Golden Axe Coin Op Arcade methodology

[Matty]

Morning folks.

I'm putting this idea out there after playing the game many times in my youth and as an adult:

You place 1 dollar in the machine.
The damage you inflict on enemies is dependent on how you play the game.
The damage you receive is time based though this is somewhat hidden from the user.

So..a good player can kill more enemies and advance further in screen distance than a poor player for the same dollar cost.

But both players are limited to approximately the same play time in minutes per dollar spent.

Such a design allows the arcade to extract coins from the players at a easily measureable constant rate giving the arcade an income independent of the player quality.

It is a similar design trick as the rubber band effect in racing games that mean a player behind the leader may display a slower kmh speed on their speedometer and yet  catch up to the leading racer.

There are possibly a number of tricks more than these two I have still not noticed.

But yeah in arcade games there are many hidden features designed to extract coins or keep competitive games close that are obscured from the user by the.flashing lights and buzzing sounds which distract from the purpose of providing a regular uninterrupted stream of income to the arcade and producer.

[LineOf7s]

But both players are limited to approximately the same play time in minutes per dollar spent.

This seems a flawed and unjustified central point of your argument.

[Derron]

You either had "lives", "time to reach a certain stage to get bonus time", "bonus time items" or "fixed time and insert a new coin to extend".


bye
Ron

[Matty]

I dont think youve observed correctly when you play.

There is no block ordefensive move in combat.  The enemies launch attacks that on average can't be dodged or blocked at a rate of x per second causing y points of damage per second regardless of your skill meaning your hp decreases linearly over time no matter your skill.

The damage output by you does vary per player meaning your final score and spatial distance covered varies player to player.

Try it.  Play it and time it and you will see.

[LineOf7s]

You can move.  With that, you can dodge.  You can run.  You can use magic from afar.

You have limited health per limited lives.  Your game ends when those are both depleted.  Avoid getting hit and you avoid having those depleted.  The longer it takes for those to be depleted, the longer your game will go.  Believe it or not, some people are better than others at avoiding having their health and lives depleted.  These people are often regarded as being "good at the game".  It's a thing.

If you're attempting to play Golden Axe (or most other things) without using the joystick at all, perhaps you'd have a case, but as it stands your claim that "both players are limited to approximately the same play time in minutes per dollar spent" is demonstrably untrue.

Here's a video of somebody completing the game on one credit:

So if your "same play time in minutes per dollar spent" refers to the time it takes to complete the game, start to finish, then sure.  Somehow I don't think that's what you meant.

[Matty]

Thanks.  Good video.

[iWasAdam]

Matty, in regard to this and your recent games. Take a look at the main sprite sheet:


If you notice the top two rows show the main walk cycle (flip for left/right versions). You could use this sheet as a general guide for your own graphics - it shows general body make up and proportions, but more importantly shows the animation frames.

A great way to begin is to see how it was done