Top Ten Games That Have Had Major Influence On Video Gaming History
Games are traditionally defined as a structured, hands-on, interactive form of play, normally undertaken for fun or entertainment, and at times used as an academic tool. Games are quite different from work, which typically are performed for monetary remuneration, and from fine art, that are more often a reflection of aesthetic or political themes. The current discussion will look at how the social aspect of games can be applied to psychology, particularly in the context of behaviour and motivation.
One of the earliest examples of a single-player game was a game called Simon and the Alien. This text adventure game was created by Richard Bach and showed a single player character navigating a hostile environment while attempting to save a friend. The player had to search through a large number of rooms, killing off the aliens that came at them and using tools to progress through the levels. There was no inventory, no weapons, no consequences other than the death of one character. It was an early example of many games being made specifically for single players.
A similar text adventure game that featured multiple characters was Darwinia. In this game the player controlled three characters and was required to explore environments and cure various diseases so that the party remained healthy. The theme of this game was to have the player assume the role of aologist and save the animals. The history, culture and position of these animals changed constantly throughout the course of the game and this gave rise to a number of complex concepts, such as game theory, resource systems and cultural progression.
The development of video games has continued on from this initial stage and there are now literally hundreds of thousands of titles on the market. A popular type of title is the strategy or simulation title, which allows the player to become part of a functioning world including running a business or choosing a career. Many of these video games involve building a set of rules and strategies to advance the storyline and solve problems. For those who are unfamiliar with this type of game, a main article entitled ‘Video Game Strategy Games’ will give a good overview of the concept.
One of the earliest forms of entertainment that utilised dice was the game of chess. It was first discovered in the Middle Ages and progressed to what we know today as chess today. Chess is an incredibly difficult game and not many people can actually win. A main article entitled ‘A Brief History of Dice Games’ will give an explanation of how and why they developed into what they do today.
A final article exploring the development of gaming and their influence on society, television and films, will show an example of one of the most popular online games to date. This game is a Dwarf Fortress and is freely available to all worldwide users. The main article concerning this game can be found on the site below.