Slashdot Mirror
The History of Videogame Genres
TobyToadstool writes "Over the last few months, CNET have been quietly running a series of free video documentaries that take a look back at the history of different videogame genres. The Space Bubble show has covered everything from the history of Platformers to the origins of the Beat em up. The gaming sections are interspersed with other tech-related information, but almost every show covers one of the major genres. There's loads of footage from ancient arcade machines, and bizarre trivia, like the fact that some schools are using the Dance Dance Revolution videogame in place of traditional physical education. It's presented by an eccentric British guy floating in a little bubbleship in Space — odd but good."
Combine this with the two-minute pointless video of a guy wearing a cardboard cutout of an iPhone, and yeah. My five minutes? I want them back.
Don't put advice in your sig.
You can still watch a film/movie/moving picture made 50 years ago but with games you can't play a game made as recently as 5 years ago!!
[...]
Until that happens any history on games where I can't actually play the game in question is bullshit. It is the equivalent of a Wikipedia entry describing a film which will never capture the emotion of the media in question. While I agree that it's a shame many of those old classics can't be played anymore, I disagree with the conclusion:
a) Even if you played them today, you likely wouldn't feel the same sense of wonder players did back then, because you've seen more complex games before. It'd still be great from a historian's perspective, but it will not elicit the same emotions. (E.g. while I'm a film buff and love "Citizen Kane", I know that many regular movie watchers have trouble realizing its greatness, because much of the techniques it pioneered are standard practice nowadays. You can't go back and watch it with the fresh eyes and minds of those who'd only seen the movies made before it.)
b) Writing about games you cannot play anymore isn't "bullshit" - if something doesn't exist anymore, does that mean we should destroy all knowledge related to it? On the contrary, I'd say these histories are extremely important to preserve as much of the legacy as possible. Sure, it can never replace the original games, but if you don't remind people these things have been out there, they'll forget them. And that'll make sure nobody will ever try to resurrect them.
I'm constantly amazed at how playing a game that I may have discovered and played once in a Shakey's Pizza in Warner Robins, Georgia in the early '80s really takes me back to that time and place. I'll remember details about those times that I haven't thought about in years.
That experience isn't as easy to capture with PC games I may have played because ironically there's been less of an effort to preserve them. It's not hard to find MAME ROMs for every coin-op game ever made and even the old Apple, Commidore and Texas Instruments games (Parsec FTW!) are still available. But you're probably out of luck if you want to fire up an old Wing Commander, Inherit the Earth or Ultima game. The PC gaming market may have been one of hype and crapitude during those times but there were still quite a few gems to be had and it'd be nice to have the option of playing them again. And a lot of us missed Playstation titles like the early final fantasy games (I understand you can get some of those on handheld units now) and Star Ocean and the like. Games where it didn't matter that your guy was a blurry blob on the screen because the story was so compelling.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?