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[Speevy]

Let's see how well-researched this topic is and how much information actually exists both in the minds of GAF members and on various google-searched websites. See if you can name the game, developer, and year.

1) Platformer
2) Role-Playing Game (don't bother with your personal interpretation of what this is, otherwise feel free to group it into JRPG and WRPG, or further into SRPG, turn-based, ARPG, etc.)
3) Racing (Any specific kind, simulation, arcade, futuristic, water, air, kart)
4) First-Person Shooter
5) Music/Rhythm Game
6) Rail Shooter
7) Traditional Adventure (like Grim Fandango)
8) Action/Adventure (like Zelda)
9) Vehicle Combat (land, sea, and/or air.)
10) Sports (Any individual simulation, "extreme", arcade, etc. title)
11) Real-time Strategy (or turn-based)
12) Strategic Management Simulation (like Sim City.)
13) MMORPG
14) Puzzle/Party
15) 2D Fighter
16) 3D Fighter
17) Beat em' Up
18) Light gun game
19) Traditional Shooter
20) Stealth Action


Plus any other genres that strike you as important. Name as many or few as you feel like. Argue about dates and contributions, or don't. Have fun thinking back on the true pioneers of the gaming industry.

 

[Suburban Cowboy]

nintendo- First mario game

 

[Speevy]

nintendo- First mario game

From what I understand, Nintendo may have (or maybe not) created the first futuristic racer, kart racer, and water sports game.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Everyone says Herzog Zwei is the first RTS. I've never played it. But I do know that the RTS that set the standard for all the rest of the genre was DUNE, which was released for the PC by Westwood I think.

EDIT: whoops Dune 2!!

 

[Speevy]

First FPS: Wolfenstein 3D/Doom?

 

[blackadde]

First FPS: Wolfenstein 3D/Doom?

Catacombs 3D, iirc. Maybe Hovertank 3D?

http://www.idsoftware.com/games/vintage/hovertank/

 

[Bigfonzie]

Dune 2 was more of a rts, but ill except dune.

 

[AniHawk]

1) Platformer (Donkey Kong?)

4) First-Person Shooter (Doom?)

8) Action/Adventure (Adventure?)

MMORPG: Everquest?

 

[Tiktaalik]

Dune 2 was more of a rts, but ill except dune.

Gah! I meant to write Dune 2 but I was typing too fast I guess.

 

[blackadde]

MMORPG: Everquest?

Where do you draw the line with Massive/non-Massive though? There were a lot of popular MUD's back in the day.

 

[Vargas]

From what I understand, Nintendo may have (or maybe not) created the first futuristic racer, kart racer, and water sports game.

That is something I have never understood. Do you consider a futuristic racer any different from any other racing game? What is the difference other than the shape of the car?

 

[keeblerdrow]

MMORPG: Everquest?

By far not the first. And also not the first to be wildly popular. Ultima Online says hi.

 

[gameboya]

Everyone says Herzog Zwei is the first RTS. I've never played it. But I do know that the RTS that set the standard for all the rest of the genre was DUNE, which was released for the PC by Westwood I think.

EDIT: whoops Dune 2!!

Dune 2 came out on the Amiga well before the PC. Gotta give props to the miggy when necessary. In fact I would say quite a few genre's which were never really created were done on the Amiga first.

 

[Speevy]

That is something I have never understood. Do you consider a futuristic racer any different from any other racing game? What is the difference other than the shape of the car?

The ability to have your car literally fly off the track into a ground hundreds of feet below you, and of course the intense speed and rollercoaster-like track designs.

Other than that, it's just aesthetic. But those are pretty big features. I certainly would never get the same experience from Need for Speed as I would from F-Zero GX.

 

[Zaphod]

Here is my quick pull it out yo ass version.

1) Platformer
Donky Kong

2) Role-Playing Game (don't bother with your personal interpretation of what this is, otherwise feel free to group it into JRPG and WRPG, or further into SRPG, turn-based, ARPG, etc.)
JRPG Dragon Warrior
SRPG Archon. Though no RPG leveling elements
WRPG Ultima

3) Racing (Any specific kind, simulation, arcade, futuristic, water, air, kart)
Overhead Grand Prix game with steering wheels.

4) First-Person Shooter
Wolfenstien

5) Music/Rhythm Game

6) Rail Shooter
Xevious

7) Traditional Adventure (like Grim Fandango)
Zork

8) Action/Adventure (like Zelda)
Adventure - Atari 2600

9) Vehicle Combat (land, sea, and/or air.)
Space War

10) Sports (Any individual simulation, "extreme", arcade, etc. title)
Pong

11) Real-time Strategy (or turn-based)
RTS’s Might be Dune 2 or Herzog Zwei

12) Simulation (like Sim City, Flight Simulator, etc.)
Oregon Trail

13) MMORPG
Solar Realms Elite
Or old GEnie games.

14) Puzzle/Party
Adventures of Lolo

15) 2D Fighter
The arcade Karate Champ Game

16) 3D Fighter
Virtua Fighter

17) Beat em' Up
Double Dragon

18) Light gun game
Namco’s Skeet Shooting game.

 

[Shaheed79]

Might as well set the standards and say GRAPHICAL games because a lot of those genres had text based games that predate Methuselah.

Zork!

 

[Kiriku]

17) Beat em' Up
Double Dragon

This had me wondering...was Double Dragon released in '87? Because it seems like Bop'n Rumble for C64 was released in '86 (and was a cooler game at that).

 

[distantmantra]

H
2) Role-Playing Game (don't bother with your personal interpretation of what this is, otherwise feel free to group it into JRPG and WRPG, or further into SRPG, turn-based, ARPG, etc.)
JRPG Dragon Warrior

Wasn't Phantasy Star the first JRPG?

 

[Speevy]

I wouldn't think so. Phantasy Star was released on the Genesis, was it not?

 

[dark10x]

I wouldn't think so. Phantasy Star was released on the Genesis, was it not?

The original was on the Master System, but I don't know if it was first (doubt it).

 

[Mermandala]

288) Manic Shmup / Batsugun / developed by Toaplan

 

[Bigfonzie]

First tennis simulation title: Pong

 

[Zweisy1]

Dragon Quest was the first JRPG though Phantasy Star might have been released earlier in the west.

 

[Speevy]

Btw, I stupidly forgot the traditional vertical/horizontal shooter, so I added that.

 

[Kiriku]

Jap. release date for Dragon Quest: May 27, 1986
Jap. release date for Phantasy Star: Dec 20, 1987

 

[Zaphod]

This had me wondering...was Double Dragon released in '87? Because it seems like Bop'n Rumble for C64 was released in '86 (and was a cooler game at that).

It looks like '87 too. I vaguely remember enjoying that at a friends house. No c64 for baby Zaphod.

I do hope and expect that not a single game stays on my list. Come on GAF make me proud. Well proud of you for pointing out my less-than-pride-worthy video game history knowledge.

 

[koam]

Nintendo

 

[distantmantra]

Jap. release date for Dragon Quest: May 27, 1986
Jap. release date for Phantasy Star: Dec 20, 1987

Ah, maybe I was thinking of the American release date.

 

[Matlock]

10) Sports (Any individual simulation, "extreme", arcade, etc. title)

Tennis for Two, created by William Higinbotham in 1958.

First tennis simulation title: Pong

Invented in 66, came out in 72. Looks like you're beaten both ways.

 

[Zweisy1]

WRPG Ultima

Richard Garriot made Aklabeth before he made Ultima. I think that's the first one.

 

[Kiriku]

It looks like '87 too. I vaguely remember enjoying that at a friends house. No c64 for baby Zaphod.

I do hope and expect that not a single game stays on my list. Come on GAF make me proud. Well proud of you for pointing out my less-than-pride-worthy video game history knowledge.

Yes, I believe you are right. After some research, I've discovered that the game was reviewed in mags around x-mas '87. So it was probably released towards the end of '87 then.

 

[BigBoss]

Stealth: Metal Gear MSX (1987)

 

[OpinionatedCyborg]

1st Side-Scrolling Platformer: Pitfall!

 

[imastalker co.]

i believe Technos made the first fighting game. i could be wrong though.

 

[Bigfonzie]

Tennis for Two, created by William Higinbotham in 1958.



Invented in 66, came out in 72. Looks like you're beaten both ways.

No way, wasnt pong the first computer game?? :S

 

[blackadde]

No.

http://www.pong-story.com/1958.htm

 

[Zaphod]

Richard Garriot made Aklabeth before he made Ultima. I think that's the first one.

The JM is doing me proud. Akalabeth in 1980.

And it was in 3d too.

 

[Porridge]

was created by Tim Skelly in the 70s. it was an overhead, 2 player, vector-based game with obstacles if i recall correctly.

Game Details
This was the last game the Cinematronics spin-off company Vectorbeam made.

A two-player only game, Warrior featured a top-down view of two warriors with swords using vector graphics. The play field was a detailed, brightly colored overlay.

Each player used a joystick to move both the warrior. The game was time-limited, and the warrior with the most kills at the end was the winner. A kill was scored with either a series of good sword hits to the opponent, or by an opponent falling into one of the two pits.

im not certain who did the very first 2D, sprite based fighter though.

 

[Cronox]

Descent fits in here somewhere.

 

[Bigfonzie]

You learn something every day

 

[Porridge]

If Japanese gamers ever discuss pre-Famicom game history. i get this feeling from some game designers interviewed that they feel famicom was the birth of the industry, and everything else prior to that didn't really happen

 

[MrAngryFace]

 

[Scott]

Richard Garriot made Aklabeth before he made Ultima. I think that's the first one.

Yup, "Akalabeth: World of Doom" (1980) would be the first, followed soon after by "Ultima: The First Age of Darkness" (1981), "Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord" (1981), and "Rogue" (1983).

After that period, no new franchises popped up until 1986, which saw the first appearance of both "Dragon Quest" and "Might & Magic." And, despite the influence D&D had on the genre, the first videogame foray for the franchise was eight years late to the party, with the release of "Pools of Radiance" in 1988.

 

[Zaphod]

I can't let Matthew Perry kill this thread. I guess I'll have to do it instead.

 

[Andrew2]

Here is my quick pull it out yo ass version.



5) Music/Rhythm Game



16) 3D Fighter
Virtua Fighter

Technically by default Virtua Fighter wasn't the first 3D fighter. The first 3D fighting was Dark Edge, though that was also from SEGA. VF was the first polygon fighter, but clearly not the first.

BTW theres some stuff on Dark Edge here:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game_id=7518

As for Music/Rhythm title, if you remember Mario paint on the SNES, it allowed you compose music.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

The problem with a thread like this is that most people are hopelessly clueless about history. So you'll have a bunch of responses spouting that SMB3 was the first side-scrolling adventure while everyone ignores the one or two people who recognize that computer/video games have been around really long time.

I mean, just off the top of my head...

Role-Playing Game - Rogue - 1980 (wide distribution, written earlier)
Racing - Night Driver - 1976
Traditional Adventure - Hunt the Wumpus - 1972
Action/Adventure - Adventure - 1978
Vehicle Combat - Spacewar - 1962

...and I'm sure there's earlier examples of some of those too. Heck, I'm not even touching those home Odessey and Coleco light gun games, computerized Simon games, etc...

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Technically by default Virtua Fighter wasn't the first 3D fighter. The first 3D fighting was Dark Edge, though that was also from SEGA. VF was the first polygon fighter, but clearly not the first.

BTW theres some stuff on Dark Edge here:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game_id=7518

As for Music/Rhythm title, if you remember Mario paint on the SNES, it allowed you compose music.

4D Boxing came out before VF.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

Yup, "Akalabeth: World of Doom" (1980) would be the first, followed soon after by "Ultima: The First Age of Darkness" (1981), "Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord" (1981), and "Rogue" (1983).

The BSD UNIX distribution 4.2 in 1980 included a binary version of Rogue.

Note: 1980 was when Rogue got wide distribution by being included in BSD.

 

[Speevy]

So this Rogue was the first WRPG/RPG period?

 

[Andrew2]

Here we go, the flyer for Dark Edge:

http://www.gm-spirit.com/extra/picture2/DarkEdge.JPG