Video/Board Game for the 2600...Just a thought

[StephenJ]

I was wondering if any of the 2600 programmers here on AA have ever thought of writing a video/board game for the 2600. Something like Quest for the Rings on the Magnavox Odyssey 2 (seems like a fun game).

 

To start off…to test the waters…the board and components could be like that of a downloadable print-and-play game. If the game required a keyboard entry, like Quest for the Rings, it could make use of the Atari Video Touch Pad...those things are easy to find and the overlay could also be downloaded.

 

Just thinking out loud…your thoughts??

 

Thanks,

StephenJ

[Schizophretard]

I had a similar thought recently. I found this game from Parker Brothers called Code Name:Sector The Computer Game Of Submarine Pursuit at Goodwill. It is incomplete so, I can't play it until I get all the pieces but since it is dated 1977 I figured that $5.99 was worth it. I assume it is a game to compete against Milton Bradley's Battleship because they also came out with a computerized version in 1977. On the box it says:

 

The computer game of submarine pursuit

 

* Use a real computer to track an unseen sub.

* Be in command of the combat information center.

* Plot you ship's course on a nautical chart.

* Avoid costly collisions.

* Aim and fire torpedoes at the sub.

* Miss the target and the sub retaliates.

 

The board game where you match wits with a computer

 

Decades ago -- when computers were first developed -- a computer would cost over a million dollars and would fill an entire room. Now, after extensive research with a leading electronics company, Parker Brothers brings you a powerful computer designed strictly for family fun. The CODE NAME: SECTOR computer is capable of making thousands of calculations per second. Its solid-state memory keeps track of players positions at all times. And its logic circuitry instantly detects collisions, counter-attacks, misfires, and hits. A combat information center contains all the controls needed to navigate within range of the sub and fire. An electronic readout, made up of light-emitting diodes, automatically displays information supplied by the computer. The computer works with you as you track down an enemy sub on a nautical chart. Being the first to sink it isn't easy. With over 3000 possible underwater locations, the sub is unlikely to be in the same place twice.

 

* An electronic display provides players with complete combat information during the course of the game.

* A ship's direction is shown on a lighted compass.

* A steering capability allows players to change course from left or right to close in on the sub.

* A pair of speed controls allow destroyers to travel at 9 different speeds.

* An evasive sub option makes the game more challenging for experienced players.

* A programmed learning sequence teaches the play quickly and easily.

* A sonar control area is used to determine range information and to aim and fire torpedoes.

 

The game comes compete with:

 

* Computer console

* Nautical playing/plotting surface

* Marking crayons (4 total)

* Crayon sharpener

* Parallel rule

* Replica submarines for scoring (8 total)

* Reusable erasing cloth

 

9 VOLT BATTERY NOT INCLUDED. ALKALINE BATTERY RECOMMENDED FOR BEST RESULTS.

 

I have no idea how to play it but it sounds like a complex Battleship strategy type game. I thought that since it came from 1977 just like the Atari then maybe it would be cool if someone made a homebrew where the Atari does the computer part of the game and you plot your ship's course on a nautical chart. I also think it would be cool if other old computerized board games were made into homebrews.

 

Here is a link to a good article about it. http://www.dicemaest...name-sector.asp

 

This is my favorite quote from the article:

 

The game is a classic example of a computer board game from the late 70s and early 80s, the only time games like this were made. Commenting on the game's success in 1977, Time Magazine stated: "This is the year of the microprocessor .. What is on the way is not hard to guess: in a couple of years the game player's best friend will be the full-scale home computer."

[StephenJ]

Schizophretard

That's what I'm talking about. I think that would be a good candidate for a video/board Game for the 2600.

The more I think about it, the more I like it. One possibility, some type of visual representation of a skirmish (i.e. hit, retaliation, etc.).

Since I have a bit of an interest in the old electronic board games, I'm going to keep an eye out for Code Name: Sector.

 

Any other ideas out there?