These days while riding the bus, or waiting for your friends, or (heavens forbid) sitting in class during a lecture, it’s pretty easy to fire up a game on your phone and be transported into a world of excitement, adventure and a ridiculous amount of colorful fun. With graphics comparable to some of the better consoles of yesteryear, mobile gaming has come a long way since its infancy, but we still always hold a special place in our hearts for the goodies that got us here.
Before the world of smartphones there were only marginally intelligent phones. And then there was Snake.
Existing in a number of forms since the dawn of computers in the home, Snake was more of a genre than it was an actual game. However, once the version designed by Taneli Armanto in 1997 was included on Nokia phones, Snake became a brand rather than a general thing. And once it spread into the hands of casual users everywhere, it lodged itself in the hearts and minds of people who were fascinated with this new, soon-to-be huge, pass time.
Today Snake is set to make a return to our now HD display screens as Snake Rewind, the ultimate Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday to an era that still tugs just a little at our heartstrings. Snake is the best kind of fun and indicative of the basics when it comes to gaming. These days designers get so caught up being able to do almost anything that they forget that the reason why we showed up is to experience gaming. When playing Assassin’s Creed for instance, you’d much rather spend your time patrolling whatever city you’re tasked to wander, but often you are forced to walk through hallways to find COO’s who are having phone conversations with someone not yourself while you (im)patiently wait to resume the fun parts. There’s something to be said for remembering that gaming should always be about having fun.
Games like Snake are simple,yet addictive and tap into the puzzle-loving nature of the human brain. Like Tetris, it just might be so all-consuming that it will have you postulating how to avoid fruit bombs when you’re not playing it.
What are some of your best memories about Snake? Let us know below!