Arcade Video Games
From LoveToKnow VideoGames
If you're a die-hard video game fanatic (or one of the slightly older crowd), you most likely cut your teeth on the big game cabinets found in restaurants, shopping malls and video arcades across the globe. Though the quarter munchers of old are making way for home video gaming, the genre of games they spawned is still going strong.
What Is An "Arcade Video Game"?
The term refers both to the genre of arcade games and the actual coin-op machines that gave birth to them. They are distinguished by a few key factors:
- Action-oriented gameplay.
- Easy to pick up and play.
- Emphasis on short playing spurts rather than long marathons.
- Short but very difficult gameplay, often requiring players to master every subtle aspect of the game.
- Strong multiplayer simultaneous support.
- The ability for other players to join or leave frequently.
A History Lesson
Way back in the 1970's, before home gaming systems, arcade machines were becoming all the rage. These cabinets were generally taller than an average man and housed a monitor and deck where a joystick and buttons were placed (or a steering wheel, trackball, or a variety of other control mechanisms). Quick-play games that would provide a short but engaging challenge were hits, such as Pong, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. Players eagerly pumped quarters and stared in awe at the lush graphics available only on these machines.
From the mid 1970's to the mid 1980's, arcade video games were at their peak. For the next several years they suffered a decline in popularity due to home console gaming technology and video arcades building poor reputations as unsafe places to be. Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat, released in the early 1990's, are seen as a few of the last great arcade video games.
As They Exist Today
The genre that exists today (largely on the PC, but on home systems to a certain extent) is still alive and well. Shoot-em-ups, or SHMUPS, are one of the most popular sub-types of arcade games that have a large cult following, especially in Japan.
The video arcades and stand-alone arcade cabinets once found in restaurants, laundromats and shopping centers have all but vanished. The superior graphics and unique play control that set arcade video games apart from the rest have now been absorbed into home gaming. However, "family entertainment centers" (the modern equivalent of a video arcade) still offer arcade machines, and video arcades can still be found around the globe. The most popular games feature unique control sets that would be impractical at home, such as a racing car set-up for racing games or rail shooters. Though the arcade video game sub-culture has collapsed considerably, the games inspired by and born from that generation are alive and well.
Comments
Thomas: It sounds like you are describing Asteroids. Maybe you are thinking of one of the sequels that was released later on -- Asteroids Deluxe, Space Duel, or Blasteroids -- or perhaps one of the countless unofficial clones that were developed. To find some of these games online, try the usual online video game sites like Spintop Games, Gamehouse, iWin, Big Fish Games, Yahoo! Games, and MSN Zone.
-- Contributed by: MichaelKwanhi i remember playing a arcade game but don't remember the name of it was woundering if you can recall the name by a discription of the game and were i can find it online plus do they make it in a pc format i can download. it was kind of a offshute of asteriods. you had a space ship in the middle of screen surounded by ring barriers this space ship would rotate and shoot fire ball out at your ship. your ship looked basicly simple like the letter A and you would shoot at the barriers and break the rings to get at this ship and destroy it. you could fly your ship accross the screen to aviod the other ship that would fire at you.when you destoryed the ship in the middle of the rings it would blow up like a super nova. i can't remember the name of this game or have seen it since. i use to play it when i was a kid in the later yrs of the 70's. can you help me out on this pls.
-- Contributed by: thomas aubinI'm trying to find an old arcade game but I dont remember the name of it. Can you help? I think it was a pirate or treasure game where every level was a new page in a book. When you passed the board the page turned and you started the next board? Any ideas?
-- Contributed by: travisThis page has been accessed 1,196 times. This page was last modified 20:45, 7 June 2006.
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