Computer and Video Game History

1.In 1952, A.S. Douglas wrote his PhD degree at the University of Cambridge on Human-Computer interaction. Douglas
created the first graphical computer game - a version of Tic-Tac-Toe. The game was programmed on a EDSAC vacuum-
tube computer, which had a cathode ray tube display.

2. William Higinbotham created the first video game ever in 1958. His game, called "Tennis for Two," was created and
played on a Brookhaven National Laboratory oscilloscope.

3.In 1962, Steve Russell invented SpaceWar!. Spacewar! was the first game intended for computer use. Russell used a
MIT PDP-1 mainframe computer to design his game.

4.In 1967, Ralph Baer wrote the first video game played on a television set, a game called Chase. Ralph Baer was then part
of Sanders Associates, a military electronics firm. Ralph Baer first conceived of his idea in 1951 while working for Loral, a
television company.

5.In 1971, Nolan Bushnell together with Ted Dabney, created the first arcade game. It was called Computer Space, based
on Steve Russell's earlier game of Spacewar!. The arcade game Pong was created by Nolan Bushnell (with help from Al
Alcorn) a year later in 1972. Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney started Atari Computers that same year. In 1975, Atari re-
released Pong as a home video game.

Larry Kerecman was one of the first operators of video arcade games, including Computer Space. He writes that, "The
brilliance of these machines was that NolanBushnell and company took what was computer programming (in Space War)
and translated it into a simpler version of the game (no gravity) using hard-wired logic circuits. The printed circuit boards
that comprise electronics of these games use integrated circuits called small-scale integrated circuits. They consist of
discrete logic chips and gates or gates, 4-line to 16-line decoders, etc. straight out of the Texas Instruments catalog. The
shape of the rocket ship and flying saucer even are visible in a pattern of diodes on the PC board."

6.In 1972, the first commercial video game console that could be played in the home, the Odyssey was released by
Magnavox and designed by Ralph Baer. The game machine was originally designed while Ralph Baer was still at Sanders
Associates in 1966, Baer managed to gain his legal rights to the machine after Sanders Associates rejected it. The Odyssey
came programmed with twelve games.

7.In 1976, Fairchild released the first programmable home game console called the Fairchild Video Entertainment
System, and later renamed Channel F. Channel F was one of the first electronic systems to use the newly
invented microchip invented by Robert Noyce for the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation that allowed video games to
not be limited by the number of TTL switches.

8.On June 17, 1980, Atari's "Asteroids" and "Lunar Lander" were the first two video games to ever be registered in the
Copyright Office.



History of OXO aka Noughts and Crosses - The First Video Game

The debate over the first video game is often argued as being Willy Higinbotham's Tennis for Two (1958), Spacewar! (1961)
or Pong(1972), but the graphics based computer game OXO (aka Noughts and Crosses) predates them all. Why does OXO so
often get overlooked? Because when it was first created 57 years ago, it was only shown to the staff and students of
Cambridge University.

The Basics:
Year: 1952
Created and Programmed by Alexander Sandy Douglas
Platform: Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator(EDSAC).
Historic Significance: The first graphics based computer & video game.

The History:
In 1952 University of Cambridge student Alexander Sandy Douglas was working towards earning his PHD. His thesis
focused on human-computer interactions and he needed an example to prove his theories. At that time Cambridge was
home to the very first stored-program computer, the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC). This gave
Douglas the perfect opportunity to prove his findings by programming the code for a simple game where a player can
compete against the computer.

The actual program for the game was read off of Punched Tape (aka Input Tape), a strip of paper with numerous holes
punched into it. The placement and number of holes would be read as code by the EDSAC, and translated onto a
oscilloscope's cathode-ray tube readout display as an interactive game.

Douglas' project was a success and became the very first video game and graphical computer game, but it was also one of
the very first (albeit primitive) applications of true artificial intelligence. The computer's moves in reaction to the player
move was not random or pre-determined, but entirely made at the computer's discretion. OXO is often overlooked for its
accomplishments in artificial intelligence as the study of AI didn't become a valid science until 1958 when scientist John
McCarthy coined the term.

The Game:

OXO is an electronic version of Tic-Tac-Toe (called Noughts and Crosses in the UK). Similar to the first electronic game,
the Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device (1947), OXO's graphics were displayed on a Cathode-Ray Tube connected to
the EDSAC computer. The graphics consisted of large dots forming the cross hatches of the playing field as well as the "O"
and "X" player graphics.
The game pitted player against computer with the player as the "X" and the EDSAC as the "O". Moves were made by the
player selecting which square to occupy with an "X" by dialing its corresponding number via the EDSAC's telephone dial. The
telephone dial was used as a keyboard to input numbers and direction into the computer.

Trivia:

Alexander Sandy Douglas' thesis was a success, earning him his PHD and starting his career in science, however he would
never again program another video or computer game.
Although OXO was the very first video/computer game, it was almost completely overlooked at the time. There was only
one EDSAC computer in existence, which was housed at the University of Cambridge and never made accessible to the
public.
The code for OXO was retained as a tech demo for the EDSAC's capabilities.

http://classicgames.about.com/od/computergames/p/OXOProfile.htm



History of Tetris

Tetris originated in Russia around 1985 and was never patented, at the time intellectual property rights were not
established in then communist Russia for private individuals.

Tetris Authors Alexey Pajitnov, Dmitry Pavlovsky, and Vadim Gerasimov

The original author of Tetris was Alexey Pajitnov (Pazhitnov), assisted by Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov.
Computer engineers, Alexey Pajitnov and Dmitry Pavlovsky worked together at the Computer Center of the Russian
Academy of Sciences. Alexey Pajitnov had already published and sold several psychology based games. Dmitry Pavlovsky
had written computer games for mainframes. High school student, Vadim Gerasimov (only sixteen at the time) had just
written a directory encryption program for MS DOS when he introduced to the pair. It was Alexey Pajitnov who first
conceived of the game Tetris based on another game of his called Genetic Engineering. Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers
later founded the Tetris Company.

Tetra means Four

The name Tetris comes from the Greek word tetra or "four". Tetris is a computer puzzle game in which various shapes each
made of four squares are falling down a well. The user turns the pieces around and moves them left or right in order to
arrange them on top of the other. When a solid line of squares is made from edge to edge, the line dissolves and all the
pieces move down by one square. When the lines dissolve points are won, when the well fills up the game ends. Players
work hard to keep the well as empty as possible, but as the game progresses the pieces fall faster and faster making that
harder.

http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/Tetris.htm




The History of Spacewar

"If I hadn't done it, someone would've done something equally exciting if not better in the next six months. I just happened
to get there first." - Steve Russell aka "Slug" on inventing Spacewar

Steve Russell - Inventing of Spacewar

It was in 1962 when a young computer programmer from MIT, Steve Russell fueled with inspiration from the writings of E.
E. "Doc" Smith*, led the team** that created the first popular computer game. Starwar was almost the first computer game
ever written, however, they were at least two far-lesser known predecessors: OXO (1952) and Tennis for Two (1958).
It took the team about 200 man-hours to write the first version of Spacewar. Steve Russell wrote Spacewar on a PDP-1, an
early DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) interactive mini computer which used a cathode-ray tube type display and
keyboard input. The computer was a donation to MIT from DEC, who hoped MIT's think tank would be able to do
something remarkable with their product. A computer game called Spacewar was the last thing DEC expected who later
provided the game as a diagnostic program for their customers. Steve Russell never profited from Spacewars.

Description of Spacewar

The PDP-1's operating system was the first to allow multiple users to share the computer simultaneously. This was perfect
for playing Spacewar, which was a two-player game involving warring spaceships firing photon torpedoes. Each player could
maneuver a spaceship and score by firing missiles at his opponent while avoiding the gravitational pull of the sun.
Try playing a replica of the computer game for yourselves. It still holds today up as a great way to waste a few hours. By the
mid-sixties, when computer time was still very expensive, Spacewar could be found on nearly every research computer in
the country.

Influence on Nolan Bushnell

Steve Russell transferred to Stanford University, where he introduced computer game programming and Spacewar to an
engineering student called Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell went on to write the first coin-operated computer arcade game and
start Atari Computers.

1. * An interesting sidenote is that "Doc" Smith, besides being a great science fiction writer, held a Ph.D. in chemical
engineering and was the researcher who figured out how to get powdered sugar to stick to doughnuts.

2. ** Spacewar! was conceived in 1961 by Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanen. It was first realized on the
PDP-1 in 1962 by Steve Russell, Peter Samson, Dan Edwards and Martin Graetz, together with Alan Kotok, Steve Piner and
Robert A. Saunders.

http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/Spacewar.htm



History of Sony Playstation

The history of the Playstation begins in 1988 when Sony and Nintendo were working together to develop the Super Disc.
The Super Disc was going to be a CD-ROM attachment that was intended to be part of Nintendo's soon to be released
Super Nintendo game. However, Sony and Nintendo parted ways business-wise and the Super Disc was never introduced or
used by Nintendo. In 1991, Sony used a modified version of the Super Disk as part of their new game console - the Sony
Playstation. Research and development for the PlayStation had began in 1990, headed by Sony engineer, Ken Kutaragi.

Only two hundred models of the first Playstation (that could play Super Nintendo game cartridges) were manufactured by
Sony. The original Playstation was designed as a multi-media and multi-purpose entertainment unit. Besides being able to
play Super Nintendo games, the Playstation could play audio CDs and could read CDs with computer and video information
as well. In 1994, the new PlayStation X (PSX) was released that was no longer compatable with Nintendo game cartridges
and only played CD-ROM based games. A smart move that soon made Playstations the best selling game console.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_playstation.htm


History of Nintendo - Game Boy(1889-1997)

Gunpei Yokoi (Gumpei Yokoi) was the creator of the Game Boy and Virtual Boy and worked on Famicom (and NES), the
Metroid series, Game Boy Pocket and did extensive work on the system we know today as the Nintendo Entertainment
System.

Gunpei Yokoi was born in 1941 and grew up in Kyoto where he graduated from Doshinsha University with a degree in
electronics. He was first hired by Nintendo in 1965 to maintain the assembly-line machines used to manufacture its
Hanafuda cards. In 1889, Nintendo began as a playing cards manufacturer, their Hanafuda playcards were very popular.

Later Gunpei Yokoi was reassigned as an engineer with newly formed games division - the first day on his new job Yokoi
invented "The Ultrahand" which sold 1.2 million units the first Christmas season for $6 in 1970. The Ultrahand was
Nintendo's first toy, it was a toy arm on an accordion like extension that kids could use as an extendable claw.
Yokoi left Nintendo in August, 1996 to set up his own toy company, Koto Co., in Kyoto. On October 27, 1992, Nintendo of
America Inc. registered the configuration of its hand-held game machine.

http://inventors.about.com/od/nstartinventions/a/Nintendo.htm



Inventors of the Modern Computer
The History of the Computer Mouse and the Prototype for Windows - Douglas Engelbart

"It would be wonderful if I can inspire others, who are struggling to realize their dreams, to say 'if this country kid could do
it, let me keep slogging away'." - Douglas Engelbart
Douglas Engelbart changed the way computers worked, from specialized machinery that only a trained scientist could use,
to a user-friendly tool that almost anyone can use. He invented or contributed to several interactive, user-friendly devices:
thecomputer mouse, windows, computer video teleconferencing,hypermedia, groupware, email, the Internet and more.

In 1964, the first prototype computer mouse was made to use with a graphical user interface (GUI), 'windows'. Engelbart
received a patent for the wooden shell with two metal wheels (computer mouse U.S. Patent # 3,541,541) in 1970,
describing it in the patent application as an "X-Y position indicator for a display system." "It was nicknamed the mouse
because the tail came out the end," Engelbart revealed about his invention. His version of windows was not considered
patentable (no software patents were issued at that time), but Douglas Engelbart has over 45 other patents to his name.
Throughout the '60s and '70s, while working at his own lab (Augmentation Research Center, Stanford Research Institute),
Engelbart dedicated himself to creating a hypermedia groupware system called NLS (for oNLine System). Most of
his accomplishments, including the computer mouse and windows, were part of NLS.
In 1968, a 90-minute, staged public demonstration of a networked computer system was held at the Augmentation
Research Center -- the first public appearance of the mouse, windows, hypermedia with object linking and addressing, and
video teleconferencing.
Douglas Engelbart was awarded the 1997 Lemelson-MIT Prize of $500,000, the world's largest single prize for invention and
innovation. In 1998, he was inducted into theNational Inventors Hall of Fame.
Currently, Douglas Engelbart is the director of his company, Bootstrap Institute in Fremont, California, which promotes the
concept of Collective IQ. Ironically, Bootstrap is housed rent free courtesy of the Logitech Corp., a famous manufacturer of
computer mice.

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa081898.htm