Non-Smoker’s Revenge – The invention of senseless violence in video games
In the early ’80s, amidst the buzz of arcade games and the birth of home computing, the shoot ’em up genre was taking its first steps. Everyone knows about the simplicity and addictiveness of Pong, and the creator of Tetris is hailed as a visionary.
Yet, the genre that has arguably stood the test of time as the most popular is the “shoot ’em up.” There have been countless games where the primary goal is to outmaneuver and outgun the enemy.
But who crafted the first game in this genre that was violent and, as some would argue, potentially detrimental to society? Let’s rewind to around 1981 or 1982. Picture a restaurant scene where the pleasure of dining is diminished by the pervasive smoke from adjacent tables. At that time, smoking was a norm almost everywhere, even on flights, leaving those who disliked it without recourse. For me, this era of unregulated smoking sparked an idea that would fuse technology with a personal vendetta against the inconsiderate habit.
The release of the Atari 800 was a watershed moment for home computing. With its advanced graphics and the innovative Player Missile Graphics system, it allowed for a variety of applications. It was this system that became the canvas for a unique game concept titled “Non-Smokers Revenge.” The premise was straightforward yet provocative: a character on screen smokes a cigarette, enveloped by rotating clouds of smoke. The player’s mission was to shoot through the gaps in the smoke and “take out” the smoker.
This game was developed in a pioneering computer language, possibly known as Action!, notable for its introduction of pointers—a concept that would later become crucial with the advent of C compilers.
“Non-Smoker’s Revenge” stands as a testament to the creative and sometimes unheralded innovations that have dotted the software landscape. Its creator (me), overlooked by the annals of tech history, wonders that if I had patented the concept of violent video games, my wealth might have surpassed that of Elon Musk.