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The masters of Commodore 64 games

spillhistorie.no

11–20 of 60 posts

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#11

The part about the "copy protection" schemes was sad/amusing. So much work put into cracking and anti-cracking, and even cracking for the purpose of legitimate distribution, and wasting memory on profanity-soaked rants to the hackers... Everyone involved in the story looks back at it as "fun" and "challenging" but all I see is wasted time on everyone's part and software that is more difficult to use. Here we are, 40…

They "worked" in the sense that, when I managed to save up for a game on my minimum-wage salary, I bought a game that none of my friends had a cracked copy of. I remember buying EA's Caveman Ughlympics for that reason (it also came with some cool extras in the box).

But it didn't work in the sense of making me buy more games. I had hundreds of copied games and a couple dozen purchased ones, and if copy protection had been perfect, I would have had a couple dozen. The publishers always acted like I would have purchased the hundreds, which was impossible.

So it was really a competition between the publishers to out-protect the others more than between the publishers and the customers.

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#13
post #10

For anyone else feeling a good hit of nostalgia, I highly recommend this excellent site with C64 games playable in the browser - and with netplay too! https://c64.krissz.hu/online-playable-games/

Thank you for this. I'm going to play some M.U.L.E. tonight after work.

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#14
post #7

Spelunker, M.U.L.E, Seven Cities of Gold, Up N Down, Moon Patrol, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Blue Max I could go on and on...

M.U.L.E., Bungeling Bay, Mission Impossible, Racing Destruction Set and Ultima IV were our go-tos.

I think you mean "Impossible Mission"!

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#15
post #7

Spelunker, M.U.L.E, Seven Cities of Gold, Up N Down, Moon Patrol, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Blue Max I could go on and on...

M.U.L.E., Bungeling Bay, Mission Impossible, Racing Destruction Set and Ultima IV were our go-tos.

Love the mission impossible voice

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#16
post #10

For anyone else feeling a good hit of nostalgia, I highly recommend this excellent site with C64 games playable in the browser - and with netplay too! https://c64.krissz.hu/online-playable-games/

I often wonder about nostalgia related to computers/computing. It's strange because, even though I spent countless hours on my Commodore 64 as a teenager, and it had a major influence on my life (it basically introduced me to programming and set the course for my professional life), I just don't feel the nostalgia vibes.

I got my hands on an old C64 a few years ago and fired it up. I tinkered with it for about 10 minutes and lost interest. It just felt lame, a complete waste of time. It was surprising to me, considering how important the C64 has been in my life. Also, I feel that way about pretty much all old computer/computing devices. I've got an old laptops, iPods, iPhones, and even the original Rio PMP300 mp3 player, but I don't really feel any real nostalgia or love for them. It's like they were just tools I used, like a hammer or screwdriver, and that's it.

Contrast that with my love of older cars. I love finding old cars on Craigslist, taking them home and tinkering with them, restoring them. It makes me feel like I'm cool, driving a mid-80s Honda CRX or something similar. I have no idea why that is; I was never a "car guy" until I got older. But, like I said, I often wonder why I have nostalgia vibes for one old thing (cars), but not another (computers), especially when one has had a much greater impact on my life.

I wonder if it's society - that is, American culture has always had a major boner for cars and I'm being influenced by that. Or, maybe it's because "computers" have been my profession for the last 30 years, and that has killed my love for them. Not sure.

BTW, no disrespect to those who do get nostalgia vibes for the C64 an other older devices. Just the opposite - much respect.

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#17

The part about the "copy protection" schemes was sad/amusing. So much work put into cracking and anti-cracking, and even cracking for the purpose of legitimate distribution, and wasting memory on profanity-soaked rants to the hackers... Everyone involved in the story looks back at it as "fun" and "challenging" but all I see is wasted time on everyone's part and software that is more difficult to use. Here we are, 40…

especially in the time of 0-day warez. Interestingly, many thrived on the ShareWare business models (including John Carmack IIRC)

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#18
post #10

For anyone else feeling a good hit of nostalgia, I highly recommend this excellent site with C64 games playable in the browser - and with netplay too! https://c64.krissz.hu/online-playable-games/

i only tried playing one game, but the CRT effect was interesting. There's a bit of bending from a very round screen. The noise effect was also something that wasn't what I was expecting. At least they didn't try to over do it with scan lines

Re: The masters of Commodore 64 games

#19
post #10

For anyone else feeling a good hit of nostalgia, I highly recommend this excellent site with C64 games playable in the browser - and with netplay too! https://c64.krissz.hu/online-playable-games/

I often wonder about nostalgia related to computers/computing. It's strange because, even though I spent countless hours on my Commodore 64 as a teenager, and it had a major influence on my life (it basically introduced me to programming and set the course for my professional life), I just don't feel the nostalgia vibes. I got my hands on an old C64 a few years ago and fired it up. I tinkered with it for about 10 min…

For some reason I share that view. Maybe it is since computers got so much better?

I got way more nostalgia for NES, which I still think is fun to play and play with my kids. Super Mario still feels good while C64 games feel clunky.

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