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

[Jim Leonard]

I'm amazed there wasn't a single Sierra title in the final pick.  Not 
only did Sierra titles outsell (early) Lucasarts titles, but Ken 
Williams almost singlehandedly brought soundcard support to PC gaming, 
first through (continuing to) support the Tandy 3-voice sound chip until 
1988, and then Sierra's big push for Adlib and MT-32.

At the risk of alienating some people on this list -- who presented a 
"top" list at this year's GDC -- I've never been thrilled with "top" or 
"best of" lists.  There's always an omission, always a dubious entry; 
whatever benefit they're supposed to have is lost in hot air.

No, I'm not Old Man Gamer :-) in disguise; just not thrilled with such 
lists.

Simon Carless wrote:

> 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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-- 
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org)            http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project:           http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at     http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/