February's Writing Challenge asked Bitmobbers to look to gaming's past and write a comprehensive history about one aspect of the industry. The result? Three distinct takes on the challenge, each one with a creative starting point and a detailed chronology. Let's look at what you came up with.
Gamers' History: Dragon Slayer
by Elizabeth Henges
Elizabeth takes an unexpected trip into the niche with a retrospective on the Dragon Slayer series. She breaks down every single release, dating back to the obscure-to-us PC-88 titles. Better still, she untangles its convoluted family tree by detailing how each entry relates to Falcom's other series. And if you're familiar with Falcom's games, you'll be impressed and grateful as well.
Hit the jump for a look at story in fighting games and the Victorian influence on Resident Evil.
Gamers' History: Fighting Game Story Evolution
by Jonathan Oyama
I have to admit that I would never have thought of this particular angle in a million years. Jonathan Oyama takes us back through decades of fighting game stories, and if this retrospective is to be believed, then they've ranged from the humorously ridiculous to the ridiculously epic. But this piece also shows far more variety than you would initially think.
Dracula, Frankenstein, and the T-Virus: Resident Evil's Victorian Roots
by Ben Villarreal
Ben did a strange thing. He decided to look at the history of narrative in the Resident Evil series through the lens of the history of Victorian storytelling. It turned out to be a wonderful idea. Ben provides extra insight into the game's context and makes meaningful parallels to other media. Worth a read just for its unique take on the retrospective.
And with that, this challenge is history. Be sure to check out Chris' challenge for March, and I'll see you in April. Oh, and if I missed your article, please let me know in the comments.