would they make an anti-American Propaganda games? I'm not sure if Atari and other video game companies would approve of that idea.
AHC: an Soviet Union Company makes video games (Sorry if it sounds ASB-ish) in 1972.
- Thread starter President Sunflower
- Start date
Their First game is called "Road to Vietnam" (Дорога в Вьетнам), A top down shooter based in the Jungles of north Vietnam. The Game did fairly well in the USSR, but never made it outside of the country due to fear of witchhunting by pro-west countries. It wouldn't be until August 8th, 1975 would they release their biggest sale yet: the ever-popular puzzle game, "Tetris" (Тетрис).
I'm going to sleep.
I'm going to sleep tonight, you can continue your timeline here, ok?
very well. hopefully more people would join the forum and make their own timelines and suggestions
iVC
Donor
Probably, the Soviet Union would by all means have tried to export these arcade machines to Europe in order to obtain a hard currency.
Perhaps, the labels "MADE IN THE USSR" would have been deliberately increased to act as a propaganda of the achievements of the Soviet system.
No, there would not be communist games. The USSR of the 1970s needed more hard currency than ideological victories, so the export of arcade machines would follow the public demand, and it's simple - ideological games are much more difficult to prepare than just usual games.
Perhaps electromechanical gaming machines would be more popular at first.
Perhaps, the labels "MADE IN THE USSR" would have been deliberately increased to act as a propaganda of the achievements of the Soviet system.
No, there would not be communist games. The USSR of the 1970s needed more hard currency than ideological victories, so the export of arcade machines would follow the public demand, and it's simple - ideological games are much more difficult to prepare than just usual games.
Perhaps electromechanical gaming machines would be more popular at first.
You do have a fair point, here.Probably, the Soviet Union would by all means have tried to export these arcade machines to Europe in order to obtain a hard currency.
Perhaps, the labels "MADE IN THE USSR" would have been deliberately increased to act as a propaganda of the achievements of the Soviet system.
No, there would not be communist games. The USSR of the 1970s needed more hard currency than ideological victories, so the export of arcade machines would follow the public demand, and it's simple - ideological games are much more difficult to prepare than just usual games.
Perhaps electromechanical gaming machines would be more popular at first.
iVC
Donor
I could recommend this site: http://www.15kop.ru/en/, which tries to recreate the old soviet arcade machines (this is the website of contemporary soviet arcade machines museum, actually located in Moscow and, partially, in St. Petersburg).
There is an article about history of soviet gaming and soviet electronic industry: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-alternate-universe-of-soviet-arcade-games
There is an article about history of soviet gaming and soviet electronic industry: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-alternate-universe-of-soviet-arcade-games
Well, technically the USSR released video games since 1978. Pong clones, Nintendo Game & Watch clones (with characters from Soviet cartoons), chess, etc.
chankljp
Donor
Well, in OTL, the Soviets did made their own coin-operated arcade games, and had them available at public locations such as pioneer camps, parks, cultural centers, cinemas, etc:
http://www.15kop.ru/en/
So, these can perhaps give us some insight on what kinds of video games the USSR would have created if their own gaming console or widely available PC. Namely, in their military themed games, they are not going to be actually naming who the enemies the players will be fighting were, and the rest will be your run of the mill driving/sports simulator games, but perhaps with lower production values compared to their Western counterparts.
By the time that the USST falls, expect people from the older generation to have very fond nostalgic memories of these games from their youth.
http://www.15kop.ru/en/
So, these can perhaps give us some insight on what kinds of video games the USSR would have created if their own gaming console or widely available PC. Namely, in their military themed games, they are not going to be actually naming who the enemies the players will be fighting were, and the rest will be your run of the mill driving/sports simulator games, but perhaps with lower production values compared to their Western counterparts.
By the time that the USST falls, expect people from the older generation to have very fond nostalgic memories of these games from their youth.
nbcman
Donor
Top down shooters are beyond the limits of a early to mid 1970s video game system. The Soviets should start off with simpler games like Pong or Spacewar.
No guarantee that it would have straight propaganda in it. Tetris is great propaganda. Any non-narrative game that is good will be propaganda for them, and that might be their focus.
But not necessarily to an overwhelming degree. The Soviet film and television industry is perhaps instructive: filmmakers were forbidden from criticizing communism, and yet there's still plenty of genuinely great, worthwhile films and shows that were produced under such constraints, as filmmakers pushed the boundaries of what was allowed or simply opted to refrain from overt commentary. Plus, early video games being what they are, I don't think there's even much capacity to use them as effective propaganda tools.
So while I imagine a pro-Soviet bias would exist, I think it would manifest in fairly benign ways. Games that tout the Soviet space program, for instance, or Red Western-esque revisionist takes on existent American genres (an Anti-Monopoly, perhaps). But plenty would follow Tetris in just being apolitical.
i kinda meant a more 8-bit style top down shooter, similar to Asteroid. but yeah, i guess you're right
I take it you got that idea from Ostalgie, where you can do just that.