Videogame Remake of 1986's World Series Game 6

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Even non-baseball fans must concede that the re-creation of the bottom half of the 10th inning of Game Six of the 1986 World Series, using the original broadcast audio and a replay with Nintendo's RBI Baseball, took enormous dedication. 'Something like the Keith Hernandez at-bat, where he flies out to center, took like 200 attempts,' Creator Conor Lastowka told WSJ.com. Though it wasn't quite as hard as it looks: 'Thanks to the emulator software, each time Mr. Hernandez's at-bat strayed from history's script, Mr. Lastowka was able to replay from the previous at-bat. Using a computer rather than an actual game console like a PlayStation allowed Mr. Lastowka to save his progress along the way. He built his precise Game-Six replica bit by bit -- not in one flawless, improbable take.' Before he made the viral video, Lastowka was jobless; three days after its release, he had a job with a classic-films company."

Blah

Using a computer rather than an actual game console like a PlayStation

Hmm? You mean like a Nintendo?

And can I get a supersubmitter account like the WSJ has? I have some regurgitated news with ads, too.

Re:Blah

There is no supersubmitter account, this article by WSJ probably took like 200 attempts to get accepted. He submitted this well crafted article bit by bit -- not in one flawless, improbable take.

can anyone read this?

When I try to RTFA, I get caught in an endless Flash loop that tells me, ironically, that I have free access to the entire site. "Skip intro" just reloads it.

Re:can anyone read this?

Ah yes, the chinese finger trap of flash-based splash intros... the harder you try to get past it, the firmer its grip becomes.

I'm afraid you've most likely "pulled" so hard that you're trapped forever.

Re:can anyone read this?

Finger traps don't have a close button, though.

More like a monkey-trap: some food inside a hole in a tree trunk. The hole is just small enough for the monkey to slide its hand in, but if it grabs the food it can't pull its fist out. So you can escape if you give up what you were looking for.

I believe I speak for Red Sox Fans everywhere...

.. when I say to Conor Lastowka,

Go kiss a duck.

Direct link to WMV

Ah, a direct link to a WMV3 w/ WMA2 audio. Very nice. Anyone want to give me a link that I can actually play?

Google video link

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8547285560 243429315&q=RBI+baseball&pl=true [google.com]

A quick google search would have done as much try "rbi game 6"

RBI Baseball

I always loved that game. It was very tough (or I was terrible, quite possible). But I just loved the way the little guys looked, all round and fat. It was my favorite baseball game for the NES. In the later versions, they "fixed" the people and they looked better but I always liked the original.

Baseball for the Game Boy looked almost identical, I always wondered if they were somehow "related" (like it was just published under Nintendo). Anyone know?

Warning to Red Sox fans...

This is like reliving a horrible, traumatic experience all over again.

...it gets through Buckner!

And people said that the popular obsession with the Red Sox would end after they won a world series.

I have to admit, it did cool my obsession a little bit. I don't hang on to the idea of a World Series win with the same... what's the word... desperation? I don't do that anymore.

But I think that now, the obsession for most people is still there, it's just changed. It's like people who love the old Commodore 64 games, or old anything. It's a club now, people remembering when-- just like people recreating text based games. I thought I'd be annoyed with it, but it's actually feeling cooler every year, not the other thing.

Side-By-Side

Without having seen this World Series, a side-by-side of the actual thing and this recreation would be nice. He did, after all, try his best to mimic the real thing.

ObSeinRef

Who does this guy think he is?

Video clips on YouTube

Here [youtube.com] and here [youtube.com].

Piracy? DMCA? No problem.

From TFA: "Emulators, which are widely available free online, allow any computer to run the programming of older consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System. Combined with a pirated online version of the game called a ROM, a normal PC can duplicate the Nintendo experience. Mr. Lastowka spent about six hours recreating the bottom of the 10th..."

And nothing but praise in TFA for his ingenuity. Fine, so why are other people being threatened with enormous fines for doing exactly the same thing? Interesting to see if there is any fallout from that detail.

Re:Piracy? DMCA? No problem.

Not to mention the use of audio from the broadcast without (I'm assuming) the express written consent of Major League Baseball (I always like that line best when it was spoken by Al Michaels)

There's a ton of copyright violations going on here, but anyone who sues over it will look like a major douchebag.

Buahaha

From the About page of duffx.com [duffx.com]:

Duffx.com will live on until it reaches the point where Duff can no longer afford to support it.

Anyone want to start a pool on this one?

Buckner

Buckner: a name that will live in infamy through to the end of human consciousness due to the tireless and (sometimes unbelievable) sports history fanatics!

How these these people love sports details so much is beyond me.

Re:Buckner

Buckner got a bad rap. The game was shot when Stanley threw the wild pitch. The Sox squandered a two-run lead in extra innings at field where they didn't have home-field advantage -- always a good recipe for a loss. Buckner, after all, didn't give up the three hits and two runs that got the Sox in that situation to begin with.

Moreover, most people don't remember how much Buckner did to help the Sox make the postseason in the first place.

the recreation most baseball fans are waiting for

is Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. As I remember it:

"He walked him, Millar's going to first base, and in comes Dave Roberts to run for Millar as Bill Mueller steps in the batter's box. The Yankees are just three outs away from a trip to the World Series and a sweep of the Red Sox. Roberts definitely has Rivera's attention, he's drawing a lot of looks from the mound. There's a throw over, runner back. Another throw over, runner back. Here's the pitch.

Roberts is taking off...."

Seinfeld

How about a recreation of the Keith Hernandez spitting incident?

Ball doesn't go through Buckner's legs

The one thing that people remember about this game was not re-created in the video game. So basically, this is just a big waste of time for everyone involved.

it wont be long until..

We see this real time in sports games, for instant replays or "what if" scenarios.

How Cruel

Though I was a youngin living in Massachusetts at the time, the game being remade here is still very painful. Did they think of consulting Red Sox fans first? I may need to go see a counselor. Of all the totally insensitive things to do...

even...must agree...

Ever notice that when you see the statement even [...] must agree..., it is always followed by a bald-faced assertion that everyone is never going to agree on?

If you find yourself making this statement, maybe you should just stop right there and rethink what you are about to say.

For his next project...

Do you think he could re-create my first date?

In GTA: Vice City?

Anodyne link?

From the WSJ article:
Unfortunately, Mr. Lastowka neglected to click an anodyne link at the bottom of the page marked "rules and regulations,"

Did anybody else not understand what an "anodyne link" is? As an adjective, anodyne means "capable of relieving pain".

Can somebody clue me in here as to what that could possibly mean?

dom

Just STOP already!

This was the single most painful event in the long Red Sox win drought. I was watching that day, and a simple fielding error by Bill Buckner, his failure to stop a ball hit between his legs, seemed to cause the Red Sox to lose their spirit, and go on to lose that game AND the next one to lose the Series.

It RUINED Buckner's life, although the rest of the team bore responsibility too, for not fighting back. Eventually Buckner had to move from Boston, because of abuse by fans, and then to Canada, to try to escape the taunts he heard every day.

But one day, it became too much for him, and suicide seemed to be his only option. On a street in downtown Toronto, he stepped in front of a bus.

It went through his legs.

Oh.

Well that was a spectacular waste of a few minutes of my life.

I'm glad that Slashdot is here to forward every lame video - now I don't need email.

He didn't even get it right

At 314 seconds into the video, the audio says "...Kevin Mitchell at 3rd, Gary Carter at 2nd..." when the video clearly shows the runners at 1st and 2nd.

With such an obvious error as that, I guess we have a new definition of "precise".

well...

He wanted to do a recreation of the downfall of the 1969 Cubs, but couldn't figure out how to get a black cat into RBI Baseball.

As long as it's not the Red Sox

They have been boo-hooing and whining way too long. Get over it. You mistreated the Babe, thus you deserve it.

"Even non-baseball fans must concede"?

Well, i for my part didnt even feel the motivation to click on that link.
The description just sounded so... baseball-like. (yawn)

World series ?

Which countries were competing ?

I loved the way the video...

caught the reactions on the player's faces perfectly. :)

With the exception of Red Sox fans, I thought the video was very clever.

What's next? A Steve Bartman replay?

if you want to dig up bad memories, how about that one?

I still got the tapes ...

from those memorable seventh through last innings.
Recorded from AFRTS TV, with Vin Scully and Joe
Garaciola.


BJ
The Netherlands

A (new?) idea?

I've had this idea mulling in my head for a few months:

1. Take the soundtrack for an old sci-fi movie. Recreate the movie only on computer, with modern computer effects.

Either:

2. Release the video of the movie, with instructions that it should be played with the sound from the original film

or

2. Include with the video an application that will rip the sound from the original DVD, to create a new DVD.

Since you are technically not infringing on the copyright of the movie, you should get some interesting results.

Extra points if you:
1. Manage to make the video change the theme of the movie without changing the soundtrack.

2. Create an application to rip and resequence the audio track from one or more movies to create a new audio track.

Should I patent this? Probably.

Re:Dirrect Link to Video...

You do realize that that was linked in the summary, yes?

Anyway, in case of slashdotting, here's a rapidshare downloadable (better than google video) mirror [rapidshare.de]

Re:Some people...

"have WAAAYY too much time on their hand"

"I just figured I'd wander into the comments area and tell everybody that these people had too much time on their hands."

Re:Let me be the first to ask...

Because he wanted to? Why do so many people write different versions of basically the same program on their own time?

Besides, it got him a job, didn't it?

Re:Home page worthy?

Commander Taco, this is Echo 4. We have Soxfan-sign. Repeat, we have Soxfan-sign.

Re:Let me be the first to ask...

Because.

This sounds like a case of a "hobby gone obsession gone job" to me. It most likely started as "Hey, I think it would be cool if..." and then after countless hours, became the finished product and a job.

Now that I think of it, I should do a full scale rendition of the NHL 2005 Playoffs in Lego.

Re:Copyright violation on so many levels its funny

What is the NBA doing with MLB audio?

Re:got a JOB from making that video?

I think you underestimate how much time/work/dedication it takes to COMPLETE such a project... He clearly shows gumption and a can-do attitude. I think he deserves a job.