Origins

Where game mechanics come from: the earliest documented examples, with sources and open disputes.

A diver's lamp sweeps across a huge circular stone board carved into the sea floor of a drowned temple, with giant blue and red playing pieces still standing on it. — The Drowned Gameboard, an invented underwater archaeology adventure · invented game, AI image

Which idea are you curious about?

Which Game Had the First Battle Pass?

Dota 2's 2013 Compendium is the earliest widely credited example. The name Battle Pass came in 2016, and Fortnite spread the model from December 2017.

Which Game Had the First Day-Night Cycle?

No source settles it. The Count (1979) had story days and nights, Enduro (1983) showed them on screen, and later games tied them to play.

Which Game Had the First Double Jump?

Guinness credits Namco's Dragon Buster, dated December 1984. Other sources date it to early 1985, and we found no earlier game with a comparable claim.

Which Game Had the First New Game Plus?

Chrono Trigger (1995) is credited with the name New Game+. Replaying after the ending is older, and no source we found settles the earliest game.

Which Game Had the First Ragdoll Physics?

Guinness and APS News credit Jurassic Park: Trespasser (1998). Hitman: Codename 47 (2000) has the best documented early technique and a claim of its own.