10 "Firsts" That Changed Video Games Forever

10. The First Game To Use Motion Capture

First: Rise of the Robots (1994)

Released in 1994, Rise of the Robots – a fighting game published by Time Warner Interactive – was way ahead of its time, utilising CGI sprites instead of conventional pixels in order to create a more realistic aesthetic. Unfortunately, the game was panned almost universally for its uncooperative gameplay and awkward controls, and – while the game had a good many things going for it – it was considered a tremendous disappointment, fading into obscurity as a consequence.

With that being said, Rise of the Robots was the first game ever to utilise motion capture – decades before it would become a widespread practice – in order to create smooth, realistic movements within a virtual environment. Interestingly, Virtua Fighter 2 – which was released the very same year – introduced the same technology on arcades, but wouldn’t be ported to consoles until the following year.

Rise of the Robots received a fair amount of criticism upon release – many reviewers believing the game to have sacrificed gameplay for graphics, and others believing the game to be too easy – but regardless, it was the first to do something genuinely remarkable, and should be remembered as a landmark in gaming history as a result.