I've been gaming since Pong and have loved video games for a very long time. Unfortunately, I'm no
This is amazing - when is the last time you got to hang with TWO members of Congress. Edit: It appears that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is also playing.
https://m.twitch.tv/aoc
AOC streams live on Twitch! Check out their videos, sign up to chat, and join their community.
Sniper rifles are my favorite weapon in the game. Here's just one reason why.
Chugbear is my awesome Duos partner, David. I highly recommend you find a dedicated friend like Chugbear. He's so dedicated that he'll follow me right over a cliff and only ossacionally tosses a gr***de at me, so I fiugred it was about time the he got a highlight reel.
Unfortunately, he plays on a Nintendo Switch which doesn't have capture or replay capabilities, so I had to make this with what little footage I had of him - mostly our victory shots and he's off screen for a lot of those, but I hope this'll make the point - a good partner is great to find.
If you like soccer but always thought "Wow, that's a lot of running, I wish there was an easier way" than this is the game for you.
Rocket League calls itself a game for those who enjoy high-octane reckless driving and the world's most popular sport. The premise is simple: drive a car to hit a massive ball into your opponent's goal as many times as you can in five minutes. Oh, and also your car drives up walls and has a rocket, which means your car can fly!
Originally released in 2015 by developer Psyonix, Rocket League exploded in popularity, winning award after award from critics and fans alike. It was so popular, that in 2016 - within a year of it's release - the first Rocket League Championship Series was held, awarding $55,000 in prize money. The annual RLCS continues to grow and remains of the most popular E-sporting events to this day. Beginning in 2020, however, the RLCS will become the RLCS X, changing it's format to a year-long tournament circuit with a $4.5 Million dollar prize pool.
Recently, Psyonix was bought by mega-game developer Epic Games, who made Rocket League Free To Play. The game supports cross-platform play across PS4, Xbox One, Steam, and Nintendo Switch, so regardless of your platform, you can team up with or against friends online. Skill based matchmaking means you get to complete with/against people close to your skill level.
In addition to the competition aspect, the game also gives you a Garage, where you can collect and personalize your cars, vans, or trucks. Options include colors, decals, wheels, antenna balls, and even what your rocket blast looks like. As with most games, additional play unlocks additional choices and there is a Rocket Pass available for purchase for even *more* cosmetic options and rewards.
Bottom line: This game is a blast to play, even if you aren't very good. The tutorials do a great job of teaching the basics and even if you're not good at the soccer part yet, it's fun just to drive up the walls or just demolish your opponents (Rude!). Plus, did I mention your car can FLY.
Get Rocket League (free) from your preferred game source.
If you like soccer but always thought "Wow, that's a lot of running, I wish there was an easier way" than this is the game for you.
Rocket League calls itself a game for those who enjoy high-octane reckless driving and the world's most popular sport. The premise is simple: drive a car to hit a massive ball into your opponent's goal as many times as you can in five minutes. Oh, and also your car drives up walls and has a rocket, which means your car can fly!
Originally released in 2015 by developer Psyonix, Rocket League exploded in popularity, winning award after award from critics and fans alike. It was so popular, that in 2016 - within a year of it's release - the first Rocket League Championship Series was held, awarding $55,000 in prize money. The annual RLCS continues to grow and remains of the most popular E-sporting events to this day. Beginning in 2020, however, the RLCS will become the RLCS X, changing it's format to a year-long tournament circuit with a $4.5 Million dollar prize pool.
Recently, Psyonix was bought by mega-game developer Epic Games, who made Rocket League Free To Play. The game supports cross-platform play across PS4, Xbox One, Steam, and Nintendo Switch, so regardless of your platform, you can team up with or against friends online. Skill based matchmaking means you get to complete with/against people close to your skill level.
In addition to the competition aspect, the game also gives you a Garage, where you can collect and personalize your cars, vans, or trucks. Options include colors, decals, wheels, antenna balls, and even what your rocket blast looks like. As with most games, additional play unlocks additional choices and there is a Rocket Pass available for purchase for even *more* cosmetic options and rewards.
Bottom line: This game is a blast to play, even if you aren't very good. The tutorials do a great job of teaching the basics and even if you're not good at the soccer part yet, it's fun just to drive up the walls or just demolish your opponents (Rude!). Plus, did I mention your car can FLY.
Get Rocket League (free) from your preferred game source.
https://youtu.be/ppLtFO8q7Ro
A short video to show how much fun this game can be, even when you've *just* started playing and don't really know what you're doing.
CITY OF HEROES IS BACK!!!
I was a console gamer for a lot of years and resisted the move to computer gaming, though I can't for the life of me recall why. The game I most credit for finally getting me to play on PC was 2004's City of Heroes. As you might guess from it's name, this was a chance to create your very own Super Hero, complete with special powers, abilities, and a personally designed super suit - tragic backstory optional.
This was the first MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that I ever played and it's character creator was like nothing I've ever seen before - or since. I could literally spend hours creating and tweaking a costume until it was perfect.
It. Was. Amazing. You start out simple with a couple of powers but as you start leveling up, you become stronger, faster and develop additional powers. Before long, you're flying across the sky or zooming along the street, taking out super-villains and their gangs.
I'd guess that I spent over 3,500 hours playing that game over the course of the following eight years. There were several sequels and updates, such as City of Villains, for those with a less kindly outlook toward their fellow citizens.
It was easily my favorite game for many years until finally in 2012, the servers shut down and all my heroes (and not a few villains) were gone forever, never to be seen again. Or so I thought.
Rumors of a rogue server where you could still play floated around for years. I moved on to some other MMOs, but nothing could replace Paragon City's special place in my heart.
And then, earlier this week I was going through some old videos and stumbled across some footage of one of my villains- Towering Unferno - decimating a couple of spandex-clad Super Heros. It reminded me of those rumors, so I did a quick Google and OH MY GOD CITY OF HEROES IS BACK!!!
In April 2019, it was revealed that a fully functional version of the game, based the original source code did exist, but had remained underground to avoid legal issues with the publisher. Since word of this has gone public, a group representing several servers and the community of players began negotiations with the publisher to allow them to continue operations. They're being serious about it, too, because they've cracked down on players making copyrighted heroes (think Marvel or DC) and have also added a 'no streaming or display' clause to their ToS while they are trying to go legit.
I can verify that these servers are currently up and running, as I'm creating my 3rd character on the Reunion server. I don't know how long this'll last but I'm going to take advantage of it and see if The Towering Unferno can rise from the ashes to terrorize the citizens of Paragon City once again.
Free on Windows or Mac, if you'd like to join the fight against (or for) Evil in our fair Paragon City, follow the installation instructions at the link below. Don't forget to make a game account or you won't be able to log in.
See you 'round the old neighborhood!
https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/584-dredds-guide-to-loading-city-of-heroes/
Paragon City is Convulsing. Choking. Breaking under its own weight. Citizens in fear of the street. Only YOU can step up to the challenge and stop the forces of evil from taking over! We want to make sure everyone who wants to be a Hero, Villain, or one of those fifty gray shades in between can d...
This weekend there’s an open beta of the Marvel’s Avengers game. You need to have pre-ordered the game to play on console, but not on PC. Steam has the free demo.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vg247.com/2020/08/20/marvels-avengers-beta-times-dates-preload-content/amp/
Everything you need to know about the Marvel's Avengers beta.
Join the battle, lots of prizes.
The Cup begins on August 23, 2020. Battle for one more Victory Royale with friends across all platforms and a chance to win in-game items.
Apple, one of the richest companies on the face of the planet, has banned Fortnite from it's platforms because Epic (it's creator) provided a way for users to purchase directly from them, thus avoiding Apple's 30% markup. What a bunch of greedy SOBs.
https://youtu.be/euiSHuaw6Q4
Epic Games has defied the App Store Monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices. Visit fn.gg/freefortnite and join the fight ...
In addition to Twitter and IG, there is now an OSG YouTube channel!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gVS3lRXUZ0&feature=youtu.be
A few of the more outrageous eliminations from solo, team rumble, and duos. Catch more as it happens live at twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
Haven't been very active here on FB, but over on Twitch is another story. Finished FarCry 5 (SO creepy) so now I'm playing something a little different.
In Kerbal Space Program, I've taken over a fledgling space agency where I'm currently building and testing rockets. There are a lot of explosions.
www.twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
I've loved video games since I began playing PONG as a kid in the 70s. I'm not very good at most of them so I crash and/or die a lot, which is great entertainment when it's not happening to you! Hang around and have some Schadenfreude on me.
I've owned this game for years and it's a blast! It's also FREE for a limited time. Get your copy!
Get Evil Genius now!
From the Star Wars day stream on May the 4th. A couple of battles and setting the Wookies free! Also, at :35 - isn't that the Avengers theme?
twitchtv.com/oldestschoolgamer
Technical difficulties resolved!
Let's play some JEDI: FALLEN ORDER!
twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
Time for some Friday Fortnite!! Watch me get wiped out.
twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
Friday, May 1st - morning stream
I spent a lot of time at sea this session. Sang some sea shanties, captured some ships, saw a white whale, capture some more ships and sang a little more. Yo ho! Yo ho, me hearties! The pirate's life for me!
Back to the high seas with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
I'm going for 100% completion of all missions, collectibles & side activities. Roughly 79% to go...
twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
streaming today @ 1pm pacific
Today's game is the city management sim PLANETBASE, where you have to grow a colony on an unfriendly planet. Last week we grew our initial 7 colonists to 40, so only 260 to go! It's a slower-paced game, so drop by and chat!
twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
Monday, April 27th - afternoon stream
I want to tease a little OSG news before the stream kicks off this afternoon at 1pm... I have hardware inbound that will let me stream some pretty old games.
Today, though, we're back to FTL: Faster Than Light, a Rogue-like game - basically a procedurally generated game with no saves and permadeath.
FTL's story is basically the opposite of Star Wars. You have information vital to the Federation but the rebels are after you. It's really intuitive and easy to understand, but boy is it tough to master.
Last week, I didn't make it too far, though I did manage to unlock a couple of other ships. Stream starts @ 1pm.
www.twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
This afternoon picks up where we left off this morning, with Cognito's attempt to sack the town of Puerto Cabello. We rejoin Cognito and his pirates mid-battle against the town's soldiers...
www.twitch.com/oldestschoolgamer
Arrrrrr, happy Monday, Mateys!
Time to get some Pirate on. Today I will be *accepting* invitations from the Governors' daughters so there will be some dancing today. Drop in and help me decide which way to sail or who's buried treasure to find.
www.twitch.com/oldestschoolgamer
There is a long list of hand-held video game consoles. The Nintendo Switch, PSP, Nintendo DS, and the GameBoy ruled the 90’s as systems that played a wide variety of games and were much more sophisticated than their predecessors. These systems used LCDs, which became cheap to make in the 80s. Before then, hand-held video games had much simpler screens, usually featuring simple red-LED displays.
The first one I ever saw was a classmate's at school - Mattel’s Auto Race, released in 1976. This magical game-in-your-hand required you to complete four “laps” before time ran out. You did this by steering your car (the *bright* red LED) between three lanes as it moved to the top of the screen.
Your obstacle in achieving this was oncoming traffic (the *dim* red LEDs). As you dodged them, you advanced toward the top but if you hit one, it pushed you back toward the bottom of the screen until you changed lanes. It was tricky, especially when you were near the top of the screen, but it could be done.
Auto Race was quickly adapted into a horizontal Football game where you controlled your player (the *bright* red LED) between three lanes as it moved to the side of the screen, steering through oncoming players from the opposing teams (the *dim* red LEDs). This first Football game didn’t even have a passing option, you either made it on the ground or you didn’t make it. Eventually Football II arrived, which allowed passing and of course, Baseball.
Mattel wasn't the only company cranking out hand-held games. Coleco also joined the fray with a series of head-to-head games for football, baseball, hockey, and soccer. I ended up getting the baseball game from an Aunt or Uncle for a birthday and it was a blast. You had options to throw different pitches and your opponent had to time their swing accordingly.
All those games were fun, but my all-time, favorite hand-held came out in 1978. Merlin, technically, ‘Merlin The Electronic Wizard’, could play six different games. SIX! And it was invented by a former NASA scientist! This was a huge advancement and something that I could really pitch to my parents as cost effective. AND educational.
Merlin also looked different than anything that had come before. Instead of LEDs under a painted screen, Merlin had, well, a whole bunch of buttons. I remember seeing the commercial for Merlin and having no idea what all those buttons could do, but the kid had such a hard time getting his Merlin back from all his family members, I just *knew* it had to be fun. That commercial was everywhere, too. Although, to be fair, there were far fewer channels then, so ‘everywhere’ was a lot smaller.
Merlin’s six games were Tic-Tac-Toe, Blackjack, Music Machine, Echo, Magic Square, and Mindbender. Music Machine turned Merlin into a musical instrument which could record and play back the tunes you played. Echo was a memory game and Magic Square a pattern game, but the best game on that little plastic box was Mindbender. Mindbender was a Mastermind clone, where you had to guess the pattern of a 2 to 9 digit code through deduction and analysis of previous guesses. I loved this game and spent hours at a time working through the logic over and over again. The best I ever achieved was getting the 7-digit code, though I tried for 8 a lot. Who knew what joy a bunch of buttons could bring a kid?
Video games these days are a lot different, as they should be. My hope here is to celebrate all our favorites.
Thanks for your time. Join me weekdays at:
twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
-Tim, your Oldest School Gamer
A great example of how you can be a less-than-stellar player and still win. The first elimination is a sniper shot from 76m, not bad, though not terribly impressive. Then, in spite of terrible building, shooting my own cover, firing when I'm not even close to on-target, and switching to a weapon with 3 bullets left, I can't believe I actually won a Victory Royale!
Alright, almost time for Friday Fortnite!!
www.twitch.com/oldestschoolgamer
It's almost time to get some Creed on. Stream starts at 1pm.
www.twitch.com/oldestschoolgamer
I had some technical issues this morning, but about to go live at 2pm for some Planetbase. This one is a more leisurely city-manager with less intense action, so plenty of time to chat.
-Tim, your Oldest School Gamer
www.twitch.com/oldestschoolgamer
And it's FTL time!
www.twitch.com/oldestschoolgamer
Starting soon... join me and help me rule the high seas!!
www.twitch.com/oldestschoolgamer
Although PONG may have established the video game industry, the staple of my misspent youth was the Atari Video Computer System. It was released in September of 1977 and I was fortunate enough to receive one for my 10th birthday a couple weeks after it hit store shelves.
The great thing about the Atari was that instead of having one game hardwired into the system, the games were on separate, removable ROM cartridges - literally a game changing decision! Of course, this also meant that every additional game (8 more available at launch) was an additional purchase. This also paved the way for the 3d party developer system we see today.
The original Atari VCS arrived in a box including the main console with power supply, one game cartridge, two basic joysticks and a signal switcher that my dad had to install between the antenna and television input. (In the 70's, before coax and cable TV, antennas had to be manually screwed to the back of the TV.)
The console was simple to operate as there were only four switches: Power, TV Type, Game Select, & Game Reset. Power & Game Reset were obvious. TV Type selector was because in 1977, you still had to choose whether you were playing on a Color or Black & White television. Lastly was the Game Select switch, which you just kept hitting until you got to the game you wanted because this was before game menus.
Not only was this before menus, but this was before games could even save anything simple, like high scores. In fact, there weren't even high scores yet, because all the games were win-loss matches. You played against a friend or the system until you tired of winning/losing and that was it.
The first game cartridge that came packaged with the Atari VCS was COMBAT. This was basically three games - Tank vs Tank, Biplane vs Biplanes, Jets vs Jets (or Bomber) - with enough variations to declare "27 Video Games" on the box.
Although these games were simple and the graphics chunky by today's standards, back in 1977 this was amazing, mind blowing stuff! At this moment, there are five different devices within reach that I can use to play a video game, but back then there was only one television and it was my Game Central from after homework until grown-up TV time.
These basic, 1-on-1 games were just the beginning. Despite limitations in memory, processing, and input (a joystick & button can only do so much), game creators managed to come up with a long list of innovative and entertaining games that grew more sophisticated and diverse. Games like SPACE INVADERS, ASTEROIDS, PITFALL, FROGGER, & RIVER RAID pushed the boundaries of what was considered a "game".
Before these interactive images on television existed, the most interactive games around were board games. Games like Monopoly, Battle Ship, Mastermind, & Boggle kept us entertained. The problem was finding an opponent, which was in short supply. My (stupid!) little sister was into dolls, my baby brother was too young, & my parents were usually busy with one of my siblings, but my video game just needed me.
And thus my deep and abiding love for [read: addiction to] video games was born.
My hope for this page is twofold:
1) Through posts about older video games, to spark discussions and really appreciate them from a player's perspective.
B) Through streaming both older and newer games, to develop a community of like-minded people who enjoy and appreciate similar games.
Thanks for your time. Join me for streaming at:
https://www.twitch.tv/oldestschoolgamer
-Tim, Oldest School Gamer
The original. My how things have changed.
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