Trends in Development of Video Arcade Games at the End of 1970-1980-ies

The very first arcade games were very successful. That is why a lot of arcade game developers appeared at the end of 1970-ies. There were two trends in development of video arcade games:

• some developers created the ideas of their games by simply copying the ideas of successful ones;
• other developers worked under creation of something totally new.

The examples of the first trend are such video arcade games as Galaxian (1979) and Gaplus (1984). Both of them are imitators of Space Invaders (1978) – they have the same idea about the alien invasion. But, even without original idea, these games were successful.

The same way, another representative of successful video arcade games Galaga (1981) borrowed its theme from Galaxian and adds twists of its own.

The result of the second trend was the creation of new concepts and new arcade game genres.

Thanks to the rapid evolving of hardware, new kinds of arcade games were created. In result, these games surpassed the very first arcade games with their shoot-em-up gameplay.

Video Games of Different Times

Here is a wonderful video that shows different games starting from such classic video arcade games as Space Invaders (1980) and Donkey Kong (1982), and ending with such famous games of our times as World of Warcraft (2005) and Final Fantasy XII (2006). The newest shown game is MotorStorm (2007), while the oldest one is Pong (1972).

First half of the video is especially nice. This is so nostalgically to see the favorite games from the childhood. Pac-Man (1981), Super Mario Bros. (1985), Tetris (1989) – these video games are true legends. A wish to play video arcade games of those times appears again and again. Even though more than 20 years have passed, these video arcade games are still popular.

You can watch the video about the history of video games below. You can also watch it and view a full list of shown video games here.

Beginning of the Video Arcade Games

As the virtual entertainment is brought to new levels by the technological advances and constant developments in the world of gaming, let’s take a look back at the legacy of the craft.

The 1920s are the years when the first arcade games appeared. They were seen in the amusement parks, such as Coney Island in New York. The earliest forms of the pastime were shooting galleries and ball-toss games. Some time later they progressed to include coin-op machines, which played a mechanical music, or gave a fortune reading.

The first pinball machine was created in the 1930s. It worked on a set of springs and magnets. They were replaced by the electric pinball machines in the early 1970s.

First incarnation of the electronic coin-op game was invented in 1971 by students of American university. Not long time after, the Atari was established. Thanks to it, the video arcade games were brought to cinemas, bars, and shopping centers all over the US and UK. The popular arcade games of those times that became legends are Donkey Kong, Pacman, and Space Invaders.