Perestroika games. What and what were played in the USSR?

For a year now, pop culture has been in the power of retro. Neon 80s rod from everywhere: they are stylized by blockbusters, series, music and, of course, games. Hundreds of games. This era is so widely reflected in media that even children of the 21st century know very well what it is PAC-Man And how all America went crazy on arcade machines.

But the game culture really blossomed only on the other side of the "iron curtain"?

Surprisingly, no.

A sudden future

On April 23, 1985, the newly elected Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev announced the need to reform the entire country's management system. Thus began a restructuring, which was extending from 1985 to 1991 – until the collapse of the USSR. She was conceived as a global program to exit the “Station period”, which covered the alliance during the Brezhnev rule, but in the end everything became worse. Due to the hasty and ill-conceived decisions of the country's leadership, as well as because of a number of other circumstances (the Chernobyl disaster, the protracted war in Afghanistan), the country's economy collapsed, and this, in turn, greatly affected the lifestyle of every citizen of the USSR.

Ratual thing: disk with Gorby No Pipeline Daisakusen , Gorbachev puzzle about the Gorbachev pipeline, which came out a couple of months before the collapse of the Soviet Union

But, contrary to considerable opinion, it was during this period (and even a little earlier – already in 1983–1984) the first personal computers began to appear in the Soviet Union). Popular in the West Commodore 64 And Amiga We did not enjoy our success due to the high cost and difficulties of import, and therefore the PC fell into the USSR from Eastern European countries. First of all, from Poland, where cheap clones were produced ZX Spectrum , called Elwro. The Union trusted the Polish product: back in the 1960s, Warsaw analog computers Elwat proven themselves as excellent cars, fast and reliable.

Elwro 800 Junior. Once this tube of Bandur was the limit of dreams of many Soviet teenagers who are versed in technology

But due to the fact that even the Polish PC cost quite decent money, Soviet radio amateurs quickly dismantled them into https://amigo-wins-casino.co.uk/ constituent schemes and created several their own developments that emulated ZX Spectrum. And after May 26, 1988, with the adoption of the Law on Cooperation, the first cooperatives began to appear in the USSR, where engineers collected their own computers.

Games category "BC"

In 1989, mass production began BK-0011 – improved version of the legendary BK-0010 , which in the common people was called "backing". It was this version that became a real hit among the Soviet public. The cost of such machines at that time was several times higher than the salary of engineers who also produced them, but the most diligent employees were allowed to take them with them to work at home. There, of course, the computer immediately occupied the children. And especially cunning cooperators united, bought several “backing” in the folding and created real computer clubs. The cost of one hour in such institutions was near the ruble – which means that entrepreneurs did not lack customers: few could afford a personal “household computer”, not everyone also had access to factories, but everyone wanted to play everyone.

This is what one of the best household "computers" of that time looked. Instead of a monitor – an ordinary TV

This period can be considered one of the unique game development in the history of. Since computers in the USSR spread more spontaneously, no one really knew how to program them. Craftsmen capable of decimal code, antediluvian keyboard and a clock frequency of 4 kHz maximum (!) create at least something seemed to wizards. And programs and games were recorded directly on the cassettes – using an ordinary tape recorder. It was a process of pure creativity, because in addition to Kálek from Western samples who were distributed by engineers who visited abroad, their own, original, projects were created.

In order: “Micro”, “Neuron”, “Search”, “Sura”, “Agat”. At the price of the latter, you could buy a used "Volga"

Of course, gamers of the USSR lived not alone. There were many other models – both their own and strangers. It is especially worth noting the expensive "Agate" , at a cost of about a good domestic car of that time. And of course, one cannot help but mention the analogs of slot machines, clones Nintendo Game & Watch brands "Electronics" And even copies Big Trak , a terrible toy tank controlled using a keyboard on top of the case.

Capitalists, fillers and Martians

Well, now let's remember what exactly the Soviet gamers played during the perestroika period.

Tetris

First of all, this, of course, was developed in 1984 by Alexei Pazhitnov "Tetris" , as well as his clones Tetcolor (with colored cubes), Hatris (with hats), Faces (with faces) and even, attention, the sequel of Tetris – Welltris (with three -dimensional cubes)!

"Saboteur"

In fact, this is a clone Space Invaders, One of the most important projects in the history of video games, and at the same time, the real hit of the amateur computer "Radio-86RK". The plot is simple: the aliens attacked the city, and the anti -aircraft gun should bring down not only the ships of the interventionists, but also the landing. Glasses are spent on shots that are made for every shocked ship and a destroyed alien. Ten missed saboteurs – the end of the game. At one time, computer clubs were filled with “saboteurs”, and those who wish to join archaic classics can even play the project emulator.

" Kommersant "

A real economic strategy created for the first IBM PC. For its time, incredibly large. The player begins with a small condition (house, car, some money), which needs to be increased through the conclusion of profitable deals. In addition to competitors, random events interfere with him in this. For example, only you started turning into millions of rubles, and then a car knocks you down! Also in the project you can see individual elements "Monopoly". In the 1990s, it seems, there was no computer on which Kommersant had never stood. The game was freely distributed through the FIDONET nodal network, from where it was recorded on the wheels and transferred from the office to the office.

Filler

Favorite free time killer of all office workers of the 90s. This logical game is based on the simplest concept: players go in turn and “stain” the territory divided into rhombuses in a specific color that does not correspond to what the enemy chose. The goal is to “paint over” more than half of the area earlier. In the absence of a living person, the role of the opponent was taken by the computer, but the most funny is, of course, to play with a colleague. One batch goes away for 10-15 minutes, and still “filler” remains an unassuming, but effective way to compete in the quick wits and speed of the reaction (the working break is not rubber, but I want to play everyone!).

PresTroika

Perhaps the strangest game of that time. And no, this is not a prequel for a political simulator Crisis in the Kremlin. “Perestroika” – Arkada, where a green fly -shaped democrat jumps along the “islands of Freedom” (according to another version – according to “decrees”), collecting benefits for the people to reach a new stage of the large path displayed at the top of the screen. Simply put, in front of us is Grindel. The islands-surveying gradually go under the water, and the democrat is trying to catch bureaucrats similar to the bug-eyed monsters. Despite the crazy allegorical nature, the game turned out to be terribly exciting. Later even a remake was made TopPler , where the democrat was replaced with a frog, and islands – with water lilies.

And you yourself found those times? Remember your first computer or a couple of favorite games? Or maybe they heard similar stories from older friends, colleagues or relatives? Share memories in the comments – and play only the best!