Retro displays: LCD, vector, VFD...

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Ubu, Aug 21, 2013.

  1. Ubu

    Ubu Member

    Jan 21, 2011
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    #1 Ubu, Aug 21, 2013
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2013
    Just curious re your favorite iOS games using retro displays. Some retro displays have been more heavily covered in the forums (like Game & Watch-style LCD games), but others haven't been much mentioned.

    The list could go on forever, but I'll mention a few favorites organized by display style:

    LCD (liquid-crystal display) - My favorite Game & Watch homage (after having tried a bunch) is Monkey Labour. I noticed that Trojans Attack! is still free at this time and if you're interested in G&W, you should pick it up. Some updated games do a great job with LCD-style visuals, like the still amazing Pix n'Love Rush. Shame that we're not likely to see actual Nintendo G&Ws ever made for iOS, though....

    LED (light-emitting diode) - Short list of great games, but man, I still love that TouchGrove version of Mattel's original Football.

    Vector - There are a lot of vector games out there, with some obvious choices (e.g., the thing of beauty that is Vectrex). I'd forgotten that lovingly recreated Battlezone clones like Vector Tanks Extreme had dropped out of the AppStore...but Battlezone is now in Atari's Greatest Hits, of course.... It gets a little lost in the enormous Atari's Greatest Hits, but if you haven't tried Tempest, it's really beautiful. And maybe name your favorite Asteroids clone, if you have one....

    VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) - Actually, it's VFD that had me thinking about a "retro displays" thread. I picked up one of the newish Galaxy Invader apps, and I was impressed with the style. Nothing special re the emulation, I just appreciated seeing these unadulterated visuals again after so many years. There are other games out there that were released in a VFD version back in the day (like Galaxian, which is now available in Galaga, of course)...but I can't think of another complete recreation of an actual old VFD. (There are other odd pre-VFD retro displays that have proliferated on the AppStore...like who'd have thought the world needed so many iOS "Nixie" clocks...?) Do you know of other nice VFD-styled games...?

    There are other retro display styles (e.g., DOS stylings, as in roguelikes) that I haven't even gotten into, but the list could go on....

    So tell us about your favorite retro displays remade for iOS -- either originals or homages (like Pix n'Love). The more obscure the better. (And just to get it out of the way, yes, I also enjoy playing games like XCOM or whatever...so it's possible to appreciate retro displays while playing genuinely sophisticated up-to-date games as well.)
     
  2. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
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    I love all of those! Got separate folders do lcd and vector. Vectors my favourite and I was so happy when at Vectrex app came out

    Love the remakes of old classic games such as Galaxy Invader. Also really enjoy dos style games
     
  3. james.raymar

    james.raymar Member

    Aug 21, 2013
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    #3 james.raymar, Aug 21, 2013
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2013
    i still love LCD over LED cause of true color production
     

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