Computer
Games: Theory and Practice – Course UDIS0601 –
ANDY
COX: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES
Pinball
– a
game which has come full circle
The
history of games and the history of computers
Bagatelle – hit balls up slope with cues into holes.
Later 18th – mid 19th Century. Popular
in the Victorian era.
History at http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Bagatelle.htm
Baffle
Ball 1931 – invented by David Gottlieb
Picture
at http://www.pinballhistory.com/
Flippers
1947 – actual control over the ball in play - interactive
http://www.flipperit.net/tkalliok/flipperi/humpty_pf.jpg
Early 1800’s – Jacquard punch cards for weaving.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_loom
1820’s – Charles Babbage – difference and
analytic engines. Intended to use punch cards in the
Analytic Engine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage
1940’s – Colossus breaks
the German code generated by the Lorenz machine. 2000
vacuum tubes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_computer
1958
Willy Higginbotham’s tennis game, oscilloscope
and analog computer
Show
video on site: http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/videogame.html
1960’s
– Integrated circuits replace vacuum tubes in most computer applications,
leading to
first microprocessor in 1971
1961
– First computer game: Spacewar, 1961, ran on PDP-1 at MIT
In 1960’s MIT, Stanford, and
Play
game at: http://lcs.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/projects/spacewar/
DEMO
Andy Cox born in same year.
1967
- Ralph Baer wrote the first video game played on a television set, a game
called Chase.
Ralph Baer was then part of Sanders Associates, a military
electronics firm, now part of the huge
1971
– First electronic arcade game Computer Space made by Nolan Bushnell and
Ted Dabney
for Nutting Associates based, on
Spacewar.
http://www.klov.com/C/Computer_Space.html
1972
– Atari founded by Nolan Bushnell, initially operated a pinball route to
make money
Pong
created by Bushnell with Al Alcorn - DEMO
Sold
8000 arcade machines and made $3.2 million in 1973
http://www.klov.com/P/Pong.html
Show
Bushnell interview (approx 30 minutes)
Magnavox
Odyssey consol released. Sold by Nintendo in
1974-76
– first personal computers including those from Altair, IBM, and Apple
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=62
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=795
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=67
1976
- Break Out – Atari – Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak involved. DEMO
1978
– Space Invaders – Distributed by Bally/Midway, designed by Taito
of Japan. 60,000 machines
sold in one year. The
game was so amazingly popular in
the country's Yen supply was quadrupled. MAME: Space
Invaders DEMO
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9662
1979
- 1980 – Andy Cox at King’s College London using Fortran
punch cards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hollerith_card.jpg
1979
– Atari Asteroids DEMO
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=A&game_id=6939
Vector screen. Vector
v. raster graphics.
1970’s – Adventure. First interactive fiction game. Originally written in FORTAN
for mainframe
computers. Devised by Will
Crowther and expanded by Don Woods. DEMO
Can
be downloaded here http://www.rickadams.org/adventure/e_downloads.html
Adventure’s
immersive branching narrative formed basis for future games such as Myst and
Half Life.
1983 - Star Wars.
MAME DEMO
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9773
1984
- King’s Quest by Roberta Williams DEMO
One of the first games that combined graphics and narrative
elements. First to allow character
movement.
Free
download from http://www.agdinteractive.com/KQ1.php
Played
on Toshiba T1100 in about 1989 with black and white monitor, 20 M hard drive
and 1 M ram.
http://pc-museum.com/officewing.htm
1989
-
Simulation
game, has evolved to Sim Earth and the Sims.
Play
free online at http://simcity.ea.com/play/classic/index.html
1993
– Doom, iD games DEMO
First
of the first person shooter genre, evolved from Wolfenstein 3D spawned many
gory imitators
3d graphics with mapping of
textures to surfaces. Feeling of limitless game space.
Artificial Intelligence.
Download
free shareware version from: http://www.pcgameworld.com/downloads/file.php/id/48/
Movie
set for release 21 October 2005.
View
the trailer http://media.filmforce.ign.com/media/490/490104/vids_1.html
1993
– Myst, Cyan, DEMO
Other end of the computer game spectrum.
Narrative based, little randomness.
Refinement of spatial narrative structure of Adventure and
King’s Quest.
1998
- Half Life, Valve Studios DEMO
Heir to games such as Adventure and Doom.
Includes the contemporary themes of conspiracy
and genetic manipulation. Game
modified to make multiplayer Counter Strike.
2000
– Deus X, Eidos DEMO
Contemporary themes: Anti-terrorism and conspiracy theories.
Stealth plus first person
shooter.
Considered one of the best games of recent times.
2005
- Stop Bush, Andy Cox DEMO
Artists and video games.
http://www.selectparks.net/index.php
http://radioqualia.va.com.au/replay/content.html
Grand
Theft Auto – Vice City DEMO
Violence and video games.
Open ended.
2005
- JFK Reloaded DEMO
Historical reconstruction and violence.
Snake
Video
games on cell phones and other devices
World
of Warcraft DEMO
Massively
multiplayer Real Time Strategy game
