The history
History
Arno Kamphuis
Game Design 2010-2011
• The 60s - First games
• The 70s - Home consoles
• The 80s - The great crash
• The 90s - Increasing speed(s)
• The 00s - Next-gen
• The future ??????
First game
First games
1958
What is the first computer game ever?
Brookhaven National
Laboratory
Tennis for Two
First games
First games
• 1960-62 MIT on a PDP1
• 1960-62 MIT on a PDP1
• Spacewar
• Lunar landing (PDP8)
• Hunt the wumpus
• Spacewar
• Lunar landing (PDP8)
• Hunt the wumpus
(about $120.000)
• Other games:
The 70s
• Coin-up machines
• Simple games, like
pong
• Atari
(about $120.000)
• Other games:
Other games in the 70s
• Death race
• Breakout
• Steve Jobs and Steve
Wozniak
• Star wars
• Used vector graphics
TV gaming systems
• Odyssey (1970)
• Analog
• Overlays for play
field
• $100
• 100,000 units in one
year
• Channel F (1976)
• Digital
• Programmable with
game cartridges
Video Computer System
• Other games
• Pitfall
• Asteroids (best
selling game)
• Pacman
• Originally named
Puck-man
• In 1979: high-scores
Video Computer System
• VCS or 2600
• 1977, Atari
• Expensive: $250
• Space Invader made it
sell
• 25 million in 2 years
• 120 million game
cartridges
• 200 games
Nintendo
When was Nintendo founded?
And what did they make?
Nintendo
• Founded in 1889
• Maker of card games
(Hanafuda)
• In 1981 they introduce
Donkey Kong
• Featuring Mario
The start of the 80s
• ...and more...
• Odyssey2
• Coleco
• Atari 5200
• Commodore 64GS
• Nintendo Famicon
• Coleco Adam
The start of the 80s
• More new consoles...
• Odyssey2
• Coleco
• Atari 5200
• Commodore 64GS
• Nintendo Famicon
• Coleco Adam
1985: And then no more
• Too many different consoles
• Incompatible, consumer did no longer know what to
buy
• Bad game quality
• Many companies went bankrupt
• Prices went down
New winners
New winners
• Nintendo Entertainment
• Nintendo Entertainment
• Tetris was born
• Tetris was born
System (NES)
(Alexey Pajitnov)
• Atari 7800
• Sega Master System
New (familiar) games
System (NES)
(Alexey Pajitnov)
• Atari 7800
• Sega Master System
In 1989 the handhelds came
More Familiar Games
1991
• SuperNES
• 3D chip on
cartridges
• Sega introduces Sonic
• Game Genie
• Nintendo first won
• Later accepted it
1993
1993
• Start of 32-bit
• Panasonic 3DO
• Atari Jaguar (64bit)
• Start of 32-bit
• Panasonic 3DO
• Atari Jaguar (64bit)
• nVidia is founded
• nVidia is founded
• DOOM appears
• DOOM appears
94/95 New consoles
• New Consoles
• Sega Saturn
• 500.000 poly/s
• 24 bit stereo sound
• Sony Playstation (32 bit)
• 360.000 poly/s
• 24 bit stereo sound
• N64
• 150.000 poly/s
• 16 bit stereo sound
1996: New types of games
• Simulation
• Fighting
• Tomb Raider
• CD is introduced for data
• Game budgets go up to 0.5 M$
1996: New types of games
• Simulation
• Fighting
• Tomb Raider
98-2001: Faster, Faster
• Sega Dreamcast (1998)
• 128 bit, 3.000.000 poly/s, 32 bit surround sound
• Stopped in 2001
• Sony PS2 (2000)
• 128 bit, 75 Mpoly/s, DVD rom
• Nintendo GameCube (2000)
• 32/64 bit, 12 Mpoly/s, miniDVD
• Microsoft Xbox (2001)
• PIII 733 MHz, 150-300 Mpoly/s, DV+HD, Ethernet
Games become important
Game-based movies
• Game Budgets 1-5 M$
• The legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Total revenue 150 M$
• Compare: Bug’s Life: 114 M$
• EAs Ultima Online
• The Sims
• Best-seller in 2000 and 2001
New forms of interaction
• Eye Toy
• Dance Dance
Revolution
• Karaoke
More mobile devices
• Introduction
• NGage
• Nintendo DS
• PSP
• Followed by:
• Nintendo DSi
• PSP Go
• Mobile phones!
More mobile devices
• Introduction
• NGage
• Nintendo DS
• PSP
• Followed by:
• Nintendo DSi
• PSP Go
Next generation
• Xbox 360
• PlayStation 3
• Nintendo Wii
• Mobile phones!
Physical Interaction
Online Games
• World of Warcraft
• Many, many others
• Second Life is not a
game!
• Different commercial
models
• Subscription
• Buying goods
• Advertisement
Future
Future
• Locative games
• ’Revival’ of the PC
• Easier to program
• Online games
• Casual games
• Pervasive gaming
• New interfacing
• Full body
• Biometric
• Brain-machine
interaction