A strange little side quest
There is a neat bit of history hiding behind the kind of play you find in Gum Drop Hop. By 1987, fantasy role-playing had become a major computer-game direction, with Zelda, licensed Dungeons & Dragons games and other story-led adventures expanding the form. Another piece of context lands nicely beside it: Space Invaders, released in 1978, helped push video games into mainstream popular culture. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
