1. VIDEO GAMES
From Ping Pong to Angry Birds

2. BAFFLE BALL
David Gottlieb – 1931
Invented the first mass-produced arcade game
Small wooden cabinet with one moving part – a
plunger. Precursor to pin ball.
Followed by imitators
Followed by slot machines with cash payout

3. Civic Issues
Depression was in full swing
Community leaders were not in favor of money-
eating slot machines – GAMBLING
NYC banned the games and Pinball was considered
gambling.
Gottlieb again initiated “games of skill” as a way
around the gambling issue.

4. Humpty Dumpty
In 1947, Gottlieb introduced a six-flipper game that
rewarded high-scorers with replays.
Bans were lifted – pinball returned to the arcades.
Set the
stage for video
games as we
know them.

5. Today’s Games
50’s and 60’s – computers filled entire rooms and
worked on teletype output or punch cards.
Most advanced were designed for military research
as were most games.
Only three universities and a few dedicated research
facilities had these advanced machines (MIT, U. of
Utah and Stanford).

6. Today’s Games
Nerds unite
Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) began writing
programs for fun for a military computer.
Out of this came the first interactive game
Spacewar (1961) (first interactive game – Steve Russell)
Or was it Tennis for Two? (1958)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6mu5B-
YZU8&feature=related

7. What are they and who
plays them?
Video game players are predominantly male.
Video games are anything that takes places
interactively on a screen
From Magnavox (1972) sold the Odyssey for $100.
First in home game console. Soon after Atari’s
console and the game Pong really set the home
gaming industry on fire.
All the way to now – MMOs (Massively Multiplayer
Online Games) Wolrld of Warcraft, Minecraft.

8. Pong

9. Now: App Culture
Casual gaming is a HUGE industry.
Mobile phones are a leading contributor to this
boom. Along with social networking games….

10. APPS
Of the 82% of adults today who are cell-phone users, 43%
have software applications or "apps" on their phones.
When taken as a portion of the entire U.S. adult
population, that equates to 35% who have a cell phone
with apps. This figure includes adult cell phone users who:
Have downloaded an app to their phone (29% of adult cell
phone users).
Have purchased a phone with preloaded apps (38% of
adult cell phone users).
• Pew Research Center

11. APPS

12. Jesse Schell
TEDtalk – When games invade real life
http://www.ted.com/talks/jesse_schell_when_game
s_invade_real_life.html