Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Want to talks about games you like, would like to see developed on the Oric, it's here.
robcook
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Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Post by robcook »

It's a long vid at 2hr 17min but you can skip to the unexpected Oric coverage around 18 mins, 50 secs. I nearly fell out of bed (which is where I was when watching this) when the Oric popped up.



I haven't yet finished watching the vid (as I mentioned, it's looong) so y'never know, there could be more Oric coverage in there.
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ibisum
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Re: Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Post by ibisum »

Its a nice idea, to go through the magazines of the era and play the advertised games .. definitely kicks in the nostalgia of scanning magazines for anything related to Oric, only to be disappointed at the sheer quantity of stuff the other machines had ..
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Re: Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Post by robcook »

ibisum wrote: Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:59 am the nostalgia of scanning magazines for anything related to Oric, only to be disappointed at the sheer quantity of stuff the other machines had ..
Y'know, I've thought about this quite a lot. When I was really Oric-ing and editing OUM, I was furious at software houses and magazines for neglecting the Oric. The business principals were lost on me at the time. But bottom line, I thought we Oric owners were missing out on some really great games, based on the reviews I was reading in C&VG and other magazines.

Fast-forward a few decades and I'm not so jealous any more. In fact, loads of the games released for the big micros were absolutely horrific and massively over-priced. I have no doubt that we'd have been seeing a lot of Spectrum ports or the like. I really don't think we missed out that much.
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Re: Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Post by ibisum »

I think I learned a very valuable lesson as an Oric user - its not how capable the computer is, or what the features are - its the interest of the programmer that matters in the end. Very few were interested in the Oric, because it just wasn't out there and available as much as the ZX Spectrum - which definitely had its share of naff games, but it hast to be said that a lot of the stuff that was released for Oric was amateur and nasty, too.

Seeing the immensely high quality of the programs that have been released by enthusiasts in the 21st Centruy, the Oric missed out for lack of interest, indeed. The machine is very capable of great things - it took a few decades for this fact to be made manifest by the Oric crew, though..

That said, yes indeed - there were some crap releases for the other platforms.
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Re: Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Post by robcook »

When I also acquired an Atari 8-bit, second-hand from a friend, it was something of a case of déjà vu. Although a small percentage of brand new titles were being released on the Atari 8-bit, for the most part it was ignored - so I was still feeling 'left out'.

That said, as mentioned, some main full-price titles did get released for the Atari 8-bit, ie. Gauntlet, Green Beret, Arkanoid and plenty more. And y'know what? I quickly became only a budget game purchaser. Spending gawd knows how much on the disgusting mess that is Green Beret isn't something I forgot in a hurry. In fact, I think I'm still traumatised and I want my tenner back or whatever it cost! A lot of money at the time on utter pants, lazy programming. I can't recall many full price games being better than any quality budget title from the likes of Mastertronic, Code Masters and to a lesser degree Zeppelin.
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Re: Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Post by Chema »

I remember clearly how excited I was with my first Oric game, Zorgon's Revenge, as it compared well with the tittes my friends had on their Spectrums at that time. Only to be deeply disappointed when I discovered it was one gem among a vast majority of crappy games, where vast meant just a few, by the way.

This disappointment turned into frustration when I first saw things such as Knight Lore, not to mention Elite, Lords of Midnight, Academy, Exploding Fist, Green Beret, R-Type and so many others, as they became available for the Spectrum. The best thing I could get at that time was Defence-Force, but little else. When you have Decathlon, HyperSports and so on, and compare it to Zoolympics, or Exploding Fist with Karate, well...

Even when you compared the same game in a Spectrum and in an Oric (The Hobbit, Manic Miner, or the older Hunch Back, Dambusters or Scuba Dive) the Spectrum version was always way better (faster, more responsive, less color clash or whatever).

So I ended up buying a ZX Spectum and enjoyed all those titles; but never forgot my old Oric and my own frustration. Probably that is what made me start coding Oric games much much later, so all's well that ends well :)
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Re: Mamemeister Live Stream - C&VG 1985 Game Edition

Post by robcook »

Chema wrote: Fri Sep 18, 2020 1:47 pmWhen you have Decathlon, HyperSports and so on, and compare it to Zoolympics, or Exploding Fist with Karate, well...
You make a very good point :)
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