November 10, 1981: Twin Galaxies opens
Thirty-two years ago today one of the nation’s most recognized arcades opened in Ottumwa, Iowa. The Twin Galaxies arcade was the brainchild of Iowa oil industry employee Walter Day. His love of video games began with Space Invaders and took off from there. While in between jobs, he decided to pursue his new passion, and he opened up an arcade in Ottumwa, hoping it would help him pay the bills while he attended school.
October 1981: Tempest released
Few games bring to mind the true setting of the old-school arcade like Tempest. This well-known, vector graphics shooter was brought to the market 32 years ago this month, and it’s still cited as a very influential game. Tempest was the first game with difficulty selections (novice to expert), the first game to introduce continues, and an early adopter of progressive level design. (The game’s design changed from level to level.)
