Rise of Video Games Level 1

1) Videogames emerged from the culture of the "Cold War" - what does Henry Jenkins from MIT compare the period to in terms of a famous board game?

Battle Ship. The Cold War was essentially a simulation pitted against one another.

2) a) Who was the inventor of the first Video game according to the documentary?

William Higgabaughem.

b) What was the name of the game?

Tennis for Two

3) Steve Russell is credited with the first true computer-based videogame (in terms of its use with the 1961 PDP1 mainframe computer) with SPACEWAR - what popular science fiction book series also influenced him?

Bob Smith's Lensmen series.

4) What innovation did Steve Russell's SPACEWAR introduce in terms of input hardware?

The joystick.

5) a) In the anti-war and counterculture period of the 1960s and 1970s, what new home entertainment system let consumers finally control what was being seen on the home television?

Atari

b) b) Who was its inventor/developer?

Nolan Bushnell

6) PONG emerged out of the counterculture spirit of the early 1970s - its natural home was what type of entertainment setting?

Bars and Pubs

7) Who does Nolan Bushnell say were generally best at playing the game?

Women because they have better muscle coordination.

8) "Space Invaders" emerged in the late 1970s as the first game from Japan.
How did the TAITO production team intensify the emotion of the game using the four-note in-game music theme?

As the invaders came closer to the player, they would speed up the tempo of the music. It mimicked the beating of the human heart.

9) Steve Moulder reflects that the first arcade games tended to result in the player's defeat. This he argues in turn reflected the view held by many designers during that time that war itself is defeatist.

Has this view changed since that time? Do today's latest games still convey this sense? Why? Why not? (use your own words)

Yes that has changed. Game designers now know that the player likes to have a sense of control and power. Hence, games are designed so that you can win and get the desired outcome. In addition, game designers and even players nowadays, are far removed from the wars and conflict that was associated during the cold war. Hence, games are less influenced by the strife of war and more about the entertainment value of war as depicted by Hollywood.

10) Have you ever played any of the games shown in this the first episode of "I, Videogame"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?

I remember playng tetris on the NES. I was only 7 or 8 years old and remember it as being the game I could not beat. I also remember playing Tetris on the Gameboy and I would play it as a diversion from being bored when my parents were visiting my relatives.