Mame spoiling my kids?

[ken]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Just some thoughts

First of all, my kids really love Mame - But I'm thinking are they're a
bit spoiled. When they play Mame, they play one game for 1 or 2 minute
(well, some of the games a bit longer), then hit escape and start another
game for playing this for 1 or 2 minute and carry on like this.

This way, I think they do not get the same "feeling" for the games like I
have. From I was about 10 years old, maybe younger (born 1970), I had to pay
to play on the Arcades. For every "krone" (penny) I had to survive in the
game as loong as I could. Now my kids just hit "5" and "6" lots of times to
coin-up.

Is it just me having this thoughts?

I hope to soon get my modified Acade cab finished for Mame. I'm planning to
use the coin-slots for coinup and make the cad an piggy bank. I think this
will get, at least my arcade memories back

(sorry for my bad english)

Regards
Kenneth

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Ken wrote:

>Just some thoughts

>First of all, my kids really love the automobile - But I'm thinking are
>they're a bit spoiled. When they drive, they drive short distances for
>1 or 2 minute (well, some of the drives are a bit longer), then hit
the >brake and start down another road for driving this for 1 or 2
minute >and carry on like this.

That's tough. Back in the day before autos, we had to walk
everyone. I had to walk two miles to school, in the rain, uphill both ways.

--
FSogol

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Ken wrote:

> Just some thoughts

A couple of comments on this discussion. Through
Mame, the kids are being introduced to the entire history of video
gaming at one time. That's a bit overwhelming. Imagine if you went
into an arcade for the first time and they had every cab ever made.
What would you do? When we all began gaming in arcades, we
discovered games one at a time and played the ones we liked over and
over.

With access to every game, it makes more sense to try as many as
possible. Show the kids how the "favorites" folder works and make
a folder with each kids name. After they discover favorites, you'll
find that they play certain great games over and over.

Two things are different about gaming nowadays. The unlimited continue
and cheat codes. IMO both are detrimental to gaming. Show you kids
that they will enjoy games better without using cheats.

I'm not sure it is possible to recreate the arcade culture. These kids
will never have the same experiences that we did. We can show them that
games such as Robotron, PacMan, Galaga are superior to the gameplay in
many top games created today. Games such as Tempest, Vanguard, and
Space Fury are more challenging than modern games with top graphics.

My 2 cents.

--
FSogol

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Ken thought about it a bit, then said...
> Just some thoughts
>
> First of all, my kids really love Mame - But I'm thinking are they're a
> bit spoiled. When they play Mame, they play one game for 1 or 2 minute
> (well, some of the games a bit longer), then hit escape and start another
> game for playing this for 1 or 2 minute and carry on like this.
>
> This way, I think they do not get the same "feeling" for the games like I
> have. From I was about 10 years old, maybe younger (born 1970), I had to pay
> to play on the Arcades. For every "krone" (penny) I had to survive in the
> game as loong as I could. Now my kids just hit "5" and "6" lots of times to
> coin-up.
>
> Is it just me having this thoughts?
>
> I hope to soon get my modified Acade cab finished for Mame. I'm planning to
> use the coin-slots for coinup and make the cad an piggy bank. I think this
> will get, at least my arcade memories back
>
> (sorry for my bad english)

My kids are the same way: being able to coin-up at a keypress makes it
easy (and boring) to get through many games.

I've wired up my coin door to accept tokens, but I haven't yet
disconnected my coin buttons on the control panel. Someday I will, and
hopefully that slight "inconvenience" of having to reach for a token and
put it into the slot will add some incentive to fight for every life in
the game.

Personally, I think the whole "continue" feature is what killed the
arcades in the first place. Skill no longer mattered, just how many
coins you had.

--
Kevin Steele
RetroBlast! Retrogaming News and Reviews
www.retroblast.com

 

[ken]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

"Kevin Steele" <net-replyDEL@DELadelphia.net> skrev i melding
news:MPG.1ce3c50e751e6663989e81@news...
> Ken thought about it a bit, then said...
>> Just some thoughts
>>
>> First of all, my kids really love Mame - But I'm thinking are they're
>> a
>> bit spoiled. When they play Mame, they play one game for 1 or 2 minute
>> (well, some of the games a bit longer), then hit escape and start another
>> game for playing this for 1 or 2 minute and carry on like this.
>>
>> This way, I think they do not get the same "feeling" for the games like I
>> have. From I was about 10 years old, maybe younger (born 1970), I had to
>> pay
>> to play on the Arcades. For every "krone" (penny) I had to survive in the
>> game as loong as I could. Now my kids just hit "5" and "6" lots of times
>> to
>> coin-up.
>>
>> Is it just me having this thoughts?
>>
>> I hope to soon get my modified Acade cab finished for Mame. I'm planning
>> to
>> use the coin-slots for coinup and make the cad an piggy bank. I think
>> this
>> will get, at least my arcade memories back
>>
>> (sorry for my bad english)
>
> My kids are the same way: being able to coin-up at a keypress makes it
> easy (and boring) to get through many games.
>
> I've wired up my coin door to accept tokens, but I haven't yet
> disconnected my coin buttons on the control panel. Someday I will, and
> hopefully that slight "inconvenience" of having to reach for a token and
> put it into the slot will add some incentive to fight for every life in
> the game.
>
> Personally, I think the whole "continue" feature is what killed the
> arcades in the first place. Skill no longer mattered, just how many
> coins you had.
>
> --
> Kevin Steele
> RetroBlast! Retrogaming News and Reviews
> www.retroblast.com

Yes, I totally agree with you, Kevin, and about the "continue feature" you
are absolutely right too. Personal I still love games like PacMan,
Timepilot, Burnin' Rubber, Kung-Fu Master, etc. because they have no
"continue feature".

Ken

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Ken wrote:
> "Kevin Steele" <net-replyDEL@DELadelphia.net> skrev i melding
> news:MPG.1ce3c50e751e6663989e81@news...
>> Ken thought about it a bit, then said...
>>> Just some thoughts
>>>
>>> First of all, my kids really love Mame - But I'm thinking are
>>> they're a
>>> bit spoiled. When they play Mame, they play one game for 1 or 2
>>> minute (well, some of the games a bit longer), then hit escape and
>>> start another game for playing this for 1 or 2 minute and carry on
>>> like this. This way, I think they do not get the same "feeling" for the
>>> games
>>> like I have. From I was about 10 years old, maybe younger (born
>>> 1970), I had to pay
>>> to play on the Arcades. For every "krone" (penny) I had to survive
>>> in the game as loong as I could. Now my kids just hit "5" and "6"
>>> lots of times to
>>> coin-up.
>>>
>>> Is it just me having this thoughts?
>>>
>>> I hope to soon get my modified Acade cab finished for Mame. I'm
>>> planning to
>>> use the coin-slots for coinup and make the cad an piggy bank. I
>>> think this
>>> will get, at least my arcade memories back
>>>
>>> (sorry for my bad english)
>>
>> My kids are the same way: being able to coin-up at a keypress makes
>> it easy (and boring) to get through many games.
>>
>> I've wired up my coin door to accept tokens, but I haven't yet
>> disconnected my coin buttons on the control panel. Someday I will,
>> and hopefully that slight "inconvenience" of having to reach for a
>> token and put it into the slot will add some incentive to fight for
>> every life in the game.
>>
>> Personally, I think the whole "continue" feature is what killed the
>> arcades in the first place. Skill no longer mattered, just how many
>> coins you had.
>>
>> --
>> Kevin Steele
>> RetroBlast! Retrogaming News and Reviews
>> www.retroblast.com
>
> Yes, I totally agree with you, Kevin, and about the "continue
> feature" you are absolutely right too. Personal I still love games
> like PacMan, Timepilot, Burnin' Rubber, Kung-Fu Master, etc. because
> they have no "continue feature".
>
I'd sometimes use the continue if I'd just got to a new and unseen part of
the game , just to get that bit further , but only rarely as starting from
the beginning gave me much longer for my money and with practice you could
get further and further each time.

The best designed games meant that an expert could sometimes play all the
way through on a single coin , Robocop being a good example of this.

When games chnaged to be so difficult in places that no matter how good you
were it became impossible to progress without simply feeding them
continually thats when the arcades started to die out


--
Alex

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk
www.sffh.co.uk
www.ebayfaq.co.uk

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Dr Zoidberg thought about it a bit, then said...
> I'd sometimes use the continue if I'd just got to a new and unseen part of
> the game , just to get that bit further , but only rarely as starting from
> the beginning gave me much longer for my money and with practice you could
> get further and further each time.

Yeah, but you at least had a monetary reason for trying to maximize each
life, even with a continue. Thanks to MAME, games are free, and continue
is just another keypress. If you've got discipline, you can say "I'm
only going to continue once this game." My kids have no discipline. ;-)

> The best designed games meant that an expert could sometimes play all the
> way through on a single coin , Robocop being a good example of this.
>
> When games chnaged to be so difficult in places that no matter how good you
> were it became impossible to progress without simply feeding them
> continually thats when the arcades started to die out

The difficulty spike was a reaction to kids being able to practice each
level by continuing, therefore eventually getting through the game on a
single coin. So the developers built "quarter muncher" boss monsters and
other impossible enemies.

In the end, skill was removed, and all that remained was how many coins
you had in your pocket. No glory for a high score, because you hadn't
really achieved anything special.

--
Kevin Steele
RetroBlast! Retrogaming News and Reviews
www.retroblast.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Kevin Steele wrote:
> Dr Zoidberg thought about it a bit, then said...
>> I'd sometimes use the continue if I'd just got to a new and unseen
>> part of the game , just to get that bit further , but only rarely as
>> starting from the beginning gave me much longer for my money and
>> with practice you could get further and further each time.
>
> Yeah, but you at least had a monetary reason for trying to maximize
> each life, even with a continue. Thanks to MAME, games are free, and
> continue is just another keypress. If you've got discipline, you can
> say "I'm only going to continue once this game." My kids have no
> discipline. ;-)

I still see getting as far as possible on a single credit as a challenge ,
although I must admit there are times where if I die on an early level I'll
just kill myself completely and restart.
Obviously thats something I'd not have done if it cost me money.

I think you are going to have to start rationing tokens (10 per night for
example with more for doing jobs around the house) then.

Also let's face it , there is life outside MAME (sometimes) so as well as
helping them appreciate the games more you would also be encouraging them to
do something else away from the PC

>> The best designed games meant that an expert could sometimes play
>> all the way through on a single coin , Robocop being a good example
>> of this.
>>
>> When games chnaged to be so difficult in places that no matter how
>> good you were it became impossible to progress without simply
>> feeding them continually thats when the arcades started to die out
>
> The difficulty spike was a reaction to kids being able to practice
> each level by continuing, therefore eventually getting through the
> game on a single coin. So the developers built "quarter muncher" boss
> monsters and other impossible enemies.
>
> In the end, skill was removed, and all that remained was how many
> coins you had in your pocket. No glory for a high score, because you
> hadn't really achieved anything special.

Remember when games used to let yo continue but reset your score to zero?
Now that was the best of both worlds. Skill would let you achieve the high
score (and a decent amount of progress) and those who weren't as good could
still play through as much of the game as they liked.
--
Alex

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk
www.sffh.co.uk
www.ebayfaq.co.uk

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

"Ken" <navn2000DELETE@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:UQmee.8804$ai7.213017@news2.e.nsc.no:

> Just some thoughts

<snip>

Nope, gotta agree with you on that. Sometimes I go so far as to prohibit
him from launching a new game, making him play for a while.

--
Do you want a free iPod?
http://www.freeipods.com/?r=15154431

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

In a parallel universe, Anti-Dr Zoidberg said exactly the opposite of:

[snip]
> I still see getting as far as possible on a single credit as a
> challenge , although I must admit there are times where if I die on an
> early level I'll just kill myself completely and restart.
> Obviously thats something I'd not have done if it cost me money.

When I'd die on the first levels in Shinobi, I'd give the rest of the
game to one of the onlookers. I wasn't the only one doing this either,
when you're playing to beat your hiscore a death can mean that the game
is wasted.

[snip]
> Remember when games used to let yo continue but reset your score to
> zero? Now that was the best of both worlds. Skill would let you
> achieve the high score (and a decent amount of progress) and those who
> weren't as good could still play through as much of the game as they
> liked.

Another respectable option is games that list the number of quarters used
to achieve the score. The Metal Slug games come to mind. (First time I
finished Metal Slug X, I used something like 40 quarters! )

*-) K.os
--
"He imagined for a moment his itinerary connecting up all the dots in the
sky like a child's numbered dots puzzle. He hoped that from some vantage
point in the Universe it might be seen to spell a very, very rude word" -
D. N. Adams

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

On 2005-05-05, FSogol <FSogol@nospamplease.org> wrote:

> That's tough. Back in the day before autos, we had to walk
> everyone. I had to walk two miles to school, in the rain, uphill both ways.

That's what you get for living in "123 Escher Walk". Try moving. I
moved to "0 Moebius Strip" and I can find my way home by walking in
any direction. Conversation at home is a little one-sided though.

--
For every expert, there is an equal but opposite expert

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

On Thu, 5 May 2005 12:47:13 +0200, "Ken" <navn2000DELETE@hotmail.com>
wrote:

|Just some thoughts
|
|First of all, my kids really love Mame - But I'm thinking are they're a
|bit spoiled. When they play Mame, they play one game for 1 or 2 minute
|(well, some of the games a bit longer), then hit escape and start another
|game for playing this for 1 or 2 minute and carry on like this.
|
|This way, I think they do not get the same "feeling" for the games like I
|have. From I was about 10 years old, maybe younger (born 1970), I had to pay
|to play on the Arcades. For every "krone" (penny) I had to survive in the
|game as loong as I could. Now my kids just hit "5" and "6" lots of times to
|coin-up.
|
|Is it just me having this thoughts?
|
|I hope to soon get my modified Acade cab finished for Mame. I'm planning to
|use the coin-slots for coinup and make the cad an piggy bank. I think this
|will get, at least my arcade memories back
|
|(sorry for my bad english)
|
|Regards
|Kenneth

I'm pretty much the same way now. I'll use MAME32 to pick out a
random game, play for a few minutes, quit and repeat. Back in the day
of real arcades I'd walk around with my pants falling down because the
pockets were full with 20 cent coins but I'd still carefully choose
what to play and if I liked the game I'd stick with it for as long as
I could. I miss those days...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

On 2005-05-05, Adam T Smith <adamsmith@paradise.net.nz> wrote:

> I'm pretty much the same way now. I'll use MAME32 to pick out a
> random game, play for a few minutes, quit and repeat.

I've got the attention span of a gnat, so what I do is to rack up 5
credits for each game and just play till they're out, then move on to
the next. It works quite well, even forcing me to play games I don't
think are much good at first.

--
For every expert, there is an equal but opposite expert

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Ian Rawlings wrote:
> On 2005-05-05, FSogol <FSogol@nospamplease.org> wrote:
>
>
>>That's tough. Back in the day before autos, we had to walk
>>everyone. I had to walk two miles to school, in the rain, uphill both ways.
>
>
> That's what you get for living in "123 Escher Walk". Try moving. I
> moved to "0 Moebius Strip" and I can find my way home by walking in
> any direction. Conversation at home is a little one-sided though.
>

Bad, Ian, *BAD!* Thou shalt have no dessert this night.

--
Thnik about it!
Dead_Dad

 

[sinner]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

* Dead_Dad wrote in alt.games.mame:
> Ian Rawlings wrote:
>> On 2005-05-05, FSogol <FSogol@nospamplease.org> wrote:


>>>That's tough. Back in the day before autos, we had to walk
>>>everyone. I had to walk two miles to school, in the rain, uphill both ways.

>> That's what you get for living in "123 Escher Walk". Try moving. I
>> moved to "0 Moebius Strip" and I can find my way home by walking in
>> any direction. Conversation at home is a little one-sided though.

> Bad, Ian, *BAD!* Thou shalt have no dessert this night.

Hmmm, I kinda liked it

--
David
Sir, it's very possible this asteroid is not stable.
-- C3P0

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

On Thu, 05 May 2005 09:43:25 -0400
FSogol <FSogol@nospamplease.org> wrote:

> With access to every game, it makes more sense to try as many
> as possible. Show the kids how the "favorites" folder works
> and make a folder with each kids name. After they discover
> favorites, you'll find that they play certain great games over
> and over.

Or, the other side of this coin, Set up favourites, and DON'T
show them how it works. Each week, change the selection of
games available. Give them 10 a week or something. They can
pick one or two from those 10 to stay in next weeks
list (In addition to the new 10, so the'd get 10 new ones, plus
one or two favorites from last week, the week after, another 10
new ones, plus the 1 or two original favs, plus another 1 or 2
from the last week... the list slowly grows, but grows with
games the kids have enjoyed the most)

Another post a while back was someone mentioning that they were
going to use tokens for the mame cab as rewards for good
behaviour, that would encourage longer gameplay as well, as it
limits the number of credits they can clock up.

-Chris D

 

[ken]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

"Chris D" <dicko-news@riverland.AAARRRGNOMORESPAM.net.au> skrev i melding
news:20050506093857.0f105faa.dicko-news@riverland.AAARRRGNOMORESPAM.net.au...
> On Thu, 05 May 2005 09:43:25 -0400
> FSogol <FSogol@nospamplease.org> wrote:
>
>> With access to every game, it makes more sense to try as many
>> as possible. Show the kids how the "favorites" folder works
>> and make a folder with each kids name. After they discover
>> favorites, you'll find that they play certain great games over
>> and over.
>
> Or, the other side of this coin, Set up favourites, and DON'T
> show them how it works. Each week, change the selection of
> games available. Give them 10 a week or something. They can
> pick one or two from those 10 to stay in next weeks
> list (In addition to the new 10, so the'd get 10 new ones, plus
> one or two favorites from last week, the week after, another 10
> new ones, plus the 1 or two original favs, plus another 1 or 2
> from the last week... the list slowly grows, but grows with
> games the kids have enjoyed the most)
>
> Another post a while back was someone mentioning that they were
> going to use tokens for the mame cab as rewards for good
> behaviour, that would encourage longer gameplay as well, as it
> limits the number of credits they can clock up.
>
> -Chris D

About using the Favorite, sounds like a good idea. But the kids are not
stupid they just click on the "Available" folder and carry on. - A way
to hide folders (with password?) would be fine..... Maybe we need a "Mame
Child version" *lol*

- Ken

 

[sinner]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

* Ken wrote in alt.games.mame:

> About using the Favorite, sounds like a good idea. But the kids are not
> stupid they just click on the "Available" folder and carry on. - A way
> to hide folders (with password?) would be fine..... Maybe we need a "Mame
> Child version" *lol*

While a bit of a kludge, you could copy the roms for games you place in
favorites to a fav folder and change the MAME options to point to that
folder, when you want to play, change it back.

--
David
If only one solution can be found for a field problem, then it is
usually a stupid solution
-- Murphy's Bush Fire Brigade Laws n°32

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

On Thu, 5 May 2005 19:34:29 +0100, Ian Rawlings <news05@tarcus.org.uk>
wrote:

|On 2005-05-05, Adam T Smith <adamsmith@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
|
|> I'm pretty much the same way now. I'll use MAME32 to pick out a
|> random game, play for a few minutes, quit and repeat.
|
|I've got the attention span of a gnat, so what I do is to rack up 5
|credits for each game and just play till they're out, then move on to
|the next. It works quite well, even forcing me to play games I don't
|think are much good at first.

That sounds like a really good idea. I tend to skip past games that
don't look particularly interesting from the screenshots and I'm sure
I'm missing out on a lot. I'm going to do it your way from now on.

 

[ken]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

"SINNER" <99nesorjd@gates_of_hell.invalid> skrev i melding
news:i66sk2xs43.ln2@news.gates_of_hell.com...
>* Ken wrote in alt.games.mame:
>
>> About using the Favorite, sounds like a good idea. But the kids are not
>> stupid they just click on the "Available" folder and carry on. - A
>> way
>> to hide folders (with password?) would be fine..... Maybe we need a "Mame
>> Child version" *lol*
>
> While a bit of a kludge, you could copy the roms for games you place in
> favorites to a fav folder and change the MAME options to point to that
> folder, when you want to play, change it back.
>
> --
> David
> If only one solution can be found for a field problem, then it is
> usually a stupid solution
> -- Murphy's Bush Fire Brigade Laws n°32

Yes, Dave, you are right. That will work. Thanks.

Ken

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

In article <UQmee.8804$ai7.213017@news2.e.nsc.no>,
"Ken" <navn2000DELETE@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Just some thoughts
>
> First of all, my kids really love Mame - But I'm thinking are they're a
> bit spoiled. When they play Mame, they play one game for 1 or 2 minute
> (well, some of the games a bit longer), then hit escape and start another
> game for playing this for 1 or 2 minute and carry on like this.
>
> This way, I think they do not get the same "feeling" for the games like I
> have. From I was about 10 years old, maybe younger (born 1970), I had to pay
> to play on the Arcades. For every "krone" (penny) I had to survive in the
> game as loong as I could. Now my kids just hit "5" and "6" lots of times to
> coin-up.
>
> Is it just me having this thoughts?
>
> I hope to soon get my modified Acade cab finished for Mame. I'm planning to
> use the coin-slots for coinup and make the cad an piggy bank. I think this
> will get, at least my arcade memories back
>
> (sorry for my bad english)
>
> Regards
> Kenneth
>
>

Nah, it's just "edutainment"

Cheers
TXW

--
It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga.
Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

I discovered this problem when I first found MAME as well. Playing
Tournament Cyberball, I'd put in six credits, enough to finish a game
without taking advantage of any of the special features, the way I played it
with friends growing up. When the offers were made, I actually felt angst
about whether to "spend the extra quarter", by pressing the "5" button.

I've fixed that problem for the kids. During our gaming time, I allow them
to press the "5" button as many times as they like, but they've got to put a
quarter from their allowance for each press in our coin jug, sitting right
next to the CPU. Only problem for me was, my wife decided that I shouldn't
hold a double-standard and makes me do it as well. We're well on our way to
forced savings for the college funds, but at least we're getting something
for the money!


"Ken" <navn2000DELETE@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:UQmee.8804$ai7.213017@news2.e.nsc.no...
> Just some thoughts
>
> First of all, my kids really love Mame - But I'm thinking are they're
> a bit spoiled. When they play Mame, they play one game for 1 or 2 minute
> (well, some of the games a bit longer), then hit escape and start another
> game for playing this for 1 or 2 minute and carry on like this.
>
> This way, I think they do not get the same "feeling" for the games like I
> have. From I was about 10 years old, maybe younger (born 1970), I had to
> pay to play on the Arcades. For every "krone" (penny) I had to survive in
> the game as loong as I could. Now my kids just hit "5" and "6" lots of
> times to coin-up.
>
> Is it just me having this thoughts?
>
> I hope to soon get my modified Acade cab finished for Mame. I'm planning
> to use the coin-slots for coinup and make the cad an piggy bank. I think
> this will get, at least my arcade memories back
>
> (sorry for my bad english)
>
> Regards
> Kenneth
>
>