While discussing video game history, people are quick to name games that either defined or started a genre. Take first person shooters, for instance. Id Software receives a lot of credit for popularizing that genre with Wolfenstein 3-D and rightfully so, but it wasn't the first company to design a first person video game. The same holds true with Nintendo and Super Mario Bros. Sure, that game helped the company sell millions of NES consoles and inspired hundreds of copycats, but it wasn't the originator. With that, join us as we list some of the games (well known and obscure) responsible for the big budget titles you enjoy today.

Building games: Pinball Construction Set

Lots of games let you build content using a wide array of set pieces. Our earliest memory of doing this was with Excitebike on the original NES, where we designed basic looking tracks to race on. We thought Nintendo was responsible for the genre, but credit goes to Electronic Arts' Pinball Construction Set for the PC. As the name implies, the game allows users to build their own pinball tables by conveniently laying objects in place, such as bumpers, spinners and flippers; they can even mess with the physics.

Platform games: Frogs

Up until today, we had never heard of this obscure 1978 arcade game. Little did we know that it's the forefather of the entire platform genre, as it was the first game to feature a character that can jump. Take that, Mario.

First Person Shooter: Maze War and Spasim

Sorry to break the news, but the FPS didn't begin with Wolfenstein 3-D. That honor goes to Maze War and Spasim, both released in 1974. The former tasks players with (surprise) wandering through a maze shooting eyeballs that represent other players, while the latter allows gamers to fly through space and visit up seven other players within their planetary system.

Shooter: Spacewar!

Expand the first person genre into shooters in general, and we have Spacewar!, completed in 1962. In it, two players (piloting either the Needle of the Wedge spaceship) zip through the galaxy firing missiles at each other while monitoring their fuel supply. Not exactly the ideal party game, but for the 60s, this was a huge deal.

Of course, if you want to get technical, you could argue that the first shooters were light gun shooters, which first appeared in the 1930s (Seeburg Ray-O-Lite was the first). However, they didn't have TV screens. Perhaps Spacewar! is therefore the first competitive shooter.

Racing game: Gran Trak 10

Before Need for Speed, Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport 3, there was Atari's Gran Trak 10, released in 1974. Instead of bumping players off the road, you race against the clock and score points. We'll stick with Burnout, thanks.