Tag Archives: Retro

Like most mainstream media, the primary goal of interactive entertainment is escapism. When the collective weight of work, bills, and relationships congeals into a burdensome load, we have the ability to retreat into meticulously detailed, ...

One of the great dialectics in gaming is the tension between pattern-driven and free-form play. Classic shooters like Gradius and R-Type are textbook examples of the former, goading gamers into improvement as they face the ...

America’s arcades have lost almost all their luster. Restrained to the recesses of bowling alleys and multiplexes, these recreational spaces have becoming a dumping ground for rigged redemption machines and the light-gun shooter with only ...

Being an indie developer often means working with a skeleton crew under a tight, sometimes non-existent budget. Of course, this results in small versatile teams capable of rapidly adapting to any challenge that comes their ...

Not long ago, the shmup (alternatively referred to as STG) was a thriving genre, with publishers like Capcom, Konami, and Treasure releasing quintessential titles such as 1943, Gradius, and Radiant Silvergun.  But over time, the ...

It’s interesting to think how ten years ago Megaman fans were suffering from franchise fatigue as Capcom kept releasing title after title starring the famous blue bomber. Yet, today this mascot is relegated to little ...

Nostalgia is a tragically fragile sentiment. Relentlessly, publishers attempt to reinvigorate salient gaming memories, with a cavalcade of remakes, reboots, and remasters vying for our disposable income. For indie developers, there’s a similar effort to ...

Gaming in the 1990’s was dominated by character mascots, where protagonists like Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, Earthworm Jim and Gex encouraged sales with a marketable combination of agility and bad-boy attitude. But when the ...

The dream of exploring outer space has always been one of gaming’s oldest fantasies, dating as far back as the Atari’s classic Asteroids. Over time, this sparked different sub-genres ranging from simulators and fast paced ...

Video games have continuously plumbed the gulf between imitation and inspiration. Ever since the first Space Invader broke formation, giving birth to Galaga, developers have often built upon the ideas of their peers. As such, ...