Contest Computer stories #2: MY FIRST PC GAME || Karateka || Venezuela || English
Image Source: PINTEREST
I know this contest is about "My first Computer Game" but before i get to it, i think it's fair to mention that before i had my first computer i used to play on what now we know as consoles. My first console was a brand new Atari 2600 my father bought me back in 1982 (maybe 1983, i'm not so sure) and i remember that day when i unboxed it, connected it to the tv set and inserted my first cartridge (yeah kids, back in the eighties we played videogames on our TVs and the games were stored on cartridges) Image Source: Click to GO
I had three games back then: Combat (a tank combat simulator) Space Invaders and Asteroids. They were "the first three videogames i had first". Image Source: PINTEREST
But we're not here to talk about consoles, no sir, we're here to talk about the serious stuff, the big chiefs, the top of the notch videogames the world ever knew by then, so it means we're talking about PC videogames. They were by far more complex and they had a bigger graphical resolution and of course, everyone was eager to play them. The fact is that before this kind of videogames, there was absolutely nothing that you could compare and use as a precedent. They were revolutionary, but yet no one could have been able to foresee what they would become in the years afterwards. Image Source: Click to GO
So, lets get straight to the point: the first videogame i can remember i played for the first time on a computer system was Karateka. As far as i can remember this game was developed for Amiga PCs (maybe Apple, can't be sure) but immediately adapted to MS based PCs, like the one i had, an IBM 8086. They came in autorunning diskettes, it means they needed no operative system to run and all you had to do was to insert the diskette on the drive, turn on the PC and after a few squezzing and hammering noises it could start. Image Source: Screen Capture from Youtube
Karateka was the first role play game i know that has been developed ever. It was about a man who was inboud to rescue a princess (or his girlfriend, who knows?) from an evil japanese lord who kidnapped her. The scenary was set on a high mountain fortress and our hero fought wave after wave of warriors the lord sent to stop him. The final scene was a final fight between the fighter and the boss, and the winner, as you already know on the lessons real life has given to all of us, the winner takes it all. Image Source: Click to GO
The game was hallucinating: the hero moved inwards the fortress while fighting wave after wave of increased difficulty fighters. The colors were basic, just the 4 colors a RGB monitor could support but they were ok. The backgroud music was inspired on those japanese classical tunes we always heard on movies, and while the hero got deeper in the fortress, you could see scenes that happened inside palace between the lord and the princess or his thugs. Videoplay of the original PC Game Karateka. Source: Youtube.
The movement of the characters was smooth, the kicks and the punches were realistic, and you had the feeling that no matter how good you were, something wrong could happen anytime. This was the first videogame i had on PC in 1987, and of course there were others but this is the only one i could say that was my favorite. I still see its videos and bring back memories of those times when i was just coming out of childhood and becoming a young man. Oh, those times... Karateka's ending. Don't ever approach the princess in combat position or else she'll kick the S#1t out of you. Image Source: Click to GO
Original Contest from @sergeyk: 🆕Contest // 💻Computer stories💻- MyComps MyGames MyProgs / #2 - MY FIRST COMPUTER GAME
