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[JinjoUnchained]

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest: first game with a day/night mechanic?

 

[Lurch666]

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest: first game with a day/night mechanic?

sorry.
3D death chase on the zx spectrum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Deathchase

 

[Gen X]

I checked that wiki page. Damocles (not Sword of...) was the sequel. I had it on ye olde Amiga. Loved all those games: Hunter, Midwinter etc.

My bad, didn't realise there was more than one sequel.

 

[TheVampire]

Perfect Dark (N64 and now XBLA) had counter co-op

 

[JinjoUnchained]

sorry.
3D death chase on the zx spectrum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Deathchase

Interesting, but not what I was referring to. From the link, it seems that the day and night sections are separate levels. Or, rather, the same area, but at night. There are countless examples of level-based games with day and night areas, or even day and night versions of the same level (a la Super Mario Bros. 1).

I was more thinking of games without levels which also show the procession of time. Specifically, where a certain amount of in-game time corresponds to real-world time where the environment changes accordingly. In the original Zelda, for instance, you can take as long as you want and the environment stays the same. CV 2 is the first game I can think of where the world changes based upon how long you take as if you were there in real-time.

 

[ichtyander]

Responding to my own post about the first use of stealth mechanics, there's another contender from 1981, Sega's arcade game 005:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/005

So I've got that and Castle Wolfenstein so far. And, again, the definition of "tealth" used i probably what determines which game first used it. Do the clouds in the dogfight mode in Combat (Atari 2600, 1977) count as stealth? How about the invisible tank mode? A bit fuzzy.

The thing is, if you're going to find the very first appearance of something, you need to first clearly define what that thing is. Like the thing about jumping on enemies, you would need to define it in more detail. For example:

- Defeating enemies by jumping on them -
A common gameplay mechanic in platformers, this action requires the player to jump or fall on top of an enemy character to hurt, daze, defeat or incapacitate him.

If you want to elaborate more, be much more precise, you can add:
The action must be initiated from a standing or moving position, on a platform or any sort of solid surface, then the player jumps and the simulated gravity pulls him downward onto an enemy, inflicting damage.

And if you want to take Joust out of the equation, add something like:
Additional movement while in air must be limited to horizontal movement or uncontrollable free fall. If the falling motion isn't initiated from a standing position (such as the player is constantly flying) and if there is any additional vertical movement, apart from doublejumping, such as free flying, the game doesn't fit this category.

First appearance: Horace and the Spiders (ZX Spectrum, 1983)

Maybe I overdid it, but you get the idea.

And even then, the more you go back, the fuzzier the definition becomes so I'd say there must either be a more rigid definition of the thing in question, or leave it free to interpretation and add several titles to the list, with short descriptions as to why they have elements that might be taken into consideration.

Same thing with the stealth mechanic, if you define it that it must be on foot, the enemies must have a way of detection (cone of vision, line of sight) etc, you greatly narrow down the choice and can get a clearer answer. Because if you look all the way to the source, you might even say that any gameplay system where the enemy AI can detect and subsequently loose track of you is considered stealth, and that might incorporate a huge amount of games that have nothing to do with the genre. Which can be fine I guess, but it also might include games like Combat where things get fuzzy.

That's why an FPS is almost always defined as controlling a character on foot, walking etc. Stuff like Wing Commander, Terminal Velocity or Armored Fist aren't really referred to as FPS games, more like space sims or vehicle shooters, even though they're predominantly in first person. Even Mechwarrior is in a gray area, since you're on the ground and frequently controlling anthropomorphic or at least bipedal tanks.

Btw, I'm not saying let's all be genre nazis and scrutinize every post, this topic is amazing just as it is, just saying that it can sometimes be a lot more complicated to define these things if the definition itself isn't entirely clear, as is often the case with modern genres.

 

[ichtyander]

Interesting, but not what I was referring to. From the link, it seems that the day and night sections are separate levels. Or, rather, the same area, but at night. There are countless examples of level-based games with day and night areas, or even day and night versions of the same level (a la Super Mario Bros. 1).

I was more thinking of games without levels which also show the procession of time. Specifically, where a certain amount of in-game time corresponds to real-world time where the environment changes accordingly. In the original Zelda, for instance, you can take as long as you want and the environment stays the same. CV 2 is the first game I can think of where the world changes based upon how long you take as if you were there in real-time.

In other words, a realtime progression of in-game time with dynamic time of day changes which influence the gameplay. Someone already mentioned The Hobbit as a peculiar example of an adventure with a realtime clock but I'm not sure if there was a defined time of day or if it mattered at all. Btw I've never played Simon's Quest and only just discovered how interesting it is by watching GiantBomb's Vinnie take a shot at it. It's Dark Souls with dynamic time of day changes.

 

[OmegaDL50]

The King of Fighters '94

I believe was the very first fighting game that allows your team mates to jump in with an assist attack (which circumstances required you to be dizzy, which caused one of your team mates in the background to jump in and do an attack while you recover)

This concept of course was expanded greatly upon in Capcom's Versus series, and KOF revisited again KOF '99 with the Striker system.

I've trying to find the very first video game with interactive background objects or objects in the background that can effect the "playing area"

I know the referee in Samurai Shodown throwing bombs and coins during the matches was probably the first example in a Fighting Game.

 

[Phediuk]

Interesting, but not what I was referring to. From the link, it seems that the day and night sections are separate levels. Or, rather, the same area, but at night. There are countless examples of level-based games with day and night areas, or even day and night versions of the same level (a la Super Mario Bros. 1).

I was more thinking of games without levels which also show the procession of time. Specifically, where a certain amount of in-game time corresponds to real-world time where the environment changes accordingly. In the original Zelda, for instance, you can take as long as you want and the environment stays the same. CV 2 is the first game I can think of where the world changes based upon how long you take as if you were there in real-time.

Day/night cycles go back at least far as Knightlore (ZX Spectrum, 1984):

http://www.mobygames.com/game/zx-spectrum/knight-lore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n7qtErhF-A

 

[Phediuk]

First game to have multiple endings in the story?

Goes at least as far back as Karateka (Apple II, 1984):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rxdDd-z4374#t=1594

The video contains both endings: first the bad one, and then the good one immediately after.

 

[joeblow]

I was going to point out that Choplifter! was the first home-to-arcade conversion, but someone beat me to it.

Instead, for all the Kinect fans out there I think Echelon (1987) was the first game that implemented voice controls. This C64 3D space shooter came with a headset which allowed your ship to shoot at the enemy when you yelled "Fire" (or anything else) into the mic.

Was there another voice activated game before this one?

 

[Lurch666]

Interesting, but not what I was referring to. From the link, it seems that the day and night sections are separate levels. Or, rather, the same area, but at night. There are countless examples of level-based games with day and night areas, or even day and night versions of the same level (a la Super Mario Bros. 1).

I was more thinking of games without levels which also show the procession of time. Specifically, where a certain amount of in-game time corresponds to real-world time where the environment changes accordingly. In the original Zelda, for instance, you can take as long as you want and the environment stays the same. CV 2 is the first game I can think of where the world changes based upon how long you take as if you were there in real-time.

The problem with some of these firsts is exactly how you define them.Knight lore (also on the spectrum) had a day night cycle based on time but it didn't affect the environment (it never went dark or light) but the player changed into a werewulf (sabrewulf?) at night which meant some of the passive enemys now attacked him but he could run and jump quicker.

and again:Beaten by Pheduk

 

[random25]

Well the pit I'm thinking is kinda different...but gotta give it to that (maybe that's why I'm not sure lol).

So just the Star KO then.

 

[8sanders]

I dream that you guys will put together all of these firsts, and then dissect modern games, showing where their gameplay originally comes from. So, something like CoD would include, first FPS, first jumping, first health pack, first deployable health pack, etc. Like DNA or a family tree of some kind. Surely someone could visualize this well.

Once all the heavy lifting was done, you could produce the entire genome of each game that comes out, based entirely on various game play elements.

i like the cut of your jib

 

[li bur]

How do you define "cinematic elements"?


Just to name one (and probably not the first), Secret of Monkey Island (1990) had similar dialogue options:

Nah not quite that.

In Secret of Monkey Island the dialogue are presented over a still images (sometimes with simple animations) similar to visual novel, while in KoTOR the dialogue choices are played out over a scene where your player character shows expressions, gesture, and sometimes doing some activities. To some extent, kotor way of presenting dialogue choices could be called interactive cut scenes which also influences many games such as Heavy Rain, TellTale games, etc.

 

[Baron Von Beans]

Stormlord (C64, 1989) gets my vote (if you don't include the awful strip poker games).

Definitely not.

There's Panesian's games for the NES (Bubble Bath Babes et al.), released in 1991: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Bath_Babes

Divine Sealing for the Genesis, from 1991 (NSFW screenshots): http://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/divine-sealing

Strip Fighter 2 for the PC Engine, from 1993 (NSFW screenshots): http://www.mobygames.com/game/turbo-grafx/strip-fighter-ii

And of course the Atari porn games, but I don't think they really count.



And even if we only include officially-licensed games released in North America, there's still BMX XXX (2002): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMX_XXX

Thanks all. It's crazy how many of those games slipped under the radar back in the day. Not to mention, I always thought BMX XXX was censored, but it turns out all I saw the the PS2 version. Crazy how the Gamecube version was actually uncensroed. Go Nintendo!

 

[zephervack]

maybe first but certainly not the only one.
Both GT5 and 6 have manually operated wipers.#
speaking of that, GT5 and 6 both also have a dedicated button for flashing the headlights.
There is allready a buttong tio Switch between low and headlights, but you can also use a seperate button for flashing the lights.



Pole Position from 1982 was the first racing game with real world tracks and the first to introduce qualifying

For racing games, I believe Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed in the only racing game (not hardcore racing sim) that lets you map buttons to control corner lights.

Also Test Drive unlimited lets you open/close your windows.

Anyone knows which was the first game to have an in-game car radio that you could where you could change stations at will?

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

Nah not quite that.

In Secret of Monkey Island the dialogue are presented over a still images (sometimes with simple animations) similar to visual novel, while in KoTOR the dialogue choices are played out over a scene where your player character shows expressions, gesture, and sometimes doing some activities. To some extent, kotor way of presenting dialogue choices could be called interactive cut scenes which also influences many games such as Heavy Rain, TellTale games, etc.

Deus Ex at the very least did that earlier

EDIT:

Anyone knows which was the first game to have an in-game car radio that you could where you could change stations at will?

Outrun?

There was a Ridge Racer cabinet which was an actual car that had an actual radio you could choose tracks from, to be super literal about that question.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Nah not quite that.

In Secret of Monkey Island the dialogue are presented over a still images (sometimes with simple animations) similar to visual novel, while in KoTOR the dialogue choices are played out over a scene where your player character shows expressions, gesture, and sometimes doing some activities. To some extent, kotor way of presenting dialogue choices could be called interactive cut scenes which also influences many games such as Heavy Rain, TellTale games, etc.

The only real difference I can see is the technology involved. They're arguably the same thing in principle and the distinction you're making between them seems fairly superficial. Monkey Island's "simple animations" were the "cut-scenes" of the time. They showed character's (including Guybrush's) expressions (talking to Elaine or the first pirate, for example), gestures (talking to Stan, for example) and sometimes doing activities (like the sword fighting or talking to the crew on the boat, for example).

 

[zeemumu]

I'm pretty late to this thread and I don't know if this counts but night trap caused the development of a rating system for games.

 

[MrCunningham]

Deus Ex at the very least did that earlier

EDIT:


Outrun?

Nope. Out Run did have a radio that you could select between three different music tracks, but that could only be done before the start of a race and not while the game was in progress. .

Though one early game that I can think of that did have a 'radio' was Rad Racer for the NES:

By pressing down on the D-pad while racing, you could cycle between four different music tracks. This game was developed by Square Soft and released in 1987. But I am not sure if this is the first game to have an in-game radio, though.

 

[Phediuk]

I believe Superman (Atari 2600, 1979) is the first game in which the player can pick up and carry objects in real time, and the first in which the player can explore an environment spanning more than one screen in real time.. Not 100% sure though. It definitely predates Adventure, going by old Atari catalogs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7U2TFIayos

 

[TheRedSnifit]

I also think Goldeneye was the first FPS that had different damage when you shot different parts of the body.

Team Fortress had extra damage on headshots in 1996.

I also think Goldeneye was one of the first games that had 'state' base AI, which was a year later really popularized in stealth games like Thief. State base AI as in ( Even if those states were simplified), the enemies have vision, do not hear silenced weapons, and don't just run at you when you get close to them.

That goes way back to Metal Gear in 1987.

 

[fenners]

That goes way back to Metal Gear in 1987.

"The Great Escape" on the ZX Spectrum etc had stealth gameplay, patrolling guards that ignored you unless you entered their line of sight etc. ~1986.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Escape_(video_game)

 

[Phediuk]

That goes way back to Metal Gear in 1987.

Further back.

Castle Wolfenstein and Sega's arcade game 005 both had these features in 1981.

 

[The Real Abed]

Nope. Out Run did have a radio that you could select between three different music tracks, but that could only be done before the start of a race and not while the game was in progress. .

Though one early game that I can think of that did have a 'radio' was Rad Racer for the NES:

By pressing down on the D-pad while racing, you could cycle between four different music tracks. This game was developed by Square Soft and released in 1987. But I am not sure if this is the first game to have an in-game radio, though.

I remember the first track in Rad Racer more from Strong Bad than the actual game... and I actually owned the game in the NES days. It's called "Sunset Coastline". I can't even remember if I ever knew the music was there until I stumbled upon it 10 years ago when I rebought the game from GameStop. I remember being shocked that I never knew it. Fortunately HomestarRunner was still going strong and it was fresh in our memories. Else I would have thought it was familiar but not known where I'd heard it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g50isAvVlns

Strong Bad used it for his Anime intro song.

 

[ichtyander]

Die by the Sword (1998) had a pretty unique melee fighting system. By freely moving the character's right hand using the mouse you could quickly swing the mouse from left to right (or any direction) and the force of the blow would damage the enemy depending on the speed and region of the inflicted blow, with body dismemberment.

Has there been a similar example before this game, maybe even 2D or some arcade game with a special controller?

 

[Phediuk]

Die by the Sword (1998) had a pretty unique melee fighting system. By freely moving the character's right hand using the mouse you could quickly swing the mouse from left to right (or any direction) and the force of the blow would damage the enemy depending on the speed and region of the inflicted blow, with body dismemberment.

Has there been a similar example before this game, maybe even 2D or some arcade game with a special controller?

On consoles, Bushido Blade (1997) had a first-person mode and was the first game (along with Tobal 2)) to support the PS1 analog controller, so you could make sword attacks in 360 degrees, with varying degrees of force depending how far the stick is pushed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzgJzM3IcSI

Not quite as much precision as that mouse example you gave, though, and it wouldn't surprise me if an arcade game preceded it.

 

[ichtyander]

On consoles, Bushido Blade (1997) had a first-person mode and was the first game (along with Tobal 2)) to support the PS1 analog controller, so you could make sword attacks in 360 degrees, with varying degrees of force depending how far the stick is pushed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzgJzM3IcSI

Not quite as much precision as that mouse example you gave, though, and it wouldn't surprise me if an arcade game preceded it.

Didn't know about that POV mode in Bushido Blade, interesting stuff. There's Star Wars Trilogy (1998) that used the joystick as a lightsaber with some degrees of freedom, but it's sort of different from both examples. It's interesting how this free form or directional melee system has been popping up from time to time, the latest examples I can remember would be Mount & Blade, Metal Gear Rising and the upcoming Deliverance.

Crossed Swords (1991) has a bit of a primitive version of such a system, being able to raise or lower your shield or maybe even choose the direction of the slashes, can't remember. I guess it might be traced back to some old versus fighters like Karate Champ, Fist and Budokan where you choose the direction and height of your attacks and blocks, although that might be stretching it a bit.

 

[Mascot]

I was the first member of the public to finish Sabre Wulf on the ZX Spectrum (well, the first person recognised by Ultimate Play The Game).

 

[Detective]

Halo 2 with match making.

 

[Phediuk]

Are there any games before Super Mario Bros. that let you control jump height depending on how long the jump button is pressed?

 

[Phediuk]

Were there any movie-based games before Jurassic Park (NES, 1993) that were released simultaneously with the film?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park_(NES_video_game)

Assuming that June '93 release date is accurate, of course.

I know Tron (arcade, 1982) was released close to the movie, but it has no release date beyond a vague "1982".

 

[Phediuk]

The first official expansion pack for a game, released separately from the base game and requiring the original game to be installed, was Populous: The Promised Lands (PC, 1989).

The first paid DLC--that is, a one-time payment for a specific piece of content--was for Mechassault (Xbox, 2002). I'm not 100% sure about this one, but all previous DLC I've seen is either free or subscription-based.



EDIT: Addendum to what I just posted on the first expansion pack. Temple of Apshai (1979) received two add-ons in 1981 that required the original game to run: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Apshai . However, they were unofficial expansions made by players, that were then picked up and sold by Epyx, the publisher of the original game. Later, the original game and the add-ons were combined and sold as a single game.

ANOTHER EDIT: Falcon for the Atari ST (1988) and Amiga (1989) also received an expansion pack in 1989, and apparently before Populous.

 

[-KRS-]

I'm pretty late to this thread and I don't know if this counts but night trap caused the development of a rating system for games.

I thought it was Mortal Kombat that started that whole thing?

 

[Phediuk]

I believe Riana Rouge (PC, 1997) was the first retail game to carry an AO (adults only) ESRB rating:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/riana-rouge

(slightly NSFW screenshots)

 

[Steiner84]

For racing games, I believe Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed in the only racing game (not hardcore racing sim) that lets you map buttons to control corner lights.

Also Test Drive unlimited lets you open/close your windows.

Anyone knows which was the first game to have an in-game car radio that you could where you could change stations at will?

speaking of actuall radio stations with moderators and ads?
could be the fist gta? not sure right now if that actually had radio stations? but I think so..


dunno how detailed this should be, but in driver san francisco I saw for the first time that the driver steers with the heel of one hand whilst you used the handbrake.

 

[Gildarts]

WoW first MMO

Spoiler

Sorry I couldnt resist

 

[DryvBy]

Oblivion: First to offer horse armor at a real life cost.

...at least as far as I know.

 

[Phediuk]

Football Manager (TRS-80, 1982) was the first sports game to include a franchise mode: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_Manager_(1982_series)

 

[Phediuk]

Oh Shit! (MSX, 1984) was the first game to contain profanity in its title, and may also be the first to contain a profane speech sample (it says "Oh shit!" when you die): http://www.mobygames.com/game/oh-shit

 

[Dash Kappei]

I think Impossible Mission on C-64 was the first home-videogame to feature digitized speech (in absolute terms it was Berzerk I believe)?


It was also a fuckin' masterpiece

 

[MightyHedgehog]

I think Impossible Mission on C-64 was the first home-videogame to feature digitized speech (in absolute terms it was Berzerk I believe)?


It was also a fuckin' masterpiece

Actually, I'm pretty sure that would be Castle Wolfenstein 1981 on the Apple ][.

 

[Dash Kappei]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that would be Castle Wolfenstein 1981 on the Apple ][.

Oh. I always thought the German speech was just "emulated" through the sound engine ("The Voice" engine) and not actually digitized speech. I stand corrected then, thanks!

 

[gai_shain]

Im not entirely sure and if someone knows better please correct me,

Demon Souls with the Invasion mechanic

 

[PLASTICA-MAN]

Metal Gear was the first stealh game in 1978, in fact Kojima wanted an action Rambo-like game, but the MSX2 wasn't strong enough to display enough guys to shoot and bullets, so he opted for a stealthy approach and then the infiltration genre began.

 

[Phediuk]

Metal Gear was the first stealh game in 1978, in fact Kojima wanted an action Rambo-like game, but the MSX2 wasn't strong enough to display enough guys to shoot and bullets, so he opted for a stealthy approach and then the infiltration genre began.

We have debunked this one multiple times already. Castle Wolfenstein and 005 (arcade game), both from 1981, predate Metal Gear by several years.

 

[PLASTICA-MAN]

We have debunked this one multiple times already. Castle Wolfenstein and 005 (arcade game), both from 1981, predate Metal Gear by several years.

Wonfenstein a stealth game? Since when? Many mistake the first FPS for doom but Wolfenstein is the real first FPS, I don't think this game has stealth behind its concept, maybe if someone wants to play it in a stealthy way, but like that even GOW can be played in a stealthy way while it is not intentend to be. I don't know about 005, when I google it I get NSFW photos lol.

 

[Phediuk]

Wonfenstein a stealth game? Since when? Many mistake the first FPS for doom but Wolfenstein is the real first FPS, I don't think this game has stealth behind its concept, maybe if someone wants to play it in a stealthy way, but like that even GOW can be played in a stealthy way while it is not intentend to be. I don't know about 005, when I google it I get NSFW photos lol.

Castle Wolfenstein (1981), not Wolfenstein 3D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fgok9eHqO8

And here's Sega's arcade game 005 (1981): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-bzpTXPago

 

[Seik]

I don't think it has been mentioned yet, but I think Chrono Trigger was the first RPG introducing multiple characters combining their techniques together.