The 30 Dumbest Video Game Titles Ever

[Hippy_Hollow]

@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.

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?

[Scissorjack]

@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.

True dat. The sequel was called Llamarama, which is either true genius or utter pants.

[Student_Driver]

@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.

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?

[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.

[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.

[Anne_Neville]

@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.

I think the only word for that is “so dumb it’s awesome”.

[Dumbguy]

I’d vote for Cholo, a sci-fi robot fps from the 80’s that has absolutely nothing to do with, uh, never mind…

[Jophiel]

@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.

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

[Student_Driver]

@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.

It was a word-play/puzzle text adventure by Infocom. It was pretty fun.

[Drain_Bead]

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.

[CapnPitt]

@Student Driver

It was a word-play/puzzle text adventure by Infocom. It was pretty fun.

Oh really? Nearly everything Infocom put out was pretty fun. Still a dumb title in my big book o’ dumb titles.

[Student_Driver]

@CapnPitt

Oh really? Nearly everything Infocom put out was pretty fun. Still a dumb title in my big book o’ dumb titles.

Did you ever get to see the box? Here’s a link. Click on the box thumbnail for a good close-up. 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.