Greed: The Lost Video Game Super Power

Before video games had 3D near-realistic graphics, big budget storylines and Hollywood voice actors they needed something powerful to engage the player.

For those whose first video game system was a Nintendo 64, you may not remember blowing half your paper route money at the local arcade every weekend — but for we the 40-something generation, it was a rite of passage.

Connoisseurs of these “retrogames” will tell you the power and allure of video games back then was something we call “high score chasing”; that is, getting a score higher than anyone else that has played the game (at least for that day as many games lost their high scores when powered down for the night) and partaking in the ritual of entering your three initials into the high score table. The intent was to use the first letter of your first, middle and last name — some of us came up with three letter nicknames like XAN (I was a Xanadu movie freak — don’t judge me) or the romantics among us might use S<heart>K (some video games let you use symbols) to prove our affection to the people we loved.

Some games even let you put your WHOLE name if you got the All-Time Best Score Ever (Williams games did this).

Yes, your name on the scoreboard contributed to the addictive factor of gaming — but there was something a lot stronger. Something a bit…