The Dot Eaters

Retro videogame historian. I run a website about the early history of videogames. Open to collabs if someone has a retro game podcast or video on the boil.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

@GamewithDave No ColecoVision? I mean, nobody is perfect but that is a serious omission. https://t.co/mY7A9XqXYm

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Give your computer the gift of awesome Synapse games for Christmas 1983!

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

If life has got you down, Mrs. Brown, remember that this delightful rock song, composed by Chris Stone and Jon Lewin with vocals by Julie Eisenhower, was featured in Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair. I bring you "He's My Guy": https://t.co/OQknEzMoQ0

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Roc'n Rope, originally by Konami in 1983, is an arcade game where players fire and climb a rope to defeat monsters and collect golden eggs. Trivia: it was among the earliest games to use a grappling mechanic. From unnamed archeologist to Rico in Just Cause. What a strange climb.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Netflix used to rent you DVDs by mail. Now they own Warner Bros.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Quit asking me what I think about something, I know that already. What is the first thing YOU think of about that thing?

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Gary Garcia really leans into the word "thrust" in the chorus to Hyperspace, about Asteroids, from the Buckner & Garcia album Pac-Man Fever. Also gonna "push on the button to get back in the race" and is "shooting my rockets all over the place". RIP, GG. https://t.co/x6clY2DIaJ

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

The 1987 arcade game AAARGH! ran on a modified Amiga 500 board, so it made for a painless adaptation into an Amiga game in 1988. A knock-off of the hit game Rampage, it stomped its way onto every other major computer system of the era as well. FOOD. #computergames #bitstory

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Of all the computer game makers of the 80s, few made quite an impact on me as MUSE, makers of the compelling Castle Wolfenstein. This classic was remarkably redefined by id Software into Wolfenstein 3D, shaping the first-person shooter genre. #GamingHistory #Wolfenstein #bitstory

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

The early days of Sierra On-Line adventure games, spread out like glittering jewels across a velvet cloth. Including the epic Time Zone, spread across both sides of six floppies! (1982) #computergames #bitstory

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

The Pear II computer by Belgian company Pearcom in a 1981 ad. Not a parody prop from Nickelodeon shows like iCarly.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Activision, making the most solid games for the Atari VCS in 1981.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Do you remember the Atari Portfolio? Well, you've probably seen it in action, as it is the hardware that John Connor uses to hack an ATM for arcade game money in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. And sure, it was the first PC compatible palmtop computer. So there's that, too.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

A compelling magazine ad for the ColecoVision video game console in 1982. This one came from the pages of Time, but I remember one at the front of Electronic Games magazine, and I stared at that ad so much the pages started to tear and I had to tape it up to keep staring at it.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

I was today years old when I learned that Beavis and Butt-Head: The Game (1994) had an original soundtrack by GWAR 🤘. Also, Realtime Associates, founded by original Intellivision developers, made the SNES version of the game. #RetroGaming #SNES #GWAR #MTV #VideoGameMusic

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

The 3DO company is making an interesting case for its video game console in this 1994 ad. It seems a loser all the way around, but maybe that's just me.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

@RichardGarriott What are your thoughts on the console ports of Ultima games (SNES, Game Boy)? Did you enjoy seeing your work adapted to consoles, or would you prefer they were blasted into space?

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

Deadlock: Planetary Conquest, one of the last products by Accolade, formed by two Activision founders: Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead. A TBS game featuring seven races in a fight for Gallius IV, if you nosed around the games files you found a jaunty tune by designer Paul Kwinn!

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

This is an interesting snapshot of history and progress. The Atari VCS cartridge-based video game system, appearing on the same page above two dedicated video game consoles of the type the VCS is in the process of rendering obsolete. Service Merchandise Xmas catalog, 1978.

[The Dot Eaters @doteaters]

If you had money to burn in 1993, you might have bought a Pioneer LaserActive player. Its price ($970, or around $2000 adjusted) made it one of the most expensive consoles ever sold, with a Genesis/Sega CD and/or TG-16/CD PAC available at $600 each. A real space-saver, though.