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Seven eras
The dataset is cut into seven periods. Each one added a distinct layer to the ontology, and each is a useful lens on what the medium was solving for at the time.
1958–1977
Laboratory & coin-op
Four mechanics in this window, and two of them are load-bearing for everything else. Spacewar! contributes Object Collision As Verb in 1962 — two thin…
4 mechanics · 5 games
1977–1985
The home cartridge
Twenty-six mechanics originate in these eight years, the densest concentration in the dataset relative to the number of games shipping. Space Invaders…
26 mechanics · 39 games
1985–1994
8- and 16-bit
Consoles get memory, and memory changes what a game can be about. Metroid's Password Continuation and The Legend of Zelda's Battery-Backed Save File l…
24 mechanics · 86 games
1994–2001
The 3D rupture
Forty-one mechanics originate here, more than any other period, because 3D invalidated solved problems and forced the medium to re-answer them. Quake …
41 mechanics · 99 games
2001–2008
Broadband & the console shooter
Thirty-seven mechanics, and an unusual number of them are still the default today. Halo: Combat Evolved ships Regenerating Health, Constrained Weapon …
37 mechanics · 106 games
2008–2015
Digital storefronts & indie
Distribution changes who can originate a mechanic, and the origins in this period reflect it. Minecraft accounts for four entries — Editable Voxel Ter…
22 mechanics · 139 games
2015–2027
Live service & the long tail
Fourteen mechanics originate in this window, and the newest entry in the entire dataset is from 2020, which is a claim about evidence rather than abou…
14 mechanics · 144 games