In Mark J. P. Wolf's "Abstraction in the Video Game", he attempted to show the similarities between games as an artistic medium and traditional forms of fine art. Earlier games were much more representational and abstract. This was due to programming limitations whereas abstract art evolved from explorations of self-expression. Despite the difference in origins, Wolf points out the large number of similarities between the two mediums; namely its use of interpretation and interaction to involve the audience in some way.
The original Battletank, complete with periscope
viewer. The viewer was eventually abandonded to
allow people who were not playing at the time to
see the screen.
Battletank , released by Atari in 1980, was one of the first games to utilize vector graphics to simulate a three-dimensional space. This particular style was known as "wireframe" due to the fact that the images were comprised of lines with no solid shapes present. The game relied on simple geometric shapes to represent terrain, enemy vehicles, even the moon. Far from photo-realistic, Battletank required some interpretation from the user to make sense. To make the game feel even more immersive the original arcade system came with a viewer the used looked through. This paired with the first-person visual style, was to help the user feel as if he/she was inside an actual tank. The player-character is implied by the cross-hairs found onscreen. Some have argued (and with good measure) that Battletank was the first "virtual reality environment" ( see the Wikipedia entry on Battlezone ).
Sadly, games such as Battletank have mainly gone the way of the dodo. They can still be found on emulated systems available online, but that are preserved more for the sense of nostalgia they bring. Like the abstract art movement, abstraction in gaming is only appreciated by a small audience. To appeal to the masses game companies have focused on realism over abstraction.
Information used came from course reading "Abstraction in the Video Game" by Mark J. P. Wolf, found here and from Wikipedia here. Image also taken from Wikipedia. Photo taken at University of Michigan Center for Information Technology Integration by Jim Rees, March 21, 2001.
Comments (1)
Great post. Well presented, illustrated and referenced.
It's interesting that in the old wire frame games generally you are looking through another "screen" in the game (e.g. periscope) which could be converting the "real world" into wire frame for ease of targeting. What about designing some VR goggles that convert the real world into wire frame as move around? Wouldn't that be cool?
Posted by Andy Cox | October 1, 2007 10:42 AM
Posted on October 1, 2007 10:42