Top 5 best things to happen to gaming

[AtticGamer]

These are the best things to ever happen to video games in my opinion, in no order of importance.

 

-Atari 2600

 

 

Atari popularized the concept of console and arcade conversions. With it, many quarters were saved playing an inferior but fun version of an arcade coin-op. It also kept children away from cafés with arcades, giving parents more control.

 

-Donkey Kong

 

 

The first game to actually have a plot. This gave a total different dynamic to games, now you had a purpose other than a high score, with it also came endings to a game.

 

-Street Fighter 2

 

 

The first versus fighting game where you had more freedom of movement and a cast of different characters to play with. All fighting games nowadays borrow something of this game. It also helped reviving the arcades in the 1990s.

 

-CD

 

 

Finally a medium that did not have neither heavy storage limitations (like floppy discs) nor was expensive (like cartridges). With it came the oportunity for high quality voice samples, voice acting and red book soundtracks as well as cheaper games.

 

-Handhelds

 

 

Milton Bradley and Gunpei Yokoi were a geniuses. These small videogame consoles made the busiest people in the world very happy. Small and simple to use, they often deliver to the user console quality experiences in the palm of their hands. I think it's a pity Nintendo took over because they pretty much made handhelds the underpowered underdog that they are. Had the Lynx and PC Engine GT prevailed, they would have been considered powerful and important platforms. Hopefully Sony will save us from the technlogical gap.

Edited August 30, 2008 by AtticGamer

[Inky]

Disagree withy the fighting games. They were the same thing with little plot, and for me) a 0 in playability.

 

I'd put Adventure in that slot.

[gdement]

-CD

 

 

Finally a medium that did not have neither heavy storage limitations (like floppy discs) nor was expensive (like cartridges). With it came the oportunity for high quality voice samples, voice acting and red book soundtracks as well as cheaper games.

Certainly significant, but I think the game industry went downhill as a result of CDs. They pretty much coincide with when I lost interest in consoles. There's too much emphasis on storytelling and even good games get broken up by unnecessary cutscenes. If a story needs to be told, then it should be done in the game, not as a movie. If I wanted to watch a movie I'd get a good one.

 

There are cases where massive storage is used effectively, and there are even cases where I thought FMV added something (Twisted Metal Black) but overall I think it's a crutch that dumbed down the industry. Cartridges forced developers to focus on writing a good game. And the immediate boot made it feel more like a game console and less like a damn computer.

 

</rant>

[fiddlepaddle]

Certainly significant, but I think the game industry went downhill as a result of CDs. They pretty much coincide with when I lost interest in consoles. There's too much emphasis on storytelling and even good games get broken up by unnecessary cutscenes. If a story needs to be told, then it should be done in the game, not as a movie. If I wanted to watch a movie I'd get a good one.

 

There are cases where massive storage is used effectively, and there are even cases where I thought FMV added something (Twisted Metal Black) but overall I think it's a crutch that dumbed down the industry. Cartridges forced developers to focus on writing a good game. And the immediate boot made it feel more like a game console and less like a damn computer.

 

</rant>

 

Yup...

[+Charlie Cat]

Hi,

 

The 2600 is a fine choice. But I would replace the unit with the Neo-Geo AES System. It was the first (and still the best) on duplicating (not porting) the arcade experience into your home. Others were very close, but no cigar.

 

Anthony....

[nathanallan]

Handhelds- Definitely agree. If I didn't have some kind of handheld I would have gone insane with as many lines I have to wait in.

 

CD- It sure did make games easier to make. I wish that the idea of having them in a plastic shielding had gone through, they get scratched so easily. Carts were tough, durable.

 

Good discussion!

[kevincal]

Interesting topic.

 

1. Gonna have to go with PONG. It pretty much got the videogame craze going, right?

 

2. The Arcade. Well, arcades used to be extremely popular and gave birth to most games that ended up on home consoles. Arcades also introduced the social aspect of gaming.

 

3. Atari VCS/2600 Extremely popular obviously. Created a whole generation of gamers.

 

4. Nintendo NES. For obvious reasons. Created the generation of gamers after the 2600.

 

5. Sega Genesis & Super Nintendo (tie). Well, these systems were equally awesome and were the epitomy of "console wars". I'd have to say these 2 had the best and longest war of any other 2 systems, and probably no other 2 systems will match them.

 

6. Sony Playstation and CD gaming. The Playstation sort of a surpise blockbuster. I don't think anyone could imagine how popular it would be in such a short time. Also it wasn't the first CD console, but it was the first extremely successful CD based console.

 

7. The internet. Totally opened up the multiplayer aspect of gaming. Also created huge web communities related to all things gaming, such as Atari Age.

[opeygon]

in this order:

 

electricity

computers

microchips

arcades

players

[2600Lives]

Three words. Super Mario 64.

[A Sprite]

In my opinion?

 

Sure, why not?

 

1978 - A custom Intel 8080 cpu isn't enough to run Space Invaders at full speed, until players begin to clear the screen...

 

1980 - Pac Man targets nongamers. The hardcore prepare for the worst.

 

1985 - Mario discovers the path to victory. And then another path. And then another...

 

1985 - Ultima IV asks you to choose between being kind to those in need and being honest with those who trust you with their money. There is no wrong answer.

 

1995 - Polygons replace sprites. Though early efforts are broken by strobe light frame rates, dizzying camera angles, and poor control, the end result was that normally conservative game companies were forced to innovate. Not a good thing at the time, but it eventually gave us the first console generation not dominated by a single genre...

[carmel_andrews]

betweeen Pong and the VCS...I would put the VES/Channel F (as it led the way for programmable gaming systems) as well as the Videobrain (The first gaming system cum computer, a 1970's version of the Atari xegs)

 

Atari's 1978 coin op game 'Football' (a rendition of US football), first coin op game to using Trakball controllers

 

A Sprite...polygons have been used in the coin op industry since the Mid 80's (Dave Theurer's 'I Robot' by Atari being the first game to use Polygon graphics)

[Reaperman]

here are my 5 most significant.

 

atari 2600

the left-handed joypad (nintendo)

tetris--a game and a genre

gameboy

final fantasy series, which has gotten so big that it shapes gaming

 

hmm, I guess my 'most significant' aren't really things that I'm sure I even consider 100% 'good for gaming'. But I do know the best thing to happen to gaming:

for some reason, guys always tell me that I'm very smart and interesting.

Edited August 30, 2008 by Reaperman

[PressureCooker2600]

adding to the list:

 

The Fallout series.......especially part 3 which will transform the gaming world......

[PressureCooker2600]

it was hard to pick this over Doom but I was more blown away by it than Doom overall and felt it transformed the modern FPSs.

 

Goldeneye

[games-video]

Gotta start with Ralph Baer

[A Sprite]

A Sprite...polygons have been used in the coin op industry since the Mid 80's (Dave Theurer's 'I Robot' by Atari being the first game to use Polygon graphics)

 

True, but until the Playstation/Saturn/N64 arrived on the scene, polygons were mostly used as a novelty graphical effect in home releases. Hunter ( Atari St and Amiga ) was the rare exception that couldn't be done on a sprite based engine, I can't think of any others off hand. It's the gameplay that matters to me - or rather, the emotions we bring into it. Walking into a cave and seeing the entrance rise up around you is a different experience than seeing a sprite walk into a tile on the bitmap. So too is being able to look your character in the eyes, and experiencing what they're feeling as well. These are moments that simply don't exist in most 2d games - and it wasn't until after the 16 bit era that they were fully explored.

Edited August 30, 2008 by A Sprite

[shadow460]

CD-ROM is okay as a format, but it has to be done right. Yeah, if you can set up a game like Virtual On where it loads everything needed into memory, then you play, it's great. That way, you can have lots of different stuff, but you don't have those annoying times when the game loads just for you to do a certain move (Fatalities in UMK3, for example). Other games have successfully coupled disc based programs with fast gameplay. Think Hydro Thunder and Crisis Core. HT loads some stuff from a hard disk in the arcade, yet the game is very smooth. Crisis Core loads from the UMD during battle, and sometimes it reads graphical scenes from the disc instead of rendering them. The result is simply stunning to watch. You see things like Ifrit's hair--it is actually on fire!

 

I don't think Street Fighter made a huge impact in either freedom of movement or revival of arcades. There are other game from that time frame that could have kept the arcades going. I remember seeing games like Raiden, Mortal Kombat, and Lethal Enforcers getting played almost constantly. Super Sprint, from what I have read, was always in use, and there were many time when I saw Off Road with three players and several people watching. Then there was MKII, which had lines waiting to play when it came out. By that point, I'd say that the arcade once again had its own place.

 

Then there are portable games. What's portable, though? Something that fits in a pocket? That rules out many units including the Lynx, Game Gear, and maybe even the PSP. How about something that you can take with you? You can, in theory, take a Vectrex or even an Arcadia 2001 with you. I've heard the Vectrex is a good system, and I know from experience that the Arcadia 2001 was capable of producing arcade quality conversions (if only some effort had been put into it ). What was the Arcadia competing against at the time? Wasn't it the 5200, the CV, and the Intellivision? It's way more portable than those three, and IMO it seemed a little bit more powerful than the 5200. Its controllers trounced those of the Intellivision. But there was something missing, and I don't know what. Good games, perhaps? It certainly blew away the original Game Boy in terms of graphics... (sorry, just had to take that cheap shot... )

[games-video]

betweeen Pong and the VCS...I would put the VES/Channel F (as it led the way for programmable gaming systems) as well as the Videobrain (The first gaming system cum computer, a 1970's version of the Atari xegs)

 

Atari's 1978 coin op game 'Football' (a rendition of US football), first coin op game to using Trakball controllers

 

A Sprite...polygons have been used in the coin op industry since the Mid 80's (Dave Theurer's 'I Robot' by Atari being the first game to use Polygon graphics)

 

 

true, there were quite a few on PC early 90s: 4D Boxing, Space Rogue?, Stunt Island, David Wolf (1989), Vette (1989), Stunts, etc...

I'm sure the PC popularised polygon-gaming in the early 90s.

[fiddlepaddle]

A Sprite...polygons have been used in the coin op industry since the Mid 80's (Dave Theurer's 'I Robot' by Atari being the first game to use Polygon graphics)

 

True, but until the Playstation/Saturn/N64 arrived on the scene, polygons were mostly used as a novelty graphical effect in home releases. Hunter ( Atari St and Amiga ) was the rare exception that couldn't be done on a sprite based engine, I can't think of any others off hand. It's the gameplay that matters to me - or rather, the emotions we bring into it. Walking into a cave and seeing the entrance rise up around you is a different experience than seeing a sprite walk into a tile on the bitmap. So too is being able to look your character in the eyes, and experiencing what they're feeling as well. These are moments that simply don't exist in most 2d games - and it wasn't until after the 16 bit era that they were fully explored.

 

Virtua Racing, Race Drivin'/Hard Drivin' (Genesis)

Star Wars Arcade (32x)

and virtually all vector graphics games were based on polygons (albeit wire-frame) including Vectrex titles from 1982-83.

 

also I think polygon graphics were used to produce the "boing" demo for the Amiga computer that drove it's initial sales before Commodore bought the company (about 1985).

[Technosis]

one thing: MAME

[Mockduck]

Just my opinion:

 

 

5. Online capabilities - no longer must people share TV split-screen to play together. Voice chat brings old friends together to game around the world. The entire world can enjoy a game at the same time.

 

4. MAME-emulators in general: Before you must search and find space. After it's all there for your enjoyment!

 

3. Arcades! Very cool.

 

2. Portable gaming - I consider portable to be any system designed to play on the go. In a car, bus, etc.

 

1. Atari 2600 - it's the major player to bring systems into everyday living rooms. Kids and other gamers cheer.

[Vic George 2K3]

In no order of importance:

 

1. Space Invaders -- it brought videogaming out of the Pong Age and into the modern age.

 

2. MAME and emulators in general -- enjoy yesterday's gaming, including the stuff you missed on actual hardware, on your PC or modern-day game console.

 

3. Arcades -- it introduced me to a lot of games that couldn't be found on a home system until now.

 

4. Portable gaming -- it's great to take your favorite games on the go and play them anywhere. Couple that with emulators for modern-day handhelds and you're in gaming heaven!

 

5. Atari 2600 -- it's the major player to bring systems into everyday living rooms. I heavily agree with this opinion.