Technology in video game entertainment (part1)
Evolution of the form
The transformation of the modern video game to recreational
pastime to social interactive media and real life combat simulation is a
complex and controversial one. Video games as entertainment have only existed
in the consumer market for a few decades. Compared to other recreational
pastimes like golf or poker, that’s a relatively small amount of time. Yet the
form has evolved a great deal in that short period. What started as a solitary
engagement and test of reflex and motor skill would ultimately evolve into one
of the largest entertainment revenue generators of the late 20th/
early 21st century. Video games have surpassed motion pictures,
literature and music as the predominate revenue generating form of
entertainment in terms of gross sales. Video games are distinctive in the
world of entertainment because they represent a medium that can be both
passive and interactive, they can tell a narrative and at the same time the
user can drive the story. This has drawn fans and audiences and divided
critics as to the cultural and historical impact of the medium.
The history of the first video game and its actual
application in society is often contested but it is believed it began in
January of 1947 when inventor Thomas Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann applied for
a United State patent for a device that was identified as a Cathode Ray
Amusement device which involved manipulated images on an early television
cathode ray tube and a controller which allowed the participant to shoot a
moving target on screen. Most development in this field was done at technical Universities such
as MIT or experimental laboratories developing the emerging computer sciences.
These early tests were nothing more than scientist and engineer’s means
testing the technology at their disposal. There appears to be seeds of what
would eventually become the modern video game and a definite drive to create
interactive entertainment as opposed to scientific research.
Most of the early work in digital interactive entertainment
was crude and experimental but many did see the potential as interactive
entertainment and this is what drove the thinking of the companies and
scientists that explored the potential of computers as mass media and
entertainment.
The most successful of these early experiments was by a group of student
computer engineers lead by Steve Russell who created a game called Spacewar on
a PDP-1 computer. The game introduces several major dynamics that would be
adopted by many other game designers such as simultaneous multi-player
interface, game scoring and early vector graphics.
Introduction to the masses
Eventually a computer engineer named Ralph Baer began experimenting
with the computer graphics application realized the potentiality of the medium
when converged with the emerging popularity of television consoles in the
living room. He along with co-engineer Bill Harrison developed what would
become the Odyssey..
Baer and Harrison built an early prototype of their video game console system
later dubbed the Brown Box as it was constructed of Brown wood and included an
inboard data processor and wired controlled sticks in a crude rudimentary
form.
The Odyssey design used a kind of early form of the cartridge-based
system later to be seen in the Atari
2600 console. In this case, players would input a printed circuit board
into the machine. The PCB card contained code, which included the game data.
Another major innovation was the wired joystick controllers, which allowed
players to sit back and play the game from their sofas.
Eventually Baer’s idea was picked up by the Magnavox Corporation, which was
primarily known for selling television sets in North America. Magnavox’s
campaign pushed the group interactivity value but ultimately the marketing for
the system was confusing, as most consumers believed that you needed to own a
Magnavox television in order to use the system.
Nolan Bushnell a software and electrical engineer and
investor who ran an engineering firm called Syzygy Engineering built one of
the earliest stand up arcade machines, Computer
space, a game where one or two players pilot a rocket ship and attempt to
shoot down enemy spacecrafts flying toward them. It is generally considered
the world’s first commercial sold coin operated video game machine and one of
the very first commercial sold video games ever. Although it wasn’t a great
commercial success due to the high cost of manufacturing the units and low
marketing visibility, the game was a gigantic leap forward in terms of
technology and accessibility.
He later went on to start Atari, which would ultimately
become the world’s largest video game hardware and software developer. The Atari
2600 system would eventually become the first multi million-dollar selling
video game console. The 2600 was specifically designed as a social interactive
device. It included multiple joystick ports in the front of the unit and many
of the their best selling first and third party games were multi-player
experiences such as Warlords, Pong, Outlaw and Tank!
Console, arcade and computer entertainment emergence
as interactive social media
The mid to late 70’s saw the emergence of social gaming in
the form of role-playing systems such as Dungeons and dragons. The popularity
of these of games were fueled by the group experience in which several players
would adopt characters
Several software companies expanded on the original ideas
from role playing board games such as the fantasy world environments but most
importantly the character building aspect. This function would ultimately be
adopted into the digital RPG industry and become a staple of almost all
computer and console role-playing games.
One of the earliest to adopt these fantasy archetypes was
Sir Tech’s Wizardry, an early example of what game players and developers would
call a “Dungeon Crawler”
Much of these principals were carried over to personal
computer gaming models. Once modems became affordable to the personal computing
crowd, game designers began to adapt the concepts of user developing characters
within a game. This variable concept is known as “leveling up” and most fantasy
games would allow users to ritualistically through the play experience
One of the most popular genres in the PC gaming field was
fantasy role-playing games. An early innovative example of this was Richard
Garriot’s ULTIMA series. These games were considered groundbreaking when they
were first released for the Apple II in 1981 for several reasons: one they were
amongst the first games to recreate in great detail a fictional world or
environment. Secondly, it allowed players to develop and keep track of
characters records and status. This model would become standard for all
role-playing games that followed.
Ultima spawned hundreds of games that adopted the style and
function of the character based systems and helped form the game genre called
the MMORPG or massively multiplayer on line role playing game. These games are
based primarily on the player’s ability to develop the skills of their own
character by leveling up in certain attributes, which assists in the user’s
ability to advance in the game system.
One of the most popular of console games to emulate this
character development style was Final Fantasy 7 for the Playstation 3. Although
not a multiplayer game, FF7 created a realistic fantasy world in which you
follow your main character Cloud Strife through the world of midguard, a
futuristic amalgam of middle earth and
Blade runner’s future LA.
The Most popular of all personal computer MMORPGs. is The
World of Warcraft developed by Blizzard software. WOW is a fantasy-based
role-playing game in which user pay a subscription fee. Each user develops and
controls an Avatar, which they can gradually level up with additional
strengths, armor and attributes. As of October 2012 WOW has sold over 10
million user subscriptions making it the highest grossing MMORG in history.
The World Of Warcraft would ultimately become the gold
standard for the on line interactive experience on the web. The designers of
the game created a world in which characters are constantly updating their
character in terms of appearance in skill. By also designing the game around
expansion sets, they continue to renew interest in the software and keep it
relevant. WOW also promotes the game as a social experience as well as an
escapist one. Gamers form social groups and some players have been known to
form deep personal connections . WOW continues to be a popular franchise
with PC gamers although it has yet to be ported to the consoles and remains
exclusively a PC property.
The earliest example of video games as an interactive social
experience could be traced back to the earliest days of arcade gaming in North
America.
The popularity of the arcade gaming experiences as a social phenomenon
emerged in the late 70’s with Atari’s introduction of PONG and later the Atari
game Tank. Both were early examples of arcade that were successful but also
games that were interactive with co-players making them the earliest examples
of social gaming in the digital age.
Later the Japanese company Tiato introduced the first smash
arcade game to North America, Space Invaders.
In the game the player takes control of a small base at the bottom of
the screen and is required to shoot down a cascading armada of pixilated aliens
who move downward in waves. There was no actual narrative or end to the game.
The purpose was simply to score points. However, This game was unique for
various reasons but one of the most significant contributions to interactive
entertainment was its internal scoring system. Players who scored highly were
allowed to enter their initials. Thus began the emergence of video games as
popular entertainment. Gaming became a serious hobby and a means of social
interaction. Most games allowed for two player competitive interaction. Other
games such as Atari’s Gauntlet, allows multiple players to play side by side as
a team to reach goals. Later the arcade experience exploded with the
introduction of such powerhouse properties such as Namco’s Galaga and Pac-man,
William’s Defender and Robotron 2084 and Atari’s tempest and Centipede. These
games created the industry’s foundation as a social experience as the arcade
hits would later be transferred to the console and PC formats. Despite their
somewhat quant and crude graphics by today’s standards these games are still
popular and are often ported over to such gaming systems as Wii’s virtual
console and XBLA on the X-box
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