The thing that makes an idea valuable is how well it is executed
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Video games have been around since the 1950’s although it’s popularity wouldn’t take off until the 70’s and 80’s and almost dying in the video game crash of 1983. Since the resurrection of gaming thanks to the success of Nintendos NES gaming has become a popular form of entertainment, a part of modern culture and for very few of us a way of living. As of 2014 there have been eight generations of games. Among the countless games that have been released there have been a chosen few, classics, that have truly revolutionized the way we play. Here are my top 7 games that changed the gaming world. These are in no particular order.
Sweet Home
Developed by Capcom in 1989 this psychological horror RPG is arguably the first horror game made. Exclusively released in Japan on the NES it is based on the Japanese movie, Sweet Home. I’ve added this to the list for a few reasons, not only may it be the first of it’s genre but it would later on completely influence another game I considered having on my list, Resident Evil. In fact Resident Evil was originally intended to be a remake of Sweet Home and includes many features of the game, thus the birth of the series all zombie horror gamers love today. In 2010 Unified Gamers Online entertainment (UGO) included Sweet Home on its “11 Best survival horror games” list.
Wolfenstein 3D
The “Grandfather of 3D shooters”. This classic established the fast pace and technical prowess commonly expected in the genre and increased first-person shooter popularity. Released in 1992 this wasn’t the first shooter to be played from the first person perspective but the advanced 3D elements of the time would pioneer PC gaming and the gaming world, this would also set the stage for many “copy-cats” such as another fan favorite DOOM. Throughout the years it has had controversy because of its use of Nazi symbols and has forced many changes to the game. Wolfenstein 3D makes my list because with this title the idea of games opened in a new direction, without it, the potential of FPS may never have been realized and some of the biggest games of all time may never have been made.
Super Mario Bros
You don’t have to be a gamer to know about Mario and how popular his games are, the series has been and is still today highly influential. It has been looked at as the greatest game of all time and was the highest selling game of all time for three decades. At a time where video games just started to live again, this side scrolling classic breathed life and pushed gaming into the future. Still today, Mario and his friends are riding go-carts, having parties and playing golf, this character and his adventures seem to have no end and I am very ok with that. It’s almost impossible to think of gaming today with Mario and it all started in 1985 with Super Mario Bros. Even today Super Mario Bros is the first of three games played in the Nintendo World Championships.
Minecraft
The indie sand box game that would rock the world and give indie developers recognition. The other games on my list did great things for their genre, Minecraft revolutionized what it means to be indie. Low budget, little support, one man developing it. The Alpha was released on PC in 2009 and would later on rise in popularity, many updates saw the growth from the alpha into the game we have today. Minecraft fully represents the quote at the top of the page, it’s not the most beautifully detailed game, it has no story but the success of this game is all from you. You make the story, the world and the character in the simplest way. Break blocks and make your world. The world itself seems never ending, the terrain around you will be generated as you walk, if you were to keep walking on the PC version the game would eventually be so buggy you’d give up and walk back. Minecraft also has one of the most hated enemies in games, the Creeper. Indie games are on the rise and many of the reasons are because of Minecraft.
Pong
I’ve mentioned Nintendo and how the really pushed the video game industry in the second half of the 80’s, the revenue they earned to be able to do that successfully came form my next game Pong. Now Pong was released long before the video game crash, it was the first game really developed by the legendary Atari Inc. we first saw Pong in 1972, it has been considered the game the launched the video game industry and home consoles with the later release of Home Pong. After the events of 1984-85 Nintendo came into the industry with their own version of Home Pong, the success of that allowed them to survive and pursue gaming further. The success would also inspire Konami to break into the arcade scene and release their first game Maze. Konami would of course go on to release revolutionary games such as Frogger, Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Bomberman. Not bad for a game based on tennis.
Mortal Kombat
I talk about games that made their genres and when it comes to fighting games this title not only made it what it is today, it made it bloody brutal. Bursting onto our screens in 1992 on varies arcade machines this classic One on One game pit friends against each other and resolved rivalries. Arguably not the most popular fighting game of all time with 1987’s Street Fighter , I chose to include Mortal Kombat because on it’s “Indie” beginning and the raw controversy that follows the title. Mortal Kombat can be looked at as the original reason we have the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) and was the first game to receive the “Mature” rating, the original Mortal Kombat is why developers have to think about what they include in their game.
Maze war
Maze War included many innovative features such as being the first FPS, first game to have avatars, players position shown on a map, a level editor, first game to have network play, observation made, online chat between players, modifying clients to cheat and encrypting source clients to prevent cheating.
There are so many games that have innovated the field and changed the way we all play, if I was to list them all we’d be here all day. Gaming will always move forward and innovate, this is an exciting time to see what the future of gaming holds.