The FOFC video game character draft

[Vince]

I'm not so big on Kirby. I don't think he has as much recognizable-ness to him. Personally, I can think of about 15 or 20 characters I think are more recognizable (albeit from only a few different game franchises) overall, and probably 3 or 4 who are still left.

[corbes]

You know, this whole time I thought we were collaborating to come up with some kind of a group/team ranking of all-time classic video game characters.

So, who the hell cares if people shout out names?

[Vince]

Personally, I don't. Some people do though, so I don't see why it's a big deal to not say anything.

[corbes]

si-

Leisure Suit Larry was actually pleading with me to give him another shot at Passionate Patti. He was convinced that she has just been playing "hard-to-get" all this time.

He was a little disappointed in Ms. PacMan. Something about her being a little shallow and one-dimensional, not to mention a little round in the middle. But, he thought he could "make do".

[Danny]

I strongly disagree about the Kirby not being recongnizable. My mom and sister both know who he is and they probably have not heard of 3/4's of the people who have been drafted so far.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by corbes

He was a little disappointed in Ms. PacMan. Something about her being a little shallow and one-dimensional, not to mention a little round in the middle. But, he thought he could "make do".

(Countdown to someone making an inappropriate remark about Ms. Pac Man swallowing: 10, 9, 8 ...)

[mauchow]

I have a pick for someone that my be a steal.. Maybe..

Who wants to hear it!? !?! All right, I won't say anything..

[corbes]

Originally Posted by mauboy1

First baseball game for UW-Oshkosh coming soon! Check 'er out.

B'gosh.

sorry

[mauchow]

Originally Posted by corbes

B'gosh.

sorry

[Calis]

Alright, I imagine I'll take some heat for this pick, but I'm once again going to go along the lines I did with my Avatar pick in the first round and go with a guy who was in one of the more important games in history.

So I will be picking....

Pitfall Harry
Pitfall

Aw c'mon! If you had an Atari 2600, you know the wonders of Harry. This was the game that CREATED the platform genre! Finally breaking us out of the mold of the bottom down shooters. It is THE game I associate with the Atari.

The Crocs, the swinging, the Pits of course, it all adds up to a classic gaming experience, and without Harry to get the ball rolling, who knows how long we'd of waited?

Interesting tidbit I found also, Activision says that Pitfall sold over 4 million units worldwide, that's pretty amazing when you think about it, seeing as how it was released in '82 or '83 I think.

So I'll take the flack if it's coming. He didn't survive long, as it seems like most big early 80's characters died out during the gaming Depression, but I'm giving him a nod for creating the platformer.

EDIT: Hmm, there were more Pitfall sequels than I thought, so Harry has been around a while.

[Maple Leafs]

Pitfall Harry? Pitfall Harry?

That is a freaking fantastic pick. An absolute steal. Anyone who gives you flack for that pick is clearly unqualified to be in this draft.

[albionmoonlight]

Ok--

As always, there are a couple of ways that I can go with this one, but I think that this pick stands up against one made early in the first round:

The Metroid (from Metroid)

Samus was the heroine, but the game was called Metroid. Also, any being that can grab your brain and suck out your life energy gets my vote for a bad ass mo' fo'.

What really sealed the pick for me, however, was Super Metroid. In this game, the Metroid goes beyond being a tool of the Mother Brain, and turns on its old master (or is it mistress) to save Samus. The metroid had become an itergral part of the story--a creature too complex to be a pure villian or hero.

[Calis]

I like the pick. Any villian that has the game/series named after him deserves some respect.

[albionmoonlight]

Dola--

I ascribe to the theory that this is just a video game draft, so let's not get in a twist. But I would appreciate it if people did not PM me with picks before my turn is up. I don't think that it is fair to others. Thanks.

(FWIW, I was not PM'd Metroid).

[mauchow]

To be fair to everyone... I said Q'Bert to albion. sorry

[Maple Leafs]

Well, I was going to wait to give Des a chance to make his pick himself, but he PM'ed me earlier with it. Since we're already talking about him:

Desnudo takes Q-Bert

(And, I might add, an excellent pick.)

[Calis]

Yep, Q-Bert was one of the 3 I was contemplating along with Harry and...well, I'll keep the other to myself.

Good pick, great game.

[albionmoonlight]

I had thought of Q-Bert, but didn't pick him for two reasons:

1.) I was never any good at the game, so I still don't like the little orange guy.

2.) I was hoping that he would fall to my next pick. I figured that if no one had gotten him yet, then maybe he was under the radar.

Oh, well--great pick.

[albionmoonlight]

Oh--and no hard feelings at all mauboy1

[Maple Leafs]

For three entire round, he sat in the stands waiting for his name to be called.

He saw his contemporaries go early. Pac Man, he could understand. The Pong Paddle was a surprise, but Pong has always had its fans. But then it started... the parade of old school pretenders. Frogger. The Asteroids arrow. Q-Bert. Ms. Pac Man?

All of these so-called greats, taken before him? They'd never made a fraction of what he made. Hell, if it weren't for him, they wouldn't even be here! He defended the world and enthralled a generation, and some frog gets picked ahead of him? It was an outrage. Heresy.

And still he sat... until now.

I'm proud to select: The Little Tank Thing from Space Invaders

[Calis]

Heh, I actually thought of Space Invaders..but I had no clue what to call it. I think you summed it up nicely.

Also I must admit, Space Invaders was never played by me..only it's clones.

Great pick though, definitely should've gone WAY earlier.

[Danny]

I demand no one takes who I want before my next pick. If you're not sure, PM me and I'll let you know if your pick is alright.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Calis

Alright, I imagine I'll take some heat for this pick, but I'm once again going to go along the lines I did with my Avatar pick in the first round and go with a guy who was in one of the more important games in history.

So I will be picking....

Pitfall Harry
Pitfall

Aw c'mon! If you had an Atari 2600, you know the wonders of Harry. This was the game that CREATED the platform genre! Finally breaking us out of the mold of the bottom down shooters. It is THE game I associate with the Atari.

The Crocs, the swinging, the Pits of course, it all adds up to a classic gaming experience, and without Harry to get the ball rolling, who knows how long we'd of waited?

Interesting tidbit I found also, Activision says that Pitfall sold over 4 million units worldwide, that's pretty amazing when you think about it, seeing as how it was released in '82 or '83 I think.

So I'll take the flack if it's coming. He didn't survive long, as it seems like most big early 80's characters died out during the gaming Depression, but I'm giving him a nod for creating the platformer.

EDIT: Hmm, there were more Pitfall sequels than I thought, so Harry has been around a while.

There's also a Pitfall Harry remake/sequel (not sure which it is, exactly) coming to PS2/Xbox/GC a little bit later on this year.

[TargetPractice6]

So albion are you talking about the specific metroid that saved Samus? Just picking the metroids isn't allowed

[Maple Leafs]

Coming back the other way in the fourth round...

Secure in the knowledge that I had a steal in round three with The Tank, I can reach a bit here. Well, not really a reach, in reality. This guy probably deserves to have been taking earlier, but he's not a "sexy" pick like some of the others, and the younger kids probably will have no idea who he is.

But he was the star of one of the most innovative and succesful games of all time, and for a brief period he was one of those crossover guys you could find on lunchboxes and kids' t-shirts. Looking back, he doesn't stand up there with the all-time greats like Pac Man, but for a time it looked like he would. In round four, that's good enough for me.

I'll take Dirk the Daring, from Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair.

[TargetPractice6]

Maple, in the first post ot loosk like you accidentally erased round 2.

[Calis]

You stole my mysterious 3rd choice Maple Leafs!

Dang, now I have to think again.

Great stuff though, I remember being in awe of the artwork of Dragon's Lair when I first saw it. Huge leap for games.

[Danny]

I remember Dragon's Lair crashing my computer everytime I tried to play it.

[albionmoonlight]

Dragon's Lair is one of the three games (Pac-Man and Pong being the others) in the Smithsonian. I think Dirk is a great pick based just on that.

He's kind of like Bo Jackson--a few years at the very top of the heap, and then we are simply left to wonder about what more he could have done.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by TargetPractice6

Maple, in the first post ot loosk like you accidentally erased round 2.

Fixed.

OK, I don't see Des online, but he did send a pick. (See how that works everyone? Aren't you glad he was so thoughtful?)

His pick is Dante, from Devil May Cry

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Fixed.

OK, I don't see Des online, but he did send a pick. (See how that works everyone? Aren't you glad he was so thoughtful?)

His pick is Dante, from Devil May Cry

****

[ice4277]

Just wanted to say, Pitfall Harry was a damn fine pick there, Calis.

[Vince]

Pitfall Harry was excellent, as was the tank from Space Invaders. I don't remember how many hours I spent playing Space Invaders back as a little tyke...

EDIT - I also like the Dirk the Daring pick. Had thought of him in passing, but I figured he had been a cartoon character before he became a video game character (the only way I could explain the graphics), and I never played the game much as a kid.

[albionmoonlight]

I've debated whether this fellow is enough of a "character" to take here, or whether I am just picking him because of the importance (and rocking coolness) of the game. The pick of Dirk, however, has made me realize that some of these good old characters/games may not be long for the free agent pool. So, I bring you, from back in the day when games just needed vague one-word titles:

Hero (from Adventure)

What is Adventure, you ask? http://www.atariage.com/software_pag...areLabelID=964

It was the first game to contain an easter egg, and the first action adventure game. This was the game that started the genre of games where heros fight dragons with swords--you may have played a few of them.

The only real downside to Hero as a character is that he is--in effect--a large pixel. But hey, all picks out of the first couple of rounds will have a downside.

[Danny]

Some solid picks. Its looking like Pong paddle and Astroids arrow went a bit too early with a couple of the real solid old time picks that have been made recently.

[k0ruptr]

Dirk was a steal, plain and simple.

[Calis]

Well I had two choices waiting for this pick, and of course BOTH of them got picked, so I had to think quick with this one. Not sure I'm happy with it, but I'll keep things moving along!


Guybrush Threepwood
Monkey Island Series

I would actually think Guybrush would be a close call with Leisure Suit Larry for top pick from an adventure game. All 4 of the Monkey Island games have been classics, and it's due in no small part to this man. Great supporting cast, some of the best dialogue in gaming history, some big innovations in the adventure game genre. Guybrush was there for it all.

I'm a huge Monkey Island fan, and I've been waiting as long as I thought I could before making this pick. I can't chance it any longer!

[SackAttack]

Mighty Pirate!

[k0ruptr]

the monkey island pick was a damn good one as well, i miss those games

[Danny]

We are happy to select... the one... the only... Bomberman. I'm surprised he was still on the board in round 4 with the countless sucessful games he's stared in.

[Sun Tzu]

Great pick EagleEye. Mad propz homie.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by TargetPractice6

mckerney, people have asked you to stop yet you persist anyway. Can't you just give it a rest with naming characters? Now it seems you are doing it just to piss people off.

You're right, no one would be interested in a draft if other people were projecting who could go where.

[NoMyths]

Shh...don't tell anyone that Eli Manning is available to draft!

[Sun Tzu]

Nobody listens.

[TargetPractice6]

Ninjas and video games were practically made for each other.

Therefore with the 6th pick of the 4th round I'll select...

Ryu Hayabusa, Ninja Gaiden

[Poli]

Can't believe I read through most of this just to see if I could find out who reported mckerney.

I had mild interest in this Sunday afternoon when we were all spitting out names in the HT chatroom.

Part of the fun of "drafts" is the cheering and jeering of draft picks...rooting for your guys to go. For those of you who don't like it...and I'm really trying to be sympathetic to your cause...man, what a bummer.

You've basically taken whatever fun I thought this would be out of it.

Don't worry; I won't check in here again. I'd hate to interrupt your important, private, draft.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by EagleEye11

Thank Mario Sterling didn't screw my pick. IMO, this guy is one of the 10 most recognizable video game characters, has been in many games and is a big pink marshmallow. I select Kirby. I probably should have selected him with my 2nd rounder, but I am please he is still here. Steal of the round.

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Part of me would love to see SI turn around and call this pick "a complete fiasco, deserving of our contempt".

This pick is a complete fiasco, deserving of our comtempt!

Originally Posted by EagleEye11

Some solid picks. Its looking like Pong paddle and Astroids arrow went a bit too early with a couple of the real solid old time picks that have been made recently.

Considering the run of arcade characters, I'm thinking my criticism of the arrow was unduly harsh.

Aw, crap, and I just finished up the 2nd round review a couple of hours ago. Back to work- but I don't think the review will be out until much later tonight. I need to brush up on some arcade games.

SI

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Calis

You stole my mysterious 3rd choice Maple Leafs!

Dang, now I have to think again.

Great stuff though, I remember being in awe of the artwork of Dragon's Lair when I first saw it. Huge leap for games.

I remember mashing buttons on the arcade version, never able to actually make anything happen and watching him tumble to his death every time.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by ice4277

Just wanted to say, Pitfall Harry was a damn fine pick there, Calis.

Yeah Calis, I would have taken him if you didn't.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by mauboy1

To be fair to everyone... I said Q'Bert to albion. sorry

Burn him, burn, burn, burn.