Retro gaming won some new interest in 2020 as people looked for ways to entertain themselves during lockdowns. Being a modern, 20-something gamer spoiled by my hand-built PC, RTX2060 OC, and
Ryzen 7 2700X processor, I was surprised to learn that there are games built exclusively to play on the mainframe, mostly created when it was one of the only computer platforms in existence (check out this
Wikipedia link for context). Outside of Pong and Tetris, I can't say I've thought much about the history of video games before now.
Mainframe Defender was super popular last year and simulates the play of the early systems, and I've since learned one of my childhood-favorite remakes, Oregon Trail, likewise started as a mainframe game in 1971. After some internet stalking, I was able to get my hands on code for Yahtzee and have even heard of people figuring out how to play Ms. Pacman on a mainframe...
So forum members, I'm wondering if you have experience with or interest in mainframe gaming, if you've played any lately (I won't tell your boss), or generally your thoughts on the topic. Of course if you have some game code to pass along, I'd love to trade! :)
(On a related note, my latest obsession is the procedurally-generated survival phenomenon, Valheim. Hail to my fellow Vikings out there!)
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Bethany Rock
Rocket Software
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