Why is the number 8 such a common theme in old video games?

Asked by Smashley (12573

) January 15th, 2010

Super Mario 1+Lost Levels+3 each had 8 worlds, Felix the Cat and Master Blaster ditto. The Legend of Zelda had 8 dungeons plus a boss dungeon, each Mega Man game has 8 primary bosses, Final Fantasy had 4 fiends you had to fight twice and 8 levels of magic, I’m sure there are many other examples. Am I reading too much into this, or was there a real tradition or aesthetic to the 8 level theme?

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8 Answers

8 bits = 8 levels. They didnt have a lot of space to play with.

mowens (8403

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8 bit graphics on old games. 8 bits to the byte. Everything in computers is in eights.

Snarp (11272

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Beat you. :)

mowens (8403

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Sideways, it’s infinity. 8-bit games had infinite possibilities!

Sarcasm (16793

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Eight is a very lucky number, especially in China. It is a number that symbolizes money, fortune and fortune in business.

Putting a number “8” on your computer (if you do business) or in your wallet according to Feng Shui principles will bring you luck (on any business conducted over your computer) or money into your wallet.

Any form of eight (as part of a computer program, a game, etc) would probably be very auspicious.

DarlingRhadamanthus (11273

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I like all these answers. It seems like both a tradition and an aesthetic!

Smashley (12573

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