PixlBit

In the 80s arcades were everywhere and there were multiple home systems to choose from. I was a teenager. I rode a bike to the arcades and checked out all the home systems through my network of friends in the neighborhood. Atari had simple fun games, ColecoVision had the best arcade ports and Intellivision had the best simulations of sports. Let's take a look starting with 1980.

In 1980 I rode my bike to the mall. It was 4 miles of hilly roads to get there but that didn’t deter me at all. This mall was so big it had two arcades. I played a lot of Berzerk, Missile Command and Pac-Man. Berzerk was especially memorable for me because of its electronic voice sounds. It said, “Intruder alert!” as you entered a maze of electrified walls and death dealing robots. A scary game but a lot of fun. I’ll never forget it.

On Atari 2600 at home I played Adventure, Golf, Fishing Derby and Skiing. Activision made some of the best games for the system. I played a lot of Atari’s Adventure and Golf but Activision’s Skiing was especially good. I think Activision, made up of x-Atari employees, really groked how to design for the system. They accepted its limitations and kept things simple, colorful and very playable. I went skiing several times after playing this.

 At my neighbor’s place they had bought an Intellivision. I played a lot of sports games on it, but my favorite was the strategy game Sea Battle. You viewed a collection of islands from high above and created a fleet of ships in one corner. You moved them out to fight the other side. When the fleets got close, the screen would zoom in and you’d fight by launching projectiles at each other. Each ship type had different shooting mechanics. I tried to get someone to play it with me every time I was at my neighbor’s house because it was strictly two-player.