There was a huge jump between the 8-bit and 16-bit hardware in particular - more memory to play with, faster CPU, and better graphics hardware all at once. (Of course, not all the platforms were equal, but the general trend was evident)
So while the 8-bit games generally needed micro-optimizations and completely unportable techniques just to do basic 2d rendering in real-time, the 16-bit generation and on often had some "room to waste" for those kinds of games.
When looking at the level of optimization needed, it's not really what the platform can do so much as combination of the platform + the desired kinds of processing. So Infocom was able to do a VM right from the start because their games were text-only(and later a few static pictures) while today's AAA games still have to do near-metal optimization because they set the explicit goal of pushing the hardware near to its limits, and even so they still manage to waste a lot since the overall project scope is larger.
Working in Flash in 2011, I am able to support a complete in-game editing toolset, via a popup console that contains a Lisp-like repl. The resources are there to do such things, and the amount of code needed to implement them is small, while the benefits are massive. It's a very different ball game.
So while the 8-bit games generally needed micro-optimizations and completely unportable techniques just to do basic 2d rendering in real-time, the 16-bit generation and on often had some "room to waste" for those kinds of games.
When looking at the level of optimization needed, it's not really what the platform can do so much as combination of the platform + the desired kinds of processing. So Infocom was able to do a VM right from the start because their games were text-only(and later a few static pictures) while today's AAA games still have to do near-metal optimization because they set the explicit goal of pushing the hardware near to its limits, and even so they still manage to waste a lot since the overall project scope is larger.
Working in Flash in 2011, I am able to support a complete in-game editing toolset, via a popup console that contains a Lisp-like repl. The resources are there to do such things, and the amount of code needed to implement them is small, while the benefits are massive. It's a very different ball game.