Kong Wen wrote: ↑25 Feb 2019 15:31
A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985, PC)
To explain why I nominated this, it'd probably be easiest to point to
the manual. Though I didn't vote for either of my nominations here, instead going for Dune II and LBP.
Gradius (1985, Arcade)
Perhaps the first game to have that sort of risk-reward power-up system, though you'd have to ask Vic about that.
Bubble Bobble (1986, Arcade)
I dunno. Fun game, but not very innovative. Maybe the first to let you use enemies to kill other enemies?
M.U.L.E. (1983, C64)
I had thought about nominating this myself. Probably the first truly multiplayer game, and definitely the first "thinking man's" one. I don't think anyone had brought a board-gaming concept nearly as complex to video games before either.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003, Multiplatform)
Time-shifting mechanics. Nominated this instead of Blinx because (1) I haven't played Blinx and (2) PoP was a lot more influential.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Multiplatform)
First "modern" fighting game.
Super Mario 64 (1996, N64) - for being a 3D platformer, I guess? There were a few before this.
Most if not all 3D platformers before SM64 had heavy restrictions on camera and movement and a number of them were better referred to as 2.5D.
Doom (1993, PC)
First FPS with robust multiplayer and modding support (and probably the first game to combine both of those).
Elite Plus (1991, PC)
I nominated this because I hadn't actually played the original unenhanced Elite, which was the true innovator (and if we had had nominations for multiple versions, I'd say they should be considered the same game). First open-world game, first free-form space sim, first (?) game to use a procedurally generated universe.
Metal Gear (1987, MSX2)
First popular stealth game. I would've probably nominated Castle Wolfenstein if it were me, but I still gave this a vote IIRC.
Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987, Multiplatform)
First game I know of to put so many disparate gameplay elements together into a seamless whole.
Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES)
First mascot racer. I don't think that's a mechanic, though. SMK is apparently the first kart racer with combat mechanics, but that seems like a meaningless distinction from other 3D and pseudo-3D car games with combat mechanics (RoadBlasters, Chase HQ). I suppose the different multiplayer modes are notable.
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001, PC/XB)
Despite Vic's disdain, I voted for this one because it was the first console FPS that was actually done correctly. Well, that and the fact that I haven't played any of the other games besides Civilization.
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991, PC)
First popular 4X game, though I personally have a hard time thinking of Civ games as 4X games since they seem ineffably different from Master of Orion et al. While it wasn't the first 4X game, earlier efforts weren't nearly as complex. I thought of nominating this but went with SimCity instead.
Pac-Man (1980, Arcade)
The first maze chaser, the first popular arcade game that wasn't Pong or some sort of space shooter, and one of the most cloned games of all time. I think I voted for this one alone almost by default (moving cockpits, interactive comic-book panels, and quickdeaths aren't innovative enough, sorry).
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1981, PC) - probably the first D&D-based computer RPG - doesn't have the rulebook-reliant design of Star Saga, but it gets points for being first
If we're talking only first-person D&D-inspired RPGs, Akalabeth still beats Wizardry by a couple of years, and Ultima beats it by a few months. Wizardry still deserves a lot of credit for having a party system and a different feel, though, which is why I think it was one of my votes.
The President Is Missing (1988, C64)
I nominated this in the same mindset as Star Saga One. I'm not sure if it's the first game with non-copy-protection multimedia elements which are required to complete the game, but it's almost definitely the earliest one that came out in America. It also took place entirely in real time, which was certainly a flawed innovation, but an innovation nonetheless.
The Lords of Midnight (1984, C64)
Earliest game that I know of that did a good job of capturing what an epic fantasy conflict like the War of the Ring would actually play like. The only other games from the period that made an attempt at epic wargaming were the very different Nobunaga's Ambition and Reach for the Stars.
Wolfenstein 3D (1992, PC)
First popular FPS. I'd have picked MIDI Maze or Catacomb 3-D over this one, but the selection is understandable.
Rob
