MetaFilter posts tagged with classicgaming

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING MADE EASY

jbickers — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:25:01 -0800

"My boss told me not to work on it, because it was impossible to do on the Atari 2600 console, which had only 1/8 K of RAM and 4K of ROM." But creating the world's first video game easter egg might not even be Warren Robinett's most remarkable achievement. That honor should probably go to BASIC Programming, a cartridge that managed to turn the Atari 2600 into a programmable machine. Sure, it was limited - 128 bytes - but it was enough to do minor blips and bloops and loops. (It also worked with those totally awesome keypad controllers.) It's legacy lives on in batari Basic, a compiler that lets you create games playable on a 2600 emulator (and the Atari Age forums are full of user-created games).

Smithore for sale

roaring beast — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:17:35 -0800

Let's play M.U.L.E! More info and updates on the classic game at World of M.U.L.E.

How high can you get?

jbickers — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:58:41 -0800

Don Hodges writes scholarly (but readable) articles on the mathematics and logic of classic video games - with a special emphasis on kill screens, such as "Stage Zero" in Galaga, Level 22 in Donkey Kong, and the legendary split screen at the end of Pac-Man. More here. FYI, for non-classic gamers: "A kill screen is a stage or level in a video game (often an arcade game) that stops the player's progress due to a programming error or design oversight. Rather than "ending" in a traditional sense, the game will crash, freeze, or behave so erratically that further play is impossible." (Wiki) More kill-screen fun: Dig-Dug, Duck Hunt, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Megamania, Pitfall!

Old school gaming classic Defender of the Crown can be played for free

Kattullus — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 05:07:48 -0800

Defender of the Crown can be played on the website of the game's original designers. You are a noble who must unite England by jousting, warring and rescuing pretty maidens. The king has been murdered, the crown has been stolen and as your bestest pal Robin Hood says, "only you can save England."