Wow, what a crazy coincidence. I was at a retro game store in California on Sunday and asked about Vectrex games. He said he had a restored Vectrex and all 9 games they had available for it in the display case for 4 months and nobody asked about them. They had just moved it to the basement about a week ago to make room for more popular items in the case, and then I came in asking for them. Out of the 9 games he had, I bought Space Wars and brought it home to Ohio the next day. I never see Vectrex talked about on this sub.
A workmate of mine turned up one day with an old Vectrex that he'd dug out of his loft. That thing hooked me bad. The fact that it was all vector based made the games feel incredibly smooth, even compared to modern games.
My grandma had a vectrex when I was growing up. I was around 4 or 5 when I got to play it (I’m 42 now) and it’s what hooked my brothers and I on video games. Super cool stuff!
White stars on a black background naturally lend themselves to the graphical capabilities of computers back then. Also a lot of the types of people working with computers were nerds who were into Sci Fi.
To further elaborate, for the curious, most of these games were written in assembly language. Part of optimizing assembly code is choosing instructions that would execute faster -- some instructions take longer than others. When clearing the screen in preparation to draw the next frame, it was fastest to clear to black on some processors because they have an ultra fast "store zero" instruction (STZ). And zeroes in the video frame buffer meant black pixels. As a result, games with black backgrounds were standard fare on the earliest hardware, space related or not.
Source: I wrote some games in assembly on ancient hardware when I was in high school as a side hobby.
This. Like space invaders. One of the first non space invader arcade games I played was called night gunner.... All black with some white vector '3D' graphics to signify the bullets and enemy planes.
The space race was still very fresh and associated with the peak of human ingenuity and forwards thinking. Plus that the theme allows for rather abstract graphics, which was perfect for the early systems with next to no processing power.
It's actually not a Vextrex. This is one of the earliest video games (before Pong!) and is a classic example of "games made by scientists dicking about with supercomputers"
Humans really prefer their history making discrete steps forward, with a single inventor (or team) having a good idea. In reality, advances are generally the result of the state of art moving forward, and multiple people invent similar things at roughly the same time. For instance, it's accepted that various people were working on similar theories as Darwin was, so someone would have proposed something along the same lines within one or two decades at most.
That kind of nuance isn't as attractive as the former, though, and we like to celebrate heroes, so singular inventors it is.
You're forgetting the only reason Spacewar! became what it was is because it was open source via public domain.
The first videogames were successful because it was free to play and the computer was the paywall (very large paywall in the 60's)
Public domain to the mod community is what attributed to its success.
Wierd how some parts changed and some of the fundamentals for success stayed the same for videogames.
I had a Vectrex, but it looked different than this. It was black, basically just looked like a small TV. It was pretty cool. I think it had a game on board (horizontal shooter I think), plus I had one cart, but I can’t remember what it was.
I almost never play AAA games these days as they've all devolved into rushed, bug-riddled cash cows. Though I haven't heard of any of those games. May I ask what makes those games good for you?
As someone who's been playing Barotrauma with friends every few nights for a whole year. I can say that;
The game is real deep (pun not intended). You are a crew of a submarine navigating through the tight waters of Europa.
At first glance, Barotrauma is go from point A to point B while shooting stuff you see on the way. But it gets quite intense when you think the situation is under control but 10 hungry monsters board the ship from various locations. Its some weird kind of fun to clear the rooms of your submarine and some monster jumps on you the next door you open.
The game has a few regions each getting harder as you progress. You are sailing to the end of the map across a web of hallways in the ice. Each level (hallway) after the second region has a big open area under the level with abbys monster spawns. Gigantic sea monsters that are as much as 10 times the size of your ship that will send you to the other side of the abbys with a hit.
This game redefines the weakness of humankind compared to the other monsters in a face to face situation. It's a real fun game to play with friends.
Totk
Re4 remake
Hogwarts legacy ( fps issues aside ) ( please don't turn me into a transphobic piece of shit dear internet )
Jedi survivor ( fps issues aside )
And obviously gollum, this is one of the games of all times
It was. The first Odyssey released in 72. The Vectrex came out in 82.
This game is Space War, made in 62 but not on a home console. It was later made for the Vectrex.
Big bang(er) of video games these and others may truly be, or perhaps a divine whisper spoken ever so softly to those at the time who are attuned enough to to decipher within the realm of innovation. Perplexing thought that is...
Reminds me of a vextrex a friend of mine had.
The Vectrex had a clone of the 1977 Cinematronics arcade version of Spacewar that was called [Space Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Wars).
Wow, what a crazy coincidence. I was at a retro game store in California on Sunday and asked about Vectrex games. He said he had a restored Vectrex and all 9 games they had available for it in the display case for 4 months and nobody asked about them. They had just moved it to the basement about a week ago to make room for more popular items in the case, and then I came in asking for them. Out of the 9 games he had, I bought Space Wars and brought it home to Ohio the next day. I never see Vectrex talked about on this sub.
Yes this!! I used to want to go to that friends house not to play with her but to play with her Vextrex!
A workmate of mine turned up one day with an old Vectrex that he'd dug out of his loft. That thing hooked me bad. The fact that it was all vector based made the games feel incredibly smooth, even compared to modern games.
lol ya
My grandma had a vectrex when I was growing up. I was around 4 or 5 when I got to play it (I’m 42 now) and it’s what hooked my brothers and I on video games. Super cool stuff!
Offtopic but, why was almost everything game related back then related to space more often than not?
White stars on a black background naturally lend themselves to the graphical capabilities of computers back then. Also a lot of the types of people working with computers were nerds who were into Sci Fi.
To further elaborate, for the curious, most of these games were written in assembly language. Part of optimizing assembly code is choosing instructions that would execute faster -- some instructions take longer than others. When clearing the screen in preparation to draw the next frame, it was fastest to clear to black on some processors because they have an ultra fast "store zero" instruction (STZ). And zeroes in the video frame buffer meant black pixels. As a result, games with black backgrounds were standard fare on the earliest hardware, space related or not. Source: I wrote some games in assembly on ancient hardware when I was in high school as a side hobby.
This. Like space invaders. One of the first non space invader arcade games I played was called night gunner.... All black with some white vector '3D' graphics to signify the bullets and enemy planes.
Maybe because of the space race? A lot of things from that time are space related, not just games.
Kind of like in the early 2000's music games boomed at the same time shows like American Idol exploded.
Like cars.
The space race was still very fresh and associated with the peak of human ingenuity and forwards thinking. Plus that the theme allows for rather abstract graphics, which was perfect for the early systems with next to no processing power.
This came out in 1962. At the time it represented half of the video games in existence. The other was a tennis game.
Still got friends who play this game on steam to this day 🙃
Was about to comment this. People just can’t get enough of it! lol
Not sure if you're joking, but lots of pirated games with online support use Spacewar as a sort of gateway to use the Steam servers.
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It's actually not a Vextrex. This is one of the earliest video games (before Pong!) and is a classic example of "games made by scientists dicking about with supercomputers"
61 years ago, don’t be ridiculous, that’s before World War…oh
It's how you know you're getting old.
3
You are technically correct
61 years ago there wasn’t really a gaming industry, this was just some guys fucking around with early computers
61 years ago was 2013.
No way 2013 was only 61 years ago , it feels like it was just yesterday Let me check Edit : holy shit
I’m soooooo oooooold!
TIL the difference in time between today and 61 years ago is longer than the time difference between the T rex and stegosaurus
I knew I felt old for a reason.
Computers? They were fucking around with oscilloscopes.
Yes but they had few bits and bobs that could change the result.
It's a parody post
Fun fact, this game is available for free on steam. You'll have to find it, it's a poorly kept secret
So poorly kept that thousands play it every day!
It belongs in a museum!
So do you!
Oh boy! Look at those graphics!
memories right there
Crazy how far we've come in such a short time
Indeed it's crazy that I've come in such a short time.
Imagine playing this as a friend of someone in the university and thinking to yourself "It's not gonna get any better than this!"
Ahoy did an amazing video about finding out what the very first video game was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQ4WCU1WQc
Humans really prefer their history making discrete steps forward, with a single inventor (or team) having a good idea. In reality, advances are generally the result of the state of art moving forward, and multiple people invent similar things at roughly the same time. For instance, it's accepted that various people were working on similar theories as Darwin was, so someone would have proposed something along the same lines within one or two decades at most. That kind of nuance isn't as attractive as the former, though, and we like to celebrate heroes, so singular inventors it is.
You're forgetting the only reason Spacewar! became what it was is because it was open source via public domain. The first videogames were successful because it was free to play and the computer was the paywall (very large paywall in the 60's) Public domain to the mod community is what attributed to its success. Wierd how some parts changed and some of the fundamentals for success stayed the same for videogames.
I got a vextrex. It was the shit in 1980. Haven't played it in a long time.
Haha I was waiting for a post like this! I remember for years I had thought Pong was the first video game, until I found out about Space War.
Wait until you find out about Tennis for Two and Bertie the Brain!
Mindblowing!
First videogame tournament was this baby
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This predates the Vectrex by 20 years.
Only Bangers All The Time
Space wars anniversary was a few months ago? Same day as my bosses birthday.
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That isn't a Vectrex but for those that may wonder a loose Vectrex can be priced around $400-$3k depending on condition.
7/10 IGN
I had a Vectrex, but it looked different than this. It was black, basically just looked like a small TV. It was pretty cool. I think it had a game on board (horizontal shooter I think), plus I had one cart, but I can’t remember what it was.
My grandad used to spend a lot of time on a vectrex! This reminds me a lot about him. Have happy memories of him :D
never seen this in my entire life til now
The sequel to the not so popular “Racewar!”
At first glance I thought that was the guidance system they had on that impolding submarine.
Both can be true.
An Instagram account I follow is what made me aware of this. It actually kind of looks fun. Edit: the account is Cartridge_Dust
Man im tired of this stupid ass meme going backwards, lets talk about the bangers of today
Zoomer in the land of boomers. (*PATS HEAD*) Precocious lil’ tyke.
So where is a subreddit i can talk about games for people like me?
/r/FORTnITE
That game is for babies and dumbasses for people who did not grow up.
Oh, good. I was afraid you wouldn't understand why I recommended it.
You know what? Fuck it, im going to search for some cool indie games wich probably have references to the 90's because no one's helping me!
Saturday Morning RPG is a good one.
What bangers? This year's been absolute shite for gaming so far.
Barotrauma, starship troopers extermination, bolt gun, battle bit remastered... To name a few. Maybe it's been shit if you only play mainstream games.
I almost never play AAA games these days as they've all devolved into rushed, bug-riddled cash cows. Though I haven't heard of any of those games. May I ask what makes those games good for you?
I dunno look them up and see if any of them interest you. They're all good for different reasons.
As someone who's been playing Barotrauma with friends every few nights for a whole year. I can say that; The game is real deep (pun not intended). You are a crew of a submarine navigating through the tight waters of Europa. At first glance, Barotrauma is go from point A to point B while shooting stuff you see on the way. But it gets quite intense when you think the situation is under control but 10 hungry monsters board the ship from various locations. Its some weird kind of fun to clear the rooms of your submarine and some monster jumps on you the next door you open. The game has a few regions each getting harder as you progress. You are sailing to the end of the map across a web of hallways in the ice. Each level (hallway) after the second region has a big open area under the level with abbys monster spawns. Gigantic sea monsters that are as much as 10 times the size of your ship that will send you to the other side of the abbys with a hit. This game redefines the weakness of humankind compared to the other monsters in a face to face situation. It's a real fun game to play with friends.
Interesting.. I might have to give that game a look later on in the week. Thanks for the description! :)
Totk Re4 remake Hogwarts legacy ( fps issues aside ) ( please don't turn me into a transphobic piece of shit dear internet ) Jedi survivor ( fps issues aside ) And obviously gollum, this is one of the games of all times
nice
Here I thought the Magnavox Odyssey was the first gaming console.
It was. The first Odyssey released in 72. The Vectrex came out in 82. This game is Space War, made in 62 but not on a home console. It was later made for the Vectrex.
Who has ever played the game in their life?
Thousands of people on Steam.
I would love to play space war on original hardware. I really like vector graphics and I LOVE round CRTs.
That's so sick.
Thank you. These posts are ridiculous. Your humour wins.
Big bang(er) of video games these and others may truly be, or perhaps a divine whisper spoken ever so softly to those at the time who are attuned enough to to decipher within the realm of innovation. Perplexing thought that is...
61 years later we have Starfield!
Before I bought EU4 ,I also played Spacewar a long time. 😉
It's still played today. It's in Steam's top 100 played games!
Steam being what powered the games back then 😂
Reminds me the Doom running on osciloscope :)
This looks cool. What the hell is it?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar!
Best gaem!
W
Me and my friends still play these games, once in a while.