who was the first real person depicted in a game?

[christianscott27]

i was thinking pele on the 2600 but its not really him, just a soccer game with his name. maybe michael jackson in moonwalker, although he barely qualifies as a real person...anybody before that?

[chrisbid]

my guess would be the band Journey, in the arcade version of Journey Escape.

lots of games before MJ's Moonwalker though

Mike Tyson's Punchout
Dr J vs Larry Bird

[jslithy]

Ultima 1 (1980). Lord British = Richard Garriott.

[Cauterize]

Pele's Soccer 2600?????

[Ninja Blacksox]

http://www.encyclopedia-obscura.com/gphcs/gameshorrorhitler.gif

That fella.

Although he went by the name "Master D" in the U.S. version. Only the Japanese got the awesomeness that is "Head 'Splodin' Hitler."

-A Boy

[SegaAges]

i was going to say general custard.

he was in custard's revenge.

[Ninja Blacksox]

i was going to say general custard.

he was in custard's revenge.

Please let this be a joke.

'Cause if it's not, I weep on behalf of all certified history teachers.

-A Boy

[Cryomancer]

What about that Chuck Norris game?

[MegaDrive20XX]

Actually I think it was Prince of Persia to capture human movements, which was based of a classic "Nights of Arabia" 1930's flick

[NeoZeedeater]

I doubt you can make out any facial features in game but Fonz(1976) is the oldest one I can think of based on a person so I figured it's worth a mention for the topic.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/images/F/cFonz.jpg

[rbudrick]

Is Fonz one of those mechanical games or is it actually a videogame w/ CRT screen, etc.?

-Rob[/b]

[NeoZeedeater]

According to http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=F&game_id=7836 it's a video game with a black and white CRT screen.

[Gapporin]

i was going to say general custard.

he was in custard's revenge.

Please let this be a joke.

'Cause if it's not, I weep on behalf of all certified history teachers.

-A Boy

Actually, Custard's Revenge sounds like a game where you have to defeat the Evil Yogurt Overlord to save Princess Sour Cream.

[Kid Ice]

The first game that popped into my head was One on One (Bird vs. Dr. J). That's the first game I can remember that really tried to capture the likenesses and activities of real people. I guess you could argue the same for Journey Escape though. The second one was Pele's soccer, but like CS said Pele isn't really in the game.

I believe Hitler was in the end of Beyond Castle Wolfenstein whenever that came out (82 is my guess).

[Neil Koch]

Also Bruce Lee (the old computer game). You can't tell it from the sprite in the game, but the title screen has a decent likeness of him.

[tededfred]

ET

[Iron Draggon]

I doubt you can make out any facial features in game but Fonz(1976) is the oldest one I can think of based on a person so I figured it's worth a mention for the topic.

OMG! I actually played that game! I don't remember any of the details, but I know I played it! In fact, I actually played most of the earliest video games and electromechanical games, like Sega's "Periscope". Those were the days!

[christianscott27]

i'm not sure i would count hitler anymore, he's essentially become an iconic figure more than a real person. its almost like saying the devil represents a real person, i know there was a real hitler but he's been so...you know what i mean.

now the fonz, hmm thats pretty damn good. obviously the fonzie was only real in the sense that he was played by henry winkler. still though it was a living person at the height of their fame. historical figures i just dont see having the same situation.

what i was kinda looking for was how weak was the graphical depiction of the person. i guess that could be a sub-question : who was the first real person in a game that you could recognize without being told who it was? for that i tip the hat to jouney escape. take chuck norris or jordan vs bird, you cant see its them unless you read the manual.

[Iron Draggon]

Yeah, I'd have to go with Journey Escape too. Sweet game. I wish they made a console version of it. I used to play that game alot in the arcades. Journey was the hottest band there was at the time around here. You always had to stand in line to play that game, and you always had people breathing down your neck when you played it, but it was totally worth it.

[tom]

How about Simon in Simon Says (Magnavox Odyssey 1972) ? Well, represented as an Overlay, together with a girl, anyway.........

[Ed Oscuro]

The first game that popped into my head was One on One (Bird vs. Dr. J).
1986, isn't it? I've got that one lying around somewhere (PC version), thrift find...About the same time as Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja, maybe a year later (another real person reference, or two, as one version has Ronnie and another has Bush).

I'd like to find out more about this Fonz.

Just one off the top of my head: the British Group THE THOMPSON TWINS released a Sinclair game on an LP. I kid you not. Link: link (http://www.kempa.com/blog/archives/000053.html). Great for originating the lines "And, what a surprise, having deafened my family recording it onto tape on our dodgy stereo, when the game finally worked, it was crap. Bloody stupid Eighties floppy haired inumerate Chesterfield talentless ponces."

As for Hitler no Fukkatsu/Bionic Commando with SUPER JOE!!!1 LOL - Kung Fu was a much earlier FC title anyhow, with (again) Bruce Lee in it as the title character. There's a bunch of PC-Engine games with real likenesses...er, Bruce Lee and that game about poop jokes with the two Japanese comedians, and...well as you can see, that's a whole ton!

Sanshiro Segata SHIKENYUGI may be way at the end of this list, but somehow that game seems like it should be the daddy of all real-person games. Come on, it's like Mr. T became Japanese and started selling video games and recording his own music. How bad is that?

[Ed Oscuro]

Actually I think it was Prince of Persia to capture human movements, which was based of a classic "Nights of Arabia" 1930's flick
Well, Jordan Mechner's own game Karateka used rotoscoped slides of his karate instructor doing various moves (I believe he used a Super 8 camera) - whoever that guy was.

[Aswald]

It could be Larry Bird and "Dr. J." in "One-On-One Basketball."

[Ed Oscuro]

It could be Larry Bird and "Dr. J." in "One-On-One Basketball."
Not to be rude, but that's already been mentioned in at least two posts.

I think that one possibly counts for first licensed use of sports figures...I read something along those lines a while back; it's certainly the first well known one. But first person used in a game? Nah.

[NeoZeedeater]

The first game that popped into my head was One on One (Bird vs. Dr. J).
1986, isn't it?

I don't know about every port but it first came out in 1983.

[allsport11]

Yeah, I'd have to go with Journey Escape too. Sweet game. I wish they made a console version of it. I used to play that game alot in the arcades. Journey was the hottest band there was at the time around here. You always had to stand in line to play that game, and you always had people breathing down your neck when you played it, but it was totally worth it.

Actually there is the Atari 2600 version of it such as it is. :embarrassed:

[Aswald]

It could be Larry Bird and "Dr. J." in "One-On-One Basketball."
Not to be rude, but that's already been mentioned in at least two posts.

I think that one possibly counts for first licensed use of sports figures...I read something along those lines a while back; it's certainly the first well known one. But first person used in a game? Nah.

Sorry- just got back. I generally like to answer a question after just reading a question, so your "first hunch" isn't forgotten.

[Ninja Blacksox]

i'm not sure i would count hitler anymore, he's essentially become an iconic figure more than a real person. its almost like saying the devil represents a real person, i know there was a real hitler but he's been so...you know what i mean.

now the fonz, hmm thats pretty damn good. obviously the fonzie was only real in the sense that he was played by henry winkler. still though it was a living person at the height of their fame. historical figures i just dont see having the same situation..

Wait wait wait.

Adolf Hitler, a real person who lived and walked on this earth doesn't count...

...But Fonzie, a television character, does?

Wow.

Wrap your head around THAT, people.

-A Boy

[christianscott27]

i dont doubt the reality of a person named hitler, although personally i prefer the fonz ;) both suffered from short man syndrome anyways.

[Iron Draggon]

i'm not sure i would count hitler anymore, he's essentially become an iconic figure more than a real person. its almost like saying the devil represents a real person, i know there was a real hitler but he's been so...you know what i mean.

now the fonz, hmm thats pretty damn good. obviously the fonzie was only real in the sense that he was played by henry winkler. still though it was a living person at the height of their fame. historical figures i just dont see having the same situation..

Wait wait wait.

Adolf Hitler, a real person who lived and walked on this earth doesn't count...

...But Fonzie, a television character, does?

Wow.

Wrap your head around THAT, people.

-A Boy

LOL! Haven't you heard? Hitler is like Jesus now. Alot of people believe that he was a real person, but many people have their doubts about whether it's possible that such a person could've actually existed. Yeah, there's the relics that would seem to indicate that he did indeed exist, but those could all be any guy with a funny moustache, alot of people had them, they were a fad. ;)