Top 10 Video Game Firsts
01. The First Platform-Focused Online Game Community
Today we have the Xbox LIVE Service for Microsoft's Xbox platform, and PlayStation Network for Sony's PlayStation platform -- even Nintendo's Wii has a sort of online community (but not really).
Which was first? None of them.
Believe it or not the Commodore C=64 enjoys the honor of having established all of the elements that we know and enjoy today in our preferred online platform communities but it did it in 1985!
The platform-focused social network and gaming service was called Quantum Link -- or Q-Link -- and was the forerunner of what became AOL -- but before it transitioned to a full-blown paid-access social network, it blazed the path we now consider to be the norm for the platform-focused game service.
While Q-Link did offer users electronic mail, online chat, and game-packed public domain file sharing libraries, its primary focus was online multi-player games, as well as an interactive avatar-based graphical resort island developed by Lucasfilm Games called Habitat -- way way before PlayStation Home was a twinkle in Sony's eye.
Buying games to play and downloading public domain or shareware from its massive (relatively speaking) file libraries, and playing online RPG's, sports, and casino games with other players was the norm. Pretty much the entire concept that now exists as LIVE and PSN was pioneered by the same people that brought us AOL -- so yeah, it turns out you can do good and still turn out evil. Just saying.
--- So how many did you guess correctly? Any more than six out of 10 and we reckon you are a video game guru!
I was thrown off by the "First 3D shooter question, as it isn't necessarily accurate.
For one thing, it associates 3D to equate to FPS, which is incorrect. Considering the number of vector-based or even sprite-based flight games that started in the 80s, many of these had a step up on Wolfenstein as far as 3D engines go. I mean, Red Baron's vector graphics presented a much more real 3D "shooter" than Wolfenstein.
Secondly, if you ARE simply talking FPSes, while Wolfenstein 3D is the first widely honored game, the same engine was used for the older Catacombs 3D, featuring largely identical mechanics, minus the commercial success and recognize-ability.
Given your attention to detail in so much else on this article, this seems a rather strange area to veer away from the otherwise well-researched path.
turns out you can do good and still turn out evil. Just saying.
that descibes ea and activision