The first computer game was developed in 1947 and was based on World War II radar displays. Pong, created in 1972, was the first commercially successful video game and introduced video games to arcades. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many home console systems became popular but the video game crash of 1983 caused sales to plummet due to an oversaturation of low-quality games. Early computer games were text-based adventures but graphical computer games emerged in the 1980s with titles like Mystery House. Modern computer games have highly detailed 3D graphics and complex virtual worlds.

1. Video games from 1947 to now.

2. The first computer game is said to have been developed in
1947 for the cathode ray tube, a vacuum tube containing an
electron gun and a florescent screen to represent
waveforms. The game was based on World War II radar
displays, and the player had to use knobs to adjust the
trajectory of light beams in order to hit targets on clear
screen overlays.

3. Pong
Of course, when every thinks of
early video games, they think of
Pong. Pong was the first video
game to be successful, and it is
widely believed to be the first video
game ever. Pong was invented by a
young engineer named Nolan
Bushnell and introduced video
games to arcades in 1972. Two
years later, Bushnell’s company
Atari introduced a home version of
Pong, kicking off an interest in home
video games. Video games
systems gained popularity after
that, with the Colecovision, the
Atari, and the Intellivision.
However, this prosperity wouldn’t
last long.

4. The North American
Video Game Crash
was mostly the fault of
Atari releasing low
quality games, namely
Atari Pac-Man and ET.
The terrible games by
Atari itself, combined
with an overload of
video games by the
other 50 companies
that were the same
quality as games
released at the Atari’s
beginning and the
advent of home
computers led to
video game sales
plummeting
drastically. It would
take years for home
consoles to resume
sales.
However, computer
gaming began to rise.

5. Early Computer Gaming
The earliest computer game was a
mainframe Star Trek game, but the
first games for home computers
were text based adventures, such
as Adventure: Colossal Cave
Adventure, Hunt the Wumpus, and
Zork. These games lacked any sort
of graphical interface, but that did
not slow sales.
Later Roy Trubshaw would create a
program known as a MUD, or “multi-
user dungeon.” This was the first
multiplayer computer game, a sort
of chat room with a limited selection
of items.

6. GRAPHICAL
COMPUTER GAMES
The first computer game
with graphics was Mystery
House in 1980. The game
was produced by the
company On-Line
Systems, started by Ken and
Roberta Williams, and it sold
11,000 copies in the first
year. Later the couple
moved to
California, changed the
company’s name to Sierra
On-Line, and began
producing more games
such as Kings Quest.

7. Modern
Computer Games
Over the last twenty
years, computers have gotten
more powerful, and computer
games have followed suit.
Games like The Elder Scrolls:
Skyrim, shown to the left, can
run an entire pretend world
while you play, and can be
mistaken for real life at times.
We’ve come a long way from
the Cathode Ray Tube
Amusement Device.

8. Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device information: http://classicgames.about.com/od/classicvideogames101/p/CathodeDevice.htm
Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device image: http://www.cracked.com/article_16973_11-modern-technologies-that-are-way-older-
than-you-think.html
Pong information: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/pong.htm
Pong Image: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/pong.htm
Video Game Crash, Early Computer Games, and Graphical Computer Games information: http://www.thedoteaters.com/
Vide Game Crash and Graphical Computer Games pictures: http://www.thedoteaters.com/p3_stage6.php
Early Computer Games picture: http://www.gameclassification.com/FR/games/index.html?display=thumb&sort=game_year%20ASC
Modern Video Games picture: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/718881/skyrim-vs-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-videogame-
deathmatch-best-games-of-2011-nerdfight/