Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1980
Saint Mary’s Academy, 1982. (Photo: Nancy Leigh Williams)
That’s the TRS-80 model I in the first shot, released in 1977. The kids in the second shot are working on a model III, released in 1980.
(First image via UWEC Archives/Flickr)
Appearing in 1981, one year after Mattel’s Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game, the irresistible handheld actually caused fistfights during recess. I might have started one of them. Watching a demo now, I’m not sure what all the fuss was about. It’s a general indicator of how “in” the portable LCD games were, and how badly we wanted to be doing something D&D-related.
Gygax and co. understood the time constraints involved in role-playing, and they knew that getting a group together could be tough. Both of the Mattel games were quick and allowed solo play. Sometimes, clinging to the fringes of the D&D aura was the best we could do. In the first photo, as if to prove my point, you’ll see the first edition AD&D Monster Manual (1977) lurking in the closet, waiting for a game to show up. (I think the “Tempe North” on the kid’s hat refers to a Little League in Tempe, Arizona.)
See specs and details of the Computer Fantasy Game at the Handheld Games Museum. It appears on the first page of the 1982 Mattel Electronics toy fair catalog.
(Images via eBay and Handheld Games Museum)
I never really think of the 1980s as having such an unmistakeable look, but here it is: a sort of flamboyant, sugary Art Deco. It may be tacky, but damn, it sure is fun.
Wang Chung is underrated, in my opinion. Starting with 1983’s Points on the Curve, they put out several catchy, sophisticated pop albums. I hated them in 1987, of course, and would have been going on Space Mountain over and over again when the music started. That’s what I did at my grad nite in 1990.
Check out pre-“My Prerogative” Bobby Brown! It’s hard to think that at one time he was a somewhat normal guy with a more than tenuous grasp of reality and common sense.
See a whole lot more grad nite material at the ultimate old school Disneyland source, Vintage Disneyland Tickets.
We called them ghetto blasters in 4th grade, which is probably when I got mine. We would all strut around blasting Devo’s Oh, No! It’s Devo. Because we were so urban.
Kid’s wearing a classic Izod design. And my God, the couch.
(Image via new2vulcan/eBay)
“Your son can have a lot more fun when you put his pals behind him”? Are you serious, Fruit of the Loom?
You can’t hide from me, Greyhawk Grognard! Every time a portrait of old school D&D geeks appears on the internets, a little alarm goes off on my aging laptop and I spring into action (i.e. I click on my Google homepage and type in a couple of keywords).
All hail the Pingry School Dungeons and Dragons Club of 1984! They can’t beat you on the football field, but they will, if you cross them, destroy you and your cheerleading lapdogs with various applications of black magic, telekinesis, and Lankhmarian-made rapiers.
How many polo animal mascots can you spot?
Caption, from JournalStar.com: Bennett Martin Public Library volunteer Laura McKee, age 12, shows her cousin David Nolan, 7, how to use the computer in 1982.
The Bennett Martin Public Library is in Lincoln, Nebraska. Dig that Lord of the Rings poster! It’s the Darrell Sweet cover for Ballantine’s Silver Jubilee Edition of The Two Towers (1981).
My mom took me to the local library once a week. I was that kid.
The Iron Maiden shirt on the left shows the cover from “Stranger in a Strange Land,” a single from Somewhere in Time (September, 1986). See both covers here. The artist is Derek Riggs, whose killer art nudged a lot of kids toward metal.
Another good portrait of a blossoming subculture, from the hair styles to the dark clothes—even the pose on the right. Tucking the pants into the tongue of the basketball shoes wasn’t just a metal thing, if I recall. Speaking of which, I can’t identify those shoes, and it’s bothering me. They’re not Jordan’s, they don’t look like Pony’s, and this kid wouldn’t have been wearing Reebok. Any other ideas?
The skateboards are generic deals. The one on the right might even be partially homemade.
(Photo via The Kat’s Meow Antiques)
A computer day camp in Chicago, December, 1979. PCs on display include the Apple II, the TRS-80, and the TI-99/4. The latter was brand new at the time. There’s another one I can’t identify to the right of the kid raising his hand. It looks a little like a Commodore PET.
Note the Garfield notebook in the first shot, and the BASIC code in the second. The kid typing the code (you can read all of it starting with line 95) is wearing an Izod sweater.
Terrific all-around coverage of an early lab and the kids who got to use it.
(Photos via eBay seller Historical Images)
Everything points to 1980 except for Pac-Man, which came out for the 400/800 in 1982. Atari’s probably cheating a little. I don’t see a Pac-Man box. In fact, the only game boxes I see are Super Breakout and Kingdom. The screenshots on both sides of the TV fall under different headings. I think the one in the middle is “entertainment.”
I don’t remember seeing the display. It’s possible I blocked it out—there’s no way I would’ve been able to push my way to the front of the line for a chance to play. The big kids ruled the demo units. And by big kids I don’t mean the well-dressed, well-mannered couple in the ad.
The image is from James Vaughan, who has some of the coolest sets on Flickr, including one called Retro Tech.
2 Warps to Neptune 