This site contains some extra info on emulators and the list of games from our panel "A Guided Tour to '80s Computer Retrogaming" on PAX Online.
Thanks for watching!
Panelists: Naomi Clark, Clara Fernández-Vara, Bennett Foddy, Jesse Fuchs and Alexander King.
Panelists were asked for game recommendations that are a good starting point for a modern player who has never played home computer games from the 80s before. This is not a "best of" list!
There are many good emulators besides the ones listed here, this is just a starting point!
Did you know? Much of games history preservation is done by volunteers and pirates. If you enjoy an emulator, consider supporting the developer if you can!
Emulators can be tricky to set up, but don't give up!
If you do give up, the fine folks at the Internet Archive have been making many of these old systems playable in browser. Links below!
From Jesse Fuchs:
Space Taxi
Below The Root
Castles of Dr. Creep
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Paradroid
From Bennett Foddy:
IK+
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
From Naomi Clark:
Tass Times in Tonetown
Sammy Lightfoot
Odyssey: The Compleat Adventure
Trinity (Infocom game)
Aztec
Montezuma's Revenge
From Bennett Foddy:
Prince of Persia - I might speed up the emulator or instead play the Amiga or DOS version
Ultima IV - but only with a LOT of commitment and some printed manuals, etc.
From Bennett Foddy:
Alien8 - it benefits a lot from having the emulator sped up.
Lords of Midnight - but it does require you to read the manual
Saboteur and Turbo Esprit - maybe a good mix of responsive and weird.
Deus Ex Machina - horrible to play but very interesting!
From Clara Fernández-Vara:
Knight Lore - first one that comes to mind, because it was developed by Ultimate the Game (which later became Rare software)
Head Over Heels - I have a soft spot in my heart for Head over Heels, which had a really weird world and allowed you to play with two different characters whose abilities complemented each others'
From Clara Fernández-Vara:
Metal Gear - the original game, not the NES. It was the graphics limitations of the MSX2 that gave way to the stealth mechanics. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is also the MG game nobody's played.
Antarctic Adventure + Penguin Adventure - A racing game with a penguin. The sequel has a variety of items/power ups, dinosaurs, and was Kojima's first commercial game.
Vampire Killer - Yeah, it's Castlevania but unlike any of the other Castlevania games - a lot of keys and merchants and items, advances mechanics that would appear in later games.
Aleste 2 - Shoot'em ups were not the MSX forte, but this one is quite spectacular - with anime intros, really fast, it was an MSX exclusive. Also features a woman pilot protagonist.
Road Fighter - Top down driving game, not too complicated but really fun. Has aged well, I think.
From Bennett Foddy:
Maze of Galious
Penguin-Kun Wars
From Bennett Foddy:
Cannon Fodder - both a dead evolutionary branch but also still compelling and playable
Syndicate - same again but in a different way
The Settlers - this series is still going especially in Germany! But the first one is great, an econ sim
It Came From the Desert - find out what ‘interactive movie’ used to mean
Another World - the favorite game of nearly every famous Japanese game director
Speedball 2
Paradroid 90 - original C64 Paradroid is great but not very accessible
Midwinter - very interesting open world recruit-em-up from the author of Lords of Midnight
Damocles - paired with Mercenary on the C64, think ‘Outer Wilds with special relativity'
Hunter - an open-world GTA-style game in 1991???
Knights of the Crystallion - paired with Alley Cat on the Atari 800 by the same author, an extremely idiosyncratic hippie game
Gods - see how graffiti-inspired demoscene art dominated the Amiga
Lemmings - it’s surprisingly slow, but obviously interesting because of Rockstar’s current importance!
From Bennett Foddy:
Dark Castle
Deja Vu
From Jesse Fuchs:
Balance of Power
Hidden Agenda
The Fool’s Errand
Inigo Gets Out
Shufflepuck Cafe
From Jesse Fuchs:
Return of Heracles
M.U.L.E.
Bruce Lee
Necromancer
Eastern Front 1941
From Bennett Foddy:
Alley Cat
Ballblazer
Archon (I like the Amiga version best, but it’s an Atari 800 game)
Browser- Internet Archive
Windows - Atari800 or the emulator with built-in library, Atari800 Best Game Pack
Mac - Atari800MacX
From Alexander King:
Hunt the Wumpus
Tombstone City
Alpiner
Chisholm Trail
Tunnels of Doom
Wingwar