First Video Game That Let You Jump – Frogs As popular as the idea of secret characters is these days, it’s not nearly as old as you might think. Many modern developers use the idea of a secret character to not only reward curious gamers but entice us to explore every inch of a digital world. First Secret Character – Reptile (Mortal Kombat) Crowther left it in the final game as he figured that there were probably “a lot of impatient people out there who would appreciate a shortcut.” Many early cheat codes were actually implemented to help developers test their games more efficiently, and fans just happened to discover them through publications, word of mouth, and experimentation. Interestingly, designer Will Crowther implemented the “xyzzy” command at the request of his sister, who was helping him test the game. In that text-based adventure title, players are able to type the phrase “xyzzy” at a certain point in order to skip a large section of the game. You have to go all the way back to 1977’s Colossal Cave Adventure to find the very first cheat code. First Video Game Cheat Code – “xyzzy” (Colossal Cave Adventure) Unfortunately, because she was mistakenly identified as Ban Tran for quite some time (and left the gaming industry shortly after Wabbit‘s release), her contributions to the industry were nearly forgotten. Thankfully, researchers helped restore her and Billie Sue’s place in history. Interestingly, Wabbit was also an early example of a game designed by a woman (Vietnamese programmer Van Mai, then Van Tran). That unique title featured a farmer named Billie Sue, who was tasked with defending crops from rabbits. The first game to star a named and playable female character was 1982’s Wabbit for the Atari 2600. First Female Video Game Protagonist – Billie Sue (Wabbit) But of course, Computer Space co-creator Nolan Bushnell’s next major project, 1972’s Pong, would end up being far more successful. Its gameplay was as simple as could be, but everything about Computer Space‘s technology and “insert-quarter-to-play” commercial release would soon form the foundation of the arcade video game industry. If you feel like you know a first we may have overlooked, join the discussion and let us know about it in the comments below.ġ971’s Computer Space put players in control of a spaceship and asked them to shoot down incoming flying saucers. While we have a pretty good idea of who has the best claims to certain “firsts,” there’s always room for debate and discussions. With all of that being said, it’s important to note that there are early parts of video game history that are still being discovered. Innovation may come in many forms, but understanding the earliest day of certain concepts is an important part of understanding and appreciating how the modern gaming industry came to be. Yet, we rarely give credit where credit is due when it comes to video game firsts. For that matter, many people were probably still alive when many of those firsts occurred. As such, we actually know who to credit for a surprising amount of video game firsts. While video game companies haven’t always done the best job of preserving the medium’s history, we always have to remind ourselves that gaming really isn’t that old. Even still, there’s something special about those who did it “first,” especially when it comes to video games. Some of the most notable innovators in history earned their notoriety by refining or popularizing an idea rather than strictly inventing it.
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