Many people, including
myself, have lovingly mocked the game “Space Invaders” for the ridiculousness
of the enemy’s movement. They move from left to right and from right to
left without deviance; the only change is that the enemies speed up their
attack as the levels progress. Nevertheless, the game is still
entertaining and was revolutionary for the time. Therefore, when another
game was released that fixed this flaw and added other mechanics to the
already-solid game, the gaming world was forever changed.
Galaga was released a few
years after Space Invaders. Much like Space Invaders, the main player was
limited in their movement. They could only swivel from left to right
across the screen. The enemy, though, attacked the main player by dropping
bombs at random intervals and by dive-bombing at the bottom of the screen,
which is where the main player is stuck. If the player can manage to
avoid these attacks and destroy all of the ships, they will quickly progress
through the levels.
Along with the improved AI
(artificial intelligence) of the enemies, Galaga helped the gaming industry
usher in other interesting innovations. Among the more prominent ones is
the ability to improve your performance by doing something that would seem to
be at a disadvantage. In this instance, I am referring to the “ultra
ship”, which attacks by swooping in and using a tractor beam to steal your
ship. The benefit of this is that if you are able to destroy that ship,
you will receive that stolen ship back, it will be attached to your current
ship, and your firing rate will double. This is especially helpful with
the second innovation: the bonus round. In this round, enemy ships fly
around the screen, and the player collects bonus points by trying to destroy as
many ships as possible. The benefit of having a second, attached ship is
that the increased firing rate allows the player to destroy more ships and
collect more bonus points. These solid innovations certainly have made
the game more exciting, and it is innovations like these that have enabled the
video game industry to flourish.
Gargantuan Gorilla Throws
Barrels as its form of Attack…
Although I will be discussing it in another blog, the documentary
"King of Kongs" was very accurate in one regard: it takes a
tremendous amount of skill/reflexes to be successful in the game "Donkey
Kong". In the game, there are three distinct levels. The first
requires that the player (the character is given the name "Jumpman",
but it has an odd resemblance to another video game character) jump over
barrels, which are being hurled by a giant gorilla, in an attempt to ascend the
multiple platforms that lead to Jumpman's beautiful girlfriend Pauline.
The second level is fairly straightforward; Jumpman needs to navigate his way
across platforms and dodge a bouncing thimble, which is once again being thrown
by a giant gorilla, to reach Pauline. The third and final stage is far
more simple. The player needs to navigate his/her way around some flaming
enemies and demolish the structure that is holding Donkey Kong. Once that
is done, the player has successfully beaten the gorilla and saved Pauline, but
it is of little consequence because the game continues, following the same
3-level pattern as before.
I enjoyed the first level far more than the second or the
third. The seeming randomness of the barrels made for an exciting pace,
especially as the levels progressed and the barrels approached more
quickly. The appeal with this game is the sense of progress in which the
player is engaged. The player is climbing the platforms non-stop in order
to achieve the end result, and in this case, it is saving the princess.
This concept is similar to today's practice of "leveling up" in
games; it gives the player the sense of accomplishment and encourages them to
continue playing. In an arcade setting, this was perfect for sales.
The players were instilled with an equal sense of accomplishment and
competition. Plus, the added feature of randomness, which was especially
apparent with the barrels on the first level, made the game have the same
appeal as a gambling device. Because of these things, this game was
revolutionary as a money-maker for the arcade, and it helped usher in the
story-telling aspect of video games.
On a side note, I am a huge fan of "Dorkly", which is a
website that makes funny videos about gaming. Whenever possible, I will
reference one of those videos if it is related to the game being
discussed. That being said, here is a clip that brings up a valid point
about Donkey Kong's approach. WARNING: This clip does contain vulgar
language.
Nom nom nom!
From its origin as a pizza to its development as a pixel, Pac-Man has become one of the most iconic images in the gaming world. One of the reasons for the game’s success is the addictiveness of its features. Some of the more obvious examples are the “bigger pellets’ that Pac-man eats and the siren music that plays during the course of the game. These elements add to the intensity of the game, but there is another element that contributes to the appeal of the game. For the casual gamer, the movement of the ghosts seems fairly random, but in reality, there is a set pattern. As a player gives more and more time to the game, they will begin to notice that there is a pattern and will continue to play in order to do better than the previous attempt. This chain effect has helped video games for years in being profitable, and it is games like Pac-Man that have allowed this trend to continue.
Personally, I have enjoyed Pac-Man for many
years. I believe that there are several ways for a game to be successful,
and Pac-Man is the epitome of one of those methods: design a game that is
simple to understand but requires practice and skill to master. As the
gameplay quickens and the music seems louder, the player is forced to memorize
patterns and have incredible reflexes if they wish to do well in Pac-Man.
I am not an expert at the game, but due to the layout of the game, I can enjoy
it nonetheless.
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