tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604980045122375946.post2240981652963889092..comments2024-03-08T17:29:26.280-08:00Comments on Retrogame Deconstruction Zone: Shooter Gallery #4: At the Electronic CarnivalRetroAnalysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10633021712932756737noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604980045122375946.post-85086332241079279942021-07-17T05:51:59.890-07:002021-07-17T05:51:59.890-07:00Perhaps "virtually extinct" was too stro...Perhaps "virtually extinct" was too strong, but the carnival style dominated shooters in the '70s and they sharply declined as a fraction of new games going into the mid-80s. I focused on the early '80s here because most of the games from that period are playable in emulators, but this is really the tail end of a trend that was already playing itself out.<br /><br />The sheer volume of games produced for home computers and consoles in the '80s means you will certainly find some exceptions, but I think the overall decline of that style can be attributed to two larger trends. First, the decreasing reliance of game designers on non-video-games for inspiration, and second, the increasing need to appeal to hardcore gamers, especially in the arcades.<br />RetroAnalysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10633021712932756737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604980045122375946.post-57969365227487647062021-07-16T22:03:12.665-07:002021-07-16T22:03:12.665-07:00I’m not entirely convinced that the carnival style...I’m not entirely convinced that the carnival style was nonexistent in the time between Carnival and Bejeweled. All of the light gun shooters would certainly count as being influenced by carnival attractions (mostly shooting galleries). Also, lots of minigames in Japanese Action-Adventures (Mystical Ninja!) would probably qualify. <br /><br />Apart from that, the “Shooting Gallery” series of games for the Odyssey should be mentioned as they are sort-of forerunners to the later light gun/on rails shooters. <br /><br />I’m pretty sure that’s not all as there were plenty casino games on home computers; most likely there were lots of easy carnival games, too (easy to program for one of the many beginners during those days). I feel like I remember some but the only one I can come up with right now is Lazy Jones which is an exception as it’s very meta about it and also includes many early arcade games apart from carnivalesque shooting galleries.Will Moczarskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07509711497671899834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604980045122375946.post-6080538166958284022021-07-02T10:33:56.940-07:002021-07-02T10:33:56.940-07:00Worth a mention, perhaps, is that Carnival had an ...Worth a mention, perhaps, is that Carnival had an unreleased sequel named Razzamataz. The ROM exists for MAME. The first stage is mechanically similar to the first game, except you're shooting cans off of a fence onto a platform above, with two new stages: a duck-hunting stage (where dozens of ducks fill the screen, and you have to shoot them all with your rapid-fire gun while avoiding shooting the stop sign), and a bear-shooting stage with a top-down POV (where you had to guide a polar bear to a fish by... shooting at it?). It used Blue Danube, Stars and Stripes Forever, and the Turkish March as music. It also had a more standard multiple-lives setup instead of limited bullets.-DS-https://www.blogger.com/profile/07748711002658533401noreply@blogger.com