Pitfall Harry Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 There are only 5 unique videogames: 1. Pong 2. Space Invaders 3. Adventure 4. Video Chess 5. Pac-Man All other videogames, from Channel F to X Box, are merely variations on one or more of these fundamental five. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noble Kale Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 what about car racing games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitfall Harry Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 Car racing games are Pac-Man. You race around a track(maze) while trying to cover the entire course(dots) and outracing your opponents(ghosts). Car Racing games are also a little bit Pong. Avoid missing the turns for higher score. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 What is Donkey Kong then? Adventure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitfall Harry Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 Yes, Donkey Kong is mostly Adventure. There's an element of Space Invaders to it, too, as Mario must also evade enemy fire(barrels) and sometimes shoot(with hammer) at advancing ememies. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Am where would you put simulation games (M.U.L.E., Elite, SimCity, ...)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshleo Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Err ... Probably under Chess. It's a simulation of a board game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 quote: Originally posted by David Wyn Davies: Err ... Probably under Chess. It's a simulation of a board game. Hm, then Pac-Man is a simulation of a labyrinth game, Pong is a simulation of a tennis game, Adventure is a simulation... So, there is only one unique videogame! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viso Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Here's another fun one to categorize: the Japanese simulation game where you pilot a 747 and take passengers from one airport to another and have to do it on time. It is a Playstation 2 game. Silly Japanese Plus, how about those games that revolve around music, like Frequency? Are they Space Invaders shooting notes? I suppose networked capture the flag type games, like BZFlag, are Pac-Man + Video Chess games? The strategy is totally unrepresented in the five categories as is the requirement for teamwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 How about that PS game where you control a little cutsie Nintendo-ish character and smack bad guys with your testicles? Strange lot, those Japanese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel D. Park Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 How about Mangia' ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitfall Harry Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Nukey Shay: How about that PS game where you control a little cutsie Nintendo-ish character and smack bad guys with your testicles? Strange lot, those Japanese. Never played it. But it sure sounds an awful lot like a ball and paddle game to me. Pong. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Pitfall Harry: Never played it. But it sure sounds an awful lot like a ball and paddle game to me. How do you translate a drum rim shot into text? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krytol Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Let's expand the "palette" a bit: 1. Pong 2. Space Invaders 3. Adventure 4. Video Chess 5. Pac-Man 6. Night Driver 7. Boxing Tempest = Space Invaders+Night Driver The Adventures of Lolo = Adventure+Video Chess Battlezone = Space Invaders +Night Driver Sky Jinks = Night Driver Double Dragon = Boxing+Adventure Donkey Kong = Night Driver + Adventure+Pac-Man Metroid = Adventure+Pac-Man+Space Invaders It's an imperfect theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris++ Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Well, any "perfect" theory wouldn't be worth discussing, now, would it! I would suggest the addition of Robotron: 2084. Think about it: None of the generalizations include free movement while shooting and looking for things. The exploration part could be an Adventure derivative, sure; but Robotron and its ilk have inspired, with a different player perspective, everything from Wolfenstein 3-D and Doom to the newer things like Max Payne. CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liveinabin Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 I think you'd also have to add populous (or sim city, whatever) and definitely Tetris. Collosal Adventure has the text adventure bit sewn up too. Oh yeah, strategy games...um...Archon? Though I do generally agree, there aren't really many games in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitfall Harry Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 You people are taking this thread too literally. I meant "only 5 unique games" as a general statement of how small the set of videogame fundamentals actually is. I don't have an exact number. This is videogames, not Bohr's Atomic Theory. Nor are the five games I chose as fundamentals necessarily the earliest examples of their kind, but rather the most easily identified. Yes, the "pallete" should be expanded a little. Hand-to-hand combat is quite a lot different from shooting at enemies from a distance a la Space Invaders. But think about it. There really aren't that many games, classic or modern, which cannot be categorized as elaborations on a very small set of fundamental genres which trace their roots back to simplistic Atari 2600 games. The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time is an absolute marvel of modern gaming technology... but what is it really if it's not Adventure taken to spectacular heights? Utilities like Clone Spy, while quite excellent at revealing blatant rip-offs, also tell you that Ms Pac-Man is an "original" game. But how original is it to take Pac-Man, stick a red bow on top of his head and publish a new title? Do you really sense the "originality" of Eggomania or Music Machine after you've played a few rounds of Kaboom!? 500 "unique" Atari 2600 videogames? I don't think so. Drawing the line, determining where "uniqueness" begins and ends, can and will be debated differently by every classic videogame enthusiast until the end of time. For me, it is one of the leading reasons why I find them so compelling to collect. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris++ Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 I almost forgot to mention that there are, fundamentally speaking, only five of Bohr's Atomic Theories: (Just kidding.) CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Pitfall Harry: Utilities like Clone Spy, while quite excellent at revealing blatant rip-offs, also tell you that Ms Pac-Man is an "original" game. But how original is it to take Pac-Man, stick a red bow on top of his head and publish a new title? Do you really sense the "originality" of Eggomania or Music Machine after you've played a few rounds of Kaboom!? 500 "unique" Atari 2600 videogames? I don't think so. You are right, there are far less than 500 games with unique ideas. CloneSpy is only analyzing the code base and can tell that there are about 500 unique programmed games. And I think that was the original question of the other thread. BTW: Music Machine isn't considered unique by CloneSpy, it "borrowed" more than 50% of code form Kaboom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Space War rules, just not the atari version ;p go with the arcade, or the vectrex, or even the old PDP-1 version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitfall Harry Posted May 29, 2002 Author Share Posted May 29, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Thomas Jentzsch: BTW: Music Machine isn't considered unique by CloneSpy, it "borrowed" more than 50% of code form Kaboom . Heh. You would think the creators of a videogame purported to teach a christian audience the joys of leading a virtuous life would not have plagiarized half their code, especially from a game involving a homicidal maniac bent on blasting his victims to kingdom come. "Thou shall not steal." Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastblade Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 What about FMV games?? But i can see the influence of Adventure on Halo, LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Lastblade: What about FMV games?? I am either ignorant or having a brain fart. What is FMV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco(2) Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Thomas Jentzsch: You are right, there are far less than 500 games with unique ideas. CloneSpy is only analyzing the code base and can tell that there are about 500 unique programmed games. And I think that was the original question of the other thread. BTW: Music Machine isn't considered unique by CloneSpy, it "borrowed" more than 50% of code form Kaboom. Now who else finds it a creepy idea that a program tells us how many unique games we have? Silly tech boys are taking over this hobby!!! More on this here. Cheers, Marco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 fmv = full motion video... like alot of mid 90s games.. or the laserdisc craze of days past. I think the most interesting thing about that list is that many moidern games may incorperate an element of each of those into it.. like an action rpg for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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