A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game , sometimes called a subgame or microgame ) is a short game often contained within another video game . A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained.
20-420: Some video games consist entirely of minigames which tie into an overall theme, such as Olympic Decathlon (1980). Minigames can also be used to represent a specific experience, such as hacking , lock picking , or scanning an area, that ties into a larger game. Some games are made up of many minigames strung together into one video game, such as Nintendo 's WarioWare series (which are called microgames in
40-529: A co-founder of Lifeboat Associates financed the magazine in the early stages. The magazine grew beyond the capital required to publish it; to solve this problem, Gold sold the magazine to Ziff-Davis, moving from California to New York City . By February 1983 it was published by PC Communications Corp., a subsidiary of Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., Bunnell and his staff left to form PC World magazine. The first issue of PC carried an interview with Bill Gates , made possible by his friendship with David Bunnell, who
60-517: Is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis . A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues as of 2024 . PC Magazine provides reviews and previews of the latest hardware and software for the information technology professional. Other regular departments include columns by long-time editor-in-chief Michael J. Miller ("Forward Thinking"), Bill Machrone, and Jim Louderback , as well as: For several years in
80-524: The Internet , which made computer magazines less necessary. This is also the primary reason for the November 2008 decision to discontinue the print version. It has adapted to the new realities of the 21st century by reducing its once-standard emphasis on massive comparative reviews of computer systems, hardware peripherals, and software packages to focus more on the broader consumer-electronics market. From
100-593: The Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics , Caitlyn Jenner (then known as Bruce Jenner ), is a character. It was ported to the Apple II in 1981. The 1982 version for the IBM PC was renamed Microsoft Decathlon . The ten events in the game are the 100m run, long jump , shot put , high jump , 400m run, 100m hurdles , discus , pole vault , javelin , and 1500m run. The running events involve alternately pressing
120-533: The 1 and 2 keys. Other events have more-complex controls, with the pole vault using five different keys. Decathlon received the Creative Computing Game of the Year Award at the 1980 West Coast Computer Faire . BYTE in 1981 called Decathlon "a great party game" and "a remarkable simulation ... challenging and entertaining", praising the adherence to the real decathlon's rules and
140-530: The 1980s, PC Magazine gave significant coverage to programming for the IBM PC and compatibles in languages such as Turbo Pascal , BASIC , Assembly and C . Charles Petzold was one of the notable writers on programming topics. Editor Bill Machrone wrote in 1985, that If an article doesn't evaluate products or enhance productivity, "chances are it doesn't belong in PC Magazine ". In an early review of
160-843: The TRS-80 and Apple II versions' graphics. Computer Gaming World stated in 1982 that Decathlon "has all the characteristics that are required of a long-lasting, quality game". It described the game as having "superb graphics and sound", and concluded that "it is an important contribution to the computer gaming hobby". Former decathlete Douglas Cobb wrote in PC Magazine in 1983 that "this impressive, realistic game brings back vivid memories and provides exciting entertainment through all ten events. The jumping and throwing events are particularly authentic, applying theories used in actual competition. Strategies combining speed, timing, and direction are authentic enough to help an Olympic hopeful train on
180-512: The basic principles behind the individual events". In 1984 InfoWorld wrote that "no one's topped it yet. If I were Microsoft, I'd market the heck out of [ Decathlon ] this summer ". Olympic Decathlon was one of first sports-related programs to mix game and simulation elements, with its Olympic track-and-field gameplay preceding Konami 's Track & Field (1983) by several years, as well as The Activision Decathlon (1983). PC Magazine PC Magazine (shortened as PCMag )
200-416: The first Final Fantasy (1987), in which a 15 puzzle in the form of an Easter egg can be uncovered by entering a specific sequence of inputs while piloting a ship. It was added into the game by programmer Nasir Gebelli despite it not being part of Squaresoft 's original game design. The PocketStation for PlayStation and VMU for Dreamcast accessories allowed the user to download minigames from
220-457: The late 1990s, the magazine more frequently reviewed Macintosh software and hardware. PC Magazine was one of the first publications to have a formal test facility, which they called PC Labs. The name was used early in the magazine, and a physical PC Labs was built at the magazine's 1 Park Avenue, New York facility in 1986. William Wong was the first PC Labs Director. PC Labs created a series of benchmarks, of which older versions can be found on
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#1732772106205240-467: The magazine replied to the reader's proposal with "Please say you're kidding about the bi-weekly schedule. Please?", after the December 1983 issue reached 800 pages in size, in 1984 PC began publishing new issues every two weeks, with each about 400 pages in size. In January 2008 the magazine dropped back to monthly issues. Print circulation peaked at 1.2 million in the late 1990s. In November 2008 it
260-576: The main console onto the pocket device, and often then sync progress in the minigame back on to the console. Two examples of this include the Chocobo World minigame inside Final Fantasy VIII . Olympic Decathlon Olympic Decathlon is a sports video game written by Timothy W. Smith for the TRS-80 and published in 1980 by Microsoft . In the game, the player competes in ten track and field events. The gold medalist for decathlon in
280-585: The new IBM PC , Byte reported that PC: The Independent Guide to the IBM Personal Computer "should be of great interest to owners". The first issue of PC , dated February–March 1982, appeared early that year. (The word Magazine was added to the name with the third issue in June 1982, but not added to the logo until January 1986.) PC Magazine was created by David Bunnell , Jim Edlin, and Cheryl Woodard (who also helped Bunnell found
300-405: The position of editor-in-chief from July 2007 to July 2011. Jim Louderback was editor-in-chief before Ulanoff, from 2005, and left to become chief executive officer of online media company Revision3 . The magazine evolved significantly over the years. The most drastic change was the shrinkage of the publication due to contractions in the computer-industry ad market and the easy availability of
320-601: The series), Universal 's Video Action , David Whittaker's Lazy Jones and the mobile game Phone Story . Some similar games specifically developed for multiplayer are considered party games , such as the Itadaki Street series by Square Enix and Nintendo's Mario Party series. In party games, minigames usually involve performing an activity faster or collecting more of a specified item than other players to win; some may be entirely luck. The Final Fantasy series includes minigames in every entry, since
340-457: The subsequent PC World and Macworld magazines). David Bunnell, Edward Currie and Tony Gold were the magazines co-founders. Bunnell and Currie created the magazine's business plan at Lifeboat Associates in New York which included, in addition to PC Magazine, explicit plans for publication of PC Tech, PC Week and PC Expositions (PC Expo) all of which were subsequently realized. Tony Gold,
360-476: Was among the first journalists and writers to take an interest in personal computing. By its third issue PC was square-bound because it was too thick for saddle-stitch . At first the magazine published new issues every two months, but became monthly as of the August 1982 issue, its fourth. In March 1983 a reader urged the magazine to consider switching to a biweekly schedule because of its thickness. Although
380-462: Was announced that the print edition would be discontinued as of the January 2009 issue, but the online version at pcmag.com would continue. By this time print circulation had declined to about 600,000. In the December 2022 issue, it was announced that the issue was the last one following the magazine format, and focus was shifted to the pcmag.com website. The magazine had no ISSN until 1983, when it
400-442: Was assigned ISSN 0745-2500 , which was later changed to ISSN 0888-8507 . PC Magazine uses Google Books as the official archive of its 27 years as a print publication. Wendy Sheehan Donnell was appointed editor-in-chief of PCMag.com in January 2022. Donnell had been deputy editor under the previous editor-in-chief, Dan Costa . Costa was editor-in-chief from August 2011 to December 2021. Lance Ulanoff held
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