CS583 History of Games
Spring 2011

Games have a long history, from the ancient Olympics to today's game on a phone. As part of your background for this class (CS583 3d Game Programming), it is important to know "your roots".

First, lets review the history of computing and the Internet. This was compiiled by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the founder of the Supercomputer Center Program in 1985. http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsf-net/home.jsp NSF and the Birth of the Internet.

With Wikipedia, you can branch out to get a bigger, broader picture of games and their place in society.
Search Computer Games redirects to Video Games, so this term is becoming more common.

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 Design  ***
    * 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
    * 3.5 Business games
    * 3.6 Simulation

wiki History of video games ** Note - there is a factual accuracy dispute ** 

1 Origins 
1.1 1950s–1960s

2 1970s 
2.1 Golden age of video arcade games
2.2 First generation consoles (1972–1977)
2.3 Mainframe computers
2.4 Home computers
2.5 1977
2.6 Second generation consoles (1977–1991)

3 1980s 
3.1 Genre innovation
3.2 Gaming computers
3.3 Early online gaming
3.4 Handheld LCD games
3.5 Video game crash of 1983
3.6 Third generation consoles (1983–1995)

4 1990s 
4.1 Decline of arcades
4.2 Handhelds come of age
4.3 Mobile phone gaming
4.4 Fourth generation consoles (1987–1999) (16-bit)
4.5 Fifth generation consoles (1993–2006) (32 and 64-bit)
4.6 Transition to 3D and CDs

5 2000s 
5.1 Mobile games
5.2 Sixth generation consoles (since 1998) 
    5.2.1 Return of alternate controllers
5.3 Online gaming rises to prominence
5.4 Rise of casual PC games

5.5 Seventh generation consoles (since 2004) 
5.5.1 Increases in development budgets
5.5.2 Nintendo capitalizes on casual gaming
5.5.3 Motion control revolutionizes game play
5.6 Cloud Computing comes to games

6 2010s

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]"

Top 10 Most Influential Educational Games

Game Industry Online