[game_preservation] 'Telespiele 1972-2007 Picks Most Influential Games'

[Simon Carless]

Some neat German-related news of preservation interest I wrote up on
GameSetWatch (there's also Guinness Book Of Records references I haven't
mentioned?):

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/08/telespiele_19722007_picks_most.php

"Two lines and a square - the first, and still best-known video game,
"Pong", spawned a billion dollar industry. Books, comics, cinema films,
series and audio books have all been developed from games. They inspire
information technology, media, industry and medicine, as technological
influence, advertising medium, educator and the basis for virtual worlds.

Now a jury sitting at the GC special exhibition "Telespiele 1972-2007",
compiled by the Leipzig games journalist René Meyer, has made a selection of
the games that have exerted a particular influence. The panel of over 20
games experts - collectors, journalists and publishers - has chosen its
favourite from a list of 150 nominations. The most influential games in
chronological order are:

1972 Pong (Dexterity/Arcade)
1978 Space Invaders (Dexterity/Arcade)
1979 Pac-Man (Dexterity/Arcade)
1980 Ultima (Role Play)
1984 Elite (Space Trading Simulation)
1985 Tetris (Dexterity/Puzzle)
1985 Super Mario Bros. (Jump'n'Run)
1986 The Legend of Zelda (Action/Adventure)
1987 Maniac Mansion (Adventure)
1989 SimCity (City Building Simulation)
1991 Civilization (Strategy)
1993 Doom (First-Person Shooter)
1996 Tomb Raider (Action/Adventure)
1999 Counter-Strike (First-Person Shooter)
2000 The Sims (Relationship Simulation)
2004 World of WarCraft (Online Role Play)

In the selection the following four titles were named most frequently:

"Tetris" (1985). The dexterity game with the coloured cubes is the
brainchild of the Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov. "Tetris" became a hit
when Nintendo included it with its portable games system: it was almost as
if Game Boy and Tetris were made for one another. Today there are hundreds
of different versions of the game, for almost every computer system.

"Pong" (1972). The idea for this simple tennis game was developed as early
as the late 60s by German-born Ralph Baer. However, it was not until the
arrival of arcade machines from Atari and later the home console that it
became a hit. "Pong" demonstrated that video games offer most fun when
mastered together or against one another. Countless Pong clones appeared,
including in the GDR.

"Doom" (1993). The first-person shooter promoted the idea of shareware: the
first chapter was a free gift, with the aim of advertising for the following
ones. "Doom" is not only a milestone in 3D technology. Its sophisticated
network support means that it enjoyed particular popularity in multi-player
mode, leading to the creation of LAN parties. "Doom" was played intensively
on home and company networks, as well as via modem. In addition, "Doom" also
heralded the breakthrough for the modding scene, with hobby designers
creating thousands of additional levels.

"Pac-Man" (1979). The yellow pill-popper is redolent of one of the prime
forces driving humankind: eat to survive. it was the first pop star among
the video game heroes; appearing on the covers of magazines, it was also
printed onto mugs, was the title of records and even had its own TV series.

The jury includes the following individuals:
Alexander Schön, private collector; André Peschke, Krawall; Andreas Kraemer,
Andys Arcade; Christian Keller, Retrogames e.V.; Christian Stöcker, DER
SPIEGEL; Dieter König, Classic Consoles Center; Enno Coners, CSW-Verlag /
Retro; Gunnar Lott, GameStar; Harald Horchler, Skriptorium-Verlag; Heinrich
Lenhardt, Buffed; Jan Fleck, Arcadeshop; Jörg Luibl, 4Players; Matthias
Oborski, d-frag; Michael Spehr, F.A.Z.; Petra Fröhlich, PC Games; Robert
Glashüttner, ORF; Sebastian Eichholz, Kultpower; Stephan Freundorfer,
eGames; Sven Stillich, Stern; Sven Wernicke, DemoNews; Vitus Hoffmann,
Gameswelt; Winnie Forster, Gameplan."
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