10 Genius Ways Video Games Fixed Their Own Mistakes
9. Hardware Limitations Created Gaming's Difficulty Curve - Space Invaders
In another classic example of developers turning a technical limitation into a classic gameplay feature, Space Invaders was actually created with the intent that the aliens would all move towards the player at the same speed throughout a level.
However, the devs discovered that, as aliens were destroyed and the hardware had less objects to render on-screen, the aliens' movements would increase in speed. Oops.
They quickly realised that this added a challenging, intense wrinkle to the core gameplay, and decided that it would stay in the game.
It of course became an iconic staple of the series that even those who've never played Space Invaders might be aware of, though of course, in subsequent entries the speed increase had to be specifically coded into the game rather than merely relying on deficient hardware.