pieces on the history of gaming, pen & paper or otherwise: "Where Have All the Demons Gone?", discussing the history of Magic the Gathering; A somewhat flippant piece by GameSpy; and some obligatory RPG theory regarding the historical popularity of various styles of RPG.

Hanafuda and Go-Stop

hama7 — Sun, 02 May 2004 08:36:43 -0800

Hanafuda, also known as Go-Stop. [more]

Variations on a theme

tepidmonkey — Wed, 07 Apr 2004 17:17:13 -0800

If you're bored with the kind of chess grandpappy taught you, know there are well over 1,000 other ways to do it. Play chess on a Moebius strip, with hexagons, or like Monopoly. Or play Chaturanga, chess's earliest ancestor. And if you don't have the time to, say, build your own 3-D Star Trek chessboard, there are also variations playable with a standard chess set.

The games people play

letourneau — Wed, 18 Feb 2004 05:41:05 -0800

Perhaps it says something about the intellectual sophistication of ancient cultures that some of the most entertaining games in existence are thousands of years old: backgammon, Go, mancala... The now-ubiquitous chess is a relative newcomer, dating back merely 1400 years. One wonders whether Boggle or Monopoly will withstand the test of time so well.