Obviously, this web-page is dying. Why? I have no computer. Someone spilled wine on it a few months ago... that's all I'm saying. My internet phone is also out of commission... It fell in the ocean (attached to me, sigh). I'd take it to the repair shop but... my car died and my bike has a flat. I lost my job and have a gambling addiction. My dog is cheating on me. I can't get a hard-on. I have warts and cry myself to sleep every night. I smell. :(
What else?... oh yeah, I'm full of shit. (except about the computer)
Massive crowds gathered to celebrate the Canucks victory in game 7 over the Dallas Stars in downtown Vancouver and I took some vids. This is just round one... imagine what it'll be like if they go all the way.
The first three parts of this series covered video games that I owned (or had free access to), but all during that time the arcade revolution was alive and growing. My earliest video game memory was that of Asteroids. (not Space Invaders?) I clearly recall accelerating and firing constantly until my spaceship plowed into a wayward meteorite (I should have stood still). That's imprinted solidly into my brain. (can you remember?) I recall a small arcade beside the Coral Bowling alley in Edmonton, Alberta, where I started an expensive habit of one part coke slurpee, one part Galaxian and two parts Battlezone. (click image at right to enlarge)
My mother took on me a fantastic vacation to Asia during my Grade 5 year (1981?), including three weeks in Waikiki to kick it off. At the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, there was the greatest of all arcades where hundreds of cabinets lined the walls, often in large multiples of the same game. (Imagine a dozen Ms. Pacmans or Donkey Kongs in a row... or a Tempest room!) It was heaven. Things were very different back then. My mother and I would start the day together at breakfast and then go our seperate ways. (me with my daily $5 allowance, 10 years old and walking alone in a big city... hello, child services?) She would go to the beach and I would exchange my money for 28 tokens. It was 1 token for 25 cents, 5 tokens for a dollar or 28 tokens for $5 - which was the best value. I would ration my coins with greater discipline than I have today, spending most of my time watching and studying others until deciding to risk a play. A Rally X tabletop was my favorite choice because of it's fantastic game design, and I could draw out plays for a long time. One day some kid showed me a Crazy Climber game in the back that would return your token but still give you a credit. (remember that game? - Click picture at left to enlarge) We spent two days on that machine and finished it twice before they caught on. (played all day + no coins inside = BUSTED!) When I ran out of money (1:30-2:00pm), I would find my mom on the beach, eat lunch under an umbrella and swim until sunset. HEAVEN! (Thanks mum!)
In the mid 80's, the local arcade closed and I would have to take the bus around Edmonton to the various mall arcades like Circus Circus in Kingsway mall for Burger Time, Tron and Venture, 107 ave to play (and watch Sheldon play) Dragon's Lair, and (of course) West Edmonton Mall for Elevator Action, Spy Hunter and every other new game that would debut there first. But, my home turf would be Westmount mall, where I would dominate games such as Ghosts and Goblins, Super Sprint and the incomparable Gauntlet. One Saturday morning I arrived at the arcade before it opened so I could be first at the machine. I was close to being able to play indefinitely with any of the four characters; Warrior, Valkyrie, Wizard or the Elf. I was doing great until approached by two police officers and asked to come outside the mall to answer a few questions. Apparently, a purse snatching took place nearby and I met the thug's description. Being four hours into my best game ever (elf), I insisted that I was innocent and pleaded to maintain my playing streak. Thankfully, the 'change guy' (Boyd?) confirmed my alibi and the cops stood down but still wanted to see what I had on me. Well, I moved my elf into a safe position and asked one officer to hold down the fire button while I emptied my pockets. HAH! I could play all day on one quarter and I didn't bring much more than that. They were satisfied so I resumed playing until supper. Another high score... initials: CAP.
Vancouver Canucks Tailgate Party at GM Place - Game One
The Vancouver Canucks are back in the playoffs and the city is abuzz. On my way to the bar before the game, I stopped by GM Place to check out the tailgate party and took a few videos. The music was fantastic and the atmosphere... electric! Who could of guessed that six hours after these shots that the game would still be going! (7 periods BABY!) And yes, Tamara Taggart could not keep her eyes off of me. ;)
In the early eighties, I was turned onto actual computers for my video game fixes. My initial exposure was my buddy Gene's Apple IIe (well... it was his step-dad Bob's who used it for accounting - click image at right to enlarge). He lived three doors down and became one of my best friends through my teens. We would play RPG's, skateboard and make movies, but playing on his computer was always a top option. Another good friend of mine at the time, Wayne (and his brother Murray), could obtain pirated versions of all the latest games thanks to their ties with the local hackers. So... with literally hundreds of games at our disposal, we immersed ourselves in these programs, diddled away the winter months and laid the foundation of our computer skills and knowledge.
My mother recognized my interest and gave me a IIc for X-mas one year, so I wouldn't be so dependent on Gene or Wayne's systems. (As a clueless teen, I used to play at Gene's whenever possible... even while they were out for dinner as a family! haha. I'm sure they gave me a ton of hints to get lost, but they flew past me and my obsession... and I was still there playing when they returned.) I remember such classics as Ultima (II + III especially), the Wizardry trilogy, Castle Wolfenstein, Boulder Dash, and hours upon hours of Lode Runner. (Karateka ate a few weekends of my life - click image at left to enlarge) I'll never forget the Olympic Decathlon tourneys, the puzzles of Wasteland or the beautiful simplicity of Wavy Navy. For years I would run Computer Baseball simulations that Gene's brother Geoff turned me onto (I was starting 2B for the Expos. .245 BA lifetime but stole at least 20 bags a year), and who could forget the text games such as Zork or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Here's a popular text based Massively Multi-Player Web-Based Zombie Apocalypse game that pays tribute to the graphically challenged programs of the old Apple II's. (It's even predominantly green like the old monitors) Create a character, check it out and come look for me, Joe Axhandle, Zombie Hunter extraordinaire! It's called Urban Dead.
My History of Video Games (Part 2 - Intellivision)
The old 9-volt, glowing dash handhelds looked paltry compared to the new consoles that were coming out in the late 70's. I can recall the Bauker kids (Dave and Alana?) were among the first to obtain an Atari system, but they weren't very close friends, so I was only allowed to watch them play. (hah... TORTURE!) Then one memorable Christmas I received an Intellivision Game System. (JOY! - click image at left to enlarge) My parents reserved one from the video game store at West Edmonton Mall and paid an unpresedented $400 for it! That was a ton of money back then, so I never expected to unwrap THAT! Well, I made sure they got their money's worth.
Memory highlights include... beating my sister's boyfriend (Kim) at Sea Battle, spending hours exploring the secret neighborhoods in Auto Racing and hunting for new games in the malls of Hong Kong while on vacation with my mom. (not yet released back home - SCORE!) Let's don't forget MLB, Astrosmash, Armor Battle or Tron Deadly Discs... or Skiing, Demon Attack, AD&D or Tennis for that matter. (Utopia was a quality program too! - click image right to enlarge) That device dominated my time for several years (I wore the numbers right off the controllers from overuse) until it became obsolete and I was turned onto something a little more advanced.
BTW, if you played Utopia on the Intellivision... then you might like this game I recently discovered called Desktop Tower Defense.
My History of Video Games (Part 1 - Pong and Handhelds)
Video games have always been a large part of my life.
It all started with one of those old pong consoles from the 70's. My parents picked up one the cheap systems trying to cash in on the fad, and it offered a half-dozen subtle variations of the same game. You know, tennis, squash, soccer, short or long paddles, etc... it even had a rifle! (similar to the one at right, click thumbnail to enlarge) Still, it ate up hours of our time until my cousin broke it and we returned to playing outside... but the seed was planted.
From there, I would acquire a number of different handheld games. I owned Mattel Hockey and Football (click thumbnail at left to enlarge), but they were very simple and easily mastered. My best friend Scott received a head-to-head version of football that was a little more challenging, but for the most part these games only held our attention for a short time. (About the length of a cheap Radioshack 9-volt battery - hey, I dare you to touch it with your tongue!)
It was the golden age of video games where simplicity ruled. However, sometimes the simplest things are the best and that can still apply today in a world full of dual-processors and gigabyte memory cards. At the end of each part of this series of posts, I will link to some of my favorite free games that I've discovered on the internet.
Here's a basic game you can play immediately, try it... it's called Tabuto.
Here's a Google search line you can use to quickly locate mp3 files on the internet. Just paste the following line into the search engine and substitute the band or song name you want to find. ("Nirvana" in the example) Try it!
When the tsunami hit Phi Phi island, it destroyed everything we owned including our laptop computer. There were three months worth of photographs and videos on that hard drive... lost forever. Or so we thought... Fast forward 27 months later to March 2007 and a short visit to Vancouver by our good friend Raymond on his way back to China. Much to our surprise, Raymond reminded us that we had burned a CD full of pictures of the time we spent together in China and Vietnam a few months before the tsunami. In a rush, I dragged all our previous pictures onto that CD before we said our goodbyes. WHAT!!! Six weeks of photos that we thought we'd never see again. What a treat! Send them soon RAYMOND and thanks!
Here's another quick video of my nephew's birthday party that was held in the gym at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver. They had an amazing, inflatable slide and obstacle course that the kids could not get enough of. Check it out by clicking on the you tube link below.
