The History of Gaming Exhibit

[digitalpress]

You would have to have been ignoring me completely (understandable!) or hiding under a rock for the past month if you've missed my crowing about our exhibit at E3, which is just ten day away now!

We've got our interactive museum completely ready to go, and it includes 18 playable consoles. I won't list them here, but suffice to say that it covers every popular US console from Odyssey through Saturn. The idea is, there are nine consoles on the "pre-crash" side, nine more on the "post-crash" side. Anyone can walk up and play selected games on any of the consoles.

Now here's my question for you.

It's a "history of gaming" exhibit, after all... so what games would you most EXPECT to see at such an exhibit? What games do you feel have made a significant impact on the industry and/or are simply unforgettable mementos of our splendid hobby?

Discuss. I will most likely be using this thread as a checklist before packing the final box to Los Angeles! :)

[chadtower]

I'd expect to see a lot of console exclusives... things like Virtua Fighter 2, Panzer Dragoon Saga for Saturn, maybe House of the Dead.

Then I'd expect to see the true groundbreakers like Pitfall and Zelda. Basically, demonstrate the uniqueness of each system and the progression of the technology via the games that demonstrated brand new concepts.

[wisekrak]

I would think that you would want to display titles that truly showed the power of each system. DK Country for SNES for example. Games that demonstrated just what developers were able to do with the limited hardware.
Rare games would be a neat thing to show with theses systems, but rare and collectable does not nessisarily show what was capable of being done on a piece of hardware.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Are we talking consoles? Hmmmmm.

2600: Combat, Adventure, Pitfall - honestly I think those are the three most iconic 2600 titles you could show off. Night Driver too. Don't show Pac-Man at all if you can help it - no, wait, do. Remind some of these folks what happens when you put the license or the look ahead of the actual game play.

5200: Ballblazer. Pac-Man. Show some homebrews for this one: Koffi, Adventure II (if you can get a demo copy from Cafeman)...the homebrews are particularly impressive.

7800: hmmmm...tough one.

Colecovision: Donkey Kong, Space Fury, Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle (no, seriously - it's an early pre-NES scrolling adventure game, it'd be a good thing to show off!). Zaxxon.

Intellivision: the sports titles. May not have been the first video sports games, but the league/superstar/etc. licensing juggernaut started here. Football, baseball, soccer, hockey. Imagic titles rocked on this system too: Demon Attack, Atlantis, Beauty & The Beast. Oh, don't forget Shark Shark.

Odyssey2: K.C. Munchkin, if only for the history-making legal precedent. Smithereens, because it's just about the most fun you can have with pants on. Bring the Voice for that one. Monkeyshines, because its so unconventional. War Of Nerves. Quest For The Rings (show off the goodies that came with it - set up the board!).

Handhelds, if you're doing those: Blip. Merlin. Coleco licensed mini-arcades (Pac-Man, Frogger, Donkey Kong, etc.). Quiz Wiz. Game & Watch. Microvision.

That's just off the top of my head there.

[digitalpress]

You're all on the right track so far.

What about homebrews? I'd be tempted to toss in a really good 2600 homebrew like SCSIcide to show that the systems are still being supported, sometimes with games better than the originals.

[o2william]

Odyssey/Channel F/RCA Studio II - doesn't really matter which game you pick, just having a working console there would be enough of a "whoa!" factor for anyone who's never seem them before. Also bring a dedicated Pong unit if you can.

2600: Exactly what PDF said, but include Space Invaders and Warlords. Maybe River Raid.

7800: Robotron

O2: KC Munchkin, Smithereens (w/voice!), Quest for the Rings

Inty: Some sports titles, an AD&D game, BurgerTime

CV: Smurf, Spy Hunter, Donkey Kong

NES: Sheesh, where to begin? Definitely Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Metroid. Maybe Contra, Mega Man, CastleVania, Gradius, Final Fantasy, Tetris.

SNES: Super Mario World, Super Metroid, F-Zero, DKC. Maybe Zelda: LttP

SMS: Phantasy Star

Genesis: Sonic, Gunstar Heroes

Vectrex: Mine Storm (obviously), Web Wars, Star Castle

Astrocade: Incredible Wizard, Dogpatch

Jaguar: Tempest 2000, Doom

(Edited to add 2600 Space Invaders)

[tholly]

for the NES i would expect to see Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and Zelda

[kjmontana]

The post by o2william that gave Jaguar games to play, left off the reason I bought mine:ALIEN VS. PREDATOR! I still love that game!

[portnoyd]

All good choices so far. Do you have to make any discretionary choices towards violent games? That thought crossed my mind when AvP came into question.

I'd also suggest packing up the M82 and the SMS Demo Kiosk for the NES and SMS parts. Both demo units would be great eye candy, and make it super easy to display all the must-plays on the system. If you can get your hands on the sixslot Genesis demo unit and the 2600 changer as well.

dave

[digitalpress]

All good choices so far. Do you have to make any discretionary choices towards violent games? That thought crossed my mind when AvP came into question.

Definitely not. E3 is an adult event, you're not even supposed to be there if you're under 18. Ever see the booth babes at E3? Not for the faint-hearted. I'm very much looking forward to that aspect of the show


I'd also suggest packing up the M82 and the SMS Demo Kiosk for the NES and SMS parts. Both demo units would be great eye candy, and make it super easy to display all the must-plays on the system. If you can get your hands on the sixslot Genesis demo unit and the 2600 changer as well.

dave

While I agree that these are cool things to have in a museum, it's not likely these will make the cut. The interactive side of the exhibit really needs to be "identifiable" stuff. It's important to me that people get to pick up a real NES controller, hit the power on a real NES, and experience the original console glory of each unit. The non-interactive stuff is pretty limited in space (though we've got some really impressive display units donated by the E3 people) and will be geared more toward the games, peripherals and memorabilia. I just don't see these demo units getting in there. Not for this particular crowd, you know?

[Kid Ice]

I humbly suggest the definitive game per each system. Not necesarily the best game. Basically the first thing that pops into your head. Here's my highly arguable list (most of which have been mentioned)

2600: Space Invaders
Astrocade: Galactic Invasion (or whatever that Galaxian game is called)
O2: KC Munchkin
Intel: Baseball
CV: Donkey Kong
Vectrex: Mine Storm
5200: Tough one. I'll say Pac Man.
7800: Choose any one. I'll say Ninja Golf.
SMS: Another toughy. Phantasy Star
NES: SMB
Genny: Sonic
SNES: SF2
Jag: Tempest 2K
3DO: Gex
PSX: Tough one. Resident Evil
Saturn: Nights
N64: Mario 64

[IntvGene]

Here are my biased choices:

If the systems have the two controllers, I would also make sure that some mutliplayer games aren't missed. I might even suggest a fun game like Joust for the 2600.

I also think that Utopia should be in the Intellivision section. But, there are tons of great choices for the INTV to pick from... Astrosmash, AD&D, Night Stalker, and the sports games, as mentioned.

I'd pick one of the Panzer Dragoon action games for the Saturn, as Saga isn't really enjoyable as a passing game.

I don't know if it's included in the list, but for the Lynx: California Games, Slime World and Blue Lightning are good to go.

It's tough because you have to pick a variety of games for all the systems, as well as games that are suitable for quick,fun play. Not many people are going to want to pop in an RPG to sit through ten minutes of intro material. I'm sorta seeing it as an arcade for the consoles, in a way. But your vision may be different

I think that the homebrews are an important part of the history, showing how it still lives on today. I'd definitely give Protector the thumbs up for the Vectrex.

[sniperCCJVQ]

You're all on the right track so far.

What about homebrews? I'd be tempted to toss in a really good 2600 homebrew like SCSIcide to show that the systems are still being supported, sometimes with games better than the originals.

Ms Space Fury, Bejeweld

[chrisbid]

for a retroshow there needs to be an emphasis on gameplay, which is what classic gaming did better. So while Phantasy Star and Utopia were outstanding innovative games, most people with 15-second attention spans wont be able to pick up and play those kinds of games.

for the SMS, you have to go with Alex Kidd in Miracle World

There really is no wrong answer for the NES, but go with something that you'll never see rereleased by the big N, Mike Tyson's Punchout would fit this bill (youll never see Mike Tyson in a Nintendo game ever again)

Gunstar Heroes for the Genesis

I think the SNES is the hardest system to choose a game for, i cant think of any pick-up-and-play type game that hasnt been rereleased for GBA

Tempest 2000 for Jaguar

Devil's Crush for TG16

Burgertime for Intellivision

Turbo for Coleco

Yar's Revenge for VCS

[wberdan]

colecovision- donkey kong, mouse trap, steamroller, (maybe even kevtris for a surprise)

jaguar- tempest 2000

[Bratwurst]

I just wanna suggest showcasing Wonderboy III for the SMS kiosk, it's easy to pick up and play for 5 or 10 minutes and much more engaging in that sort of time frame than Phantasy Star would be.

[dreamcaster]

I think primarily games that are identifiable with each system would be most important.

Atari 2600: Space Invaders and Asteroids

IntelliVision: Astrosmash

ColecoVision: Donkey Kong

Vectrex: Minestorm

NES: Super Mario Bros. series, Tetris and The Legend of Zelda games.

SMS: Wonderboy and Alex Kidd

Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog series and Gunstar Heroes.

SNES: Super Mario World games, Donkey Kong Country and StarFox

Sega CD: Sonic CD and Night Trap (okay, it's not a great game - but it's famous)

Sega 32X: Knuckles Chaotix and Star Wars Arcade

Saturn: Sega Rally Championship, Virtua Fighter 2, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei and Daytona USA.

PSX: Ridge Racer (and make sure it's a PSX not a PSone console)

N64: Super Mario 64

[Oobgarm]

My only input is that the games should be representative of the system, and also easily accessible. There's lots to see and do at E3 and things that are easy to jump in and play are a good idea.

[Querjek]

Atari 2600: Pitfall!, E.T.

NES: If possible, Duck Hunt/SMB/World Class Track Meet cart

SNES: DKC 2, ALttP, SMW

[BHvrd]

Custer's Revenge


You did say this was an adult event! Plus I love that game. :evil:

Btw, I don't think I ever said it so I will say it now. Awesome gig man, good luck!

[digitalpress]

Just wanted to give a quick shout out of "THANKS" to everyone who contributed their thoughts in this thread. I just shipped the last of my boxes heading for the E3 exhibit, your comments played heavily into the selection.

It's been a frantic few days - as it always is a week before a show - I'll have lots of pictures and commentary on the whole E3 experience for you when I get back.

Thanks again!