Foreword: I would appreciate some responses this time.
One YouTube channel I am subscribed to is called Mental Floss. An interesting little channel with a host of informative lists touching upon all matters of facts and trivia. It's a great channel, and I do recommend it if you're on YouTube a fair deal. However, recently they uploaded a video titled "30 Game Changing Video Games" a list that catalogs 30 of the most influential and revolutionary games in the industry. Well, at least that's what you think at first glance anyway. The video is at the center of a debate on it's research, and the inclusion of pseudo-YouTube celebrity iJustine, whom most classify as a "fake gamer girl" which I won't delve into cause either way, who the fuck cares? All I care about is what is being said. I am not sure who to blame, the host, or the writer, but there is certainly something wrong with this list which I will analyze point-by-point. Please watch the linked video in it's entirety before reading on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYmHQs2yJmk Let's go game by game, and see what sticks out, shall we?
1. Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device
When we're going so far back into video game history, the details get muddy. It's difficult to confirm claims. While it is true it was one of the first video games, it's not certain if it was the first of it's kind to be patented. But that's neither here nor there. Note the first Call of Duty reference so early in the list.
2. Tennis for Two
A big problem with this list is how it keeps referencing firsts while giving no real explanation as to why it's listed. Anyone who knows anything about the history of the video game industry knows this: If it's the first, it's usually the worst. That being said, I don't understand why this game is included on the list, when Pong is a far more acceptable alternative as it was a phenomenon in it's day, but Pong is also on the list, which makes this addition all the more perplexing. Also note her pronunciation of "nuclear" as "nucular." I think iJustine must be a relative of George W. Bush.
3. Spacewar
This is purely in the meh category. Nice to know, not sure if it belongs in the list. Again, details are muddy, it's hard to find fact in this, but even if I could, it's not really what I would consider revolutionary. I just call it progress.
4. Pong
Aaaaaaand there's Pong. So four spots into the list, and this is the first I have no real objections to.
5. Space Invaders
Again, no objections. One of the most influential games of all time, it's only right it's on this list.
6. The Legend of Zelda
This is where the list starts flirting with misinformation. Now by all means, this is a game that belongs on the list, however, let's go over some of the information said as we go through the games on this list. She states that this game is the first ever game to allow you to save your progress and continue later. That's... not true, obviously. PC gaming allowed for that in spades. It was a relatively new thing for consoles. But that's if we're even talking about just saving your progress in a simplistic fashion, as she goes onto say she can't imagine playing a game in one sitting, in which case she means being able to continue where you left off, which many games existed with password systems, even before Zelda. So... Wrong on both counts there. I can't even say for sure if The Legend of Zelda is the first console game to allow you to save your game, but it's hard to find that out at the moment. So... I'll just go with what it sounds like she is saying.
7. Wolfenstein 3D
8. Doom
A drive by of FPS games. No idea why they included both, one could have served fine. But whatever, I don't entirely reject their inclusions. I just would've preferred if they stuck with one, and why on earth did they show the cover art of Doom 3 when they mean the original Doom?
9. Super Mario 64
I have nothing negative to say about this game's inclusion. But look at that blue screen fail on Mario when she holds up the figure. Jesus.
10. Goldeneye 007
This game is legendary, and if you haven't heard the story about Goldeneye's development, you should look it up, it's a great tale of a game that could have easily not even made it to store shelves. However, my problem is iJustine's claim that it was the first ever game to include multiplayer deathmatch. ...lolwut?
Goldeneye 007 was released in 1997. Quake, which also featured multiplayer deathmatch was released one year earlier in 1996. None of this matters cause Doom, that also had deathmatch features was released a full four years prior in 1993. Yeah, that claim is completely wrong. I can't even give Goldeneye credit for coining the phrase deathmatch. It's just flat out wrong. Also note the second mention of Call of Duty on this list.
11. The Sims
12. Grand Theft Auto III
I am doing these together cause I have no issue with their inclusion. No facts were incorrect here.
13. Halo
I am not a huge fan of Halo, but I am not arguing against it's inclusion. My problem is with the very dumb comment stating that Halo revolutionized gaming by allowing you to carry more than one weapon. Halo is often demonized for restricting players down to only two weapons. Several games before Halo such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Duke Nukem 3D allowed you to carry multiple weapons. So I don't know how anyone could make such a ridiculous claim. Some YouTube comments suggest she means dual wielding. This mechanic was introduced in Halo 2, allowing you to carry two weapons at once, however this is ALSO wrong. Halo 2 came out in 2004. Counter-Strike had dual wielded weapons, and that game was released four years prior in 2000.
All that is left is if she means allowing you to carry one handgun, and then pick up another if you feel like it, but honestly, if we're breaking it down to that, isn't it a little silly to call this a revolutionary feature? I lean more towards the fact that she doesn't know what she is talking about.
14. Call of Duty
Well. Here we are. Look, don't get me wrong. I am not going to argue against this game's inclusion. It's a pointless debate. What I want to know is if anyone can explain to me what the fuck she is talking about when in describing how "revolutionary" Call of Duty is, she says the following:
"The series ability to seamlessly combine online gaming with roleplaying components has forever changed the world of video games."
...What? Let that sink in for a minute. Is all you're thinking about right now the phrase "what the fuck?" You're not alone. This comment raped my mind. What the hell is she talking about? What roleplaying components? I don't know of any. So I broke this down to three possible explanations for what she is saying:
1. Call of Duty players are also roleplayers.
I don't know about you, when I see a group of people playing CoD, I don't often seem them dressed up like Final Fantasy characters. I also don't see them roleplaying on the mic. Unless her definition of roleplaying is everyone in a typical CoD match acting like foul mouthed spoiled manbabies, I don't see this explanation being correct.
2. Call of Duty has you playing roles within classes
There is a class system in CoD, but it's essentially just a loadout of weapons, grenades, and perks, it doesn't really drastically change your role in a given match, it's just letting you play how you're must comfortable. If we're using the class excuse, then Team Fortress 2 is a better example. It's class based game play actually alters your role in the match, and every class is distinct, and it was released just a month prior to the original Modern Warfare. Which is what she means obviously, I mean they show a picture of soldiers playing MW for god's sake.
3. In Call of Duty, you play a role in given match types.
Counter-Strike. That's all I have to say. They did it before Modern Warfare did. Nothing revolutionary there, and that's just off the top of my head. Objective based matches probably existed before Counter-Strike too.
So yeah, I feel there is a bias here, being as this is her favorite game, also notice how once we get to CoD, OH SO MANY GAMES TO TALK ABOUT, LET'S SPEED IT UP! Very poor reasoning for this game being on the list.
15. Metroid
"First game with a female protagonist? Metroid in 1986."
"Oh really?"
"Which is an innovation that's often overlooked."
It's really not. It's on almost every gamers list of gaming what the fucks because of how surprising it is. The fact that Samus is revealed to be a woman almost overshadows the original game itself.
(Little self-satisfaction dance cause 50% of gamers are women)
Is this a personal achievement for you?
16. Snake
Really? Snake? I get that it's the first mobile game, but really it's all but forgotten. Wouldn't it make more sense to make this spot Angry Birds or Infinity Blade or Fruit Ninja, or something?
17. Dungeon
First roleplaying game? Not conclusive. Like I said before when we go this far back, the details are muddy. There were four other RPG's made in 1975. One of them doesn't even exist anymore cause it was deleted from existence. We don't exactly know WHEN in 1975 these games came out, but we can't even agree Dungeon came out in 1975, some believe it was made as late as 1976. What's so hard about saying "One of the first RPG's ever made?" - Well simple, that means you'd have to make up a reason why the game is on the list to show it's influential, and not just cause it was the first. How many of you guys played Dungeon growing up? I doubt a single one of us has.
18. Final Fantasy
And now we segue to Final Fantasy? Just cause it's an afterthought after picking Dungeon for the last spot? We don't even get to hear why it's important? Just that it popularized the genre? How? In what way? What game? It certainly wasn't the first one. Why isn't it Final Fantasy VII? The game that actually made RPG's a mainstream genre in America?
19. Tetris
No objection. No wrong facts.
20. Parappa the Rapper
I had an issue articulating any criticism for this addition. They choose Parappa the Rapper cause it was the first rhythm and music game. Hard to confirm, but I doubt it. Still, if not this game, it'd be DDR, and largely the conclusion I came up with is... why even include this genre in the list to begin with? It didn't change things, these have always been niche games. Guitar Hero was widely successful, but due to over saturation killed itself. So... I don't see any reason for this spot to exist.
21. Mario
I suppose they mean the whole Mario franchise. She says it's the most successful franchise of all time making 440 Million dollars since the 1980's. That's it? I find that hard to believe. GTA V made 1 billion in the first three days of it's release, and that's just ONE game in the series that has been widely successful in it's own right. These numbers have to be completely wrong.
22. Raiders of the Lost Ark
This next drive-by is introducing the first movie licensed video game, and the game that caused the video game crash of 1983. All she has to say about it is they were bad and colored the perception of movie licensed games. Why not just talk about ET and it's effects on the video game industry. Why not mention how Atari had a tight deadline for development and it resulted in a shitty product that customers actually mailed back to Atari? Why not mention how Atari produced far more cartridges then were purchased and had to bury them in a New Mexico landfill? So much great information barely touched upon all to fill two spots. This list is garbage. HA-HA, GET IT?
23. Death Race
First controversial game? More than likely. Wikipedia disagrees, but wikipedia can also be completely wrong. No objections to the claim, I just again don't see why they didn't just pick Mortal Kombat, the game that is often cited for the creation of video game rating systems. It's just a lost opportunity.
24. Video Whizball
First game to include the programmers name as an Easter egg? This is revolutionary? How? Why not pick a game with interesting Easter eggs that almost overshadow the game? Or if you're going to go with this, why not explain why programmers hid their names in games? Like how Atari never gave credits to developers, and they just found a way around that by hiding them in the game? No information here, it's just pointless trivia. At least the other videos explain shit, this is so poorly written I expect to see Uwe Boll in the credits.
25. Burnout Paradise
So they put this game on here cause it was the first game to include propaganda to vote for a certain presidential candidate? I am not researching that, but I really don't believe it. My problem is, look at the list so far. This is the first and ONLY racing game mentioned. No Need for Speed, no Gran Turismo, no Forza, not even fucking Road Rash, or Mario Kart. The only racing game is the series with their only claim to fame is obnoxiously destructible cars. You can't do that.
26. Wii Sports
Wii Sports? Can I nominate the demo disc that came with my Playstation on here? Motion controlled games existed before the Wii. I wouldn't even say Wii Sports popularized the concept. Just, eh.
27. Hunt the Wumpus
So is this list attempting to declare that Hunt the Wumpus getting a sequel inspired the concept of games having sequels? So if Hunt the Wumpus never got a second game, we'd never have sequels at all? Someone fetch my DeLorean, we've got some meddling to do.
28. Haunted House
First horror game? Yeah... technically. If you're an idiot. I don't classify a game as horror just cause it has supernatural elements in it. That would mean Pacman is a horror game cause it has ghosts. Boo. I consider a game horror if it actually is aimed to make you scared. Clock Tower, Uninvited, there are so many better options, but it gets worse in the segue.
29. Resident Evil
30. Alone in the Dark
And because we mentioned the first "technical" horror game, I guess we should mention the game that popularized survival horror, and throw in Alone in the Dark cause fuck it, I am tired of writing this list. Honestly, that was a lazy addition, and no information given about either game, just rush to the finish, we got to upload this fucker. Horrible list.
What do you guys think? Am I wrong? How would you make this list differently?
