Tickets for Dan Deacon at EMPAC
Dan Deacon in Philly last year.
Update: CS is the winner! Have fun!
Update: The drawing has closed! Thanks for entering.
Dan Deacon is playing EMPAC this coming Saturday, along with Extra Life and Nuclear Power Pants. By all accounts, Deacon's shows are a crazy good time (check out that stop motion video).
As it happens, the people at EMPAC emailed us this week to ask if the good people of the AOA crowd might be interested in winning some free tickets. Yes, we said, we think they would be interested. So, we're having a drawing for two free tickets to this Saturday's show.
Deacon's music, full of trippy blips and bleeps, reminds us of video games. So, to enter the drawing, post a comment with the answer to this question:
What's your favorite video game from when you were a kid?
The winner will be drawn at random from the posted comments.
Important: All comments must be submitted by 8 pm today (Feb 11, 2010) to be entered in the drawing. One entry per person, please. You must enter a valid email address with your comment. The winners will be notified via email by noon on Friday.
photo: Flickr user chriszak
Hi there. Comments have been closed for this item. Still have something to say? Contact us.
Comments
My parents wouldn't let me getting a gaming system - so, I have to go with tetris on the computer. :-/
... said Jessica R on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:16 AM | link
Sam & Max Hit the Road
... said Dave on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:26 AM | link
Kevin Marshall better not win this! :-P
I've been meaning to go to a show at EMPAC, since I work right around the corner, and Ive heard it's a pretty cool venue.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I gotta go with any of the games from the Madden franchise. Each year they got a little bit better, but they were all much more fun than most of the games out there.
... said Slacker on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:27 AM | link
I've never really been interested in video games. I know that when Pong came out I was supposed to be really amazed and impressed. But I was not. My Atari game console just sat and collected dust. I still prefer pinball.
... said Tim Schapker on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:28 AM | link
Oh god, it's like picking your favorite child. On the Atari 2600 back in 82, Pitfall!, but not too far ahead of Centipede (where are my screencaps??) and H.E.R.O.. Two years later, on the 800XL, Bruce Lee (Green Yamo, moooo), though Ghost Chaser freaked me out for the longest time. Lost of lot of neurons on Starglider around 86, on the Atari (again) 520ST (god, that first digitized intro, so kitsch now). After that I obviously stopped playing video games (not). Alright, Bruce Lee it is. Mooooo.
... said -S on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:37 AM | link
@Dave, @Slacker: you played those games... as a kid?! Alright, I'm officially decrepit.
... said -S on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:40 AM | link
CONTRA!!!
... said matt on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:46 AM | link
AOA, you're so awesome. I love these little contests.
It's hard to pick just one... But I'm going to have to go with 'Mortal Kombat' for Sega Genesis.
And for all of those who played it too, you know you still remember the blood code (ABACABB)
... said Jason on Feb 11, 2010 at 11:57 AM | link
Goldeneye, 007!
I hope that made everyone else feel old.
... said Max on Feb 11, 2010 at 12:00 PM | link
Excitebike!
... said Paul on Feb 11, 2010 at 12:10 PM | link
Super Mario 3
or
PaRappa the Rapper ( I was still growing up in my 20s)
... said Dawn on Feb 11, 2010 at 12:12 PM | link
Super Mario 64
... said Eric on Feb 11, 2010 at 12:42 PM | link
I had a stay-at-home dad who was always up for taking us to the arcade, so I spent many elementary school years sitting on Ridge Racer--the one and only racing game I like (not counting Mario Kart, duh).
... said Sarah M. on Feb 11, 2010 at 12:55 PM | link
Duck Hunt. I always hit the TV screen with the plastic gun when that stupid dog would laugh at me.
... said Emily on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:02 PM | link
Pitfall (Atari), hands down. I was so proud the first time I played it all the way to the end, and only a little disappointed the ending was so unspectacular.
... said Naomi on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:03 PM | link
Atari: Adventure, Demon Attack and the Empire Strikes Back.
Nintendo: Zelda!!! The original of course, but A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time were also great (I wasn't really a kid anymore for the latter though). Contra (up up down down left right left right B A start), pretty much any and all Mario games, Final Fantasy 3, Mortal Kombat 2, Castlevania... oh god, I'm getting carried away.
I guess my all time favorites are the original Zelda, Castlevania 2, Final Fantasy 3 and Mortal Kombat 2.
... said Summer on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:05 PM | link
Sonic the Hedgehog for Sega Genesis.
The sequel also has a special place in my heart, but you cant beat the original. NHL '94 for the Genesis also was (and is) a favorite of mine. Another great Genesis game that I seriously enjoy these days is Jeopardy from 1992. It adds another element to the game trying to remember what Trebek means when he mentions current events:)
... said Emily on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:06 PM | link
definitely GOLDEN EYE on N64
... said Dan R on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:07 PM | link
How far back do we go? I don't know how much time I spent playing DigDug on the old TI 99/4A. Also all those old text-based adventure games, a paragraph about which would start with "in my day..." and end with "get off my lawn!" Then when we got an Atari there was Pole Position, Star Raiders (oh man that keypad), Xevious, and yes the Journey video game. Getting a Nintendo for Christmas ensured that I would never know what it's like to get a normal amount of real exercise for the rest of my life. Metroid, Bionic Commando, Contra (which I played so many times, I could finish it without the Konami code and with six extra lives), Zelda, Dragon Warrior, Mario anything, Tetris, oh god so many hours of Tetris, Spy Hunter, Mega Man (#2 will always hod a place in my heart)... anything I could get my hands on, really. In the arcades, anything you could sit in. So, lots of driving and flying games, and once my brother tricked me into going into a photobooth.
And that was just my childhood, it goes downhill from there... which reminds me, I need to pick Fallout 3 again.
... said b on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:13 PM | link
My favorite was the Frogger mini game console as seen here: http://www.davesvideoarcade.co.uk/tabletop/ColecoFrogger.jpg
... said John on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:14 PM | link
Double Dragon Arcade
... said Joel on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:16 PM | link
wizards and warriors on 8bit nes. b'c it was the very first game i beat before my three cousins or grandfather did. :)
... said kia on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:19 PM | link
Paperboy!
... said Matt Kelly on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:24 PM | link
punchout and zelda
... said AMB on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:38 PM | link
never allowed a game system, but snuck serious sonic up the block.
... said fcj on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:51 PM | link
Like Jessica R., we was po' and didn't have a system until the later years. So we had this wacky idea to go outside and play like normal kids. And by play I mean terrorize Elda the crossing guard, wipe dog poop on people's car door handles and see if we could throw rocks into people's open home windows. Waiting for their reactions was better than any video game.
... said Save Pine Hills on Feb 11, 2010 at 1:54 PM | link
I'd have to say The Secret of Monkey Island. Classic adventure game. Or maybe Duke Nukem, or something from the Commander Keen series. Later on, the Twisted Metal games were a blast, especially the second one. Too many memories!
... said Luke on Feb 11, 2010 at 2:31 PM | link
I was a huge fan of the Myst series when I was young. My dad and I would play them together. The graphics totally blew me away at the time!
... said Phoebe on Feb 11, 2010 at 2:37 PM | link
My favorite video game from when I was a kid? I used to rub my eyes so hard I would see stars. I was also a big fan of staring at the TV tube after it was shut off to see if I could detect the actual moment when the little dot at the center of the tube disappeared.
So I guess I'm too old for this question. I played a lot of pinball, though!
... said CJ on Feb 11, 2010 at 3:11 PM | link
Duck Hunt!
... said K on Feb 11, 2010 at 3:50 PM | link
I'm really dating myself here, but Dan Deacon tix shouldn't just be for the young 'uns. Millipede, when I was actually a kid. Still immature I liked Contra, back on the first Nintendo system. Still need to grow up, and I'm addicted to Mafia Wars.
... said CS on Feb 11, 2010 at 4:38 PM | link
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
... said Aaron F. on Feb 11, 2010 at 5:41 PM | link
Battletoads for NES.
It was one of the very few games that I actually had for that system, and I always played it as much as I could but never got far at all, but always had a fun time being one of the most badass things a little kid could be, a BATTLETOAD.
About 15 years later, its regarded as one of the hardest games of all time. (http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/2161/)
Thanks, Dad!
... said Andrew Franciosa on Feb 11, 2010 at 6:43 PM | link
It's gotta be Ms Pac Man!
... said Kelly Kramer on Feb 11, 2010 at 7:19 PM | link
Kickle Cubicle for the NES.
... said Ellie on Feb 11, 2010 at 7:24 PM | link
Super Dodgeball for NES is easily the best video game ever made. The concept is simple: 1. pick a nationality for your team (the stereotyped player names are brilliant), 2. get the ball first, 3. Peg your opponents until their health meter goes down and they turn into angels and float away.
Sure it was glitchy, sure there were things about it that didn't make sense, but the ability to knock your friends from one side of the screen all the way around the world to the other side of the screen was worth it!
... said Matt Ferguson on Feb 11, 2010 at 7:33 PM | link
Halo
...I feel much too young for this.
... said Derek on Feb 12, 2010 at 1:38 AM | link
Um - I'm pretty sure there are no other video games beyond Pitfall for the original Nintendo. Jump on the alligator's eyes!
Thanks for the shout, AOA - if you don't end being the lucky ticket winner, purchase your ticket soon, as they are going fast...
... said Jason Steven Murphy on Feb 12, 2010 at 11:13 AM | link
Two pressing items of note for the show in question:
- Nuclear Power Pants have unfortunately cancelled due to the inclimate weather further down the east coast.
- If ticket sales continue their current momentum, this show will sell out before the doors open - thus buy your tickets soon!
... said Jason Steven Murphy on Feb 12, 2010 at 2:51 PM | link