There was a math game based on the light cycle game from Tron that I played in elementary school like 18 years ago. You could only move in four directions and each one was filled with a math problem you had to solve to make each move. Of course being a light cycle game you leave a trail behind you that you can't hit or die. The best part was you could have multiplayer up to like 4 people across the network. It was my original lan party in a way.
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What's an extremely obscure computer game you played back in the day?
- Thread starter Phediuk
- Start date
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
It's probably not obscure, but I never hear anyone talk about Museum Madness.
Fucking loved that game. It's a Point & Click Adventure title about museum exhibits gone haywire. I still have the 5-floppy version kicking around in the closet somewhere.
Fucking loved that game. It's a Point & Click Adventure title about museum exhibits gone haywire. I still have the 5-floppy version kicking around in the closet somewhere.
NinjaCoachZ
Member
There were this educational duology of games called "Math Rescue" and "Word Rescue" that my school had on their computers. They were these 2D platformer type games where you had to "solve" problems by collecting the missing pieces (e.g. a missing symbol for a given word, or the missing numbers that solve an equation). Host was called Benny Bookworm, who I guess went in his cocoon and became Benny Butterfly between games, and the plot was that aliens had stolen the missing numbers/letters, or something like that. Some of the levels were surprisingly surreal.
I remember blowing my friends' minds because I got farther than anyone else ever could, haha. The start of my gaming prowess, obviously.
I loved them so much I wanted to play them at home, but I never had much luck finding them online. Of course it's not like I've looked recently or anything. People talk about Kid Pix and stuff all the time, but I've never heard anything about these games aside from my own childhood.
EDIT: Screenshots!
Apparently the publisher became 3D Realms? Wow, I had no idea.
I remember blowing my friends' minds because I got farther than anyone else ever could, haha. The start of my gaming prowess, obviously.
I loved them so much I wanted to play them at home, but I never had much luck finding them online. Of course it's not like I've looked recently or anything. People talk about Kid Pix and stuff all the time, but I've never heard anything about these games aside from my own childhood.
EDIT: Screenshots!
Apparently the publisher became 3D Realms? Wow, I had no idea.
Mass Effect
Member
Demonstar
pettson3816
Member
I used to play an old game called Scorched Earth, it was similar to Worms, but way uglier graphics, and tanks instead of worms.
UncleSporky
Member
Castle Adventure - a fun proto-point-n-click where you collected treasures and tried not to die. Mapped the whole thing on graph paper!
Fan site for the game
Sopwith 2 - WW2 plane dogfighting game that was awesome, one of the earliest games I played with cool explosions and hilarious deaths. Good physics for its time. Would always play the US Air Force song ("into the wild blue yonder") in an ironic-feeling way as you crashed and burned. Also you got to shoot a cow.
Gameplay
Mad Maze - an online game that honestly didn't require the internet at all, it was just part of Prodigy's internet service for old computers in the early 90s. First person view maze game, punctuated by choose your own adventure segments that were really cool. Someone preserved the game somehow and made it playable...unfortunately it requires IE6 or something and might not even work then. At some point before it became totally unplayable on modern computers/browsers I actually got the source from the guy, still have it somewhere, might be able to update it someday.
Fan site for the game
Sopwith 2 - WW2 plane dogfighting game that was awesome, one of the earliest games I played with cool explosions and hilarious deaths. Good physics for its time. Would always play the US Air Force song ("into the wild blue yonder") in an ironic-feeling way as you crashed and burned. Also you got to shoot a cow.
Gameplay
Mad Maze - an online game that honestly didn't require the internet at all, it was just part of Prodigy's internet service for old computers in the early 90s. First person view maze game, punctuated by choose your own adventure segments that were really cool. Someone preserved the game somehow and made it playable...unfortunately it requires IE6 or something and might not even work then. At some point before it became totally unplayable on modern computers/browsers I actually got the source from the guy, still have it somewhere, might be able to update it someday.
I couldn't tell you as I only played Pirate Adventure. I honestly didn't know who S. Adams was back then as I was only like 11 or 12 and it was obviously pre-internet and practically pre-game magazine days to boot.
SimAnt, not obscure at all. Published and developed by Maxis, for one.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
That would show up all the time on my shareware CDs but I could never run it because my 486 didn't have a "Math Co-Processor".
JED BARTLETT
Member
Urban Upstart, a text adventure on the ZX Spectrum.
Or Killed until Dead, a murder mystery game for the Commodore 64, was a pain to play cause you had to fast forward and rewind the tape decks depending on who you wanted to interview.
There was a lot of games back then with big prizes, Groucho, You win a big fat cigar was a movie based adventure, there was a holiday on offer if you solved all the clues, also PiMania they gave away a sun dial worth a few thousand.
Or Killed until Dead, a murder mystery game for the Commodore 64, was a pain to play cause you had to fast forward and rewind the tape decks depending on who you wanted to interview.
There was a lot of games back then with big prizes, Groucho, You win a big fat cigar was a movie based adventure, there was a holiday on offer if you solved all the clues, also PiMania they gave away a sun dial worth a few thousand.
Oh, I thought it was just some small thing.
I have no idea how obscure this is, but whenever I bring it up in conversation people look at me like I'm shouting moon-speak.
Jill of the Jungle. That game was awesome. Even if you played it on a painfully under-equipped 286 without a sound card. I remember those blip-bloops well.
Gameplay Video
Jill of the Jungle. That game was awesome. Even if you played it on a painfully under-equipped 286 without a sound card. I remember those blip-bloops well.
Gameplay Video
Calamari41
41 > 38
Never heard or seen anyone mention this.
I credit this game for teaching me the phrase "the mind is a terrible thing to waste"
Man, I was all about this game! I loved it, and all of the other Dr Brain games for that matter.
I'm trying to Google and Bing search it and it's not even coming up. It was probably my first game ever predating Super Mario World.
It's called "Xangar" or something to that effect. It was a 2D side scrolling action game that I first played at 4 or 5 years old when a friends Dad introduced it to me and my buddy on my families first Windows 95 PC way back in the day.
Had 2D sprites of a blonde dude IIRC where you had to platform and use fireballs etc. to make it past levels.
It's called "Xangar" or something to that effect. It was a 2D side scrolling action game that I first played at 4 or 5 years old when a friends Dad introduced it to me and my buddy on my families first Windows 95 PC way back in the day.
Had 2D sprites of a blonde dude IIRC where you had to platform and use fireballs etc. to make it past levels.
i played hours and house of Pref Club, which is whist card game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYKxJKH1Zs
I don't think I ever understood how to play the game, just liked entering the club.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IYKxJKH1Zs
I don't think I ever understood how to play the game, just liked entering the club.
First PC game I got as a kid was something called "Ninja". No idea who made it, never seen or heard of it since.
I remember it being a bitch to control with these holes in the ceiling you had to jump through, but required like pixel perfect positioning to work.
I remember it being a bitch to control with these holes in the ceiling you had to jump through, but required like pixel perfect positioning to work.
Made by Epic Games, one of the most well-known shareware platformers.
LookAtMeGo
Member
Not sure how obscure it was but I remember playing 4D Sport boxing when I was younger and I havent seen or heard of it since.
LordRaptor
Member
I owned a Spectrum 48k so regularly bought £1.99 Mastertronic titles based purely on their cover art.
I remember playing a stupid amount of Nightmare On Robinson Street which was given away free on a magazine cover though.
It's Operation Wolf on Ramsay Street, where you gun down members of the popular-in-Britain-for-some-reason Australian Soap Opera Neighbours.
I was surprised to find Youtube footage of it
e:
Also; Jill Of the Jungle? SimAnt? Scorched Earth? Obscure? Wha?
I remember playing a stupid amount of Nightmare On Robinson Street which was given away free on a magazine cover though.
It's Operation Wolf on Ramsay Street, where you gun down members of the popular-in-Britain-for-some-reason Australian Soap Opera Neighbours.
I was surprised to find Youtube footage of it
e:
Also; Jill Of the Jungle? SimAnt? Scorched Earth? Obscure? Wha?
ThatStupidLion
Member
i think i played Rodents Revenge
and i didnt do much playing since they were my brothers games, but i tried....
and i loved this one - esp since iwas from jersey.. found out years later my best friends uncle made it...
Hmmmm.. Similar to this.A Math learning game starring an alien named AddyA lot of my friends played it back in the days.
Developed by Europess in Cheshire UK. I worked there for a while on work experience and helped split their recorded audio for their Fun School games. Long defunct now though.
Adam Prime
hates soccer, is Mexican
Anyone else remember/play this?
NinjaCoachZ
Member
Hmmmm.. Similar to this.
Developed by Europess in Cheshire UK. I worked there for a while on work experience and helped split their recorded audio for their Fun School games. Long defunct now though.
Uh, the rabbit hole goes deeper! I remember a series called Adibou!
Anyone else remember/play this?
yeah I think every shareware compilation in existence had this in it.
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
The cool thing is that only recently we have had a madness variety of indies in all shapes and forms that rivals the DOS days in its wild west feeling so that in 20 years kids of today can have the same discussion. The ones born 10 years before? not as much.
wild wild rice
Member
Zool the Intergalactic Ninja or some shit.
TimeEffect
Member
Mageslayer comes to mind.
Skunny
I used to also play this isometric adventure game of some kind... you played as an old wizard and it was in some kind of castle with lots of potions and stuff. Anyone remember the name!??
Skunny
I used to also play this isometric adventure game of some kind... you played as an old wizard and it was in some kind of castle with lots of potions and stuff. Anyone remember the name!??
The Yo Tornado
Member
I dunno how "extremely" obscure it is, but I haven't heard anyone talk about it in years, and I have a big soft spot for it so I'll shout it out whenever I can.
Shadow Watch is an X-Com clone, but with a heavier emphasis on story (based off of a Tom Clancy novel), and a permanent team as opposed to the generated soldiers of X-Com. Your team of six consists of multiple specialists, from a sniper, to a demolition expert, and you have to pick and choose your team based on mission type and map layout. There are your given assault "destroy everything" maps, but there's also infiltration, kidnapping, defense missions and more depending on your choices.
Oh yes, the choices. Shadow Watch has 3 chapters, taking place in different locales around the globe. Which one you go to initially is chosen at random on every playthrough, and in addition to each locale having a couple set starting plot points that it also cycles through every playthrough, your experience and missions will change rapidly depending on how you interact with your contacts between missions. You can take different sides in conflicts, or have your decisions in one area impact your available missions in the next area. Being 9 or 10 at the time, having the game feel reactionary to how I played blew my mind.
Aesthetically the game has a pretty unique style, too. The comic-book style portraits, the almost cel-shaded look of the models in-game, the soundtrack composed by Bill Brown, all of it combines for a really unique experience. I loved Shadow Watch, and it still hold up well, and I'm sad it never got the recognition I thought it deserved then or now.
Shadow Watch is an X-Com clone, but with a heavier emphasis on story (based off of a Tom Clancy novel), and a permanent team as opposed to the generated soldiers of X-Com. Your team of six consists of multiple specialists, from a sniper, to a demolition expert, and you have to pick and choose your team based on mission type and map layout. There are your given assault "destroy everything" maps, but there's also infiltration, kidnapping, defense missions and more depending on your choices.
Oh yes, the choices. Shadow Watch has 3 chapters, taking place in different locales around the globe. Which one you go to initially is chosen at random on every playthrough, and in addition to each locale having a couple set starting plot points that it also cycles through every playthrough, your experience and missions will change rapidly depending on how you interact with your contacts between missions. You can take different sides in conflicts, or have your decisions in one area impact your available missions in the next area. Being 9 or 10 at the time, having the game feel reactionary to how I played blew my mind.
Aesthetically the game has a pretty unique style, too. The comic-book style portraits, the almost cel-shaded look of the models in-game, the soundtrack composed by Bill Brown, all of it combines for a really unique experience. I loved Shadow Watch, and it still hold up well, and I'm sad it never got the recognition I thought it deserved then or now.
Ohhhhh yeah, I remember that game. I think I downloaded the demo from Happy Puppy.
Unaha-Closp
Member
My dad and I played a game called Willow Pattern on ZX Spectrum back in days of yore. I don't know if it's obscure but I sure as shit have never spoken to anyone about it. That could be my inherent lonerism though
That was Mario's Game Gallery. It was actually the first game that had Charles Martinet doing Mario's voice.
MicroMan on Windows 3.1.
Daaaamn I remember this!
deadscreensky
Member
When I was really young I tried to play Flightmare, but I never really got it. (This was before I could read, for reference. I'm pretty sure I also was playing it without any color at all, which didn't help.) Maybe I'm just not old enough, but I assume the game is kind of obscure because I never see anybody talk about it.
Video
I was also a big fan of Paratrooper, which I think is less unknown. I at least understood that game, even if my 5-year-old self was terrible at it. Even today hearing the totally original soundtrack hits my nostalgia bone real hard. Love that falling debris effect, too! I'm pretty sure it's actually a clone of another game, but I don't remember the details. That's sort of how gaming was back then.
Sierra games were awesome, but there was nothing obscure about any of them.
Video
I was also a big fan of Paratrooper, which I think is less unknown. I at least understood that game, even if my 5-year-old self was terrible at it. Even today hearing the totally original soundtrack hits my nostalgia bone real hard. Love that falling debris effect, too! I'm pretty sure it's actually a clone of another game, but I don't remember the details. That's sort of how gaming was back then.
Sierra games were awesome, but there was nothing obscure about any of them.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
Not sure how obscure it was but I remember playing 4D Sport boxing when I was younger and I havent seen or heard of it since.
Remember playing the demo/shareware of that on one of my Empire Games CDs. Really ugly even at the time but fascinating all the same.
LordRaptor
Member
Gabriel_Logan
Member
God I played a DOS Texas Hold Em Poker game all the time. It was like an adventure game sort of like Leisure Suit Larry with poker. Can't for the life of me remember it.
Anyone remember Fun School Specials Spelling Fair?
I used to love the coconut shy.
I used to love the coconut shy.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
I played the German version. Seems like it was called Adi in the English one:
Yup. Adi looked a lot more basic when I played it lol
