Timeline of gaming
In this blog, I will be writing about the development of
games platform in the form of a timeline. This will include an analysis of the
different types of games platform that have emerged and their main features and
limitations. The game types I will cover are the following:
- Arcade games
- Console games
- Mobile game platforms
- PC based games
- Interactive TV based games
The timeline will start from the 1950s. For each decade that
will be mentioned in the timeline, I will explain how technology has developed
in each area, which companies have led the development of games, including
examples of games, consoles or PC
systems developed.
1950
In this decade of gaming, a developer called Charly Adama
introduced a game called Bouncing ball to the gaming world. This game was made
for MITs new computer called Whirlwind Computer. This computer was the first
computer to display real time video signals. This computer was bought into the
market in the late 1951 after it was developed in the late 1940s. Also, the
Whirlwind computer was the only computer to use core memory which stored binary
data on magnets. Although the Bouncing ball game was interactive, it was the predecessor of modern gaming.
In February 1951, a computer
scientist named Christopher Strachey designed a Checkers computer game which
was ought to run on the Pilot ACE computer. This was the first computer to be
built at the National Physics Laboratory. The rotary phone dials shown in the
centre of the picture are what was used to enable the user to make moves in the
game.
In May 1951, the NIMROD computer
was created by a major firm called Ferranti International and was presented at
the Festival of Britain. Through the use of lights to provide display, the
NIMROD computer was exclusively designed to run the game of NIM. This
technology advancement meant that a digital computer was specifically
manufactured to play a game. This was a milestone in the history of computer
games. The picture on the right shows the live game in play at the Festival of
Britain.
In 1952, a computer program named OXO was introduced to the gaming
world. It was a program for Tic-Tac-Toe, also known as Noughts and Crosses.
This game was created Alexander S. Douglas. OXO was the first ever digital
graphical simulation game and it was only run on the EDSAC computer. The EDSAC
computer used a cathode ray tube which provided display for programs.
Furthermore, OXO has been labelled as the first true computer game.
In 1958, a new video game called
Tennis for Two was introduced into the gaming world. It was first developed by
a physicist named William A. Higinbotham at the Brookhaven National Labs.
Tennis for Two was a game which simulated a game of real tennis and was
displayed on an oscilloscope. The Tennis for Two game is a very important part
of the gaming history as it was the first electronic game to use a graphical
display. An important point to mention regarding Tennis for Two is that it was
the predecessor of PONG; a famous game to be introduced in the world of gaming.
However, there was no link between PONG and Tennis for Two. The picture
attached shows Tennis for Two being played on an oscilloscope display.
In
1959, a gathering of interactive graphical programs were made on the TX-0
experimental PC at MIT. These included Mouse in the Maze and Tic-Tac-Toe. Mouse
in the Maze permitted users to utilise a light pen to place the walls which
formed the maze, dots that represented pieces of cheese, and in some versions
of the game, glasses of martini. A virtual mouse represented by a dot in the
game was then discharged and would navigate the maze to find the items it was
instructed. Tic-Tac-Toe also used the light pen to play a straightforward
session of checkers and crosses against the intelligence of the computer.
1960
In the mid to late 1960s, the vision of modern gaming taking
place into the gaming world was now turning into a reality. This included the
introduction of the first home video game console; it was only a matter of time
until it was placed on the market, available to customers. Also, as well as the
discussion of a new premium TV set, Ralph Baer suggested an idea to include in
the new TV set which would include an interactive game in the TV.
In 1966, Ralph Baer and his co-worker Bill
Harrison began the development of the first Brown Box. This was the very first
home video game console and video game system to be introduced into the gaming
world, allowing customers to purchase this console and experience gaming in the
comfort of their own home. As well as this, Baer and Harrison released a simple
video game called Corndog. This was the first ever game that was compatible to
be played on a standard home TV.
A year later in 1967, Bill Harrison with the assistance of
Ralph Baer created the first ever light gun and several other games with Bill
Rusch.
In 1968, the first ever video game console was prototype was
released which consisted of allowing the user to actually run a variety of
games, including Table Tennis, Gun shooting etc. These types of games were all
run in one unit.
1970
The early years of the 1970s was the beginning of some major
introductions into the gaming world.The earliest invention to be introduced into the gaming
world was the Galaxy game which was first installed in September 1971 at the
Stanford University. This was a game developed by two individuals however, it was just another,
newer version of the existing Spacewar game which was introduced in the 1960s.
The game cost the user 10 cents for one game or 25 cents for 3 games. In 1972,
the Galaxy game was improved through the addition of new and better hardware.
Also, the expansion from 4 to 8 consoles meant that users were now able to play
against each other. It was removed in 1979 due to damages to the monitor.
In 1972, Pong which was a simple 2D,
tennis game was introduced and it quickly became a hit. It was the first
commercially successful coin operated game to ever be introduced in the arcade
gaming history. Pong was developed by Atari Inc., and was founded in June 1972
by Bushnell and Dabney but the actual was created by Allan Alcorn. Alcorn had
no experience in creating games however due to his experience electrical engineering,
he was asked to create a simple game, called Pong. As soon as Pong was
released, it proved to be a great hit for Atari. A total of 2,500 orders were
taken up by 1973 and in 1974, more than 8k units were sold. It was the
beginning of modern gaming. From 1976-1977, a number of Magnavox Odyssey consoles were introduced to the gaming world. for every new console that was released, there were slight changes. The consoles which were released in the specified time frame consisted the same games however had small modifications made including improved graphics, modified controllers and on-screen digital scoring.
Overall, the 1970s was the start video gaming however, towards the end of the decade, companies who were successful no longer maintained their performance, therefore leading in a decline in the gaming industry. However, this was soon overturned when Nintendo entered the market in the 1980s and reignited the video gaming industry. Since then, the video gaming industry has continued to grow in a success and a very wealthy industry.
1980
In 1980, Toru Iwatani was inspired by a missing slice of
pizza to create the world famous game, Pacman. This game later went on sale in
July 1980. During the same year of the release, the compatible version of
Pacman became available for Atari 2600. This release made a mark in history as
it was the first arcade game hit to appear on home consoles. Two years later,
Pacman became the best-selling arcade game to ever be released resulting in a
blow in gender equality.
In 1981, there was another great addition to the world of
gaming; the introduction of Donkey Kong created by world famous company,
Nintendo. This game featured a character named Jumpman who became world famous
and is now recognised by the name Mario. This is the name the world famous
character was appointed when the creator of a later released game made Mario
the main character.
The development of consoles in this decade in comparison to
consoles released in the 1960s is that the advancement in technology has
resulted in improvement in hardware allowing the console to run better than
ever. Also, the improvement in graphics has resulted in the demand of consoles
to rapidly increase. From this point onwards, things were only going to get
better in the world of gaming.
1990
This decade of gaming bought a real excitement in the
industry. The development in hardware components meant that developers were
able to create console that were so much better than those introduced in the
past. The biggest advancement in hardware components was the leap from 2D
graphics to 3D graphics. This allowed users to experience gaming on another
level and most certainly boosted sales in the gaming industry.
The early years of the 1990s saw the introduction of the classic card game named Solitaire. This world famous game played by many was bundled together by Microsoft and ran on the Windows 3.0. It was rather fascinating that people who usually hate the idea of picking up a game console found it easier and much more enjoying to play this card game on the computer. Solitaire rapidly became a famous game and is still available to play on the latest Windows operating system.
In 1995, there was a great addition to the world of gaming;
the introduction of the PlayStation released by Sony. It was priced at less
than a total of $100 and was considerably cheaper than the Sega Saturn. Also,
due to the introduction of the PlayStation, business was not the same for Sega
as it lost profits and continued to do so when the Nintendo 64 was released a
year later in 1996. This resulted in doubts as to whether Sega should continue
to trade in the home console business.
In 1997, there was a great development in the brain of how
console gaming worked. This year in the late 1990s marked history as for the
first time, a machine was successful in a game of chess against the World Chess
Champion Gary Kasparov. The supercomputer was chess program named Deep Blue was
a great addition introduced by IBM and is surely an event which is less likely
to be forgotten.
A year later in 1998, there was another great game
introduced into the world of gaming. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time allowed
the gamers to experience gaming to another level. It transported users to the
imagined world of Hyrule which consisted of engaging characters, puzzles and
the most incredible and memorable instrument to ever appear in a video game.
2000
In the year 2000, The Sims simulation game founded by Will
Wright was introduced to the gaming world. It was not the first simulation game
to enter the gaming industry, however it was the predecessor of Utopia on
Intellivision introduced in 1982, Peter Molyneaux's Populous introduced in 1989,
Sid Meier's Civilization bought out in 1991 and Wright's own SimCity which made
its first appearance in 1989. The introduction of earlier games in to the
gaming industry did not stop The Sims from becoming the best-selling computer
game ever and the most popular game with female players.
In 2001, there was a great addition to the gaming industry,
Microsoft entered the market and released the Xbox along with games e.g. Halo:
Combat Evolved.
In 2004, Nintendo continued to dominate the handheld sector
of the gaming industry by introducing the Nintendo DS. It was a great hit and
generated a lot of money. The DS was profoundly known due to how easy it was to
use, as well as it being a portable gaming system which consisted of two
processors, two screens, the ability to play with others and the use of a stylus
for the touchscreen.
Later in the decade, Microsoft updated their console release
and introduced the Xbox 360 into the market. It proved to be a successful
console and gained millions of fans with its advanced and improved graphics and
the ability to play games online.
In the late years of the decade, the gaming industry was
taken to another level. Social games such as Angry Birds and Farmville caused a
massive growth in the gaming industry. It resulted in people who never
considered themselves as gamers into spending hours and hours on these types of
games that can be played on smartphones such as iPhone and other platforms such
as Facebook.
2010
In 2010, the gaming world saw an introduction of Minecraft.
A brick building game developed by a Swedish developer named Markus Persson. It
became very popular in a short space of time and was available to be played on
various platforms such as tablets, PlayStation 3 etc. Since the game’s first
appearance in the industry, it has been updated several times and now allows
the user to complete exciting projects of their own. 
In late 2013, the PlayStation 4 was released by Sony and was
significantly improved compared to its successor, the PlayStation 3. The
PlayStation 4 is a vastly greater gaming piece of equipment. It is equipped
with an 8-core AMD Jaguar CPU with the speed of 2.75GHz. Also, the PS4 comes
with an 800MHz GPU and a rather impressive 8GB of RAM. This was a great release
by Sony and rapidly generated a lot of money.
The future of gaming in this decade is the introduction and
increase use of VR gaming. In this moment of time, the Oculus Rift has been
introduced into the gaming world and it surely takes gaming to another level.
It allows the user to experience the game in reality and allows them to intake
the atmosphere of the game, exactly like they would if they were there in real
life. Also, the newly introduced Samsung Gear VR allows the user to experience
mobile gaming on another level. The user simply has to insert their phone into
the VR and let the rest do the ‘talking’.
This is just the start of some spectacular things in the
world of gaming!
