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40th Anniversary of Video Games
CFN writes "According to this article in the New York Times (free registration...), this month marks the 40th anniversary of Spacewars, the very first video game ever created!
It's very interesting to consider how quickly the popularity of video games grew, because, essentially, Spacewars was spontaneously generated. I guess there is something about blinking lights, flashing colors, and tinny sound effects that just appeals to the soul." Unfortunately, there was no violence before 1952,
because we all know that violence is caused by video games.
Oh, and I had a great version of spacewars that I used
to play on a portable PC (Compaq with like a 5 inch green
screen and a wopping 4 mhz!) when I was short. I loved
that game.
I thought that was the first video game, created at Brookhaven Labs
this may seem blasphemous (sp?) to say here...don't get me wrong...i'm 22 and i personally love my PS2 & my PC...but when i was a kid growing up, i never had a console, and i think i was better off for it...sure i eventually had a game boy for a period of time, and i had the old apple IIc, but they weren't a nintendo, genesis, etc...and i think i turned out better off because of it...instead of being constantly inside trying to figure out how to get to world 8-1 of mario brothers, i was outside playing sports, riding my bike, building tree forts...kids today spend to much time playing video games, and not enough time experiencing interactions with real people...at a summer camp that i went to, they used to have enough kids interested in baseball, basketball, soccer, that they could field leagues with 10+ teams...now they're lucky if they get a half dozen kids interested in playing those sports....instead, everyone wants to spend their beautiful summer day inside playing on computers or something of that nature (i.e. Magic card games...)...kids need to be more active, and i know that when i eventually have kids, i am planning on strongly regulated the amount of time that they spend laying video games...it makes me upset to see the state of today's kids...it's leading to the "wussification" of our youth...when i head stories such as this one that talk about banning dodge ball, i think it's upsurd...
so, in conclusion, to those of you with kids, and those of you who plan to have them...don't let your them spend 24/7 trying to beat that the latest version of final fantasy...have them go outside...have them use their imagination...have them interact with others...
oh well...that was just my rant....
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
And I thought I was old-school cause the first game I ever played was Combat for the Atari 2600...stuff like this really puts your position as a gamer in perspective. Wow.
Let me ask you this...
Has the RPG really evolved beyond Ultima? Has the shooter really evolved beyond Galaxian? Has the puzzle really evolved beyond Tetris, or the simulation beyond SimCity?
Games may have changed in their outward appearance, but at their heart, they're all essentially the same.
-Evan
It's very interesting to consider how quickly the popularity of video games grew,
Wasn't it Pong, developed around 1973 that really launched the popularity of video games? The first 20 years seemed to be an expansion of a glacial sort.
You should read Marvin's History of the Human Experiment . It's a breath of fresh air next to the popularized bunk taught in our public schools nowadays.
Notable milestones:
- AD 1354: Gravity is introduced to the West, pioneering the gravity/mead trade routes
- AD 1803: Industrialization allows the mechanization of textile, farming, and prostitution industries
- AD 1952: Colorization of the world; Invention of Violence
- AD 1958: First video game written by Higinbotham. Cites the recent invention of "Violence" as inspiration
- AD 1969: Lunar landing televised
- AD 1982: Man actually walks on moon
- AD 2004: Revealed that same company owns both Coke and Pepsi, Republicans and Democrats
As you can see, Violence was actually a prerequisite for Video Games, not the other way around.Just checked the amazon link, and realized that the book actually won't be published for another forty years. Still, definitely worth a read.
Everything I needed to know, I learned playing video games:
Knock over everything, you never know what will hide a power-ups.
Pick up everything that isn't nailed down, its bound to be useful later. Horde
Save often.
Don't just look straight ahead, look up, down, and all around.
Use the right tool for the job
Use items together to make new items
exploit your opponents weakness
Learn from your opponent's stratagy
Don't give up
I can vouch for the no-violence before 1952 theory.
No no no - you guys have it backwards. Before 1952 nobody was checking IDs at airports, shoes weren't sent through metal detectors, unattended bags were either ignored or taken to Lost & Found, wiretaps required a court order, and personal communication was not regularly intercepted by the government. And let's not forget that guns were far easier to obtain than they are today (no background checks, no assault weapon bans, etc.), and children regularly took them to school for shooting team practice.
We should be thankful that we have all these measures in place to protect us from the unbridled violence and lawlessness that so threatened society in those dark ages.