Old JPN Game Conventions / Traditions

[cicada88]

So, I had been reading people's opinions regarding fan service affecting a mass appeal audience in the "which SHMUP killed killed SHMUPs?" thread (http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51490), and then I came across the reddit concerning the use of the word REST in older Japanese games to signify remaining lives. (http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedesign/comm ... translate/)


I find the idea of referencing these old conventions somewhat charming, as I am sure a lot of you do. What are some other examples of these conventions, inside jokes, traditions?

These are things that I feel could become a kind of "fan service" to retro gamers if implemented in current games.

I can think of a couple

-the KONAMI code
-sound test / debug modes

[trap15]

"(No) Miss" is a favorite of mine. Miss = misu(teeku) = mistake

[null1024]

I remember seeing "NOW PRINTING" show up in some old Japanese computer games.
Was it like "now loading" or something?

Miss = misu(teeku) = mistake

Heh, when I first heard that, my mind was blown.

[BIL]

"BGM" is very near my heart - always makes me happy to pick it out amongst walls of JP text in Youtube music uploads and the like. MAGICIAN BGM / このBGMマジで好き！

[quote="reddit thread RE: "rest""]After I explained myself, everyone thought it was worse, because now they said I was being racist/not politically correct for making fun of bad Japanese translations.[/quote]

Cunt punt worthy

[GaijinPunch]

I remember seeing "NOW PRINTING" show up in some old Japanese computer games.
Was it like "now loading" or something?

Now printing showed up on webpages in the 90's. A certain retro games site I know of still employs that little nugget.

[cicada88]

These are more generic, self explanatory and widely used but still...

1P / 2P / CPU

Insert Coin(s)

and referring to having an inserted coin as a Credit —> 1CC etc

1-UP

[PC Engine Fan X!]

In the arcade industry those particular abbreviations are golden...harkens back to the late 1970s if you will when it was referred to as a player symbol (i.e. the ye olde Atari/Kee Games had a player symbol to denote player 1 and player 2 upon inserting a quarter).

I don't know if the fine art of "Jamming" was done in Japan back in the early 1980s, but it was the norm/expected/common courtesy in the American arcades of the Golden Age era indeed.

Here's how it went down:

1.) Place your quarter/token on the upper lip of said lip of upright arcade cabinet marquee to denote your place/turn. Person playing current game session will finish his or her game.

2.) The next person in line will take his or her quarter/token from said reserved spot on marquee and play their turn.

3.) Under no circumstances was a complete stranger supposed to take reserved quarter/token (unless you wanted to start a fight or be accused of theft of quarters/tokens).

In the early to late 1990s, the fine art of "jamming" was lost and some thought that it was okay to take/spend a quarter/token placed on the marquee (lest some nasty tempers fly for those waiting their turn to play said arcade game/pinball game.

The ol' arcade veterans like myself will recall jamming as a common courtesy during the heyday of the arcades...the younger generations past Generation X have forgotten what it was like back then.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[GaijinPunch]

I don't know if the fine art of "Jamming" was done in Japan back in the early 1980s, but it was the norm/expected/common courtesy in the American arcades of the Golden Age era indeed.

My guess is it was different. Cocktail cabs were the norm during the invader boom.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yeah, those cocktail table styled cabs made their way stateside with some arcade titles like Zaxxon, Galaxian, Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, LadyBug, Donkey Kong, Tron, etc. The only thing was that they took up some valuable real estate in terms of physical space if placed in a traditional arcade (usually out of the way of the upright cabs, of course). My local Chuck E. Cheese's hangout had a dedicated eating area stocked with a single cocktail table cab per booth + seating for up to four people to sit down and play some games while chowing down on some pizza and chugging down some soda (or beer by the pitcher/jug was the norm back in 1982). Eventually, those cocktail table cabs were taken out and more tables and benches were added so more folks could sit down and watch the weekly antics with CEC and Co. doing their thing in grand animatronic style. As usual, during the weekends, the local CEC was jammed packed with balls to the walls. Not to mention Jasper's General Country Store had plenty of swag to get with your CEC redemption tickets + added cash to pay for them if it needed be.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[ZacharyB]

As late as the early 2000s or late 1990s I witnessed "jamming" as high school kids hot to play the latest King of Fighters (1999 version I believe) in a local video store eagerly racked their quarters in a row across a neo geo marquee.

[SuperGrafx]

Regarding 'jamming' didn't arcade operators install these little quarter holder things (on the game's marquee) during the Steet Fighter boom?

[cave hermit]

[quote="reddit thread RE: "rest""]After I explained myself, everyone thought it was worse, because now they said I was being racist/not politically correct for making fun of bad Japanese translations.[/quote]

The SJWs. They're spreading.

I've always loved japanese arcade jargon, there's something about those words that give me a warm feeling inside. If I ever make a game it'll be packed with these phrases.

On a slightly related topic, why do so many Japanese arcade games and 8/16 bit games use English text? Nearly every one of those games use "Game over", they'll have a warning against playing the game outside of Japan in perfect english (with the exception of Donpachi's "full extent of the jam"), high score screens have you enter initials in an english alphabet, power-ups and meters will be in english, results screens will be english, etc.

[cicada88]

[quote="reddit thread RE: "rest""]After I explained myself, everyone thought it was worse, because now they said I was being racist/not politically correct for making fun of bad Japanese translations.

The SJWs. They're spreading.

I've always loved japanese arcade jargon, there's something about those words that give me a warm feeling inside. If I ever make a game it'll be packed with these phrases.

On a slightly related topic, why do so many Japanese arcade games and 8/16 bit games use English text? Nearly every one of those games use "Game over", they'll have a warning against playing the game outside of Japan in perfect english (with the exception of Donpachi's "full extent of the jam"), high score screens have you enter initials in an english alphabet, power-ups and meters will be in english, results screens will be english, etc.[/quote]

Because they are an export based economy and in modern times have adapted more to the Latin alphabet than foreigners have adapted to the Japanese language, imo

Also, the younger generation(s) feel cool when using English jargon or words, so simple things like saying "Game Over" in English serves a double purpose.