Confessions of a
video addict
I was a video addict
It ail started innocently enough It
was 1977 and I was a junior on my
high school paper l shitted gears in
my parents VW with my feet, leaving
my hands available for eating pizza I
had girlfriends I went to dances I was
a normal teenager in most respects —
until the day I discovered coin
operated games
My newspaper advisor thought a
story about pinball and video games
would be an interesting feature so my
photographer friend and I went out to
do some research and take some
photos This was in the early days of
video just after the advent of Pong
and before Space Invaders
During the course of our research,
we discovered an aging pinball
machine that we could play fairly well
In one afternoon we had spent about
$4 but had actually won three FREE
GAMES' What an ego build' Here was
something that we were fairly good at,
and could win without getting muddy
or getting aching muscles
You know you're in
trouble when you ask for
your pay in quarters.
Well, it all went quickly from there
Soon we discovered that one of our
friends was a veritable wizard with the
flippers He had practiced so much on
the machines in the local pizza parlor
that he could hit the targets every time,
and he racked up free games right and
left
Soon we ate most of our meals at
the pizza parlor, all the while learning
the secrets of the bumpers In time a
new machine was added to the pinball
arena Space Invaders We were
hesitant to approach this new device
at first, but soon learned its secrets to
success
It wasn't long before we went in
search of more video games We
hungered for the sight of exploding
alien ships We thirsted for the sound
of the loud Whack!" the pinballs made
when we won a free game The
"bwow-bwow-bwow KOOJ!" of stroids
became the only music we were
interested in We started frequenting
restaurants where there were
machines, no matter that we weren't
I hungry We started missing afternoon
classes while we drove to the nearest
arcade to get a wider selection
What fun it was' For the price of one
measly quarter, you could blast
asteroids and flying saucers to bits
save the Federation from mtergalactic
invasion zap robot security guards, or
race around at breakneck speeds on
hairpin curves without risking high
insuiance rates
I knew I was hooked when I left my
friends and came to Eugene for
college I found myself playing pinball
alone I made excuses for going to the
EMU to buy, umm, a Tootsie Roll, and
somehow wound up in the Rec Center
I asked for my paychecks in quarters I
was hooked
I knew I needed help when I started
going out of control I d spend $12 in
an afternoon after doing miserably on
a test, and then find out I'd gotten a B
on it I'd go on a binge when I had too
much homework I'd resort to the
games when M* A* S^H got pre
empted I even got to the point
where I could picture Space Invaders
so distinctly that I could play it in my
mind during classes
The turning point came when my
wife and I went east to visit her
parents They owned a little rec room
which they ran along with their normal
business The day after we arrived, the
guy they had hired to watch the place
quit, and they needed some help I
volunteered
I spent just four days in the rec
room, ten hours a day Although the
games weren t free, they were the only
way of passing the time I gorged
myself on Pac-Man, Black Knight,
Defender, and Strata-Vox I got sick of
it, then plugged in another quarter. I
got sick of it again, but had to keep
going
When the vacation was over, I had
no urges whatsoever to return to the
gaming tubes But, while walking
through stores or restaurants, now and
then I noticed a new game, one with
more color and challenge Eventually I
broke down and tried it, then another,
and another
But I still remember those terrible
hours in that hot, sweaty little room,
watching space ships blow up and
hearing the Black Knight chide me
over and over again I can now control
myself, and no longer fear the evil
tubes
But lots of people waste their money
playing games without knowing The
Way It's Done So if you'll give me a
quarter or two, maybe I'll give you
some lessons
Battle Zone
I There are two tricks to winning at
Battle Zone Don't sit and spin, or
you'll be blown away faster than you
can get a quarter out of your pocket
The second trick is the important one
Ram those suckers Keep the enemy
tanks in the corner of your screen as
Oregon Dally Emerald
you approach, then ram that baby,
back up quickly, and you can beat the
other tank to the draw every time Now
just watch out for those missiles
(sometimes you can trick them by
hiding behind the barriers), and chase
down those funny twirly things
Asteroids
There are two styles of ’Stroid
playing (we re talking here about the
good old regular Stroids, not the
watered-down, freaked-out version
known as "Deluxe Asteroids '). You
can play it wimpy, or go for the gusto
Wimpy players go through all of the
first bunch of asteroids except one,
and then wait to try and nail the Little
Quickies, those pesky little flying
saucers with such a good aim Sure,
they're worth lots of points, but it's
really not Stroids in the classic sense
Gusto Stroids is where you go for
every asteroid you can get, frame after
frame of them Of course it's a lot more
work, but it's a heck of a lot more fun
You can even stay alive fairly well if
you follow a few simple guidelines: (1)
Never fire at a big asteroid right next to
you. It’ll break into littler ones that’ll
break you into littler ones (2) Don't be
afraid to move around. Don't go too
fast, but keep moving, even if you
don’t need to. You'll have more control
to get out of sticky situations, and
won’t get caught unawares by a Little *
Quickie at the edge of the screen. (3)
Don t hesitate to use hyperspace when
you think you might need to Usually
you won't blow up. Even if you do, you
probably were a goner to begin with.
Now if only real life had a hyperspace
button
Pac-ftlan
The only way to really reap on
Pac-Man is to watch the Masters
These are the folks who sit for hours
playing off one quarter, because
they've memorized the patterns.
There's an intricate system that those
little gobblers follow, and Devious
Minds have broken it If you watch
someone with the right patterns you
can spend all day at it
Of course, it may be a lot more fun to
play without patterns, but you're the
one who wanted these lessons. I don't
care what you do.
Venture
This is by far the best of the most
recent crop of games It simulates a
Dungeons & Dragons game to the
extent that you're a little guy with a
bunch of arrows wandering through a
dungeon filled with treasures and
monsters, which you take care of as
best you can
The only secret to Venture is to
watch for the wandering hall monsters
when you enter a room If there's one
next to one of the doors, pick another
door to exit through. It's a real bummer
to make off with a chest of jewels only
to walk into the jaws of a hall monster
(P S As far as I know, the only place
in the area that has this game is a new
arcade in Springfield at 9th and Main
Streets They also give you more little
guys for a quarter than places in
Portland do)
Armor Attack
Play this game with someone else,
and develop a system where one of
you lures the tanks' fire while the other
one blows them away Decide who's
going to go after the helicopter and get
it quick And make sure you put a few
extra shots through each tank you get,
as the gun turrets sometimes remain
active after one shot
There aren't many other secrets to
this one Just try to keep from running
into anyone, and hope for the best
Centipede
Centipede is another good new
game The secret is to rack up as many
points on the spiders as you can, and
not to worry too much about Falling
Greeblies The spiders increase in
value depending on how close they
are when you nail them Get under one
and wait until it's just above you, then
shoot it You'll get 900 points instead
of the measly 300 you get when they’re
far away
Don't worry too much about the
crawly things Just get set at a corner
where they have to turn around, and
blast them with rapid-fire If you’re
careful, there's no reason you can’t
dodge any troublesome critters that
get too low
Space Invaders
Once again, the best version of this
game is the first one Clean the critters
off from the side first, so they have
farther to go before they come down
on you Try to count the number of
shots you take as you go This is
important, because if you hit the flying
saucers at the top of the screen
normally, they're just worth 50 or 100
points If, however, you can get them
on an increment of 11, you'll get 600
points for the ship Also, start counting
over with each new frame of beasties I
know it sounds kind of devious, but
this is a sophisticated mini-computer
you're up against
When to go to blow your dough
Now that you know the tricks of the
trade, you'll probably want to rush out
and try out your new knowledge Here
are some of the better places around
town
Aprtagfietd Arcade, 9th A Main.
Springfield „
This » the newest, arid one of the
best arcades in the area. Although it
only has a few games, it has many of
the best (Even better yet, they give you
five ships (men, balls, etc ) instead of
the normal three.
QafflM R Fun, 190 W Broadway Ave
This new arcade is full of video
games, with lots of die latest arrivals
It's a hit noisy and everything's
orange, hut rt f hard to complain
when you get six games for a dollar
Charge's Fool and Game*, 2598
Willamette St
This is the original ptobedpertour to
the Eugene-Springfield area. H has
lots of video games, a good selection
pf pinbatts, and some pool tables to
boot.
Page 7 Section (9