In my opinion, the titles presented in the “Golden Age” of arcade video games are still incredibly accessible and fun in the current, “modern” age, and have lost little if any of the charm, excitement, and entertainment that they provided upon their original releases. The games seem, on a surface level, to be very simple. Yet, in many cases, this initial appearance belies gameplay that offers greater complexity and engagement than many modern titles.
As we saw in class in one of the videos, many of these games were designed to take a quarter from the player and then ensure a “game over” as soon as possible to keep shuffling arcade-goers in line to play and ensuring maximum profits for arcade operators. This “arcade-style” design is often as cheap or unfair to players, especially by those who prefer the easier and more predictable style of later console games like Super Mario World. However, in my opinion, this is actually a huge plus for the Golden Age games. For example, many players can be daunted at first, upset that they don’t complete levels on the first try like in console games. However, the experience of retrying and improving one’s skillset is incredibly enjoyable, especially today when the games can often be played for free on the internet. A player can play for quite a while on a single credit once he or she has practiced enough. Furthermore, these arcade games remain fun to replay for practically an eternity, as one can always improve on a high score and try to top the scores of friends. Console games like The Legend of Zelda series do not offer this same replayability, and offer little to the player after the first playthrough — I think that this deficiency is what led to practices like the speedrunning that we discussed in class, as players made up for the games’ intrinsic lack of the replayability offered via the “arcade-style” philosophy. To sum it up, I’ve never once felt a desire to replay Zelda: The Wind Waker, but I will always pay to play one of my favorite old arcade games if I see a cabinet, eager to see how my performance will stack up to the high score emblazoned of the screen.
Another great feature of these older arcade games is the tension that they provide. Space Invaders is often cited as one of the first and one of the greatest games of this era, and it is still a great experience to play it today — the feeling of excitement when dodging enemy fire and trying to return precise shots is increased exponentially because the player only has a few lives and just gets one attempt at that high score before having to start over. The disappointment of coming within a few points of the high score only to lose and have to start over from 0 in your next attempt to be immortalized on the high score screen is a tough pill to swallow. Meanwhile, if a player somehow manages to get a Game Over in Super Mario World despite all the extra lives thrown at them, the player simply starts over on the level with no real penalty toward the main goal of reaching the end.
Another great example of the high quality of these older games comes from what is undoubtedly the most famous title of the era, Pac-Man. The ghosts each have their own “personalities” based on how they move and attack the player. The red one chases the player, the pink one tries to ambush by getting in front, etc. The player is defenseless against them except in the few moments when the tables are turned and Pac-Man can eat the ghosts. This near-constant state of vulnerability means that with repeated playthroughs, one becomes accustomed to reading how the ghosts will move and plans a strategy accordingly. This gives the iconic enemies of Pac-Man quite a bit of personality, and keeps the game fresh to play. The enemies of modern games usually have simple attack patterns and are often just fodder for the player to shoot or smack with a sword. Most boss fights in modern games do not even exude an iota of the personality or depth of the ghosts from Pac-Man. Newer games promise a “800-hour campaign” that very few people would be inclined to play through twice. Meanwhile, Pac-Man, a game that’s often over in a few minutes, is still being played today, nearly 40 years after its initial release.
CSE 40850 - Eddie Brady 