So yesterday‘s #DailyRetroGame – number 256 – was meant to echo the infamous Pac-Man kill screen. And that’s in part because the series is ending for now.
It was intended to scratch a #retrogaming itch and give me a fun thing to write every day. But it’s becoming harder to think of what to write and the daily thing went out the window a while ago.
It may return. Or something similar. For now, though, thanks for reading to those who did. And if you haven’t yet, there are 256 entries to read! 👾
#DailyRetroGame 256: Pac-Man (1980)
Dot-munching hero G IM 0
video game star as H JN 1
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pizza thing is true _H GM•Q
that with a pinch o FMK•G
What is known is t GOK•H
hit and it’s easy to :P GPK
of easy to grasp b 0Q HQL
it’s the sort of gam ”H FGL
forever. Well, until ”I GHM
Play it on: #Arcade
#DailyRetroGame 255: O’Riley’s Mine (1983)
As if Dig Dug wasn’t tricky enough, this tribute of sorts robbed you of boulders to drop on monsters’ heads and also tried to drown you by quickly filling the titular mine with water.
It was fast-paced stuff – chasing monsters had a terrifying burst of speed. In all, it was another rare game that felt like an arcade cab had sneaked into your home micro when you weren’t looking.
Play it on: #Atari8bit
#DailyRetroGame 254: Shadowfax (1982)
Even in 1982, you’d have felt shortchanged by this endless shooter. You as Gandalf, riding Shadowfax, had to take down Nazgûl with lightning blasts. Until you died. And that was it. Still, at least the horse animation looked lovely on the VIC.
Creator Mike Singleton would a few years later go on to much bigger and better LOTRish things, with Lords of Midnight and Doomdark’s Revenge.
Play it on: #VIC20
#DailyRetroGame 253: P.O.D. (1987)
More or less a case of the Kikstart (and, later, Super Cars/Lotus) guy ‘doing a Minter’. Proof of Destruction (P.O.D.) recalled Grid Runner in evolving Centipede, but did it by shaking up how attack waves behaved. The hypnotic playfield backgrounds hit a 0.8 on the Trippy Minter scale, although never made it to the C16 release – quality for that machine but notably plainer in execution.
#DailyRetroGame 252: Zaxxon (1982)
This one overly literally had the idea to approach a tired format from a new angle. It was basically Scramble with an axonometric viewpoint. You’d blast baddies and carefully use your altimeter to avoid smashing into walls with tiny ship-sized holes for you to fly through. This one also had an early boss battle – you vs a chunky robot called Zaxxon Ron. (That last bit might be a lie.)
Play it on: #arcade
#DailyRetroGame 251: Repton (1985)
Reportedly inspired by a Boulder Dash review, Repton took the diamond-finding, rock-falling concept to the Beeb, losing the frenetic arcade pace along the way, but creating something more puzzle-oriented and thoughtful. Sequels followed, including the brutally tough Repton 2 (which neglected to provide enough diamonds to complete its single colossal level) and Repton 3 with its map editor.
Play it on: #BBCMicro
#DailyRetroGame 250: Snare (1989)
With a conventional design, Snare might have been ordinary. The premise was simple: navigate a maze, blast baddies, and reach the exit. But the execution turned Snare into something of a classic: bonus tiles that changed how your ship behaved; devious level design with speeds akin to Uridium; and disorienting 90-degree playfield turns that frequently left you in a panic and sent you to oblivion.
Play it on: #C64
#DailyRetroGame 249: Ancipital (1984)
Another Jeff Minter game that felt like an arcade cab had beamed in from another (stranger) reality and taken up residence in your micro. This one featured a bipedal goat who could leap between each single-screen level’s walls, while you blasted the requisite number of foes to open the exits. Relentlessly intense, with a dash of psychedelia and a dollop of weirdness. Still holds up today.
Play it on: #C64
Craig Grannell
Peter Lee