A Turbo Oral History Pt. 1
crafted by: Paul
Like Mega Man said, "We are the sum of our experiences." One of the exciting things about being an adult gamer is sharing your gaming background with other adult gamers. Every gamer is different, because every gamer grew up in a different environment, with different access to different games and gaming devices. So, in the great tradition of ... oral tradition, Turbo Boss Battle's two editors present the first part of their gaming history.
Alex: I'll start with a question to you to get started: What was the first game you played, how old were you, and what year was it?
Paul: The earliest game I remember playing was Metroid for NES at my cousins’ house. It must have been 1990 or 91, so I was 3 or 4. That's what I feel in my gut anyways
Paul: Now back at you. First game?
Alex: It was Mario and Duck Hunt for me, that’s what I remember playing a lot of when I was really young. My parents said I was 2 when I started playing which would have made it 1989. I definitely don't know how much I actually "played" but my parents joke that I was basically born with a controller in my hand
Paul: So your older brother had an NES?
Alex: Yeah, it was my brother's. Strangely, I don't remember playing video games with my brother at all even though we shared video games consoles for many years
Alex: What was your first system?
Lost Caverns of Atarius
crafted by: PaulI go back and forth on the Angry Video Game Nerd. At his best, the AVGN is funny and informative: he does a good job at making fun of epically shitty games that have been lost to time (Plumbers Don't Wear Ties is a must-see). His best works are his compilation videos on consoles such as the Virtual Boy and Sega CD/32X, which especially educational and some of the best retro gaming content online. On the other hand, the AVGN can be annoyingly obvious, cursing out a shovelware NES game is like shooting a whale shark in a barrel. In these cases, the swearing goes overboard and ceases to be funny. Worst of all, he's created a legion of imitators on YouTube who think that breathing oily f-bombs over their hypercams is entertainment.
I had missed this recent AVGN episode when it came out, but I found it to be very interesting, even "captivating". If you're like me and have never heard of the Sword Quest games nor the infamously bungled real-world contest, then continue on and watch the video below:
This story encapsulates the Atari era for me. Ambitious games trapped in a primitive industry - trying to make the game experience come alive in the real world in a meta way, only to become part of another meta arc, of the glory and rapid descent of the industry. And in many way this is what grabs me about retro gaming: in-game legends being surpassed by a real-world legend. The legends of games like Sword Quest, E.T., Pac Man, heck even the Atari 2600 itself are infinitely more interesting than playing the actual games.
Which leads me to my final point: I have an Atari 2600 with lotsa games but I can't find it. Anyone who has a detailed knowledge of my parent's basement should email me with clues.
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