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]

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.

[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?...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.........