A strange little side quest
Even a quick game like Nickelodeon Lane sits on top of decades — and sometimes centuries — of ideas. 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. That is only half the story. Basketball became an Olympic medal sport in 1936, while women’s basketball joined the Olympic programme in 1976. The screen is modern; the urge to test skill, pattern and timing definitely is not.
