Game Design Theory

It seems in the everyday lives of this modern day and age, the amount of families that have seen at least one video game console pass through their homes has skyrocketed exponentially. Even with mobile gaming–apps like Temple Run, Pocket God, and Puzzle and Dragons–today’s youth has no shortage of opportunities when it comes to these kinds of enlightening experiences. As hard as it is to believe though, this wasn’t always the case. Back in the early 1950s–back before the Game Boys and the Console Wars, the NES and Sega Genesis–the only use visual technology really had was for dissertation research or a one-time demonstration for an annual visitor’s day. The very conception of electronically visual entertainment was only ever delved into for works in science fiction and fantasy and yet, people like A.S. Douglas (creator of OXO) and William Higinbotham (creator of Tennis for Two) walked so authors and publishers today could stride. That brings us to our topic today: how exactly did video games and visual media transfer from the realms of experimental science to everyday home entertainment, and how was this trend marketed to sell more to the general public?

Often and rightfully regarded as the “father of video games”, Ralph Baer was instrumental in the creation of what he called the “Brown Box”, later rebranded as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. This system was designed with a vacuum-tube circuit, which allowed for the use of an electronic display. This feat alone revolutionized the ease of accessibility to and comprehension of the modern video game, and allowed systems like the Atari 2600 and Famicom (Japan’s version of the Nintendo Entertainment System) to begin their arduous and impressive takeover of the practical entertainment method. The evolution of an electronic display through vacuum tube circuits was not the only growth in this endeavor, however. Implementations of handheld controllers and joysticks paired with an electronic screen–most often that of a television–helped open up avenues for co-operational game play; opportunities for siblings and partners to work together to achieve the same common goal. At that point in time, those ventures were seldom seen in any other media but the tabletop.

Perhaps the most vital (and most effective) marketing method for early video game systems was their appeal to family and home entertainment. As a parent, one of the most laborious and comically difficult duties is the constant fulfillment of entertainment. Whether its running in the backyard pretending to be an astronaut that week or dragging their parents around the town like an indolent cat on a leash, the imagination and demand for stimulation within an active adolescent could not be rivaled. Therefore, to market a piece of machinery as an end-all, be-all, deus ex-machina for this demand was simply ingenious. Even a majority of the same adolescents that grew up on these systems’ original releases still might actively go back through their old saves and experiences at times in their life. To be able to relive a moment of your childhood with the knowledge and experience you have as an adult is one of the most powerful feelings a person can experience, and the release and evolution of these popular systems has only served as an increasingly more reliable conduit for this nostalgic reaction.

At the end of the day, we as people have an ingrained, insatiable desire for entertainment; to escape the humdrum banality of our everyday routines. To live a life different than the one we feel we’re stuck with, to feel for even just a moment that our actions and feelings really do impact the world around us in a significant manner. Most of all, these systems have– throughout their initial conception and continued existence–taught its players and users profound lessons in life, morality, and the human condition of existence. Because of men like Ralph Baer, A.S. Douglas, and William Higinbotham, these unique and creative lessons have help evolved the game development into the titanic powerhouse that it is today.

I really hope you enjoyed this week’s history topic. Join us this Thursday (10/9), where I plan to explore and talk about the first real wave of visual media through video games, including popular titles such as Pong and Tennis for Two. Until then, I hope you have a great rest of your day!

Cheers,

Ethan