Down Time...

[Pilgrim]

I had a few hours with no commitments, and instead of watching TV or reading I fired up the Nintendo 64 (the only video game I have ever even come close to understanding) and playing Duck Dodgers.  Even then I'm not very good.  I have a Playstation 3 (Pawn shop find) but I usually get just into a game and find out I'm unable to execute any commands or figure out how to move forward.  I probably need a 12 year old to explain it to me.

At least Duck Dodgers is still my buddy.

[4stringer77]

N64 was the last system I spent any time on as well. The futuristic racing game F-zero and the Bond game Goldeneye were the ones I played. Can’t relate to the obsessiveness some have with the new platforms. It’s a contributing factor to the whole incel phenomenon.

[amptech]

Never had a videogame as a kid, never even owned a C64.
My dad brought home a dodgy atari from the pub once, but it hardly ever worked.

I did hunt down a NES console with the 'Kid Icarus' game, as I had fond memories of playing it at my friends place in the late 80's.
It winds down to a couple of hours playtime every two or three years, so I can't say I'm obsessive about it.

[uwe]

The last video games I played were Pong and Pacman in the late 70ies, I found both kind of samey - is there any catching up I need to do?

Stop, I have to be truthful, there was a period - before BlackBerry moved on to Android as a software - where I killed time in airport terminals with this here, I don't even remember the name, BrickBreaker?



I was really crap at it too and never progressed beyond second level.

I'm now forced to use an iPhone from my law firm, they've stopped supporting BlackBerry, I'll never forgive them that. It's amazing how many BB functions an iPhone does not offer. And the answer from iPhone enthusiasts (a pest!) is always the same: "Well, what would you need that for in any case?" But if your cell phone is not relegated to being a social network tool, a proper search and jump function for your outlook subfolders is a sensible thing, just saying, especially if you receive about 150 business-related emails with attachments a day and want to archive them quickly and properly + find them swiftly.

The iPhone is a gadget for adolescents. And expressly invented to annoy me.

PS: My (and my first wife's) computer games ignorance/obliviousness transferred to our children. Neither of them (born '91 and '94) ever had or have asked for a Nintendo or other console (if they had, they would have received one no sweat, we wouldn't have cared). My daughter was totally oblivious of computer gaming (instead she liked adult food in fancy restaurants and everything that goes with it) and my son had about half a year where he liked Grand Theft Auto before coming to the conclusion that the fairer sex is far more enticing and spending hours on GTA is not going to do your blossoming sex life any favors. And since (back then) he liked women several decades older than him (I believe the term MILF would be used today), he figured that computer game savviness was not an avenue promising particular success with the more mature fairer sex. He has always been a bit utilitarian in the choice of his hobbies (and these days works for a West Coast fashion brand known especially for its hatmaking).

[ilan]

About 10 years ago I had a herniated disc and started playing Chicken Invaders on my tablet. A month later I had the 2nd highest score.

[uwe]

You probably know how to slap and pop too.

[ilan]

You probably know how to slap and pop too.

I know exactly one slap riff that I learned in the 80s after going through Louis Johnson's video, mainly to impress guitar store employees so that they let me play every bass I wanted in the store. I can still play that riff but now it doesn't impress anyone.

[Pilgrim]

N64 was the last system I spent any time on as well. The futuristic racing game F-zero and the Bond game Goldeneye were the ones I played. Can’t relate to the obsessiveness some have with the new platforms. It’s a contributing factor to the whole incel phenomenon.

I have Duck Dodgers, a racing game called California Speed (I am awful at steering with the joystick on those handheld controllers) and I have a Mario Kart game I haven't tried.

[gearHed289]

I was never a video game guy. Never made it much past Space Invaders, Galaxian, and Ms. Pac Man. I have enjoyed some Mario Cart on the Wii in recent years though. 

[uwe]

I would imagine that you had enough on your hands practicing all those irregular meters!

[Pilgrim]

I would imagine that you had enough on your hands practicing all those irregular meters!

Irregular?  I'm a big fan of Don Ellis' work in the 70s....he played in many irregular meters, and the band was fantastic.  I am fortunate to have an original pressing of his Electric Bath album.

[uwe]

I like it!