The first computer games appeared at the dawn of the computer era, in the days of the tube computer. In 1952, as part of his university thesis, A. S. Douglas created the program “OXO”, running on the large EDSAC computer at Cambridge University. It was the simplest implementation of the game known to all as “tic-tac-toe.”
But until technology made it possible to produce compact and reliable computer systems, the creation of games was the lot of individual enthusiastic academics.
Gaming industry 1970s-1970s
Beginning of the video game industry is considered to have launched in 1971, the game Computer Space on an arcade machine. The next step on the way to becoming a video game industry was the commercially successful release by Atari video game Pong in 1972. Total was sold 19 thousand arcade machines with this game.
In the same year, the first home video game console Magnavox Odyssey appeared on the market.
As technology advances and the emergence of new (at first specialized, and later universal) devices, the video game industry has also evolved and adapted to the new realities.
Arcade machines
The late 1970s and early 1980s were the “golden era of arcade machines.
Among the most important games of this period were Space Invaders (1978) and PacMan (1980). New games were already significantly different from the industry’s ancestors visually and in terms of gameplay.
The total worldwide revenue of the game industry in 1982 came close to $12 billion (or nearly $30 billion). (or almost $30 billion in 2012 prices).
1980s with the advent of personal computers began to form the direction of game development for them. Initially the games were created by enthusiastic developers, but with the growth of productivity and distribution of personal systems, they began to produce a commercial game products. Games for personal systems are very different from the classic arcade. At this time came the first strategy and complex RPG worlds. But still the basis of the game industry remained arcade machines and specialized game consoles.
At this time came the first print publications devoted to computer games.
1990-е
In the 1990s, further development of digital technologies (introduction of CD-ROMs, development of 3D visualization hardware technologies, appearance of the Internet) and spread of GUI oriented operating systems (Microsoft and Mac OS) led to considerable growth of the share of computer games.
It was during this period that all the major genres appeared and a great variety of game mechanics emerged.
Cooperative play in clubs
Collaborative gaming becomes available in clubs or via the Internet. Cyber sport is born.
In the mid-1990s the first educational institution, training specialists in video game development, appeared. DigiPen Institute of Technology opens in Vancouver in 1994.
2000-е
During the 2000s, the definitive driving forces behind the games industry were the widespread proliferation of the Internet and the emergence of mobile devices fast enough to make video games.
WarcraftIn 2007, iOs is released. In 2008 Google launches the first version of Android with a full-featured SDK 1.0.
The most significant event of this period is the release of the game World of Warcraft in 2004. It is the most popular and longest-lived MMO game in the world. In fact, it determined the direction of this segment of the game industry for decades to come. As of December 2014, the game had 10 million subscribers.
Warcraft in stadiums.
During this period, the development of cybersports reached unprecedented heights. An interesting fact. A few years after its release, Star Craft became a national sport in South Korea, drawing entire stadiums to the final matches. During the period of its greatest popularity ABM gamers earned from $20,000 to $600,000 a year.
In 2003 a unique educational institution arose (The Guildhall at SMU, Texas), which teaches gamemaking specialties, particularly game design.
The Guildhall at SMU
The program was unique in that it was developed with the active participation of the world game legends Tom Hall, John Romero, Paul Jakewijs, Tim Willits and Richard Bailey Gray aka Levelord! And the training buildings resembled buildings from a computer game.
Later on, gamedev education was already beginning to develop in many countries.