Gobman

When you look at Gobman's first screen, you think it's some arcade clone from 1992 that could just as easily be called something else. It's a fast, simple, somewhat tedious game in its own way — run around the boards, collect bricks and avoid enemies. A Pac-Man in disguise, except without the face.

You play as a character named Gobman in a maze full of enemies and obstacles. Your goal is clear: collect all the bricks on the map and reach the exit. Enemies chase you, new ones appear from time to time. Maps shrink, the pace picks up, the logic is primitive yet functional. Simply arcade without flavor, without a finale.

The controls work without frills — you move with the cursor or ASDFG keys, which comes from a time when PC standards were still missing elements we take for granted today. The game plays without problems, but it plays without interest. There's nothing here that would make you stick around. It's not about design, it's not even about difficulty. It's simply missing something — atmosphere, personality, a reason to care about it.

Gobman is the kind of game that was made because it was technically easy. It appeared in a magazine, maybe someone tried it, we all agreed it existed, and then it disappeared into a sea of hundreds of similar titles. It's not a bad game, not at all. It's just an unnecessary game.

Today you'll play it for five minutes at most, out of curiosity. There's nothing here that would surprise or entertain you now. But if you're interested in what it was like when a computer could do pretty much anything without any quality control, Gobman is a perfect example for you. An archival piece that in 16 colors demonstrates what it thought was a game.