CS583 History of Games
29 Jan 2009

Games have a long history, from the ancient Olympics to today's game on a phone. As part of your background for this class (CS596/cs583 3d Game Programming), it is important to know "your roots". Branch out to get a bigger, broader picture of games and their place in society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game Game, Wikipedia
"A game is a structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes also used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more concerned with the expression of ideas. However, the distinction is not clear-cut, and many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports/games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mah-jongg solitaire).

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational or psychological role. The requirement for player interaction puts activities such as jigsaw puzzles and solitaire "games" into the category of puzzles rather than games.[1]

Attested as early as 2600 BC,[2][3] games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures. The Royal Game of Ur, Senet and Mancala are some of the oldest known games.[4]"

What is a Game?
# 1 Definitions
    * 1.1 Ludwig Wittgenstein
    * 1.2 Roger Caillois
    * 1.3 Chris Crawford           *** Art of Game Desing  ***
    * 1.4 Other definitions

# 2 Gameplay elements and classification
    * 2.1 Tools
    * 2.2 Rules
    * 2.3 Skill, strategy, and chance
    * 2.4 Single-player games

# 3 Types of game
    * 3.1 Sports
          o 3.1.1 Lawn Games
    * 3.2 Tabletop Games
          o 3.2.1 Dexterity/coordination games
          o 3.2.2 Board games
          o 3.2.3 Card games
          o 3.2.4 Dice games
          o 3.2.5 Domino and Tile games
          o 3.2.6 Pencil and Paper games
          o 3.2.7 Guessing games
    * 3.3 Video games
          o 3.3.1 Online games
    * 3.4 Role-playing games

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games Games, Wikipedia 
Olympics

    * Olympic Games
    * Summer Olympic Games
    * Winter Olympic Games
    * Special Olympics World Games
    * Ancient Olympic Games

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Video_Arcade_Games Golden Age of Video Arcade Game [Wikipedia]
"The Golden Age of Video Arcade Games was a peak era of video arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. The consensus as to its exact time period varies. Walter Day of Twin Galaxies places it as lasting from January 18, 1982 to January 5, 1986.[1] Video game journalist Steven L. Kent, in his book The Ultimate History of Video Games, places it from 1979 to 1983. Other opinions place this period's beginning in the late 1970s, when color arcade games became more prevalent and video arcades themselves started appearing outside of their traditional bowling alley and bar locales, through to its ending in the mid-1980s.[2]"

edugamesblog.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/the-top-10-most-influential-educational-video-games-from-the-1980s/
The Top 10 Most Influential Educational Video Games from the 1980s

Game Industry Online