The Evolution of Entertainment: Do the classics ever die? (Part 2)

Dance Aerobics, NES, 1987, Dance Dance Revolution, Arcade, 1998.

Pretty much the same thing.

In my previous article I discussed controls, design and the technical history of video games. In this article I plan on covering the origins of genres, storylines, and even some gameplay styles. 

Just as control schemes have obvious origins in previous generations of games, so do most storylines and game genres. While it’s easy to see that storylines and thematic elements have carried over in genres such as RPG’s, Action, Adventure, Platform, Shooters, etc, other genres have had less obvious ancestry. It would be easy to dismiss genres like Survival-Horror, Music/Rhythm, Simulation and Sandbox as modern creations, created to cater to advancing tastes and current demand. However they too evolved from styles and formulas created early in the history of the video game industry, and even before its creation.

Storylines

Cave paintings dating from 10-15,000 years ago.

Proving that cavemen with charcoal and mashed flowers

were more artistically capable than most gaming website

editors equipped with advanced electronics.

At the most basic level it is easy to see the origins, and influences, of storylines in games. Humans have been relating stories to each other for thousands of years. From cave paintings to multimillion-dollar movies, we have always sought to tell each other our stories. Though they run the gamut of heartwarming tales, designed to endear, or cautionary tales meant to frighten, most stories and myths follow the same basic concepts. Simply put, almost every story is man (or woman) versus an internal or external force. Scientists have argued for years over why man has felt the need to express things through stories, but the impact of stories and mythology on our society are without question. Stories and tales have been, and likely will be, with mankind forever.

Many games are influenced by specific stories or works, both classic and modern. Games based directly on comics and movies aside, even the most popular series are usually inspired by tales and tropes to some degree. There are many games based on The Odyssey, Dante's Inferno, Hamlet and just about every H.P. Lovercraft story ever written. One famous example of literature's influence on games is Super Mario Bros. 

“Alice in Marioland” from Threadless tees shows how easily the story of a lost little girl can turn into that of an Italian plumber in search of a kidnapped princess.

Super Mario Bros. influences taken from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland are obvious once you look for them. A fantastic world accessed through holes in the ground (pipes), fantastic creatures (flying turtles, and mushroom shaped monsters), and magic mushrooms that make the protagonist grow and shrink (power and poison mushrooms). Additionally while most gamers are aware that the Castlevania games are heavily influenced and based on Bram Stokers Dracula, most are probably clueless that the Devil May Cry series is loosely based on Dante’s Divine Comedy. It's likely that most of the literary and art influences that have impacted games are overlooked by audiences unfamiliar with the base materials. 

Many of the most beloved storylines in games have been directly or indirectly influenced by books, movies, music and even art. The next time you play a game don’t just blast through the story, take a moment to read it and look at the backgrounds. Is that dead demon-wolf smashed halfway through a wall just background art? Or is it a defeated level-boss from a previous game? Is that just a magic mushroom that increases your size? Or is it a Carroll inspired hallucination, subtly commenting on logic and ration? Savoring the details in games, and taking the time to appreciate their influences to the fullest will change your outlook on the medium, and hopefully increase your appreciation for the efforts involved in their creation. Those details were put there for a reason, sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, but always to draw the player in further into the worlds being created; to increase the suspension of disbelief, and further the storyline and world of the game.

Genres 

 Rhythm/Dance

"Simon", 1978. Featuring game modes such as "Simon Says", "Player Adds",
and "Try not to throw Simon into a wall after five minutes."

            
 Starting with devices like “Simon”, and evolving into the likes of “Dance, Dance, Revolution”, the music/rhythm genre has surprisingly changed very little over the years. Bandai’s “Dance Aerobics” (1987) for the NES, was the first step towards the many popular dancing titles released today. Music creation and education titles were released on almost every early home computer system, but usually required expensive, and clunky, peripherals. Due to these factors, early music/rhythm games were rarely popular. While most early music games were “edutainment” titles, (meant to teach piano or how to read music) their influences can still be seen in the current video game industry. For instance, flashing lights and/or colors to indicate beats has carried over into games such as “Guitar Hero”, “Rock Band” and “Dance, Dance Revolution”. They may not be educational, but audiences all over the world enjoy them.


Survival-Horror

“Sweet Home”, by Capcom, Famicom (NES), 1989.

"Capcom: because pants wetting fear can be 8-Bit too.”

Survival-Horror games, usually marked by dark storylines, and intense subject matter, rose to previously unseen popularity in the mid to late nineties with the release of “Resident Evil”. At that time survival-horror was relatively uncommon in western markets, but had been seen much more popularity in eastern markets since the eighties. Many early titles took inspiration from horror novels and movies, a trend that has ironically switched places in recent years. “Resident Evil”, for instance, was heavily inspired by, and was originally intended to be, a remake of the Famicom (NES) title “Sweet Home”. “Sweet Home” was, in turn, based on a movie of the same name. That means when watching the film “Resident Evil”, you are watching a movie based on a game, inspired by an earlier game, which was based on a movie. Don’t think about it too hard.


Sandbox and Simulation

Many open-ended, or Sandbox, games were also developed in the early days of the industry. There are literally dozens of examples I could use but there are two that stand head and shoulders above the rest: Little Computer People and Elite.

Little Computer People, PC, 1987.

A simulation game capable of making full-grown adults cry.

Little Computer People, PC, 1985, was surprisingly similar to The Sims,” PC, 2000. Starting with an empty house, a character would eventually move in and go about everyday tasks, such as cooking, reading the paper, etc. The player could interact with this character in multiple ways, including placing furniture in the house, typing simple commands to perform, leaving presents, and even playing poker with them. The character would even occasionally initiate contact with the player. Additionally each character was unique to every copy of the game. No two players had the same character. Many people became very attached to their “LCP” (Little Computer Person). Because it wasn’t possible to recreate a character if a player’s computer crashed, or their save file got damaged, a “Little Computer People Hospital” was opened. Players could send a copy of their damaged file to the developer for recovery. Years later many players still hold fond memories of their “LCP” friends.

Elite, PC, 1984.

Spaceships were a lot more colorful in the eighties.

  
Elite is a game that deserves an article in its own right. Initially released in the UK in 1984, Elite was a space based trading/strategy game that effected many facets of the video game industry. Games such as EVE Online, Wing Commander, Second Life, and World of Warcraft, all stem from a lineage leading back to Elite. Elite itself was inspired by a multitude of science fiction books, as well as the the tabeltop RPG Traveller. Players were given an expansive universe in which to play. With eight galaxies and hundreds of planets that could be traveled to. There were multiple missions, interstellar battles, and even an included novella describing the background and laws of this universe, “Elite” was a very comprehensive title. The open-ended gameplay and choices available are impressive considering this game is almost 30 years old. With several official and unofficial remakes, and an influence that has touched dozens of titles, and spanned genres, “Elite” has left an enduring legacy.

The question is: will games ever escape their lineage, stretching back from the earliest days of the industry? And if they can, would we want them to?