The Long Lost Video Game of Paris Review Editor George Plimpton?

At first we thought it was either an Onion story or a joke: Multi-talented author, actor, sports enthusiast and Paris Review editor George Plimpton (1927-2003) also achieved considerable success in another medium: video games.

The Millions points us to George Plimpton’s video “Falconry,” the game Plimpton helped develop for ColecoVision in the early 80′s. You can play it here, but first be sure to catch up on the backstory (click “Backstory” button below the “Play” button), which may or may not involve high stakes double-crosses, hardcore sleuthings, and the childhood obsessions of frequent Daily Show guest John HodgmanMaximum Fun has also posted an old commercial for the game, which we’ve reposted above. (Our apologies for the poor quality. It was apparently ripped from an old VHS tape).

If it turns out that we’ve been punked, it was worth it, if only for the joys of typing the words “Plimpton,” “Falconry” and “ColecoVision” all in one sentence. The game isn’t bad either.

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Sheerly Avni is a San Francisco-based arts and culture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA Weekly, Mother Jones, and many other publications. You can follow her on twitter at @sheerly.


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  1. Robin says . . . | June 8, 2011 / 4:42 pm

    You’ve been punked. Newgrounds is a Flash games portal that definitely wasn’t around in 1983. In fairness it’s a very convincing spoof up until that point.

  2. nfk says . . . | June 8, 2011 / 5:15 pm

    According to the backstory, there was another Newgrounds making console video games about a decade before the flash portal Newgrounds was started.

  3. WallHome says . . . | June 9, 2011 / 12:05 pm

    строительство кирпичного дома נדלן

  4. Gutscheine für Onlineshops says . . . | September 29, 2011 / 7:32 am

    That is very instructive piece

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