A Game Development Blog

Evolution of the Video Game

Tracing back the roots of video games is particularly difficult since not everyone can agree on exactly what defines a video game. One thing we do know for certain, however, is that computers and video games have gone hand-in-hand for many years.

Even some of the oldest computers, such as DEC’s PDP-1, played computer games, with one of the earliest being Steve Russell’s Spacewar! This game inspired Atari founder Nolen Bushnell to create the coin-operated video game systems that truly commercialized the concept.

Although there is a debate among people as to which is better — playing games on a console or on your computer, there is no debate that the two have been intermingled for more than 30 years. Microsoft, which controls the majority of operating systems for PC gaming, has recognized this and is bringing to light the idea of playing great games on your computer.

One of the reasons console gaming has become a driving force in the industry is that consumers never have to worry about whether their machine is capable enough to play a certain game. If it’s developed for console “X,” then you know it will work. There is no question.

A couple of years ago, Microsoft started a branding strategy called Games for Windows, which has made it a bit easier for computer owners to recognize whether their computer will properly run any given game.

Watching people play the older games is a particular treat for me. I love how they pick up the joystick, often holding it in the wrong orientation. You have to know that you hold a boxy Atari stick with the button in the upper left hand corner, otherwise you’ll be playing the game in the wrong direction. It’s also interesting to see what approach gamers take when presented with something more cerebral, such as a text adventure. These games required a fertile imagination in terms of graphics, but the storytelling was where it was at for these games.

WIDE AUDIENCE

Computer games seem to be attractive to a wide audience. When Russian computer scientist Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris on a computer in June 1985, he couldn’t possibly have predicted the incredible impact it would have on people around the world. Young and old, male and female — there really isn’t a demographic out there that doesn’t enjoy Tetris and, although it expanded beyond the computer to the game console and even your cell phone, it remains a great computer game.

If you’d like to revisit the evolution of computer games over the years, there are a couple of things you can do. First, you can visit the site Home of the Underdogs ( www.the-underdogs.info)and look up older game materials — including reviews and screenshots. In some cases you can even download the game itself. You might need something called the DOSBox (which we’ve talked about before) to run the software you download but the effort can be well worth it.

Secondly, the Personal Computer Museum, based here in Brantford, has been asked to provide the computers for a Toronto-based Microsoft event called “Evolution: 30 Years of Computer Games.”

This show runs today from noon until 5 p. m. at Toronto’s Interaccess Gallery, 9 Ossington Ave. (at the corner of Queen Street). Admission is free and you will have the opportunity to play everything from Space Invaders to Gears of War on some highly specialized gaming machines. More information on the event can be found on Facebook; for computer games, visit www.gamesforwindows.com.

The games have changed and so has the hardware, but one thing about computers and video games will never change: Unless you work for game company, you mustn’t get caught playing at work. If you do, hope that your game has a “boss key.” If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, try Googling it.