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.
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Comments
ah....the visuals or graphics were your basic 80's kind, simple ah...I think the walls on each side were blue, layed out like a normal brick wall from top to bottom, at the early stagers moving inward on both sides slowly, then faster as the game got harder...ah....there was a challenge stage after you beat a group of alien guys and what would happen was you'ed collect random numbers and grenades...the grenades would help kill the aliens and I think maybe also slow the walls down for a little bit not sure...colors I remember were blue red and yellow. At the begining of the game the aliens would come down the screen moving from left to right randomly, you had things along there parth that was in they'er way and so they would move around them taking just a little longer to reach you if you did'nt shoot them in time you'd dye if they touched you, if they went pass you then they would exit the bottom of the screen and come out from the top again to do the same thing during thid time the wall are closing in, I think you had to kill all the bad guys befor you could move on to the next stage? thanks for trying to help...every now and then when I get board surfing the net I try and find this game If I were rich I'd put out a reward....again thanks in advance to those who have tryed to help...big love all.......Mr "T"
-- Contributed by: Mr "T"Mr T: The only game that comes to mind for me is Smash TV, but I don't think this is the game that you want. Do you have any more information? What were the visuals/graphics like?
-- Contributed by: MichaelKwanHi...have been looking for an old arcade game, some time between the mid 70's to the mid 80's. For the life of me I can not remember the name of it. From what I can remember it had a little man with a gun, he would colect things, stuff, he had a Machine gun, the bullets could bounce off the walls when trying to kill the bad guys and the two walls on each side left and right would slowly close in. you had to exit at the top or the bottom of the screen befor the walls closed in. Would love it if some one could help find what the name of this game is?
-- Contributed by: Mr "T"
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