Making video games seems like the most awesome job in the world. However, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. Most of the modern PC or console games that we see take from three to five years to complete. Some of the best games that we grew up on have some bizarre backstories attached to them. Here are our top picks:
1. FARMVILLE
The very famous online game ‘Farmville’ happens to be a shameless ripoff of a game called ‘Farm Town’. Farm Town made its debut just months before Farmville spammed its way into Facebook. If you compare, their gameplay and visuals have an uncanny resemblance.
2. GRADIUS
The Konami code was accidentally left in the game. When Kazuhisa Hashimoto made ‘Gradius’, it was so hard that he himself couldn’t play to test it. He eventually added a simple set of button presses to give himself some power-ups. However, Hashimoto forgot to delete the code before sending the game for release.
3. TOMB RAIDER
The abnormal bust that Lara Croft had in the 1996 game happened because of a mistake. Artist Toby Gard, one of the people in charge of designing Lara’s character, was editing her dimensions. When he decided to increase her bust size by 50%, he mistyped 150%.
4. LEGEND OF ZELDA
The beta version of Zelda lets you between a Sword or a boomerang. Initially, the game was designed to be set in the past as well as the future. Link got his name because he was meant to be the connection between the two.
5. SILENT HILL
The annoying fog that you see in ‘Silent Hill’ was basically added to hide the game’s slow load time. It makes the entire atmosphere creepy and prevents players from seeing monsters until the last second.
6. MARVEL SUPERHEROES Vs. STREETFIGHTER
In the Japanese version of Marvel Superheroes vs. Street Fighter, you can find an old pervert man. His name is Norimaro and he dresses like a schoolboy. You can find him trying to take Chun-Li’s picture. If you beat the game with him, he steals her panties.
7. METAL GEAR
Originally designed to run on a computer called an MSX2, Metal Gear was made into a stealth game because MSX2 could only support a few characters at a time without crashing.
8. MARIO
The creators of Mario did a lot of things to conserve pixels. Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Mario’s design added: a hat, so he wouldn’t have to give Mario hair on his head, a nose, and a mustache, so Mario’s face wouldn’t just be a blob of pixel.
9. ADVENTURE
The first Easter egg in a game ever was created by a disappointed employee of Atari named Warren Robinett. Warren was the programmer on ‘Adventure’ and he knew he won’t get any credit for his work. Hence, he created a secret room with his name written on the floor. By the time it was discovered, the games had hit the shelves and begun sales. Atari went on telling people that it was a hidden feature and eventually coined the term Easter egg.
10. DONKEY KONG
Donkey Kong was never made to be a villain. He was going to be a hero. If you read the game manual, it explains that Donkey Kong was Mario’s pet and he escaped because Mario didn’t treat him well.
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