# What was this computer game? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975 "2007-10-08T18:37:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/1 "2007-10-08T18:37:59Z")
I think it must have been the early 90s, and I believe the computer was a Mac. I don’t remember much about the game other than you were flying something that resembled a space ship. The memorable part was the sound effects. Certain bits of the game went “blebbem” “blebbem.” Others went “boing” “boing” “boing.” I know it’s not much, but I think if anyone ever played the game they’d recognize it. The effects were the only reason to play. Blebbem blebbem baboingboing. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/2 "2007-10-08T18:40:24Z")
[Crystal Quest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Quest)? ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/3 "2007-10-08T19:25:44Z")
What \*\*Miller \*\*said. The game was pretty simple – just fly around the screen collecting crystals and avoiding the no-nos. What really made it a hoot, though, was the sound effects. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/4 "2007-10-08T19:45:46Z")
Crystal Quest has got to be one of the only games that is instantly recognizable by a single sound effect. Somewhere recently on TV I heard the “Rat Death” sound from [“Dark Castle”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Castle) and nearly feel out of my chair laughing. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/5 "2007-10-08T19:46:55Z")
Awesome, thanks. I don’t actually remember that being the title, but if the sound effects sound right, it must be the game. Blebbem. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/6 "2007-10-08T19:56:51Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] Crystal Quest has got to be one of the only games that is instantly recognizable by a single sound effect. Somewhere recently on TV I heard the “Rat Death” sound from [“Dark Castle”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Castle) and nearly feel out of my chair laughing. [/QUOTE] There was an episode of the new _Doctor Who_, where they’re stuck on a remote space station that’s experiencing some sort of supernatural/demonic manifestations. At one point, early in the show, before it’s clear what’s going on, someone walks through an automatic door, and the sound it makes closing behind him is the door sound from _Doom_. Somehow, that was just about the coolest thing, ever. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/7 "2007-10-08T20:08:10Z")
Since that answer was so easy, does anyone remember a game where two spaceships are trying to shoot each other through a field of stars and you had to control the angle and speed of the lasers (or whatever they were) based on the gravity of the stars? ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/8 "2007-10-08T20:32:44Z")
I can’t even remember how many hours I spent playing this game on our LCIII. Those higher levels were an absolute bitch though. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/9 "2007-10-08T21:11:18Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] Crystal Quest has got to be one of the only games that is instantly recognizable by a single sound effect. Somewhere recently on TV I heard the “Rat Death” sound from [“Dark Castle”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Castle) and nearly feel out of my chair laughing. [/QUOTE] Was this the one with the orgasmic sound? ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/10 "2007-10-08T21:17:18Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] Since that answer was so easy, does anyone remember a game where two spaceships are trying to shoot each other through a field of stars and you had to control the angle and speed of the lasers (or whatever they were) based on the gravity of the stars? [/QUOTE] Oh hey, was that the one where the two ships were little triangles, and if you were patient enough (and your opponent rubbish enough) you could shoot through the intervening planets? I played that for ages on my high school’s Archimedes computers. I remember you got some really strange gravity effects if you dug through the center of a planet. Was it called Gravity Wars? Gravity Force? Something like that I think. Hmm; the version I remember wasn’t quite like [this](http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~doroshen/downloads/gwars.html), but obviously the same principle. What system would you have played it on? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/11 "2007-10-08T22:00:43Z")
[QUOTE=Dead Badger] Was it called Gravity Wars? Gravity Force? Something like that I think. Hmm; the version I remember wasn’t quite like [this](http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~doroshen/downloads/gwars.html), but obviously the same principle. What system would you have played it on? [/QUOTE] That’s the one. Well, it didn’t look exactly like that, but close. I think I would have been playing it on a Windows 3.1 machine. I loved that game. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/12 "2007-10-08T23:11:16Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] There was an episode of the new _Doctor Who_, where they’re stuck on a remote space station that’s experiencing some sort of supernatural/demonic manifestations. At one point, early in the show, before it’s clear what’s going on, someone walks through an automatic door, and the sound it makes closing behind him is the door sound from _Doom_. Somehow, that was just about the coolest thing, ever. [/QUOTE] The Doom door sound effect is from a standard library of sound effects that people can license. So if you listen closely, particularly on science fiction shows, you’ll hear it turn up from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/13 "2007-10-08T23:14:40Z")
[QUOTE=Just Some Guy] The Doom door sound effect is from a standard library of sound effects that people can license. So if you listen closely, particularly on science fiction shows, you’ll hear it turn up from time to time. [/QUOTE] I still say it was no coincidence that it ended up in that particular episode. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-computer-game/421975/14 "2007-10-08T23:20:54Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] Since that answer was so easy, does anyone remember a game where two spaceships are trying to shoot each other through a field of stars and you had to control the angle and speed of the lasers (or whatever they were) based on the gravity of the stars? [/QUOTE] The original version was called [Spacewar!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar%21) for the PDP-1. This spawned numerous imitations, including the arcade game [Space Wars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Wars).