Video Games Review

In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Bungie’s Halo & Halo 2, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, Nintendo’s Metroid and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone App Reviews, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this nineteenth part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

Gauntlet (Arcade) – Developed by Atari and unleashed to arcades in 1985, Gauntlet was an absolute revelation. For starters, the game cabinet was absolutely huge, dwarfing the other machines of the day. Upon first glance, Gauntlet was already demanding the player to take notice. Among its many firsts, Gauntlet was the first arcade game to have a class system, as users could choose among a wizard, warrior, elf and valkyrie, each with their own strengths (magic, strength, speed, defense) and weaknesses (poor defense, poor magic, poor hand to hand ability, no true strength). It was also the first game that allowed four player simultaneous play, as teams of players could often be seen loading up the game with quarters before starting their journey. With Gauntlet, unlike any other game to that point and like few since, the players could feed the machine quarters in exchange for more health and magic. This became an actual necessity, as health would drain from players over time. Gauntlet was also one of the first games to feature voices, and certainly the first to feature such a large amount of them. Arcade players will forever remember the game crying out such classics as, “Wizard needs food, badly!” or “Valkyrie is about to die!” Although created with a voice chip and not actually sampled from a human, these sounds were accurate and served to immerse the player even deeper into the experience.

In focusing on Gauntlet, many areas of the game volunteer themselves for a place in this article series. As mentioned, the game offered a very unique arcade experience. The characters were varied, the sounds a leap forward, and the cooperative nature of gameplay upped the ante in several ways. However, since it is the theme of this series to isolate a single component of a game, we will single out the game’s multiplayer component.

In surveying the videogame landscape at the time of Gauntlet’s release, multiplayer games were in no way an anomaly. However, multiplayer games that allowed for simultaneous play were just about non -existent. By allowing players to quest together, the developers not only exponentially increased their potential earnings, they created a sort of digital Dungeons & Dragons experience, with the voice samples serving as a sort of Dungeon Master. Gauntlet machines of the time could often be found with all four joysticks occupied, with over $20 worth of quarters pre-loaded, as the well equipped heroes would set off on their journey to complete the game’s incredibly long and challenging quest. This multiplayer component went far beyond a mere quarter grabbing gimmick, however, as true team work was required in order to proceed through the game’s ever more difficult labyrinths. Giving up food for a teammate in need, casting a spell at just the right time, and creating enemy diversions so a player could make it to an exit point were just some of the ways in which teamwork could be used to the players’ advantage in this epic arcade game.

For making them a group activity, introducing what were – at the time – astounding technical and game design progressions to, and providing a challenge worthy of the most skilled gamer (or four person team of gamers), Gauntlet has forever earned its place alongside the all time greats in arcade game history.

Tags: Colecovision, Games, iPhone, Part
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In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Bungie’s Halo & Halo 2, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Nintendo’s Metroid and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone Apps reviews, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this sixteenth part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

Mad Dog McCree (Arcade) – This light-gun, laserdisc based arcade hit from the early 1990s was progressive in many ways. Interestingly, it was one of the very first arcade titles to charge a full dollar to play. In an era where even fifty cent games were a rarity, Mad Dog McCree was certainly testing the financial limits of the typical arcade gamer. That aggressive pricing strategy was, however, more than merited due to the unique experience the game provided.  Arcades across the world had never seen a game like MDM before, as the characters and settings in the game were made up of real people in actual locations. Taking place in the Old West, MDM put the player in the shoes of an unnamed cowboy – The Stranger – on a classic mission to save the damsel in distress.

MDM begins with an instructive tutorial, to give the player a sense of the style of game play that awaits them and a chance to master the games reloading maneuver.  As the story unfolds, the player must successfully complete various shootouts and gunfights in order to proceed. The only interface the player has with the game is through a handgun, which serves to heighten the immersion factor immensely. All decisions in the game are integrated so as to allow for the choices to be seamlessly made with the handgun, and movement through levels is taken out of the player’s hands to ensure that all they need focus on is gunning down the bad guys. This process was made all the more arduous depending on the particular difficulty setting of the game. While most arcade locations were set at a more forgiving level, some less merciful arcade managers saw fit to crank up the difficulty levels and force the players to truly channel their inner gunfighter.

MDM deserves a spot in this pantheon of progressive video games because it was one of the very first titles to prove that video games need not strictly reside in the world of pixels.  If the laserdisc had not allowed for such quick seek times, the game simply would not have worked. Instead it reacts almost instantly to player input and creates a rewarding, nearly real-time interactive experience. Arcade players the world over were stunned at this technical accomplishment, and the game’s staggering financial take only cements this notion.

MDM deserves praise because it absolutely defines the term ‘progressive.’ The game was the polar opposite of just about every arcade game of the time, yet still managed to deliver a quality gaming experience. For pushing the envelope into an entirely new universe, forever changing what people expected of video games and, perhaps most importantly, bringing new types of players to the video gaming space, MDM deserves its place in this series and among the all-time greats.

Tags: Colecovision, Games, iPhone, Part
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