History of Video Games - Week 1 (tri 2)

We began the lecture talking about videogames and how people chose to play them - what controllers do you use? are you more of a keyboard and mouse gamer? - I was always a pc gamer, growing up in Poland we never really thought about the luxuries of owing a console.

Videogame History

There is no common agreement on what the first video game actually was. While the 1958 game Tennis for Two is often cited as the first, earlier contenders exist. For example, OXO was created in 1952 by Alexander Shafto Douglas, a Cambridge graduate. Using the EDSAC computer at Cambridge University, he developed OXO - a graphical version of tic-tac-toe. Some argue OXO does not qualify as the first video game due to its lack of moving, continuously updating graphics. However, it was the first to electronically display visuals on a screen and exhibit artificial intelligence - This is why in my opinion OXO should be considered as one of the first video games.

Atari E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Atari's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" is often considered one of the worst games of all time. Released in 1982 for the Atari 2600, it was rushed to release with the movie's popularity. The game's design was poor, with confusing gameplay mechanics and frustrating controls. Due to its rushed development, it suffered from many glitches and bugs. Combined with high expectations, its failure to deliver an enjoyable experience led to its famous title of being one of the worst games ever made.

During todays lecture we actually had the chance to play this famous "worst game of all time"! The experience wasn't as funny as it may seem, I wanted to give the game the benefit of the doubt but... it was very frustrating. What stood out to me the most was the lack of an objective, map, or even any tutorial.. oh and how can I forget honestly the most terrifying opponents - didn't know a game like that could pull off some 'great' jump scares..

Half-Life (1998)

Half-Life, released in 1998, is a critically acclaimed first-person shooter developed by Valve Corporation. While it wasn't the first game to utilize WASD controls, it certainly popularized them and contributed to their widespread popularity.

While I do believe that OXO should be considered to be the first video game, to me Half-Life is the beginning of what I would like to call a 'new era of gaming'. Majority of games nowadays follow exactly the same control systems as Half-Life, it's hard to imagine an alternative if Half-Life wasn't one of the first mainstreams games to use WASD by default.

Alternative Controllers (Shake That Button)

Towards the end of the lecture, we had a look at Alternative Game Controllers, which are controllers - but actually fun! On the website Shake That Button I had a look at a bunch of different alternative controller projects, however, the one that interested me the most is the Robot Slow Dance by Dietrich Squinkifer.

Robot Slow Dance

"A two-player animatronic diorama game contained entirely inside of a briefcase. Players control a pair of robots who, rather than fighting, dance with and talk to each other, in an exploration of awkwardness, intimacy, and queer relationships."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syMUNKiDQ70

I found this project absolutely adorable... Their dialog is so awkward and painful, I just love it!

The design is simple, it includes:

• briefcase

• start button

• speakers

• joysticks

• red and blue robot

• and a bunch of electronic parts underneath it all

I particularly enjoyed all the details put into this controller, such as the adorable googly eyes and colourful text behind the robots, spelling out "robot slowdance".