Tactics of early video games

VG history

Golden Age video games could always be beaten with the knowledge of some tactics or strategies. With some of the simpler games, a player could maximize scoring with the use of a single strategy.

pace shooters

"Space Invaders", "Galaga", and "Galaxian" have relatively the same tactics, although some variation exists. The basic method was speed: destroy as many invaders/enemies before they really pose a threat. In "Galaga"/"Galaxian", as the enemies approach from the top of the screen, the player would destroy the targets before they reached their position and began firing. In "Space Invaders", the player could destroy columns as fast as possible in order to slow the rate of decent. The player could also use the shields to his/her advantage: many players advise firing through the shield in order to remain protected. [ [http://www.djgallagher.com/games/classics/spaceinvaders/playguide.php "Classic Arcade Games - Space Invaders"] ]

"Asteroids"

In "Asteroids", An oversight in the small saucer's programming gave rise to a popular strategy known as “lurking.” [ [http://www.djgallagher.com/games/classics/asteroids/playguide.php "Classic Arcade Games - Asteroids"] ] Because the saucer could only shoot directly at the player's position on the screen, the player could "hide" at the opposite end of the screen and shoot across the screen boundary, while remaining relatively safe. This led to experienced players being able to play indefinitely on a single credit. [ [http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=asteroids&page=detail&id=126 "Asteroids, video game at arcade-history"] ] On some early versions of the game, it was also possible to hide the ship in the score area indefinitely without being hit by asteroids.

"Defender"

"Defender" has been described as "quite possibly, the hardest significant game there is. " [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1640/game_design_essentials_20_.php?page=2 "20 Difficult Games"] ] This may be true because the game had two central objectives: Save the humans, and destroy the aliens. To add to the fact of two objectives, the hyperspace button was often unreachable while playing, so the assistance of a friend was often required. Even so, a tactic similar to the lurking strategy in "Asteroids" involves a place on "Defender"'s planet's surface colloquially called the "International Date Line." While the scrolling planet wraps around horizontally, internally the game still marks player and enemy positions using X and Y coordinates, and simple greater-than comparisons are used to do direction checks to figure out how enemies should chase the player. The IDL corresponds to the zero on the X-axis of the game's coordinate system. When the player crosses over that point, although moving only a pixel on the screen, his position is suddenly clear across the map, and aggressive enemies will rush away from the player to attack by going around the world.

Puzzle games

"Breakout"

"Breakout", as one of the early “ball and paddle” games, there were many tactics to be developed. Many of the tricks used evolved from "Pong", as "Breakout" was inspired by it. The player could use simple techniques such as guiding the ball to the same spot every time, and each time, it would break a new layer. [ [http://www.mobygames.com/game/breakout_ "Breakout - MobyGames"] ] This allowed players to begin destroying the blocks from the top level, adding an extra level of advancement.

"Pac-Man"

"Pac-Man" was easily discovered to be predictable, and could even be followed by a single repeating pattern. [ [http://www.djgallagher.com/games/classics/pacman/playguide.php "Classic Arcade Games - Pacman"] ] Even so, there is the most important strategy, the power-up dot. By eating this dot, the player could eat the only adversaries in the game, returning them to their starting positions.

"Tetris"

"Tetris", the ultimate mind game, had many tricks up its sleeve. The point of the game was to clear lines, and the more the player cleared at once, the more points that were awarded. In this way, a “tetris,” or a four-line clear, was especially valuable. [ [http://www.tetris.com/ "Strategy"] ] As the game increased in speed, the players had to find ways to work faster. Being a puzzle game, there was no pattern or technique to follow, and tended to be very difficult.

Popular arcade games

"BattleZone"

Although no bugs have been exploited in "Battlezone", the main tactic used in the game is to stay behind the solid polygons, and fire only after leaving cover. The player could then stay safe, while still destroying the enemy. The only other strategy of significance is the UFO. Players knew the UFO was worth 5,000 points, and an extra life was awarded at 15,000, then every 100,000 points, so the UFO was a quick way to score extra lives.

"Donkey Kong"

The major hit for Nintendo, "Donkey Kong", has led to strategies adopted in later side-scrollers by the company. To survive, players had to quickly learn the methods of jumping. For beginners, it was noticed that jumping alone was the fastest way to achieve the higher levels, but more advanced players argued that the hammer was useful because of the bonus points involved. Barrels, springs, and fireballs were created and moved in set increments, and many players could follow the rhythm and move flawlessly through the earlier levels. Even further, the game could be completed with knowledge of each level, and each level has its own structure and method to solve it. [ [http://www.djgallagher.com/games/classics/donkeykong/playguide.php "Classic Arcade Games - Donkey Kong"] ]

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