This is the vault for gaming design, titles released in the past that are still relevant today for design or plot choices.
Arcade conversions on Commodore 64 were definitely one major source of revenues for many publishers. But, naturally, most coin-ops from the mid 80s were way beyond the beloved breadbin’s limited hardware. Plenty of times, the public was horribly letdown by subpar or unplayable conversions, like Super Hang On or E-SWAT. Buggy Boy is, luckily, a…
Nintendo versus Sega. A battle for the ages that made many kids’ blood boil during the 90s, no holds barred bout fought via scathing slogans and – who could forget – the war of the bits. Eight bit, sixteen bits, Genesis does, Nintendon’t and so on. Even though Sega gave up the fight many years…
Trapped in a sprawling egyptian tomb, oxygen running out, monster and creepy crawlers after me all the time… Is such a game appropriate for a child? Well, it sure was for four year old me! I loved that feeling of being endlessly stuck in a dusty suffocating sphinx full of sarcophagi and snakes, desperately searching…
During the 80s and most of the 90s, console games were designed to appeal to a young audience, while home/personal computer titles were meant for an older public. Still, as most gamers know, this doesn’t imply in the slightest that console titles were simpler or, god forbid, kid friendly; Ninja Gaiden or Contra are still…
Why can’t bicycles work like helicopters? Well, there’s actually plenty of good reasons, but the question still stands, wouldn’t it be nice to fly around in a comfy helibike controlled by the magical power of quadriceps? Also, wouldn’t it be even nicer to fly around in your bikecopter while landing on other bikers’ heads, avoiding…
In the second part of my Buck Rogers retrospective, we will take a look at the much less lauded continuation of the first game, Matrix Cubed, and then, finally, explain why I feel both games are still relevant all these years later. Prepare for launch. Matrix Cubed, planned as a direct sequel to the first…
Everyone happens to get a great idea every once in a while. Those brilliant concept that almost approach pure genius, at least until some time has passed and everyone realizes exactly just how stupid and/or insane the concept actually was and phew! Aren’t we all glad that no one bothered to take it to the…
Are violent videogames to blame for society’s inherent evil? A burning question which has plagued the industry ever since the release of Doom and Mortal Kombat. If one thinks about it a whole two seconds, the answer should be obvious: society has been evil since the days before Christ. Videogames are, like movies or books,…
Everyone had a favorite videogame shop as a kid, with plenty of happy (and maybe not-so-happy) memories. Maybe it was EG or a Game, if you’re UK based, or perhaps a Gamestop, Blockbuster or a mom-and-pop shop even. As for me, well, most of my games, as a child, I bought them at newspaper kiosks.…
What do Zeus and Zombies have in common? Well, other than the letter Z obviously, not very much one would say, but Lucasarts would beg to differ, especially Mike Ebert and Dean Sharpe, The two designers were mainly responsible for Zombies Ate my Neighbors and Herc’s Adventures, two smaller arcade titles released by Lucasarts on…
