Anyone who remembers the Stone Ages of the early 1980s understands how far video games have come.
Let’s be honest: if you are of a certain age, you don’t even recall a time when video games were not fully immersive and intricate. But that’s OK.
The beauty of the video game industry is that it’s ever-evolving, both with the times and with technology.
They are almost a time capsule of technology’s growth.
Let’s look at 10 games that changed the way we play in the last 40 years.
Super Mario Bros. (1985): Video games don’t get more classic than the iconic Super Mario Bros. Heck, the title even helped Hollywood’s recent trend of box office gold using video game intellectual property.
Super Mario Bros. executed the perfect two-step nearly 40 years ago: it took a little-known virtual character and made him a star while also establishing an entire platform as a dominant and, for good measure, did so in a nascent industry that had been on the verge of extinction.
Super Mario Bros. introduced many elements that are now staples of the genre, such as side-scrolling levels, power-ups, and catchy music. It brought video games into the homes of millions of people around the world.
The Legend of Zelda (1986): Another franchise still going strong even in 2024.
This open-world adventure game gave players a huge world to explore at their own pace, filled with secrets to discover and puzzles to solve. It also popularized the "top-down" perspective that is still used in many games today.
Yes, the term “huge” here is relative, as it’s not quite as large as even the most basic role-playing game on today’s powerful platforms. However, for the time (again, these are time capsules), it inspired many a follow-up.
The Legend of Zelda blended great music, skill-based combat, excellent storytelling, and likable characters to create what some at the time had never seen before.
Super Metroid (1994): This sequel to the original Metroid took the exploration and atmosphere of the first game to new heights, introducing a non-linear world, a sense of isolation, and a memorable soundtrack.
It helped to define the Metroidvania genre, which is still popular today. Metroidvania side scrollers generally assign tasks to the player, which can reveal more of the game’s map by completing them in a prescribed order.
GoldenEye 007 (1997): This first-person shooter was one of the first to feature online multiplayer, which revolutionized the way people play games. It also popularized the concept of objective-based multiplayer, which is still used in many games today.
It’s tough to overstate how much of an impact GoldenEye 007 had on gamers, with a multiplayer mode that was essentially the Call of Duty online experience with Nintendo 64 graphics decades before the CoD titles dominated the conversation.
Grand Theft Auto III (2001): This open-world crime game gave players unprecedented freedom to explore a city and do whatever they wanted. It also popularized the concept of a seamless, open world, which is now used in many games of all genres.
Minecraft (2011): This sandbox game allows players to build and create anything they can imagine. It also popularized the concept of user-generated content, which is now a major part of many games.
To this day, Minecraft continues to grow and thrive, with 140 million active monthly users. That’s insane.
Pokemon Go (2016): This was a revolution. About eight years ago, Pokemon Go was released and showed businesses that augmented reality had some phenomenal potential when done well.
This title brought the world of Pokemon to life, allowing players to catch Pokemon in the real world. It also popularized the concept of location-based gaming, which is now used in many other games.
Fortnite (2017): This free-to-play battle royale title popularized the "Games as a Service" model, with regular content updates, seasons, and collaborations keeping players engaged for years.
How big has this been? Well, go ahead and hit up Google with “Disney” and “Epic Games.” OK, I’ll do it for you. CLICK HERE FOR SOME NEWS
Half-Life: Alyx (2020): This VR game showcases the potential of virtual reality storytelling and immersion, pushing the boundaries of interactive experiences.
If you have played role-playing games for any number of years, you know the sophistication of today’s stories might be the greatest ever. Well, that’s what Half-Life: Alyx did for VR in 2020.
It Takes Two (2021): This cooperative adventure game focused on positive communication and teamwork, highlighting the potential of co-op experiences to connect players.
These are just a few of the many video games that have changed the way we play games.
Each of these games introduced new ideas and concepts adopted by other games and helped to shape the gaming industry as we know it today.
