Old School Games--How the Scrolling Screen Changed Gaming ForeverAugust 23, 2011 by

The Mario Bros. Before and After the Advent of the Scrolling Screen

The gaming art form is one always in a state of flux—it’s constantly evolving, providing gamers with increasingly complex and often realistic experiences.  The unfortunate by-product of this reality, however, is that certain gameplay styles, and even genres, sometimes become relegated to the past as the medium continues to advance forward.  These oft-forgotten titles, from overhead shooter Victory Road to the odd, evade-and-chase ‘em BurgerTime, seem quaint by today’s standards, for few modern games share their simple or surreal designs.  Indeed, despite a currently active indie scene that continues to produce titles with a more infectious, retro vibe, most modern titles lack the whimsical elements and single-minded nature of their forebears.

Even in the earliest days of the pastime when technology was still limited and primitive, a diverse variety of content quickly sprang forth to entertain the hungry masses.  While Pong was ostensibly a game about tennis, gamers were soon racing cars in Grand Trak 10, and from there blasting aliens in Space Invaders and gobbling dots in Pac-Man.  Or inflating enemies in Dig Dug.  Or flapping through the air in Joust.  But, despite the very different experiences each game provided, one element remained constant throughout all of them—the single-screen playfield.  Born of necessity during an age when scrolling backgrounds (and thus, levels) were not practical or possible, the single-screen level became the de facto standard of game design for more than a decade.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of these early titles thus focused more on score and less on progress or story.  Gameplay at the time, despite consisting of everything from painting (Maze Trax/Crush Roller) to catching bombs (Kaboom), rarely consisted of more than simply trying to clear each stage of all enemies/objects.  Even Donkey Kong, which differed in that it was about a guy trying to rescue his girlfriend, still focused primarily on competition, where saving the girl was secondary to achieving the top score of the day.

By the mid-80s, however, games featuring dynamically scrolling levels and backgrounds began to outnumber their simpler, single-screen cousins.  Much like how 3-D polygonal graphics revolutionized gameplay in the mid-90s, the scrolling screen provided gamers with a sense of breadth, depth, and wonder that had not existed before.  Instead of just bopping turtles in a sewer (Mario Bros.), gamers could now run through a vast world filled with a number of exotic locales and dangerous enemies (Super Mario Bros.).  Almost overnight, gaming went from being about working within enclosed spaces where perfecting limited movesets and tasks were key to embarking on entire adventures with real goals or missions to accomplish.  But as the medium transitioned to this new style of gaming, it consequently extinguished the motivation to earn high scores and master a game down to its smallest nuance.  Who cared about earning points when there was a princess to save or villain to destroy?

In part two of this feature, I will explore the single-screen era further and discuss some underrated titles still worth playing today.

Submit Blog