Game Design Theory

This week, I wanted to forego the usual singular game analysis and instead focus on a different aspect of video game’s history: the stories behind the first arcade machines, and how they were popularized (or rather modernized) into the sort of nostalgic household memory that they are today. As a whole, the arcade scene was an ingenious startup for developing the home-game world we currently live in; it was a way to test the waters to see if and who would occupy themselves with this new form of visual media. Now the games developed for these systems were never designed to be too complex like today’s open-world RPG’s, but instead designed with intense, instant action, to draw the players in with a hook, and present visually stunning images while their quarter cups became lighter and lighter.

The first of these revolutionary arcade games sprung from the creative minds of Larry Rosenthal from MIT and Cinematronics, a popular titan in the arcade-game development industry: Space Wars. Due to its unique vector-display capabilities, this game produced a compelling display, despite it only loading mono-chromatically. The game revolved around a simple premise: you and one other player control two spaceships with five different buttons–one to rotate left, one to rotate right, one to engage thrusters, one to fire a round or shell, and one to enter hyperspace–and the goal was to see who could destroy the others’ ship the most within a given time period. The most unique aspect surrounding this game that really made it stand out was the fact that the play time was completely dependent on how much money the players inserted into the machine; where each quarter bought a minute and a half, and a full ten dollar roll of quarters bought a non-stop hour.

Ask anyone you know the first arcade game that comes to their mind, and more often than not the average answer would be either Space Invaders or Pac-Man; or rather Pac-Man and MS. Pac-Man, if they’re really unfamiliar with the video game environment. For the most part though, these are the two most common games that come to mind, and for good reason. The first, Space Invaders, centered around a single player piloting a spaceship to fend off an array of alien ships that descended in a gradually increasing S-like formation down the screen. To progress to the next level, the player would have to eliminate every one of the alien ships by hoping their shots connect before the array reaches their forts; game over. To keep things interesting (and to keep the players hooked) sometimes a ship would drop an upgrade, allowing the player control over another ship and giving them a better change to achieve a higher score.

Finally the narratively acclaimed King of Arcade Games, Pac-Man (and later the Queen, Mrs. Pac-Man), who overwhelmed early video game arcades and later the pockets of their players since its release in 1980. When most people think of video games, they think of this: a yellow half-circle floating around a screen gobbling up little white pellets, all while trying to avoid four different colored ghosts that chase it endlessly as the game goes on. For nearly forty years after, Pac-Man Mania had swept the globe; from several off-brand spin-offs to the eventual official sequel, as well as a boom in sales for physical arcade machines.

These games, they started a revolution in visual entertainment. For the first time since its budding release, the public could view video games in a much more casual light, rather than something to trudge through in education; boring modules and low-res biological presentations. Now the player–us, we as humans–had a chance to insert ourselves into these characters. To live out a life different than our own. Sure it was pixelated, horribly paced and often focused more on getting that extra quarter from you, but for those brief moments in time where you were immersed into the game. You had your hands on the controls, your mind shifted into gear; it was your moment. And it still continues to be, even with more and more advanced technology being released every year.

I really hope you enjoyed this week’s entries into my narrative retelling of the history of video games. Tune in next week where I begin to cover some of the most popular stories, scandals, and controversies that have come about due to the rise in video and arcade video games. Until then, I hope you enjoy your night and have a great rest of your weekend!

Cheers,

Ethan