Video game

What Exactly Is a Video Game?

A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback from a display device. It’s like playing a digital version of your favorite board games, but on a screen! Imagine the first time you saw NIMROD or Tennis for Two—these were simple extensions of electronic games using video-like output from large computers in the 1950s and 1960s. How did these early prototypes evolve into the massive industry we see today?

The Early Days of Video Games

In 1962, MIT students created the first video games on a DEC PDP-1 computer, including NIMROD, OXO, Tennis for Two, and Spacewar!. These innovations laid the foundation for modern video games. Ralph H. Baer developed a system to play a basic table tennis game on a television screen in 1966, leading to the creation of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney created Computer Space, the first arcade video game, in 1971, which inspired Pong, a hit arcade game that was released by Christmas 1975 as a home machine.

These early games launched the video game industry, with Baer and Bushnell being referred to as ‘Father of Video Games.’ The term ‘video game’ appeared twice in Bushnell’s letter, suggesting it had been proposed and readily adopted by those in the field. Around March 1973, Ed Adlum used the term in an article in Cashbox’s coin-operated section. The phrase stuck.

Defining a Video Game

The lack of an industry definition for a video game was an issue during the case Epic Games v. Apple. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers established that ‘At a bare minimum, video games appear to require some level of interactivity or involvement between the player and the medium.’ She concluded that what is a video game ‘appears highly eclectic and diverse.’

The gameplay experience varies radically between video games, but many common elements exist. Most games launch into a title screen with options for players, divided into levels where they must work through an avatar to score points and collect power-ups. The information is relayed to the player through a type of on-screen user interface. Taking damage will deplete their avatar’s health, and if that falls to zero or the avatar falls into an impossible-to-escape location, the player loses a life. Should they lose all their lives without gaining an extra life, the player will reach the ‘game over’ screen.

Many levels and the game finale end with a type of boss character that must be defeated to continue on. Some games offer save points where players can create a saved game or write down a passage to restart at a later time. Video games require a platform, including hardware and associated software, to process player interaction and display results.

Platforms and Game Media

PC games involve a personal computer connected to a video monitor, offering openness and flexibility for developers. Gaming computers are high-performance PCs intended specifically for gaming. Consoles are specialized electronic devices that connect to a television set, giving developers a concrete hardware target. Handheld consoles are small, self-contained devices that are portable and feature the console, screen, speakers, and buttons in one unit.

Games can be extended with new content and software patches through either expansion packs which are typically available as physical media, or as downloadable content nominally available via digital distribution. These can be offered freely or can be used to monetize a game following its initial release. Several games offer players the ability to create user-generated content to share with others to play.

Other games, mostly those on personal computers, can be extended with user-created modifications or mods that alter or add onto the game; these often are unofficial and were developed by players from reverse engineering of the game, but other games provide official support for modding the game.

The Evolution of Video Games

Video game can use several types of input devices to translate human actions to a game. Most common are the use of game controllers like gamepads and joysticks for most consoles, and as accessories for personal computer systems along keyboard and mouse controls. Common controls on the most recent controllers include face buttons, shoulder triggers, analog sticks, and directional pads.

The game’s output can range from fixed displays using LED or LCD elements, text-based games, two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics, and augmented reality displays. The game’s graphics are often accompanied by sound produced by internal speakers on the game platform or external speakers attached to the platform, as directed by the game’s programming.

Some platforms support additional feedback mechanics to the player that a game can take advantage of. This is most commonly haptic technology built into the game controller, such as causing the controller to shake in the player’s hands to simulate a shaking earthquake occurring in game.

Game Genres and Modes

Video games are frequently classified by a number of factors related to how one plays them. Genre names are normally self-describing in terms of the type of gameplay, such as action game, role playing game, or shoot ’em up, though some genres have derivations from influential works that have defined that genre.

A hierarchy of game genres exist, with top-level genres like ‘shooter game’ and ‘action game’ that broadly capture the game’s main gameplay style, and several subgenres of specific implementation, such as within the shooter game first-person shooter and third-person shooter. A video game’s mode describes how many players can use the game at the same time. This is primarily distinguished by single-player and multiplayer video games.

The Video Game Industry

Video games are typically intended for entertainment purposes and can be categorized into different types: core games, casual games, educational games, serious games, and art games. Games can be subject to national and international content rating requirements, which vary from country to country but generally involve voluntary systems upheld by vendor practices with penalty and fines for misuse.

The video game industry is protected by copyright, with cross-country protection under the Berne Convention, typically applying to code, art assets, writing, music, and gameplay presentation. Gameplay itself is generally not considered copyrightable, as it falls into the idea-expression distinction.

Game Development and Industry Trends

The early history of the video game industry was marked by little structure and numerous companies forming simply to create clones of popular games. The market crashed in 1983, leading to many companies closing down. Japan’s growing game industry was briefly shocked by the 1983 crash but recovered due to Nintendo’s release of the NES in North America in 1985.

The industry shifted towards more conservative practices, forming around publisher-developer dichotomies, leading to a focus on low-risk triple-A games and large development budgets. The advent of digital distribution brought an alternative to traditional game development, with independent game development growing as a significant portion of the industry.

Conclusion

The video game industry has come a long way from those early prototypes in 1962. Today, it’s a $159 billion market, influencing popular culture and recognized as an art form. As technology advances, so do the possibilities for what we can create within these digital worlds. The future of gaming is exciting, with new genres emerging and old ones evolving. Whether you’re a casual gamer or a hardcore enthusiast, there’s always something new to explore in this ever-evolving landscape.