10 Video Games That Are Better When You Break Them

The original Quake helped to define online shooters but one of its biggest contributions to gaming was an unintended side-effect.

So the story goes that rocket jumping was actually originally discovered by one of the developers John Cash. In the midst of a skirmish, he found himself trapped in a corner and attempted a hail Mary to take out his aggressor as well as himself by firing his rocket launcher at the ground.

Except the physics of the game caused him not to disappear in a haze of explosive, but instead shoot into the air.

The team couldn't know exactly quite to the extent that rocket jumping would change not just Quake but the FPS genre forever. Suddenly, the already high-speed action of Quake also had a greater verticality to it. It became an expected part of the player repertoire, appearing in every follow-up and some games even featuring challenges centred around the mechanic.

Rocket jumping and arcade shooters are a match made in heaven, and the technique also shows up in the likes of Halo, Team Fortress 2 and Valorant.

The original Quake is a highly addictive shooter that is perfectly enjoyable without rocket jumping but... why deny yourself the fun?