Recording Your Scores: The most important part of 2600 appreciation?

[Butt_Rogers]

My much older brother had an Atari 2600 when I was a kid, but he kept it in a box and never let anyone play it.

My first video game system was a beat up Nintendo NES I bought off a classmate when I was 13 or so, around when everyone else was getting an SNES.

I remember knowing about the Atari 2600 and that it had simple games that were fun. I was a big fan of the DOS retro remakes of Galaxian, Pac-Man, & Donkey Kong, by Champ Games. So despite growing up in the middle of nowhere I thought I had a good idea of what arcade gaming and single-screen-games in general were all about.

Despite some effort I was never able to track down a 2600 for myself and even if I did I would have had no idea what games were good.

My friends and I downloaded a 2600 emulator sometime in high school and tried out random games, but were thoroughly unimpressed. We had no idea what to look for in the vast library and clicking a game, playing it for 2 minutes, then trying the next, is not the way to appreciate anything. Furthermore, quite a lot of 2600 games make absolutely zero sense without the manual.

Well, in the last year or two I decided to give the 2600 another try. I downloaded Stella and the complete library of 2600 games. I used the AtariAge "Top 100 2600 Games Of All Time" forum page to start a TXT file list of "Good Games". I cross referenced this with the Video Game Critics website and added any game that got a B- and up. So I now have a list of around 150 games.

But something was still missing. I'd try these games, check them out for a bit, and then move on to the next without appreciating them. Something wasn't quite clicking in my brain for me to enjoy them.

In the last week I've set about trying more games on the list, and I'm having a ton of fun because I'm doing two things I didn't before:

1.) I record my scores for each game, and try to do better every time I play it.
2.) If a game doesn't make sense, I go on AtariAge and read the manual.

Suddenly everything clicks. I can't tell you how much fun I've been having. It's been a complete epiphany.

I've been aware that people that grew up with the 2600 love it, but I'm a guy that grew up in the 90's. Most 2600 games were made before I was even born. So I wanted to like the 2600, but part of me thought that maybe a lot of what people say about it is pure nostalgia with no basis in reality.

I can now say that's not true at all. Good 2600 games are amazing. And it makes me wonder exactly why keeping track of my scores has suddenly made the system so much fun.

I grew up with games where scores in general were irrelevant. The object was to beat the game. Reach the final level. Rescue the princess. There is no objective like that with 2600 games. But a game needs an objective. In fact, I think that without an objective something can't even be considered a game. So what's the objective of 2600 games? To get better. That's it. That's the whole enchilada. And how do you know if you're getting better? You keep a little TXT file or notebook and keep track of your progress in your never ending journey to get better.

I feel like if you try to get someone into 2600 games you shouldn't just say "Look. It's got really fun challenging game play despite the simple graphics!". You can say that all you want, and most people who grew up with NES games, or gods forbid Call Of Duty, just won't get it. "Ok. I beat 3 waves in Galaxian. Now what? Is that it? Ugh." You need to explain the philosophy of how to enjoy these arcade games. That somehow, magically, a game gets more fun the better you get at it. If a game is good, then your brain has to have time to wrap itself around it, figure out the nuances and, indeed, gain satisfaction by surpassing previous scores. 2600 appreciation has to be personally cultivated. You can't go to the supermarket and buy it, so to speak.

If you try to get someone into 2600 games, I think the most important part would be to buy them a nice little notebook solely for high scores. That notebook would become a tome of memories, each time they beat their previous score in Dark Cavern, Joust, Bank Heist. In some ways that notebook would become more important than the games or the system. The games & system could be repaired, replaced, or emulated. Knowing your current high score in Bump 'N' Jump is priceless.

I would go so far as to argue that your score book is absolutely necessary to enjoy 2600 games. Without one you won't understand what all the fuss is about. It's the key that lets you enter the city rather than gazing at the walls from outside.

[VectorGamer]

Didn't read entire wall of text.

 

You have to remember that at the time the 2600 was released the object of most games was to get the high score. I think Asteroids was the first arcade game where you could register your initials.

 

Trying to get a high score was good enough for me. Now kids want to earn tickets on a game and redeem them for a rubber foot from behind the counter.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

I only skimmed through the first post too.

 

There are very different mindsets at work for pre-crash vs. post-crash games. Post-crash is all about getting to the end as quickly as possible. Pre-crash is all about playing as long as possible for your quarter.

 

If you post a video of a really great game of Super Mario 3, it's 8 minutes long. Post a video of a really great game of Mario Bros. and it's 8 hours long.

Edited March 22, 2016 by KaeruYojimbo

[fiddlepaddle]

Playing the 2600 was basically an extension of playing coin ops...

 

Usually the first few games took a stack of quarters like ("snap"), THAT!

Then, you got better... a quarter took 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 20 minutes...

 

The whole time, you're thinking "if I get good enough, I could play FOREVER!"

 

Eventually, you actually CAN play forever, theoretically, but then, you don't (gotta pee, get hungry, get bored, or even just want to show off by leaving the game with extra "men" still on the display).

 

At least, that's the way is was with the GOOD games. For me, score was just a way to keep track, but time was the real goal.

[Chris++]

Welcome aboard, and keep up the long posts when the thoughts that you'd like to communicate can't be wrapped up in quick snippets. Not everyone has allowed those dumbphones to diminish his attention span, and I'm glad to see that the same is true for younger guys. (Elbows to the others' ribs -- don't be insulted.)

 

The point is to live in the moment and enjoy yourself. Games are awesome for that. If trying to beat your last high score allows you to do so, then that's the way to go. Personally, I just have a great Right Now whenever I'm playing; trying to beat an old score tends to lead to frustration, and life's too short for that.

 

Having said that, I'm usually pretty damn good at games. It's a myth that coordination and reaction time diminish with age. It's just that we so rarely stick with a single game for weeks at a time, like we did back when they were $30+ bucks a pop and new games were rarely forthcoming.

 

That's just my approach, though. If you have fun recording your scores, then obviously, you should keep it up. Note the High-Score Club above the main 2600 Forum. The only "rule" is: If it's a good game to you, it's good. If it's not, it's not. Trying to get others to like anything that's based on personal taste is beside the point. It's like trying to get someone to like a food that normally makes him gag, or getting him to develop a distaste for one of his favorite meals. Fun is subjective. That's why I'm not crazy about ratings, top-whatever lists, etc., and why "critics" are useless.

 

(That looks grumpy, but I mean it in a positive way: It's all about you and the interactive enjoyment / aesthetic enhancement of your day. It sure beats being passive, i.e. merely watching a screen instead of playing on it. The only real "point" in life is to have a great time as often as possible, on your own terms instead of what any society -- whether a whole country or just a message board about old games -- appears to prescribe. What else could there be?)

 

In terms of nostalgia, that very rarely applies to me, despite my age (44). I appear to be one of the very few (I could be wrong) who never took a long break from Atari, Commodore, etc. I've been playing them all the way through, and I always discover new favorites. So instead of replacing them with modern games, I've just been adding. Regardless, I haven't bought anything newer than the PS2, because I haven't seen any games that don't look derivative of those I already like. Don't misunderstand; I'm sure there's nothing "wrong" with any of them. I just like games that know they're games, so to speak, rather than attempts at (essentially) interactive movies. The make-believe quality, and the constant, creative risk-taking, are among my reasons for preferring games from the '70s and '80s -- and early '90s, I guess -- over 21st-century games.

 

I remember when people started calling them "classics" in the early '90s. I thought, "Oh, they're 'classic' now, huh? Okay." I shrugged and probably got back to Adventure or Frostbite.

 

See -- some of us can enjoy philosophizing to a verbose degree as well.

 

Again, welcome to the forums.

[Keatah]

It was loads fun reading how you bought meaning to your vintage gaming experience.

[Bixler]

I started up an Excel spreadsheet keeping track of all my scores as well; keep it up! The 2600 is awesome.

[TwentySixHundred]

Welcome, like said by Chris++ there is the High Score Club in the 2600 sub-section. Really fun as you can post your high scores to compete against others. I played a couple of seasons and really enjoyed the challenge, great fun and an option rather then competing against yourself, kinda brings back that competitive arcade experience.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Tony The 2600

[+Random Terrain]

Welcome aboard, and keep up the long posts when the thoughts that you'd like to communicate can't be wrapped up in quick snippets. Not everyone has allowed those dumbphones to diminish his attention span, and I'm glad to see that the same is true for younger guys. (Elbows to the others' ribs -- don't be insulted.)

But words hurt brain! Me hate words! Words bad!

[hizzy]

Reading the manual is key. People are quick to dismiss games without knowing how to play them.

[Butt_Rogers]

Thank you for the feedback guys, I know it was a long forum post but I felt the need to articulate my experience.

Personally, I just have a great Right Now whenever I'm playing; trying to beat an old score tends to lead to frustration, and life's too short for that.

I don't feel the need to beat my high score every time, but I want to do good. Good is completely subjective. My high score in Bank Heist is $10338. I think I can beat that with a little effort, but if I play and get $6K, $7K, or $8K, I'll know that on my own personal scale I did pretty good, and practice makes perfect. If I only get $3K then on my own personal scale I'll have done pretty bad. Playing this way the score record is mostly for reference so I know when to pat myself on the back, whether i had a bad game, good game, or great game (high score). I think a lot of people here probably instinctively know when they had a good game, on their own personal scale, and don't require checking their high scores. For me just starting out it helps a lot though.

[high voltage]

On 8 July 1988 I scored 11460 on X Man, that was a proud moment.

[+RichG1972]

The closest we ever did to recording scores in my family was that we wrote them down in a notebook (usually a 3 or 5 subject), which all still exist to this day despite their damaged state

[+save2600]

Some good reads here! In the back of some of the game manuals, there are places for you to write your high scores down. Alien quickly comes to mind as my brother and I kept our scores there BITD. Still have it too!

[+RichG1972]

Some good reads here! In the back of some of the game manuals, there are places for you to write your high scores down. Alien quickly comes to mind as my brother and I kept our scores there BITD. Still have it too!

Well there were actually notebooks that served 2 purposes, Dad had notebooks for scorekeeping and also a completely filled notebook that in our household was the earliest cheat sheet for 2600 Pitfall in every detail

[Cynicaster]

So glad to see a younger guy with this attitude toward score/skill based games. I agree 100% that score is the secret sauce that makes the old games timeless and fun.

 

Rather than mindlessly going through a bunch of repetitive dance steps you start actively devising strategies on how to squeeze out every point that you can. In doing so, you bring depth to games that are, at a glance, very primitive and simplistic. Rather than clearing levels as quickly as you can, you start taking risks just to get those few extra points. Sometimes you succeed, often you don't--but when you narrowly avoid death and get that bonus, it pumps up the adrenaline and enhances the experience.

 

I grew up with the 2600, but in the 80s I never cared much about score. I just mindlessly played the games because they were the only games I had, and when the post-crash era arrived, I dropped the "boring" 2600 like a hot potato so I could play the platformer du jour or whatever. In re-discovering the old arcade-style games as an adult, I had a very similar epiphany to what OP described. I realized that without nostalgia--which fizzles very quickly for me--to prop up the old games they were dull and pointless as all hell without the score mechanics to bring purpose to it all. Now, score-centric games are the only games I have any interest in playing. Sure, I'll fire up a platform game or beat-em-up game from time to time just for the sake of nostalgia, but like I said, that fizzles out very quickly and I turn the game off to play something else.

[WolfAmongWolves]

Keeping a score notebook and trying to beat your last score can certainly do tons for your motivation to keep playing and getting better, but I think the second part of your epiphany is even more important: 2.) If a game doesn't make sense, I go on AtariAge and read the manual.

 

In my opinion reading the manual is key to getting the most enjoyment out of a 2600 game, regardless of whether or not the game makes sense without it. Sadly some manuals are just lazy descriptions of the game's controls, but most of them offer great backstories that add depth which the game cannot convey by itself. It makes a difference whether you think you are being chased by a red duck, or whether you know that that's Rhindle, the fiercest and meanest of the three dragons. You may very well be able to figure out how to play Yar's Revenge, but once you read the manual and the comic book, the whole story makes sense and the action becomes much more "alive", for lack of a better word. Did you know that the four Warlords have names, and what grief they caused their poor parents King Frederick and Queen Christina? Lastly, read the manual to Riddle of the Sphinx and see if it doesn't immediately make you want to play the game.

 

Anyway, enjoy the manuals, enjoy the games, enjoy getting better and beating your high scores.