24 replies to this topic

[Syntaxerror999]

I never cared much for this title... until I learned of its history...

Spacewar was origionaly a mainframe computer game ran on a DEC mainframe developed by Steve Russell in 1962. In 1971, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar clone known as Computer Space... which failed. Bushnell's next game (pong) was a much better success.
In 1978, the Atari version was released.

It's not a very good game, but it was the first of its kind... and one of the pioneering video games, paving the way for all flight sim games to come.

[SpiceWare]

Had a lot of fun playing Space War with my sister & brother when we were kids. The solo game variations aren't that fun though.

[save2600]

I like all things Space War related - great simple 2-player action, although I know people who grew up with Nintendo gamepads that cannot for the life of them control ships using buttons for directionals.

The Atari cart though is based off the Vectorbeam arcade game Space War, NOT Computer Space per se:

http://www.arcade-mu...p?game_id=13027

[Ranthulfr]

Back in the day I was fascinated when a friend told me that your ship could acheive a stable orbit around the star.

[Nukey Shay]

save2600, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 5:09 PM, said:

The Atari cart though is based off the Vectorbeam arcade game Space War, NOT Computer Space per se

...until it was hacked into PDP-Spacewar. And pretty faithfully, too.

Edited by Nukey Shay, Thu Mar 3, 2011 7:17 PM.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Personally I think the Vectrex Space War is the ultimate home version (at least back in the early days of home consoles).

By the way, Syntaxerror999, if you enjoy the early history stuff, may I shamelessly plug my website? I even have one of the (many) emulators of Space War files along with other early games like Tennis for Two and Naughts & Crosses.

www.computerspacefan.com

(That reminds me, I really need to update the history section with what Ted Dabney said)

[opeygon]

I don't think this is a crappy game. I used to love playing it when I was a kid, but these days it's hard to find a second player

[accousticguitar]

Syntaxerror999, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 4:42 PM, said:

Spacewar was origionaly a mainframe computer game ran on a DEC mainframe developed by Steve Russell in 1962. In 1971, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar clone known as Computer Space... which failed. Bushnell's next game (pong) was a much better success.
In 1978, the Atari version was released.

Computer Space did not fail. It made money, though it was not a spectacular success. Al Alcorn designed Pong. Bushnell assigned the game to him after seeing the Magnavox Odyssey version at a product demonstration.

[Lord Thag]

This is still one of my favorite two player games on the VCS. My whole family loved it even more than the plane variations on Combat.

[accousticguitar]

Why can't I get out of the box? I want out of the box!!!

[maiki]

Yes, the 1-player mode is absolutely without any sence... you are supposed to dock or something but I never managed to do that, and most importantly, it is nothing but boring... I can imagine someone in 1978 who had never seen any videogame before liking it for a couple of minutes but that's it

I believe the 2-players mode is fun but I have no experience so far.

[Cynicaster]

Space War, for me, has a charm to it due to it being a relic from a time when video games were in an embryonic phase and designers would struggle to eke out some form of playable product within the very limiting constraints imposed on them. Even the name "Space War" has a cool almost "sepia-toned" vibe to it.

Still, I have to say, judged strictly on its merits as a game, it's pretty sad sack IMO. I was playing against my sister a few months ago and we were just going full throttle in a straight line and zipping through the screen laughing our asses off at how stupid it all seemed.

[fiddlepaddle]

Space War is a great two player game, but the VCS version doesn't capture it as well as the Vectrex. I don't remember which version of the coin-op I played, but we always had fun shooting each other, avoiding the sun (with gravity, or reverse gravity, or none), and bouncing off the edges, and all the other variations. It was a timed game, maybe 3 minutes for a quarter. Sometimes you would get hit and just be crippled, not destroyed, able to shoot one at a time instead of four, and could only fly around in a circle...

[save2600]

fiddlepaddle, on Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:43 AM, said:

Sometimes you would get hit and just be crippled, not destroyed, able to shoot one at a time instead of four, and could only fly around in a circle...

...and that was one of the coolest aspects to the game bar none. Lots of strategy to be had, if you played it right in a Star Trek II booby-trap sort of way. We had this arcade game in the house growing up. I remember my brother and I playing it to death. You can also be just a saucer section with no thrusters at all. Kind of play possum and then when your opponent would swing around for the kill, you could sometimes blast him first. Great memories

[Bill_Loguidice]

Syntaxerror999, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 4:42 PM, said:

I never cared much for this title... until I learned of its history...

Spacewar was origionaly a mainframe computer game ran on a DEC mainframe developed by Steve Russell in 1962. In 1971, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar clone known as Computer Space... which failed. Bushnell's next game (pong) was a much better success.
In 1978, the Atari version was released.

It's not a very good game, but it was the first of its kind... and one of the pioneering video games, paving the way for all flight sim games to come.

Keep in mind that Computer Space is actually not a clone. It's a completely different game, though certainly gained inspiration from Spacewar.

[Keatah]

Syntaxerror999, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 4:42 PM, said:

I never cared much for this title... until I learned of its history...

Spacewar was origionaly a mainframe computer game ran on a DEC mainframe developed by Steve Russell in 1962. In 1971, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar clone known as Computer Space... which failed. Bushnell's next game (pong) was a much better success.
In 1978, the Atari version was released.

It's not a very good game, but it was the first of its kind... and one of the pioneering video games, paving the way for all flight sim games to come.

Spacewar has little (if anything) to do with flight simulation.

[atari181]

Keatah, on Fri Mar 4, 2011 6:46 PM, said:

Syntaxerror999, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 4:42 PM, said:

I never cared much for this title... until I learned of its history...

Spacewar was origionaly a mainframe computer game ran on a DEC mainframe developed by Steve Russell in 1962. In 1971, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar clone known as Computer Space... which failed. Bushnell's next game (pong) was a much better success.
In 1978, the Atari version was released.

It's not a very good game, but it was the first of its kind... and one of the pioneering video games, paving the way for all flight sim games to come.

Spacewar has little (if anything) to do with flight simulation.

LOL what do you mean , wasn't there a lawsuit against Microsoft for stealing the idea and making Flight Simulator?

[BassGuitari]

I like Space War, but it is hard to get anyone to play it with.

The 1-player Space Shuttle variations aren't bad; they're fun in kind of the same ways Stellar Track and Video Chess are. Space Shuttle feels like a more cerebral game.

My only real complaint about Space War is that the outer space background is a weird dark green color. How hard could it have been to make it black? Oh well. Still a good game. I just wish I could really play it more often!

The Vectrex game is awesome. But the single-player games are absolute mofos. Or maybe I'm just terrible at it.

[Silvio Mogno]

Great physics (for a late '70 game), great strategy, great two player fun. And that cool retro/simple/clean charm of first 2600 games.

[Retro Rogue]

Syntaxerror999, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 4:42 PM, said:

In 1971, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar clone known as Computer Space

Per Ted Dabney -

"We were not doing a clone of Spacewar. We didn't have a computer with a million bits of memory. We just wanted to shoot down a flying saucer with a spaceship. "

[Godzilla]

man, i LOVE space war head to head. such a great game. also love its' 'sequel' star control 1 and 2 :-)

[grownup]

Well, that is intersting. I never knew that. I guess thats why its as primitave as it is. I thought it just sucked. but because its from the olden days, its a historical and intersting game

[pis]

ComputerSpaceFan, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 7:25 PM, said:

Personally I think the Vectrex Space War is the ultimate home version (at least back in the early days of home consoles).

By the way, Syntaxerror999, if you enjoy the early history stuff, may I shamelessly plug my website? I even have one of the (many) emulators of Space War files along with other early games like Tennis for Two and Naughts & Crosses.

www.computerspacefan.com

(That reminds me, I really need to update the history section with what Ted Dabney said)

Thank you sir.

[almightytodd]

wgungfu, on Tue Mar 8, 2011 1:20 AM, said:

Syntaxerror999, on Thu Mar 3, 2011 4:42 PM, said:

In 1971, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar clone known as Computer Space

Per Ted Dabney -

"We were not doing a clone of Spacewar. We didn't have a computer with a million bits of memory. We just wanted to shoot down a flying saucer with a spaceship. "

Marty and Curt know the details, so we should all pay attention when they chime in. I've seen discussions of Space War and Computer Space come up many times, and I fear that a significant aspect is sometimes missed. The invention of "video games" really happened before it should have - before the technology was really ready. The genius of what Ted, Al, and Nolan were doing, was the answer to the question, "How can we create an experience similar to what we've seen happening at college computer science departments on computer systems costing tens of thousands of dollars, using digital and analog circuits with a low enough cost that we can put them in bars and pinball arcades"?

The Atari Video Computer System was significant because unlike previous Atari "Pong" units, it had a true microprocessor in it. Even after the release of the Atari VCS in 1977, most arcade machines continued to be designed using TTL circuits. When Space War made its way onto a 2600 cartridge, it was a nod to the history of interactive computer gaming; a demonstration of the rate of the advance of technology where in the span of less than two decades, computers had come out of corporations and college computer science departments, and into people's homes.

[high voltage]

Galaxy Game deserves a mention:
http://en.wikipedia....iki/Galaxy_Game