Why Game? 1 - TextFiles.com

Actually, Bubble Bobble is from the older
generation of platformers - no scrolling, one
screen full of enemies, destroy them all and go
to next stage, etc - and in this case, you have
100 stages to get through before you arrive
at the bottom of the pit and save your parents
from the evil drunken sorcerer. While doing this,
you can obtain a shitload of bonuses, secret
doors, special items and random stuff. It works
like Chack’n Pop, and they have recycled this
mechanic in many other games, one of them
being Rayforce. Taito equals exponential scores.
I think that it was the summer of 1986
when I saw this game for the first time. It goes
without saying that the queue was incredible.
I had to wait about an hour, and people were
playing in tag play the whole time.
My first impact was pure violence as the
other person was credit-feeding. If I wanted
to play, I had to join them - at the 91st stage!
I don’t remember what stage that is, but I
remember it being brutal. My few credits lasted
a few more stages, then someone else took my
place and managed to finish the game.
I thought, “what the hell, this is one nasty
spoiler,” and was pissed for the rest of the day.
When you’re eight years old, these things mat-
ter.
However, summer and lovely, colourful
games tend to work flawlessly together. So the
next day I woke up early to be the first one
playing Bubble Bobble, only to find many oth-
ers who had had the same idea. This must be
a really good game if people wake early during
summer to play it, no?
Let’s stop for one moment and analyze,
with scientific rigour, one of the best aspects
of the arcade settings: social life. To start our
inquiry, I will define this setting: my uncle’s
arcade, in its old location, very close to the
centre of the city, during the hot summer of
1986. Bubble Bobble is the coolest game of the
moment. There are the usual customers: various
kids of all ages, teenagers, 20-something guys
(and girls - girls love platformers, that’s the of-
ficial dogma) which are usually CS or Engineer-
ing students, older people who are engineers or
programmers, random nerds, a few punks, etc.
The common thread between us was a
sheer love for Bubble Bobble. I clearly remem-
ber at some point, small meetings in front of the
cabs (my uncle had 3 copies of the game) with
people discussing tricks and strategies. At some
point, my uncle, who was a passionate gamer
himself, started compiling a guide: all the tricks,
secrets and bonuses were stored in this small
guide, which could be consulted while playing.
After a while, the standard habit of many people
was to organize “threesomes,” two players in tag
play with a “navigator” telling them which tricks
to apply and when.
Now, let’s get back to the ending: the
game can only be completed in tag mode. If
you’re good enough to complete it all by your-
self, the game will send you back to stage 66.
I’m not sure if you loop the last 34 stages all by
yourself if you’re playing alone. As I told you,
it was impossible to play this game without a
partner, so I never found out the truth. Not that
it matters, after all. What matters is the sheer
passion and cheerful atmosphere that this game
Untold Tales of the Arcade 3: Taito Think Tank 93