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History of Video Games Exhibit

Posted by Hemos on from the look-into-the-past dept.

Mandi Walls writes "Wired is running an article about an exhibit on the history of video games at Barbican in London. It's supposed to hit the US next year. They start at Space War! from 1962 and move forward from there."

5 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Play the original Spacewar! by Jess · · Score: 2, Interesting
    You can play the original Spacewar! online:

    http://agents.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/projects / pacewar

    According to the readme it's based on a print out of the original Spacewar! code. It uses an PDP-1 emulator written in Java. Source code is available.

  2. sucks for you guys, by paradesign · · Score: 2, Interesting
    i have 72 different systems to choose from. 8bit, 4bit, 16bit, 24bit, 32bit, 64bit, 128bit, you name it i bet i can be playing it within a day.(alot are in storage) if you want to see them go here. vidgame0 good bye bandwidth.

    --
    I want 2D games back.
  3. Video game history in the news by Meech · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Check out RIT's new program. Video games are more than just a hobby today.

  4. The first time I saw space war by bdsesq · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It was the 1968 Spring Joing Computer Conference in Boston.

    There was about a half million bucks worth of gear running the simplest possible spaceship game on a CRT.

    And about a thousand people trying to crowd in to see it. All the other booths had boring stuff like glossy literature and programming manuals. And of course people in suits looking very unhappy because all everyone was interested in was space war.

    The marketeers learned. Next year they had spiffy demos and babes to show them to you.

  5. Videotopia by BigJimSlade · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Videotopia is a similar US based exhibit that mostly focuses on arcade games. I got to see it twice back in '98 and '99 (it was in Washington DC and Baltimore, MD almost back to back). The schedule at the bottom of the page shows the Baltimore showing as the last one, which was 2 1/2 years ago. I hope it's still touring... I think it actually did a good job of showing the development process (or at least, how it used to be during the classic era in the early '80s) They had original design sketches for several games, a couple cabinets that had see-thru plexiglass sides so you could see the internals of the cabinets (ever wonder how the optical rotary steering wheel on an original Pole Position worked?) and more.

    I think one of the most interesting parts of the exhibit (besides the fact that there are so many games in one place to play) is the inclusion of informational stands telling you about what was going on in the world at that time, which often had some effect on the theme or elements of the game. You then can go to a kiosk and answer questions about the "history" behind the games and win free tokens! The ultimate learning tool! :)

    If it comes to your area, don't pass it up. Also check out the site and read about some of the games that the exhibit showcases.