Every two weeks, we will present a game that has influenced us as designers. This installment: Lazy Jones.

What could be a better premise for a video game than slacking off? Lazy Jones, published by Terminal Software for the Commodore 64 in 1984, casts the player as a work-hating janitor in a hotel that for some reason is packed full of video games. Each of the 16 rooms has its own unique game for Jones to play, and the object of the game is to simply rack up as many points as possible without being interrupted by the hotel's manager or other hazards (including the ghost of the hotel's previous manager). The goals of Lazy Jones' games are surreal to say the least - stab turkeys! Get drinks! Scoot a hovercraft around! Jaywalk! But they're all extremely playable, especially considering the C64's technical limitations.

Lazy Jones is one of the fondest-remembered titles of the 8-bit era, when a single programmer was often responsible for every aspect of a game, from design to graphics to audio. Perhaps the most lasting contribution of Lazy Jones has been game creator David Whittaker's music, which takes inspiration from New Wave hits of the day like Duran Duran's "The Reflex" as filtered through the Commodore 64's legendary SID sound chip. Each room has its own theme, and all of them are memorable - in fact, the techno group Zombie Nation sampled the game for their sports anthem "Kernkraft 400," and Whittaker eventually received a sizable settlement from the band.

Both of Gamelab's 2007 releases with VH1 Games have things in common with Lazy Jones - Arcadia Remix puts the player once again in the role of another obsessive gamer determined to score big on as many games as possible, although it gives it a modern twist by requiring them to play multiple games at the same time. And Downbeat features ten of its own electronic reinterpretations of New Wave tunes, including hits by Devo and Rick James. It just goes to show you that classics never go out of style.

By K. Thor Jensen, Project Manager.