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the history of video games essay
introduction to the history of video games paper
the history of video games essay
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1. INTRODUCTION:
1. a What is Video Game?
Video game is an electronic game seeking human interaction through an engaging user interface that is being fetched by a video device. Traditionally the term video in video game is referred as a raster display device, but it now implies any type of display device [monitors, TV etc] that can produce two or three-dimensional images.
1. b How does it work?
The electronic systems used to play video games are referred to as platforms. The most famous platforms are personal computers and video game console while the platform ranges from large mainframe computers to small devices. The game utilizes a device referred as a game controller, which varies according to platform, to make the users play the games. The famous game controllers are joystick, keyboard and mouse. The game controller receives input from users [usually referred as gamers] and implements the commands in the game.
1. c What does this paper focus on?
From the explanation given above on the video games it is becoming evident that the paper focuses on conveying some aspect about video games. Yes it does. The paper details out the evolution of video games as a part of technological innovation. The 47 year old video game has got more than 70 different video game consoles till now. Let us see what were the technologies opted by the video game industries and the reason, impact behind this evolution.
2. VIDEO GAMES & CONSOLES:
2. a The interactive game:
The first video game was developed in 1947 by Thomas T. Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann on a cathode ray tube. Having gained inspiration from World War 2 missiles, they created a missile simulator game. The birth of this video game keyed up the interest among several people to design d...
... middle of paper ...
...tion http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2013.pdf Report by National Geography on video games http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/files/2013/04/NatGeo_VideoGames_FINAL_edits.fw_.png Information from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification 6. a Technical detail References:
[1] “Super NES” description by Sam Hart http://www.geekcomix.com/vgh/fifth/snes.shtml
[2] “VGA” description by Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Graphics_Array
[3] Description of “Dithering” by about.com http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/glossary/l/bldithering.htm
[4] “A version of Peril-Sensitive Sunglasses” by Douglas Adams http://hackaday.io/project/580-Peril-Sensitive-Sunglasses
[5] Description of AI by Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_(video_games)
An examination of videogames in popular culture is a complicated one. There is a large debate as to what is the very first video game. The supposed earliest known video game was created by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann on a cathode ray tube in 1947. The game was a missile simulator similar to radar displays from World War II, and overlaid sheets of paper were used for targets since graphics were unknown at this time. On May 5, 1951, the NIMROD computer was presented in Britain. It used a panel of lights for its display and was used to play a game called “NIM”. Later, in 1952, Alexander S. Douglas made the first compu...
Kent, S. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. New York City, New York: Three Rivers Press.
...nsoles, gaming hardware, and the uses of video game that were conceived in the 1970s. These innovative concepts have allowed the video game industry to improve to where it is today. The design of the gaming consoles from the 1970s have lead to the sleek, lightweight, video game consoles of today that act as home entertainment systems. The way computer hardware was first used in video game consoles from the ‘70s has paved the way for the small, powerful components we have today that allow better graphics, more interaction, and more complex controllers. Video games have been used for health treatment, education, and training all around the world thanks to the branching out of its uses in the 1970s. These events in video game history has dramatically shaped the way our world is today. A world where we can be ordinary people by day and orc slaying sorcerers by night.
Video games are a valuable part of the world today. They feed the minds of the creative and provoke the minds of the less creative. Violence, immersion, and an unusual setting are all qualities of a game that create an intense and memorable experience for the player. By demonstrating and improving upon the three qualities that were deemed necessary to create a good game, video games could amount to astonishing heights in the future and bring something new to the table that could surprise us all.
1970s was considered as the birth of video game industry, the phenomenon of gaming was growing and home gaming console Home-Pong which was a one-game-only console was invented by Atari, since then, the gaming industry has become very profitable, and more and more genre of video games were created.
The video game industry has grown very powerful over the last five decades due to gamming consoles. A new generation of gamming was created, taking games from arcades and putting them in one’s household. Although arcade games were a great hit, there were modifications that needed to be done to them to make them smaller and more compact. In 1967, German born Ralph Baer and some of his coworkers were the first to get an actual prototype to work on a regular home television. After the console, Magnavox Odyssey (1972), was released and made a big impact on the market, more and different companies and corporations released more systems with such specifications. Although the consoles had been a great hit, there was only one playable game in each console. The purpose of creating gaming consoles was mainly to provide families with their own videogame console at their own home. However, the modifications made to these consoles were very small but at that time it took a long time to be able to develop adaptors.
While it is as far from the eventual commercial videogame systems that come later as a walk in the park is to a walk on the moon, a physicist trying to make the public tour of his lab a little more exciting to bored visitors designs what some consider as a precursor videogame system in 1958. Working at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a US nuclear research lab in Upton, New York, William A. Higinbotham notices that people attending the annual autumn open houses, which are held to show the public how safe the work going on there is, are bored with the displays of simple photographs and static equipment. Educated at Cornell University as a physics graduate, Higinbotham had come to BNL from Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project, and had actually been witness to the first detonation of the atomic bomb. A chain-smoking, fun-loving character and self-confessed pinball player, he wants to develop an open house exhibit at BNL that will entertain people as they learn.
Video games first appeared in the 1950s and were urbanized all through the 1960s. They came to importance in the 1970s and established an original and unlike entertainment industry in the world. These games have evolved notably with time and have become a culture on their own. Nevertheless, questions were raised about their effects on people which led to debates in societies about whether or not they should be banned. However, video games should not be banned in this age and time.
So, what’s the history behind the video gaming phenomenon? Video games were first presented as a patent in 1948, starting with the Cathode- Ray tube amusement device. This sparked interest among inventors of the time, even though it was not a very successful innovation (“History of Video Games”). Through the next few years, many creations came out, but none were ever really popular. In 1961, MIT students created Spacewar!. It is considered the first widely available and influential computer game. Then, in 1972, Atari was founded. They had their first widespread success with Pong the same year. This success snowballed into the arcade age, where many arcade games such as Pac-Man, Asteroids, and Space Invaders were seen in malls, movie theaters, and even grocery stores (“History of Video Games”). In 1980, Mattel created the Intellivision system. It was not very popular (Herz 16). Then, in 1982, the Colecovision debuted but still wasn’t very popular (Herz 18). Many more consoles were produced, but none were very well known, and most people preferred to just play the arcade games as opposed to buying a home console anyway. This persisted until the third generation of video game consoles. In 1985, Nintendo came out with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was bundled with Super Mario Bros and quickly became a huge success(Herz 20). During the 1980's, the video-game market became more and more popular, and the budget for the creation of video games increased as well, as more and more publishers and fans bought into the craze. Then in 1989, Sega came out with the Sega Genesis, and Nintendo responded with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Next came the Sega Saturn, and the Sony PlayStation in 1994 and 1995. Then came the Nintendo 64, in 1996 selling more than 1.
Video games started as arcade machines with simple graphics and even simpler stories, soon evolving into home gaming with The Magnavox Odyssey, the world’s first home-gaming console. It invaded living rooms in 1972, selling 300,000 units. Since then there has been many consoles and games released, some have been huge commercial successes which
3. “Video Games” by Chris Jozefowics. Published by Gareth Stevens Publishing 2010. Pleasantville, NY 10570-70000 USA. Produced by Editorials Directions Inc.
Video games have come a long way. They have evolved from the simple game of Pong into a complex, multi-platform, multi-genre, multi-billion dollar industry.
Video games have been around about 50 years and they contribute a big part of the U.S. economy. People interact with video games every day throughout different ways, such as cell phone devices, computers, consoles or whatever which has a screen on it. In fact, it has always affected people’s lives. However, not so many people understand the benefits of video games. With video games, people can not only relieve themselves from stress and suffering, but it also improves people’s social experiences while they are exchanging and absorbing knowledge with other people; more than that, people can learn many other things from video games which can help them to achieve great things in lives.
Presently, video games aren’t merely toys that negatively influence the youth. They have become an alternative means for people to learn and train for work. Games teach values and essential information, and motivate its players to achieve goals. Soldiers and doctors benefit from video games as well. The collaboration of game developers and educators helps improve the quality of educational games. At present, as technology progresses, one can truly see that video games have become an important factor in learning.
A video game is a specific type of software that runs on hardware, a computer or video game console, and today's video games are increasingly realistic and technologically advanced. Social networking has even made its way into the video game industry with online gaming. Video games, especially those that contain violence, are becoming increasingly popular with college students. They are often considered a bellwether of Internet use, but the Internet is not the only technology they have incorporated into everyday life. They are also using other technologies like cell phones, mp3 players and other devices to entertain themselves wherever they may be but still, they are more interested on videogames that internet offers. With the increasing amount of time that students are spending on video games, one is left to wonder what effects video games have on the people who play them.