盤點那些出現得比我們預想久遠的經典遊戲(上)
It won't surprise you to learn that children have been amusing themselves with toys and games since . . . well, as long as there have been children. However, it might be a shock to learn that some of our favorite toys and games have been around for a lot longer than we might think possible. After all, consider . . .
世界上一有孩子的出現，他們就開始擺弄玩具、玩遊戲，自娛自樂，這個事實並不足爲奇。然而，讓我們大吃一驚的是，有些最受我們喜愛的玩具和遊戲出現的時間，比我們預想可能出現的年代要久遠得多。畢竟，試想一下……Yo-Yo
10.溜溜球
The yo-yo is undoubtedly one of 20th century's most iconic toys—a fact you can thank Pedro Flores for. While working as a bellhop in a Santa Barbara hotel, he was inspired to adapt the yo-yo (a traditional toy from his homeland, the Philippines) for the mass toy market. After opening the imaginatively named Yo-Yo Manufacturing company in 1928, he then went on to produce over 100,000 before selling his company to the larger toy manufacturer Donald Duncan Yo-Yo Company, which then catapulted the yo-yo into popularity.
毋庸置疑，溜溜球是20世紀最具代表性的玩具之一，這要感謝一個人——佩德羅·弗洛勒斯。他在美國聖巴巴拉市的一家酒店當服務員時，受到啓發，把溜溜球（這種來自他的家鄉菲律賓的傳統玩具）經過改良後，投放到需求量巨大的玩具市場。1928年，他成立了溜溜球製造公司。後來，在公司產量超過100000個的時候，他把公司出售給當時規模較大的玩具製造公司——唐納德·鄧肯溜溜球公司，這家公司讓溜溜球火了起來。
But if you're a lover of Ancient Greek archaeology (and who isn't?), you'll know that the yo-yo has been around for so much longer. In dig sites across the Mediterranean, archaeologists found examples of Greek yo-yos made from materials such as bronze and terracotta. Indeed, one example held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art is made from terracotta and dates to between 460 and 450 B.C.. In addition, several ancient vases—such as this example which dates to 440 B.C.—depict children and adults playing with yo-yos.
如果你對古希臘考古學感興趣的話（沒有人不感興趣吧？），就會了解到溜溜球的出現其實由來已久。考古學家在很多地中海地區的挖掘點發現了青銅和赤陶爲原料的古希臘溜溜球。事實上，美國大都市藝術博物館展出的一個赤陶溜溜球的年代，可以追溯到公元前460至450年間。另外，許多古代花瓶都描繪了大人和小孩一起玩溜溜球的情景，比如這個公元前440年的花瓶。er Skates
9.旱冰鞋
To many, roller skates are synonymous with the 1970s. After all, this was the age of roller disco, a curious sport which attempted to combine the high-stakes world of disco with the unpredictability that comes from wearing shoes attached to wheels.
對於很多人而言，旱冰鞋就是20世紀70年代的代名詞。要知道，當時可是旱冰迪斯科的時代。旱冰迪斯科是一種奇特的運動，它試圖將迪斯科舞蹈世界的 速度與穿旱冰鞋時的刺激結合起來。Actually, the first roller skates were invented in the 1770s by a Belgian named John Joseph Merlin. He was so impressed by his invention that he felt confident enough to unveil it in the most flamboyant way imaginable: at a high society ball, while simultaneously skating around the room and playing a violin. While no evidence remains as to the precise design of his skates, we do know that they were designed without brakes, since this demonstration ended with him skating (at a reportedly high speed) into a mirror.
事實上，世界上首雙旱冰鞋是比利時人約翰·喬瑟夫·馬林於18世紀70年代發明的。他對自己的發明非常滿意，信心十足地以他能想到的最引人注目的方式公佈了他的發明：在一次上流社會舞會上，他一邊滑着冰，一邊拉着小提琴。雖然沒有現存的證據表明他的旱冰鞋的精確設計，我們能夠知道的是這款旱冰鞋沒有剎車，因爲這場展示是以他在滑的過程中（據說速度很快）撞到一面鏡子結束的。-And-Paper RPGs
8.紙筆角色扮演遊戲
If we asked you to name the first role-playing game that utilized a scaled gaming board, a gamemaster, and a complex set of rules that governed how players moved and attacked foes, there's no doubt that you'd say “Dungeons & Dragons” (created in 1974 by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson).
如果有人讓你說出第一款角色扮演遊戲的名稱，要求這款遊戲應用了縮小遊戲界面，有一名遊戲管理員，有一套規定玩家如何移動和進攻敵人的複雜規則，你肯定會說《龍與地下城》（由加里·吉蓋克斯和戴夫·阿納森於1974年創造）。You'd be wrong, though: enter Kriegsspeil (or “Instructions for the Representation of Tactical Maneuvers under the Guise of a Wargame”). Invented in 1812, it was used by the Prussian Army to teach military tactics to officers-in-training. Players were pitted against each other on a D&D-esque gridded gaming board, which itself was lined with dozens of removable modular tiles that simulated landscapes such as rivers and hills in order to allow the creation of a near-unlimited number of practice battlefields. Game pieces were used that represented not individual soldiers, but entire military formations (such as companies and divisions). Meanwhile, a gamemaster oversaw the process and enforced the game's litany of rules, as well as ensuring that (since each game was based on an actual real-life battle) the player stuck to these scenarios throughout.
你可能就沒有答對，但是請記住Kriegsspeil（或《對於解讀野戰遊戲戰術動作的說明》）。這款遊戲發明於1812年，當時的普魯士軍隊用這款遊戲來給接受訓練的軍官教授軍事戰術。在2D平面網格遊戲界面上，雙方進行對抗。遊戲本身帶有幾十個可擦掉的模式方塊，這些方塊可以假定爲地理景觀，比如河流和山川，以便創造儘可能多的實際戰場情況。遊戲棋子代表的是整個軍隊隊形（比如連隊或分隊），而不是某一個士兵。與此同時，遊戲管理員不但要確保（由於這種遊戲是基於真實戰場）在整個遊戲過程中，玩家都在這個遊戲界面內，而且還要監督遊戲過程並確保解釋遊戲規則。te-Control Toys
7.遙控玩具
It's generally assumed the first remote-control toys were produced in the 1960s, after the Italian toy company Elettronica Giocattoli produced the first remote-control car (a 1:12 scale model of a Ferrari 250LM) in 1966.
人們普遍認爲，首批遙控玩具出現於20世紀60年代，也就是在1966年意大利玩具公司Elettronica Giocattoli製造出首款遙控車（一款法拉利250LM的1:12比例縮小的模型）後。However, the first remote-control toy was actually invented in the late 1890s by—and this might not come as a huge shock to some people—famed inventor and Edison punchbag Nikola Tesla. At the 1898 Electrical Exhibition in Madison Square Garden, Tesla unveiled a remote-control boat outfitted with functioning lights, rudders, and a propeller.
但實際上，首個遙控玩具在19世紀90年代末就出現了，由著名發明家兼愛迪生的受氣包——尼古拉·特斯拉發明的，這對於有些人來說其實是意料之中的事。1898年在麥德遜廣場花園舉辦的電動設備展覽上，特拉斯公佈了一艘遙控小船，這艘船配備有可以正常使用的電燈、船舵和一個螺旋槳。Sims
6.模擬人生
The Sims (2000) is the classic video game where your only task is guiding your personalized character through a life fraught with love, career changes, infinite amounts of decorating, inexplicable house fires, and mysteriously disappearing pool ladders.
《模擬人生》（2000）是一款經典的電子遊戲，遊戲中唯一的任務就是操作擬人化的角色處理遊戲中的各種問題：感情問題、職業轉變問題、沒完沒了的裝飾需要、無故房屋起火事件、神祕消失的泳池梯子。With the exception of the latter two, those were also the objectives of the 1985 video game Little Computer People. Like The Sims, players had the ability to customize their houses and command their characters to perform actions (like watching TV, reading, playing poker, etc). You also had the ability to communicate with your character directly; for instance, you could order them to play a specific song on the piano, play a board game with you (because they heard you like games), or send you messages.
除了房屋起火和泳池梯子消失事件外，1985年的電子遊戲《小小電腦人》的目標和《模擬人生》基本一致。玩家可以自己定製房子，命令遊戲角色進行各種活動（如看電視、看書、玩牌等），還可以直接同自己的遊戲角色進行互動；比如，可以讓它用鋼琴演奏某首曲子，和你玩棋牌遊戲（因爲它們知道你喜歡遊戲），或者給你留言。翻譯:夢娜 來源：前十網
