# The 30 Dumbest Video Game Titles Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 28, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050 "2008-03-28T15:03:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/41 "2008-03-31T06:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=Jophiel] As I recall, it was jokingly named after the designer’s favorite radio station, KMEL. I believe shooting the camels (or was it something else?) gave you the same number of points as the station’s frequency. So it might have been poorly named but at least there was a reason for it. [/QUOTE] This might be true but I doubt it. The programmer was Jeff Minter, a UK-based hippie who had a love for all things camel and rainbow-related. He had some odd lifestyle choices but could put together a decent game. From what I know he lived in the UK for all his life, at least until he was programming those C64 games, so I think it’s unlikely that he had a favorite US radio station. No mention of “Horace Goes Skiing?” I’m greatly amused by the existence of “Bus Driver.” What’s your target demographic for that game? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/42 "2008-03-31T07:44:04Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] This might be true but I doubt it. The programmer was Jeff Minter, a UK-based hippie who had a love for all things camel and rainbow-related. He had some odd lifestyle choices but could put together a decent game. [/QUOTE] True dat. The sequel was called Llamarama, which is either true genius or utter pants. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/43 "2008-03-31T16:35:03Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] No, it was an actual Neo Geo game called The Irritating Maze (having played it, I can tell you that it’s a very apt title). Used a trackball. Really obscure; I’ve only ever seen it on emulator. [/QUOTE] Just booted it up in MAME, didn’t know it was there. Irritating Stick is the US Playstation name-- same game otherwise (and, yeah, it’s f’ing irritating to play). Interestingly, that arcade version of the game has a warning that pregnant women and those with heart conditions should not play the game-- I wonder if some models of the game had a shock device? ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/44 "2008-03-31T21:58:34Z")
There was a game called something along the lines of _Nord and Bert Couldn’t Make Head or Tail of It_. I have no idea what it was about. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/45 "2008-03-31T22:43:03Z")
There was a Space Invaders clone for one of the '80s systems called _Communist Mutants from Outer Space_. I’m not sure if that title is dumb or awesome. I’m leaning toward awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/46 "2008-03-31T23:30:40Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] There was a Space Invaders clone for one of the '80s systems called _Communist Mutants from Outer Space_. I’m not sure if that title is dumb or awesome. I’m leaning toward awesome. [/QUOTE] I think the only word for that is “so dumb it’s awesome”. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/47 "2008-04-01T00:15:59Z")
I’d vote for [Cholo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholo_(computer_game)), a sci-fi robot fps from the 80’s that has absolutely nothing to do with, uh, never mind… ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/48 "2008-04-01T04:25:25Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] This might be true but I doubt it. The programmer was Jeff Minter, a UK-based hippie who had a love for all things camel and rainbow-related. He had some odd lifestyle choices but could put together a decent game. [/QUOTE] Now you made me go look it up… > [@](#): > > To get the game just right, Minter spent four or five weeks working out the program. Then he took the game to some computer shows and let kids try it out, on the theory that the best way to debug a game is to let people play it. > > You might be wondering how he dreamed up the strange title. It seems that while visiting California recently, talking to the people at HES, Minter grew fond of the radio station KMEL. When he spotted the camel logo on the station’s T-shirts, he decided to incorporate camels into his next game. A camel appears in some of the higher skill levels, and you get 106 points for shooting it. Station KMEL just happens to be located at 106 on the FM band. [August 1983 Compute! Gazette](http://www.geocities.com/rmelick/105.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/49 "2008-04-01T11:25:14Z")
[QUOTE=CapnPitt] There was a game called something along the lines of _Nord and Bert Couldn’t Make Head or Tail of It_. I have no idea what it was about. [/QUOTE] It was a word-play/puzzle text adventure by Infocom. It was pretty fun. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/50 "2008-04-01T11:29:29Z")
I scrolled through that whole list hoping they included _Princess Tomato In the Salad Kingdom_. I actually played that game, and it was pretty cute. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/51 "2008-04-01T13:09:47Z")
[QUOTE=Student Driver] It was a word-play/puzzle text adventure by Infocom. It was pretty fun. [/QUOTE] Oh really? Nearly everything Infocom put out was pretty fun. Still a dumb title in my big book o’ dumb titles. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050/52 "2008-04-01T16:11:08Z")
[QUOTE=CapnPitt] Oh really? Nearly everything Infocom put out was pretty fun. Still a dumb title in my big book o’ dumb titles. [/QUOTE] Did you ever get to see the box? [Here’s a link. Click on the box thumbnail for a good close-up.](http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/nord-and-bert-couldnt-make-head-or-tail-of-it) The title makes more sense when it’s seen in context. It was meant to be a play on a familiar phrase (“Ah can’t make head or tail of it!”) that, when read with the accompanying very literal box-illustration/cartoon, helped to illustrate the game’s logic. For the puzzles, you had to read as literal some figurative cliche which had been given to you in the in-game text. Plus, hey, the box with title/caption, looked kinda like a Far Side cartoon, then quite popular. And it included a booklet of such cartoons-- bonus goodies as Infocom was wont to provide. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-30-dumbest-video-game-titles-ever/443050.md?page=2)