scholarly journals A History of Video Games

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tuakana Metuarau

<p>This research begins with the premise that while video-games have become a pervasive cultural force over the last four decades, there is still a dearth of educational and historical material regarding the emergence of video game home consoles and their content. Games have an extensive history, dating back to early radar displays and oscilloscopes of the 1960s (Tennis for Two, 1958) and early home video game consoles of the 1970s (Magnavox Odyssey, 1972). From the JAMMA (Japanese Amusement Machine and Marketing Association) arcade standard of the 80s to the high powered processors of Sonys PS4, video games have come a long way and left a wealth of audio-visual material in their wake. Much of this material, however, is archived and engaged within a traditional manner: through text books or museum exhibitions (Games Master, ACMI 2015). Through interactive design however, this data can be made easily comprehensible and accessible as interactive data-visualisation content. This design research project explores processes of data visualization, interactive design and video game production to open up video game history and communicate its developmental stages in a universally accessible manner. Though there has been research conducted utilising game engines for visualizations in other fields (from landscape architecture to bio-medical science) it has rarely been used to visualize the history of gaming itself. This visualization (utilising the Unreal Engine and incorporating historical video content) creates an accessible preservation and catalogue of video game history, and an interactive graphical interface that allows users to easily learn and understand the history of console development and the processes that lead video games to their current state.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tuakana Metuarau

<p>This research begins with the premise that while video-games have become a pervasive cultural force over the last four decades, there is still a dearth of educational and historical material regarding the emergence of video game home consoles and their content. Games have an extensive history, dating back to early radar displays and oscilloscopes of the 1960s (Tennis for Two, 1958) and early home video game consoles of the 1970s (Magnavox Odyssey, 1972). From the JAMMA (Japanese Amusement Machine and Marketing Association) arcade standard of the 80s to the high powered processors of Sonys PS4, video games have come a long way and left a wealth of audio-visual material in their wake. Much of this material, however, is archived and engaged within a traditional manner: through text books or museum exhibitions (Games Master, ACMI 2015). Through interactive design however, this data can be made easily comprehensible and accessible as interactive data-visualisation content. This design research project explores processes of data visualization, interactive design and video game production to open up video game history and communicate its developmental stages in a universally accessible manner. Though there has been research conducted utilising game engines for visualizations in other fields (from landscape architecture to bio-medical science) it has rarely been used to visualize the history of gaming itself. This visualization (utilising the Unreal Engine and incorporating historical video content) creates an accessible preservation and catalogue of video game history, and an interactive graphical interface that allows users to easily learn and understand the history of console development and the processes that lead video games to their current state.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 17-20
Author(s):  
Ryan Cassidy ◽  
Matthew McEniry

Purpose – This two-part study aims to expose the challenges and establish the necessity of preserving digital content, with a focus on console video games. Design/methodology/approach – Through a method of establishing the history of video game consoles, identifying the challenges presented by the format and addressing the current preservation efforts, this article serves as a brief retrospective of the issues and a guide to extending the conversation. Findings – Representing a unique format, heavily reliant on advances in technological and industrial standards, console video games have experienced a demonstrated lack of preservation. Originality/value – With special attention to the non-gamer, this is an introduction to the conversation and an invitation to lend expertise to not only an often overlooked area of popular culture, which is facing (and in some cases, has experienced) irretrievable loss of information, but also to other formats facing adjustment to the digital, always-online environment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 742-762
Author(s):  
Michael Ryan Skolnik ◽  
Steven Conway

Alongside their material dimensions, video game arcades were simultaneously metaphysical spaces where participants negotiated social and cultural convention, thus contributing to identity formation and performance within game culture. While physical arcade spaces have receded in number, the metaphysical elements of the arcades persist. We examine the historical conditions around the establishment of so-called arcade culture, taking into account the history of public entertainment spaces, such as pool halls, coin-operated entertainment technologies, video games, and the demographic and economic conditions during the arcade’s peak popularity, which are historically connected to the advent of bachelor subculture. Drawing on these complementary histories, we examine the social and historical movement of arcades and arcade culture, focusing upon the Street Fighter series and the fighting game community (FGC). Through this case study, we argue that moral panics concerning arcades, processes of cultural norm selection, technological shifts, and the demographic peculiarities of arcade culture all contributed to its current decline and discuss how they affect the contemporary FGC.


Author(s):  
Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra ◽  
Jacqueline Alma ◽  
Alejandra Quiroga

The authors present an analysis of the first set of elements belonging to the interactive design categories: layout (naturalness of metaphor) and content (storytelling), which make up synechism in video game design. In addition, they examine the evolution of the notion of the video game in relation to the advance of the software and hardware. Finally, the authors include in that analysis the changes in storytelling, due to the greater or lesser presence of the dynamic means and the static means of hypermedia communication.


2020 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2019-055300
Author(s):  
Susan Forsyth ◽  
Patricia A McDaniel

BackgroundSince 1972, Philip Morris (PM) has sponsored motorsports. Racing video games are a popular genre among youth and often emulate the branding of their real-life counterparts, potentially exposing youth to tobacco imagery. We examined racing video games for the presence of Marlboro imagery and explored the history of efforts to remove or regulate such imagery.MethodsWe searched the Truth Tobacco Industry documents for relevant documents and used information from video game-related websites and game play videos to identify racing video games that contained Marlboro trademarks and imagery. We also collected information on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board’s (ESRB) tobacco-specific and overall game ratings.FindingsIn 1989, negative publicity surrounding the presence of Marlboro logos in racing games led PM to threaten legal action against two game makers for copyright infringement. PM also launched a media campaign promoting this intervention as evidence of its commitment to youth smoking prevention. Nonetheless, we identified 219 video games from 1979 to 2018 that contained Marlboro trademarks and/or Marlboro-sponsored drivers and livery. Among the games in our sample with an ESRB game rating, all but one received an ‘E,’ indicating appropriateness for everyone, and all but three lacked tobacco content descriptors.ConclusionRacing video games have been and continue to be a vehicle for exposing adolescents to the Marlboro brand. Because voluntary efforts by PM and the video game industry to prevent youth exposure to tobacco brands in video games have been ineffective, USA and international policy-makers should prohibit tobacco content in video games.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. 141-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
KIAT-SENG YEO ◽  
ZHI-HUI KONG ◽  
NUKALA NISHANT ◽  
HAITAO FU ◽  
WEI ZENG

The proliferation of integrated circuits (ICs) in the present technological era has brought forth revolutionary digital modernization that has ultimately transformed the history and lifestyle of humankind. ICs have become the heart of practically all state-of-the-art electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, video game consoles, and cameras. This ever-flourishing IC design industry is knowledge-intensive, which in turn translates into a huge appetite for technically precocious talents. Hence, in an effort to fuel and further foster the industry with more highly skilled manpower and at the same time to vie for a share of the burgeoning industry, higher educational institutions and universities from all around the globe are placing greater than ever emphasis on IC design research. Most importantly, strenuous efforts in a holistic manner are being made by each university in order to elicit outstanding and top-notch research in IC design. The authors have conducted a detailed and extensive survey to rank the various universities of the world in the field of IC design based on their research performance. In fact, assessments in the form of ranking have gained prominence over the recent years captivating the attention of a large number of students and universities. It helps the students in knowing how each university is progressing in a particular field and in turn helps the universities in analyzing their positions globally to remain competitive. Three ranking indicators, namely the Number of Publications, Citation Counts, and Cites per Paper have been chosen. The methodology used in ranking is also reported. The universities occupying the top echelons in IC design research are identified and a proven three-pronged approach for eliciting outstanding research performance is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-68
Author(s):  
M. V. Anfinogenov ◽  
◽  
I. S. Antyasov ◽  

This article covers the video games as a unique phenomenon in the information environ-ment, the development of security technologies and unauthorized access methods since the first video game release until the position of the video game industry in our time. Represented a step change in the interaction systems, the technical features of both hardware and software security which were used by video game developers and companies producing platforms. The analysis of the hacking techniques and methods intended for these protection systems and re-lated global incidents is made. Illustrated the formation and development of security systems of the video game consoles of subsequent generations under the influence of the mistakes and shortcomings in the data security of the prior console generations. The process of centralization and generalization of the user data integrity systems in the modern world is considere


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-48
Author(s):  
Rahmawan Jatmiko

Assassin’s Creed is a historical fiction video game developed and published by Ubisoft. This video game has been so far considered as one of the most violent video games. Assassin’s Creed III is the third sequel of which plot is set in a fictional history of real world events and follows the centuries-old conflict between the Assassins and the Templars. Based on this study, the plot, characters, characterization, and scenes in Assassin’s Creed III are deemed to be able to give positive teachings to the young generation, despite the fact that there are violent and sadistic scenes in the story. Haytham Kenway, who is “evil” protagonist in Assassin’s Creed Forsaken, is portrayed as an expert in using weapons, since he was kid. Separated from his family, Kenway was taken by mysterious mentor, who trained him to be the most deadly killer. Comparisons with classic characters such as Oedipus, Hamlet, or Indonesian legendary character Sangkuriang are intentionally made to sharpen the analysis. The finding of this study is that heroic value might be found in either protagonist or antagonistic characters, whose roles involved numerous violent actions. Comments from the official website and social media which claim that Assassin’s Creed has brought negative impacts on the consumers might not be totally true.


Loading ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 15-35
Author(s):  
Jonathan Lessard ◽  
Carl Therrien

This paper looks at the emergence of video game creation in Québec prior to the industrial boom and the popularization of independent games. Built from personal archives and oral history, the paper highlights two unknown personalities from the history of video games in Québec: Christian Boutin and I-Grec. These portraits contribute to diversify the “indie” narrative and reconsider it as part of a longer history.


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