Rocco - It's a hard life
There have been some games on this rambling ,long winded journey back through time where I have struggled to explain how a particular game came into my life . No such problem here , the year was 1985 , the software house was Dinamic Software and the game ( at least by the time I had got it ) , was called Rocco.
We borrowed this from one of my Dad's fellow workers, when I say we, I should really state right from the start, that my Dad borrowed this, for my Dad to play, for my Dad loves boxing. ( Have I stated that enough do you think?!) Now ,the history of what my Dad loves playing ( Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, ) and what my Dad thinks he will enjoy playing (Flight Simulation , Chequered Flag ) can sometimes be poles apart. He could sit for ages on Thro The Wall but Tranz Am would leave him cold. I have to say from my seat firmly in the viewing gallery (perched on the sofa) that I had my doubts about this game right from the loading screen.
The idea behind this game is punch, punch, defend, punch, defend, beat your opponent and progress to become champion. You do have different opponents but the boxer always looks the same.
It's keyboard or joystick....poor, poor joystick. I do miss my first joystick , although Daley Thompson was a major factor in the destruction of it, I do truly think that my father and this game were the final nail in the coffin. Electrical insulation tape does work wonders , but once someone has wrenched it violently left , left , left ( whilst shouting take that you ..er... consults dictionary, consults thesaurus, person of questionable parentage ) , it never really recovers
It's keyboard or joystick....poor, poor joystick. I do miss my first joystick , although Daley Thompson was a major factor in the destruction of it, I do truly think that my father and this game were the final nail in the coffin. Electrical insulation tape does work wonders , but once someone has wrenched it violently left , left , left ( whilst shouting take that you ..er... consults dictionary, consults thesaurus, person of questionable parentage ) , it never really recovers
Despite me not really liking Boxing , just looking at the game itself I did have to admit the graphics were good. I was never really sure on the above graphic if that was sweat being smacked off the opponents face or teeth though. From my Dad's point of view, sat on the floor of the lounge, close to the big old fashioned colour TV, fragile joystick gripped tightly with a look of intense concentration , I think it's fair to say he did enjoy this game.
It was simple enough to control (where as some of the more Kung Fu type games had moves that required a little more effort), there wasn't much plot and the more reduced colours made for a very focused game play . So why is this game included in my merry jaunt down gaming memory lane?
Ten years after this game was released my father and I worked in the same factory , him for a very long time , me for ten years. What does that have to do with this game? Two words...Stress Relief.
Ten years after this game was released my father and I worked in the same factory , him for a very long time , me for ten years. What does that have to do with this game? Two words...Stress Relief.
There were times during those factory working years when you would feel both physically and mentally destroyed. We worked on piece-work , every second had to be accounted for , slow down you lost money, lose your team money , well, that was not a good position to be in. Our days were governed by supervisors who would follow workers around with stopwatches, timing your work, coffee breaks and even toilet breaks. It was frustrating, it was maddening , people were injured often , but you were in it for the money...You got knocked down , you got back up again....Losing your temper would be losing your job, you couldn't risk it. Not in work, not with real people....
But with the little black box you could relieve this stress. The opponents within the game became the supervisors who bullied, co-workers who lashed out because of their own stress, managers who pushed for more and more overtime. The game possibly allowed me to keep my job for a few years more than I would have otherwise.
I don't in any way endorse either my father's or my behaviour as a correct way of dealing with stress and if you are stressed there are professional bodies that will help. But for a quick fix in desperate times it worked. I'm not sure a more multicoloured , loud soundtrack, more realistic game would have helped. It was the gift of the ZX Spectrum to be able to produce a game that was sort of realistic, but not too much so .
To give you reality but to keep you shielded within it's safe ,rubber keyed , black plastic world.
I don't in any way endorse either my father's or my behaviour as a correct way of dealing with stress and if you are stressed there are professional bodies that will help. But for a quick fix in desperate times it worked. I'm not sure a more multicoloured , loud soundtrack, more realistic game would have helped. It was the gift of the ZX Spectrum to be able to produce a game that was sort of realistic, but not too much so .
To give you reality but to keep you shielded within it's safe ,rubber keyed , black plastic world.