April 25-May 1, 2002

naked city

The House That Pong Built

Illustration By: Don Haring, Jr.

Gamers young and old convene in Valley Forge this weekend.

by Brian Howard

Being classic has nothing at all to do with being old. The popular acceptance of the term “instant classic” is proof enough of that. But what becomes a classic?

It's the question and the idea that drives Philly Classic 3: The East Coast Classic Gamer's Event. And it's what should make it more than just a collection of nerds and geezers reliving the glory days of the Atari. The convention/exhibition taking place this weekend at the Valley Forge Convention Center will certainly have its share of people who were in their formative pre-teens when the 2600 first hit the market in 1977, but, as event producer David Newman explains, this is no mere trip down memory lane.

"Sometimes people say å games? That's all old games, right?'" says Newman. The video game junkie and Philly Classic's producer and founder sips an iced coffee on the porch of a Starbucks in Bryn Mawr. As we chat, a car drives past, its horn blaring "Dixie" à la The Dukes of Hazzard. "No, classic doesn't mean old, just like old doesn't necessarily mean classic. There's a lot of trash they put out in the early '80s, thus the video game crash of '83-'84."

For Newman and like-minded souls, a game like Tony Hawk Pro Skater or Tetris, games that strike an instant chord with players, are classics as much as Pac Man or Dig Dug. A game need not be flashy or graphically superior. Pong, Breakout and Combat -- simple in design yet infinitely addictive -- are among the industry's gems.

"Some of those old board games, on the box would say å minute to learn, a lifetime to master' and that's my definition of a classic," says Newman. "That's what really cuts across the appeal. When Windows first came out... people were addicted to Solitaire, and it's not so much that they couldn't get a stack of cards and play solitaire for the last 200 years, but something about doing it on the computer. Obviously thousands upon thousands of hours of productivity were lost, but so be it."

The game is, after all, the thing. No amount of graphical ingenuity will save a title that's just not fun to play. It's the explanation behind why simple but elegant cartridges like Donkey Kong, Burgertime, Asteroids, Berzerk and Joust -- games that will all be available for play in one form or another at PC3 -- endure.

Installment three of the Philly Classic is by far the most ambitious. PC1 drew 50 people and was held in a conference room at the Villanova Conference Center. PC2 drew 300 to a space at the Airport Sheraton that was almost double the size (3,000 square feet). This year Newman and company are shooting for the big time, moving to a 15,000-square-foot space and predicting 600-800 attendees while prepared for upwards of 2,000. If things go well, Newman hopes to take the show on the road. Among the festivities will be game contests (including Burgertime, Pokémon, Bust-A-Move and Wizard of Wor), vendors' tables, auction, an Xbox giveaway among other prizes and 50-60 arcade games set on free play.

"I might be giving the impression that the show is only for hardcore gamers," cautions Newman. "I think the most casual person who is even in the most passing way interested in video games today will have an awful lot to see and do at the show." PlayStation2 and Xbox will be represented alongside more antiquated systems.

But there is a hardcore element to the proceedings. If this year is anything like years prior, people will be flying in from abroad to attend. Also, one man is recreating, from pictures, "original demo kiosks" that might have been found at department stores where customers could try out the latest games and systems.

And several programmers will be premiering new games for some of these older systems. French-Canadian Daniel Bienvenu will unveil his Colecovision version of the popular online game Bejeweled. Carl Forhan of Songbird productions will be showing off CyberVirus and Protector SE for, respectively, the long-forgotten Atari platforms Lynx and Jaguar. Other exclusive releases include Bugs Bunny (Bob Polaro's game which was once in development by Atari and subsequently shelved will be released by Atari2600.com's Joe Cody), Brian Prescott's Vault Assault Tournament Edition, Joe Grand's SCSIcide and Christopher Tumber's Vectrex VIX/Tsunami and Spinnerama.

For some like Forhan classic game developing is a hobby. For others like Bienvenu it's a passion. Bienvenu explains that he's been consumed by the thought of programming for ColecoVision since he was 7 or 8 when his older brother got the game system.

In a way, it is a family thing. "It's sort of like carrying on the tradition," says the ever self-effacing Newman of the cross-generational appeal. "It's like, å, I grew up on Pac Man and here's the original.' It's a passing of the torch so to speak, in a terribly nerdy way, obviously."

Philly Classic 3, Fri., April 26, 5-10:30 p.m.; Sat., April 27, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., $10 in advance, $15 at the door, Valley Forge Convention Center, 1160 First Ave., King of Prussia, www.phillyclassic.com.