Puzzle Games Have Always Had Personality… Featuring Threes, Dr. Mario, Peggle, Tetris, and a Lot More

Wordle jumpstarted a new wave of addictive puzzle games after it was released to almost universal praise in 2020. Players found competition and comradery in those green and yellow squares during the COVID pandemic, and this little bit of personality continues to fuel the game’s popularity today.

But puzzle games have always had personality, and on the second anniversary of Wordle‘s acquisition by The New York Times, I decided to look back on an article I wrote for Warp Zoned in 2014 that argued exactly that. A lightly edited and updated version of that article has been reprinted here.

As video games begin to resemble film and television productions more and more with each passing generation, it’s interesting to observe that puzzle games continue to remain a vibrant genre.

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Bite-Sized Game History: Adventure’s Easter Egg, Dr. Mario’s Original Cover Art, and Smash TV’s Mutoid Man

More often than not, games will go through drastic revisions before they’re made available to consumers. Adventure, Dr. Mario, and Smash TV were three such games. See how they changed before (and after) release in a new edition of Bite-Sized Game History.

The development process to create a video game can vary wildly from game to game. Sometimes, a character that’s first envisioned on paper can make their way into a game virtually unchanged. But more often than not, games will go through drastic revisions before they’re made available to consumers.

Adventure, Dr. Mario, and Smash TV were three such games. See how they changed before (and after) release in a new edition of Bite-Sized Game History.

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