Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Review ([IMM]Fathernator)
I'm lucky enough to have been a youngster who experienced the dawn of video games ( I remember queues of people waiting to play Space Invaders, Pacman and Galaxian, and was fortunate to have parents who thought the Grandstand video console would rock my world - how right they were!).
Now as a middle aged man I feel lucky again to have Digital Eclipse and Atari take me back to my childhood. Rose tinted glasses? A big ol' pint glass of nostalgia? Sure, why not. Because progress, boys and girls, ain't all that.. gaming today has lost the magic of anticipation, the unknown, the sheer delight of coming back from a store with a physical copy of a game you saved your pocket money for months for..
My first exposure to Atari was my friend's 2600 VCS - we played Decathlon/Space Invaders/Donkey Kong for A WHOLE WEEKEND, and I'm talking 7am to 9pm for 2 days solid!
I can't tell you how happy I am that projects like Atari 50 exist, because the current climate of video game rights and live service delivery mean that the sacred art of video gaming will be lost to the dusty ether of cloud storage history..
I know, I know, I'm typing this on Steam which could be regarded as one of the biggest obstacles to gaming preservation, but I'm only a member here because of a little game called Half Life 2 which arrived at a difficult time in my life and renewed my faith in digital storytelling and the power of video games..
If there's one thing I would suggest that might remind GenZ that video games didn't start with Zelda or Call of Duty, it would be to insist that all current and new coders (regardless of whether they work at Microsoft or Nintendo or Electronic Arts or Rockstar or Ubisoft or Epic or an independent studio etc.) are required to code a game as a homebrew 2600 project.. that could be the great leveller
Peace Out Friends