Top Video Games of the 1970s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pong

"Pong", originally made by Atari, was a massively successful game, released in 1972. Although the premise of the game was to simply hit a digital ball back and forth, the general public accepted the game. Very few original reviews of the game exist today, but without question, the inventive programming of Nolan Bushnell led the way into the future of gaming.

Answer: Asteroids

Once again, Atari had hit the mark with "Asteroids", released in 1979. It was another simple game, especially by today's standards. It ran a basic vector graphics system, which made the objects, such as the ships and asteroids, appear as lines. It did however, include multiplayer, and a free-space to fly around in. Definitely one of the top 10 games of the 1970s.

Answer: Breakout

"Breakout" was another one of the hugely successful games, released by Atari in the 1970s. Its premise was to clear colored blocks off of a set grid. Once that was accomplished, the map would clear, and the player progressed to the next level, where the ball became quicker. The game included multiplayer and a fun, although simple, single player mode.

Answer: Lunar Lander

The player of "Lunar Lander", must press a button to control the burners of a spacecraft while, trying to locate a flat surface to land on. The size and depth of the surface contributed to a final score, given after landing on each spot, on the map. While doing that, the player also had to watch out for the fuel meter, which could run out if the burners were on for too long.

Answer: Space Invaders

The purpose of the game, was to be like a shooting gallery game, similar to those at carnivals. To twist up the style, however, the developers, at Taito, decided to make the player play as a moveable gun turret that shoots at the invaders, coming from another world. To add to the excitement, the aliens occasionally shot back at the player.

Answer: Pac-Man

The original "Pac-Man" was first called "Puck-Man". The developers had to change it since teens at the local arcades would change the title to something profane. The character of "Pac-Man" was designed after a pizza, with a slice missing. Although a disaster, in terms of its playability on the Atari 2600, it still had solid sales and helped the 8-bit era revolutionize the game.

Answer: Adventure

The design of the caves in "Adventure" were modelled after the Mammoth Cave System in Kentucky. Using the technical knowledge of programming available, at the time, the developers at Atari faithfully created a large map to traverse. Although the original version of the game was a text-adventure, an incarnation by the same company was later released as the first true adventure game.

Answer: Dungeons and Dragons

"Dungeons and Dragons" was not only a single player campaign, it had a networked system of players who could help the player on their quest. Although the original "Dungeons and Dragons" is rather archaic to today's standards, it still remains of the most well known RPG's ever.

It's references in popculture are far too numerous to list and it's fan-base is almost as large as a small country.

Answer: Galaxian

"Galaxian" is one of the few clone games released in the 1970s, that happened to be a very hot seller. All the player had to do was shoot at aliens, but its quality, and unpredictable enemies shot the game to the top. The graphics were also pretty well made, especially for its time.

It is one of the top collected video games, as well as one of the top 100 games, according to the "Killer List of Videogames".

Answer: Space Race

The game included multiplayer action that forced the player unto a time limit. The player's goal was to reach the top of the vertical track, while avoiding asteroids. If the player happened to be hit, they'd be beamed back to the bottom of the map. Although this game, was overlooked next to other hits of the 1970s, its clever style, and determination more than gave it reason to make it onto my list.

Happy playing!