The history of electronic games has been filled with upgrades and sequels. From handheld LCD games of the eighties to modern console classics, when a game gains popularity and commercial success, the wheels are in motion to make a bigger and better version. Yet some formats remain impermeable. Their sheer perfection of design means they don’t need changing at all, and their initial formats remain the most popular.
Tetris
The back story to Tetris is just as interesting as the gameplay itself. Created in 1985 by a Soviet software engineer, in a country with no copyright laws, it was quickly spread via floppy disc throughout the country and then into Eastern Europe. The game was then licensed in the West through contacts in Hungary. It then became popular across the globe.
Tetris is a puzzle game in which the player arranges a series of falling geometric tiles. As the tiles fall into place, the player creates a line that vanishes, and the screen moves down. If the player wipes away all the tiles, they move on to the next stage.
Most millennials recognize Tetris as the flagship title on the Gameboy, and it is this version that needs very little in the way of changes. There have been updates where the sound design has improved, as have graphics and controls. Yet at its core, the original gameplay remains unchanged.
Video Poker
While poker has hundreds of variations and the online casino industry is transforming it in myriad ways, video poker remains relatively unchanged. Based on a five-card draw, you will find that many of the casinos in Vegas and further afield use the same machines they did ten or twenty years ago.
The first few models of this appeared in the seventies when computer technology was just becoming commercially available. This unit combined a monitor with a processing unit.
It is possible to play video poker online. Whereby most poker games are a social activity, pitting you against other players, online video poker is much like solitaire in that it is a solo card game. These games still remain fun, especially for people who don’t want to play poker against others. In this version of poker, players get five cards. They can choose to discard cards and replace them, and have to match a hand on a paytable. The paytable itself is based on the traditional hands of poker.
Certain terminals will have added features, such as entering higher or lower card rounds to enhance their win. Online players can also benefit from a wider range of titles, with all the bells and whistles such as jackpots and side bets. Variants like Bonus Deuces Wild, Double Double Bonus Poker, and Jacks or Better introduce different twists, adding variety and keeping gameplay fresh for players of all skill levels.
However, at its heart, video poker remains the same as it did years ago and has no reason to change. Make sure you start with one of these classic versions to see what all the excitement is about.
Pac-Man
Pac-Man was the game that set arcades on fire in the eighties. In a maze-based game, you are a yellow circular character who has to run around a labyrinth eating on-screen dots. As you do so, you are chased by four ghosts. Eat a larger dot, and you become the chaser, gaining the ability to gobble up the ghosts and temporarily remove them from the board.
A famous spin-off from the same period is Ms. Pac-Man. It was actually created due to illegal arcade board modifications that increased the speed and intensity of the original game. It was so popular, the actual manufacturers used this concept to design a sequel.
The game has been redesigned and released myriad times. Even the immediate home port to the Atari console was a pale imitation of the addictive arcade title and its follow-up. Despite regular redesigns, none have lived up to the original bleeps, CRT color scheme, and frantic pace of the 1982 version.
Space Invaders
Space Invaders was another early gaming classic that helped fill arcades in the late seventies and early eighties. Developed by Japanese company Taito, it actually took its initial inspiration from the title Breakout. This involved destroying blocks by bouncing one ball around for as long as possible using a paddle. However, Space Invaders added something unique: a narrative. You were no longer aimlessly destroying bricks on a grid. You were fighting alien forces.
The concept of Space Invaders was simple. You were a small blocky spacecraft that could strafe left and right on the bottom of the screen. A playfield of alien characters was above you in the sky, which you had to shoot down. They gradually moved towards terra firma, and all you had to hide behind were a few pixelated buildings, which eroded as they were hit by shots fired by you and the aliens. You had to destroy all the enemies before they reached you.
Shooting games, and ones involving science-fiction narratives, are now commonplace in gaming. While they can involve hugely expansive worlds, few have had the impact that Space Invaders has. There is a huge attraction to its casual playability. Its iconography, including its small alien characters, has seeped into the world of art and popular culture. While there have been updates, few can hold a candle to the original.
With so many electronic games throughout history, there will be others that have been overlooked. Some needed just a sequel to improve, while others needed nothing. There may even be a game released today that people look back on as design perfection.
