A strange little side quest
Dark Barn Escape may feel immediate, but the ideas around puzzles have been evolving for a very long time. Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in 1984 after drawing inspiration from pentomino puzzles, then simplified the idea around shapes made from four squares. The timeline takes another interesting turn: Computer Space reached arcades in 1971 and became one of the earliest commercial electronic arcade games, even though its controls proved demanding for many players. The details change, but the appeal of learning a system and trying again is remarkably persistent.