Hi tom.
I was a little too young to get the complete experience being that in 1987
and 88 when i was playing games on the atari 2600 and amstrad cpc computers,
I was only about 6 or 7, yet I do remember something really thrilling about
seeing different enemies because! so much of the game was the same,
particularly sinse I couldn't read the scores I was playing just for the
experience and to see how far I got. In a sense this gave things personality
at least for me. For instance in joust, initially you'd be fighting
creatures called shadow lords who were a dark brown colour. If however you
hit a shadowlord and didn't pick up the egg it transformed into, it'd hatch
into a large white creature that was faster and harder to kill, and if you
knocked that! off and failed to pick it up again, it'd morph into something
huge and blue. The harder creatures would also appear on later levels too,
as would a flying bird that tracked your location.
I never knew the names for these upgraded monsters, indeed I don't think
they had them, but I gave them all names myself, the snow lord for the white
creature and the killer for the blue one.
even though there was only a colour change, those things were dam scary! and
I remember thinking "oh hell!" when I saw one of those nasties turning up.
The same was true in other games, even on, ---- double dragon for instance
which only in fact had five basic enemies in it's original form, though some
appeared in different colours as well, or my favourite amstrad game rowland
on the ropes.
Of course, all these games were pretty difficult, meaning that in order to
get! to see those later enemies, you'd have to work pretty hard and be quite
good at the game.
In a sense I do wonder if people have slightly lost patience with this
aspect of gaming, --- though then again the portable systems like Ios and
android are! seeina resurgence in arcade style games at the moment in the
main stream sinse they are so much quicker and easier to play on the move,
and easier to pickup for none gamers than a complex 3D action adventure
title.
Of course though, I can't deny more complex games are great, as in fac tht
elong night I spent playing King of dragon pass last night shows! :d.
BEware the grue!
Dark.
---
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