Lovers or Strangers: A relationship compatibility program for the Apple II.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Discussion Topic of the Week: Have you ever played a romantic or risque computer game? Tell us about it (anonymously if you have to).
A Cybiko ad spoofing stereotypical Japanese zaniness.
The Cybiko was a bizarre handheld device of mixed lineage: I’d call it 1/3 game console and 2/3 handheld PC. It sought to be a PDA for kids, so it incorporated both gaming and organizer software. It also included a very novel feature at the time: wireless connectivity. Cybiko units could send each other text-based messages, share software, and play games via a built-in radio transmitter.
Owners could hook up the Cybiko to their PC to download new software from the Internet. Cybiko, Inc. encouraged homebrew development for the machine in either C or CyBasic (a BASIC variant), which helped maintain popular interest in Cybiko for a few years longer than it would have otherwise.
Despite those efforts, Cybiko was never particularly successful. The company tried again with the Cybiko Xtreme in 2001. No such luck there either.
I picked up one of the original “Classic” models on clearance back in the day. Its biggest drawbacks were the dreadfully sluggish speed of the software interface, the heavily-ghosting greyscale LCD screen, and the bizarre layout of the buttons and directional pad on the unit. Oddly, the Cybiko included a pull-out stylus to help you press its tiny QWERTY keyboard buttons. Also, I remember it being very tricky to hook the Cybiko to your PC to get new software.
I later picked up a revision 2 Cybiko Classic with the MP3 Player add-on at a Hamfest. I never did much with the gadgets, though. Cybikos included a rechargable battery — I remember seeing one leaking already a few years ago. So if you have one, take out the battery before it ruins your unit.
Discussion Topic of the Week: Have you ever owned or used a Cybiko? What did you think about it?
Every once and a while, I receive emails from people looking for a certain game, electronic toy, or computer from their distant past. I then pass it on to intrepid VC&G readers to crack the case.
Pete writes:
Hi…
I was thinking about a game I played as a kid, probably came out around 1982-1986 or so. I think it was called Space Shuttle, but I could be wrong. I’ve searched for it online, but all I see are flight simulator type games, and the one I’m looking for was very different.
There was a roster of astronauts with different skills and personality types, and depending who you picked for your crew, they could either get along well or go crazy onboard! One of the astronauts was Fred Pfister, I think, don’t know why I remember that. There was a way to go EVA, and each shuttle mission required you to land and take off. If I recall correctly, you even had to watch how much money you had in the budget – you could make money by carrying satellites and every mission launched had a cost to it.
I think this would have been a Texas Instruments TI 99 4A game, but it could have been a Commodore 64 game too. Any help?
Thanks,
Pete
It’s up to you to find the object of Pete’s fuzzy memory. Post any thoughts or suggestions in the comments section below. Pete will be monitoring the comments, so if you need to clarify something with him, ask away. Good luck!
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Have a memory of a computer, video game, computer software, or electronic toy you need help identifying? Send me an email describing your memories in detail. Hopefully, the collective genius of the VC&G readership can help solve your mystery.
“…thus we are very skinny.”
Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s your favorite first-person RPG of all time?
Halloween is only four days away, and if you haven’t chosen your costume already, you’re screwed. Luckily, VC&G is here to help (once again) with 13 fresh last-minute costume ideas.
Through this article, things you will see. Other places. The future…the past. Old friends long gone.* Regardless of the vintage, each of these costumes is guaranteed to get you candy or your money back. Did I mention this is the fifth entry of this longstanding VC&G tradition? Most excellent.**
* Modified Yoda quote.
** Unmodified Bill & Ted quote.
[ Continue reading VC&G’s Halloween Video Game Costume Ideas (2010) » ]
“The spell is cast this Halloween!” *GASP!!!*
That spooky, spooky holiday is just around the corner, so I figured you guys might enjoy something in theme. I think I’ve played Witchaven once or once before — even if only because it used the Build engine — but I don’t remember it well. What did you guys think of it?
Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s your favorite scary/creepy computer or video game? Any platform, any era.
“Dragons attack with talons, fangs, and deadly breath weapons.”
Just yesterday, my wife’s uncle brought over boxes of his old Atari ST stuff and dumped them at my house (per my request, of course). Among the delightful vintage goodies was a Mega ST2 and dozens of boxed Atari ST games. I opened the box for Questron II and was immediately confronted by this colorful 5.5″ x 8.5″ flier for DragonStrike, another game from Strategic Simulations (SSI).
The design proudly proclaims, “The FIRST-EVER dragon combat simultor!” — as if “dragon combat simulator” was a genre gamers had been clamoring for ceaselessly for years.
I’ve never played this game, but I was always a fan of SSI’s gaming titles. They published some of computer gaming’s highest quality software back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Discussion Topic of the Week: What are some of your favorite Strategic Simulations games?
I’ve been working too hard and my brain feels like a block of sand (whatever that means), but I need to share this link with you before I collapse.
Just today, PCMag published my latest piece for them, a slideshow of 12 “forgotten” online games that you can still play. It’s mostly composed of intriguing telnet classics, although a few ancient, overlooked MMOs show up on the list as well.
I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please spread word of it far and wide. Leave no door unknocked; no word of slideshow evangelism unsaid. Tattoos — lots of tattoos. If you succeed, there will be more to come.
Spassky is not amused.
Discussion Topic of the Week: Tell us your computer chess history. What’s your favorite 8-bit chess software?
Every once and a while, I receive emails from people looking for a certain game, electronic toy, or computer from their distant past. I then pass it on to intrepid VC&G readers to crack the case.
Brenton writes:
I’ve been trying to find an old game I remember playing on an old Windows machine when I was a child. I’m 23 right now, and I would have been something between 8 and 12 when I was playing this [about 1995 – 1999, Ed.], but I don’t want to set that in stone.
The game was a fun little strategy game viewed from an isometric perspective. You controlled an island nation drawn with sprites, and you would spend the game building power plants (maybe?), and missile silos, eventually building these launch pads for walking robots. You would send these sprite-robots over and let them rampage around the opponent’s island, hopefully killing him. I remember spending HOURS playing this game, but though I’ve been searching for it for a few months, I haven’t been able to find a single thing out about it. I am guessing that it came on some kind of compilation CD, since it doesn’t appear to be a launch title with any OS.
Any help would be VERY appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Brenton
It’s up to you to find the object of Brenton’s fuzzy memory. Post any thoughts or suggestions in the comments section below. Brenton will be monitoring the comments, so if you need to clarify something with him, ask away. Good luck!
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Have a memory of a computer, video game, computer software, or electronic toy you need help identifying? Send me an email describing your memories in detail. Hopefully, the collective genius of the VC&G readership can help solve your mystery.
