Atari Haikus

In my day, video games took some IMAGINATION, yessir. You had to use your imagination to convince yourself that the thing you were moving around the screen was an airplane, not, say, a naked woman (or the other way around if you were playing "Porky's"). But imagination worked. In my mind, those Atari games had massive backstories. Even the simplest games became epic. Of course, I played Nintendo every chance I got, but we had Atari at my house through the mid 90s - and I got another one in the late 90s, when Star Wars collecting got too expensive. The days of finding Star Wars figures at garage sales and flea markets were over, but Atari games could be found mixed in with the eight track tapes at most thrift stores.

2600
wood grain machine of glory
matched the rec room walls

We could play some games
with our phones, back in those days.
Like "Choke Your Brother"

Space Indvaders screen
would get fuzzy every time
my mom would vacuum

Was E.T. THAT bad?
I played it for hours and hours
exploring, hopeless

Sixty-four big levels
to pass in Demon Attack
new guys every time

Difficulty switch
black and white or color switch
gone with the joystick

That one sound effect
for new games in new movies?
atari donkey kong

Get the ball up top
on super break out, sounds like
Baba o'Reilly

Sword Quest Really sucked.
there, I said it. Again now:
sword quest really sucked.

By the time I earned
a patch on Decatholon
they stopped making them

I found jungle hunt
at a garage sale on Fifth
already had it

try up up down down
left right left right B A start .
It'll never work!

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Adam's New Book: Sept 2013