|
Post by Garamoth on Feb 18, 2010 14:32:34 GMT -5
www.cinemassacre.com/new/index.phpThis has got to be the best Angry Video Game Nerd yet, although he's not very angry. I had seen the Swordquest games before waaaaaay back then, but I just thought they were lame proto-console RPGs. I didn't know there were actual prizes to be won for the one who could "solve" the games first... prizes in gold, silver and gems. This has got to be one of the coolest ideas for any game, ever... and it was done in the prehistoric era of videogames. I guess they were made in a time when games still had a bit of innocence and novelty to them - before the video game crash of 1983, that is. I can't believe they haven't given away the last pieces of the set... especially the true Sword of Nerdom +8. Maybe one day the entire set of gem-incrusted regalia will be reunited in the hands of the One True Nerd who will usher in a new paradise for gamers. Plus, he will know who's hardcore... him and nobody else. All hail the One True Nerd!
|
|
|
Post by wyrdwad on Feb 18, 2010 14:41:15 GMT -5
I just watched this myself, and I've gotta agree with you. AVGN has always been pretty hit or miss for me, but this... this was a history lesson more than a rant, and I never knew ANY of this existed! I mean, my brother had SwordQuest: Earthworld back in the day, and I remember playing it and enjoying it as a kid... but I had NO CLUE there was a comic book that went with it, nor that there was a contest with such an insane prize! And I never knew until I started emulating games later in life that there were OTHER SwordQuest titles to be played, and that THEY all had prized associated with them too.
It's an absolutely fascinating piece of gaming history. Kudos to AVGN for unearthing this forgotten chapter of nerddom, and making us all aware of the awesomeness that once was in the Land of Atari. (:
-Tom
|
|
|
Post by Garamoth on Feb 18, 2010 14:49:50 GMT -5
Oh shit, according to Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SwordquestContest
Out of 5,000 entries, only eight people managed to find all five of the correct clues. Of those eight, Steven Bell, who was 20 and lived near Detroit at the time, took first place and won the "Talisman of Penultimate Truth."
The Talisman was made of 18K solid gold, with 12 diamonds and the birthstones of the twelve Zodiac signs embedded in it, as well as a small sword made of white gold attached to the front. At the time of the contest, the Talisman was valued at $25,000. Bell melted down the Talisman (with the exception of the miniature sword) in order to pay for school. What? What a retard! How will we find the One True Nerd now? By the way, isn't it depressing that even the most "elusive" parts of history can be found on Wikipedia? Where's the mystique in that? Anyway, I still believe in the One True Nerd, he who has beaten Ninja Gaiden without getting hit once... on his first try.
|
|
|
Post by blackdrazon on Feb 18, 2010 14:57:09 GMT -5
I once read a very, very thorough article about the Swordquest games and have never been able to find it since, which is a shame. Such a surprising piece of forgotten gaming history.
|
|
|
Post by Garamoth on Feb 18, 2010 15:08:14 GMT -5
Chuck Norris and the One True Nerd played a game of Pong together once. It was a tie. Just sayin'
|
|
|
Post by Rash on Feb 18, 2010 15:09:49 GMT -5
I personally know the One True Nerd. He beat Castlequest blindfolded. I shit you not.
|
|
|
Post by Garamoth on Feb 18, 2010 15:56:26 GMT -5
Ahem...
One day a man met the One True Nerd on the street and asked him: "Oh Great Nerd, how can I cheat at Contra? I need more lives!"
To this, the One True Nerd replied: "Truly, there is but one way to cheat at games, and it is by cheating yourself out of victory."
Upon hearing this, the man was enlightened.
|
|
|
Post by sideshow on Feb 18, 2010 16:18:05 GMT -5
It just makes you wonder why video game companies dont do more epic contest nowadays. For example putting an extremely hard to find hidden package into the Grand Theft Auto universe and the winner gets 100,000 dollars of real money. It really gives an incentive to play the game knowing that nobody has found that package yet.
|
|
|
Post by TheChosen on Feb 18, 2010 16:41:01 GMT -5
"Call Apogee and say Aardwolf" anyone?
I havent watched this yet, but Im already interested as its something I've never heard of.
|
|
|
Post by brianc on Feb 18, 2010 17:00:32 GMT -5
I haven't watched this, but I have two of the three Swordquests (the super rare Waterworld is the one I don't have). The games have an interesting history, but they aren't very good as games. They are confusing and practically require the included comic to play. Adventure and Raiders of the Lost Ark are more fun to play.
|
|
|
Post by jongoo on Feb 18, 2010 18:08:18 GMT -5
I forget which baseball series it was, but some game company is giving away a cool million to the first person who pitches a perfect game.
|
|
|
Post by kisai on Feb 18, 2010 18:25:33 GMT -5
Legend has it the One True Nerd won Battletoads 2-player, a controller clutched in each hand.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2010 20:09:12 GMT -5
Let me tell you, it's a lot cooler of a concept than it was a game . I got Fireworld as a kid from a bargain bin at Kay-Bee, and it was interesting I guess. Honestly, if you couldn't figure out the (incredibly vague) method for solving the puzzles, it boiled down into a series of really bad minigames. There was a fold-out leaflet/poster detailing the contest, which had a picture of the different prizes.
|
|
|
Post by wyrdwad on Feb 18, 2010 20:12:08 GMT -5
For its day, it was actually a pretty GOOD game. Not the best on the Atari 2600, but certainly not the worst, either. I remember playing SwordQuest: Earthworld as a kid, and quite enjoying the little minigame challenges. They were playable, and for those days, playable = good. (:
-Tom
|
|
|
Post by Sac (a.k.a Icaras) on Feb 18, 2010 21:19:32 GMT -5
I'm at work so can't watch this just yet (But I find it hard to believe the Ninja Gaiden vid can be topped, I love that one) but on the subject of games that reward prizes, I've ehard of quite a few.
One that springs to midn I read about in Retro Gamer, was a british game called "Groucho" which I think rewarded a trip to holly, or maybe a trinket of some kind.
I'm also sure there have been a few others. Not many though.
|
|