A fun video by Power Pak about the “attract mode” in a vintage videogame Dig Dug:

The attract mode played on a loop when the game was left alone in the arcade, waiting for a customer. From the name, you might assume it was just there to lure a passerby – show a fun logo, a few snippets of the game, some signature special effects and occasionally even sounds.

The video argues that for Dig Dug any many other games it was a lot more than that, with its recorded sample gameplay chosen very intentionally to achieve a few goals:

• Reaching you how to play
• Showing you advanced tactics
• Taunting you to do better

The video then compares it to a few games that didn’t do such a great job, and even some modern games.