Untitled

The First Video Games

• William Higginbotham created Tennis for Two in 1958.
• Tennis for Two was made for the Brookhaven National Laboratory's annual visitor day.
• It was displayed on an oscilloscope.
• Side-effects of the relays that made the game run created sound effects.
• The significance went unrealized at the time.
• Steve Russell created Spacewar in 1961 at MIT for the DEC PDP-1 computer.
• Spacewar was very popular within MIT.
• It required prohibitively expensive equipment and was eventually shipped as a diagnostic program with PDP-1s.

Games for the Masses

• Ralph Baer developed the initial idea for a game machine that would work on home TVs in 1966.
• Baer created a shooting game and ice hockey game and sold it to Magnavox in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey.
• Nolan Bushnell founded Atari.
• Bushnell majored in engineering at the University of Utah.
• He had a background in coin-operated amusement devices.
• Bushnell wanted to bring Spacewar to arcades as Computer War.
• Atari was founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1972.
• Pong was brought to arcades in 1972.
• Baer and Magnavox sued Atari, which paid a one-time license fee of $700,000.

The Console Kings

• Atari VCS (1600) was released in 1977.
• The Atari VCS was not the first cartridge-based home system.
• Open architecture allowed easy development.
• Atari was the first to introduce the licensing of a system.
• The Video Game Crash occurred in 1983.
• Factors include: poor economy, natural market cycle, video games perceived as a fad, glut of poor 2600 games and the introduction of home computers
• Shigeru Miyamoto released Donkey Kong arcade machine in 1981.
• Nintendo Entertainment System was released in 1985.
• Nintendo owned 90% of the market during the late 80s.
• The latest console is the Nintendo DS.
• Sega was created in 1952 in Japan to sell amusement games on US army bases.
• Sega released the popular Sega Genesis, and the final console was the Sega Dreamcast in 1999.
• Sega Dreamcast is now dedicated to software.
• Sony's PlayStation was created out of an aborted attempt to launch a CD-ROM based system with Nintendo.
• The first PlayStation was released in 1994.
• PlayStation 2 was released in 2000, maintaining backwards compatibility with the popular PS1.
• The next console released was the PSP handheld.
• Microsoft released the Xbox in 2001.
• The Xbox is based on a PC-like architecture.
• Money was lost on each console initially sold.
• Halo and Halo 2 are some of its most popular games.

Home Computers

• Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Mike Markkula in 1976.
• Apple II was released in 1977 and revolutionized the home computer market.
• Commodore Vic-20 released in 1981 featuring a low price and marketing lead to success.
• Commodore 64, released in 1982, became the best-selling computer in history.
• The IBM PC was introduced in 1981.
• Moderate pricing helped the IBM PC gain a foothold in the business world.
• The BIOS licensing model allowed cheap clones to enter the market.

The Designers

• Maxis and Will Wright created SimCity, released in 1989.
• Other Sim games followed, like SimAnt and SimCopter.
• Maxis became part of Electronic Arts and released The Sims in 2000, which has sold more than 6 million copies so far.
• Sid Meier and “Wild Bill” Stealey founded MicroProse.
• MicroProse concentrated on strategic simulations in its early years.
• Sid Meier's Pirates! in 1987 was Sid's first signature game.
• MicroProse also produced the genre-defining Railroad Tycoon.
• Sierra was founded by Ken and Roberta Williams.
• Sierra created its first graphical adventure game, Mystery House, in 1980.
• Great success followed with the King's Quest series, Police Quest series, and Leisure Suit Larry series.
• Origin Systems and Richard Garriott created the Ultima series.
• Origin created Ultima Online in 1997.
• This was one of the first Massively Multi-Player Online RolePlaying Games.
• The studios were disbanded in 2000 by EA.
• Origin's other blockbuster was Wing Commander, created by Chris Roberts.
• Wing Commander was one of the more popular starfighter games and was known for epic storylines and full-motion video.
• Wing Commander spawned a 1999 movie.

The Phenomenons

• Space Invaders was introduced to the US in 1978.
• It became the first big Japanese success.
• The game introduced the "High Score" list to video games.
• Pac-Man's American debut was in 1981.
• The developers attempted to create a completely non-violent game.
• Pac-Man generated $100 million in sales during its lifetime.
• Tetris was created by Russian programmer Alexy Pajitnov in 1985.
• Tetris became a pop culture sensation.
• It also helped drive the success of Nintendo's Game Boy.
• Capcom was founded in 1979.
• Capcom created Street Fighter, Mega Man, and Resident Evil.
• Resident Evil has spawned 15 variations and sequels and two Hollywood movies.
• Square released Final Fantasy in 1987 as a last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy.
• 15 games have been released since Final Fantasy, selling more than 40 million copies.
• A Computer-animated Hollywood movie was released in 2001.
• Cyan created Myst by Rand and Robyn Miller.
• Myst was released in 1993 on the Apple Macintosh.
• It helped popularize the CDROM drive.
• Pokémon was created by Japanese video game enthusiast Satoshi Tajiri.
• Pokémon Red and Green were released for Nintendo Game Boy in 1996.
• Movies, TV series, and multiple sequels have followed.
• Early mascots helped sell video game systems.
• Mascots are seemingly less popular now.
• Over-exposure and an aging audience may explain this trend.

The Studios

• Activision was founded by former Atari programmers.
• A lawsuit by Atari created the "royalties” system still employed by console makers today.
• Activision merged with Infocom and gutted it, though still a strong player today.
• Electronic Arts was created by Trip Hawkins in 1982 and its revolutionary plan did three things: creative talent treated like artists, creation of needed in-house tools to aid cross-platform development and handled its own distribution.
• Electronic Arts would become the largest game software company in the world.
• Interplay was formed in 1983.
• Its first big hit was The Bard's Tale in 1985.
• Famous for their CRPGs, including Wasteland, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.
• Interplay has since been de-listed from the NASDAQ.
• LucasArts formed in in 1982 as an offshoot of Lucas Film Ltd, and released Maniac Mansion in 1987.
• LucasArts created adventure games and Star Wars-themed games.
• Blizzard was started in 1991 by Frank Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce.
• Blizzard released one of the seminal Real-Time Strategy games, Warcraft, in 1994.
• The MMORPG World of Warcraft became the fastest-selling PC game in history.
• id Software was formed on February 1, 1991.
• id Software successfully utilized Apogee's shareware formula and created the defining first-person shooter with DOOM.

Genres

• Adventure sub-genres include text-based and graphical adventure stories.
• Zork was produced by Infocom and King's Quest by Sierra.
• Action is a superset of all other action-oriented genres, typified by fast-paced combat and movement.
• Spacewar, Pong, and Space Invaders help define the action genre.
• Action-Adventure games combine adventure with action elements.
• The Legend of Zelda was the first break-out hit.
• Jak 3, Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, and Resident Evil 4 are modern examples.
• A platformer is typified by a character running and jumping in a side-scrolling playing field.
• The modern definition has expanded to include 3D.
• Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, Pitfall! and Super Mario 64 are examples.
• Fighting games involve combat between two or more characters.
• Double Dragon is an example of a side-scrolling fighter.
• Virtua Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter are examples of versus fighters where players combat each other.
• First-Person Shooter is an action game where the player is "behind the eyes" of the game character in a first-person perspective.
• id Software's Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM are the earliest popular examples.
• Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games typically involve collecting resources, building an army, and combatting another player/computer AI.
• Westwood's Dune 2, Command and Conquer, and Blizzard's Warcraft popularized the genre.
• Turn-Based Strategy games are like real-time strategy games, but turn-based.
• Civilization, X-COM, Master of Orion, and Jagged Alliance are standouts.
• The Role-Playing Game (RPG) is the video game counterpart to pen and pencil games like Dungeons and Dragons.
• Final Fantasy, Baldur's Gate, and Wasteland are some popular examples.
• Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) are set in persistent virtual worlds populated with thousands of other players.
• Ultima Online in 1997 was the first popular one.
• World of Warcraft is currently the most popular one.
• Stealth games focus on subterfuge and planned-out, deliberate play.
• Metal Gear in 1987 was one of the first.
• Popular modern series include Metal Gear, Splinter Cell, and Thief.
• Survival Horror is an action-adventure or first-person shooter genre where survival elements and a fight against the undead are stressed.
• Resident Evil is the most popular series.
• Simulations are based on the simulation of a system.
• SimCity and The Sims are examples of “God” simulations where you control the lives of a town or a family.
• Wing Commander and X-Wing are popular space combat simulation games.
• Racing involves competing in a race in a vehicle and typically tries to re-create a real-world activity.
• Pole Position was the first popular racing game..
• Sports games simulate the sporting experience.
• John Madden Football and Tiger Woods Golf are series breakouts.
• Rhythm games gauge player's success based on the ability to trigger the controls in time to the beat of music.
• Specialized controllers like dance pads or bongo drums are sometimes required.
• Konami's Dance Dance Revolution is the pre-eminent title.
• Puzzle games combine pattern matching, logic, strategy, and luck with a timed element.
• Tetris is its breakout hit.
• Mini-Games are short, simple games that exist within the context of a larger game.
• Mario Party and Wario Ware are popular.
• Traditional games are computerized versions of board, word, and card games.
• Battle Chess and the Hoyle series are standouts.
• Educational games are designed to teach grade-school concepts to children and young adults.
• Oregon Trail was the first popular game.
• The Carmen Sandiego series and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing are more modern popular examples.
• Serious games are designed to teach real-world events/processes to adults.
• Most are privately funded but popular with the US Government and the medical field.