My all-time favorite video game is Space Invaders, although it didn't reach most-favorite status until summer 2017. There's a long story behind it that goes back to 2015.
In 2015, slot manufacturer Scientific Games announced that they were developing a Space Invaders slot machine for casinos. It was not the first slot machine to offer a skill-based bonus round based on an arcade classic (Pong, Breakout, and Centipede slot machines had been out on casino floors previously). What was unique about this machine was that it would offer the players the option of buying their way directly into the skill-based bonus round, allowing them to ignore the base slot game altogether. A prototype was revealed at G2E (the casino industry's largest annual trade show) that year, and videos of the prototype got out on the Internet not long thereafter.
I was excited to hear about this game, so I tried to find out as many details about the slot machine as I could. Based on the information I learned about the game mechanics, I figured out that there was a high probability that I could make some good money from the Space Invaders slot once it hit casino floors. Originally the slot was set to be released in 2016, so I started playing the original arcade version of Space Invaders at home on my computer, sometimes practicing 15-20 games per day. I tried to practice based on how I thought the slot version would play out, so I concentrated on shot accuracy and efficiency -- taking out the first red mothership on each level in as few shots as possible. Just to cover all my bases, I also practiced using the strategy to score the maximum 300 points for each mothership shot. I was motivated, and I wanted to be sure that I could turn a profit on the slot machine from the first day that it showed up at a local casino.
But 2016 came and went. The Space Invaders slot machine made another appearance at G2E, but it didn't get out to any of my local casinos. I stopped practicing Space Invaders at home because I had no clue as to when the game would be released. Meanwhile, other video games like Arcade Crossy Road and Floppy Tickets took on greater importance because of how well I could do financially by playing those games at my local Dave & Buster's.
2017 rolled around, and Atlantic City got the first Space Invaders slot machines -- that sucked, as I was not in a position to travel across the country. Then news came that those machines were going to show up locally. Finally in August, I got my first shot at the new casino game. I did make a profit on day 1, but it was a small one and I was also taken by surprise. The slot's version of the game wasn't as arcade-faithful as I had hoped. The last level of the slot game turned Space Invaders from a 2D into a 3D affair, and that threw me off.
That day, I went home, practiced Space Invaders on my computer, and came up with a strategy to deal with the new twist. A few days later, I went back to the casino, found a profitable opportunity, tried my new strategy, and cashed in. Playing the Space Invaders slot machine was smooth sailing after that. Over the course of the next few months I would make thousands of dollars playing this machine at local casinos, until opportunities dried up at the end of the year as many of those casinos took those Space Invaders slots out.
I haven't come close to replicating the financial success that I had with Space Invaders with any other video game before or since. And because of that, Space Invaders is my all-time favorite video game.
My all-time favorite video game is Space Invaders, although it didn't reach most-favorite status until summer 2017. There's a long story behind it that goes back to 2015.
In 2015, slot manufacturer Scientific Games announced that they were developing a Space Invaders slot machine for casinos. It was not the first slot machine to offer a skill-based bonus round based on an arcade classic (Pong, Breakout, and Centipede slot machines had been out on casino floors previously). What was unique about this machine was that it would offer the players the option of buying their way directly into the skill-based bonus round, allowing them to ignore the base slot game altogether. A prototype was revealed at G2E (the casino industry's largest annual trade show) that year, and videos of the prototype got out on the Internet not long thereafter.
I was excited to hear about this game, so I tried to find out as many details about the slot machine as I could. Based on the information I learned about the game mechanics, I figured out that there was a high probability that I could make some good money from the Space Invaders slot once it hit casino floors. Originally the slot was set to be released in 2016, so I started playing the original arcade version of Space Invaders at home on my computer, sometimes practicing 15-20 games per day. I tried to practice based on how I thought the slot version would play out, so I concentrated on shot accuracy and efficiency -- taking out the first red mothership on each level in as few shots as possible. Just to cover all my bases, I also practiced using the strategy to score the maximum 300 points for each mothership shot. I was motivated, and I wanted to be sure that I could turn a profit on the slot machine from the first day that it showed up at a local casino.
But 2016 came and went. The Space Invaders slot machine made another appearance at G2E, but it didn't get out to any of my local casinos. I stopped practicing Space Invaders at home because I had no clue as to when the game would be released. Meanwhile, other video games like Arcade Crossy Road and Floppy Tickets took on greater importance because of how well I could do financially by playing those games at my local Dave & Buster's.
2017 rolled around, and Atlantic City got the first Space Invaders slot machines -- that sucked, as I was not in a position to travel across the country. Then news came that those machines were going to show up locally. Finally in August, I got my first shot at the new casino game. I did make a profit on day 1, but it was a small one and I was also taken by surprise. The slot's version of the game wasn't as arcade-faithful as I had hoped. The last level of the slot game turned Space Invaders from a 2D into a 3D affair, and that threw me off.
That day, I went home, practiced Space Invaders on my computer, and came up with a strategy to deal with the new twist. A few days later, I went back to the casino, found a profitable opportunity, tried my new strategy, and cashed in. Playing the Space Invaders slot machine was smooth sailing after that. Over the course of the next few months I would make thousands of dollars playing this machine at local casinos, until opportunities dried up at the end of the year as many of those casinos took those Space Invaders slots out.
I haven't come close to replicating the financial success that I had with Space Invaders with any other video game before or since. And because of that, Space Invaders is my all-time favorite video game.
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Nioh
Threw the controller countless times playing it 😾
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SILENT HILL
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