1 June, 2009 | 1 comment

History of Controllers: Part I

Electronic gaming has one thing that makes it what it is in the world of entertainment, and that is interactivity. Without being able to influence the outcome of the sports game, or the battle movements of a ninja master, we are just watching a movie. To achieve the interactivity of gaming, engineers had to design a control scheme for instant response. In some cases, these controllers have become icons of the gaming past-time while others have wallowed in obscurity only brought out to be laughed at.

1 Dimensional controllers:

Yes, believe it or not, the first controllers were only one dimensional. What could you do with that one dimension, though? You had a world of Tennis, Hockey, Football and any other sport you could convince people Pong represented. Giving credit where credit is due though, everyone was used to knobs. Knobs exist on stereos and TVs the same skills you used to get a certain station to come in transferred nicely to electronic table tennis. Using the same principals of any other knob (a potentiometer) nothing was really considered for ergonomics or general comfort of the user. Most Pong machines did not even use wired controllers, instead the knobs were usually only on the console itself.

Early Consoles:

The Fairchild Channel F, the first home console to offer interchangeable consoles, debuted in 1976. The Fairchild produced by Fairchild Semiconductor offered a controller that is closer to the Wii nunchaku than any full controller that one can imagine. It has a shaft that is held in the players hand that has no buttons and is only topped with a short joystick. In addition to the movement normally alloted to a joystick, the Fairchild’s controller allowed users to both press and pull on the stick to get the “effect” of buttons. Not only was this an unusual option, making any button mashing difficult, this controller is further hampered by being hardwired with flimsy wiring at that.

A year later, Atari released the VCS (Video Computer System AKA Atari 2600) and it came with a controller that really needs no introduction. While still having paddle controllers that were synonyms with Pong, the Atari 2600 Joystick with its rubber grip and bright orange button is a permanent gaming icon. This controller was quite sturdy in design and was not hardwired to the console, however it did only offer 4 directions of control. While the square shape of the base is not exactly built for the human hand, the Atari 2600 Joystick is easily manageable even for marathon gaming sessions. About the only thing that was certainly changed was the idea of the “action” button being positioned on the left.

Next, in 1980 Mattel delivered the Intellivision with a seriously large shift in controller design. In place of any kind of joystick, we have a sort of golden disc that will move your avatar, and for buttons you have an entire number pad and in case you still needed more buttons, four action buttons adorn the upper sides. The golden disk did offer an amazing sixteen directions of movement, however it could not be read at the same time as the number pad that many games used to fire weapons (this meant stopping movement whenever you wanted to fire). This controller definitely was not made with players in mind. Not only with the awkward layout, but with buttons that simply wear the fingers out with the force required to press them. I cannot help but think that simply turning this controller long ways with the disk on the left would have been a move in a better direction, but this move would have to originate elsewhere.

1982 brought two more players to the market, the Colecovision and the Vectrex. The Colecovision had a controller that quickly reminds one of the Intellivision. It too has an entire number pad and side action buttons, but this time we have a real joystick toward the top of the controller. Holding and using one of these controllers again seems as though no human used it before it was manufactured. I know that this was a new market, but aside from the pointless number pads that so many felt their controllers needed, there is no effective and more importantly, comfortable way to use this thing. These number pads were used normally by each game coming with a plastic sheet that fit over them to show the functions (this is also true of the Intellivision number pad).

The Vectrex brought a surprising amount of simple thought to control method. Smith Engineering, the creators of Vectrex, simply tried to bring home the arcade experience by creating a smaller version of the controls everyone loved. While the joystick was rather small, it could be used while easily getting to the four action buttons the controller offered. Not only a sideways rectangle that would become standard, but also action buttons that were clearly labeled

All of this brings us to the home gaming collapse of 1983, I have not touched on every console released, instead just pointed out trends and innovations. Join me next time for the great D-pad invasion and the true begins of what we know as a game controller today.

1 June, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club: Snacks’n Jaxson

No, that title is not a typo. Instead of deleving into the maddness of this game myself, allow me to present an exerpt from Flack’s (of the Digital Press) review

“In Snacks ‘n Jaxson, you control Jaxson de Box’s head, attached to his body by only a thin string. Jaxson the ever-hungry clown appears sitting at the far end of his dinner table, facing you. The object of the game is to keep Jaxson’s nose bouncing while eating the floating morsels of food that appear before him between bounces. The way the game is drawn, Jaxson’s nose is continually bouncing toward you in 3D – fortunately, its shadow makes it easy to tell where exactly the nose is at all times. After the first bounce, one item breakfast food will appear. The next bounce, two appear. After each bounce you must run Jaxson’s head over all the food items before you hit the ball with your face. Miss your nose and it’ll smash the glass window behind you. Fail to eat all the food items and a small troll dressed in a chef’s outfit will enter the screen and hit you in the face with a pie. I swear I’m not making this up!”

From Manufacturer Bally Sente check it out. Get the ROM HERE and comment on the Digital Press.

27 May, 2009 | 1 comment

Commercial Break: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Just finished DMing my weekly D&D game, and yup now I am updating a Retrogaming website. My coolness aside, I figured I would find a videogame ad for a favorite pasttime of mine. This commercial seems really confused. Not only in that the children seems almost bored playing the game, but also that it is being pitched to a little girl. Was this a reach for wider gaming audiences, much like the free Cabbage Patch Kids with the purchase of various game systems. I guess however they could get a console in the house. I’m sorry dragon…

26 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club: SENGOKU

Sorry for missing the Monday, Holiday and all. Anyway we got us a beat’em up this week in the name of Sengoku.

According to Wiki ” Although each of the games in the series do not seem to follow a connected plot, the games all involve the undead forces of feudal Japanese warriors attacking the protagonists.

In the first two games, the player could play as a ninja or a Western cowboy. In the games, the player can gain powerups so that the player can change into more powerful forms, such as a samurai-like being, an armor-clad wolf, or a more traditionally-themed ninja to attack the opposing forces of the undead. Power ups in the form of different colored orbs included being able to wield one katana (red orb), a pair of katanas (blue orb), a broadsword (purple orb), or to launch an energy-based attack (yellow orb). (Note: Power up effects differed depending on which form the player used. Those listed are for the standard form.)

The third game did not have a similar premise to the previous two games, instead, it was about a ninja clan who had to stop a worldwide outbreak of the Japanese demons before the world would be engulfed in chaos.”

Check it out and see for yourself get the ROM HERE, and talk it up on the Digital Press.

18 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club: Gunbarich

This is a game I can find no real details about, Gunbarich is from 2001 according to the game developer Psikyo’s wiki page. Gunbarich is a unique twist on the classic Arknoid formula, by adding flippers and a heavy coating of magical drop, you end up with a fun candy-like game. Easy to play, but I imagine a lot to master. Enjoy Gunbarich, get the ROM HERE and talk about it on the Digital Press.

13 May, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Star Trek

Yes, it is unanimous, the movie is GREAT! You will love yourself long time after seeing it. However you may want to stab your eyes after this atrocious piece of marketing. This Atari game looks rather interesting, but be careful because it needs that Advanced overlay.

11 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club: Metamoqester

This week is a oft missed 1995 unique take on 2d fighters, in Metamoqester you use a character with an assortment of moves not unlike Street Fighter to dispatch various boss monsters. Even better is the fact that you can do this with a friend making for some really interesting combos and serious fun.

“Developed by Pandorabox. This game is known in Japan as “Oni - The Ninja Master” and is an off shoot of the, then popular, Oni series of RPGs by Pandorabox, stretching across the Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo Super Famicom and Sony PlayStation.” - from Arcade History

Grab the ROM Here, and be sure to talk about it on the Digital Press.

6 May, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Light Guns

After talking so much about “The Justifier” I felt we should look at some light gun commercials. First up is the Famicom light gun (NES Zapper to us Americans). Man, they would never let a gun that looks that real into children’s hands. That and my Zapper never came with a holster. Wonder why such a realistic looking gun toy is no problem in Japan?

Next we have the Menacer, this bizarre binocular construct was Sega’s attempt at light gun action for the Sega Genesis. I honestly do not think I had one friend that owned this peripheral. Maybe the $100 price tag was too much for this wireless wonder.

Finally, the Super Scope. This thing was a massive beast with a hunger for batteries, but the $49.95 suggested retail price made it much more appealing. I will forever remember Shawn Smith teaching me Battle Clash on this thing on lazy summer day…

4 May, 2009 | No comments

Monday Morning MAME Club : Psycho Soldier

This weeks game, Psycho Soldier, is actually a sequel to the SNK game Athena. Released in 1986 (1987 Internationally) Psycho Solider is a side scrolling platformer that has Athena teaming up with Kensu. These two characters can be seen in other SNK titles such as the King of Fighters series, and even the classic Chrystalis. This is actually the first arcade game to have a vocal in-game soundtrack.

From Wiki: “Psycho Soldier is noteworthy for being the first video game to utilize a vocal track during in-game play, with vocals provided by Japanese pop idol Kaori Shimizu. This was achieved by creating a JAMMA board that was much larger than usual, and consists of three PCB boards hardwired together and sandwiched on top of each other inside the game cabinet. The Japanese and English versions of the game have different vocals for the main song.”

Get the ROM HERE, and talk about it here and on the Digital Press.

30 April, 2009 | No comments

Enforcing Lethally with The Justifier!

Early last week I received a bit of junk mail containing coupons to local shops. I disregarded it quickly and left it to sit upon the mail pile. Fortunately, my wife’s curiosity led her to perusing the ad in which was contained coupons to the local geek shop. The place is a real mess and prices very, but you will visit some seedy places to scratch a retro-gaming urge. A buy one get one free offer planned at least a brief part of my Saturday for me.

Entering the shop is a bit intimidating as it feels more like someones long unattended attic. There are treasures sure, but also the chance that Leatherface makes his home somewhere near the old comics in the back. I have it a bit easier as most of the video game merchandise is a straight shot from the entrance. Lately I have been yearning for something fun for the Sega CD I acquired not long ago. This is certainly the saddest portion of this shops games, while the copy of Mad Dog McCree was in good shape I saw little reason to grab it. The friends I brought along for protection though began spreading out and I had to leave the safety of the game aisle that I knew well. Thank goodness for uncharted territory, for sitting atop a pile of God only knows what was a complete in box copy of Lethal Enforcers for the Sega CD. Peering inside and seeing that baby blue Justifier light gun had me immediately return to that copy of Mad Dog McCree.  That is a 2 for 1 that made it all worthwhile.

This is quite a large box, kind of like the ones old Porn VHS would come in (you remember those boxes, you would seem them when you peeked into the Adults Only section of the rental store).  Notice it is rated MA-17, sounds about as naughty as the porn too!

This box was not just to get the notice of perverts though, it had a purpose. So lets see whats inside…

Oh and here is Mad Dog McCree…it is just awful. I do not think ANYONE misses the games of American Laser Games. On the plus side they gave the Sewer Shark team someone to look down on.

Cautions on the use of “The Justifier” (from the Lethal Enforcers manual) Italics below are my personal interpretations…

1. “The Justifier” is a precision instrument. Strong physical impact may break it (they are not really sure). Never hit with it or throw it. (Besides, with the cord attached it will not go far)

2. Do not touch the jack of “The Justifier” or bend or pull the cord strongly (it is just not that kind of peripheral). Do not damage the muzzle, point “The Justifier” at the sun, stop it up, or get it wet. (for good measure we should also avoid feeding it after midnight)

3. When storing “The Justifier”, keep it away from very hot or very cold places. Also keep it out of direct sunlight (for like Dracula, “The Justifier” to will be destroyed by the coming dawn), away from heaters, and away from places that have a lot of dust or moisture. (Basic housekeeping is crucial for “The Justifier”)

4. When cleaning dirt off “The Justifier”, never use thinner, benzene or other harsh chemicals. (Shouldn’t all the other rules prevent dirt enough!)

5. Do not point “The Justifier” at a person (as this will be embarassing for you). Never take it apart or try to rebuild it. (Did you not learn anything from Terminator 2)

6. This product cannot be used with projection TVs, LCD TVs, high-speed scanning TVs, high-definition TVs, or wide TVs.  (Okay so only older TVs, got it!)

7. This product may not work with some old TV models. (in fact any successful functionality is sheer luck and is not endorsed by Konami)

8. Do not use “The Jusitifer” outdoors (as this will embarass your family and friends). It may not work indoors with direct sunlight. (your home requires a roof for successful functionality)

9. While playing the game, do not use an infrared-type remote control device (to turn off the TV or VCR, for example). If used, sometimes the game will not function properly. (that and never, ever cross the streams)

10. If you have any fluorescent lights near the TV screen, “The Justifier” may not function properly. Either move the light or turn it off. (“The Jusitfier” is a fearful of cancer from fluorescent lighting, and fluorescent lighting blocks the power of God)

11. When playing a game that is not compatible with “The Justifier”, always remove “The Justifier” from control jack 2. (Really this is to avoid “The Justifier” discovering your infidelity and causing you much grief, I once left one plugged in while playing Sonic 2. Now “The Justifier” has the kids and the house…that bitch)

Until Next Time, the power is yours…

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