Elite: A Look Back at the Greatest Game Ever Made

markymoo · Dec 22, 2007

Sources
http://armchairarcade.com/neo/node/750
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,1064107,00.html

Firebird's Elite, released in 1984 for British computers and quickly ported to the major platforms of the day--is the greatest videogame ever made. It is to videogames what the movie Citizen Kane is to film--a Mozart standing boldly against the Saliere's of his day. It was one of those rare games that was able to accomplish two feats simultaneously: One, introducing a new kind of game that would last, and two, doing so well enough to itself remain a classic of that genre. Whenever we get frustrated with game shelves laden with "me-too" games and sequels of sequels, it's useful to go back to such games as Elite and ponder what made them so great. For Elite, that greatness stems from its staggering vision; an arrogance matched only by the genius of its coders, who were able to deliver where lesser developers cried "impossible."

Most games that establish a new genre are themselves quickly supplanted by derivative games from other companies. A groundbreaking title may be celebrated, but it's really more of interest to developers rather than mainstream gamers. These other developers see the potential of the new genre and are quickly able to bring it to fruition. How many times have we seen the cycle? A small company releases a "concept" game; it gets glowing reviews from critics; it doesn't sell. Meanwhile, bigger developers take the idea and run with it, turning it into a multi-million dollar juggernaut.

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Computer games weren't very good in 1982. There was Space Invaders and there was PacMan - but you didn't get much more for your money than the basic zapping and munching experience. Which was what prompted two teenage mathematicians to create the cosmos of their dreams, making them a fortune and inspiring computer nerds the world over. Francis Spufford takes a journey to galaxies far far away

For Christmas 1981, an 18-year-old boy in Epping was given a computer by his parents. David Braben's Acorn Atom cost £120. He knew this because he had requested it. In the way of parents with technically-minded offspring everywhere, his mum and dad had asked for guidance about what he wanted and he'd picked the machine that seemed to cost a plausible Christmas-sized amount. For the £120, he got a kit of parts. There was a motherboard with a Mostek 6502 processor chip on it, there were some cables, and there was a skeletal keyboard.

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markymoo · Dec 22, 2007

You can now play the orginal BBC Master enhanced version on your pc exactly as intended using this great emulator

Emulator
http://www.mikebuk.dsl.pipex.com/beebem/

Game
http://www.bbcmicrogames.com/acornsoft.html

Pedro · Dec 22, 2007

Not sure if this fits in this forum but..
They mention Vegastrike in the end. I recommend taking a peak at that one, and the recently released Flight Gear 1.0. Flight Gear is pretty awesome if you ask me.

lucas1985 · Dec 22, 2007

Pedro said:

Flight Gear is pretty awesome if you ask me.
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Seconded

BuzzStone · Dec 22, 2007

I played Elite on my Commodore 64. It was an awesome game! I spent endless hours on it. I'm going to give it a go on my PC. Thanks for the links.

AaLF · Dec 22, 2007

Pedro said:

Flight Gear is pretty awesome if you ask me.
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B4 i start downloading is it free or '4sale?'

Also while we're at it,
I'm nominating "HALF_LiFE" for the 'Hall of Flame".

Pedro · Dec 23, 2007

Free software (GPL license) AND freeware

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