Amazing!!! I don't usually register on gaming sites but I just had to sign up and let you know your work is absolutely incredible. I've been waiting years for something like this. Keep up the great work!
Yeah, it can be. Maybe try using the quick start option to get a game going quickly. Tap on the play icon in the toolbar and select 3 digit game. Then enter your 3 digit guess and press [ENTER]. The HITS tell you how many numbers are correct but not in the right place. The SINKS are how numbers are correct and in the right place. Keep entering numbers till you get 3 SINKS. It helps if you switch to the "collector" background through the options menu [F4]. It will show you each guess you made and the number of hits and sinks. Hope that helps.
Hi Itizso. I don't know if you've already seen these but the games on RetroFab was recently reviewed at IndieGamerChick.com in LCDs of the 1980s: RetroFab-ulous and Game & Watch: The Definitive Review. I'm so excited more people are getting to know about your amazing work!
I see Spitball Sparky ranked as the best Game & Watch based on gameplay. I definitely think it's one of the most underrated of all the Game & Watch releases, even by Nintendo themselves it seems, since they never brought it back in any of their Game & Watch collections!
Comparing your current list of G&W Simulations to the Wikipedia page, it looks like all that's missing is:
Wide Screen:
Chef
Vertical Multiscreen:
Pinball
Black Jack
Squish
Bomb Sweeper
Gold Cliff
Zelda
New Widescreen:
Mario the Juggler
Color Screen: Super Mario Bros 35th
Legend of Zelda 35th
Untitled Special Models:
Ball (reissue)
What info is needed for you to finish these particular ones? I can post around some of the preservation/emulation/modding communities to see if someone can get you some scans or videos of play, if that helps!
Hi! Yes, of the original 60 Game & Watches I have just the 8 you listed above left to do :) I already have all the resources for these and I hope to release each one as I complete them over the coming months.
I don't have any plans to work on the 35th anniversary editions since these are more recent releases. As for the Ball re-issue, I have scans of the packaging but I do need help finding scans of the instruction guide.
I've also listed on RetroLab other vintage electronic games that I need help finding resources for.
And, in general, if anyone owns a game and would like to help in the effort to preserve them as digital simulations they can always post whatever resources they have (photos, package and instruction scans, gameplay videos) in the community forum. Even if they don't have all the materials for a game, maybe others in the community would be able to contribute.
Oh, wow! That means we really are nearing on a complete set then. That's amazing!
Can I ask your reasoning for not wanting to work on the 35th editions? Is it a potential Nintendo litigation thing? Or is it more than they are in lesser need of being preserved?
I'll see if I can find anyone who has scans of the Ball v2 instructions.
I've now played every one of the simulations in this collection and I can say with confidence its the best ever re-creation of electronic games I've ever seen . Period. And that's even after having played emulated versions of the same games for a few years now. Your presentation is the best possible way to experience these games short of actually owning them!
Totally agree! In fact, even though I own a number of these games I still enjoy playing them on RetroFab... and not just cause I get to save on the batteries ;-)
Great and super great multi release, hope you can add others like Tomy Scramble and Turbo Police lcd a great first game with police chase... Super Thank you!
Thanks! The game designers had to really get creative with this one. The chipset at the time was only able to support a limited number of on-screen segments, far too few to replicate traditional Tetris, so they made the playing field smaller and had it slide instead of trying to move the falling blocks. I think it adds an interesting dynamic to the traditional game.
I don't know if someone has given you these data without you knowing where it came from, or if you copied it yourself.
Only thing I want to ask you is that you could be so kindly to add me to your source reference on itch.io as "Digital Artwork by Wouter Alleene (Red2048)".
I hope with this humble request that this matter can be solved with ease.
Looking forward for a positive response.
PS: The G&W Tetris Jr. uses a Sharp SM512 chip, the SM510 does not support this quantity of display segments, so you might want to update that to.
Hi. Yes, as I indicated in the previous post the graphics were not created by me and were taken from videos on YouTube. I'd be more than happy to credit you for their use. I've updated the game page accordingly and linked to your video.
The link to the preview images you provided are amazing, btw. I did not make use of those.
And thanks for the correction on the chipset info.
I have 2 questions. 1. Will this collection be available for download. Its amazing. 2. Will there be a software (game engine) where people.could create new games
Yes, there will be a downloadable desktop version once I've implemented all the key features on the RetroFab core. No plans at the moment to create tools for others to use though. Perhaps in the future.
Easiest way to play is to use the quick start option by clicking on the play icon in the toolbar. Then from the popup menu select Game 1 to start a game.
Amazed by all the games on this page. I share most of them on my own G&W page, hope you don't mind. Made some non existing G&W games myself as a tribute to Nintendo, any chance you might create a 3D version of any of them for this page?
Thanks for playing! I'd be happy to take a look at the games you've made. I've created a topic in the community forum for fan and tribute games, so post a link to your site there and I'll be sure to check them out :)
the retrofab GBC simulation of game and watch gallery 3 is my fave! And I love the fact that u added controller support for all ur RetroFab simulations keep up the great work buddy😊
Thanks for playing! I'm still trying to find scans of the instruction guide before I can start working on the Sonic 1 handhelds. See the discussion thread about it in the community forum.
Ok, after that's done, do you also plan to release all the other sonic games by tiger? Tomy also made 2 sonic licensed games: amazing sonic (a maze type game) and sonic blast (a space like game not to be confused with the master system/game gear game), so do you also plan to do those tomy ones?
Thank you for all the wonderful games you have added so far. As everyone here has stated before, your take on these handheld games is truly something special! I am excited to see the remaining Game & Watch games will be released in the future.
The reason I am posting is because I read further down in the comments that you mentioned you would need to see a game in person and/or talk with someone who owned a particular game if you were to add to your already excellent (and growing!) collection. I own several old handheld games and would be happy to discuss and/or possibly help with anything if it would not only help you, but the rest of the community to perhaps enjoy some hard to find games. I do have some rare ones so if interested please let me know :)
Yes, that would be awesome! Thanks for the offer :) I would love to collaborate with you on adding more games to this collection. Just rate RetroFab and then add your email address in the rating comments and I'll contact you :)
These are just outstanding!!! I'm amazed by the quality of your work. What a wonderful way to preserve these early gaming experiences. Keep up the great work!
These are fantastic - however it looks like they demand a powerful computer. I have had this idea in mind for a while. Glad to see it coming to life! Lots of great titles to emulate.
Thanks for playing and for the feedback! It should be fine on most modern computers and smart phones. If you're experiencing performance issues maybe try enabling 'hardware acceleration' in your browser settings. Also you can try reducing the quality through the in-game options menu (keyboard shortcut F4).
I LOVE the latest addition of Sky Attack to the collection! It's still one of my favorites. I remember vividly how amazing it was as a kid to play a game in 3D for the first time. Absolutely blew my mind! And my mind was blown again today when I got to play it with the retrofab artwork pack. What a great way to recreate a classic and add something new in the mix. I'll be playing this one a lot. You, sir, are a legend!
EDIT: Ooh, I just played in on my phone too. Works perfectly, Absolutely amazing!
Thanks! That's great to hear :) I think Tomy did a great job with these handhelds, especially for the early 80s. I'm currently working on Sky Attack which is available to playtest.
Have you considered making a Discord server centered around your projects? Could post updates, have a place for bug reports, playtesters, requests, etc
Perhaps in the future, but for now you can have a look at RetroLab. In addition to early access to upcoming releases it also includes a community forum where you can get news on the latest updates, provide feedback and suggestions, and report bugs.
I just discovered this site and I'm totally blown away!! The quality of these games is so impressive, unmatched, and personally it's a nice bit of nostalgia too. Your work is absolutely amazing and hugely appreciated :)
Welcome to RetroFab! I'm glad you're enjoying these simulations and I appreciate the feedback :) Be sure to click the follow link if you'd like to be notified whenever new games are added.
Your site is incredible ! The quality and performance of the games like Oil Panic compared to the mame core in Retroarch for Android is years light ahead ! (I wonder why the mame core is SO slow for g&w games in Retroarch)
Also the incredible fact that the games can be played on any android browser at full screen like magic, is just perfect.
I know that you plan to release some application for Android, and I am wondering if until that becomes possible, is there a way to prepare like an offline downloadable version of the subpages or the full site in order to have all the games available without connection. I guess it's not possible, but I don't know the inner works of it.
Thank you and welcome! I put a lot of effort in to optimizing the performance of the RetroFab core (especially the 3D engine) so it's great to know it performs well on mobile too :) It's still very much in active development so I'll only be making downloadable versions available after I've implemented all the core features. Thanks again for playing and for the feedback.
Hello! I just found your website and absolutely love it. I do have one request that you may have not considered for a potential future windows program you've hinted to in past commends.
If you could add 'soft launchers,' or some built in way to create a shortcut to a specific title, that way people can import the games easily into their Front-End of choice, such as Launchbox. Thank you for all of the hard work!
That's great! Thanks for including RetroFab in your article :) And I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any resources that would make a simulation of Knight Rider possible.
I recently went back to my early love for the G&W series and am about to release an original homage to Yokoi's creations, based on an Area 51 scenario.
I'm also hosting an LCD-style Game Jam next month to try and inspire other devs to express their creativity within the LCD constraints, and was curious if you'd be interested in being involved-- supporting, judging, submitting, posting... anything.
This sounds pretty interesting, I was also recently thinking how cool it would be to see some uniquely new titles based around the old gameplay style and mechanic.
One thing I found about these old games is some of them had an interesting risk/reward mechanic. For instance on Octopus you could choose to stick it out for a longer time standing next to the treasure chest collecting coins, but the longer you stayed, the greater the risk of losing a life, whereas if you chose a slow and steady collection rate there is less risk but also less reward. I think that this aspect needs to be included in games to make them truly fun.
Totally agree. And Octopus is one of my top three from the series.
I think when these simple mechanics just get thrown into a game as one of a hundred others, they obviously lose their import. Minimalism as a concept attempts to bring our focus back to maybe one thing at a time... as in one note, or one shape, or taste, etc. We have forgotten what's it's like to really taste something when we are cramming many flavour into our mouth at once, and quickly swallowing.
I kind of feel that only after we appreciate each note independently can we properly begin to build up chords and melodies and so on. Going back to the basics really opens up larger possibilities that we wouldn't see or appreciate otherwise.
← Return to collection
Comments
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You Know... I Know You Like Game & Watch Gallery For The Gameboy But What If We Try Super Mario Land For The Gameboy
Thanks for the suggestion but I've limited the Game Boy collection to just the Game & Watch related releases.
Ok
Amazing!!! I don't usually register on gaming sites but I just had to sign up and let you know your work is absolutely incredible. I've been waiting years for something like this. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for playing and welcome to RetroFab :)
Great job on "Connect Four", you nailed again.
Thanks :)
dude, this is so cool!
Thanks :) Enjoy!
the mind boggler is confusing
Yeah, it can be. Maybe try using the quick start option to get a game going quickly. Tap on the play icon in the toolbar and select 3 digit game. Then enter your 3 digit guess and press [ENTER]. The HITS tell you how many numbers are correct but not in the right place. The SINKS are how numbers are correct and in the right place. Keep entering numbers till you get 3 SINKS. It helps if you switch to the "collector" background through the options menu [F4]. It will show you each guess you made and the number of hits and sinks. Hope that helps.
Hello dear friend, what an extraordinary job you have done! We are your biggest fans and would like to show you what we are about to launch.
https://backtobox.net/
https://www.youtube.com/@backtoboxofficial
Surely, we can share with you many things you may need to enhance your incredible developments. Greetings! BACK TO BOX
Hi Itizso. I don't know if you've already seen these but the games on RetroFab was recently reviewed at IndieGamerChick.com in
LCDs of the 1980s: RetroFab-ulous and Game & Watch: The Definitive Review. I'm so excited more people are getting to know about your amazing work!
These are great! Thanks for sharing :)
I see Spitball Sparky ranked as the best Game & Watch based on gameplay. I definitely think it's one of the most underrated of all the Game & Watch releases, even by Nintendo themselves it seems, since they never brought it back in any of their Game & Watch collections!
Comparing your current list of G&W Simulations to the Wikipedia page, it looks like all that's missing is:
Wide Screen:
Chef
Vertical Multiscreen:
Pinball
Black Jack
Squish
Bomb Sweeper
Gold Cliff
Zelda
New Widescreen:
Mario the Juggler
Color Screen:
Super Mario Bros 35th
Legend of Zelda 35th
Untitled Special Models:
Ball (reissue)
What info is needed for you to finish these particular ones? I can post around some of the preservation/emulation/modding communities to see if someone can get you some scans or videos of play, if that helps!Hi! Yes, of the original 60 Game & Watches I have just the 8 you listed above left to do :) I already have all the resources for these and I hope to release each one as I complete them over the coming months.
I don't have any plans to work on the 35th anniversary editions since these are more recent releases. As for the Ball re-issue, I have scans of the packaging but I do need help finding scans of the instruction guide.
I've also listed on RetroLab other vintage electronic games that I need help finding resources for.
And, in general, if anyone owns a game and would like to help in the effort to preserve them as digital simulations they can always post whatever resources they have (photos, package and instruction scans, gameplay videos) in the community forum. Even if they don't have all the materials for a game, maybe others in the community would be able to contribute.
Oh, wow! That means we really are nearing on a complete set then. That's amazing!
Can I ask your reasoning for not wanting to work on the 35th editions? Is it a potential Nintendo litigation thing? Or is it more than they are in lesser need of being preserved?
I'll see if I can find anyone who has scans of the Ball v2 instructions.
As always, thank you so much for your work!
I think recreating the 35th anniversary editions would definitely trigger a legal challenge by Nintendo.
Love the new ЭЛEKTРOНИKA G&W clones. Again, very nice work!
Thanks! Space Bridge is also available to play :)
I just need to find scans of the instructions before it can be released.
Love it already. I'll make some scans next week of the boxes, so you can use them to compleet the ones @ Retrofab.
Scans of my ЭЛEKTРOНИKA G&W clone boxes posted .
Hope they'll be of some use .
I remember playing many of these games when I was younger and playing them again in this collection brings back so many great memories.!
Thank you for preserving these games and making them available for others to experience .. even the ones that haven't aged all that well.!
PS. I was never really into VFD games but I loved playing your simulation of Caveman. It's brilliant. What a treat!
Thanks for playing. And yeah, Tomy did a great job with Caveman.
The gameplay still holds up, even after 40 years.
I've now played every one of the simulations in this collection and I can say with confidence its the best ever re-creation of electronic games I've ever seen . Period. And that's even after having played emulated versions of the same games for a few years now. Your presentation is the best possible way to experience these games short of actually owning them!
Totally agree! In fact, even though I own a number of these games I still enjoy playing them on RetroFab... and not just cause I get to save on the batteries ;-)
Just my small contribution to saving the planet ;)
Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying the simulations and I appreciate the feedback :)
Great and super great multi release, hope you can add others like Tomy Scramble and Turbo Police lcd a great first game with police chase... Super Thank you!
Thanks for playing! New games are added weekly so these might be added at some point in the future :)
who needs smash bros 5 when you have tabletop popeye🗿
Really good job on the Tetris Jr. , nice surprise, huge fan of it.
Thanks! The game designers had to really get creative with this one. The chipset at the time was only able to support a limited number of on-screen segments, far too few to replicate traditional Tetris, so they made the playing field smaller and had it slide instead of trying to move the falling blocks. I think it adds an interesting dynamic to the traditional game.
Did you make the Tetris Jr. sprites and backgrounds yourself?
Not really, more like pieced them together using screenshots from videos posted online.
Hello Itizso,
I'm the creator of the digital display graphics en sound samples for the "Nintendo Game & Watch Tetris Jr." game.
It came to my attention that you are using a raw copy of my digital artwork, including all faults and errors.
It is a 100% copy of my preview on https://imgur.com/a/lb0ZfgN and
I don't know if someone has given you these data without you knowing where it came from, or if you copied it yourself.
Only thing I want to ask you is that you could be so kindly to add me to your source reference on itch.io as "Digital Artwork by Wouter Alleene (Red2048)".
I hope with this humble request that this matter can be solved with ease.
Looking forward for a positive response.
PS: The G&W Tetris Jr. uses a Sharp SM512 chip, the SM510 does not support this quantity of display segments, so you might want to update that to.
Hi. Yes, as I indicated in the previous post the graphics were not created by me and were taken from videos on YouTube. I'd be more than happy to credit you for their use. I've updated the game page accordingly and linked to your video.
The link to the preview images you provided are amazing, btw. I did not make use of those.
And thanks for the correction on the chipset info.
I have 2 questions. 1. Will this collection be available for download. Its amazing. 2. Will there be a software (game engine) where people.could create new games
Yes, there will be a downloadable desktop version once I've implemented all the key features on the RetroFab core. No plans at the moment to create tools for others to use though. Perhaps in the future.
i do not understand the atari touch me
Easiest way to play is to use the quick start option by clicking on the play icon in the toolbar. Then from the popup menu select Game 1 to start a game.
¡thanks!
¡lot of games!
Amazed by all the games on this page. I share most of them on my own G&W page, hope you don't mind. Made some non existing G&W games myself as a tribute to Nintendo, any chance you might create a 3D version of any of them for this page?
Thanks for playing! I'd be happy to take a look at the games you've made. I've created a topic in the community forum for fan and tribute games, so post a link to your site there and I'll be sure to check them out :)
Made a post, thank you for the opportunity.
Caveman is so charming. There's an entire saga of survival playing out with those little VFD guys. Great work as always. 🥚
Oh the new Asterix game is also cool! Love those tiny little LCD form factors.
Thanks! Yeah, the gameplay for Caveman is surprisingly well thought out, and it gets quite challenging at higher levels.
you know what would be cool, the tomy tabletop pac-man game. i really wanna play it... but however this is flippin' awesome!!
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it :)
I know you cant do it but it'll be cool if you do XBOX halo Combat Evolved.
You're right, I can't do it ... but only because Microsoft would sue me ;-)
but overall you still have great projects
holy crap.. this is incredible!!!
Thanks :) Enjoy!
Played tabletop Frogger so often I have the startup music burned into my soul.
I'm not seeing a download option though, is that in the works?
Yes, I'll make a downloadable version available once I've finished adding all of the core features to the RetroFab engine.
this is the best game bundle on itch
Thanks :)
the retrofab GBC simulation of game and watch gallery 3 is my fave! And I love the fact that u added controller support for all ur RetroFab simulations keep up the great work buddy😊
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback, especially on the controller support :)
I just discovered your website and words cant discribe how amazing it is!
Keep up the great work.
Thanks and welcome to RetroFab!
this was outstanding! The games were close to their originals!
Btw do you plan to add the sonic 1 tiger electronic?
Thanks for playing! I'm still trying to find scans of the instruction guide before I can start working on the Sonic 1 handhelds. See the discussion thread about it in the community forum.
Ok, after that's done, do you also plan to release all the other sonic games by tiger? Tomy also made 2 sonic licensed games: amazing sonic (a maze type game) and sonic blast (a space like game not to be confused with the master system/game gear game), so do you also plan to do those tomy ones?
Thanks. I didn't know about the Tomy Sonic handhelds. I'll take a look :)
So glad you added those Tomytronic 3D games. Always wanted to give them a try :) Cheers!
Yeah, I think Tomy did a great job with these 3D handhelds. There are a few other titles in the series which I'll hopefully also add at some point :)
Thank you for all the wonderful games you have added so far. As everyone here has stated before, your take on these handheld games is truly something special! I am excited to see the remaining Game & Watch games will be released in the future.
The reason I am posting is because I read further down in the comments that you mentioned you would need to see a game in person and/or talk with someone who owned a particular game if you were to add to your already excellent (and growing!) collection. I own several old handheld games and would be happy to discuss and/or possibly help with anything if it would not only help you, but the rest of the community to perhaps enjoy some hard to find games. I do have some rare ones so if interested please let me know :)
Yes, that would be awesome! Thanks for the offer :) I would love to collaborate with you on adding more games to this collection. Just rate RetroFab and then add your email address in the rating comments and I'll contact you :)
It is done :)
These are just outstanding!!! I'm amazed by the quality of your work. What a wonderful way to preserve these early gaming experiences.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback :)
These are fantastic - however it looks like they demand a powerful computer.
I have had this idea in mind for a while. Glad to see it coming to life!
Lots of great titles to emulate.
Thanks for playing and for the feedback! It should be fine on most modern computers and smart phones. If you're experiencing performance issues maybe try enabling 'hardware acceleration' in your browser settings. Also you can try reducing the quality through the in-game options menu (keyboard shortcut F4).
Oh, you got it - I had disabled that setting. Will try again!
I LOVE the latest addition of Sky Attack to the collection! It's still one of my favorites. I remember vividly how amazing it was as a kid to play a game in 3D for the first time. Absolutely blew my mind! And my mind was blown again today when I got to play it with the retrofab artwork pack. What a great way to recreate a classic and add something new in the mix. I'll be playing this one a lot. You, sir, are a legend!
EDIT: Ooh, I just played in on my phone too. Works perfectly, Absolutely amazing!
Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the simulation, and the bonus artwork option :)
Hi Itizso,
You continue to amaze me with your dedication to this project. Thank you so much for this "Memory Museum". You're are a true treasure.
Thanks for adding Thundering Turbo. I still have my original game and it still works. This reproduction is flawless to me. :)
Thanks! That's great to hear :) I think Tomy did a great job with these handhelds, especially for the early 80s. I'm currently working on Sky Attack which is available to playtest.
Have you considered making a Discord server centered around your projects? Could post updates, have a place for bug reports, playtesters, requests, etc
Perhaps in the future, but for now you can have a look at RetroLab. In addition to early access to upcoming releases it also includes a community forum where you can get news on the latest updates, provide feedback and suggestions, and report bugs.
I just discovered this site and I'm totally blown away!! The quality of these games is so impressive, unmatched, and personally it's a nice bit of nostalgia too. Your work is absolutely amazing and hugely appreciated :)
Welcome to RetroFab! I'm glad you're enjoying these simulations and I appreciate the feedback :) Be sure to click the follow link if you'd like to be notified whenever new games are added.
Your site is incredible ! The quality and performance of the games like Oil Panic compared to the mame core in Retroarch for Android is years light ahead ! (I wonder why the mame core is SO slow for g&w games in Retroarch)
Also the incredible fact that the games can be played on any android browser at full screen like magic, is just perfect.
I know that you plan to release some application for Android, and I am wondering if until that becomes possible, is there a way to prepare like an offline downloadable version of the subpages or the full site in order to have all the games available without connection. I guess it's not possible, but I don't know the inner works of it.
Thanks for your incredible work !
Thank you and welcome! I put a lot of effort in to optimizing the performance of the RetroFab core (especially the 3D engine) so it's great to know it performs well on mobile too :) It's still very much in active development so I'll only be making downloadable versions available after I've implemented all the core features. Thanks again for playing and for the feedback.
Hello! I just found your website and absolutely love it. I do have one request that you may have not considered for a potential future windows program you've hinted to in past commends.
If you could add 'soft launchers,' or some built in way to create a shortcut to a specific title, that way people can import the games easily into their Front-End of choice, such as Launchbox. Thank you for all of the hard work!
Welcome! Thanks for playing and for the great suggestion. I'll keep it in mind when working on the windows version :)
I appreciate it!
Here's a little article I wrote in German about your work, Madrigal's Simulators and Sonic McOrigins:
https://www.gamersglobal.de/user-artikel/wie-fans-die-erinnerung-an-lcd-spiele-bewahren
I also have a wish and you would make me a huge pleasure: Knight Rider by Acclaim. I loved this game as a child so much!
That's great! Thanks for including RetroFab in your article :)
And I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any resources that would make a simulation of Knight Rider possible.
An initial build of Knight Rider is available here to preview :)
Great! Looking very forward to the release! :-)
These are simply gorgeous!
I recently went back to my early love for the G&W series and am about to release an original homage to Yokoi's creations, based on an Area 51 scenario.
I'm also hosting an LCD-style Game Jam next month to try and inspire other devs to express their creativity within the LCD constraints, and was curious if you'd be interested in being involved-- supporting, judging, submitting, posting... anything.
Here is the jam description: https://itch.io/jam/watch-this-game
That's sounds great! I'm happy to support your efforts and I look forward to your jam :)
Awesome! Welcome and looking forward to your presence!
This sounds pretty interesting, I was also recently thinking how cool it would be to see some uniquely new titles based around the old gameplay style and mechanic.
One thing I found about these old games is some of them had an interesting risk/reward mechanic. For instance on Octopus you could choose to stick it out for a longer time standing next to the treasure chest collecting coins, but the longer you stayed, the greater the risk of losing a life, whereas if you chose a slow and steady collection rate there is less risk but also less reward. I think that this aspect needs to be included in games to make them truly fun.
Totally agree. And Octopus is one of my top three from the series.
I think when these simple mechanics just get thrown into a game as one of a hundred others, they obviously lose their import. Minimalism as a concept attempts to bring our focus back to maybe one thing at a time... as in one note, or one shape, or taste, etc. We have forgotten what's it's like to really taste something when we are cramming many flavour into our mouth at once, and quickly swallowing.
I kind of feel that only after we appreciate each note independently can we properly begin to build up chords and melodies and so on. Going back to the basics really opens up larger possibilities that we wouldn't see or appreciate otherwise.