MK? Boo! At least have some dignity to play MK2.

Vsav rules 😜

Iris030380 wrote:

When I was a kid, exactly 12 now that I recall, I came across a brand new shiny Arcade game in my local Lazer Quest called Morta […]
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When I was a kid, exactly 12 now that I recall, I came across a brand new shiny Arcade game in my local Lazer Quest called Mortal Kombat. It was less than 2 months old and was extremely loud. The digitized graphics and gore just blew me away, and even though the only arcade game I would normally ever entertain was GOLDEN AXE, and I had no time for Street Fighter, there was something about MK that just drew me in.

A year later and I would walk the 5 miles into town four or five times a week with my £2 daily allowance to have 8 credits worth of game time on the new MK machine at my local smoky arcade, before walking back the 5 miles again.

Over that year I'd worked my way up from losing in the first round of every match to watching the older kids play for hours on end, watching their styles and weaknesses. Beating the arcade on hard in one credit became easy. I could go through the entire game with Scorpion or Sub Zero without getting hit once. Younger kids would give me THEIR money just to watch me complete the game on a character of their choice. MK was the first game I ever really took competitively, obsessively.

So after a year the older kids I'd watched to learn would challenge me and lose constantly. If I didn't want them to win, they wouldn't have a chance. Sometimes I'd let them win to give them the feeling of being able to beat me so I could persuade them to play me again. But one day someone walked into the arcade called Paul.

He was a number of years older than me, probably towards 18 or so. He wasn't a geeky kid, he was pretty cool. He came over to the crowd of people around me watching me finish the game - showing off as usually using only the same attacks time after time - and he challenged me and totally beat me, easily. After about 15 more games, which he paid for, the score was about 12-3 to him, and each of those 3 games I'd won was SO close and took everything I had. After that day whenever we were in the arcade at the same time we'd play for hours, on his money (I was just a kid) and I was the only person he would play. I stopped playing arcades altogether after MK3 came out, and that arcade got burned down one night long after I'd stopped going. But considering no one I'd ever met could even challenge me, that Paul was something else. It was something I'd see later in 1997, when I took Quake 1 online with wireplay, and met some of the UK's best Q1 players. They totally outmatched me, not even close. The ammount of skill someone can achieve, given the right game, is insane. Probably as high as any other physical athlete in a given sport, if not more.

I wonder if Paul still plays MK on Mame from time to time, like I do. I reckon I could kick his ass now, anyways.

My god, that was a good read!! 😁

I remember playing an arcade game when I was a kid. It was some kind of top down pacman-like game where you had these little enemies and lots of blocks. You needed to push the blocks to kill the enemies. I played the game SO much that after a while, the owner of the bar gave me a STACK of Drachmes (it was a Greek bar in a little fishing village) and I'd use all of them! 😁
I also played a local board game Tabli, and this is why I can count to 6 in Greek instead of the usual 10 (because the dice only number up to 6 😁 ).

Also when I was a kid I entered a computer game tournament where I would compete against local kids in a contest where one had to gather as much points in various (unknown to me) computer games where all your points were added together until you died (then you'd move to the next game till you died, etc. Then all your points were added together).
The price "thingy" moment had to be postponed by 45 minutes because I was still busy! 😁
Course I won 1st place 🤣! Not bad for a kid under 10 years of age 😁

🤣, the flood of memories is pouring in! 😜
My 2 neighbours kids were the only ones who had Super Mario 2 and we'd give the controller to the next one whenever you died. At some point I simply didn't die and completed the game from start to finish without dying and with the maximum amount of lives (255-ish...I always got the cherries! 😁 )! One of the 2 kids had already gone outside to play about half an hour before I finished the game 🤣 😜

Ahh..sweet memories 😁

Hmm all I remember is that I totally sucked at video games. We had a C64 and heaps of (pirated) games. But most games I had no idea how to play them and if I did I couldn't get past the first level.

Last Ninja 2 was one of the games I made some progress, thought I found it more frustrating than fun.

My gaming journey really started with the PC and adventure games from Lucasarts and Sierra.

Having played online games for a number of years now, and having been involved in the Quake III scene in the early-mid 2000's, I have no illusions of being a 'top level' gamer. I simply don't have that gene. You know the type, there are a few for every online game and they simply MUST be cheating. They are not cheating of course, they are just at a different level - one unnatainable to us mortals.

In Quake they are the coollers, the lexers, the CZM and Zero4's, the Fatal1ty's. In Starcraft they are the DAY[9]'s, the TLO's and Dimmaga's. They are the kids who set world record speedruns in console games and clear entire servers whilst getting called cheats. I am not one of those players.

In Quake 3, at my peak of obsession, I slotted in just under these players. I was top end of Division 2 in 1v1 games. I've never been a good team player, so in 4v4 I was overlooked. Im just not that clever, thats all. Playing well in team needs a good brain as well as reactions and timing.

But because as a kid I had a brother, an older brother, who was like me averagely skilled in general on video games (he also had this unholy patience to just try, die, re-try, die, re-try improve...) - so because of 'our' friendly competition we became competent gamers. I more than him, because I was more geeky and he found girls earlier. But we had the patience and the love of games. The former attribute was important back in the late 80's on 8-bit systems, because there was no quick save. Games were HARD. Bedroom coded works of Horror that made you cry. The latter attribute is a must to become great at anything (unless you fall into that elite category mentioned earlier).

So I can play and beat most games. Any game that takes my interest. But finding a game that really makes me feel great - like Mortal Kombat, Quake III, Screamer 2 - well then I can excel and I believe that - the better you become at a game like these - the more fun you have out of them. The drive to improve on Q3 for example, turned into a slog of self harm - playing without sleep for 15 hour stints. Suffering loss after loss. But then you would find an opponent who was just like you - around the same level - thought like you - and you would get so much enjoyment from playing them as it was close, nail biting tension games. You were right on the edge! Setting best lap times on Screamer 2 then going to work, and on returning my brother had beaten them by a 10th of a second - that was great times.

So few games give me that kind of pleasure anymore.

I spent a long time with Morrowind and there have been other single player games that I've wanted to play but just not had the time. But for me PC gaming was always supposed to be Multiplayer. I mean, what else would make us drive 40 miles to a lan party with friends, stay up to 4am and carry around 40kg+ of equipment just to snipe a friend from a watchtower in MOHAA. AND THAT game SUCKED! :DDD

But they just wouldn't play Quake 3 with me 🙁

leileilol wrote:

MK? Boo! At least have some dignity to play MK2.

And how would that have been possible if MK2 hadn't been developed yet? 😜

Tetrium wrote:

I remember playing an arcade game when I was a kid. It was some kind of top down pacman-like game where you had these little enemies and lots of blocks. You needed to push the blocks to kill the enemies.

Sounds like Pengo:
http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/set/pengo

If that's the game, but it doesn't play exactly how you remember it, try the bootleg or clone sets. Set 2 has different music and draws the maze faster. Others might have slight differences in gameplay.

Iris030380 wrote:

Having played online games for a number of years now, and having been involved in the Quake III scene in the early-mid 2000's, I […]
Show full quote

Having played online games for a number of years now, and having been involved in the Quake III scene in the early-mid 2000's, I have no illusions of being a 'top level' gamer. I simply don't have that gene. You know the type, there are a few for every online game and they simply MUST be cheating. They are not cheating of course, they are just at a different level - one unnatainable to us mortals.

In Quake they are the coollers, the lexers, the CZM and Zero4's, the Fatal1ty's. In Starcraft they are the DAY[9]'s, the TLO's and Dimmaga's. They are the kids who set world record speedruns in console games and clear entire servers whilst getting called cheats. I am not one of those players.

In Quake 3, at my peak of obsession, I slotted in just under these players. I was top end of Division 2 in 1v1 games. I've never been a good team player, so in 4v4 I was overlooked. Im just not that clever, thats all. Playing well in team needs a good brain as well as reactions and timing.

But because as a kid I had a brother, an older brother, who was like me averagely skilled in general on video games (he also had this unholy patience to just try, die, re-try, die, re-try improve...) - so because of 'our' friendly competition we became competent gamers. I more than him, because I was more geeky and he found girls earlier. But we had the patience and the love of games. The former attribute was important back in the late 80's on 8-bit systems, because there was no quick save. Games were HARD. Bedroom coded works of Horror that made you cry. The latter attribute is a must to become great at anything (unless you fall into that elite category mentioned earlier).

So I can play and beat most games. Any game that takes my interest. But finding a game that really makes me feel great - like Mortal Kombat, Quake III, Screamer 2 - well then I can excel and I believe that - the better you become at a game like these - the more fun you have out of them. The drive to improve on Q3 for example, turned into a slog of self harm - playing without sleep for 15 hour stints. Suffering loss after loss. But then you would find an opponent who was just like you - around the same level - thought like you - and you would get so much enjoyment from playing them as it was close, nail biting tension games. You were right on the edge! Setting best lap times on Screamer 2 then going to work, and on returning my brother had beaten them by a 10th of a second - that was great times.

So few games give me that kind of pleasure anymore.

I spent a long time with Morrowind and there have been other single player games that I've wanted to play but just not had the time. But for me PC gaming was always supposed to be Multiplayer. I mean, what else would make us drive 40 miles to a lan party with friends, stay up to 4am and carry around 40kg+ of equipment just to snipe a friend from a watchtower in MOHAA. AND THAT game SUCKED! :DDD

But they just wouldn't play Quake 3 with me 🙁

Bleh 🤣, all my friends consider me to be a really good gamer (one keeps calling me an exceptional gamer, though I tend to disagree and it actually makes me feel uncomfortable to be called that. Ok, I like a compliment but don't exagerate it 🤣). I've even gotten banned just today for alleged hacking -_-. Not the first time I got accused of hacking though and I've been banned before (and it usually involves knifing an admin 😜).
One random day I'll play crapilly and get called a stoopid n00b, then the next I'm playing the stars from the heavens and get called a hacker or a cheater -_-.

The odd thing about my gaming is, I tend to have good days, dream-like days (where everything seems to 'just fit', everything goes smooth as silk and I do everything right, hit everything and dodge everything while my brain is on fire or something)...then the next day I play like total crap 🤣!

And I can't tell how I'll game until I've actually started playing, as if it depends on the stars or something.

And gaming is fun with a bunch of friends in a LAN, and even better when theres some alcoholic beverages involved 😁

Id'say i am very good at some types of games, and really crappy at others. I am not an exceptional gamer, like those human robots you see at the top of every competitive games but i had my glorious moments.
Im not gaming as much as i used to but earlier this year i managed to beat raiden IV arcade mode on xbox360 with a single credit. That was after 3 weeks of playing only this game.

I played SC2 from realase date to december last year. Reached upper platinum ranks in all categories (1v1, 2v2 , 3v3, 4v4) playing only random race and random maps, Which is pretty good. I was aiming toward a Diamond random player, the game was pitting me against diamond players and at the end i was winning almost 50%. I remember once i won alone against 4 players in a 4v4 where all my allies bailed out in the first 30 seconds. Last one before leaving simply said " rush " then left. I went berserk and totaly owned. Other players would call me names like "no life geek" or cheater 🤣 . I did stop playing SC2 as i was getting too addicted and it was sarting to impact my life, i would get distracted all the time because i was thinking of Starcraft strategies ... duh ... When you reach diamond level its so competitive, it drains alot of energy, its as far from casual gaming as anything can get.

I had my moment in the ut99 years also , played from release date to 2004. Was playing with the top players, i was good enough to be in the same game as them, but would not win against them.

I also have skill for 4x strategy games, galactic civilization 2 being one favourite. I usually play at masochistic and owns the galaxy. Civilisation 4 is my fav from the serie. Atomic bomb in 1875 is my current record.

On the other end, i played guitar hero with a buch of friends, and i sucked so much it was incredible. Especially since im a musician ( drummer ) . I just could not get it, they would laugh off me because i was so bad. I eventually quit, it was too frustrating 😜

I also suck really bad at Sport and race games (except Rock n roll racing on the snes)

I think we all ought to join together for friendly matches via MAME online... MAME Plus Plus seems to be a good CVS when I and my friend play online (usually Street Fighter Alpha 3).