The Grand World of Video Games

By Tim Voigt

Video games are becoming an entertainment fad unlike any other.  Here in this ebook, we will review its immensity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tim Voigt
• Release date: Nov 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223647546

Book preview

To all who love, play, and work in video games.

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Epigraph page:

'The video game would begin with World War 2.  In its time gunners would conceive a means for targeting torpedoes to sink warships.  It would evolve into a patent where an entertainment device could be constructed to play and sink a warship.  From there on its idea would be a curiosity known to computer programmers but not much else.  In the 1970s the video game would come of age with thinkers like Nolan Bushnell, Ralph Baer and others.  It would manifest as arcade boxes, home consoles, and much more.  It would explode into popularity among kids sweeping many nations on Earth.  Today the video game seems everywhere joining the list of entertainment media like TV, radio, film, books, comics, games, sports, and much more.  It would infect youth becoming a major pasttime, influencing lives, and giving fun to many lives.  The video game is here to stay, an addiction of youth, a fad only growing bigger.' -talk on technology

'In World War 2, so many dramas would happen like naval battles, aerial dogfights, tank wars, hand to hand combat, and so much else.  It would inspire thinkers to conceive of video games simulating this war almost as if the whole war itself were a grand video game.'    -talk on technology

Dedication:

Video games would appear with a patent from World War 2, laying obscure for years.  After the war the idea of playing games on computers and TV sets would exist largely as a curiosity in computer science and robotics, something to research for scientists into technology.  Over the years various people would compose simple games playable on computers.  Such games would not become fads and video games would not go really anywhere.  All this would change in the 1970s, epic thinkers like Ralph Baer and Nolan Bushnell would appear revolutionizing video games.  They would do acts like found a game company called Atari and make console boxes.  Games like Pong (based on ping pong) would appear becoming epic fads.  Since then video games would explode into a worldwide sensation, consuming youth, leading to game companies, and much more.  It seems like video games are everywhere, taking the world by storm.

Video games since the 1980s would become a major entertainment industry, fad, hobby, and passion.  There would appear epic franchises like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Mario, Tetris, Tomb Raider, and much more.  Video games would inspire the creation of studios producing games.  Professions like game designer, producer, composer, animator, and other video game jobs would appear.  People would graduate from college in computer science and turn to video games.  It would become a fad and profession for people into 'tech' with 'techie skills'.  Video games would explode in tech and colleges, consuming youth.  All new issues like game addiction, game violence, and more would appear.  In all it would become a major new entertainment phenomena rivaling film, comics, TV, radio, books, and more.  Video games are here to stay, changing society with new fads more.

Overall this book is dedicated to the 'video game professional'.  In today's world of video games, game makers need a solid foundation in science, animation, computer science, and a host of subjects to really understand the video game industry.  This book overall is meant to give a foundation to study science, the world of video games, and subjects born of video games as well.  Overall this book is intended for students of computer science, video games, popular culture, and those seeking a career in video games.

'For many life is boring going to school, seemingly be lost in classes, books, and groups.  Here people want to explore the lighter side of life turning to video games for entertainment.  Since then its fad would consume so many, shaping so many lives, and inspiring so much.  So many kids would get addicted to video games it seems like all else in life means nothing and just passes the gamer by.'      -talk on video games

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'What is the meaning of fun?  It is up to you to find.' -talk on entertainment

Preface:  Fun

There is a word that defines entertainment.  Fun.

It refers to all manner of experience dealing with joy, euphoria, fantasy, game, and wonder.

It can be found in dramas like:

-watching TV -playing games -going to exotic places -visiting amusement parks -doing something novel -playing chess -socializing -meeting new people

-traveling -diving -watching something amazing -seeing a film -eating -drinking -listening to music -composing music -playing with toys, and much more.

It is sought after, lived for, and it addicts whomever it touches.  It is an amazing word into kinds of experience to enliven life, to amaze, to seek thrills, and to see life for one's self.  It is sought after people troubled with boredom, lack of direction, and time spent in sloth.  It is something to fill life with joy and thrills, becoming an experience all its own, manifesting in all kinds of drama meant to stimulate, entertain, and enrich life itself.

It is a word that underlies all manner of thing like:

-amusement -gaming -video games -books -music -film -TV -radio -concerts -dance -disco -circus -travel, and more.

It is a fascinating word into a universe of experiences, more than what anyone can feel, know, and experience.

It is out there to amuse, thrill, and inspire, sought after by people who want to fight boredom and loss.

It entrances whoever it touches, becoming something personal whoever seeks.  It is the word fun, a topic all its own.

Fun can be found in almost anything.  It can manifest in riding a bike, watching a favorite TV show, or something else.  It can manifest as a hobby, game, sport, or past time of some kind.  It has a meaning unique to each person, but common among people.  It is sought for its own sake, as a relief from life, as a pursuit all its own.  All ages have known it, sought it, and lived for it.  It is vital to the human nature, born of the human condition, invented by people, and of people as well.

'For many people life is empty boring, without challenge and without direction.  They instead turn inward and outward, looking to fun times, thrills, and joy as life's only goal and passion.  It is for the person who has nothing else, because there is nothing at all.'      -talk on life

'The video game would begin as a kid's fad, but not lose its kid appeal.  It thrives best with kids, but not only them.  It now seems to fascinate so many, it makes the old seem young again.' -talk on gaming

Introduction:  Video Games

In the 1940s, thinkers from World War 2 would conceive the idea of an amusement device derived from bombing ships.  It was a war where soldiers would engage in bombings, naval warfare, tank warfare, invasions, epic battles, and much more.  This war would become history's most epic drama in warfare and in time inspire many kinds of video game.

They would file a patent, file it away and here would disappear the first appearance of an invention called a 'video game'.  A video game is just that, a game played on a television set (video device).  In time it would be adapted manifesting as computer games, arcade boxes, consoles, handhelds, and much more.

In times before video games, there would prosper fads like pinball, nickelodeon, film, radio, television, puppetry, chess, and other games.  Influences like this would be precursors to the fad of video games, but also later on inspire video games as well.

It would languish for decades as something of a curiosity found in computer science departments.  It would fascinate programmers to make a computer able to play a game.  Many thinkers would experiment with trying to make computers play chess and games.  From there it would expand as a fad and technology to get a computer to imitate game playing of some kind.

Chess is an epic board game, ancient played with figurine armies.  It is quite possibly history's greatest and most popular boardgame.  There would arise a challenge to make a computer play this game.  It would spawn a technology to make electronic chess computers.  Such things would fascinate inventors, chessplayers, and the like.  A challenge would arise to make a computer play chess so greatly it could go on to be the World Chess Champion.  In the beginning, chess computers would prove inept being beaten by masters regularly.  Eventually chess computers would go on to beat the world champion in the form of grandmaster Garry Kasparov, fulfilling this epic challenge.  In time chess computers would become a world popular technology and it would inspire internet chess clubs, tournaments of chess computers, etc.  Chess in time would inspire its own kinds of video games, a boardgame adapted for electronics and video.

Thinkers would come and go through the 1950s and 1960s who would experiment in designing games for TV and oscilloscopes, but their inventions would go nowhere being dismissed as curiosities of games and electronics.  Despite this theorists and inventors would appear on and off in these times, experimenting with games on computers and television sets.  Their creations would be considered curiosities and not inspire too much else.

In the 1970s all this would change.  Thinkers like Max Baer and Nolan Bushnell would fashion video games into an entertainment phenomena that would sweep the world.  They would devise video games, found companies, invent game consoles, and work to popularize video games.  It would see to the appearance of epic companies called Atari, Nintendo, and many others into video games.

An epic thinker named Nolan Bushnell would live in the 1970s founding the epic gaming company Atari.  It would release game consoles and was the most sensational video game fad of this era with many titles.  Video games in this age were largely in 'childhood' evolving and growing in fad.  Here they would grow into an epic commercial fad redefining the entertainment industry, which continues to this time.

Video games would explode into a fad with games like Pong, Asteroids, and others.  Video games would get combined with another fad called pinball to make games.  An epic film would appear in 1977 called Star Wars.  This film would become a sensational pop culture fad and in time inspire sequel films and many video games.  Video games would go on to be 'enriched' by fads like fantasy, science fiction, chess, board games, pop culture, history, the occult, and much more.  Game designers would look to these influences to inspire many concepts of video games.

There would arise a personality who would be immensely fascinated with video games.  He would get addicted to gaming, living out of his room gaming, frequenting arcades, hanging out with friends gaming, and living the gamer life.  Gamers would appear wherever arising out of high schools, colleges, and wherever.  It satisfies a boring life with games and fun, filling empty hours, and giving a 'life' to people who don't have one.  Gamers generally like their fad, but suffer problems like name calling, social exclusion, and other annoyances.  Gamer clubs form in many schools and gamers can be found most anywhere.

In the 1980s video games would explode as a sensational manifesting in the business, the arcade.  Here would be many video game fads like Pac-Man, Mario, Donkey Kong, Tron, Centipede, Frogger, and the like.  A game experience would cost 25 cents and be a few minutes of thrill.  It would manifest in chains like Pocket Change, Aladdin's Castle, and the like.  An epic game Pac-Man would feature a mouth eating dots, becoming the foremost fad of this time.  In time arcades would get combined with businesses like gas stations, bars, malls, restaurants, and go on to be epic fad businesses of this time, eventually declining.

In the 1980s there would arise all manner of fad in popular culture.  They would appear in books, film, TV, and elsewhere.  These fads would get combined with video games making for epic spinoff fads, attracting legions, enduring in popularity.  To better understand video games of this era, a student should have basic familiarity all manner of pop culture fad of this time like:

-Star Wars -Indiana Jones -Tron (epic futuristic movie) -Starman -The Last Starfighter -Ghostbusters -Krull (film) -Smurfs (cartoon) -cartoons -role playing games

-chess -boardgames