Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: What If... Atari 2600 and Intellivsion could do 3D well?

  1. #1
    classicus carnivorous
    digitalpress's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Circling about overhead
    Posts
    26,331
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2
    Thanked in
    2 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    Digital Press
    PSN
    digitalpress

    Lightbulb What If... Atari 2600 and Intellivsion could do 3D well?

    Put Crypts of Chaos, Tunnel Runner, and Treasure of Tarmin aside for a moment.

    Imagine if you will, these sorta-first-gen systems doing 3D like those games did but with a little more "oomph" on gameplay. Imagine someone doing Doom instead of Tarmin. Imagine Might and Magic instead of Crypts of Chaos. Just a little more depth... just a little more graphics power.

    Or could this have never happened?

  2. #2
    drowning in medals Ed Oscuro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    16,556
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    3
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1
    Thanked in
    1 Post

    Default

    I never was convinced by those systems' 2D, let alone 3D.

    DOOM on either system would've been further from the source than Galaxy Force 2 on the SMS from the original.

    Personally, I have always been a bit interested in the concept of Maze War. This is another flickscreen type game (not real-time as far as I know), but I think the VCS would handle something like it pretty well. It almost seems like Eye of the Beholder, actually.

    Probably not what you were looking for, but I just don't think those systems have the horsepower to do anything real-time that is more than a few lines - so maybe you could run around in a mostly empty box. Extra circuitry in the cartridge could help here, I think.

  3. #3
    Pear (Level 6)
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    1,272
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    .....
    Last edited by DefaultGen; 03-12-2023 at 07:04 PM.

  4. #4
    Great Puma (Level 12) Niku-Sama's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Deadford, OR
    Posts
    4,129
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    5
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    63
    Thanked in
    59 Posts

    Default

    the 2600 had some interesting 3dish effects but with the intellivision and the controler it had i would have to say HELL NO!

  5. #5
    ServBot (Level 11) Iron Draggon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    Posts
    3,289
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    OMG... I shudder to think how horrible a 2600 version of Doom would've been... and how many copies of it would still be buried in a desert right now... the gaming world would still be making jokes about it to this day... "the most horrific horror of Doom is the fact that they made it for the 2600"

    I'm not familiar with any of the games you mentioned, but I'm surprised you didn't mention Star Raiders... that's prolly about as good as 3D could ever get on the 2600... and prolly the most immersive experience you could ever have on that system, with its badass keypad and overlay for playing it... I remember playing that game for hours on end, pretending that I really was some sort of Luke Skywalker starfighter pilot... sweet memories of bliss...

    but what about driving games like Night Driver? could they have made a 3D driving game any better than that on the 2600? prolly not... and it wasn't even real 3D... it was just a very clever illusion that made it look like 3D...

    decent 3D graphics didn't really happen for home consoles until we finally got Pole Position for the 5200... now that was a 3D game to be admired by all... remember how long you always had to wait to play it in the arcades? and then when the home version finally came out, if you had that, you always had alot of friends hanging out at your house to play it with you... everybody loved Pole Position... it was the first real sign that someday our video games would be far more realistic than we ever thought possible... cause at the time, that was exactly what that game was like... it was the Virtua Racing of its era... and its so obvious that Virtua Racing was inspired by it too... but what 3D games on the 2600 were the inspiration for modern 3D games? I can't think of any, except for Star Raiders... that's the only one I know of!
    Last edited by Iron Draggon; 04-21-2008 at 07:31 AM.
    You can't run with the big dogs if you pee like a puppy!

    Get BIT!

  6. #6
    Ladd Spencer (Level 17) Sniderman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    9,319
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    Apparently you’ve never played the homebrew Skeleton+ for the Atari 2600. Only 4K and the best “3D perspective” game I’ve seen for the system. If not that, how about Escape from the Mindmaster for the Supercharger?

    There were – and are – decent 3D first-person games out there…
    Still Around...Still Gamin'...

  7. #7
    Great Puma (Level 12) c0ldb33r's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    4,980
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    This thread isn't complete without a link to the Official 2600 Doom Page.

    My God I wish that were real.

  8. #8
    ServBot (Level 11) swlovinist's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Gamers Paradise
    Posts
    3,607
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    swlovinist

    Default

    I can possibly see the 2600 doing some unique early 3D stuff...if it had an extra chipset, like the VR racing cart for the genesis or the Starfox cart for the Snes. After seeing what some programmers can pull off with the 2600 alot is possible.
    Would you like to know more about collecting video games? Check out my extensive Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/user/swlovinist

  9. #9
    ServBot (Level 11) Rob2600's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    3,601
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Iron Draggon View Post
    I'm surprised you didn't mention Star Raiders... that's prolly about as good as 3D could ever get on the 2600... but what about driving games like Night Driver? could they have made a 3D driving game any better than that on the 2600? prolly not...
    Pole Position for the Atari 2600 was much, much better looking than Night Driver. It was actually a great version, considering the hardware limitations. Enduro was great, too.

    Solaris also had 3D levels. Nice stuff.

  10. #10
    Great Puma (Level 12) jb143's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    St. Louis
    Posts
    4,246
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    5
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    69
    Thanked in
    62 Posts

    Default Just currious...

    Has anyone ever tried to overclock a liquid cooled Atari 2600? I mean...1.19MHz can't handle much...but kick it up a notch and it might be able to do something like Wolfenstein 3D.

  11. #11
    Pac-Man (Level 10) icbrkr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    www.amigacd32.com
    Posts
    2,322
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    icbrkr

    Default

    Need some C64 3D love in here too since we're talking about the mighty 6502:

    http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=40255

  12. #12
    Great Puma (Level 12) Bratwurst's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    4,461
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    4
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    13
    Thanked in
    10 Posts

    Default

    What if Kid Fenris could kill someone with a mere thought? Mind blowing stuff here, people.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-04-2008, 02:45 PM
  2. FS: NES, SNES, N64, PS, Odyssey, Intellivsion, and more
    By sbd_pker in forum Buying and Selling
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 07-08-2008, 09:23 PM
  3. Boxed Intellivsion Questions....
    By dcescott in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 12-30-2006, 08:48 AM
  4. Intellivsion and Odyssey 2 Collections for sale
    By baddseed in forum Buying and Selling
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-28-2006, 01:45 AM
  5. FA LOT OF 88 ATARI 2600 GAMES LOTS OF ATARI 2600 MANUALS
    By dsullo in forum Buying and Selling
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 05-02-2004, 09:15 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •