Gaming On A [really!]Big Screen.

On 04/05/2013 at 11:23 AM by smartcelt

On April 19th and 24th people will play the largest game of Pong in history. It takes place in Philadelphia at the Cira Center. The side of the building will be embedded with thousands of LED lights. It's all part of Philly Tech Week. The players were chosen by a lottery. The promoter said they might be able to play Space Invaders and a game called Snake. I thought this was really cool as Pong has a special meaning for me. The very first video game I ever played was Pong. It was on a machine at the back of our local diner in Hampton,Virginia. This was way back in the early 70's and I was about 8 years old. That's 40 years ago! Blows my mind I've been a gamer that long. So this is something I wish I was taking part in. Oh....the nostalgia it brings.

The first time I saw a movie in IMAX I thought "Man,I want to game on that!" Maybe someday......

This would be the ultimate big screen experience for a gamer. The big screen at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,Texas. Largest HD screen in the United States. It has been done before. They had a contest where the winners got to play Call Of Duty on it. If I was Jerry Jones I'd be playing games in there all the time. Forget the stadium,I'd just have one in a big building on my property! That would be so awesome,but it would take some getting used to on that scale.

What I'm listening to today..........

transmet2033

04/05/2013 at 11:31 AM

all i can think of is how awesome splitscreen gaming would be on a massively huge screen.

smartcelt

04/05/2013 at 12:11 PM

They could do splitscreen or have another player on the other side of the field. The screen is so massive that splitscreen would be amazing.

BrokenH

04/05/2013 at 11:38 AM

Like the 80's futuristic vibe from Tangerine Dream. Made me think of Bladerunner and the sci fi horror film Hardware!

04/05/2013 at 12:13 PM

Tangerine Dream has been on my mind since I mentioned Thief. They did a great soundtrack for it. They did one for a movie called Heartbreakers that's really good as well.

bullet656

04/05/2013 at 11:47 AM

Cool. I would like to play a game on a huge screen too. Although I think it might make it way too difficult. So that I am not always hogging the tv with my gaming, I often move my playstation between my living room (that has a 52" ) and my spair room/man-cave (that has a 40", I think). I often find that with certain games, especially ones with alot going on, that the smaller screen is easier to play on. I can't imagine what it would be like to play on an imax, or the side of a freakin' building!

But pong and snake would be awesome to play on it. I used to play snake in our computer lab in high school (or was it in middle school? damn my memory!).

04/05/2013 at 12:15 PM

The problem with large screens is how our vision adapts. The screen at Cowboy Stadium is a tech marvel and can do just about anything visually.

Super Step Contributing Writer

04/05/2013 at 11:51 AM

I have yet to see a Hollywood-type movie on those real dome IMAX screens they used for The Science Place when we were kids. No matter how many times I leaned back and watched the sped up helicopter shots of Dallas on that thing, I thought it was so cool.

Unfortunately, when I went to The Dark Knight, I was expecting that, but what I got was a crappy vertical IMAX that I later learned wasn't even as big as non-dome IMAX screens were supposed to be. I was really disappointed. Later, I'd see Tron: Legacy in IMAX 3D at The Parks Mall in Arlington. Now that was impressive, though still not the dome shape I really want to see a movie in at some point.

Of course, gaming on those things would be one hell of a trip! I think my older brother has said some staffers actually have gamed on the giant screen, but definitely don't quote me on that, he might have simply been saying how cool it would be. Oh, but one more thing about these screens, one of the items that didn't upload properly for me to past in my blog that got deleted:

I got to watch Avatar on that big screen of Jerry Jones'.

I dug the ambient relaxation of the first song, then BAM! Hilariously abrupt transition to what looks like Austin Powers' acid trip; with a pretty damn catchy song to boot.

04/05/2013 at 12:20 PM

Yeah,Goldfrapp is pretty freaky onstage. I guess some people consider them dance music. I think it's more electronica. Alison Goldfrapp to me is like one of those crooners from back in the 20's. On slow songs she is just superb. This particular song is about coke snorting "disco whores" as she called them once!

atrophycosine

04/05/2013 at 12:35 PM

I've had the opportunity to game on a stage size screen. It. Was. Awesome. Played Batman: Arkham CIty on a stage size theater screen (not the size of an Imax or the Cowboy Staduim screen, but I'll take what I can get), and it was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. I can't wait until I have the chance to do it again.

04/05/2013 at 01:07 PM

Can you imagine if you owned one? It would be hard to go back to a TV after all that!

GrayHaired

04/05/2013 at 07:22 PM

Tangerine Dream: now thats a band I havent heard of in a long time....in fact I had forgotten about them.

Chunopo

04/05/2013 at 10:26 PM

And I thought my flat screen was good enough...... now I have screen envy! Any game on an I max screen would so an incredible experience, add 3D into the mix and you have your self a true immersive experience!

04/06/2013 at 08:47 AM

When 3D gaming finally comes to homes without the glasses I think the revolution will begin. People are going to get so immersed in their games. On a screen that size 3D would be wild. I saw an IMAX 3D film once and it was trippy.

Halochief90

04/06/2013 at 12:56 AM

Hmm, it sounds like kind of an inside joke to play such ancient, low-def games on that massive screen. I would love to see something like Bioshock Infinite on a screen like that, then the city would literally come to life! Still, that is pretty awesome you get to go and I hope you have fun!

04/06/2013 at 08:44 AM

Maybe someday they will be able to do that with HD games. I think it's kind of a nostalgia thing for the minds behind this event. They must be around my age or something.

Coolsetzer

04/07/2013 at 06:04 PM

I wonder if game graphics will ever get detailed enough to have a 1:1 aspect with the naked eye?

KnightDriver

04/07/2013 at 11:21 PM

I live near Phily. I may have to check that out.

PixlBit