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Video game development is an iterative process. Ideas build upon ideas and mechanics build upon mechanics to improve the final product. Everyone takes inspiration from the titles they play, using little elements from here and there to create their own work.
But some games stand out more than others. Some are so revolutionary that they lay down blueprints for others to follow for the rest of time. They take a genre and change it so drastically that its influence is felt for years to come. Post their impact, almost every project tries to build up on their foundations. Let's take a look at some games that are legends in their own right.
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Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.
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10 iconic video games that made a lasting impact: Half Life, Street Fighter 2, and more
1) Half Life
If there was ever an example of being in the right place at the right time, it’s this video game - Half Life, released by Valve in 1998. Set in an earthly wasteland after the Black Mesa Science Corporation accidentally opened a portal to an alien world in an experiment gone wrong, the grandfather of CS:GO and Portal was revolutionary for a slew of reasons.
Chief among these was, of course, immersion.
To quote many, many reviewers at the time - the level of immersion and realism was unparalleled. Coupled with a fun and free sandbox built in the legendary GoldSource engine and a plot that left players wanting more, Valve had one of the greatest FPS games of all time, revolutionizing storytelling in FPS video games forever.
2) Halo 2
Keeping in theme with shooters, it’s no secret that console multiplayer was, for starters, almost always split screen or LAN. So when Halo 2 burst onto the scene in the days of the original chunky Xbox, history was irreversibly changed.
With the advent of online multiplayer through Xbox Live, Halo 2 redefined what it meant to be a popular multiplayer shooter - with expressive customization, a deep and open sandbox, and of course, voice chat. Birthing stories like the Noble 14, of legendary players who refused to leave the servers after the shutdown date, few games will have multiplayer more iconic and important than Halo 2.
3) Super Mario 64
From the days of the Nintendo 64, the first console generation to feature true 3D polygonal graphics, came Super Mario 64, the first truly mainstream 3D platformer.
3D platformers had been done in the past a few times already, but none of them hit the public eye quite like SM64 did.
With its vibrant and colorful graphics, and big, open stages with opportunity for movement and exploration all around, Mario 64 was (and still is to many) the best platformer of all time. Its fluid movement has led to many imitations, and many more inspirations.
4) Street Fighter 2
Fighting games didn’t really have combos until Street Fighter 2. During development, it was found that moves could be canceled and turned into long, inescapable strings. Rather than getting rid of it, it was left in as a way to reward the more skillful players. The community dubbed them "combos."
Ever since, this mechanic has become an integral part of fighting games, giving players who put in the time a reward for learning the game.
It’s impossible to truly tell the impact that Street Fighter 2 has had on the world of video games. Such titles have become a staple of not just gaming but of esports and pop culture. EVO, dedicated to fighting games, is still one of the biggest tournaments out there, and most titles on their lists wouldn’t have been there if not for Street Fighter 2’s influence.
5) Grand Theft Auto 3
Practically every triple-A video game these days is open world. Places to explore and discover, side quests to do, NPCs to meet, and just a big, wide world to play around in. And it all got really big with Rockstar Games' GTA 3.
Dropping players into Liberty City, with lots to do and even more to see, GTA 3's open world set down a template for games going forward. It was no longer enought to have a large map and free roam.
Competing titles now needed a lived-in world with an interactive sandbox that, to this day, is a formula few have been able to improve on (outside of Rockstar's own offerings like Red Dead Redemption 2).
6) Super Smash Brothers
The genre of fighting games has a long and storied past in the world of video games. A certain Masahiro Sakurai knew that, and wanted to change it up.
When Super Smash Brothers was born on the Nintendo 64, it shook up the video game world forever. Appealing to a more casual audience and touting a crossover cast, Sakurai struck gold and set off many imitators trying to find the same ore. Spawning games from even Sony, and changing what it even meant to be a "fighting game," few series are more iconic than Smash Bros.
7) Rogue
Few games have had entire genres named after them. It's not uncommon for people to wonder where the terms roguelike and roguelite came from. Defined by procedurally generated maps to crawl through, where players pick up random upgrades on a run, all such titles started from one place - the 1980 PC game, Rogue.
It's hard to overstate this game's impact. When so many critically acclaimed titles have built off of its foundation, like Hades and Risk of Rain 2, its influence on the video game world has reached further than its developers could have ever intended.
8) Sid Meier's Civilisation
Strategy games have always been a very varied and diverse set of video games. And yet, they all have a few certain things tying them together. Branching out on an empty map, managing the player organisation's resources, planning whether or not to go to war.
1991 saw the release of Sid Meier's Civilisation. An offering that revolutionized strategy games with the "4X" design philosophy, one that many video games still follow to this day. The 4X design stands for "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate" - a formula that Civilisation popularised.
Most importantly, though - it spawned the "one more turn" meme - the bane of all gamers everywhere.
9) Minecraft
There are only two games that have outsold Tetris and one has its prequel on this list (GTA 5). The best selling game of all time, Minecraft needs no introduction. With a community that is still going strong over 10 years after release, developers that are still pushing updates and mods still being made, it claimed its place as its king in the survival sandbox genre.
The simple formula of mining and crafting wasn't created by Minecraft. However, it was shown just how versatile it could be. Ever since theen, more and more games have put resource collection and crafting tables into their features, for better or for worse.
10) Clash of Clans
Mobile games have never been the same since Supercell released this breakout success. The formula is simple - players build a base and attack others' bases. So simple, in fact, that the number of mobile video games that feature base-building mechanics in line with Clash of Clans' system is always rising.
Only a few things are more recognizable than a base building screen from that diagonal angle with walls and a big central hall. Ask any person who's touched a mobile video game properly in the last 10 years and they'll point it out without fail. That's the influence of Clash of Clans.
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