Posted by Danika

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Was Apple III really that much of a failure?

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I'd say so.

Did you know it could do color? I didn't know it could do color! It has a color output port, but I've never seen anyone hook it into a color monitor.

That's how big of a flop it was; color was too obscure of a feature to get much usage. (and yes, color was useful for business applications)

Posted by DarkWitchClaire

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favorite tandy computer?

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Even though I don't have it anymore, I'm very fond of the 1000HX. The 1000 line is cool as a "PCjr done right", and I like the HX in particular because the PC era killed off the keyboard-included computer (well okay they actually still exist but in very limited numbers) but Tandy did a good job keeping the dream alive. Now if only they had figured out a way to manage enough room for real ISA slots, maybe I'd still have mine...

What I'm kind of surprised it's not is the Tandy Color Computer. The 6809 is wicked cool, right? But between RF-only output (and no easy mods! impressive to manage that given RF is just modulated composite) and the utter mediocrity that is the MC6847, I just can't bring myself to care. I'd get rid of the CoCo but there's no interest!

Posted by ゼンガー・ゾンボルト

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Poké Ball, Katagawa Ball or Rice Ball?

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Pokę Ball: Round, hates Pokêmon
Katagawa Ball: Round, hates me
Rice ball: Round, hates flavor

I guess I'll go with the Pokè Ball, I am obligated to capture all of them, after all.

Posted by DarkWitchClaire

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but can you capture all of their hearts?

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Try as I might, I have never been able to seduce Muk.

Or Gloom. Fucking Gloom.

Posted by AtomicAstro

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How old does something have to be for it to be considered "retro" to you?

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I think what's thrown me off is that I don't really think of retro as like, x years before the past, but of certain aesthetics and practices? Like my "formative period" of gaming was in the late 90's-early 00's, and in that time things like pixel art and most of 2D gaming had gotten so passe that we led to that awful late-GBA stuff where almost every game was prerendered 3D and looked atrocious, where there was no traditional 2D Mario game between 1992 and 2006, and huge genres were just cast aside outside of nostalgia-fest ports.

So it was pretty clear to me what "retro" was; it was the style of gaming that modern gaming had rejected. From a console perspective I usually considered the PlayStation/Saturn/N64 generation the cut-off point, since to me that's still one of the most dramatic shifts in console gaming from one generation to the next.

But I think this is partially a "Nicole" thing, brought about by my poor ability to navigate in 3D space. (So to me, discovering 2D games was a revelation!) And anyway today that cultural thing is totally gone, and there's been a huge revival of interest in older 2D styles, and 3D gaming has progressed so much that things have been lost* compared to older games and so people have something to go back to.

So I guess I won't begrudge people for calling the GameCube a retro console. But you won't hear me say it. (Of course that's not to disparage the 'cube, I loved it as a kid and my childhood machine is still under my TV, now with HDMI)

* - Sometimes things being lost is a good thing (limited continues and even lives are definitely dying out now), but it can still be fun to go back to them

Posted by Danika

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Got any old Laserdiscs or VHS tapes from a company like Apple, Commodore, etc.?

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Did they make laserdiscs? Closest I have

I don't have any VHS tapes, I don't even know if my VCR works.

Posted by AtomicAstro

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Since you mentioned limited lives/continues, what are your thoughts on people calling them "bad game design" in the present?

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I think that's usually true.

Limited lives/continues are good game design in the arcades; they reward skilled players with more play for their quarters. (Contrast with something like the PlayChoice-10 where you only pay for time)

Even for relatively simple games like Pac-Man or Donkey Kong, I think lives are good. The challenge is more "how long can you last" ("how high can you get") versus completing a linear succession of stages from start to finish. The games where lives work best generally don't have a finish.

However, most modern games aren't like that, so I think the presence of limited lives/continues is an anachronism at best.

Posted by Danika

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Like, as in promotional material mailed to computer shops and such?

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Could see them doing that with a VHS tape for sure, but laserdiscs are so much more effort to make...

Posted by DarkWitchClaire

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best double/multi jump in a video game?

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The "Metroidvania" Castlevania games usually have really good and satisfying double jumps.

Posted by Danika

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Wasn't the clock format what killed Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

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I didn't realize they added a clock format, that sounds terrible

In general I think what killed that show was that it was super popular and a cultural phenomenon; game shows last longer when they're a slow burn and become an institution... And that's why The Price is Right keeps going

Posted by DarkWitchClaire

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what's a pokemon that you didn't like at first but later grew on you?

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Raichu.

I think it took Alolan Raichu to get me to like it, but now I like regular Raichu as well.

Posted by Danika

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Ever feel like the RNG is conspiring against you in a game?

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Oh I don't need to feel like that, I know the RNG is conspiring against me-- the Pseudogoddess of Pseudorandom Number Generation is a long-time rival of mine.