A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphics during the golden age of arcade games was a pivotal leap in game design, comparable to the move to

3D graphics 3D computer graphics, sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of perfor ...

during the fifth generation.IGN Presents the History of SEGA: Coming Home

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

Hardware support of smooth scrolling backgrounds is built into many

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

s, some game consoles, and home computers. Examples include

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...

systems like the

Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

and

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

, and

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

consoles, such as the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

and

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

. These 16-bit consoles added multiple layers, which can be scrolled independently for a parallax scrolling effect.

History

Side-scrolling space/vehicle games (1977–1985)

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

's ''Bomber'' was a side-scrolling shooter video game released for arcades in April 1977. Side-scrolling was later popularized by side-scrolling shoot 'em ups in the early 1980s. '' Defender'', demonstrated by Williams Electronics in late 1980 and entering production in early 1981, allowed side-scrolling in both directions with wrap-around, extending the boundaries of the game world, while also including a

mini-map A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map HUD (video games), HUD element that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to help players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and mu ...

radar. '' Scramble'', released by

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

in early 1981, had continuous scrolling in a single direction and was the first side-scroller with multiple distinct levels.Game Genres: Shmups
Jim Whitehead, January 29, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2008. The first scrolling

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

was '' Jump Bug'', a platform-shooter released in 1981. Players controlled a bouncing car and navigated it to jump on various platforms like buildings, clouds, and hills. While it primarily scrolls horizontally, one section includes coarse vertical scrolling.IGN: The Leif Ericson Awards

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

's first attempt at a side-scrolling

platformer A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

was the arcade game '' Jungle King'' (1982), later altered and renamed to ''Jungle Hunt'' due to legal controversy over similarities to

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

. The side-scrolling format was enhanced by parallax scrolling, which gives an illusion of depth. The background images are presented in multiple layers that scroll at different rates, so objects closer to the horizon scroll slower than objects closer to the viewer. Some parallax scrolling was used in ''Jump Bug''. It used a limited form of parallax scrolling with the main scene scrolling while the starry night sky is fixed and clouds move slowly, adding depth to the scenery. The following year,

Irem is a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher and manufacturer of pachinkos. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Software Enginee ...

's '' Moon Patrol'' (1982) implemented a full form of parallax scrolling, with three separate background layers scrolling at different speeds, simulating the distance between them. ''Moon Patrol'' is often credited with popularizing parallax scrolling. ''Jungle Hunt'' also had parallax scrolling and was released the same month as ''Moon Patrol'' in June 1982.

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

published two side-scrolling racing games for the Atari VCS in 1982: the biplane-based '' Barnstorming'' and the top-view '' Grand Prix''. By 1984, there were other racing games played from a side-scrolling view, including

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

's '' Excitebike'' SNK's '' Jumping Cross''. and '' Mystic Marathon'' from Williams Electronics, a footrace between fantasy creatures. In 1985, Konami's side-scrolling shooter: ''

Gradius is a series of shooter ( shoot'em up) video games, introduced in 1985, developed and published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. ...

'' gave the player greater control over the choice of weaponry, thus introducing another element of strategy. The game also introduced the need for the player to memorize levels in order to achieve any measure of success.Brian Ashcraft (2008), ''Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centers'', p. 76, Kodansha International ''Gradius'', with its iconic protagonist, defined the side-scrolling

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...

and spawned a series spanning several sequels.

Side-scrolling character action games (1984–1995)

In the mid-1980s, side-scrolling character

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

s (also called "side-scrolling action games" or side-scrolling "character-driven" games) emerged, combining elements from earlier side-view, single-screen character action games, such as single-screen platform games, with the side-scrolling of space/vehicle games, such as scrolling space shoot 'em ups. These new side-scrolling character-driven action games featured large characters sprites in colorful, side-scrolling environments, with the core gameplay consisting of fighting large groups of weaker enemies, using attacks/weapons such as punches, kicks, guns, swords,

ninjutsu , and are terms for the techniques and skills used by spies and scouts in pre-modern Japan known as ninja. Some of these techniques are recorded in ninja scrolls, some which have been published and translated. The study of these scrolls have c ...

or magic. The most notable early example was

's '' Kung-Fu Master'' (1984), the first and most influential side-scrolling

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

action game. It adapted combat mechanics similar to single-screen

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

'' Karate Champ'' (1984) for a side-scrolling format, along with adapting elements from two Hong Kong martial arts films,

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

's ''

Game of Death ''Game of Death'' () is an incomplete Hong Kong martial arts film, of which portions were filmed between September and October 1972, and was planned and scheduled to be released by 1973, directed, written, produced by and starring Bruce Lee. Th ...

'' (1973) and Jackie Chan's '' Wheels on Meals'' (1984), and had elements such as end-of-level boss battles as well as health meters for the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...

and bosses. The side-scrolling character action game format was popular from the mid-1980s to the 1990s. Popular examples included

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

action games such as

's ''

The Legend of Kage is a hack-and-slash video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. In this game, the player controls the ninja Kage, with the objective being to get through five stages in order to save the princess Kirihime. These ...

'' (1985) and Sega's '' Shinobi'' (1987),

beat 'em up A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in Side-scrolling video game, scrolling, 2D c ...

games such as Technōs Japan's '' Renegade'' (1986) and '' Double Dragon'' (1987), and run and gun video games such as

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

's '' Rolling Thunder'' (1986) and Treasure's '' Gunstar Heroes'' (1993). ''Legend of Kage'' notably had levels that extend in all directions, while maintained a side-view format. On home computers, such as the martial arts game '' Karateka'' (1984) successfully experimented with adding plot to its

action, and was also the first side-scroller to include cutscenes. Character action games also include scrolling platform games like '' Super Mario Bros.'' (1985), ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...

'' (1991) and '' Bubsy'' (1993). ''Super Mario Bros.'' in particular, released for the

(NES) console, had a significant impact on the game industry, establishing the conventions of the scrolling platform genre and helping to reinvigorate the North American home video game market (which had crashed in 1983). It combined the platform gameplay of '' Donkey Kong'' (1981) and '' Mario Bros.'' (1983) with side-scrolling elements from the racer ''Excitebike'' and the beat 'em up ''Kung-Fu Master'', and was more expansive than earlier side-scrollers, striking a balance between arcade-like action and longer play sessions suited for home systems.

Beat 'em ups

In 1984, Hong Kong cinema-inspired '' Kung-Fu Master'' laid the foundations for side-scrolling

s, by simplifying the combat of ''Karate Champ'' and introducing numerous enemies along a side-scrolling playfield.Spencer, Spanner
The Tao of Beat-'em-ups
''Eurogamer'', Feb 6, 2008, Accessed Mar 18, 2009Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce; Katz, Arnie, "The Furious Fists of Sega!", ''Computer Gaming World'', Oct 1988, pp. 48-49 In 1986, Technōs Japan's '' Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun'' introduced street brawling to the genre. The Western adaptation ''Renegade'' (released the same year) added an underworld revenge plot that proved more popular with gamers than the principled combat sport of other games.Spencer, Spanner
The Tao of Beat-'em-ups (part 2)
''EuroGamer'', Feb 12, 2008, Accessed Mar 18, 2009 ''Renegade'' set the standard for future beat 'em up games as it introduced the ability to move both horizontally and vertically. In 1987, the release of '' Double Dragon'' ushered in a "Golden Age" for the beat 'em up a genre that lasted nearly 5 years. The game was designed as Technos Japan's spiritual successor to ''Renegade'', but it took the genre to new heights with its detailed set of martial arts attacks and its outstanding two-player cooperative gameplay.Cassidy, William
Hall of Fame: Double Dragon
, ''Gamespy'', Jan 5, 2003, Accessed, March 24, 2009 ''Double Dragon''s success largely resulted in a flood of beat 'em ups that came in the late 1980s, where acclaimed titles such as '' Golden Axe'' and '' Final Fight'' (both 1989) distinguished themselves from the others. ''Final Fight'' was Capcom's intended sequel to ''

Street Fighter is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...

'' (provisionally titled ''Street Fighter '89''), but the company ultimately gave it a new title. Acclaimed as the best game in the genre,Navarro, Alex
Final Fight Review
, ''GameSpot'', May 10, 2007, Accessed Mar 21 2009 ''Final Fight'' spawned two sequels and was later ported to other systems.Kalata, Kurt

, ''Hardcore Gaming 101'', Accessed Feb 04, 2010 ''Golden Axe'' was acclaimed for its visceral hack and slash action and cooperative mode and was influential through its selection of multiple protagonists with distinct fighting styles.Kasavin, Greg
Golden Axe Review
, ''GameSpot'', Dec 1, 2006, Accessed Mar 19, 2009 It is considered one of the strongest beat 'em up titles for its fantasy elements, distinguishing it from the urban settings seen in other beat 'em ups.Cassidy, William

, ''GameSpy'', June 8, 2003. Retrieved March 24, 2009.

Scrolling platform games

In 1984, '' Pac-Land'' took the scrolling platform game a step further. It was not only a successful title, but it more closely resembled later scrolling platformers like ''

Wonder Boy The series, also known as the series, is a franchise of video games published by Sega and developed by Westone Bit Entertainment (formerly Escape). Beginning with the original ''Wonder Boy (video game), Wonder Boy'' arcade game released in April ...

'' and '' Super Mario Bros.'' It also has multi-layered parallax scrolling. The same year,

released '' Flicky'', a simple platformer with horizontally scrolling levels and first mascot character.

followed up ''Pac-Land'' with the fantasy-themed '' Dragon Buster'' the following year. Nintendo's platform game '' Super Mario Bros.'', designed by

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, video game producer, producer and Creative director#Video games, game director at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one o ...

and released for the

in 1985, became the archetype for many scrolling platformers to follow. It established many of the conventions of the side-scrolling platform genre and struck a balance between arcade-like action and longer play sessions suited for home systems, helping to reinvigorate the North American home video game market. Compared to earlier platformers, ''Super Mario Bros.'' was more expansive, with the player having to "strategize while scrolling sideways" over long distances across colorful levels aboveground as well as underground. Its side-scrolling elements were influenced by two earlier side-scrollers that Miyamoto's team worked on, the racer ''Excitebike'' and the NES port of beat 'em up ''Kung-Fu Master''. It used the same game engine as ''Excitebike'', which allowed Mario to accelerate from a walk to a run, rather than move at a constant speed like earlier platformers. ''Super Mario Bros.'' went on to sell over 40 million copies according to the 1999

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

. Its success contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the 8-bit console generation.

attempted to emulate this success with their '' Alex Kidd'' series, as well as with the ''

'' series. The later ''Wonder Boy'' games were also notable for combining

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

and

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

elements with traditional platforming.

Run and gun

In 1984, '' Hover Attack'' for the

Sharp X1 The , sometimes called the Sharp X1 or CZ-800C, is a series of home computers released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It is based on a Zilog Z80 CPU. The RGB display monitor for the X1 had a television tuner, and a computer screen ...

was an early run & gun shooter that freely scrolled in all directions and allowed the player to shoot diagonally as well as straight ahead. 1985 saw the release of '' Thexder'', a breakthrough title for platform shooters. Run and gun video games became popular during the mid-to-late 1980s, with titles such as

's '' Green Beret'' (1985) and

's '' Rolling Thunder'' (1986). 1987's '' Contra'' was acclaimed for its multi-directional aiming and two-player cooperative gameplay. However, by the early 1990s and with the popularity of 16-bit consoles, the scrolling shooter genre was overcrowded, with developers struggling to make their games stand out.

IBM PC compatibles

Side-scrolling was a well-known phenomenon in arcades, and

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

and console games of the 1980s, as they often possessed hardware optimized for the task like the

and Famicom, but IBM compatibles did not. Smooth scrolling on IBM PCs using the Color Graphics Adapter was a challenge for developers. There were a small number of IBM PC compatible ports of smooth scrolling arcade games in the early 1980s, including '' Moon Patrol'' and '' Defender''. The second version of '' Sopwith'', released in 1986, also had smooth scrolling. In 1990

John Carmack John D. Carmack II (born August 21, 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games ''Commander Keen'', ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Do ...

, then working for

Softdisk Softdisk was a computer program, software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines (which they termed "magazettes", for "magazine on diskette"). It was affiliated and partly ...

, combined horizontal smooth scrolling feature of the

Enhanced Graphics Adapter The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) is an IBM PC compatible, IBM PC Video card, graphics adapter and ''de facto'' computer display standard from 1984 that superseded the Color Graphics Adapter, CGA standard introduced with the IBM Personal Compu ...

with a software technique he called adaptive tile refresh. It was demonstrated in the

proof-of-concept A proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is an inchoate realization of a certain idea or method in order to demonstrate its feasibility or viability. A proof of concept is usually small and may or may not be complete ...

game ''Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement'', which was a clone of the first level of '' Super Mario Bros. 3'', but with Mario replaced by the character

Dangerous Dave ''Dangerous Dave'' is a 1988 platform game by John Romero. It was developed for the Apple II and MS-DOS as an example game to accompany his article about his GraBASIC, an Applesoft BASIC add-on, for the UpTime (disk magazine), ''UpTime'' disk m ...

of earlier Softdisk games. This led Carmack and others at Softdisk to resign and form their own company,

id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...

. Id Software released '' Commander Keen'' the same year, which was the first publicly available MS-DOS

with smoothly-scrolling graphics.

References

Sources

* Steven L. Kent (2001). '' The Ultimate History of Video Games''. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Side-Scrolling Video Game Video game design Video game graphics Video game genres