Earlier this year, I had completed my Competent Communicators manual for Toastmasters. For those of you know who don't what it is, Toastmasters is a group that helps you become a better speaker. Both of my late parents were in Toastmasters with me currently in Toastmasters. For this article, I'm going to be talking about the 80s generation. I did three speeches about this topic with each one talking about a specific part of the 80s. To show what I did, below is a transcript of what I mentioned. Afterwards, I will explain better about each part of the Speech.
Toastmasters Speech #5:
“The 80s Generation Part 1: Music, Video Games, and Movies/MTV, Atari & Nintendo, and Tron” MTV premiered on August 1, 1981 at 12:01 AM with the words, “Ladies and Gentleman, Rock and Roll!” That was followed with coverage of the first Space Shuttle Launch and Footage of Apollo 11 Landing. First music video was Video Killed the Radio Star by the Baggles, then You Better Run by Pat Benatar. While the station has changed considerable, it is still known as the first to music television on cable TV.
Next, I am going to mention about two video game systems and some of their video games.
Atari 2600 first came out in 1979. However, the best games out between 1980 and 1984.
Some of the video games on Atari were available in arcades years later in a different format,
but they remained the same. A few video games were based on movies like I will mention shortly.
While most video games for the Atari were good, some of them were different than others. One particular video game that was based on a movie is considered the worse video game ever made by Atari.
The game was E.T. based on the movie of the same name. The objective of this game was to collect three parts of an interstellar telephone because E.T. wanted to phone home. The reason this game is considered the worse is because 2.5 to 3.5 million cartridges were unsold. Most of them are considered buried. While this game was good, there were others. While there were other companies already with their video game system, our next one would become one of the best in history.
In 1985, Nintendo of America came to the U.S. with a brand new video game system called the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES for short. When Atari stopped making games for their Atari 2600, Nintendo came in to this party with a brand new way of playing games. The video games were more fun and challenging then the Atari in many ways. One of these would be the introduction of a character that people still love to this day: Mario. With every NES that was sold came a duel video game cartridge consisting of Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt. (pass the game around) The objective of Super Mario Brothers was pretty simple, getting from the beginning of each level to the end within the time limit. The game consisted of 8 worlds with 4 levels in each world for a total of 32 levels. The main objective of the game was to rescue Princess Peach from The Evil Bowser. You scored points in various ways. The main ways were getting a power-up, getting coins, stomping on an enemy, or hitting a question mark box. The Super Mario Series would be one of the best series Nintendo would ever have and it is still popular today.
Finally, let’s talk about movies of the 1980s. Although there are many good movies which I can mention, the one I am going to talk about is Tron. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures in 1982, Tron is based on what I just talked about: video games! A user is trying to find some data that will help him become the owner of a giant software company. The MCP or Master Control Program does whatever possible to make sure that the user does not find this info. In a final confrontation, the MCP brings the user into the digital world to experience what it is like, to wager the users life to prove he will win. It’s a great movie that shows what it is like inside the computer. In the past few minutes, I have told you about four things that made the 1980s great. MTV, Atari, Nintendo, and Tron. I will talk more about the 1980s in a future speech. Thank you.”
This was how I was to do it originally, but I didn't. While the first part about MTV did work out, I only had made two copies of it. Second, instead of having the NES games around, I only had the Atari since I only have one of those instead of two. While the rest is still true, this proves a point. Make sure you work on it better. This one will be later revised in a future edition of this magazine along with a better understanding of the 80s. For now, so long.
Extra Part:
This is my last article for the magazine for a while. I've not fully recovered since my dad’s death back in April. While I've done this for over a year now, perhaps two years, the toll has taken a lot out of me. I do not know when I will be back, but I will be back soon. I promise that. Until then, take care. -Andrew, April 13, 2014
by Andrew