videogame history

neon blood red textured wall with an upside down cross, showing a grey stone brick wall behind it.

computer graphics (1998) web.archive.org/web/19980128...

lofi graphical image of a brown wooden fireplace/mantelpiece with a lit fire. on the mantelpiece, there is one lit green candle on either side. on the blue wall is a framed 'home sweet home'.

computer graphics (1985) archive.org/details/fami...

many students sitting at development stations, black crt monitors. a man wearing glasses looks like he is overseeing a student.

a student sitting at a development station, music keyboard to her left. other development stations to her right. headphones on.

enix game school, tokyo (circa 1993) archive.org/details/mico...

6 joysticks photo'd from 1985: wico's the boss (finger idents for gripping the stick), discwasher pointmaster, kraft joystick (atari) (big bas, small thin stick), wico command control (apple), suncom tac-2 (small stick with round black sphere on top), suncom tac-3

joysticks (1985) archive.org/details/fami...

a scoring table: scoring target points energy gain pitchforks 0 2 clouds 0 2 spiders 10 4 gravestones 10 4 gallows 20 4 guillotines 20 4 axes 30 4 monks 30 4 faces 40 4 eyes 40 4 sacred crosses 250 40 we're praying for you...

go to hell, scoring, inside cover, zx spectrum (1985) www.mobygames.com/game/75901/g...

header: soul calibur finder text: blank fields will be ignored during the search. enter multiple search keywords to get more accurate results. fields: arcade name city us state or country (drop down menu) zip code (below this there is a clickable button: find soul calibur II)

soul calibur II finder, from the official website (2002) web.archive.org/web/20021120...

header (bold red caps text between two flames): warning! text body: this site contains content not approved for consumption by children, senators, religious leaders and/or other easily damaged psyches, those seeking to enhance or establish political careers and/or possessed of delusions of grandeur. if accidentally exposed, flush eyes with cold water and induce vomiting. if irritation persists, sit quietly and watch pbs. not for internal use. this site and its related products/propaganda are guaranteed not to make you go blind, masturbate (and then go blind), become a social liability, induce you to act out atrocities that you would otherwise never indulge in, or burn eternally in hell. running with scissors accepts no responsibility for any and all random acts of stupidity or violence committed by losers who may blame popular entertainment media and/or sugary snack foods for causing their inherent basic lack of control. you're on your own. thank you and goodnight.

postal, warning, official website (1998) web.archive.org/web/19980127...

head of prompt: lost your sanity! body of prompt: you had to be institutionalized! it took $500 in psychiatric care to get you back on your feet! options: x - ok

the sims 2, prompt, psp (2005) www.mobygames.com/game/37966/t...

upper right hand corner: photo of a gamecube box with a zelda label on it. text: gamecube plus 4 zelda games only $139.95 larger text in the middle of the ad: santa's going to get a hernia. styled text font down the bottom of the ad: naughty or nice - feed the need - (nintendo logo) (the rest of the ad is white)

gamecube, print ad (2003) archive.org/details/tota...

a dark cavern. text: you're slipping on some slime. press a key to avoid danger.

kaiv, screenshot, atari 8-bit (1983) www.mobygames.com/game/23816/k...

aye not super familiar with final fantasy so it's my bad.

isometric pixelated landscape, tiny cutesy characters and buildings, a little greenery, a little dirt, mostly stones. blonde girl/young woman (head and shoulder portrait): it's called "final fantasy." it's not real. not really.

final fantasy tactics advance, screenshot, game boy advance (2003) www.mobygames.com/game/10325/f...

header: kung-fu has never been this real! text: no other fighting game has the level of realism, this assortment of real defensive techniques. over a dozen moves are at your command, all with the support of artificial intelligence programming. armed with these awesome skills, you'll train at the legendary shorinji monastery.

nes 2d: a young man, wearing a white headband, green top, white belt, white pants is fighting a wise, bald old man, in a red top, white pants.

flying dragon: the secret scroll, the back cover pitch vs. the game, nes (1989) www.mobygames.com/game/33273/f...

image: two large, towering dogs, one on either side of a small cat. text: why settle for ordinary motherboard audio.. image: six large, towering dogs, surrounding a small cat that is now looking at the camera. text: when 6 channels make an extraordinary difference!

sound blaster live! 5.1, sound card, print ad, imagery (2002) archive.org/details/comp...

a man, shocked, probably dead look on his face, wide eyes, open mouth, blood streaming down his face, has been stabbed in the forehead from behind by a zombie crreature with a large blade, wearing ragged torn clothes.

profanation, amstrad cpc (1987) www.anotherworld.fr/anotherworld...

3d room, desk, lamp, bed, wooden wall, door, poster on wall, table and lamp next to bed, window with wooden cross dividing it into four sections.

computer graphics (1995) archive.org/details/Koro...

smiling dude with a rainbow coloured afro, wearing a black t-shirt and holding 3 different coloured cd-r's in each hand ("infused with permanent dyes"). down in the bottom left hand corner is the memorex logo with the tagline below: is it live or is it memorex?

memorex cd-r, print ad, imagery (2002) archive.org/details/comp...

lofi android sprite repeated across the screen in different stances, two pointy ears like a rabbit or something but standing like a human.

android nim, magazine screenshot, trs-80 (1979) archive.org/details/crea...

kid in a kinda backwards kinda sideways cap, wearing denim overalls and a funky shirt, is smiling and holding up a compact disc. a smaller image of a man in a suit is off to the right . a small promotional photo of the fm towns computer is toward the bottom right of the ad.

fm towns, print ad (1989) archive.org/details/mico...

taunt screen where the head portraits of a purple haired character and shin akuma (big head, angry, bright red and pink hair) are shown. akuma: i am power made fleash!

street fighter collection, screenshot, sega saturn (1997) www.mobygames.com/game/3708/st...

a joint keyboard/computer/screen, kinda cream coloured with curved edges/corners. commodore branding. small text: prices start at 995 pounds ex. vat more prominent text above: it's a picture.

commodore 700, promotional photo (1983) archive.org/details/Prac...

a pixelated teacher, wearing spectacles, holding a pointing stick, is standing within the image of a real tomato. drawn lightning bolts are protruding from the edges of the tomato. other pixelated images are inbetween these: a space craft, a witch on a broom, an octopus(?), a small creature with a bushy tail, etc.

imagery, type-in listing section, micombasic magazine (1989) archive.org/details/mico...

lara croft teaches children about guns (she is holding up a pistol in front of two students, sitting at their desks. she is wearing a white shirt and glasses and has a gun holster strapped to her hip.

illustration, gamepro, magazine (2005) archive.org/details/Game...

red ghost - urchin-----"macky pink ghost - romp-------"micky" blue ghost - stylist----"mucky" orange ghost - crybaby----"mocky"

pac-man, alternate ghost names, arcade (1980) 'the board has a dip switch called "alternate ghost names". in the japanese version, this would change the ghosts' character names and nicknames to a different set..' tcrf.net/Pac-Man_(Arc...

nightmare-ass cover with imagery of a wide-eyed frog sticking its tongue out and trying to grab a flying insect. it is wearing orange overalls. in the background a maze of platforms and caterpillars. text font: a-mazing fun fun fun for all the family

froggies, pc (2006) www.mobygames.com/game/61048/f...

stage 1. great expectations illustration of a family all romanticizing the (same) thought of owning a computer.

stage 4. astonishment illustration of the family (dog too) staring at the computer in astonishment as it loudly 'beep!'s. the father is falling off his chair. daughter is peeking out from behind the mother.

stage 6. devotion illustration of the family (dog on top of covers) sleeping in a shared bed with a smiling faced computer, its eyes closed. zzz.

stage 7. acceptance the family is going about their normal lives, mother is on the phone, son is laying on the floor, on his stomach, reading, father and daughter are sitting at the computer. dog is curled up on the floor.

the 7 stages of computer ownership, excerpts, family computing, magazine (1985) archive.org/details/fami...

context: the letter is in regards to a review of softporn adventure, written by chuck benton dear sir, i am disgusted to read your article on softporn in the january issue of your magazine. the magazine is purchased each month by my 13-year-old son, and i feel that articles of this nature are nothing less than criminal.

i appreciate that your magazine is not aimed specifically at children, but you must realise that it has a great attraction to those in my son's age group due to the increasing interest in computers in school. i know that you are not responsible for producing the softporn program, but it is because of the irresponsible action you have taken in reviewing such trash that people become aware of the availability of these items, the sale of which further encourages their production.

in future can i ask you to take a more responsible stand against such items by refusing to review them, advertise them or include them in any way in your magazine, as i am certain that programs such as these are not only a direct conflict against my own christian principles, but also offend many people and encourage a lowering of moral standards. a. standeven hadfield hyde cheshire

letter to the editor, computer & video games, magazine (1982) archive.org/details/Comp...

text: intenrational software house seeks hackers with original programs and ideas. we offer development assistance, loan equipmentand high international royalties. send sample of details to: keith dean, box 100, 33 church street, rickmansworth, herts. wd3 1dh

print ad (1984) archive.org/details/Comp...

two furry creatures, one blue and white wearing a red top with an black circle and x printed on it and blue pants, white shoes, the other pink, wearing light blue. both are wielding big thick namco guns. background is pink and ghouls.

oh! bakyuuun, playstation (2000) www.mobygames.com/game/9156/gh...

man in cowboy gear, waving his hat, rides a nuclear bomb as it is dropped from an aircraft. the aircraft is above the clouds and a full moon can be seen. this looks like a throwback to that stanley kubrick movie.

nuclear war, screenshot, amiga (1989) www.mobygames.com/game/206/nuc...