It’s not every day that I receive a Fuzzy Memory dating back to the early days of personal computing. Come to think of it, it’s no every day that I receive a Fuzzy Memory. But I digress — in this case, the computer in question isn’t even personal, but a mainframe PDP 11/34. The year? 1979.

Like always, I’m not an oracle of infinite knowledge and resources, so I need you (my adept readers) to help solve the mystery. And besides, I like making you do most of the work.

Advent, Trek, and Tripe

Robert wrote me a few days ago regarding a neolithic computer game from the disco era:

I have a new “fuzzy memory” search for you. When I first became addicted to computers in 1979, it was on a PDP 11/34 at my local college. That computer had 3 text-based games that endeared me to computers forever: Advent, Trek, and Tripe.

I have been able to find both Advent (which was the precursor to Zork) and Trek (a text-based Star Trek battle/strategy game). I have never tracked down a version of Tripe.

Tripe was a text-based parody of Star Trek. Key things that I recall about the game include:

• Away teams would raid a planet and “kill the women and rape the bad guys!”
• The ultimate weapon was the “dusn’t matter probe”. When fire, it would start playing one of Kirk’s famous speeches, at which point the enemy would commit suicide.

I don’t know if this game ever left the confines of the PDP, but it sure would be cool to track down a version of it.

Thanks,
Robert

The Search Begins

In this case, we’re fortunate: Robert knows the name of the game he’s looking for, and he knows the platform. But one key absence still prevents him from reliving his fondest gaming memories: the game itself. If anyone out there knows more about Tripe or how to obtain a copy of it, please let us know in the comments section. Perhaps there’s a more recent port of the game for another platform, or maybe someone has a disk image of the game that Robert could run on a PDP/11 emulator.

While you’re at it, feel free to leave your own mainframe memories in the comments below. 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.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Fuzzy Memory mysery to solve, but I recently received another request from someone seeking resolution of their distant gaming recollections. I’m not an oracle of infinite knowledge, so like always, I need the adept VC&G readership to help solve the mystery.

Adventures 7, 8, and 9?

Ryan wrote me a few days ago regarding a computer game from his past:

Many years ago my dad brought home a 5¼” floppy with the mysterious label “Adventures 7, 8, & 9″ for our Apple IIGS. One side of the disk contained three text-based games. One took place in a carnival setting, one in the “old west,” and the other in an Egyptian pyramid.

My memories are very fuzzy, but I remember the gist of each adventure. For the carnival setting, one of the tasks that you had to do was chew some old gum, stick it on the end of a branch, and retrieve a key that was in a grate. In the old west setting, there were materials available to make gunpowder. There was also a horse called “Old Paint” that always bucked you off. The strangest thing about that one was that it got “dark” after several turns of play, and if you moved around in the dark at all, you had a very good chance of breaking your neck and the game would end.

Finally, all I remember about the pyramid setting was that there was some kind of strange portal you had to open - kind of an alien/pyramid weird combo theme thing. In any case, all three of these games were the classic “Go West,” “Get Key,” “Open Door” format and were very difficult for me at the time (of course, I was about 8 at the time, so I’d love to try my hand at them again if I just knew what they were).

The only other detail I can remember is that the reverse side of the disk had a “Planetoids” non-playable demo on it. I’m pretty certain the text-based game was developed for something before the Apple IIGS, but I’m just not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated so I can solve this lifelong mystery!

Thanks very much in advance,
Ryan

His memories are quite detailed, which should be helpful. Also, the “Planetoids” clue is key — if that was a more high-profile Apple II game, then it should be easy to find its publisher. And the publisher of Planetoids was likely the publisher of the adventure games. I’ll let you guys do the rest.

The Search Begins

So what do you guys think? We need your help in identifying the game described above. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment on this post. The game is afoot!

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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.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Fuzzy Memory mysery to solve, but I recently received another request from someone seeking resolution of their distant gaming recollections. I’m not an oracle of infinite knowledge, so like always, I need the adept VC&G readership to help solve the mystery.

Puzzles in the Asylum

Erin wrote me a few days ago regarding a computer game from her past:

I am searching for the title of an old computer game I used to play. I do not remember much, only that it involved walking around, finding “clues” and puzzles and solving them to move forward in the game. There was an alchemists’ lab with the elements and runes and an asylum… I can’t remember much more than that. It was in the mid-late 90’s that I was playing this. Any thought would be greatly appreciated as I am going crazy trying to remember!

Thanks a million,
Erin

Sounds like the description of a Myst-esque point-and-click adventure game to me. I’ve asked Erin to clarify what platform she played this on (given the time frame, likely either a PC or Mac), but I’ve yet to receive a response. If I get any more information from her, I’ll post it.

[ Update - 08/21/2008: Erin says that it was a PC game, not Mac. ]

[ Continue reading [ Fuzzy Memory ] The Alchemist’s Lab » ]

We’re back. Last week’s Fuzzy Memory mysery was such an astounding success that we’ve received another request from someone seeking resolution of their distant childhood gaming memories. I’m not a fount of infinite knowledge, so like always, I need the adept VC&G readership to help solve the mystery.

Spirits of Ancient Egypt

Julia, from Australia, wrote me a few days ago regarding an electronic handheld game from her past:

G’day red

I’m hoping you can help me locate a game I played when I was a child. I live in South Australia. The game was a handheld game made around 1981 with a lcd screen. The name Tutankhamen comes to mind but it may have been called something else, but I’m pretty sure it had an Egyptian theme. I don’t remember how the game was played, I only remember what it looks like. It may have been red in colour, small between 10-20cm wide an I recall it had a little black stand attached to the bottom of it. I think it was modelled after the 2 player tabletop arcade games except a mini version.

Your help would be much appreciated!

Cheers

-Julia

[ Continue reading [ Fuzzy Memory ] Tutankhamen Rises Again » ]

Often we yearn to reclaim fond memories from childhood, but those memories remain just out of reach. Sometimes the event or object we’re seeking happened so long ago that our recollections have become foggy or even distorted over time.

Well, in a way, that’s why I’m here. As a historian, I like to help people reconnect with and rediscover the past. I regularly receive emails from people looking for information on games, toys, or computers that they haven’t seen in years. Last week, I found another such email waiting in my inbox that left me stumped. That’s why I’m turning to you, my wonderful readers, for help in solving the mystery.

[ Continue reading [ Fuzzy Memory ] Seeking Childhood Computer Toy » ]