Game Design Theory

Welcome back to Game Design Theory! In today’s entry we’re going to address two fundamental cornerstones of the early video game world–William Higinbotham’s “Tennis For Two” and Atari’s “Pong”, and how both titles help shaped the first public opinions regarding video games and visual entertainment media. From science experiments to revolutionary business pitches, it would not be too far-fetched to say the world of video games today owes their existence and strong foothold in the hearts of the modern society to the founding titans of the industry: William Higinbotham and the father of all video games, Ralph Baer.

As its been mentioned earlier in this blog, Tennis for Two is known as the first visual media game ever created, but not the first to be released to the public. Built with an oscilloscope display, each player could control an electron beam (projected from a cathode ray) with a push of a button as it travels across the electronic display–over onto the other player’s “field”, allowing the other player to reciprocate. The only drawback to this simplistic design was the fact that there was no way to keep score on the screen; seeing as how the entire game was displayed with two lines and a dot. Players would have needed to keep track of their scores in another way, perhaps by pen and paper or a third party referee. Regardless, this simulation was never meant to be released to the public in any other light but as a science experiment and therefore, the original copy of this game has been long lost or destroyed due to the vast passage of time. In the minimal light this simulation did receive however, it was widely positive. William Higinbotham’s goal with creating Tennis For Two was simply to liven up the banal and straightforward mentalities science fairs and other gathers tended to have, even still to this day. With interactive and entertaining exhibits, it sparks a fire of interest within the visitors–both young and old, given the right trigger–and leaves a lasting impression within them long after the activity or faire has ended. It’s a shame the original version of the game was lost to time, but luckily as the saying goes, great minds think alike.

From the minds of Nolan Bushnell, Bruno Bonnell, and Ted Dabney, the Atari was born in 1972. While it took a couple of decades to catch up with the minds of Higginbotham, their entry into the iconic system, Pong, even further revolutionized the video game society and industry. Eventually, Pong reached a level of success that required two different versions; the arcade brand, and the home-system variety. The arcade version of Pong was often regarded as one of the first arcade systems to require a quarter for entry, rather than a simple penny back in the day (imagine what the creators of Pong or Tennis For Two would think about full priced, $60 AAA quality games…). Unlike other arcade systems, there was no other written instructions before the introduction or on any of the sides of the physical machine except the words “avoid missing ball for high score” written before the title screen. As revolutionary of an idea as it was thought to be however, that sentiment was not shared with everyone. Upper management at Bally Manufacturing Corporation were the first to reject the initial premise of Pong and disbelieve its supposed profit margins from one machine in just a few weeks within a bar. The producers of Pong, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, initially sought to introduce Pong to the home entertainment system by allowing players to experience the game through a television screen, but for whatever reason, the manufacturing company refused. Regardless, the two retreated back into brainstorming and through several years and a string of lawsuits from the company Atari later, the game Pong was a fully realized, licensed, and produced game on the Atari home entertainment systems in 1972.

I really hope you enjoyed this weeks inclusions into the history of game design. Tune in next week where I continue to address some of the first public opinions regarding video games and visual media, as well as travel further through the scope of technical history. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a great rest of your day!

Cheers,

Ethan