(Part 1 of the Half Century Challenge, created by C_F. You can read their first review here)
For today’s review, I wanted to take you all back, and I mean WAY back, all the way to 1970, when the Apollo 13 launched into orbit, the US was given the “gift” of PBS, and a band nobody knows of known as The Beatles would break up, with all of the members going on to doing their own thing. Yes, it was a magical time in history, one full of many ups, downs, and surprising developments for the future, lacking the bullshit we face now on a day-to-day basis, and there were plenty of things for people to do and experience, even involving the world of video games. These were a rare breed around this time, certainly nowhere near as universally known and praised like they are today, and none of these titles could ever come to match the quality of what has managed to come out since, but every once in a while, it is nice to take a look back at some of the most primitive ages of video games, seeing what developers could get away with at the time and use to make a simple, yet very memorable experience. This can be seen with some games such as with today’s example, Highnoon.
In general, I’m not really one who is too into text-based adventure games. Not to say that I have anything against them, but whenever I go to play any video game, I typically like to have… you know, SOMETHING to look at rather than just a wall of text, hence why I have only played, like, one or two of them throughout my entire life. I have wanted to check out some more of them though, as there are quite a lot of them, and there has to be some special elements they bring to the table that most other games couldn’t, otherwise why would they have persisted for so long. So, I decided to pick this one, which I had never played or heard of before, and based on my experience, I would say that I had a good time with it. You definitely aren’t gonna get much more then what is initially presented to you, but for being one of the earliest text-based adventure games, it manages to do its job well, while also adding enough charm to make it an enjoyable title to mess with for around 10 minutes or so.
One of the most appealing parts of this game, as well as any game made in a similar manner to this, is the fact that, for the most part, your imagination is the key tool to helping you paint the scenario laid out in front of you. You have already been spoiled enough with all of your fancy-schmancy new video games that have GRAPHICS and SOUND and CONTROL, BLEH! Who needs that shit, anyway?! All you need to have a grand ol’ time is just a bunch of text telling you what is going on, and you can just form the scenario around in your head. It’s almost like reading a book, except this has way more interactivity then a book, and you can make your own adventure out of it, rather than just simply reaching the same, predetermined conclusion every time.
But of course though, you gotta have a basic set-up to get you moving on the road ahead, and the set-up for this game is simple: it’s 1889, and you have been challenged to have a showdown in the Allegheny Mountains, facing the nefarious Black Bart, who will make sure that you end up as a dead man by the end of the day. You then meet up on a deserted road, and it is up to you to get the upper hand on Black Bart by moving forward, using your trusty pistol at precisely the right time, and to hope that luck is on your side so that Black Bart doesn’t end up taking you down and continuing his reign of terror. It’s a premise we have all seen and heard of before, but now, instead of watching it play out in front of you, or possibly even pretend-playing this scenario out with friends, you are now in the line yourself, and you have to take out your computer opponent before it is too late.
From there, you have very limited options for what you can do next, but they are enough to get the job done. All you can do is move forward, fire your gun, jump to the side for cover, give up, run away like a little bitch, or just do nothing at all, with each of these commands being assigned to specific numbers on the keyboard. You can then go about inputting these numbers one by one, seeing what the program does in response to this, and then continuing on from there. A lot of it is, obviously, randomly generated, as you don’t know what will happen at any time, or whether or not Black Bart will shoot or not, or even if the shots will hit you, but there is also a bit of strategy that comes into play, as whatever move you end up making at specific times could be the difference between life or death, so it is always wise to consider your next movement and choose wisely, which not only creates some pretty exciting tension, but also a good ol’ helping of satisfaction when your next move turns out to be just what you needed.
Aside from the main premise and how the game works, a lot of the appeal from this game can also be seen in the way that the game not only describes what events play out, but also how it reacts to your moves. While it mostly types things out in the way that you would expect it to, a lot of the time whenever something happens, or whenever you do anything specifically, it will throw in a snappy or snarky comment to emphasize what happened, such as “Good idea there”, or “You aren’t gonna get too far by doing that.” There was one part in the game that really stuck out to me and made me laugh, which was when I ended up getting killed by Black Bart, and how the game chose to describe what happened, where it basically said “Black Bart fires at you, landing a bullet right in your back, and then he fires again, with him shooting you right in the ass. You aren’t gonna be resting peacefully after that.” I dunno, seeing something like that in a game that is this old feels oddly refreshing, and it makes the game much more memorable as a result.
However, with all that being said, I still can’t say this game is anything more than just good because of how limited it is. It is a text-based adventure game after all, so there is only so much you can get out of it, with just one scenario to go through and the several outcomes you can get out of it, mainly either “you win” or “you die”. It is definitely only for the crowd of gamers like myself who has the love and patience for these kinds of games, but for those of you who prefer a little more interactivity, playtime, and, y’know, things to look at in your games, then this is definitely gonna be one of the last things that you ever end up deciding to check out for yourself. That doesn’t lower the game’s quality, mind you, it just affects how approachable it is in 2024.
Overall, despite being very basic and offering little more than the base concept, Highnoon is both very impressive and very charming for a game that came out back in 1970, providing you with a simple, yet descriptive scenario that you can paint in your head and have fun with, plenty of options to choose from to change the course of the game in however way you’d like, and giving off enough charm to where it feels like it stands on its own compared to what very little else was on the market at that time. I would recommend it for those who are a fan of these kinds of text-based adventure games, because while it may not give you that much to do, it is still a neat example of where these kinds of games were around that point, and it is fun to mess around with even over 50 years later. And for those of you who actually sat here and read all of what I just typed about a text-based adventure game from 1970, thanks for sticking it out to the end, as writing this one was much harder than you think it would be. Also, go check out C_F’s first review up there as well. Tell them that Mega sent ya.
Game #565
For today’s review, I wanted to take you all back, and I mean WAY back, all the way to 1970, when the Apollo 13 launched into orbit, the US was given the “gift” of PBS, and a band nobody knows of known as The Beatles would break up, with all of the members going on to doing their own thing. Yes, it was a magical time in history, one full of many ups, downs, and surprising developments for the future, lacking the bullshit we face now on a day-to-day basis, and there were plenty of things for people to do and experience, even involving the world of video games. These were a rare breed around this time, certainly nowhere near as universally known and praised like they are today, and none of these titles could ever come to match the quality of what has managed to come out since, but every once in a while, it is nice to take a look back at some of the most primitive ages of video games, seeing what developers could get away with at the time and use to make a simple, yet very memorable experience. This can be seen with some games such as with today’s example, Highnoon.
In general, I’m not really one who is too into text-based adventure games. Not to say that I have anything against them, but whenever I go to play any video game, I typically like to have… you know, SOMETHING to look at rather than just a wall of text, hence why I have only played, like, one or two of them throughout my entire life. I have wanted to check out some more of them though, as there are quite a lot of them, and there has to be some special elements they bring to the table that most other games couldn’t, otherwise why would they have persisted for so long. So, I decided to pick this one, which I had never played or heard of before, and based on my experience, I would say that I had a good time with it. You definitely aren’t gonna get much more then what is initially presented to you, but for being one of the earliest text-based adventure games, it manages to do its job well, while also adding enough charm to make it an enjoyable title to mess with for around 10 minutes or so.
One of the most appealing parts of this game, as well as any game made in a similar manner to this, is the fact that, for the most part, your imagination is the key tool to helping you paint the scenario laid out in front of you. You have already been spoiled enough with all of your fancy-schmancy new video games that have GRAPHICS and SOUND and CONTROL, BLEH! Who needs that shit, anyway?! All you need to have a grand ol’ time is just a bunch of text telling you what is going on, and you can just form the scenario around in your head. It’s almost like reading a book, except this has way more interactivity then a book, and you can make your own adventure out of it, rather than just simply reaching the same, predetermined conclusion every time.
But of course though, you gotta have a basic set-up to get you moving on the road ahead, and the set-up for this game is simple: it’s 1889, and you have been challenged to have a showdown in the Allegheny Mountains, facing the nefarious Black Bart, who will make sure that you end up as a dead man by the end of the day. You then meet up on a deserted road, and it is up to you to get the upper hand on Black Bart by moving forward, using your trusty pistol at precisely the right time, and to hope that luck is on your side so that Black Bart doesn’t end up taking you down and continuing his reign of terror. It’s a premise we have all seen and heard of before, but now, instead of watching it play out in front of you, or possibly even pretend-playing this scenario out with friends, you are now in the line yourself, and you have to take out your computer opponent before it is too late.
From there, you have very limited options for what you can do next, but they are enough to get the job done. All you can do is move forward, fire your gun, jump to the side for cover, give up, run away like a little bitch, or just do nothing at all, with each of these commands being assigned to specific numbers on the keyboard. You can then go about inputting these numbers one by one, seeing what the program does in response to this, and then continuing on from there. A lot of it is, obviously, randomly generated, as you don’t know what will happen at any time, or whether or not Black Bart will shoot or not, or even if the shots will hit you, but there is also a bit of strategy that comes into play, as whatever move you end up making at specific times could be the difference between life or death, so it is always wise to consider your next movement and choose wisely, which not only creates some pretty exciting tension, but also a good ol’ helping of satisfaction when your next move turns out to be just what you needed.
Aside from the main premise and how the game works, a lot of the appeal from this game can also be seen in the way that the game not only describes what events play out, but also how it reacts to your moves. While it mostly types things out in the way that you would expect it to, a lot of the time whenever something happens, or whenever you do anything specifically, it will throw in a snappy or snarky comment to emphasize what happened, such as “Good idea there”, or “You aren’t gonna get too far by doing that.” There was one part in the game that really stuck out to me and made me laugh, which was when I ended up getting killed by Black Bart, and how the game chose to describe what happened, where it basically said “Black Bart fires at you, landing a bullet right in your back, and then he fires again, with him shooting you right in the ass. You aren’t gonna be resting peacefully after that.” I dunno, seeing something like that in a game that is this old feels oddly refreshing, and it makes the game much more memorable as a result.
However, with all that being said, I still can’t say this game is anything more than just good because of how limited it is. It is a text-based adventure game after all, so there is only so much you can get out of it, with just one scenario to go through and the several outcomes you can get out of it, mainly either “you win” or “you die”. It is definitely only for the crowd of gamers like myself who has the love and patience for these kinds of games, but for those of you who prefer a little more interactivity, playtime, and, y’know, things to look at in your games, then this is definitely gonna be one of the last things that you ever end up deciding to check out for yourself. That doesn’t lower the game’s quality, mind you, it just affects how approachable it is in 2024.
Overall, despite being very basic and offering little more than the base concept, Highnoon is both very impressive and very charming for a game that came out back in 1970, providing you with a simple, yet descriptive scenario that you can paint in your head and have fun with, plenty of options to choose from to change the course of the game in however way you’d like, and giving off enough charm to where it feels like it stands on its own compared to what very little else was on the market at that time. I would recommend it for those who are a fan of these kinds of text-based adventure games, because while it may not give you that much to do, it is still a neat example of where these kinds of games were around that point, and it is fun to mess around with even over 50 years later. And for those of you who actually sat here and read all of what I just typed about a text-based adventure game from 1970, thanks for sticking it out to the end, as writing this one was much harder than you think it would be. Also, go check out C_F’s first review up there as well. Tell them that Mega sent ya.
Game #565
Nobody can walk that fast my ass.
Defeated Black Bart with the simple power of Nash's game theory.
As far as these basic early turn-based text things go, this one is for sure up there. There's some good humour injected into it, and it's not just an annoying number management thing like Hammurabi.
A little shoot-out game that is actually a game of strategy. With both you and your opponent starting with 4 shots, you have to choose whether to walk towards him (increasing both of your accuracies), take cover, or shoot in each turn (or run away or give up). It's essentially a game of chicken. Neat for a couple minutes.
2.5 - Interesting: Interesting but missing something
2.5 - Interesting: Interesting but missing something
Highnoon 1970 | Pc
1-interacción: 5
2-mundo/apartado artístico: -
3-concepto: 6
4-puesta en escena: 6
5-narración: 6.3
6-sonido/apartado sonoro: -
7-jugabilidad: -
8-historia: 5
9-duración/ritmo: 4
10-impacto: 5
6.3
6
6
5
5
5
33.3/60
55.5 promedio
1-interacción: 5
2-mundo/apartado artístico: -
3-concepto: 6
4-puesta en escena: 6
5-narración: 6.3
6-sonido/apartado sonoro: -
7-jugabilidad: -
8-historia: 5
9-duración/ritmo: 4
10-impacto: 5
6.3
6
6
5
5
5
33.3/60
55.5 promedio
Put em' inbetween the eyes baby!!!
Play here: https://mybitbox.com/highnoon/index.php
This one's pretty fun, lotta funny cowboy shenanigans.
This one's pretty fun, lotta funny cowboy shenanigans.
Esse jogo deixa meu sexto sentido de historiador em alerta máximo. Todos os artigos e descrições do game que encontrei (que são pouquíssimos, diga-se de passagem) apontam para uma única fonte, este blog intitulado myBitBox. Algumas páginas são cópias verbatim do blog, só apagando um ou outro parágrafo, como a descrição do game na IFDB.
Se lermos o blog que registra a existência de Highnoon, mais perguntas surgem. s1axter, o autor, diz que "descobriu o código em BASIC impresso" e o usou para recriar uma versão em JavaScript. Como e em que condições ele descobriu esse código? Alguém mais teve acesso a esse material?
Aparentemente, essa valiosa fonte está na coleção pessoal de s1axter, em vez de com alguma instituição de preservação da memória. Isso me faz lembrar dos séculos XVIII e XIX, em que boa parte dos artefatos de interesse histórico estavam em antiquários e coleções pessoais. Quando dizem que o campo da História dos Videogames ainda está em sua infância, não é exagero...
Tentei outros caminhos de pesquisa para descobrir mais sobre a história do jogo e não tive sucesso. Apesar de s1axter dizer que conversou com Chris Gaylo, creditado com a criação do jogo, não encontrei nenhum contato público dele - ele deve ser uma pessoa relativamente reservada, visto que não tem presença digital. Também tentei procurar alguma lista de egressos Syosset High School, onde Gaylo teria se formado e onde desenvolveu Highnoon, mas não obtive sucesso.
Outro possível caminho de pesquisa, a Call-A-Computer Company, empresa que teria fornecido a mainframe ao Syosset High School em que Gaylo programou Highnoon através de um teletype terminal, também não deu em nada. Se há fontes sobre a história da companhia, ou elas não estão online ou (bem provável) tenho que melhorar meu google-fu.
O que me restou foi fazer uma espécie de análise paleográfica. Aparentemente, o código BASIC do jogo segue a sintaxe da linguagem de programação como ela era no final dos 60 e início dos 70, o que significa que o jogo, em tese, rodaria em hardwares da época. Esse é o máximo que posso dizer sobre a historicidade de Highnoon.
Meu propósito aqui não é por dúvidas na veracidade do jogo ou de sua antiguidade. É provável que esse seja apenas um caso de um artefato mal documentado - algo infelizmente muito comum e especialmente prevalente na história dos primeiros games.
Partindo do princípio então que Highnoon é um jogo que de fato lançou em 1970, temos um game bem interessante. Anos antes de Oregon Trail e num formato muito mais acessível que The Sumerian Game, temos um dos primeiros games com narrativa, disputando este posto com Hamurabi e Star Trek. De fato, seu funcionamento é tão próximo ao de gêneros puramente narrativos que ainda seriam criados como Interactive Fiction que alguém até recriou o jogo no Twine, que é uma das formas mais cômodas de jogá-lo hoje em dia. Um jogo realmente visionário, ainda que sua pobre documentação me perturbe ao ponto de eu ocupar meu tempo mais com perguntas sobre sua historicidade do que apreciar seu design.
Se lermos o blog que registra a existência de Highnoon, mais perguntas surgem. s1axter, o autor, diz que "descobriu o código em BASIC impresso" e o usou para recriar uma versão em JavaScript. Como e em que condições ele descobriu esse código? Alguém mais teve acesso a esse material?
Aparentemente, essa valiosa fonte está na coleção pessoal de s1axter, em vez de com alguma instituição de preservação da memória. Isso me faz lembrar dos séculos XVIII e XIX, em que boa parte dos artefatos de interesse histórico estavam em antiquários e coleções pessoais. Quando dizem que o campo da História dos Videogames ainda está em sua infância, não é exagero...
Tentei outros caminhos de pesquisa para descobrir mais sobre a história do jogo e não tive sucesso. Apesar de s1axter dizer que conversou com Chris Gaylo, creditado com a criação do jogo, não encontrei nenhum contato público dele - ele deve ser uma pessoa relativamente reservada, visto que não tem presença digital. Também tentei procurar alguma lista de egressos Syosset High School, onde Gaylo teria se formado e onde desenvolveu Highnoon, mas não obtive sucesso.
Outro possível caminho de pesquisa, a Call-A-Computer Company, empresa que teria fornecido a mainframe ao Syosset High School em que Gaylo programou Highnoon através de um teletype terminal, também não deu em nada. Se há fontes sobre a história da companhia, ou elas não estão online ou (bem provável) tenho que melhorar meu google-fu.
O que me restou foi fazer uma espécie de análise paleográfica. Aparentemente, o código BASIC do jogo segue a sintaxe da linguagem de programação como ela era no final dos 60 e início dos 70, o que significa que o jogo, em tese, rodaria em hardwares da época. Esse é o máximo que posso dizer sobre a historicidade de Highnoon.
Meu propósito aqui não é por dúvidas na veracidade do jogo ou de sua antiguidade. É provável que esse seja apenas um caso de um artefato mal documentado - algo infelizmente muito comum e especialmente prevalente na história dos primeiros games.
Partindo do princípio então que Highnoon é um jogo que de fato lançou em 1970, temos um game bem interessante. Anos antes de Oregon Trail e num formato muito mais acessível que The Sumerian Game, temos um dos primeiros games com narrativa, disputando este posto com Hamurabi e Star Trek. De fato, seu funcionamento é tão próximo ao de gêneros puramente narrativos que ainda seriam criados como Interactive Fiction que alguém até recriou o jogo no Twine, que é uma das formas mais cômodas de jogá-lo hoje em dia. Um jogo realmente visionário, ainda que sua pobre documentação me perturbe ao ponto de eu ocupar meu tempo mais com perguntas sobre sua historicidade do que apreciar seu design.