In what may become a regular feature, at least on days when I am really struggling for topics, I am going to go back to my days at the arcade to discuss some of the favorite video games of my youth. Tonight’s selection: the wisdom that was Paperboy.
When video games started off they were an escape. You were transported to a land where you were a man in overalls saving a blonde woman from a large monkey or defending the earth against an onslaught of aliens who moved in a predictable, repetitive pattern or a yellow blob being chased by ghosts. This changed with Paperboy, the first game to take your pathetic life and turn it into a video game.
Yes, long before The Sims allowed you to sit at home and play a game in which you relived your life Paperboy allowed you precious training for your future career. It was kind of like The Last Starfighter except for the Berwyn Life instead of the Rylan Star League. The concept of the game was as simple as could be. You were a paperboy and your job was to deliver the papers to the proper houses.
There are several things about this game that made it great. First, the controller on the arcade game was a makeshift handlebar and anything that caused a variation from the joystick and button combo of other games made it interesting. Second, there was an immense sense of humor to the game. Errant tosses could result in broken windows and irate customers chasing you down the street. This also resulted it becoming maybe the first game that you ever played to lose. On a higher level if a run went badly you would simply try to cause as much damage as possible. It was much like Dr. J and Larry Bird One on One in that respect (the only game where who won or lost mattered less than who got to shatter the backboard.) But mainly it just made you feel like you were riding a bike, which given that I was nine years old at the time I probably could have done for real instead of virtually. Still, that is progress for you.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Let’s celebrate a child star turned good with some Rilo Kiley tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment