Ask Me Something: History of video games

From pixelated prototypes to high-resolution, digital worlds, video games have come a long way since their creation in the 1950s. But how did they get started, and where are they headed next? 

Dr. John Aycock, BSc’93, PhD, a professor in the University of Calgary’s Department of Computer Science, talks through some gaming milestones.

What was the first computer game? Why was it created? 

Humans have always played games, we see dice and other implements throughout the archaeological record. So, if you give humans a flexible machine like a computer, will they play games on it? Absolutely. That started as early as … prototype games such as Bertie the Brain, a Canadian tic-tac-toe-playing machine shown at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1950. The more interesting question for me is: when did the public start playing? That really began in the early 1970s with the rise of arcade games and home consoles. 

How did universities and research labs contribute to the early development of video games?  

In the early days of video games, computers weren’t something people had in their homes yet. A lot of people’s first exposure to computers, or computer games, came through universities. The computers there weren’t meant for playing games, they were probably for research projects or military purposes. And the people who paid for them weren’t always thrilled that others were using them to play games. 

In 1983, the video game industry suffered a significant downturn. What caused the industry crash and how did it affect gaming?

At that time, video games hadn’t yet become a firmly established industry, and many people questioned whether they were just a passing fad. From the consumer's perspective, there was a big shakeout, with many companies going out of business.   

How did copy protection and security measures shape early game development?

For console-makers such as Nintendo, it was about being gatekeepers; controlling who could develop games for their systems. On the consumer side, particularly with early home computers, there was a growing concern about piracy. Media, like floppy disks, [were] easy for people to copy, which meant game developers had to come up with ways to protect their work. 

Some of the cleverest methods involved tying the protection into the gameplay itself. For example, a murder-mystery game might require you to reference clues from a printed booklet that came with the game. Without it, you couldn’t solve the mystery. And, at the time, it wasn’t easy for everyone to copy that kind of physical material, photocopiers and scanners weren’t common household items. So, even if someone copied the disk, the game was basically useless without the accompanying materials. 

Where do you see the future of video games headed? What role do you think retro games will play in the future?  

A lot of companies seem to be banking heavily on retro and nostalgia. Even if you don’t have nostalgia for a specific time, many early games have a very simple, distinctive look, and their design is often very straightforward. You can see those design ideas echoed in casual games we play today. As for the future, we’re reaching a point where games can look incredibly realistic, something developers have worked toward for a long time. But, once that’s solved, the real challenge will be making unique, interesting games, not just realistic-looking ones.