I highly recommend anyone interested in this era, with an eye toward the future, read Ready Player One. Amazing book you won't be able to put down.
The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
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Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#62For my money it was the 90s explosion of fighting games or else the rhythm games of the turn of the century. But hey I'm biased by my actual experiences just like everyone else is.
It was also the golden age of pinball in my opinion. Addams Family, Attack from Mars, Twilight Zone.
have you checked out the new(ish) Lord of the Rings pinball machine? It got me back in to pinballing, as I find the depth of the game greater than any other pinball game I have ever experienced.
Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#63I was lucky enough to have grown up with computers, writing my first program in 1977, and then entertaining myself with the Arcades of the 80's as they released title after title .. while also having access to the internals of the cabinets, through friends of my Dad who owned an Arcade rental business .. without those halcyon days of burned fingers and EEPROM copiers I don't think I'd have gained the insight I then l…
I recall the first time I encountered a 'Defender' machine. Up until then the machines had basically all been Space Invader or PacMan derivatives. I must have been 11 or 12 years old and it totally blew me away both virtually - it repeatedly kicked my arse as it took 10p after 10p (British btw) and I was only lasting about 20 seconds each game as I grappled with the controls - and also physically - the noise of the t…
Defender was great! Played it for hours, rolled over the high score where you got something like 25 free ships. A quarter could last 30-45 minutes.
Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#64For my money it was the 90s explosion of fighting games or else the rhythm games of the turn of the century. But hey I'm biased by my actual experiences just like everyone else is.
Heh yeah, I remember saying back then (and getting agreement from friends) "it aint a real arcade unless it has SF2".
Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#65I highly recommend anyone interested in this era, with an eye toward the future, read Ready Player One . Amazing book you won't be able to put down.
Eh, it was a lot of name dropping and mish-mash-memorials.
Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#66Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#67For my money it was the 90s explosion of fighting games or else the rhythm games of the turn of the century. But hey I'm biased by my actual experiences just like everyone else is.
Ugh. For me, that's when arcades were no longer fun. Every game was a fighting game, and there was no skill involved - only memorizing combinations of buttons to press. (How is that fun?) Furthermore, no levels to explore, no secrets to find. Just non-stop mindless punching and kicking.
I mean, you can not like fighting games if you want, but the skill ceiling in fighting games is actually insanely high -- much higher than the majority of games.
Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ugh. For me, that's when arcades were no longer fun. Every game was a fighting game, and there was no skill involved - only memorizing combinations of buttons to press. (How is that fun?) Furthermore, no levels to explore, no secrets to find. Just non-stop mindless punching and kicking.
If you think fighting games don't involve skill try beating an experienced Street Fighter 2 player having never played the game. When you lose, and lament that you 'simply haven't memorized the combos' go home and look them up. After you've realized that there's only one or two major combos to learn for each character in that game, come back and I promise you'll still lose. There's much more to it than that. Most imp…
I agree with the thrust of your post, but you're underselling how much time and energy people can devote to discovering absolutely perfect runs of single-player games.
Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not them, it's you. (Me too, but only recently)
A large number of games released in 1981 defined new genres, which I don't think is very true now. It feels like there were a lot more arcade releases going on in that time too (but perhaps I'm just not seeing new things very often, I don't visit many dedicated arcades). The latest trend I've seen is popular smartphone games in the arcade with enormous screens and ticket spitters; these are pretty fun (the angry bird…
New genres constantly get "created", MOBA, MMORPG or to the name the most recent one being on the verge of becoming its own thing: Battlegrounds
Sure one could argue these are just different game modes of established genres, but where to draw that line, how to define a "genre"? Imhho it's the same as with music, there are no clear-cut lines, concepts just bleed into each other, adopt each other, creating entirely new concepts in the process.
Our modern gaming landscape is amazingly diverse, people who think games had been more "original back then" are usually remembering things through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia.
Re: The Golden Age of the Video Game Arcade: 1981
#70For my money it was the 90s explosion of fighting games or else the rhythm games of the turn of the century. But hey I'm biased by my actual experiences just like everyone else is.
By the time the 90's came along, the Arcade scene was on it's final breathe in my home.
I'm a little too young to remember the previous era, hence my bias. :)