Tuesday, 10 November 2009
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Pokemon on the TI-83? Games on Your Calculator
"You can't play video games in math class!"
I know I'm not the only one who has been told this. Of course, when I was being caught playing games during a lecture it was classics like Pimp Quest and Drug Wars on the TI-83.
Recently I broke out my dusty old calculator and took my favorite games for a spin. It made me yearn for those days when I could just tune the professor out and focus on my drug cartels. It also made me wonder if kids are still playing these things. I went looking on the Internet. Have you seen what's out there now?
Super Mario?!
Pokemon?
Just do a YouTube search for calculator games and see what else is out there! My, we've come a long way since text-based adventures featuring everyone's favorite professions. It's enough to make this guy feel old...
Do you still play games on your TI-83?
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Comments (30)
I was more for making streams of ASCII animation, personally. xD
woooowww this brings back so many memories!!! It helped me survived AP Calc HAHA. I'm going to go look for my ti-83 now =)
When I was in high school I was always so jealous of all the kids that had games on their calculators. My mom lost all the cables for mine so I was never able to put any on. >_<
@theacematt2@xanga - That. Is. Amazing.
Wow. That's so much more impressive than the games we used to make.
would have killed for pokemon on the TI-83 when I was younger.
@theacematt2@xanga - I did that, as well.
@dolcecorazon@dollarish - I survived business calc by making a program all semester long that dispensed nuggets of wisdom at random number inputs...virtual fortune cookies, if you will.
@chani - That's a drag.
@zombiejuices@xanga - Isn't it, though? Who would have thought that such a small processor could make Pokemon and Mario fit for math class?!
@canicus@xanga - Amen. The most impressive thing I ever made was virtual fortune cookies.
@Crysanthemums@xanga - It certainly would have done bad things to my math grade.
Now I wish I would have had some higher level classes.
I used to program games on my TI-83. It was really my first programming experience and probably propelled me to become a computer science major.
I remember having streetfighter! lol, and drug wars, and tetris
Wow, I could use these during Trig... Yessss.
Dude. I saw some of those before but geez. I remember playing stupid crappy bowling things and writing a text adventure on one. I wish people made these things back then. They are so awesome!
.... now I really need to buy an adapter for mine since it's a TI-86. I have Tetris but I was too good at it in high school and now I can't beat my own scores. T_T
For some freaking weird reason, only TI-85-86's don't have usb ports. :\
OMG! I had no idea calculators could have games on them! Where have I been! I even took all the upper level classes! I never had a TI calculator though, I had the Casio equivalent of the TI-89.
@Viewtiful_Justin - HAHA! That is very clever! ^_^ I also remember taking AP Calc exams and throwing formulas into the calc. Cheating, yes. Did I do good on the exams... Hmmm... =/
I never had a chance to buy the cable thing to transfer games to mine, so I either had to make them myself or actually pay attention in class. I was too lazy to do the former, so I did the latter, which sucked.
Although there was this mode where you could draw on the screen, which I used frequently.
WOAH! I never knew anything about this! Wow! I need to get me one of those!
...Too bad the teacher doesn't let us use calculators in my math class. >.>
Always asked my brother to borrow his calculator on long car rides, so I could play games while he did homework, until I got my own. Once I had that, I was completely hooked. Drag Racer and the Space Invader type games? That's what it's all about.
@Chani - You could have looked up the source code for some of the games and written them in yourself. :P
Somebody stole mine in school. XP It doesn't matter anymore,though, because I don't even have a math class this year.
I never had games on my calculator, even though I wanted them. I didn't know how to get them on it.
I never knew how to get access to the games on the calculator. Kinda just rented a ti83 last year for senior year in high school.. and used it for the mere purpose of math. Makes me wonder what I could have played.
I used to play Super Mario ALL the time in every class that required a calculator.
I have a TI-89 for Precal, and I play tetris and Super Mario on it all the time. It's good to know that a $150 calculator is being put to good use.
I once coded a little RPG for the TI-83+. It was more like a dungeon crawler (hence the name, DUNGEON) and was surprisingly fun for being so simplistic.
The reason I love the Calculators isn't actually the games (that's a contributor, but no) but the way it gets kids interested in programming and game developing. Just think how many guys working on Quakes and Final Fantasies today got their start because of this little machine.