The first computer games go back to the 50s when a nought and crosses game was created using an EDSAC computer. An effort at MIT ten years later led to a the multiplayer Spacewar game developed in a PDP-1. Even though these games were primitive, a game industry was born with the first games available in special locations – arcades. Today’s games are produced with modest Hollywood budgets and some are selling more than box-office hits.
In this lecture we look at computer games and the gaming market. Also we cover the impact of gaming and the trends.
6. Early Games
Cathode ray tube amusement device, 1947
Analog game, purely electromechanical
Controlled by control knobs which influences the
trajectory of the CRT's light beam
Player controls a reticle and aligns it to an airplane to shoot down
7. Noughts And Crosses, 1952
A Tic-Tac-Toe game
Ran on EDSAC
Used the tank display CRT as
35 x 16 pixel screen for
displaying his game
Game did not get well known
Early Games
8. Q1
In early 1960, there was no “video game industry” -
Two cultures contributed to the idea that
computers should be things we interact with and
play with. What are they?
9. Early Games
Early 1960s - Two cultures contributed to the idea that
computers should be things we interact with and play with
Hackers - “the hands on imperative”
Rebel entrepreneurs - eager to break into the amusement
industry
Walter Isaacson: The Innovators
11. Programmed on PDP-1 in MIT in
1960 by Steve Russel
One of the first time-sharing
computers
Space game where two players try
to shoot each others without being
drawn to the sun in the center
Spacewar!
1961
Early Games
13. Impact:
1. Collaboration - Liquid network
effect
2. Free - Open Source
3. Strengthened the view that
Computers should be Personal and
Interactive in real-time
Early Games
Spacewar!
1961
15. Arcades
Special purpose machines
Most popular game was PONG
Arcades became popular amongst
young in 1971-1974
2-D boards and movement
of objects
Special controls and buttons
16.
17. Pong 1974
Atari VCS 2600 1977
Game Consoles
In 1974 game consoles start to appear
Computer games market emerges
Atari became the industry leader —Nolan Bushnell
VCS – Video Computer System 1974 – 1984
Discontinued in 1991
18.
19. The Video Game Crash
In 1983 the computer game market crashed
Throughout the 1984 and 1985, the home video game industry was
nearly dead
Too much supply of similar games
Low quality
The public lost interest
Atari did not credit developers
20. Game Consoles Come Back
Nintendo Entertainment System, 1986
Started the second computer console revolution
Changed the way games were marketed
Strict control of what games were produced and sold
Instituted quality standards
Instituted content standards
21. Enter the Personal Computer
In the 80s Personal computers become more wide spread
Games slowly appear in the PCs
22.
23. Interactive fiction
In the 80s Interactive fiction games became popular
Role-playing game in which the player moves around in imaginative
adventure world and solves mysteries
Early games where text games with simple commands
Slowly graphics was added
24. Enter CD-ROM
With CD-ROM new types of games
became possible
More graphic
The 7th guest from 1992
Myst from 1993 became an
unexpected huge success
25.
26. Multiplayer and 3-D Games
Early games were multiplayer games
Pong and Spacewar! were multiplayer
Most games after that were single player games where
player plays against the computer or players take turn
In the late 80s and early 90s networks start to appear
Ethernet LANs, then the Internet
27.
28. DOOM introduced 3-D graphics and multiplayer capabilities in 1993
3D game where the player moves around in a 3-D world
Breakthrough graphics
Multiplayer capability on a LAN
Multiplayer and 3-D Games
30. “Games offer immediate feedback, you can see your progress,
you can try something and be frustrated but later learn more…
that’s why game play is so engaging to us.”
—Barbara Chamberlin, project director at
the New Mexico State University Learning Games Lab
32. Addiction
Some games are highly addictive
Role playing games, MUD (Multiple User
Dialog)
Example: EverQuest
Games with progression, construction and
commands
Examples: WarCraft, CounterStrike, Sims
Impact of Computer Games
33.
34. Violence
Some games are violent, made for mature
adult audience
Most games are not violent
Impact of Computer Games
35.
36. The Gaming Market
“In twenty years, games will have taken over
the world and everything will be virtual
reality.”
-- Ray Kurzwiel
43. Products: PlayStation, PlayStation2, 3 and 4
PlayStation Portable
Have the broadest market
Has most of the games
PlayStation3 came with IBM’s Cell
Movie and TV show downloads
PlayStation4 released late 2013
Sony
44.
45. Products: XBox, XBox 360, XBox One
Appeal to hard-core games
Most powerful console
Xbox Live – online game service
Kinect
Microsoft is promoting
xbox as entertainment
device
XBox
46.
47. Products: GameCube, GameBoy
Wii, Wii U, DS
Appeal to families
Apply strict standards
Wii got a very good start with
Wii Remote
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo
58. Simple and easy games, last for short time (50+ hours)
Addictive with low barriers
Pictures from
PopCap
Source: IGDA 2008-2009 Casual Games White Paper
Casual Games
60. Source: The online computer and video game industry (OECD Report)
The MMORPG Top List
Thousands of players
Roles and responsibility
Continuity and progress
MMORPG
62. Monetizing games
To make successful games, you have to be a really
good game designer
Art style, tone, uniqueness, game design and
balancing have to work
Monetization strategy depends heavily on the type of
game
63. Ad supported - free, low barrier, large audience
Free 2 Play - optional in-play purchase, time, skills, virtual stuff
Download - Pay for downloads for PC, console and mobile games
Subscription - Pay for access, monthly
Money gaming - Play for money and take rake or percentage
Monetizing games
64. Give player access to play significant portion of the game
without paying
Then charge for extras, VIP access, more choices, virtual
stuff, advancement
Based on the Freemium concept
Free to Play - F2P
67. The 90-9-1 Rule
In social communities, 90% of the
users don’t contribute
In gaming 90% play for free but
are needed so the community
works
90% Play for free
9% Pay for added value
1% Pay for anything
92. Fluid intelligence is the capacity to think logically and solve
problems in novel situations, independent of acquired
knowledge
Crystallized intelligence is the ability to use skills, knowledge,
and experience
Evolution of Man gave us Intelligence
93. Q6
Highlight the talk (parts shown in class) by Gabe
Zicherman: How games make kids smarter (2010).
What are his main points?