A strange little side quest
There is a neat bit of history hiding behind the kind of play you find in Happy Tree Friends - Dynamit. 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. The broader history adds one more wrinkle. 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. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
