The Good News - My Game Is Back...The Bad News - My Game Is Back

 I don't play many video games, a few...basically three. It used to be two, but then one of them went away. It went away on my phone, anyway.

Bummer.

The game that is no longer available on iPhones is called Jet Ball 2. It's been years since I played it. I used to have it on an older iPhone until I installed the latest update, then the game was just an icon representing broken dreams that mocked me whenever I saw it. Eventually, I deleted the icon from my phone realizing the game would most likely never return.

I don't know how, but a few months ago I found out the game still exists, just not on the iPhone. You can download the game on Android. I came across a LG tablet my sister-in-law gave to the family. I charged the tablet and downloaded the game.

Success!

That was the good news, but also the bad news. Good that I got it back, but bad, because it's another excuse to not to do things I ought to do, like read a book or write a book or clean the house. No, the net negative outweighs the net positive of having that game available to me.

One positive in all this, the game is glitchy on the tablet--no where near as smooth as it played on my phone, so there's that. Still, I should really cut back on all the games. Maybe that big EMP will kill all these devices (and the games...) after all.

So...A Waste Of Time?

 Earlier this week, I asked my teenage son if I could check out his Switch. He agreed, and after several moments of not knowing how to use the thing, I finally got it working. It's an impressive console (and this model isn't even the good one...). It reminded me just how advanced video games have become.

I thought of my father--my kids find it hard to believe that my father was born before the invention of a television. I'll bet my grandkids will find it equally hard to believe that their grandfather was born before the invention of video games. Pong was invented in 1972...I turned seven that year. My father was three when Philo Farnsworth transmitted his first signal.

Whether you like video games or not, you cannot argue that they are incredible in the artistry, the creativity, the technical marvels that they are. When games went from the arcades to the home, I was a little old for their target market. I played games on the Super NES, but never graduated beyond that--hence, my inability to quickly master the Switch. And I'm okay with that. Not playing video games has saved me a lot of money...

But, has it saved me a lot of time?

I know people who say they never watch TV, or they don't have a TV in their homes. When we ask if they watch a TV shows or movies they answer that they do, but they watch them on their computers. To me, it's the same thing, with our without an actual television set. Some people will look at video game players and think it's all a waste of time. Yet, they find enjoyment in reading, painting miniatures, or knitting. Point is, those things bring them joy. I know playing games brings the players joy, too. I suppose it can be said, too much of anything--video games or knitting--isn't good.

As I played with the Switch, I was impressed, but I don't believe I'm going to get one of my own. I have a few games I play on my phone and that seems to satisfy me. I don't know if I can justify picking up something else. 

The more I learn about modern video games, the more impressed I am. They are literally works of art. Even though I don't play them very much, they're no less amazing, and the industry less than fifty years old. I wonder what things we'll see in the next half century.

Watching My Son...Watching Two Guys...Play Cuphead Video Game

I was sitting in the front room tonight after dinner, playing a little with the dog, relaxing, when I noticed something on the TV. It wasn't a movie, or a TV show, but a video game...

A crazy, whacked-out video game.

It's called Cuphead and it is bizarre.

It's supposed to look like some retro, early Disney-era short. It's part of the charm. And with literally millions of video games out there (if you count those you can get on your phone...), you have to have a niche. And Cuphead's niche is stunning.

After a while, I was sucked in. The games were on YouTube and the players were two YouTubers named PB & Jeff. I have no idea how famous they are, most likely very. My son and I watched as PB & Jeff tried unsuccessfully several times to pass the dreaded train challenge. They got so close, but couldn't quite get over the hump.

Eventually, after multiple attempts, they conquered the skeletons and demonic trains. Their reward? Moving on to the next insane challenge, of course.

Back in 2016 I blogged about how interesting it was to watch people play video games. The more I think about it, the more it's not so weird. We watch people play football, basketball, baseball, and every other sport known to mankind. We also watch cooking shows, talk shows, and the Batchelor (not me, but, you know...people).

We like to watch people do stuff. It's in our genes.

Even video games.

Even Cuphead.

I don't play a lot of video games, and I play no games on my computer or on a game system--not that I wouldn't want to--they're just expensive. I think, had I the means, Cuphead would be one I would try.

Your Own Personal Astroids Machine...Turning Back Time

I spotted the machine a few weeks ago, but the crowds at Costco kept me from it. This morning, however, I arrived early to buy things completely unassociated with this item. Because there were so few people in the store, I was able to draw close, and even give it a try.

Instantly I was a pre-teen in the Farmington A/G store with my childhood friends, lining up quarters, finally able to play my favorite video game.

I mean, I have no idea how many Astroids video game consoles they built in the late 1970s--I would suspect millions. I'll bet if I looked on-line I could find an operating machine from that time, one that requires quarters to work, one that has the original Atari name--the world's first great video game manufacturer--proudly displayed for all to see.

The thing at Costco costs $200. There's a question about who exactly is this marketed for? Is it for kids? Most likely not. For kids this is like preferring a Sony Walkman over their smartphone. No, I'm their target audience. Which brings up another question--if it's for aging video gamers who were born before the invention of Pong, why is it so small? It it weren't raised up a foot or so, I would have had to bend down to play it.

I don't know. Maybe it's for aging video gamers who think it would be a great gift for their kids (or grandkids...), but really they want to play it themselves. And I wonder how many of the units they've moved since it first hit the sales floor.

Of course, I did not buy it. I've got an infinite number of games available on my phone or the laptop on which I'm typing this blog post. Still, there was something about seeing the most basic of computer effects, the feeling of the hard plastic buttons responding to my touch. Turns out there's a price to have a piece of your childhood returned to you.

It's $199.99, plus tax.

"Zelda: A Link To The Past"...One Of The Best Video Games Ever!

Last week my youngest decided he wanted to go into the basement, dust off the old Super NES and play a few video games. It took some work to hook it up because no modern TV uses coaxial cable (we had to use our old VCR coaxial outputs--another ancient example of technology...). Eventually we shoved the cassette into the player--after blowing the dust from the cassette connectors--clicked "on" and the sweet sounds of Zelda: A Link to the Past came to life.

What an amazingly lovely sound.

Tonight I played the game for the first time in probably a decade. Score!

I remember getting a Super NES for Christmas  back in the late 1990s. It came with Zelda. My kids were young back then so the people who played the game the most were my wife and me. We worked through the levels, overcoming the baddies, and completing the game. This was before you could go online and find out cheat codes. It was good ol' fashioned trial and error. 

Those were good times.

Tonight I completed only the one maze, the one where Zelda is held captive. I needed to stop because if I didn't, I wouldn't have time to write this post, or get enough sleep for work tomorrow. I know this is not the first Zelda game. I never did play games on a regular NES, so I can't say if the original game was good. I also have not played any of the versions that came after this one, but for me, it doesn't matter. This is a classic game, a game I can see myself playing in another decade. It's just that good.