iPhone Games Of rom Coleco Vision: Some High Video Game Design History Of Water Marks

Shining in the Darkness (Genesis) - Developed by Climax
Entertainment and Sonic! Software Planning, the
role-playing-game (RPG) Shining in the Darkness (SiTD) was the
first entry in the Shining series. This series of games would
eventually include over 20 titles and its very own animated
television program. This first entry in the series featured very
sharp graphics and high quality audio for its time, but it was
the quality of level design that made it a fan favorite and
caused the demand for its many sequels. The standout moment for
SiTD comes only a few moments in, when the player heads to the
main labyrinth in search of the missing characters. Upon
entrance into the labyrinth proper the player learns that the
dungeon crawling in SiTD will be done in the first person - a
stark contrast to the third person perspective most RPGs had
utilized up to that point. By playing the game through the
characters viewpoint, the player was immediately immersed in
the gameplay environment. Monsters would appear right before the
players eyes, rather than through the typical third person to
battle perspective shift. This simple use of fixed perspective
created a level of involvement and connection that few console
gamers (and even fewer RPG players) had experienced up to that
point. Joined with mood appropriate music, plentiful enemy
types, a lengthy campaign, a rich item creation system and a
surprisingly effective story, this perspective helped deliver
one of the more memorable RPG experiences of the Genesis'
library. While first person has become the standard perspective
for games across many genres, the first person RPG is still,
unfortunately, quite the rarity. The Legend of Zelda (NES) - Coming on a shiny gold (plastic)
cartridge and featuring some of the greatest video game music of
all time, The Legend of Zelda (TLoZ) for the NES is one of the
seminal titles in video game history. Anybody who has played it
can tell you how amazingly progressive it was and how it changed
- and ultimately defined - the Action-RPG genre. Although it is
difficult to point to any one aspect of TLoZ as its singular
defining moment, the game's very first screen is as good a place
as any to single out. When beginning a game of TLoZ, the games
main character, Link, is weaponless. He begins on the gameplay
map with the choice of travelling North, East, West....or
journeying into a cave - a journey which will reward the player
with their first sword. Immediately, the player sees the
openness of the world in front of them. The option for entering
a cave - vital to not only completing the game, but even making
incremental progress - is presented and the player rewarded for
making that choice. This instills in the player from the outset
that exploration is necessary and will be rewarded. While one
could easily write a thesis paper detailing the brilliant design
choices present throughout TLoZ, it is the way the game design
welcomes the player to the world and immediately outlines the
crucial aspects of gameplay that makes up this particular point
of praise.