Forum Overview :: Mischief Maker's Maker's Mark
 
#7 - COMMANDER KEEN in GOODBYE GALAXY! (1991) by id SOFTWARE by Ice Cream Jonsey 08/20/2009, 11:11pm PDT


(Sorry for including the wrong screenshot, but I think everyone will get the general idea.)

It wasn't my idea for PCs to dominate the market and come out victorious; I wanted a Commodore 64. Each weekend, I'd go to my friend Chris's house. He had a single black and white television, and we'd play C64 games all day. Dad got the PCjr because he felt he could justify the obscene suggested retail price ($699, I believe?) if he thought he could take work home with him. A lot of people made that decision, which is why IBM failing to make the PCjr 100% backwards compatible was an insane decision that hasn't become any less insane over the last 23 years.

Individual pieces of the PC/PCjr were superior to what Commodore and Atari offered, sort of. Analog joysticks were ahead of their time. The PCjr also had a port labeled "L" for "Later." I -- okay, it's a pretty small list, and the next wave of computers (the Amiga, the ST, the IIGS) made the nonsense IBM and Microsoft were putting together look pulled from an inferior dystopian timeline.

So it was with some guilt that we were the ones to survive. The platform with the shittiest version of everything (well, except for the Spectrum, I guess) had a certain social responsbility to improve. It took years, but I think you can point to a couple things that were critical in the advancement of PC-based video games:

- The introduction of the extended graphics adapter
- The introduction of the PC to John Carmack

Being able to pick 16 colors out of a palette of 64 finally got things rolling. The 16 colors offered in CGA were garish and childish, and Carmack writing a game for the PC that was just as good as... okay, it wasn't as good as Super Mario, but it was as good as Sonic. A lot of people my age point to Wolfenstein 3D or Doom as the games that changed everything for them. I was a freshman and sophomore at SU right when those games were coming out, and I didn't get into them until years later. I did grab the first episode of Commander Keen (#1-KEEN.ARJ) before leaving for school, however, and I was psyched to see such a fluid and fun game for the PC.

The episode Goodbye Galaxy! was released a few years later, and it was my favorite. It is a classic example of a bunch of guys at the top of their craft, having done a few revisions. It's also one of the few times in my life I'd anticipated a video game and not be utterly soul-destroyed upon its release. The lesson here is that it really doesn't matter what platform becomes dominant in any console or handheld gaming scenario. Talented software developers will always be more valuable than their hardware equivalents. Somehow this all congeals into the fact that Commander Keen is my seventh favorite non-text indie game of all-time.


the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!
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My ten favorite indie games, not counting text games NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/09/2008, 6:47pm PDT NEW
    #10 - ABUSE (1996) by CRACK DOT COM by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/09/2008, 7:02pm PDT NEW
        Just in case you missed it, check my list for "FrAbS" NT by Mischief Maker 10/09/2008, 7:23pm PDT NEW
            I read it, then forgot, then found it again just now. by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/10/2008, 3:57pm PDT NEW
        Available for the iPhone now by Ice Cream Jonsey 03/30/2009, 10:52pm PDT NEW
    Will you also include an "overrated" list including all my favorites? NT by pinback 10/09/2008, 7:14pm PDT NEW
    #9 - CHOPPER COMMANDO (1988) by MARK CURRIE by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/11/2008, 2:25am PDT NEW
    On hold until I can write a review of Space Giraffe NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/28/2008, 4:33pm PDT NEW
        I think I'm going to beat Space Giraffe again instead of starting Fallout 3. by Jerry Whorebach 10/28/2008, 9:27pm PDT NEW
            Re: I think I'm going to beat Space Giraffe again instead of starting Fallout 3. by Ice Cream Jonsey 11/24/2008, 1:17pm PST NEW
                That'd be tough, my PC's seen some pretty groundbreaking porn this year. by Jerry Whorebach 11/24/2008, 2:59pm PST NEW
                    I understand by Ice Cream Jonsey 03/30/2009, 10:59pm PDT NEW
                        So what you are saying is Space Giraffe Isn't Tempest? NT by Jerry Whorebach 03/30/2009, 11:09pm PDT NEW
    let's get this going again, ICJ NT by mark 05/13/2009, 6:20am PDT NEW
    #8 - CRAYON PHYSICS (2009) by PETRI PURHO by Ice Cream Jonsey 08/13/2009, 3:33am PDT NEW
        Agreed 100% Classic game. NT by M Squared 08/13/2009, 9:24am PDT NEW
            I, too, enjoy this game NT by The Breadman 08/13/2009, 11:24am PDT NEW
        omg thank you NT by up with pod people 08/13/2009, 11:54am PDT NEW
        joh played that game on his TABLET NT by Weyoun Voidbringer 08/13/2009, 12:29pm PDT NEW
        You might like Scribblenauts (but it's for the DS) by Fussbett 08/13/2009, 2:09pm PDT NEW
            Holy shit. Holy shit! NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 08/14/2009, 12:16am PDT NEW
    #7 - COMMANDER KEEN in GOODBYE GALAXY! (1991) by id SOFTWARE by Ice Cream Jonsey 08/20/2009, 11:11pm PDT NEW
        considering about 10,000 people played wolfenstien on release that's amazing by Weyoun Voidbringer 08/21/2009, 2:22am PDT NEW
            Re: considering about 10,000 people played wolfenstien on release that's amazing by Ice Cream Jonsey 08/21/2009, 3:35am PDT NEW
                you couldn't aim up or down in doom, you also couldn't jump by Weyoun Voidbringer 08/21/2009, 5:59am PDT NEW
                    *I* can think of a Doom game that allowed aiming and jumping NT by Devil Dinosaur 08/23/2009, 1:03am PDT NEW
                    So I guess you're a big Quake fan? NT by Erradicating 2.5D forever 08/23/2009, 2:25am PDT NEW
                        I guess you are a big anal sex fan by Weyoun Voidbringer 08/23/2009, 3:15am PDT NEW
 
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