2022 Video Game Hall of Fame Inductees Include Ocarina of Time and Ms. Pac-Man

The hall of fame refers to its four most recent inductees as legendary.

On Thursday, the World Video Game Hall of Fame revealed its newest group of inductees: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Ms. Pac-Man, Dance Dance Revolution, and Sid Meier’s Civilization.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which won numerous gaming year accolades in 1998, was recognized for its narrative, huge 3D world, and sophisticated puzzles. Andrew Borman, Rochester’s Strong National Museum of Play’s digital games curator, called Ocarina an influence on today’s video game designers.

According to the hall of fame, Ms. Pac-Man’s sequel, Ms. Pac-Man, expanded players’ mazes, smarter opponents, new challenges, and was the first widely recognized female video game character. “Ms. Pac-Man promoted and signaled the widening of gaming experience across genders,” Julia Novakovic, a senior archivist at Atariarchives said. The game marked a watershed in the “cultural conversation about women’s place in arcades as well as society at large,” she added.

According to the hall of fame, Dance Dance Revolution was one of the first music games, paving the road for subsequent games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. “It really revolutionized the music game industry,” video game curator Lindsey Kurano stated. “Music has been a vital part of human life since prehistoric times, therefore it’s no surprise that DDR had such a widespread appeal that spanned ages, genders, and countries.”

Sid Meier’s Civilization has been dubbed “one of the most influential simulation and strategy games of all time” by the hall of fame. It was also named Computer Gaming World’s best video game ever in 1996. The game provided players with an almost limitless number of options, ensuring that each play-through was unique and distinctive.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame was founded in 2015 to honor “individual electronic games of all kinds — arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile — that have achieved popularity over a long period and had an impact on the video game industry or popular culture and society in general,” according to its website.

The first games inducted into the Hall of Fame were Doom, Pac-Man, Pong, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and World of Warcraft.