Remembering DOS-era gaming (giant jpg)

[jinx]

So many memories stirred up by this thread. I had an Apple II given to me by an uncle when I was very young. So some of my earliest memories were learning how to read and write using text based adventure games. I remember my grandmother helping me with some big words and suggesting different things to type to get to the next level. She would get bored quickly, so I had to learn how to do it on my own.

Some of my favorite games of all time:
NetHack (Still play this in my Terminal)
MoonMist
Zork

I also had this big detective kit. It came with a decoder, old torn newspaper, journal and several other items. I don't remember much about it, but I remember the first time I solved a case. Don't think I played it much after that.

[Ziggy]

I have it, but I can't upload it. It's 4337x4762, so too large for Photobucket. It's just under 8MB, so too large to upload it on the forums. Even compressed, I could only get it down to like 7.1MB.

[CRTGAMER]

I uploaded the 8mb file to Deposit Files, no login needed for regular download.

http://depositfiles.com/files/58r3tsuwj

Here is a direct attachment, but smaller image. Get the full size at the link above.

[CRTGAMER]

Posted a direct download in my previous Reply. Just spotted the JPG at another site for a direct view. Right click save while its available!

http://i2.wp.com/information2share.file ... -games.jpg

[Menegrothx]

What I find surprising is how fast computer games evolved technologically. Until 1990 or so, it seems everything was made for 1977 hardware, like the Apple II and they were seriously ugly. It's surprising how much everything changed in so little time.

It's because until Maxis and id came along, PC wasn't taken all that seriously as a gaming platform. There was no reason to push any limits.

That's because computer platforms that were more devoted to gaming, such as C64, MSX, Atari 8-bit and then Amiga, Atari ST, FM Towns (etc) did it better. PC had more of a boring/serious "office/professional" image while "keyboard computers" (the ones that are just a keyboard that you plug into your TV) seemed more "hip" and "young" and suited to gaming and artsy kind of people (demoscene, pixel art, electronic music and so on).

Then came this demo, 3D processing, better soundcards (early MS-DOS games sound horrible compared to C64/NES or Amiga/SNES) and CD roms and PC finally surpassed Amiga and other computer platforms that had been superioir in the realm of 2D gaming.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Dug it. I played a ton of that stuff as a youth. I remember the Red Baron game and even its online rendition through Sierra's own on-line service, which I thought was amazing!

I don't know why Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is on there. People liked it because they loved Hitchhiker's, but it is honestly one of the worst text based adventure games ever designed, which is a shame because I love Steve Meretzky, the guy who made it.

So many memories...awww man.

[fastbilly1]

Dug it. I played a ton of that stuff as a youth. I remember the Red Baron game and even its online rendition through Sierra's own on-line service, which I thought was amazing!

People still play it. Last year I played a dozen games of Red Baron 3d online thanks to GOG. With (slightly) better graphics:

[Key-Glyph]

So many memories stirred up by this thread. I had an Apple II given to me by an uncle when I was very young. So some of my earliest memories were learning how to read and write using text based adventure games.

Same on all accounts -- except for the uncle bit.

Playing those games ahead of your age bracket can have strange consequences, though. I spent most of my elementary school years perpetually confused about the true number of states in the USA because of a text adventure set in a future where the country had 52 (we'd added a colony on Mars and the City of Atlantis by then... obviously).

[noiseredux]

I've been thinking about a lot of DOS games recently. I have such a soft-spot for that era. Really prior to now, that was my primary exposure to PC gaming in a serious capacity. So I thought I'd make a post to just kind of revisit some of the ones that I feel most nostalgic about. Some of these may actually be early Windows games though, so go easy on me - as that gaming period for me extended from the late 80's out to say 1996-ish so Win95 was kicking around by then.




Barbarian (AKA: Death Sword)

(borderline NSFW cover art:)

Believe it or not I didn't even see the amazing box art for Barbarian until nearly 20 years after playing it. I have no real recollection of how I obtained this game, but I remember playing it on a friggin' 286 machine that I had taken off a friend's hands when he upgraded. Basically the high point of this game was decapitation. It got old... but not as quickly as you'd think haha.



Championship Golf: The Great Courses of the World - Volume One: Pebble Beach

I can only assume that exposure to this game at such an early age is why I still love golf games today while having zero interest in actually playing golf IRL. I have no idea how this one would stand up if I went back and played it today (I should though). But that said, it was really addicting back then. I remember having relatives over for Thanksgiving one year and they were all into playing this one - including older folks who had probably no experience with computer games prior. It was also funny that we'd get competitive enough to print out our score-cards on an old dot-matrix printer back then.



Doom

I feel like this was one of those "can your PC run it?" games back then. I think I was still rocking a 286 in my bed room and was really upset that I couldn't play Doom on it.



Hangman

Funny the stuff you'll play when it's all you have.



Jazz Jackrabbit

I remember you used to be able to buy shareware titles from Radioshack back in the day. It would be cheap - less than $5 - and you'd get just a floppy disc in a really nondescript box. This is one I vividly remember picking up back then. I feel like Jazz is sort of unfairly forgotten these days.



Loom

Loom was an early exposure to P&C adventure games (after the NES version of Maniac Mansion). I wasn't able to beat it back then, but it set the foundation for my love of the genre. This is one I always mean to go back to!



The Oregon Trail

...nothing needs to be said.



Remote Control

Long before You Don't Know Jack, there was Remote Control. Based on the 'hit' MTV game show. Man, this brings back serious memories. I gotta play this one again. And now I have to wonder if (again) if playing this at such a young age is why I've since been a fan of trivia video games?



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yup. It might seem kind of funny, but the first TMNT game I always associate with DOS. Because that's the version I had as a kid. A lot of my buddies had the NES game of course, but my mom got it for me for PC. If you thought the game was hard as it was, you should try playing it with a Radioshack joystick!



Tetris

Oh sure we had two copies of it on Game Boy, and a copy on NES. But since we also had a DOS version, that meant four people could be playing Tetris at the same time if need be.



Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?

I assume we all played this one?



Wolfenstein 3D

I think this is where I became really aware of shareware. I remember me and my friend playing this one on a school computer in Junior High. We... probably weren't supposed to.



X-COM: Terror From The Deep

Oh man, I was so into this game. But I was terrible at it. There's no doubt that X-COM was the reason I still love tactical games. And why I adore the recent XCOM titles. I recently picked up Terror From The Deep (and all the other early X-COM games) from Steam, so I should really start a campaign again soon.

[RCBH928]

Why is The Oregon Trail very popular in the US?

probably no one played this game in my region, in fact I just learned of it recently ...