A strange little side quest
Even a quick game like Running Back DX sits on top of decades — and sometimes centuries — of ideas. Donkey Kong arrived in 1981 with a character called Jumpman, who would later become one of gaming's most recognizable figures: Mario. A second detail makes the picture even better: 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.
