Calculator gaming has existed since the invention of programmable calculators. Though graphic calculators still usually only reach the complexity of the eight-bit systems of the 1980s and 90s, certain advantages are immediately obvious. Casio calculators are not immediately perceived as gaming systems, but they offer budding programmers the ability to create their own games cheaply, and because of their ability to link to other calculators, games are easily shareable.
Gaming Options
Games on Casio calculators are still popular in high schools and colleges owing to the ability to easily conceal a gaming system within what is usually perceived as an educational tool. Although audio on these calculators is primitive in comparison with other devices, chances are that a gamer wishing to conceal his device will not be running audio in the first place. Also, user interface for gamers on graphing calculators is somewhat difficult to handle. Yet, factors like these tend not to matter under the circumstances in which having a handheld gaming device might otherwise be forbidden or considered rude.
Games on Casio calculators vary from remakes of classics such as Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Sim City to original games created by amateur programmers such as Dope Wars and Block Dude. Because a Casio Calculator is a programming machine, users with some computer knowledge and ability are often able to create their own games and post them to websites and forums to share with friends. Fans of retro gaming will be pleasantly surprised to find such classics as Asteroids, Pac Man and Pong available on a machine far less obtrusive than a Game Boy or cell phone. Furthermore, fans of classic games with some programming insight can also make the alterations they always wished to the games with which they grew up.
Alternatives
For those gamers who are neither attempting to camouflage their pastimes nor tweak game programming, other far more advanced systems will provide a superior gaming experience at a similar or reduced price. A new Nintendo DS Lite cost $129.99 as of fall 2009, and a used Gameboy Advance may be acquired for under $50, while newer graphing calculators usually cost over $100 and barely obtain the sophistication of the earliest handheld gaming systems. Higher end cell phones that may be bought at the same price as a Casio Calculator usually have a friendlier user interface, improved audio, and better graphics besides also serving as a communications device.
Tags: Games Casio, calculators still, Casio Calculator, Casio calculators, create their
