Depressing Games

[Zwackery]

Why kidnap all those aliens for nothing?

Thus begins a Genesis... lol The fact our imaginations are more like keys that unlock the doors of truth and subconsciously regurgitated through these particular video games is proof it was NOT all for naught.

Yes indeed!

 

Of course, I'm the guy who would love to do a Yars' Revenge movie (especially after seeing District 9, I know the technology is there to do it right live action + CGI, before I was thinking traditional cel animation).

[Lonely Mountain Hermit]

In addition to the sadness contained within the cartridge itself is the box-art. I guess it was intended as a warning to potential gamers, "This game is intended for only the blandest of 70's era bowling enthusiasts."

 

http://www.atariage.com/box_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=43&BoxStyleID=2

[128bytes]

Surprised there was no listing of Kaboom! -- the end of every game shows a successful, smiling terrorist.. and surprised Moycon was the first to list Missile Command.

[tisaperfectdayelise]

Sure paying $50 or more for a game that just plain sucks is a bummer, but I'm talking about games that manage to attack your very psyche on a much deeper...even spiritual level.

 

One example is Atari's 'Bowling'. Just a few seconds of that drab yellow bowling alley conjures within me feelings of grim isolation. You've got this one lonely bowler, in what appears to be an abandoned bowling alley. I always imagined he must have broken in and was squatting there, and with nothing else to do, bowls away the hours. *sigh*

 

I love that you mention Bowling, because, at around 10 or 11, I'd be too afraid to play the game when home alone. There was something eerie about it....

 

Missile Command had the same effect on me...

Edited February 10, 2010 by tisaperfectdayelise

[Lonely Mountain Hermit]

Of course, some games may at first appear depressing, but you then realise its not depressing at all. Case in point, "Circus Atari". If you were to "Judge a book by its cover", the box art would be enough to turn you away (Why was everything in the 70's orange yellow and brown?)

 

The game itself doesn't look particulary joyful, but once you actually play it you will most likely agree that the game is lighthearted and fun. Even when you lose a man, its done in a cartoonish way so as not to be depressing. Circus Atari is a happy game!

[Tr3vor]

American Gladiators for NES. its so horrible and depressing... thats why its not going into the NES for another year or too. better not play it 2012, it might cause the apocolypse. its sooooooooooo boring.

 

but enough at the NES

 

i dislike Donkey kong on the 2600. its kinda creepy at night... like... i dont know, i just dont want to play that at night. lol at all the cartoons that use that game's sound though.

Edited February 10, 2010 by Tr3vor

[Lonely Mountain Hermit]

American Gladiators for NES. its so horrible and depressing... thats why its not going into the NES for another year or too. better not play it 2012, it might cause the apocolypse. its sooooooooooo boring.

 

but enough at the NES

 

i dislike Donkey kong on the 2600. its kinda creepy at night... like... i dont know, i just dont want to play that at night. lol at all the cartoons that use that game's sound though.

 

2600 Donkey Kong was more disappointing than depressing for me, though I do remember playing it quite a bit as a kid.

[Skylark68]

Space Cavern was pretty depressing. You are basically stranded on an icy planet and being constantly bombarded by aliens as well as tracked by other creatures on the ground. If the alien poop lands on you, you get electricuted and if you get touched by the walking creatures you get fried as well. The backstory states that you are the commander of an intergalactic spaceship, but it must have broken down because otherwise I wouldn't be sticking around.

 

Room of Doom by Commavid has got to be one of the most depressing also. You are bascially trapped in a single room while gun men surround you on all sides. Ports open up randomly so one of them can get a shot at you. Then some blood thirsty creatures chase you around the room as well. Basically this reminds me of a torture that could have happened in the movie Hostel.

[BDW]

I think of Galaxian. The only other person for thousands of light years is the never ending stream of evil dudes who try to vaporize you...

[Lord Helmet]

Great thread.

 

When you think about it, lots of games from the Atari era are pretty bleak. It's usually a fight to th death between you and hordes of relentless (and infinite) enemies. The game ends when you die. You never end the game a winner...

[+save2600]

Great thread.

 

When you think about it, lots of games from the Atari era are pretty bleak. It's usually a fight to th death between you and hordes of relentless (and infinite) enemies. The game ends when you die. You never end the game a winner...

Only way you felt like a winner is by beating your or someone else's high score I suppose. But I never feel or have felt that way. Video games to me are pretty much just a form of time wasting recreation.

[SoulBlazer]

As much as I like playing them, I always feel a bit depressed playing Robotron 2084 and Defender.

 

You're just one person trying in vain to save the human race, aganist impossible odds. No way to win, just delaying what is eventuly going to happen.

 

Krull was a favoirte game of mine on the 2600 as a kid -- that game had a 'happy ending' cause in the end you beat the demon and save the girl. Sure, you do it again right afterwards, but you can think of it as being a alternative reality or something.

[rockman_x_2002]

Missile Command always ends with total nuclear annihilation.

 

Atlantis always ends with total destruction of Atlantis, and although the escape pod jets away to Cosmic Ark, the lack of a 3rd game in the series, where you would build New Atlantis, always bothered me. Why kidnap all those aliens for nothing?

 

My thoughts exactly. Can't get much more depressing than realizing that saving the entire populace from total destruction is little more than a fool's errand.

[Lonely Mountain Hermit]

Haunted House is one game that is intentionally depressing and does it very effectively. I was always impressed with how it managed to scare you with such limited sound and graphics. When you played it you really felt motivated to escape. Its depressing in a good way

Edited February 11, 2010 by Lonely Mountain Hermit

[Starhopper]

Well, you know they say, "Life imitates art". I think when people ask, "How's it going?", simply saying "Berzerk" may be an appropriate reply. It pretty much sums up the whole of human existance on this planet.

 

Motion seconded and carried. I have found myself in a similar situation in the last few hamlets I've occupied and will now always wonder when Evil Otto will come bounding out after me. . .

[Lonely Mountain Hermit]

Well, you know they say, "Life imitates art". I think when people ask, "How's it going?", simply saying "Berzerk" may be an appropriate reply. It pretty much sums up the whole of human existance on this planet.

 

Motion seconded and carried. I have found myself in a similar situation in the last few hamlets I've occupied and will now always wonder when Evil Otto will come bounding out after me. . .

 

Evil Otto is never far behind, and he can never be stopped.

[Starhopper]

And on this note, I did enjoy Adventure more than the average person was allowed, but I always felt that the limited landscape was indicitive of a bleak labyrinth ruled over by the evil wizard that no one ever sees. . .

[+thegoldenband]

I don't how many games I find depressing per se, but one man's "depressing" is another man's "uncanny". The limits of the Atari made for some really cryptic, desolate games; others have noted the emptiness of the landscapes in Superman et al., and that's definitely part of it.

 

But there's also the highly symbolic, abstracted nature of the graphics, and the fact that everything was often non-verbal and non-linguistic. The nature of the Atari itself makes it a hassle to put words on the screen -- is it the only console without a built-in font or tile-based graphics? -- and in a weird way that's one of its biggest assets. Things feel enigmatic, inexplicable, and governed by a logic that isn't always clear: in other words, uncanny. When I was a kid, the main games that felt that way to me were Raiders of the Lost Ark and Swordquest: Earthworld, but other games hint at the same feeling, like Superman.

 

It reminds me of the early Sesame Street, which (until the advent of @#$#@# Elmo) would sometimes feature really bizarre interludes, using abstract or avant-garde filmmaking techniques. Both Atari and Sesame Street left their imprint on my brain as a kid, and have given me an appreciation for the weird, haunted side of all forms of art, including video games.

Edited February 11, 2010 by thegoldenband

[JacobZu7zu7]

Yars' Revenge,

 

that poor fly trying to protect his planet, and destroy the qotile

Throught the game is a menacing "hum" sound. Dreary empty atmosphere with a strange force field...and a moving wall protecting an evil piece of machinery... which changes into a swirl lunging right at poor Yars. All the while it becomes more dangerous and more angry.

There's no escapes, and no backing out... just try to survive as long as possible.

 

Bug VS Machine, it can't be bargined with, it can't be reasoned with ... it will not stop... till u are dea---bug juice.

 

--------

 

 

Crypts of Chaos,

 

you walk down scary looking corridors of the maze nearly pitch black, that seem endless,the deeper you go, the more menacing creatures are lurking slowly forward at you playing their scary music cues,ready to drain you of your health. Snake bites in the dark anyone?!

Eeeeeek! RUN damnit! I can't, I'm lost. You can make it out, if you're lucky,

but will you ever be the same again?

Edited February 11, 2010 by JacobZu7zu7

[GameGirl420]

Drats I missed this thread! lol cool topic....

 

 

Anyways I agree on Donkey Kong 2600 being creepy at night. I think that has to do with the sound effects and Pauline in the game looks creepy to me. Sounds very nostalgic but also very eerie for some reason. I always think that game is haunted because it's the only game in my 2600 collection that I can't get to work right at first.Keep having to turn the system on and off until it comes on.

 

Another game I think is scary to play alone in the dark is Haunted House.

 

Also Pacman seems really depressing too.

[accousticguitar]

Miniature Golf. It's a fun game, but it has the same bland colors for all 9 holes.

[Rom Hunter]

Somehow, Super Cobra really depressed me.

 

The jerky sidescrolling, the stripy graphics, the dull startup tune, and the dry action that is endlessly being repeated is really hypnotizing you into a downward spiral.

 

Also, the end is very disappointing (a pink box that is almost impossible to hit and when you miss it, you have to play the end level all over again).

 

I remember vaguely that I played this one when I had a cold back then.

 

It was almost like being inside a feverish dream.

 

Edited March 20, 2010 by Rom Hunter

[bomberpunk]

Missile Command would rank #1 for me, as it was almost called Armageddon.

 

actually, every single non-homebrew Atari game has me depressed when i turn the system on these days. i instantly warp to a time when i was five years old and atari was the most awesome thing ever. and today, i live in a word where nobody else but me (sans online communties) wants to fire up the vcs. everyone's too busy with their pokemans and ther playstation threez. when i play Pitfall, Adventure, Enduro, Kangaroo, and just about any other title, i'm an innocent little child again enamored by gigantic pixels and buzzing sounds.

 

oh how i miss the 80s & early 90s. boo hoo.

 

thanks for depressing me, thread. where's my emo songs and razorblade?

Edited March 20, 2010 by bomberpunk

[Miss 2600]

When I first started reading this thread I thought of Berserk. Even the walls will kill you and there are no friends and no way out. There is solace, though, when you kill all the robots and are alone (I can't remember if Ottos keep coming at you or if there is only one per screen). Only in complete isolation is there peace.

 

I agree with the other poster who mentioned Defender. You watch a humanoid you are protecting being taken up by the enemy and you cannot help him in time. Or you shoot the enemy but can't catch the humanoid and watch him plunge to his death, or you just hear the scream while you're fighting enemies elsewhere and you know that you'll just have to let that humanoid go.

[+save2600]

Only in complete isolation is there peace.

Well said, but in Berzerk's case - you're screwed. Evil Otto never leaves you alone for too long