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Another short and sweet one today. Also, a little announcement, Viva la Dirt League (which I am part of) has just released our 5th song. We've spent over a month recording, filming, and producing it and we're pretty pleased with the quality. Check it out: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=346104
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Dangerous Dave
Developer: John Romero
Platform: PC (and Apple II)
Release Year: 1988
Stephen's Rating: 5/10
![[image loading]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tjPiB6eRzcY/TqjWa7-mFYI/AAAAAAAAATM/8Pm_fk-oWXQ/s320/dave1.gif)
Dangerous Dave was a simple platform game in the vain of Mario Brothers and was a major stepping stone in the formation of iD Software and the Commander Keen series.
Basic Plot
I don't know if there was any plot. The goal was to collect golden cups and reach the end of each level. This involved avoiding enemies and using items.
Gameplay
The player controlled Dave through each level. The game was very difficult - you had to have superb timing in order to get very far at all. There were jetpacks with limited fuel which you had to carefully use and make your way through some of the levels.
![[image loading]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FnLaF0FGxO8/TqjWj0Ixn3I/AAAAAAAAATU/UKNrcKiydtc/s320/dave2.gif)
Near the start of the 2nd level in the original game.
Positives
There is something just so cool about the name "Dangerous Dave". The game had attitude in a really basic and retarded kind of way.
Negatives
I found the game exceptionally difficult and didn't really enjoy playing it. I did it to compete with my friends instead.
Memorable Moments
There was one level that you could jump "above" and literally just run above the edge of the screen to nearly the end of the level. I felt pretty cool doing that. I mean, I was 9 years old.
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man I loved this game when I was a kid. My bro played it all the time.
Old DOS, PC, and Amiga games bring me back. Games like Dangerous Dave, Alleycat, Lotus, Doom, Wolfenstein, Aladdin, God of Thunder, Commander Keen...all great titles.
It sucks nowadays how little effort it seems is put into the actual gameplay and mechanics of titles and instead is put into aesthetics. Most of these games are graphically ugly by today's standards but are still so much fun.
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Oh wow, I played this game a ton! I really enjoyed this game as a kid and even played it just a couple months ago for fun. You are spot on about the timing though in the levels. Some levels can really be easy if you know your way to work around them with the Warp Zones, yet some sections can be really tough (like the glassy/icey look level with the spinning bar things, damn that crown!)
This game is definately not 'up there' with the big boy titles from around that time, but man, sure was a lot of fun trying to figure out all the levels and timings.
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I think a lot of modern games do have pretty awesome mechanics, and a lot fail, but what's different is that games are so complex now that the mechanics are hidden from us. With a game like Dangerous Dave it's so simple that the mechanics are visible and tangible. Whereas in a game like, I don't know, Crysis, there are so many mechanics built up on top of each other that it's hard to make sense of it in the way we used to.
It's the same with music in games. Back in the day when all developers had was maybe 4 or 8 tracks to play with they made the most of it and created some of the most memorable ballads in the history of mankind. Just look at Sonic the Hedgehog, Alex the Kidd, Epic Pinball even. Nowdays the music is high definition and so layered and complex that it's less memorable - even though it theoretically is of a higher quality. It's now designed as a back drop to the action, like a film.
I think that's why the indie game scene is so strong, people love those simple games. Like Limbo.
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EPT
