9 Pioneering Video Games EVERYONE Forgets
Stop ignoring these trailblazing titles!
There are numerous video games that are widely remembered for pioneering certain systems and mechanics.
For instance, 1992’s Mortal Kombat was the first title to feature a hidden character (Reptile), just as Wolfenstein 3D (from the same year) debuted the first-person shooter. Likewise, 1996’s Super Mario 64 set the standard for 3D platformers and 1980’s Pac-Man introduced power-ups.
Sadly, there are just as many products that were equally revolutionary – more or less – yet rarely get the recognition they deserved for being so groundbreaking.
Granted, plenty of them aren’t great (or even good) overall, but they nonetheless established gameplay mechanics and/or narrative devices that’ve been employed innumerable times since they released.
The 9 prophetic picks on this list, in particular, have been criminally forgotten despite being the forefathers of several innovations. Without them, modern gaming would be much different (and much worse), and they deserve to be honored for their advancements.
9. Colossal Cave Adventure
Spearheaded by eminent computer developer William Crowther in 1976, text-based adventure program Colossal Cave Adventure was highly influential for multiple reasons.
For one thing, its setting and style paved the way for myriad other creations over the next few years alone, including Zork, Adventureland, Acheton, Adventure, and The Golden Baton.
What’s arguably more notable – and less often acknowledged – is that Colossal Cave Adventure included a cheat code way before the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Doom, and Grand Theft Auto franchises turned the trick into a staple of the medium. It even predates the legendary Konami Code by roughly a decade!
Simply put, players could input “xyzzy” to skip a large portion of the game. Supposedly, Crowther made it for his sister – Betty Bloom – who was playtesting it and became irritated by Colossal Cave Adventure’s leisurely pacing. There’s also been speculation that the phrase was based on – or later became – a Crowther family password.
In any case, it obviously laid the foundation for one of our most beloved video game attributes.