The History of Gaming – From Arcades to Wii
The Beginning of video games was a long time before those actual systems came out that we all went a bit bonkers over. The first type of video game was a cathode ray tube that permitted people to play on their television using paper targets. Needless to say it wasn’t a vast hit, but it did make an impression on a few people who determined they’d like to make it better. The seventies rolled around, and gaming was everywhere. Atari was just coming out and it was having a field day. It wasn’t until the early portions of the 80s however that the golden age of video gaming took place. The mid 80s began with some vast technological changes that gave the video game companies something to work with. They wasted no time in making sure that they got into the pocket of the American public.
The 80s saw some of the most innovative and interesting games being developed and the defining qualities and genres were determined in those first few years. Games like Lode Runner Zork Mystery House Kings Quest Adventure, quests, brand new systems and new styles of graphics were coming into play. Roberta Williams and Sierra were the new company to beat. Graphics–well those were primarily monochrome style drawings in the beginning. You typed in commands, the mouse was literally non-existent and people loved it. Living other lives and entering into quests and adventures was the order of the day and no one didn’t play some type of video game.
Mystery House, designed in 1980 was a game that was wildly popular in its day. It too was simple line drawn graphics and you typed in the commands that you needed to give it and the entire world was amazed. The nineties rolled around and those games which were popular in the 80s were considered to be out of date and out of style. The new order of gaming was the BBS, the Mudd and the life action RP in a chat room. Companies such as Webchat Broadcasting, Rooms such as the Nia’s Tavern and the Realm of Elahrair were the video games of the nineties, and online gaming was born. Video games were no longer only small consoles but the entire world was playing and it was getting more popular than ever before.
Gaming moved forward into vast new realms. World of Warcraft, Strange new games, new methods of gaming, online communities that permitted literally thousands of people to game together were just the beginning. Gaming where you can define your realm, select your partners, choose your weaponry and the groups that you fight against are now part of the present day gaming and the future looks even more interesting.
Wii gaming communities and Wii games which are now controlled by the movements of the body are rapidly approaching and they look as interesting and innovative to us as the simple Atari games looked to those who were viewing the first video games of the seventies.