INTERNET ARCADE

THROWBACK THURSDAY #TBT

The Internet Archive (https://archive.org) has long been one of my favorite sites. Think of it as the attic of the Internet. There are so many random and interesting things to browse through that one could easily get lost there for days and days. Perhaps best known resource there is the Wayback Machine which hosts a history of 435 billion pages saved over time. One can easily view the history of the Internet and how sites, formats, and layouts have changed over time. Go ahead, try it! I will wait.... 

Thanks for coming back! While that is pretty amazing, Internet Archive released a brand new section this week called the INTERNET ARCADE. I was pretty much raised with a joystick in my hand, and many of my fondest memories was spending time in the arcade playing a random assortment of video games. While many of the most popular games live on in various forms and are playable on your iPhone or iPad, there exists a large number of "lost classics" that I have longed to revisit. 

The Internet Arcade offers a library of over 350 video games from the "bronze age" of video games. Each of these games are the actual versions that many of you may have played in the 1980s. The best part about this, is that there is nothing to download, and the games are playable in your Internet browser. I encourage you to take some time reliving the GLORY DAYS or sharing this site with the kids of today. However, do not be insulted when they talk about how lame these games are by today's standards. This resource is really ripe for some critical investigations by students. Here are some thoughts for you to explore. 

1. Create a classification system for a selection of the games. 
2. What are the most popular genres of games in this collection? 
3. Which games were the most successful? Which were the least successful? 
4. What are the characteristics that make a "good" game? 
5. What game elements are present in a selected game that is present in a modern version? Trace the history. 

Best of all, you will not have to beg anyone for more quarters.

GAME ON!