The History Books Need Some Adjusting...

[pocketmego]

There is something about the history of gaming that has been bothering me for some time. The fact is that everywhere you look in gaming histories you see Shigeru Myamoto held on high like some kind of gaming god. Which to some extent is fine. he did a LOT to create enduring characters that are still being used today and he has created many new and invigorating gaming experiences.

 

However, more often than not Pitfall and its creator David Crane seem relegated to almost footnotes in the history of this medium. Except that Pitfall is the first multiscreen platformer, pre-dating Super Mario Brothers by 2 years (Japanese release). Now, admittedly, Pitfall Harry is not the character Mario is and has only been showcased in number of mediocre, modern games. The magic of the original 2 games just never seemed to continue into the later games.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, Crane gets his fair share of spotlight. However, by and large this seems to come from the overall history of being an Activision founder and not so much as being the father of the multi-screen platforming game.

 

Add the other notably historical games to his resume such as Ghostbusters and you start to see that he has created as many innovative and unique gaming experiences as Myamoto.

 

This seems like a case of the winner (post Crash NES) writing the history books, while the "looser" (Activision Atari/Commodore) gets left behind.

 

We hobbyist seem to keep the memory of the Atari and early 80's era of gaming alive, while an entire generation looks to Nintendo as the pioneering video game company. The crash seems to be this insurmountable wall and creators like Crane are left in the footnotes and sidebars of history while the post Nintendo creators are elevated to legendary status.

 

That just doesn't seem right to me.

 

-Ray

[Rom Hunter]

You're absolutely right, pocketmego.

 

Hats off, David Crane:

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http...6lr%3D%26sa%3DN

 

BTW: You gotta love his haircut. It hasn't changed one hair in almost thirty years!

 

Edited July 28, 2006 by Rom Hunter

[pocketmego]

You're absolutely right, pocketmego.

 

Hats off, David Crane:

http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http...6lr%3D%26sa%3DN

 

BTW: You gotta love his haircut. It hasn't changed one hair in almost thirty years!

 

 

 

LOL, that's true. if not for the beard he's look like the same guy in the old Activision catalogues, just with wrinkles.

 

Thanks a lot for the link, I enjoyed reading more about him. I wish i had the guy's E-mail address, he is certainly one of my heroes in the business.

 

-Ray

[Mayhem]

On the other hand Miyamoto-san pretty much invented the platformer with Donkey Kong in 1981. Either way, they both have produced great games over the years!

[joeybastard]

It's simple economics. Myamoto's games have earned more money than Crane's so people pay more attention to him.

 

Also, to the general public, Mario is on a level with Pac-Man for recognition while Pitfall Harry is nowhere near as well known.

 

Except around here of course.

Edited July 28, 2006 by joeybastard

[Gregory DG]

I don't think Jeff Minter gets enough credit either. His games do something to you physically (an adreneline rush) that has yet to be matched.

[thomasholzer]

The Japanese are a nation of copiers, this is well known, the designer of Space Invaders mentioned that his idea was based on Breakout (Got his interview taped from some UK TV program about video gaming).

Shigeru Myamoto copied Donkey Kong (running along platforms and up and down ladders, bashing things) from the one year earlier (1980) arcade game Space Panic (first platform and ladders game).

 

As David Crane himself said, the Atari/Activision guys were a bunch of programmer firsts (Source: Retro Gamer, issue 12, David Crane interview), as nobody had done anything like that before in history. 'We were inventors, games like Freeway used horizontal and vertical independent moving objects, never done before, Dragster, a 32-pixel wide moving object, also a first, Outlaw, two movable player objects with a modifiable bitmapped object, way ahead of it's time. Everybody else, including the Japanese and UKers, copied and continued with various software themes'.

 

This is so true.

 

Hats off to the Americans, congrats to the Japanese for making excellent copies and taking the USAs credit away over the years. (Just like they did with cars).

Edited July 28, 2006 by thomasholzer

[+Random Terrain]

I have mixed feelings about David Crane. He did some cool things, but Pitfall and Pitfall II created a horrible trend. We got decades of stupid perfect-timing platform games where everything is in the same place every time you play. Randomness and replayability weren't just shown the door, they were thrown through a plate-glass window.

 

I understand that Pitfall II: Lost Caverns had better graphics and sophisticated music, but things were still in the same place and you still had to jump over mindless enemies that just bounced up and down or moved back and forth and usually didn't even know you were there. Pitfall II: Lost Caverns had some cool things in it, but for the most part, it was just another lame exercise in perfect timing with nothing else to offer except the frustration of going back many screens to do it all over again. At least the original Pitfall let you skip or retry the screen you were on (your choice depending on whether you went left or right). The idiotically frustrating idea of making you go back multiple screens was not an advance, it was a giant step backwards and that model is still used today by misguided game designers.

[Paranoid]

Hats off to the Americans, congrats to the Japanese for making excellent copies and taking the USAs credit away over the years. (Just like they did with cars).

 

The Japanese do not simply COPY. They innovate, advance, and improve on originals and are more efficient in doing so. The Miata is the most dependable, well-engineered, precision balanced British Roadster you can buy. The Titan is the most capable, feature-rich, flexible full-sized half-ton truck on the market. The Honda hawg-look alikes are generally *better* bikes than an actual Hawg. And all these examples are available less expensive than the originals they COPY, as well.

 

If Americans and American corporations had REAL pride of workmanship and really considered the customer job #1, this wouldn't be the case. But American workers want to put minimum effort out for their paycheck, and American corporations consider bottom line profits and shareholder satisfaction job #1. CEO perks is job #2... customer satisfaction is priority #23,378. That is right above employee safety and people employee HR education.

 

Seriously. American production standards are that the easiest solution is a cut-corner. Whereas Japanese devices are often OVER-engineered, American products are too often under-engineered. This is why the F-150 cruise control could short out while the vehicle was turned OFF, leading the truck to burn, often taking your garage and house with it.

 

Now, how this relates to games... Pitfall capitalized on a then-current trend, Indiana Jones. While this was and remains hugely relevent to people in our specific era, it is a theme that is largely lost on later generations (Tomb Raider realized that to keep it relevent, you needed to add big jugs and hot pants to Indiana). The captive damsel held by the ferocious prehistoric monster, on the other hand, is an eternal theme. Beyond that, Nintendo leveraged the characters from the original Donkey Kong into a franchise, whereas Pitfall , for whatever reason, was never nearly as successful at achieving this. Laura Croft is far more recognizable than Pitfall Harry.

 

Was Pitfall the first multi-screen platform game? There wasn't anything on the Atari 8-bit PCs that predates it, or somewhere else? Usually these ideas (like the Mac OS), have their true origins in something far more obscure and inaccessible to the average Joe.

[Rik]

At least the Japanese make MORE RELIABLE cars,i'm going by what EVERY ONE OF MECHANICS IVE TALKED TO SAID,and anyway,theres's NO SUCH THING as %100 American built CARS and other products as well,import cars are loaded with Japanese parts,the dodge stealth has a JAPANESE motor,whether manufactured or designed in JAPAN,still has the japanese influence,Yes they do "copy',or ,i should say innovate,WORLDWIDE inventions,but in some cases ,they make them BETTER!

Edited July 28, 2006 by Rik

[shadow460]

So, RT, you mean things like Bowser and the Little Goombas know when Mario is there?

The faces in Ghostbuster II know when Venkman approaces? Maybe the Skeletons know right where Lady Liberty is...

 

David Crane vs Shigeru Miyamoto...hmmm...

I think Miyamoto gets more credit because of the type of games he's created. He not only continued part of Crane's tradition of doing more (NES Zelda/battery backups, Super Mario 64), but applied it to a somewhat untapped audience.

I never could appreicate the power of a race car, Brands Hatch, or a top fuel dragster. Now I can, since I'm older. I never got real deep into what it would be like to explore the jungle, or bombard an alien planet (Laser Blast).

I did, however, become absolutely hooked by being able to trounce upon enemies, grab treasure, and bounce through a game while listening to some very catchy music (Pitfall II and SMB 2).

 

What's better, then? Appreciating a game that features something you think is cool or hearing your kids appreciate the game you just bought for them?

 

Without Crane, there'd be no Miyamoto, and sadly, David Crane doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I think I know why he's so overshadowed, though.

[jsoper]

LOL, that's true. if not for the beard he's look like the same guy in the old Activision catalogues, just with wrinkles.

 

Thanks a lot for the link, I enjoyed reading more about him. I wish i had the guy's E-mail address, he is certainly one of my heroes in the business.

David Crane has been at the three CGEs I've been able to attend. There's one planned for next year (they took 2006 off).

[+Random Terrain]

So, RT, you mean things like Bowser and the Little Goombas know when Mario is there?

I'm not sure if I understand your question. The most important thing is for the game to be fun, then after that I require two things: controlled randomness (which provides freshness/replayability), and some kind of enemy AI. Most platform games that were to follow in the Nintendo years and beyond were usually lacking in both areas. Most of them also made you replay levels if you didn't play the 'game' perfectly. It's supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be play, it's not supposed to be frustrating, repetitive, tedious work.

[Paranoid]

At least the Japanese make MORE RELIABLE cars

 

But they're still a racist culture.

[joeybastard]

At least the Japanese make MORE RELIABLE cars

 

But they're still a racist culture.

 

What does that have to do with making cars?

[Shannon]

Other programmers I consider overrated... (sorry guys)

 

Sid Meir

Peter Monyeux (or however you spell his last name)

Chris Crawford

 

Shigeru Myamoto to me though has managed to innovate in alot of ways. So by no means do I consider him overrated.

 

As David Crane himself said, the Atari/Activision guys were a bunch of programmer firsts (Source: Retro Gamer, issue 12, David Crane interview), as nobody had done anything like that before in history. 'We were inventors, games like Freeway used horizontal and vertical independent moving objects, never done before, Dragster, a 32-pixel wide moving object, also a first, Outlaw, two movable player objects with a modifiable bitmapped object, way ahead of it's time. Everybody else, including the Japanese and UKers, copied and continued with various software themes'.

Technically yes.. game theme wise, uh well no..

 

Freeway = frogger

Outlaw = uh well outlaw (yes there was an arcade version)

Chopper Command = Defender

 

The list goes on. Oh and you forgot to mention windowblinds.

[Lord Thag]

First off, I agree that Mr Crane should be given more recognition. He's made a lot of great games over the years, amny of which are undiscovered gems (A Boy and His Blob for example).

 

Jeff Minter needs WAY more recognition. Temepest 2000 ranks as one of the greatest games of all time.

 

Miyamoto, though, deserves every bit of applause he gets. I might not be a huge mario fan, but everything the guy makes just oozes quality and creativity.

 

That said, I'm going to back Random Terrain up and say that I too am sick of games that are the same every single time you play. Especially now that the next gen games are selling for $70 or so, I really do expect a game to mix it up a bit each time I play. Pitfall was a great game, but I never play it anymore. ET, Adventure, Haunted House and all the rest still get played because they are not the same thing over and over.

[MetalSlime23]

At least the Japanese make MORE RELIABLE cars

 

But they're still a racist culture.

 

すみません、違います。アメリカ人馬鹿ですよ。

[JB]

At least the Japanese make MORE RELIABLE cars

 

But they're still a racist culture.

 

What does that have to do with making cars?

Because they make the cupholders too small. I can't fit my 1024-ounce Uber-Gulp into my Nissan. Stupid japanese think that THEIR beverage sizes are right for everyone. Maybe other people LIKE drinking cokes the size of their heads!

 

 

 

 

Seriously, and on-topic...

Miyamoto gets the credit because he's an ad.

He wasn't publicized because he was great, he was publicized because Nintendo wanted a face, and their mascot's creator was the best option because they could leverage their mascot to get people to look.

 

Is he good? Sure.

Is he better than all the other people who live in obscurity because they aren't a major corporation's PR stunt? No.

[MetalSlime23]

another thing you fan boys need to understand:

 

The word Atari is a Japanese word that means "hit, sucess, or winning a lottery". It is written as 当たり

in Kana.

 

Considering the sucess of the 2600, can we say this is a coincidence? I think not. I think one of the アタリ (atari)

founders knew some 日本語 (Japanese).

Edited July 29, 2006 by MetalSlime23

[Paranoid]

What does that have to do with making cars?

 

I'm not sure... But they sure do make 'em good. Probably because they're all so good at math.

 

Considering the sucess of the 2600, can we say this is a coincidence? I think not. I think one of the アタリ (atari)

founders knew some 日本語 (Japanese).

 

Could be that one of the founders of Atari liked to play Go... which is the conventional explaination of the company name.

 

And your Kana comes out as ANSI/ASCII squares to us US-English keyset users.

[MetalSlime23]

Sorry. I am usuing a Japanese word processor.

 

However, any web browser can display Japanese characters. If you want to see my Kana and are using IE, go to View=> Encoding, and change to Japanese.

 

For Firefox users, the same setting is found under View=> Character encoding.

 

It's easily canged back. The default setting for either should be Unicode or Western

Edited July 29, 2006 by MetalSlime23

[Shannon]

Seriously, and on-topic...

Miyamoto gets the credit because he's an ad.

 

If that is all you think of the guy you seriously need to read up more on him. He has had much more effect on the industry than you think.

[JB]

Seriously, and on-topic...

Miyamoto gets the credit because he's an ad.

 

If that is all you think of the guy you seriously need to read up more on him. He has had much more effect on the industry than you think.

Care to read the REST of the post?

I explicitly acknowledge that he IS good.

 

He's just not the "ZOMG AWESOME GOD AMONG MEN!111" he's typically presented as.

 

The reason he's recognized and other equally talented people aren't IS because Nintendo thrust him into the spotlight as a PR stunt.

Any other explanation ignores the fact that the masses praising Miyamoto can't successfully differentiate between developer and publisher, much less actually watch credits.

[spacecadet]

You're talking about a guy who created an admittedly important game vs. a guy who has headed up development of one of the top video game companies (and importantly, a company that's still relevant) for around 10 years, and who created probably a dozen of the most popular franchises in the world even before that. I don't think there's really any comparison.

 

Miyamoto is not just the creator of Zelda, Mario and Donkey Kong. Here's an *incomplete* list of the games he's produced (note that it only dates to 1985):

 

New Super Mario Bros. (2006), Nintendo of America Inc.

Chibi-Robo! (2005), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Electroplankton (2005), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Geist (2005), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario Party 7 (2005), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario Tennis: Power Tour (2005), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Nintendogs (2005), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Star Fox Assault (2005), Nintendo of America Inc.

Super Mario Strikers (2005), Nintendo of Europe GmbH

Custom Robo (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Party 6 (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Pinball Land (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Power Tennis (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004), Nintendo of America Inc.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004), Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pikmin 2 (2004), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

1080° Avalanche (2003), Nintendo of Europe GmbH

F-Zero GX (2003), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Kirby Air Ride (2003), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition (2003), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (2003), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario Party 5 (2003), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario Party-e (2003), Nintendo of America Inc.

Pokémon Box (2003), Pokémon Company, The

Pokémon Colosseum (2003), Pokémon Company, The

Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse (2002), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey & Minnie (2002), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Doshin the Giant (2002), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002), Nintendo of America Inc.

Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak (2002), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! (2002), Nintendo of America Inc.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Party 4 (2002), Nintendo of America Inc.

Metroid Prime (2002), Nintendo of America Inc.

Star Fox Adventures (2002), Nintendo of America Inc.

Super Mario Sunshine (2002), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Luigi's Mansion (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Kart Super Circuit (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pikmin (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario Advance (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Smash Bros.: Melee (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Wave Race: Blue Storm (2001), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Excitebike 64 (2000), Nintendo of America Inc.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Party 3 (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Tennis (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Tennis (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Paper Mario (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pokémon Crystal (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pokémon Stadium 2 (2000), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland (2000), Nintendo of America Inc.

Donkey Kong 64 (1999), Nintendo of America Inc.

Mario Golf (1999), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Golf (1999), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Party 2 (1999), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pokémon Snap (1999), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pokémon Stadium (1999), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (1999), Nintendo of America Inc.

Super Smash Bros. (1999), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

1080° Snowboarding (1998), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Esoteria (1998), Kirin Entertainments Inc.

F-Zero X (1998), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (1998), Nintendo of America Inc.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Party (1998), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Star Fox 64 (1997), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Yoshi's Story (1997), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996), Nintendo of America Inc.

Kirby Super Star (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario Kart 64 (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mole Mania (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pilotwings 64 (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pokémon Blue (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pokémon Red (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1996), Nintendo of America Inc.

Super Mario 64 (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Donkey Kong Land (1995), Nintendo of America Inc.

Kirby's Block Ball (1995), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Kirby's Dream Land 2 (1995), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Donkey Kong (1994), Nintendo of America Inc.

Donkey Kong Country (1994), Nintendo of America Inc.

EarthBound (1994), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Kirby's Dream Course (1994), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Stunt Race FX (1994), Nintendo of America Inc.

Kirby's Adventure (1993), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Star Fox (1993), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario Kart (1992), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Wave Race (1992), Nintendo of America Inc.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

F-Zero (1990), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Pilotwings (1990), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario World (1990), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mother (1989), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

The Legend of Zelda (1986), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Super Mario Bros. (1985), Nintendo Co., Ltd.

 

You're gonna hold David Crane up to that?

 

To dismiss Miyamoto as a "publisher" is to completely miss the point. He is the head of EAD at Nintendo. Saying he's only a publisher is no different than saying Nintendo is only a publisher, because he is in charge of all software development at Nintendo. So you're saying the coders get all their ideas themselves? Who do you think is responsible for pretty much everything Nintendo has done on the software side for about the last 20 years?

Edited July 29, 2006 by spacecadet