Best video game concepts

[ManekiNeko]

I'm working on an article for my web site that describes the best play mechanics ever introduced in video games. Twenty five great ideas will be discussed in this feature. I'll write about them at length in the actual article, but this brief list should give you an idea of what I'm planning to do.

(IN NO ORDER... YET)

FORCE UNIT (R-Type)
Part shield, part weapon enhancement, and part faithful sidekick, the Force Unit is the only thing that keeps your ship in one piece throughout this merciless shooter.

GRAPPLING HOOK (Bionic Commando)
Bionic Commando put an inventive spin on the average side-scrolling platformer by taking out the jumping completely, and replacing it with a grappling hook that adds great challenge and fun to the game.

POWER UPS (Super Mario Bros.)
The mushrooms and fire flowers are what make Super Mario Bros. truly super, granting Mario helpful abilities if the player is smart enough to find them and quick enough to grab them.

BOSSES (Gorf)
First introduced in Midway's Gorf, bosses add a new level of challenge to video games, taking multiple hits to destroy and giving the player a satisfying sense of accomplishment once they're finally beaten.

THEFT OF ABILITIES (Mega Man)
Hey, that weapon is really cool! Mind if I, heh, "borrow" it for a little while? Mega Man's ability to claim his enemies' attacks as his own give the player a strong incentive to continue playing, and add variety to the game.

EDIBLE ENEMIES (Super Mario World)
Out of all the ways you can deal with an opponent, few are as satisfying as swallowing them whole. It's even better when you can spit them out as deadly projectiles!

LIMITED FLIGHT (Super Mario Bros. 3)
Flight added a whole new dimension to the Super Mario Bros. series, letting Mario explore areas which were once impossible for him to reach. Fortunately, this ability is limited so the game remains a challenge.

CROSSFIRE BOMBS (Bomberman)
There's a unique appeal to the Bomberman series... it's a bit like chess, except a whole lot faster and more intense. Most of this appeal is derived from the shape of the bombs' explosions, which force the player to use them strategically to claim victory.

SUPER ATTACKS (Super Street Fighter II Turbo)
If special attacks are good, extremely powerful versions of these attacks are even better. They give the player a chance to finish off their opponents with style... but because you have to work to earn them, they can't be abused.

FATALITIES (Mortal Kombat)
It's not an integral part of the basic gameplay, but it's sadistic fun to slice your opponent in half or reduce them to a pile of smoldering ash after a hard fought victory.

TRANSFORMERS (Terra Cresta)
SPREAD GUN (Contra)
ARMOR PLATING (Gladiator)
WEAPON CHARGING (R-Type)
ICE BEAM (Metroid)
WEAPON METER (Gradius)
OMNIDIRECTIONAL FIRE (Robotron: 2084)
COMBOS (Street Fighter II)
FIGHTER CAPTURE (Galaga)
SMART BOMBS (Defender)
CHAIN REACTIONS (Missile Command)
BUBBLES (Bubble Bobble)
MIX AND MATCH WEAPONS (Gunstar Heroes)
TIME MANIPULATION (Max Payne)
NINJA DOG (Shadow Dancer)

So, what do you think you be included in the list, and for that matter, taken off of it?

JR

[Dire 51]

OPTIONS/MULTIPLES (Gradius) - Ghost versions of the Vic Viper that follow your ship around and mimic the ship's current capabilities, and in later Gradius games, can be put into different kinds of formations. Line 'em up for some massive firepower!

[ManekiNeko]

Ooh, good call. I might have to replace the weapon meter from Gradius with that. I personally thought the weapon meter was a good idea, but it was not without its annoyances. I generally rearranged all the weapons in the list to suit my needs in any Gradius game that allowed me to do it.

JR

[Dire 51]

If I recall correctly, the only game that let you rearrange the weapon meter was Gradius Gaiden.

[Sylentwulf]

Might want to throw in a little menu-driven RPG, or real-time RPG lovin in for us RPG freaks ala Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy :)

[brandver3]

Yeah, I qould defiantly throw in mention of the Menu system or RANDOM BATTLE, which is a staple of every RPG now.

Or SUMMONS from Final Fantasy. How many people do you know didn't live to get the next one?

[kainemaxwell]

Would Sabin's SF-ish moves in FF6 count for something? I think they did kinda pave the way for Legend of Leagia's martial-arts button moves for attacks and perhaps Xenogears as well.

[IntvGene]

This is a great idea for an article, but not an easy one to actually complete exhaustively. I love the ideas so far, and many of them I didn't really think of. I took most of mine from earlier arcade games, where I believe most of the innovation was done:

INVINCIBLE ENEMIES (Berzerk, Robotron): An enemy that you can't kill! This totally changed how we played the game, as your strategy needed serious modifcation against it. It also got rid of the "shooting gallery" idea that video games were just an extension of shooting targets.

CO-OPERATIVE GAMEPLAY (Ripoff, Gauntlet): Not just playing against the game or your friend, these games changed how the game was played by allowing assymetrical, two-against one play. Gauntlet took it even further by limiting the resources available for the team, and allowing competition between the team.

BONUS WAVE / INTERMISSION (Ms. Pac-man, Gyruss, etc.): Allowing a brief interlude in the game, gave the player time to rest, a nice reward for getting so far and reminded people that it after all, was just a game.

DUAL JOYSTICK CONTROLS (Robotron): Robotron's control was completely revolutionary, and not unlike controls on many games today. (You mentioned this one already)

RESCUE: (many games, Robotron) Having to rescue allies also changed the games, and our strategy playing them.

This is just a few, but there are tons more. I think you could easily list 100, if you had enough time. Good luck with the list!

[k8track]

HIDING UNDER THE COUCH (Sneak'n Peek)--A revolutionary concept that continues to send shockwaves far into the 21st century.

BEING CHASED BY A GIANT EGG (Burgertime)--The first game to feature a killer egg and still the best.

FEEDING THE DOG UNDER THE TABLE (Mangia')--Experience the vicarious thrill of feeding our quadraped friends without actually having to own one.

[Kid Fenris]

This should be an interesting read. Here are a few of my suggestions.

RINGS (Sonic the Hedgehog): I thought it was rather clever of Naka and his crew to tie the coin-collecting aesthetic to a character's well-being. Instead of grabbing rings just for a high score or an extra life, players had to snag them to avoid dying. The idea was used to even better effect in Burning Rangers, in which crystals not only protected characters from one hit, but also allowed them to rescue victims and earn continues.

STEALTH (Metal Gear, others): Sneaking around enemies was an excellent concept, and it added a new, subtle level to the gameplay.

LOOPS (NiGHTS): By flying in loops, players were able to suck in enemies and destroy them. It's an enjoyable method of attack, and just one of the unique ideas in NiGHTS.

FIRST-PERSON (Wolfenstein, others): Giving players a direct view of the action was a much-needed innovation for action games, and it spawned an entire genre.

THE BEAT (Parappa the Rapper, others): Pressing buttons in the time to the music seems a rather simple idea, but it's an excellent concept when used in Parappa, Bust-A-Move, DDR, or any of the other rhythm titles out there.

[Kroogah]

HIDING UNDER THE COUCH (Sneak'n Peek)--A revolutionary concept that continues to send shockwaves far into the 21st century.

BEING CHASED BY A GIANT EGG (Burgertime)--The first game to feature a killer egg and still the best.

FEEDING THE DOG UNDER THE TABLE (Mangia')--Experience the vicarious thrill of feeding our quadraped friends without actually having to own one.

You, sir, are the man.

[kainemaxwell]

BEING CHASED BY A GIANT EGG (Burgertime)--The first game to feature a killer egg and still the best.


Don't forget being chased by a giant happy face in Berzerk/Frenzy! Who knew a happy face could kill you!

[Dirty Tiger]

Hookers for GOOD HEALTH?!?!

[davidbrit2]

Okay, let me check on the chronology of a couple of those...

Bosses - Did Gorf come before Phoenix? I assume it did.

Eating enemies - How about Kirby's Dreamland? Was that before Super Mario World?

And here's one to add to the list:

4 player cooperative gameplay - Gauntlet
Was that done earlier? That's the first one I can think of off the top of my head.

[Kroogah]

Super Mario World came before Kirby's Dream Land. Thatsalliknow.

What was the first game to feature online play?

[evilmess]

Putting weapons on cars now that was genius! Road Blaster, Spy Hunter, and Interstate 76 to name a few.

[Sylentwulf]

Don't forget to throw props out to the good old japanese plastic finger in the ass arcade game! No article can be complete without it!

[hydr0x]

what about walking back in the level?? what is it called?

BACK-SCROLLING?

[dr mario kart]

hows about the turn based strategy of final fantasy tactics or the like

[kainemaxwell]

Jess, you might want to add:

Metroid. This being the first game where you could totally explore the game world and not be confinded to scrolling to the right.

Ninja Gaiden. First use of cinema scenes to progress the story.

[ManekiNeko]

I may have to go to fifty to include some of these ideas. Could be worth it, though.
Anyone else have any game concepts they would include in this list?

JR

[o2william]

According to KLOV, Gorf was released in 1981, while Phoenix came out in 1980. So would Phoenix be the first game to have a boss?

Incidentally, I always thought Vanguard was the first, but KLOV says it came out in 1981 as well...

[Kid Fenris]

You could mention Ico and its unique lead-the-Princess gameplay. I'd almost swear that I saw the idea somewhere else long ago, but I don't remember another game using the concept quite as well as Ico did.

[kainemaxwell]

Princess Tomato of the Sald Kingdom: Where else do you play a game where you fight playing rock-paper-scissors??

Shadowgate, Deja Vu, Uninvited: Kemno-Seika's point and clicka dventures.

[rbudrick]

Princess Tomato of the Sald Kingdom: Where else do you play a game where you fight playing rock-paper-scissors??

Shadowgate, Deja Vu, Uninvited: Kemno-Seika's point and clicka dventures.

Kaine23, you rockl You are the only other person besides myself that even puts Princess Tomato in the same ranks as Shadowgate, et al. I preach again to all: If you like Shadowgate, you'll LOVE Princess Tomato!!


I'm still waiting for TheRedEye's game:


I call it The Real Adventures of Ben Franklin. It mostly involves Ben Franklin defending the 13 colonies against space aliens, using the machine gun he invented in his garage. Which he also invented.

It's like Contra, but during the founding days of the United States of America. The plot gets pretty crazy, after a while you have to invent a time machine and gather the Heroes of History (William Shatner, Albert Einstein, and the 1979 Chicago Bears) to battle Satan during the end of the universe.

Can someone PLEASE get me a staff? I have way too many good ideas for games.



When I heard this idea in


http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18511

I almost died... I posted back:



TheRedEye---That's the BEST IDEA EVER! That is so damn funny! Huge potential for satire and to make fun of American myths...I WANT TO SEE THIS GAME DONE!!!!


-Rob


Now, Redeye, tell me more about this Glitchy the Bear shit...


D'oh! Sorry to thread highjack...back on topic here....let's see...Did any one mention Mario's Water cannon? Samus' Screw attack maybe? Stealing ones lives in Konami games to continue...or Double Dragon II for that matter....Blowing up a hamster in Maniac Mansion...How about that arcade game where you slap an ass or something?...Oh, and 3d gaming.....got real big w/ Mario 64.

Ok, maybe some of those are just cool, but not what you are talking about...anyway...it's too damn late, and I gotta go smoke some more crack...


-Rob