Continue (video gaming)
Encyclopedia
Continue is a common term in video games for the option to continue the game after all of the player's lives
have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning.
screen, that player can insert additional coins to continue from the point where the game had ended.
The continue feature was added to arcade games in the mid-1980s due to arcade owners wanting to earn more money from players who played for longer periods of time. The first arcade game to have a continue feature was Fantasy
.
As a result of the continue feature, games started to have stories and definite endings; however, those games were designed so that it would be nearly impossible to get to the end of the game without continuing.
Salen and Zimmerman argue that the continue feature in games such as Gauntlet
was an outlet for conspicuous consumption
.
1-up
1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning.
Arcade games
In arcade games, when a player reaches a Game overGame over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
screen, that player can insert additional coins to continue from the point where the game had ended.
The continue feature was added to arcade games in the mid-1980s due to arcade owners wanting to earn more money from players who played for longer periods of time. The first arcade game to have a continue feature was Fantasy
Fantasy (video game)
Fantasy is a 1981 Action/Adventure arcade game developed by Rock-Ola which featured only a joystick and no buttons for the player to interact with .The game featured a rendition of the popular "funkytown" song....
.
As a result of the continue feature, games started to have stories and definite endings; however, those games were designed so that it would be nearly impossible to get to the end of the game without continuing.
Salen and Zimmerman argue that the continue feature in games such as Gauntlet
Gauntlet (arcade game)
Gauntlet is a fantasy-themed hack and slash 1985 arcade game by Atari Games. It is noted as the first class-based multiplayer game. Released during the emergence of popularity of other role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, the game was a sensation, being one of the first true dungeon crawl...
was an outlet for conspicuous consumption
Conspicuous consumption
Conspicuous consumption is spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. In the mind of a conspicuous consumer, such display serves as a means of attaining or maintaining social status....
.
Further reading
- Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. 2004. p. 264, found at Google Books (describing how the option to "continue" influenced the game design of GauntletGauntlet (arcade game)Gauntlet is a fantasy-themed hack and slash 1985 arcade game by Atari Games. It is noted as the first class-based multiplayer game. Released during the emergence of popularity of other role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, the game was a sensation, being one of the first true dungeon crawl...
). - Shanna Compton. Gamers: writers, artists & programmers on the pleasures of pixels p. 117-118, found at http://books.google.com/books?id=-sCO-gODwy4C&pg=RA1-PA117&dq=continue+quarter+arcade&hl=en&ei=BDP3TJivM8L38AbPzPnuBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=continue%20quarter%20arcade&f=false (describing how "continue" feature changed how arcade games were approached)