By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Videogamers can belong to one camp or many. I love the idea of what virtual reality can bring to the electronic world of gaming. I have played enough demos and product to know what I like. This medium is absolutely perfect for simulators and first person shooters. VR gaming is here to stay, and it’s not likely to go away.
At the same time, I miss the simplicity of the older games found at arcades from the late 70’s to 90’s. I played many translations of these games on the PC or gamer consoles. While the low resolution and technology from a decade ago were not able of making VR come alive, the devices we have now are more than capable! Not every game needs photo-realism. To play these products will offer some exercise to those rarely flexed biceps and triceps. Before chiropractors can cry foul, I suggest all games have a fixed time limit so physical injury can not result.
My imagination is running wild at the idea of fine-tuning fond retro classics for VR gamers to marvel at. A few titles have been redesigned and instead of paddles or trackballs, players can use either motion controllers (like Sony Playstation’s Move) or a traditional gamepad. I still wonder if the original mold can be used though.
Some of the titles I like to see get re-imagined are grouped together than given its own entry. I offer my thoughts on how each of them can work with either Mobile VR or standalone (Oculus, PlayStation VR or HTV Vive). While the former can fully render the classics in their original form, the latter is more about redesigning the game for a modern gamer to enjoy.
Tempest (Atari 1981)
Instead of a PS4 style of controller, to have this game played with motion sensors tracking hand motions will definitely tire many players out. To play it on a traditional controller will be easier, and the main reason why I feel this game deserves this VR treatment is in the fact it was designed with 3D in mind. A modernized version is in the works. Sadly, no word is said if this update will be designed for VR.
In what makes the experience special is when the geometric play field zooms in carrying the player’s ship (named The Claw) to the next level! To watch this pull you in like the wormhole sequence in Stargate SG-1 (or film) will have me at least squealing in delight like Starbuck launching out of the Battlestar Galactica!
By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
The Intellivision was released in 1979 by Mattel Electronics and sold over 3 million units in its lifetime. It was an ambitious video game console and its developers tried many new things that still influence game design even today. While the much more famous Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) would later resurrect the dying game industry and bring true mainstream appeal to the hobby, there were many other consoles released before Nintendo took over the world. Among them were such notable examples such as the ColecoVision, the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision which I am focusing on. It was the system I played the most as a child.
