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News & ArtsFriday, May 27, 2011
Games Retro Gaming Madness This Weekend
Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on Fri, May 27, 2011 at 11:12 AM
This is not to be missed: The Seattle Retro Gaming Expo—Seattle's first-ever large-scale retro-gaming get-together—is happening Saturday and Sunday at Hotel Deca in the U District, with some events up the street at Pink Gorilla. What does that mean? For $10 (or $15 for both days), you can play every NES game ever made. Every. Single. One. Even an ultra-rare Nintendo World Championships 1990, the cartridge played in a big 1990 tourney that was basically the finale of Fred Savage's The Wizard. (This cart is effectively an Action Comics #1 for console collectors, and there's going to be a charity auction with a bunch of rare stuff Saturday night.)
Not enough? In addition to big freeplay areas (with 10-player Bomberman for the Saturn), they've got nonstop "Battle for Seattle" tourneys, including an "Octobitathalon" to win a new 3DS. There'll be nerdcore rap. Chiptune performances. A nerd comedy night with Battletech pods. The comedic possibilities of heat sinks alone are staggering. (In fairness, the nerd comedy night is in Kirkland. But it's at the Airlock Battle Arena, the place that got all the Battletech pods from the old Wizards of the Coast retail space on the Ave.)
The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.
2
"Seattle's first-ever large-scale retro-gaming get-together"
Wouldn't hurt to mention that the (now-dead) NWCGE held some expos in the past, complete with multiple vendors, 2600 tournaments, etc. I still have a Combat box signed by Joe Decuir thanks to the 2006 or so expo.
This current expo seems to think N64 is retro, which to me doesn't make sense. But that's because I'm a geezer.
Wouldn't hurt to mention that the (now-dead) NWCGE held some expos in the past, complete with multiple vendors, 2600 tournaments, etc. I still have a Combat box signed by Joe Decuir thanks to the 2006 or so expo.
This current expo seems to think N64 is retro, which to me doesn't make sense. But that's because I'm a geezer.
3
Yeah, they have been very cool about giving props to NWCGE, and I think it was actually some of those guys that went on to start the big Portland expo. The SRGE guys did an interview with Metal Jesus where they talk a lot about the history: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lh0ju-T1…
5
So, here is my retro story...
Between my sohpomore and junior years in HS, my god-sister was up visiting from California, first thing she did was flip through my yearbook to check out all the guys. The one she pointed to happened to be a good friend of mine, so I called him up to see what was going on. He was totally stoked for us to come over because he had gotten Jaws for NES and wanted us to play. We brought over a couple of peach bartles & james 2-liters and we let game night commence. After the 2 liters were gone, I got to play the game by myself, as the other 2 left for more adult pleasures.
Long story short, give me video games and I might get you laid.
Between my sohpomore and junior years in HS, my god-sister was up visiting from California, first thing she did was flip through my yearbook to check out all the guys. The one she pointed to happened to be a good friend of mine, so I called him up to see what was going on. He was totally stoked for us to come over because he had gotten Jaws for NES and wanted us to play. We brought over a couple of peach bartles & james 2-liters and we let game night commence. After the 2 liters were gone, I got to play the game by myself, as the other 2 left for more adult pleasures.
Long story short, give me video games and I might get you laid.
7
Best retro gaming story:
I was 7 years old and a bunch of neighborhood kids were sitting on my stoop playing the Gameboy one of the kids owned. We were passing the game among us, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan', with the rule that you had three lives, then the next person would get the game.
My turn came and I died twice. As I started my third life one of the boys accused me of cheating and said I had my three lives and demanded the Gameboy. I called him a liar and kept playing. He tried to take the system from me but I pushed him away.
Then he ripped my earring out. Luckily I was wearing some with the dangling backs that don't have stoppers, but even still he tore the inside of the piercing and caused quite a bit of bleeding. Haven't been able to wear earrings in that piercing to this day.
Joke was on him though, cause the kid that owned the Gameboy banned him from our playing sessions so he never got his next turn anyway. The kids of Yesler Terrace meant business when it came to gaming.
I was 7 years old and a bunch of neighborhood kids were sitting on my stoop playing the Gameboy one of the kids owned. We were passing the game among us, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan', with the rule that you had three lives, then the next person would get the game.
My turn came and I died twice. As I started my third life one of the boys accused me of cheating and said I had my three lives and demanded the Gameboy. I called him a liar and kept playing. He tried to take the system from me but I pushed him away.
Then he ripped my earring out. Luckily I was wearing some with the dangling backs that don't have stoppers, but even still he tore the inside of the piercing and caused quite a bit of bleeding. Haven't been able to wear earrings in that piercing to this day.
Joke was on him though, cause the kid that owned the Gameboy banned him from our playing sessions so he never got his next turn anyway. The kids of Yesler Terrace meant business when it came to gaming.
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@6: Battletoads? I nostalgia'd. How many hours of my childhood did I spend trying to beat that one submarine level...?
9
guy gets girl, other guy gets video game. i like your altruistic twist, but your story is also a very sad one. of course, in my story, were it told, it would be more like guy gets video game. so, yeah, at least you helped your friends.
10
My retro story...
As a high school graduation present, my grandparents sent me on a trip to Japan through an exchange program with the Lion's Club. I spent 3 weeks and stayed with 3 different families. This was after the Atari shock in America, when the home video game console was effectively dead. The third family had a thing called a Famicom (if you don't know, that's the Japanese version of the original Nintendo). It was amazing. It washed the awful taste of 2600 version of Pacman out of my mouth. I loved a game called Kung Fu, and the home version was just like the arcade. I ended up traveling halfway around the world to play video games for 3 days straight.
Some might consider that an waste of an opportunity to see the world, but it inspired a love of both video games and Japan in me. I later majored in Japanese studies, lived in Japan for a while, and have been working at Nintendo for over a decade, so I guess it was a valuable experience after all.
As a high school graduation present, my grandparents sent me on a trip to Japan through an exchange program with the Lion's Club. I spent 3 weeks and stayed with 3 different families. This was after the Atari shock in America, when the home video game console was effectively dead. The third family had a thing called a Famicom (if you don't know, that's the Japanese version of the original Nintendo). It was amazing. It washed the awful taste of 2600 version of Pacman out of my mouth. I loved a game called Kung Fu, and the home version was just like the arcade. I ended up traveling halfway around the world to play video games for 3 days straight.
Some might consider that an waste of an opportunity to see the world, but it inspired a love of both video games and Japan in me. I later majored in Japanese studies, lived in Japan for a while, and have been working at Nintendo for over a decade, so I guess it was a valuable experience after all.
11
the sunset used to have arkanoid. if your band is playing a show there, arkanoid was a great way to spend the time between when they told you to show up and the time you actually need to be there. once, i even got the high score on my best game ever before what was probably one of my favorite shows ever. it was a nice evening. though, i didn't get to keep the game or the girl that night.
12
my dad was playing super mario bros. world 7-4. during the bowser fight he yanked backward, flipping his chair over, sending his head into the space heater. blood poured forth.
i arrived to the scene—i was maybe 6?—and apparently asked "do you want me to keep playing for you?"
i arrived to the scene—i was maybe 6?—and apparently asked "do you want me to keep playing for you?"
13
Through sheer poverty and laziness I only own retro gaming consoles. My newest is the nintendo 64, my oldest an atari 2600 that I won during the first Strangercrombie auction- http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/stuff… I am so pumped for SRGE.
15
Retro Gaming Story: Used to go next door to my friends house when I was 9 years old to play the "new" football game: Intellivision NFL Football. I had just turned 10 when they went on vacation. I loved this game so much I snuck into their house while they were gone to play it. The only reason they knew I was there was because, as 10 year olds do, I made a mess helping myself to food out of their pantry. Needless to say I wasn't allowed over for a while and missed playing that game.
16
i played zelda for hours and hours as a kid :) and duck hunt. and many other games in the 80's...
18
My retro story. A buddy and I used to hook up my NES to a VCR and a Walkman. We would record hours of our game-play with a sweet 80s/90s soundtrack. Nothing like Bad Dudes and MegaMan with a bit Michael Jackson or Milli Vanelli. Yes, yes, you can Blame it on the Rain...
We would watch the videos later and marvel at our playing prowess and on the awesome synchronization of audio and video. Wish I still had the tapes. :) Wish I still had my NES even more!
We would watch the videos later and marvel at our playing prowess and on the awesome synchronization of audio and video. Wish I still had the tapes. :) Wish I still had my NES even more!
19
My retro story - I was looking for a NES at the 2004 NWGE event and bought one from a vendor. Long story short he and I started dating & spent the next 6 yrs together. We split up but are still the best of friends. You might be playing th NES this weekend!
20
My family couldn't afford an Atari 2600, and my younger brother and I wanted one, had wanted one for years. You could play it for free at the Sears in the mall, but in 1981, a boy named Adam Walsh was kidnapped and murdered. Everyone said it was because he had left his parents to go play Atari in the "toy section" and been enticed away. We weren't allowed to play there after that.
We made enough noise about it, that our father left the house early one Sunday and came back with a box. He had been to the flea market, what you people call a swap meet, and bought what someone had told him was a "video game." It was nothing any of our friends had, but it did have drawings on it suggesting...science and adventure. It was something like a picture of lightning striking a tv set. We were both old enough to read that it wasn't an Atari. The lettering read - Odyssey.
The cardboard box was sealed with a rubberband, and we peeled it back to open it and reveal a stack of colorful transparencies and a sort of...turny knob controller. There was a main box that attached to the back of the tv, and with great excitement, we turned it on to see on the screen...a single white cursor. No graphics, no pac-man, no Pitfall guy, just a square. Like, it was like trying play Pong with just the "ball."
It turned out, what you were supposed to do was use scotch tape to TAPE THE TRANSPARENCIES TO THE SCREEN. They would have a picture of a maze or a haunted house on them, and the "game" was to guide the cursor along the walls and avoid the dead ends or stay out of the rooms that has ghosts in them, etc. It was like digital Operation or...something.
We were greatful that our dad had tried, and we thanked him through our frowns, but...we ended up reading a lot of books that Summer instead.
More...
We made enough noise about it, that our father left the house early one Sunday and came back with a box. He had been to the flea market, what you people call a swap meet, and bought what someone had told him was a "video game." It was nothing any of our friends had, but it did have drawings on it suggesting...science and adventure. It was something like a picture of lightning striking a tv set. We were both old enough to read that it wasn't an Atari. The lettering read - Odyssey.
The cardboard box was sealed with a rubberband, and we peeled it back to open it and reveal a stack of colorful transparencies and a sort of...turny knob controller. There was a main box that attached to the back of the tv, and with great excitement, we turned it on to see on the screen...a single white cursor. No graphics, no pac-man, no Pitfall guy, just a square. Like, it was like trying play Pong with just the "ball."
It turned out, what you were supposed to do was use scotch tape to TAPE THE TRANSPARENCIES TO THE SCREEN. They would have a picture of a maze or a haunted house on them, and the "game" was to guide the cursor along the walls and avoid the dead ends or stay out of the rooms that has ghosts in them, etc. It was like digital Operation or...something.
We were greatful that our dad had tried, and we thanked him through our frowns, but...we ended up reading a lot of books that Summer instead.
21
My Retro Gaming Story:
I would have never been a gamer if my grandma hadn't gotten an NES for her birthday when I was 1 or 2. When I was little, I wasn't good for much but shooting the Duck Hunt gun at people, but as I got older, I actually began to enjoy shooting at the ducks. One of my most treasured memories was playing the original Zelda for hours on end; I was responsible for making maps of the overworld and the dungeons and telling my grandma where to go next. We went on to beat Zelda 2: Adventure of Link, which is a feat I've actually never been able to replicate as an adult. My grandma gave me her NES when my family changed coasts, but I always missed playing through games with her. That old NES is still a treasured possession, along with all my other old consoles :)
I would have never been a gamer if my grandma hadn't gotten an NES for her birthday when I was 1 or 2. When I was little, I wasn't good for much but shooting the Duck Hunt gun at people, but as I got older, I actually began to enjoy shooting at the ducks. One of my most treasured memories was playing the original Zelda for hours on end; I was responsible for making maps of the overworld and the dungeons and telling my grandma where to go next. We went on to beat Zelda 2: Adventure of Link, which is a feat I've actually never been able to replicate as an adult. My grandma gave me her NES when my family changed coasts, but I always missed playing through games with her. That old NES is still a treasured possession, along with all my other old consoles :)
22
My first experience every playing any video game was at day care when I was 5. Nobody knew how to hook up the NES to the TV so they asked if I could do it. I hooked the yellow wire to the yellow jack and the red wire to the red jack. Afterword, Dustin, the day care guy, came over and turned on the NES. I played Rad Racer 2 for the better half of that day and completely skipped lunch. I managed only once to make it to level 2, the NYC skyline at night. Playing RR2 was mind blowing to me and I was hooked from there on out.
23
So, the other day, my sister and I driving to Portland, OR, and sang an operetta of a lifetime. We began way back in the days with the sounds of Pong, followed immediately by an exquisite rendition of the theme of Tin Tin on the Moon on Commodore 64 while reminiscing about shooting various polygons of assorted colors, and continuing on with the sounds of Tetris, River City Ransom (all the way from Cross Town High to River City High), FFII and VI, Pilotwings (I did the Rocketbelt theme twice), Banjo Tooie's Glitter Gulch Mine, and many many more. I'm not one for roadtrips, usually, but that was one trip that I truly enjoyed.
24
Wow, this was hard! You guys really came through for a quiet holiday-weekend Friday afternoon, thank you for edifying and entertaining your fellow nerds. Given that we're obligated to choose one entry, we've got to go with the one that made us laugh out loud: northaxe's quintessential formative gamer moment. Kudos, sir or madam!
25
I've always been a PC gamer, but I spent a lot of my childhood in front of an old HP Pavilion whose retail sticker proudly boasted of 4mb of RAM. I played mostly SimLife, SimAnt, SimTower, Explorapedia: World of Nature, SimPark, SimSafari, and SimTown, with a little SimCity mixed in.
SimTower, SimLife, and SimAnt are some seriously legit games. I recommend them highly.
SimTower, SimLife, and SimAnt are some seriously legit games. I recommend them highly.
26
Rats, I thought this thread was going to be about old tabletop games. I could go for a whole weekend spent playing "A Mighty Fortress," particularly if I can be the Ottoman Empire. Or the Hapsburgs, since it's always nice to KNOW that everyone, with the *possible* exception of the Pope, is about to attack you, rather than merely suspect it.
27
Thanks for linking to my interview with the guys running the expo! I shot tons of footage yesterday at the event and I will be uploading a new video on Monday on my YouTube channel for those who missed it and wanna catch the highlights. - Metal Jesus
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