The Rise Of Game Culture

So how exactly have video games evolved over the years? Very drastically I’d say. Some of the first versions of video games were not exactly devices that could be used by an average person in their homes. They were developed by programmers using huge university computers. In 1962 a group of students in Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a game known as ‘Spacewar’. This game went on to have a great deal of influence on future game, but it could only be played at the Institute.

Then, in 1972, engineer Nolan Bushnell, and programmer Ted Dabney started a company in California known as ‘Atari’. This company produced coin-operated video games and their first major release was a game named Pong. It was basically like an electronic form of ping-pong that was simple enough that almost anyone could play it. They became very popular in arcades.

Another major brand at the time was Magnavox. They were the first to release an official home video game console – the Magnavox Odyssey.

 

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Much like early films, this console did not feature any recorded sound and its graphics are pretty much ancient by today’s standard. During this era, video gaming was very much an adult novelty. The market was mostly university educated males.

Atari’s game Pong was so successful that in 1977 they decided to launch their own home console – Atari 2600, which eventually sold 30,000,000 units.

 

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Following this Magnavox also launched an improved version of their Odyssey system. In fact they released more than one improved version of the original!
 

 

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The novelty of video games did suffer a setback in 1983 when the market turned much of its attention to other devices such as personal computers. Not only this but many consumers were demanding newer versions which were continuously delayed, and then when production was rushed they would be badly designed new systems. The “great video game crash” drove most of the major video game players out of business.

However, not long after this crash other companies in Japan such as Sega and Nintendo started to make similar games but they were more smartly designed, had simpler controllers and they very much narrowed their focus games for children. The next few years saw the release of classic games such as Mario Bros, Final Fantasy and Donkey Kong.

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Nintendo also found success with the handheld Game Boy.

 

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The years following 1991 saw a change from 2D video gaming to 3D video gaming, as well as the introduction of online multiplayer games. The first multiplayer game to be released was Neverwinter Nights. Then in 1992, came the Wolfenstein 3D which launched the first-person shooter genre.

In 1994, Sony made its entrance with the leading Playstation.

 

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The Playstation had a more complex controller, it used a lot of licensed music, it has a more mature range of titles and was able to capture a more teenage audience than its competitors. Sony slowly became the dominant player in video gaming.

Today, the three major competitors are: Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. With a full 1080p HD graphics for both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, and with Wii’s ground-breaking remote for sensing 3D movements, I think it is fair to say that video gaming has come a very long way!

 

 

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Video games are very much become an important part of our digital culture. The gaming industry today is at an industrial scale. A recent study has indicated that the average gamer is aged in their mid-late 20’s, with 60% being male and 40% being women. There are a large number of games now developed specifically for adults. Video games are not just for children or teenagers. They connect millions of players from all across the world. I would say that we have an unprecedented online gaming community amongst us.

Games even have an impact on journalism! Games have entered the news as shown in the book Newsgames: Journalism at Play by Ian Bogost, Simon Ferrari and Bobby Schweizer. Much of the book is based on explaining what games really are, and the functional and ethical challenges their creators face which happen to be very similar to those found by infographics and visualization designers. Journalists have started to borrow data visualization techniques from computers scientists and artists. Infographics and video play a huge role online and have become a vital part of digital journalism as they get audiences to interact with the news. Play the News claims to be an “engaging, community driven experience – imagine fantasy sports meets the evening news”.

With the Olympics the Guardian came up with the interactive game “Could you be a Medalist?” which gave readers a way to be a part of the games. The Guardian challenged readers to compare their personal best to the athletes competing from around the world.

 

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Games are a part of our everyday life now in ways that some people may have thought unimaginable. In the future gaming will only get more advanced.