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Absolute firsts in video games

Phediuk

Member
Going back to this here. I was doing a bit more research and came up with this little Atari 800 personal computer game called Snokie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czFFKT5MA_0

Snokie was released in 1983 and featured non-forced scrolling. I don;t think it had arbitrary scrolling though that moved the screen up/ down and backwards, by the look of it the game only scrolled forward. But this game does have most of the conventions of a standard platformer.

This game was also released on the C64 as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pju5Znpy1Vs

Excellent work. Added.
 

Phediuk

Member
Eco (Atari ST, 1988) might be the first game in which the player character can breed, i.e., produce variable offspring depending on its mate.


Edit: also, Megami Tensei (NES, 1987) appears to be the first game in which the player can recruit monsters. However, I'm not going to put either of these on the list yet, as they seem like the kinds of examples that would have fuzzier proto-examples. Actually, recruitable NPCs and recruitable enemies are both categories that I should look into more.

Another edit: now that I think about it, Galaga (arcade, 1981) might qualify for first recruitable enemy with its double firepower mechanic. But it's also a fuzzy example, because you have to let the enemies capture your fighter, and then recapture it from them, so it feels more like reclaiming your guy than controlling an enemy.
 

Phediuk

Member
Don Juan (Amstrad CPC, 1984) appears to be the first game in which the player can go on dates. Might be considered the first dating sim, then.

There are several Japanese erotic games before then, but they all seem to be either straight-up sex simulators or puzzle games with nudity.
 

Phediuk

Member
I'm looking into the first "Collector's Edition" for a video game. Quake 3 (PC, 1999) may have been the first with its Limited Edition, but it's not clear if that was preorder-only, and the only difference is that it came in a tin box.

Diablo 2 (PC, 2000) appears to be the first Collector's Edition in the form we know now, with a bunch of extras like a soundtrack CD and artbook for those who preordered. I'm not talking about separate bonus T-shirts or whatever here, since those have been around for a long time; I'm talking a separate boxed edition intended for preorders.
 
I'm looking into the first "Collector's Edition" for a video game. Quake 3 (PC, 1999) may have been the first with its Limited Edition, but it's not clear if that was preorder-only, and the only difference is that it came in a tin box.

Diablo 2 (PC, 2000) appears to be the first Collector's Edition in the form we know now, with a bunch of extras like a soundtrack CD and artbook for those who preordered. I'm not talking about separate bonus T-shirts or whatever here, since those have been around for a long time; I'm talking a separate boxed edition intended for preorders.

That's a good line to look at... the first one in Japan could have been anything, though.
 

@.@

Neo Member
First rape arcade game (or perhaps first adult arcade game): Loverboy (1983)?

honk.jpg


ps: sorry
 
Gentlemen, you seem to forget that which is important.

Outlawz sniper scope. Now we can thank campers for shooting us from miles away.

OutlawsSniperRifle2--article_image.jpg
 

Phediuk

Member
Could be either Dead Angle or Dynamite Duke, depending on how you define "over-the-shoulder view" and "third person shooter".

Nice. Adding these.

Also, Space Harrier (arcade, 1985) might be considered the first third-person shooter, period, though it would be a proto-example.

Edit: behind-the-back shooters go as far back as Nintendo's Radar Scope (arcade, 1979), and had some intermediate development with Space Harrier (arcade, 1985), Silpheed (PC-88), and the base levels in Contra (arcade, 1987), before reaching their fully-developed form in Devastators (arcade, 1988).
 

Phediuk

Member
There are two games that have a claim to the modern snapping-to-cover system: Time Crisis (arcade, 1995) and Winback (N64, 1999).

Time Crisis might not count because it's a rail shooter and it's an inverse cover system (i.e., you press the pedal to get out of cover, not into it), but Winback has more or less the same system that modern third-person shooters use.
 

@.@

Neo Member
"Jetpack: Jetpac (ZX Spectrum, 1983)"

Aha! My adult arcade game entry might get ignored but you can't ignore thisss :p

logo.png


Kagirinaki Takatai (October 1983) - Sharp X1

Now which one was released first?
 

Phediuk

Member
Is Ultima Underworld (PC, 1992) the first game with first-person jumping?


Edit: also, I think Midwinter (Atari ST, 1989) might be the first polygonal AND the first first-person game in which the player can find and commandeer vehicles in the environment [snowmobiles, cable cars, hang gliders].
 
I'm pretty sure that Ultima Underworld was the first first-person game that allowed diagonal tiles. I also think that System Shock was the first FPS (or 3D game in general) with leaning, lying prone, climbing, recoil, and 3D, destructable objects (I'm also pretty sure that it's the only game ever to use both 3D objects and sprites).

Also, what kind of cover system did Maze Wars have?
 

Phediuk

Member
Update to "first licensed athlete" category: Pele's Soccer (Atari 2600, 1980) appears to be both the first sports game featuring a real athlete and the first game of any kind carrying a celebrity endorsement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelé's_Soccer


Edit:

Also, what kind of cover system did Maze Wars have?

The simplest kind: getting out of view of your opponent. If "cover" is defined specifically as a barrier used to block projectiles, then the first is Gun Fight (arcade, 1975).
 

Tizoc

Member
OP your list is lacking this at least, and IMO it counts:
The first use of a super move in a fighting game (At least as we commonly know it now) is in Art of Fighting 1 released in 1992.
 

Phediuk

Member
OP your list is lacking this at least, and IMO it counts:
The first use of a super move in a fighting game (At least as we commonly know it now) is in Art of Fighting 1 released in 1992.

Art of Fighting also appears to be the first game with a desperation attack.


Edit: I've been trying to avoid genre-specific categories (i.e., "the first time an enemy dolphin appeared in a JRPG" or stuff like that), but I'll make an exception with super moves, as "moves" carry a different connotation in a fighting game context from, say, a really good secret sword in an RPG.
 
Gentlemen, you seem to forget that which is important.

Outlawz sniper scope. Now we can thank campers for shooting us from miles away.

OutlawsSniperRifle2--article_image.jpg

This is a pretty good find, and it was released two months before MDK was released.

Outlaws: March 1997 (PC)
MDK: May 1997 (PC)

Though watching this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKeEE5esh4Y, Outlaws doesn't seem to have an adjustable scope, but it still has one never the less.
 

Grakl

Member
just because I don't see this in the OP -- Civilization IV was the first game to have a song composed for it win a Grammy, which was "Baba Yetu"
 
Is Ultima Underworld (PC, 1992) the first game with first-person jumping?


Edit: also, I think Midwinter (Atari ST, 1989) might be the first polygonal AND the first first-person game in which the player can find and commandeer vehicles in the environment [snowmobiles, cable cars, hang gliders].

Still looking into the jumping, Dark Side (1988) had a jetpack so there's that kind of vertical movement in the game, but it's not the same thing.

As for controllable vehicles, there's The Colony (1987 or 1988) for the Macintosh. It's one of the earliest examples of realtime first person adventure/puzzle game with 3D graphics. The interesting thing is that there's a forklift vehicle you can enter and drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1XENlUUOhA&feature=player_detailpage#t=362

Now that I think about it, Mercenary (1985) had the drivable land and air vehicles in a realtime 3D environment, just not with filled, shaded polygons.

Btw, The Colony might have a lot of firsts like storytelling told through logs, it was very exploration oriented, it had a main mission (power up your crashed ship and stop an evil alien race) but it also had completely optional sidequests, realtime top view mini map and maybe has the first flushable toilet in a first person game. :) The tvtropes entry has a lot of details about possible firsts, like having a ripped sample from 2001: A Space Odyssey or having a holiday mode (On December 25, the potted plants become Christmas trees) .
 
Was RE4's over the shoulder view a first in a third person shooter?

I am absolutely certain that the original Splinter Cell predated the over the shoulder view by three years or so. It was a stealth game rather than a pure TPS, sure, but pulling your gun didn't just make the view go over-the-shouler, the controls were almost identical to how TPS games play now (character slows down, left thumbstick to move and strafe, right stick to aim) as opposed to RE4's slightly more unique tank controls.

The-Making-of-Splinter-Cell-1.jpg


It also used cover in a similar way to how games like Gears would later implement it, with Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory having cover-to-cover prompts and blindfire prompts even.
 

Ragav

Banned
Could be either Dead Angle or Dynamite Duke, depending on how you define "over-the-shoulder view" and "third person shooter".

According to Giantbomb

Over-the-shoulder aiming was first brought to prominence by its use in Capcom's Resident Evil 4, which demonstrated this perspective at E3 2003, but was delayed and re-worked, eventually releasing in 2005 to considerable acclaim
 
Chrono Trigger was the first to...

have the protagonist die before the halfway point.

Not quite...

The protagonist of Doom (1993) also dies, at the end of the first chapter. You continue playing as him in the next chapters though, except you're literally in Hell.
 
I'm looking into the first "Collector's Edition" for a video game. Quake 3 (PC, 1999) may have been the first with its Limited Edition, but it's not clear if that was preorder-only, and the only difference is that it came in a tin box.

Diablo 2 (PC, 2000) appears to be the first Collector's Edition in the form we know now, with a bunch of extras like a soundtrack CD and artbook for those who preordered. I'm not talking about separate bonus T-shirts or whatever here, since those have been around for a long time; I'm talking a separate boxed edition intended for preorders.

Well, it is way earlier. Batman Forever for the SNES had a collector's edition already and it was an retailer exclusive one too (Woolsworth). So maybe this was the first exclusive retailer collector's edition too?

snes-Batman-Forever-Woolworths-Set.jpg


And Street Fighter II Turbo had one too.

DSC08637.JPG


Hmz, did this game come before or after Batman Forever?

Or maybe it was the Fire Emblem one that was Japan-exclusive?

Fire-Emblem-Thracia-776-Box-Set-Super-Famicom-1.jpg


Man, I know one thing. There were still collector's edition before the year 2000 at least. :)
 
According to Giantbomb

Over-the-shoulder aiming was first brought to prominence by its use in Capcom's Resident Evil 4, which demonstrated this perspective at E3 2003, but was delayed and re-worked, eventually releasing in 2005 to considerable acclaim

"Brought to prominence".

RE4 was probably the first 3D game to have the camera *permanently* locked over the shoulder (as opposed to behind the back, like Star Wars Battlefront). I'm pretty sure that MGS and a few other games had the camera snap over the shoulder when aiming.
 
Keen wasn't even the first shareware game /by Apogee/.

Keen was the first legitimate 2D side scroller on the MS-DOS/ IBM-PC platform, and it was the biggest selling shareware game of 1990, but those things don't really mean anything out side of PC gaming.
 

Phediuk

Member
Well, it is way earlier. Batman Forever for the SNES had a collector's edition already and it was an retailer exclusive one too (Woolsworth). So maybe this was the first exclusive retailer collector's edition too?

snes-Batman-Forever-Woolworths-Set.jpg


And Street Fighter II Turbo had one too.

DSC08637.JPG


Hmz, did this game come before or after Batman Forever?

Or maybe it was the Fire Emblem one that was Japan-exclusive?

Fire-Emblem-Thracia-776-Box-Set-Super-Famicom-1.jpg


Man, I know one thing. There were still collector's edition before the year 2000 at least. :)

Damn, nice. Updating.
 
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