Graham Mitchell
12-26-2010, 12:41 PM
First off, I'm posting this in the classic gaming, on not the classic computer gaming section because I think some console gamers will be interested as well.
I received a book for Christmas called "1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die", edited by Tony Mott. It's a collection of short reviews and absolutely GORGEOUS screenshots of games from the 70's to the present, written by various reviewers. What's particularly interesting about the book (for me, anyway) is that I'm pretty sure it's a product of the U.K. As such, a lot of the games are listed in their European or Japanese titles (ie--Another World and Puzzle Bobble). It also features a lot of games that either weren't released in the U.S. or just never caught on here to a great degree. This is pretty interesting stuff for a Yank such as myself.
Anyway, one of the games that really caught my eye was one called Deus Ex Machina, released in 1984 for the C64 and ZX Spectrum. The game is described as "not so much a game as a bizarre multimedia experience". It came with a cassette featuring music and narration from Jon Pertwee of Doctor Who, Ian Dury (Sex and Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll) and comedian Frankie Howard. The tape is an accompaniment with the game and it describes what's going on in the confines of the game. From what I can tell of the youtube video, the game itself is silent, and the tape is the only audio you experience.
The game itself requires the player to guide the development of a mutant organism born "...in the confines of a computerized Orwellian society". You start by weaving it's DNA, then guiding its development as a fetus, and protecting it from ailments in old age. The gameplay itself is a collection of bizarre minigames, which I can't really understand from the youtube footage.
Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Py_TyhXYY
I'm sure there are some older gamers here from the PAL regions who remember this game, but it's pretty shocking to a Westerner like me. Some of these concepts weren't seriously revisited in gaming until Bioshock in 2007.
Enjoy!
I received a book for Christmas called "1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die", edited by Tony Mott. It's a collection of short reviews and absolutely GORGEOUS screenshots of games from the 70's to the present, written by various reviewers. What's particularly interesting about the book (for me, anyway) is that I'm pretty sure it's a product of the U.K. As such, a lot of the games are listed in their European or Japanese titles (ie--Another World and Puzzle Bobble). It also features a lot of games that either weren't released in the U.S. or just never caught on here to a great degree. This is pretty interesting stuff for a Yank such as myself.
Anyway, one of the games that really caught my eye was one called Deus Ex Machina, released in 1984 for the C64 and ZX Spectrum. The game is described as "not so much a game as a bizarre multimedia experience". It came with a cassette featuring music and narration from Jon Pertwee of Doctor Who, Ian Dury (Sex and Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll) and comedian Frankie Howard. The tape is an accompaniment with the game and it describes what's going on in the confines of the game. From what I can tell of the youtube video, the game itself is silent, and the tape is the only audio you experience.
The game itself requires the player to guide the development of a mutant organism born "...in the confines of a computerized Orwellian society". You start by weaving it's DNA, then guiding its development as a fetus, and protecting it from ailments in old age. The gameplay itself is a collection of bizarre minigames, which I can't really understand from the youtube footage.
Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Py_TyhXYY
I'm sure there are some older gamers here from the PAL regions who remember this game, but it's pretty shocking to a Westerner like me. Some of these concepts weren't seriously revisited in gaming until Bioshock in 2007.
Enjoy!