Double Dragon
I 1987 blev Double Dragon udgivet af den japanske videospilsudvikler Technōs. Spillet var en opfølgning på den næsten glemte “Beat ‘em up” arkadespil Renegade fra 1986. Yoshihisa Kishimoto, hoveddesigneren bag begge spil, opfandt flere af de centrale funktioner i genren.
Som et eksempel introducerede Double Dragon evnen til at styre spillets kamera fra side til side, hvilket gav spillere en mere indlevende oplevelse. Spillet benyttede sig også af teknikker kendt fra filmverdenen til at fremhæve spillets historie. De animerede scener mellem de interaktive kampsekvenser gav mulighed for et mere detaljeret plot.
Desuden var Double Dragon en af de første spil der tillod spilleren at udstyre sin karakter med de besejrede fjenders våben. De spilfunktioner bliver fortsat brugt i videospil i dag.
Double Dragon var det mest populære arkadespil i Europa og Amerika mellem 1988 og 1990. Da spillet blev udviklet til Nintendo Entertainment systemet i 1988, endte det som et af de mest efterspurgte julegaver det år.
In 1987, the Japanese game developer Technōs released Double Dragon. It was a follow-up to the largely forgotten “beat ‘em up” arcade game Renegade from 1986. The lead designer behind both of these videogames was Yoshihisa Kishimoto, who pioneered many of the genre’s key features.
For example, Double Dragon introduced continuous side-scrolling gameplay, which created a more immersive experience forplayers. The game also utilized film techniques to enhance the storyline. Cutscenes between the interactive fight sequences provided opportunities for a more detailed narrative to unfold.
In addition, Double Dragon was one of the first games to allow players to equip their characters with the disarmed weapons of defeated enemies. All of these in-game features continue to be utilized in videogames today.
Double Dragon was the most popular arcade game in European and American arcades between 1988 and 1990. When it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment system in 1988, it became one of the most in-demand Christmas gifts of the holiday season. In its first month alone, over a hundred thousand copies were sold in the USA.