View Full Version : Any fans of old b/w games?
Midway's
Dog Patch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E41-ZPkMfpk)
The Amazing Maze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KITGPAKABlY)
more vids to come...
lookfun78
03-17-2011, 03:31 PM
what is b/w? I'm asking because I can't view the videos.
Compute
03-18-2011, 08:31 AM
Black and white. As in, the "video" element of the games used a black and white monitor (tv) to display the graphics.
Personally, I think they are pretty cool. Since the game hardware at the time couldn't display much for graphics, they could rely on some of the tricks used in electromechanical games to create atmosphere. Overlays, reflection of the monitor image (think Asteroids Deluxe), innovative controls, and other things were used to make the game experience great.
kedawa
03-18-2011, 11:53 PM
Are they strictly black and white, or just monochrome?
Fontaine Le Funk
03-19-2011, 01:27 AM
Hooray for two player Guided Missile! and beer!
Compute
03-19-2011, 11:35 AM
Are they strictly black and white, or just monochrome?
I suppose the term "monochrome" would be more accurate. One thing to consider in using "black and white" is that many of these games used off-the-shelf black and white televisions for monitors. Ted Dabney tells an interesting story (RetroGaming Roundup #24, October 2010) about sourcing televisions for Pong and other Atari/Kee games.
If you play any of these in MAME, make sure you have the artwork files. Drag Race made no sense to me until I installed the artwork. I still want to play Firetruck in the cabinet. There are so many games from this era that would never see a "next gen" variant.