THE recognized "Golden Age" of video gaming was the early 80s, and with classics like Pacman, Donkey Kong, Burger Time, Marble Madness and Digdug, its hard to disagree.  But What I didn't know was there's an organization called Twin Galaxies that has been around since the early 80s and is in charge of keeping records of top scores in all of those old school games.  Since 1982 the high score in Donkey Kong has been held by the same guy, and there's a new documentary out called "The king of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters" that features the record holder, and a newcomer who is going to attempt to break the record.
 

This is a pretty interesting subject to me, being a gamer, but honestly I was terrible at  those golden age video games.  I recently downloaded SuperMario Bros., and Donkey Kong for the Wii, and I'm still so bad..its not even funny.  stop laughing!  Games have definitely become easier over the years.  In the 25 years since Donkey Kong has come out, only a few people have ever "beat" the game.  There's really no comparison with todays console games where most game reviews give you a gameplay estimate of how long it will take to finish.  I for one am happy they're easier!  But honestly, with the advent of the internet and online gaming, single player games do not interest me much at all.  Having a cool multiplayer component to a game is what I'm after.  

But now that the '80s are back, and everything retro from the era is being reinvented, and reimaged,this documentary is a fun look back at the geeks who ruled the arcades.  And while the Golden Age of gaming brings back alot of memories of futilitiy for me, it is a fun time to revisit.  

 "The King of Kong," is playing in major cities all across the country.  Be sure to check it out!

Comments

Only registered users can write comments!

Binky  - never thought about it!   |2007-08-22 03:09:34 you're right! the old school games were and are so much harder than the games now. even excite bike! and atari's jungle jim? i could barely get through to the second level. great article. i wonder about those old gamers. where are they now?

voltes5   |2007-08-22 04:03:42 so true. guides were non-existent during that time too. i was playing with super mario world again after i beat it before. now, i'm barely beating world 5. [smiley=sad] i can't believe it was so hard then. great read mike. [smiley=wink]

Binky  - roni   |2007-08-22 04:28:44 oh, look, there's an old gamer. heehee [smiley=wink]

tedmod  - Gamer   |2007-08-22 04:34:30 ..Not an old gamer here, but I do miss the old ones. We finished a lot of games minus the SAVE feature and walkthroughs! In Atari 2600, the game River Raid gave me sleepless nights. In the Japanese Nintendo Family Computer, You can go as far as you can in Castlevania, but once you lose, you're back to the start! Definitely old school games are harder and more challenging. I guess what the new ones offer are just the stunning graphics and more interactive game play. Great article dude!

voltes5  - binky   |2007-08-22 04:40:51 grrr... lol i got busted in school for playing galaxian during our lunch break. im that old. [smiley=sad] hehe

redd5  - glad you guys liked it!   |2007-08-22 04:56:33 I read recently that they are going to make a feature film version of the King Of Kong story! I can totally see will Farrell, or Ben Stiller in the "Billy Mitchell" role, who is the owner of the Donkey Kong record for the last 25 years. But I think my favorite oldschool video game was Dragon's Layer! It used cell animation, and actually looked like a cartoon! all you really did was move the joystick when a light would flash on the screen, but I thought it was so cool. but, alas..I was horrible at the game.

PAO  - ..   |2007-08-22 11:58:43 hehhehehe i still didnt "beat"Donkey Kong dude..Galaga just once. yet,i still love tha gud ol arcade games..nice article man. [smiley=wink]

skada76   |2007-08-22 15:08:49 I remember games like 1942 and FIREFOX that i believe really didn't have an ending or just took that damn long to beat. Those two flying games took millions of quarters from me.

Feliza   |2007-08-23 05:17:41 Donkey Kong and Galaga rule! Also Pacman and Ms. Pacman. Only 'cause I can play those games kinda well. [smiley=think]n But nothing beats the Frogger and Q-bert.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.26

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."