Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
From Home Pong to consoles that come bundled with DV D or Blu-ray play-
ers, the purpose of video game consoles has dramatically shifted over time.
Analyzing the devices used for play helps defi ne what a video game console
was, is, and will be, while illustrating how technology and discourse con-
tribute in the application of wordplay.
These four topics, developed through a retelling of certain elements of
the history of video games, detail how the platforms on which we play
games are of special importance. This work is a beginning, rather than an
end, because the areas of focus can be applied to other video game tech-
nologies to facilitate further expansion of how the devices on which we play
games can be better understood with wordplay.
WHERE WE PLAY
In the early days of development, video games were almost exclusively
played in public spaces. From William Higinbotham's Tennis for Two ,
which was developed for visitor's day at the Brookhaven National Labora-
tory to the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club's Spacewar! , video games were
developed for computers that were unlikely to be found anywhere other
than places where people gathered. Both games were largely designed to
show of what could be done with technology, one to invite people to see
government research in a dif erent way and the other to highlight what a
savvy group of students could do with a computer. The arcade games popu-
larized largely in the 1970s and 1980s continued the placement of video
games in public space, although the purpose of video games shifted away
from highlighting technological and creative advancements toward gener-
ating revenue for both the game companies that developed arcade cabinets
and those that bought and installed them. Ei ciently mass-producing games
was important for arcade game manufacturers, 3 and arcade owners sought
games that led to consistent quarter drops and heightened public attention.
Individually owned console systems are quite dif erent in design, motive
and execution. Tracing those dif erences and highlighting the importance
of certain elements of video game consoles illustrates just how important
the transition from public to private is to the contextual elements of gaming
recognized with wordplay.
The history of home games originated in an idea that was well before its
time. In the late 1960s Ralph Baer began work on what would become the
Magnavox Odyssey while at Sanders Associates. The console used remov-
able circuit boards to enable players to change games and was packaged
with colored plastic sheets that could enable players to simulate color graph-
ics. To make the product more familiar to consumers, Magnavox chose to
package the Odyssey with dice, poker chips, and stacks of fake money that
made it feel more like a traditional board game. The Odyssey was only sold
at Magnavox dealers and turned out to be a massive commercial failure for
 
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