Arcade & Classic Games · 44

Centipede, released in 1981, used a trackball and was co-designed by Dona Bailey, one of the relatively few women designing major arcade games at the time. Meanwhile, the mechanics tell a second story: Alternating two-player modes created competition without simultaneous hardware; friends could share one cabinet and still turn every life into a public performance. A high-score table is social media for people limited to three letters and no comment section.