In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Bungie’s Halo & Halo 2, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, Nintendo’s Metroid and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone App Reviews, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this nineteenth part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

Gauntlet (Arcade) – Developed by Atari and unleashed to arcades in 1985, Gauntlet was an absolute revelation. For starters, the game cabinet was absolutely huge, dwarfing the other machines of the day. Upon first glance, Gauntlet was already demanding the player to take notice. Among its many firsts, Gauntlet was the first arcade game to have a class system, as users could choose among a wizard, warrior, elf and valkyrie, each with their own strengths (magic, strength, speed, defense) and weaknesses (poor defense, poor magic, poor hand to hand ability, no true strength). It was also the first game that allowed four player simultaneous play, as teams of players could often be seen loading up the game with quarters before starting their journey. With Gauntlet, unlike any other game to that point and like few since, the players could feed the machine quarters in exchange for more health and magic. This became an actual necessity, as health would drain from players over time. Gauntlet was also one of the first games to feature voices, and certainly the first to feature such a large amount of them. Arcade players will forever remember the game crying out such classics as, “Wizard needs food, badly!” or “Valkyrie is about to die!” Although created with a voice chip and not actually sampled from a human, these sounds were accurate and served to immerse the player even deeper into the experience.

In focusing on Gauntlet, many areas of the game volunteer themselves for a place in this article series. As mentioned, the game offered a very unique arcade experience. The characters were varied, the sounds a leap forward, and the cooperative nature of gameplay upped the ante in several ways. However, since it is the theme of this series to isolate a single component of a game, we will single out the game’s multiplayer component.

In surveying the videogame landscape at the time of Gauntlet’s release, multiplayer games were in no way an anomaly. However, multiplayer games that allowed for simultaneous play were just about non -existent. By allowing players to quest together, the developers not only exponentially increased their potential earnings, they created a sort of digital Dungeons & Dragons experience, with the voice samples serving as a sort of Dungeon Master. Gauntlet machines of the time could often be found with all four joysticks occupied, with over worth of quarters pre-loaded, as the well equipped heroes would set off on their journey to complete the game’s incredibly long and challenging quest. This multiplayer component went far beyond a mere quarter grabbing gimmick, however, as true team work was required in order to proceed through the game’s ever more difficult labyrinths. Giving up food for a teammate in need, casting a spell at just the right time, and creating enemy diversions so a player could make it to an exit point were just some of the ways in which teamwork could be used to the players’ advantage in this epic arcade game.

For making them a group activity, introducing what were – at the time – astounding technical and game design progressions to, and providing a challenge worthy of the most skilled gamer (or four person team of gamers), Gauntlet has forever earned its place alongside the all time greats in arcade game history.