The man who made 'the worst video game in history'

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Howard_Casto:
Especially when you take into account the fact that the Star Wars games on the 2600 weren't exactly masterpieces. If the game was simply mediocre I don't think it would have ever earned the title... it had to outright suck.

pbj:

--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on February 25, 2016, 02:04:58 pm --- If the game was simply mediocre I don't think it would have ever earned the title... it had to outright suck.

--- End quote ---

If you're going to win, you've got to beat the other team. And to way to do that is to win.

stripe4:

--- Quote from: vwalbridge on February 25, 2016, 11:36:54 am ---Warshaw was only given about five weeks to develop ET in time for the 1982 Christmas season. Cut the guy some slack.

....just kidding. That game was abysmal. Kids are pumping out better iPhone games today, in less time.

--- End quote ---

Writing games back then was a lot more difficult task:

* code was written in a low level programming language (assembly language)
* hardware resources were very limited
* the final version of the game had to be perfect - once the game was in a cartridge, you had no way to push a bug fixNowadays developers have a far greater choice of programming languages, tools, and libraries. Today's PCs, consoles, and mobile devices are far more powerful than Atari 2600, and fixing a bug is a matter of pushing a new version or a patch to an online distribution point (app store, download section of a website etc).

If Mr. Warshaw designed and wrote ET in just five weeks, there is no doubt he was very talented at the age of 24. I also think he pointed out the main flaw of ET pretty well: "it's OK to frustrate in a video game (I know what to do but I'm not good enough), but it's not OK to disorient (I have no idea what to do)". OK, maybe he really overdesigned the game... ;D

pbj:
Could have kept the title screen.

You control some smiley face that represents Elliot and in a Pac-Man maze you have to gather magical candy for your sick friend ET.

After four levels, ET can fly and you cut to a victory screen that's a silhouette of you on your bike in front of the moon. Play the same title screen music.

Now more of the same, except harder.

Instead, he had to invent some damned stay out of the holes simulator with extendo neck action. I bought that game for $1 at a flea market in the early 90s, completely agnostic to the controversy, and that was one of the biggest ripoffs of my life.

Howard_Casto:
Yeah I never did understand what holes had to do with ET. I guess it was to create an enemy where none exists. The thing is, the government agent that was put in the game would have been enough... just make multiple guys and have them chase you more aggressively. A simple screen showing the machine parts scattered around the map at the beginning would have fixed the whole "wtf do I do?" issue.

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