Hello, and welcome back to Games Appreciation! Today we will be looking at not just one game, but a series of games created by Nintendo during the 80s, known as the Game & Watch series. Read on after the jump.
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Tag Archives: 2nd generation
2nd Generation Video Game Notes
Runners-up of the 2nd Generation (part 2)
Read part one here.
I’m cheating a little bit here, as several 3rd generation consoles were released in 1982. I think it’s fair, though, to call 1982 a “transition year.” So with that qualification in mind, here are the rest of the “not quite outstanding” games of the last year of the 2nd generation.
Runners-Up of the 2nd Generation (part 1)
When you have a brand new entertainment medium, there are no rules and the possibilities for innovation are endless. It’s amazing how many innovative titles there were in the second generation–especially in the early 80s! Following the establishment of Activision, the first third-party developer, we saw a huge influx of new and exciting titles up until the crash of 1983. I wanted to showcase some of the titles that weren’t quite excellent enough to warrant their own appreciation article, but are still worthy of being remembered today. From now on I’ll have a showcase for each year (1983, 1984, and so on) but since this is my first one, I’ll include all of the second generation (1977-1982).
So without further ado, here are some of the best and most interesting games of the second generation! Continue reading
Ms. Pac Man [1982] |Arcade|
North American arcade cabinetQ*Bert [1982-10] |Arcade|
There are exceptions to everything, it seems. It’s possible to build a Chevy that’s better than a Ford (in theory), it’s possible to make a cartoon about ponies that men can enjoy, and Q*Bert has proven it’s possible for an isometric viewpoint not to muck up your enjoyment of a game.
Mr. Do [1982] |Arcade| HONORABLE MENTION
There are some questions in life that are just crazy hard to answer. “Can a game be called a maze game if there’s no actual maze?” Universal seemed to think so when they made Mr. Do. Other questions are easier to answer, such as, “Are clowns absolutely terrifying?” That answer is obviously no.
Look how happy he is to see you! ^_^
And now that Pennywise has filled you with good cheer, let’s look at Mr. Do!
Serpentine [1982] |Apple ][| HONORABLE MENTION
“Hi-res” had a different meaning back in 1982…
It’s time to conclude our snake trilogy with Serpentine, the maze chase game where the hunter is also the hunted. It’s all been building up to this. First, you saw how the maze chase genre was open to interpretation, then you saw how snake-based gameplay could compliment it. And now, it’s time for some serious snake-eat-snake action! Er, snake-eat-other-snake. This isn’t like Nibbler; you eat other snakes, not yourself. On purpose.
Why Games Appreciation?
A Simple Question for a Simple Mind
Back in August of 2011 when I wrote my first Games Appreciation article (Fun fact: I actually wrote Adventure first; I didn’t write Oregon Trail until August of 2014) I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought it would be a cinch to write about the games that held a special place in video game history. By then I had already compiled a list of games I considered the best; nothing to it, right? Well, in 2011-2012 I began intently reading up on the history of games so that I could one day call myself a Video Game Historian–and immediately shush any laughter that resulted–and during my research I found out that some games were overrated, some were sorely underrated, others still were completely forgotten. It became quite clear that my task was about to become a lot more involved. Here’s a sample of what 1982 had to offer.
Japanese Video Game Industry: A Brief History 日本のビデオゲーム業界の短い歴史
This is my semester project for Japanese 301. The first video is the finished product in Japanese, the second video contains an English dub, and the third is my rough draft, complete with grammar errors. Enjoy!
