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Checkers (Intellivision, 1980)

Mezrabad

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Checkers (Intellivision, 1980)

 

Yup, still on Intellivision, still in 1980, as we have been since, what? 2007? Sorry it's taken so long, we are only one game away from finishing 1980 Intellivision games and the penultimate Intellivision game for the year is: Checkers!

 

I didn't actually dread playing Checkers, especially after my better-than-dreaded experience with Backgammon. I was looking forward to jumping back into the Chronogaming groove. Checkers didn't disappoint me. It was an elegantly simple implementation of the game of checkers. As with Backgammon, the visuals were very clean and easy to understand. In fact, the visuals were very much of the same style as the Backgamon visuals. Red and black board, little round pieces and a dash on them if it is a stack of two. In this case a "king".

 

The controls without the overlays were a little hard to figure out, so much so, in fact, that I did have to dig into my "big box of Intellivision manuals and overlays". Once I had the overlays installed, and had read the manual ("Read this manual if you want to play a winning game of checkers!") it was a breeze: playing Intellivision's Checkers was pretty fun. I was able to win regularly against computer on Lo Skill but am ashamed to say I gave up trying to beat it on Hi Skill. I may try again yet, but I was impatient to win so I could record the video I mad below. (EDIT in 2022... I "fixed" this mistake and then realized there was a mention of it in the comments so I had to go back and unfix it. My error-integrity field is still strong.)

 

Normally, I put board-games-turned-videogames into the class of: "Aren't these more fun played with another person? If you have another person, can't you just use a real board?" I think I've changed my stance on this, taking into account the era these early video board games were introduced: See, "now-a-days", if presented with a Checkers videogame, one is tempted to say, "No thanks, I'd rather play a different videogame." However, one may still enjoy playing Checkers (on a board) with another person. In fact, I know my kids and I like playing checkers... though usually we just play videogames... hmm, may have to change that practice.

 

Back in 1980, however, Checkers (and chess and Othello and backgammon) were sometimes the only form of gaming available when you went other places and gamed with other kids or even grown-ups. I remember going to a summer camp where we had a bunch of checker and chess sets and that's what some of us did every other afternoon or so. Checkers on Intellivision (and Atari, etc) was actually a good way to practice for playing against real people. Yes, playing a game like Adventure (coming up in Atari 1980) was its own reward, but I finally understand the value of being able to play against a computer opponent: it may help you improve your game for when you play against that big kid from the 8th grade, or... anyone, that was just an example...

 

The really notable thing about this version of Checkers is your reward for winning against the computer. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but have we heard this extensive amount of music in a home videogame before this one?

 

I've recorded and posted it as a YouTube video, with which I will leave you.

Like a lot of these videos, they went away with a YouTube channel I had at some point and deleted in a fit of idiocy stemming from a deep depression.

 

The music I mentioned, if memory serves me, was a chip-tune version of Ride of the Valkyries, originally by Brothers of Metal. (okay, not that one.)

 

That's all, piece out! (get it?) Next time we do NASL Soccer, which I think is a form of Soccer but, judging by the name, you use your nose to play it.

 

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brideck

Ride of the Valkyries? For Checkers? Apparently we're supposed to equate this ancient game of war with the real thing. It seems impossible that the game programmer would be ignorant of 1979's "Apocalypse Now".

 

Your statement about board games mirrors what my wife says anytime she catches me playing a sports game. "Why are you playing that? Wouldn't you rather be outside playing the real thing?" The answer is of course yes, but I can't always (or ever as it turns out) come up with the 10 people necessary to play an adequate game of base/soft/kickball. At least with a game like chess/checkers/backgammon you're actually still playing the real game.

 

Anyway, glad to see you getting back into the swing of things. I continue to enjoy your look back at systems and games that I know little about... I'm especially keen to see if your sanity can survive the crash of 1983. I'll have more constructive things to say if and when you make it to 1985 and the NES.

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Nathan Strum
the video I mad below
Mad? I thought you enjoyed this game. :ponder: Nice piece of music though - I wonder what sort of musical limitations the Intellivision may have had. It certainly seems at least as capable as the 2600.

 

NASL Soccer, which I think is a form of Soccer but, judging by the name, you use your nose to play it
Sounds like great potential for an iPhone app.
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Mezrabad
brideck said:
Ride of the Valkyries? For Checkers? Apparently we're supposed to equate this ancient game of war with the real thing. It seems impossible that the game programmer would be ignorant of 1979's "Apocalypse Now".

I love the smell of checkers in the morning! Smells like victory!!

brideck said:
I continue to enjoy your look back at systems and games that I know little about... I'm especially keen to see if your sanity can survive the crash of 1983.

Thank you! And I dread not the crash but the glut of crappy games that lead to it. Oh, how I shudder thinking about them!

Nathan Strum said:
Quote
the video I mad below
Mad? I thought you enjoyed this game. :)

Ack! That's what I get for typing an entry on my lunch hour, and now, since you've quoted it, I am too ashamed to go back and fix it! I will have to give it some form of twisted context which some day I will rationalize, so that it will seem like I was making an obscure reference rather than failing to proof my scribblings.

Quote
"`But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

`Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'

`How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.

`You must be,' said the Cat, `or you wouldn't have come here.' "

I'll use the quote to introduce a chapter of my book: Chronogaming: A Time Traveler's Guide To Exploring 20th Century Videogames, by the time I'm done editing it, I will most certainly be mad.

 

Nathan Strum said:
Sounds like great potential for an iPhone app.

:ponder:   <--- EDIT in 2022: I don't really know what this emoji has replaced to show what I really meant at the time. It kind of looks doubtful, like I was rolling my eyes at the comment, but I don't feel like I would have been doing that. Mr. Strum always has good insights and funny comments.)

Edited by Mezrabad
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Nathan Strum
and now, since you've quoted it, I am too ashamed to go back and fix it! I will have to give it some form of twisted context which some day I will rationalize, so that it will seem like I was making an obscure reference rather than failing to proof my scribblings.
"`But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

`Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'

`How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.

`You must be,' said the Cat, `or you wouldn't have come here.' "

:)

Excellent! Now I feel that in some small way I've contributed to the advancement of literature. :ponder:

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thegoldenband
Nice piece of music though - I wonder what sort of musical limitations the Intellivision may have had. It certainly seems at least as capable as the 2600.

Have you seen

? That Youtube video helped sway me into buying an Intellivision recently. I love the TIA with all its limitations and quirks, but the Intellivision definitely seems to have the more capable sound hardware.
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Nelio
I finally understand the value of being able to play against a computer opponent

 

You mean besides not enjoying the company of other people? :D

 

have we heard this extensive amount of music in a home videogame before this one?

 

Damn, that was unnecessarily long and epic! I wonder what they'd do with a game of Chess. :o

 

judging by the name, you use your nose to play it

 

lolol

 

EDIT: Just played Chess on HI skill and... I WON! It's the same song, in case you were wondering. :P

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