| Gaming today is a recognized element of our cultural | | | | visions into digital applications which we are still using. |
| scenery, even to people who are over thirty or who | | | | Their imaginations have turned gaming into a digital |
| can barely recall the time before arcade games were | | | | masterpiece. |
| invented. Gone are the days when you would play | | | | The perception of establishing an electronic game |
| Pac-Man or the famous Mario Brothers game. | | | | system to the screen or the television was invented |
| Although they are still played and enjoyed today, | | | | by Ralph Bauer during the early 1950's. This made the |
| they have been enhanced into dimensional games and | | | | first game possible. After that, he introduced and |
| versions. People will never forget the old games and | | | | presented his ideas to Magnavox, a television |
| that's a good thing because there is a history here | | | | company. The company liked his ideas and inventions |
| that shouldn't be forgotten. | | | | so well that they have released a sophisticated |
| Gaming is not a recent breakthrough. Arcade games | | | | version of Bauer's "Brown Box" prototype, known as |
| began many years ago. They weren't as acceptable | | | | the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. By today's |
| as they are now. Artifacts from Egypt and Sumeria | | | | standards, the Odyssey was prehistoric, displaying |
| have revealed that our ancestors enjoyed playing | | | | only spots of light on the screen. It also required the |
| board games thousands of years ago. | | | | use of translucent plastic overlays to replicate the |
| The electronic games we have now required the | | | | appearance of the game. |
| creation of electronic computers. The early | | | | The first truly popular console system was known as |
| computers were slow and prone to failures. Early | | | | the Atari 2600. It was released in 1977. The Atari |
| programmers felt obliged to waste their time by | | | | made use of plug-in cartridges in order to play a |
| programming these computers to do things like | | | | variety of games. The popularity of Space Invaders |
| tic-tac-toe. When World War II ended, electronic | | | | was a breakthrough and it became a best seller |
| computers started becoming standard equipment in | | | | during that time. The computer games written for |
| the more progressive laboratories. Soon afterwards, | | | | the TRS-80 and Apple II computers were attracting |
| they were incorporated with large corporations, | | | | interest at this time. |
| establishments and companies. It can be argued that | | | | There are several books and articles about the |
| university students were the first game | | | | history of arcade games. |
| programmers, exploring their fantasies and sci-fi | | | | |