Release Date: 18th of October, 1958
Platform: Donner Model 30
Genre: Sports
Developer(s): William A. Higinbotham
Publisher(s):
Ahh... multiplayer games. The bane of my pre-reboot existence. At the first, I did not know how to deal with this class of game. I had no friends to play them with, and therefore couldn't experience them properly. That, and I was hesitant to try, on account of my poor history of multiplayer experiences. My inner control freak didn't get along well with others.
Fortunately, I've matured since then. The observant reader will also note that the former paragraph was written in past tense. This has significance, along with the "Part 1" in the title, which I'll delve into at the end of this particular article.
For now, let's discuss Tennis for Two for a brief moment.
This was thought of as the first video game for a long time, being first rediscovered in the 1970s and 80s during Magnavox's lawsuits against the entire industry. Poor old William Higinbotham was even dragged into court to testify during one case - but that story is for a later time. Of course, we know now that this wasn't the first video game (otherwise I would've started the reboot series with it!), but it retained this crown until the internet age, when we began to discover the video game experiments that preceded it.
Speaking of the internet, the other boon it provides us with, along with the preservation of history, is the ability to recreate these early video games. That's where we are once again, today. We are with our reliable friend, Retrogame Deconstruction Zone, once more - and sadly, for the last time. His Tennis for Two simulator (TeTS) is the last of his works we'll be using on OGC.
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| Farewell, old friend. |
RDZ's simulator is, while not the only version of Tennis for Two floating around the internet, is distinct in that RDZ built in a solo-play mode against a computer opponent. This was not present in the original Tennis for Two, which, while not authentic, is of great service to me for this project.
Tennis for Two is highly reminiscent of Atari's Pong with regards to gameplay. Although, Tennis for Two plays the game of Tennis from a side-on angle, rather than Pong's more top-down, Table Tennis-like appearance. Note here also, that Tennis for Two had zero influence on Pong. Tennis for Two was completely unknown in that day, despite having the appearance of an early 1970s arcade game. As far as I'm concerned, with this and the next game up, Spacewar!, we're entering into "real" video game territory. These games would comfortably fit in with the league of 1970s arcade hits.
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| Think of it as side-scroller Pong. |
We'll continue on with the Pong comparison, as I suppose that's the best way to describe Tennis for Two's gameplay. As, while similar, they have subtle differences that drastically affect how the games play. Tennis for Two has no paddle - instead, it uses a button, allowing you to time your returns, either aggressively up at the net, or more conservatively at the service line.
As for the angle of your returns, that's managed by a dial - rotate clockwise for lower angle smashes, counter-clockwise for lobs and service line returns. Complicating things further than Pong is the net in the middle of the field - something that Atari's later Volley would utilise. You must make sure your shots pass the net, or you lose the point. The ball can also go out, if it does not bounce within the baseline.
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| Attacking from the net. |
Another extra layer of strategy above Pong - you can risk leaving the ball if it looks like it will go out. One thing Pong has over Tennis for Two is that the ball does not gradually increase in speed in the latter. Lower angle returns do go back faster, and lobs slower in Tennis for Two, but the absence of speed-up permits some absurdly long rallies, if both players are on top of their games.
But what about the computer? Is it at the top of its game? The short answer is... no. It's a perfectly serviceable AI opponent, but its no Roger Federer. For a bit of fun, I kept score in my playthrough this time. I would've played for about 7 minutes, and the scoreline ended at 3-1 (40-40) my way in a first set. We had several lengthy deuce rallies - the computer has its moments of greatness, just like any pro tennis player. However, it also had some moments I'm sure it'd rather forget, were it a real person. Multiple serves straight into the net, and just flat out choosing to not return some safely in balls. To be fair, I did the same a couple of times. There were also many missed opportunities on my end to get points from balls that would've gone out that I instead returned.
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| The computer is not the best server. |
Even from this brief run against the computer, I can safely say that this is the most fun I've had with a game post-reboot. It's genuinely competitive, even with just the computer. It's great design-wise, in the sense that there are most of the standard positioning strategies in real Tennis are somewhat replicable here. Tennis for Two really feels like a huge leap forward in game design. Given this comes ~4 years after our previous game, Pool, it does make sense.
Now, back to what I hinted at at the beginning of the article. I said that I previously could not play multiplayer games, and therefore wouldn't be adding them to the tier list. This has now changed. I will be giving multiplayer-only games scores now, and adding them to the tier list. However, the one stipulation I have - in my desire to be as authentic as possible - is that I require myself to play these games with another person. Solo, or versus a computer opponent, is not sufficient to provide the full experience. Recently, I have developed new friendships, and these friends are willing to participate in this mad experiment.
Naturally, this comes with its own set of logistical troubles. Some friends are quite a distance away, and others quite busy, so organising times may be sparse. This simply means that games with multiplayer components may not get their scores immediately, and will have to be added at a later date, after I've been able to organise a session with friends to play them. This will be the case for Tennis for Two, as there will be no scores at the end here. I'll wait until I've played it with a friend.
As always, here's my video playthrough:
Scores to come at a later date.
Up next: Tennis for Two - Part 2 (Multiplayer)