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The Evolution of Videogame Technology and its Impact on Gamers
Brian Fitzsimmons
IB Extended Essay
3,902 words
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Abstract: This essay examines how the development of technology has changed the
videogame experience, and how it will continue to change in the future as new technologies
appear. Research investigated recorded histories of videogames, personal accounts of videogame
experiences, the gaming industry’s impact on society, and specifications for particularly
technologies. Predictions for future gaming experiences were based on the increasing rate of
technological developments and current prospects of videogame tycoons such as Microsoft,
Sony, and Nintendo. Personal knowledge and speculation were included as well. This study
demonstrated that as videogame technology grew more sophisticated, gamers found themselves
in more personal, immersive, emotionally titillating, morally challenging, and free-ended worlds.
The increase in processing power and available memory led to photorealistic visuals, longer
storylines, broader gameplay, and socially interactive games that have become second nature to
most teenagers today. This second life will only become more influential in our physical and
mental states as the scope of modern gaming increases, and new technologies provide for a
longer, more poignant, and more immersive gaming experience.
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Technology, the “practical application of knowledge,” dates back millennia. Even prehistoric man used rock, wood, fur, and fire to better his existence. Then, as Neanderthals gave
way to Homo sapiens and the first civilizations appeared, technology blossomed. The Sumerians,
Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, Romans, Aztecs, and others created the abacus,
alphabets, bridges, mills, hydroponics, aqueducts, and more. With these new technologies,
humans’ lives changed dramatically. The pulley and counterweight, for example, allowed for
heavy lifting in construction, new irrigation techniques yielded higher crop production, and the
alphabet spawned writing and the transfer of knowledge. Needless to say, technology can alter
anyone’s life experience. This holds true even more today. Without computers, telephones, cars,
televisions, and other technological wonders, modern civilization as we know it would not be the
same.
An irreplaceable part of today’s civilization is entertainment, which is rampant with
technology. Ever since the first radio broadcast and silent movie appeared in 19151, modern
entertainment has developed along the paths of technology. After AM radio came FM, after
black and white TV came color, after vacuum tubes came the microprocessor, and so on. As with
all technology and science today, entertainment is advancing at a much more rapid rate than in
the past. As a result, the consumer’s experience is affected in numerous ways. Perhaps the most
progressive entertainment technology today is video games. Starting with classics like Tennis for
Two, Pong, and Pac man, video games have evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. And
with the advancements in technology, the videogame experience has been altered dramatically.
The question of this essay is: as gaming technology has developed, how has the average video
gamer’s experience changed, and how will it change in the future as the technology develops
further?
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Gaming Technology
First, what kind of technology influences video games? It is more than just computers
and televisions – video games also incorporate user-interfaces (how the gamer interacts with the
game), memory storage devices (CDs and hard drives), the internet, and of course, gamers
themselves. Perhaps the most important piece of equipment, however, is the central processing
unit (CPU). This literally is the brain of the console. It translates your actions through the
controller into motion on the screen while keeping within the laws of the game. The Odyssey 2,
one of the earliest consoles released in 1978, housed a 1.79 MHz Intel 8048 processor with 64
bytes of random access memory (RAM) – the current Xbox 360’s has three 3.2 GHz processor
and 256 megabytes of RAM.2 Obviously, more power allows for more gameplay options, better
graphics, and increased speed of controller translation. Televisions also have a major impact on
video games. While video arcade games like Galaxy Game had screens of their own, the homebased consoles needed external televisions. Today, the issue of TV-video game compatibility is
much more selective due to the introduction of High-definition and 3D. Many TV manufacturers
now produce TVs to suit video games more than movies or cable, such as Mitsubishi’s Digital
Light Processing TVs. Next, the user-interface of a videogame can range from a joystick (as with
the earliest arcade games) to full-body motion sensors (such as today’s Xbox 360 Kinect). The
most traditional interface, however, is the ubiquitous “controller,” which comprises two joysticks
for each thumb, trigger buttons, four action buttons, and a directional pad. This technology was
first introduced with the Sony Playstation in 1994 and is still in use today (albeit wireless).
Memory storage devices are perhaps the most important part of video games, for they store the
actual data of the game. When consumers buy a new game, they are buying a disk imprinted with
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the game data. And thanks to the Internet, gamers can now download games directly to their
consoles’ hard drives, or main memory unit. Online gaming has become a crucial factor to any
game. Most now support online via the console (such as the Xbox 360’s Xbox Live or the
Playstation Network). This literally allows gamers in the United States to play with gamers in
Japan in the comfort of their homes. All of this technology aims to enhance the gaming
experience, either through advanced artificial intelligence or new interfaces. But how will the
continual growth of gaming technology impact future players? Let us look at how the first video
games shaped consumers.
The First Videogames
The first commercial arcade video game was Computer Space, released in 1971. Housed
in a futuristic fiberglass case, the game was the first in a long line of space combats. The player
had to destroy alien UFOs while dodging incoming fire for 90 seconds, and if the player’s score
was higher than that of the alien’s, he/she was allowed
another 90 seconds. Of course, while this seems absurdly
simple for today’s standards, it was considered
overwhelmingly complicated back then. This, in addition to
its astronomically high price tag, led to its commercial
demise. Programmers took note and changed their games
Computer Space display3
to better suit the players of the age: young children and teenagers. As a result, subsequent
classics like Pong, Space Invaders, Pac man, and Donkey Kong, all of which used simple
integrated circuits, were so popular because, unlike Computer Space, they were straightforward
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(Pong’s instructions were “Avoid Missing Ball for High Score”).4 In addition, kids did not have
many places to go after school in the 70s-80s; the arcade was the perfect gathering place.
In 1972, arcade games took a new direction, allowing more personal involvement from
the player. That year, Will Crowther created Colossal Cave Adventure, which used text-based
commands to direct characters. It was considered to be the first truly immersive video game
experience5, and it became the basis for all future text-based games, such as Gregory Yob’s Hunt
the Wumpus.6 At the same time, programmers were moving into multiplayer games such as
Atari’s Pong and Astro Race7. This was an early leap forward, for it increased competition
between players and put emphasis on the scoring of videogames (something that has survived to
this day). No longer were videogames just for fun– the ranking system determined who was
“worthy” or not. Many arcades even held competitions to see who could score the highest.8
Within its first few years of life, video gaming became more personal and more intense.
Player action was more personal and they regarded their ranks as definitive of their abilities. This
created another world which led to the steady increase of the video gaming industry. And by
then, the masses had shown enough interest to spark new companies, such as Atari, and renew
old ones with video game sectors, such as Mattel Electronics and Coleco.
The Console and Home-based Videogames
Arcades were not the only places targeted by the videogame tycoons. Very soon, videogames
made their way into people’s homes as well. In 1972, Ralph Baer invented the Magnavox
Odyssey – the first home-based video game console. The Odyssey had 12 different “cards,” or
different gameplay selections, that allowed gamers to alter appearances on screen, thus creating
new gameplay experiences.9 The fever of consoles soon caught on, and companies like Atari and
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Fairchild began making consoles of their own, complete with exclusive games like Super-Pong,
Doubles Pong, and more.10 However, these initial consoles were basically home-arcades; they
revolutionized nothing in terms of gameplay save for proximity – that is, until the incorporation
of the new microprocessor in 1976.11 The power of the microprocessor allowed for external
memory devices to house separate games that could be plugged into the consoles. In essence, it
meant that a single console could play multiple games, thus broadening the range of videogames
played by one person. Fairchild Semiconductors first introduced such a console with its
legendary Channel F, which housed its new F8 processor. The Channel F, released in 1976, and
its cartridge based system was so revolutionary that at first, many consumers did not know how
to operate it!12 These cartridges were the predecessors of
modern day CD-ROMs. Following closely behind were
consoles like RCA’s Studio II and the famous Atari VCS
2600 (which would go on to lead the gaming industry for
years despite its increasing age). This expanded the gamer’s
experience considerably, allowing him to choose what he
wanted to play. Eventually a repertoire of games emerged
ranging from shooters to driving simulators.
The Atari 2600 console13
In addition, the microprocessor improved graphics. 1972’s Magnavox Odyssey came with screen
overlays that supposedly enhanced the visuals, but the F8 processor did away with such
encumbrances – its power gave birth to improved visuals and color. As Tomohiro Nishikado, a
renowned Japanese video game programmer, aptly puts it, “with microprocessors, the animation
is smoother and there are so many more complex physical movements that can be reproduced, so
the category of games that [programmers] could now create was so much more.”14 For example,
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microprocessors encouraged the use of vector graphics (first used in 1978 by Cinematronics),
which drastically improved textures and sharpness of visuals.15
Complementing the video game consoles were the new home computers such as the
Apple II and Commodore 64. Beforehand, computers were reserved for large corporations, but
the advent of the microprocessor again proved invaluable. Now ordinary people could afford
computers. In fact, industry visionaries like Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak first
created these computers with gaming in mind.16 The Apple II’s success came as a result of its
colored graphics, sound capabilities, connections for game controllers, and its ability to plug into
a TV.17 With video games effectively in the household now, programmers focused on the actual
design of the games, looking to create new experiences. Luckily for them, technology continued
to develop, and in 1978, Magnavox released its new console with the state-of-the art 8244
graphics card chip. Graphics cards could handle all the visuals and audio, letting the main
processor focus solely on running the game.18 This meant that game designers could delve more
deeply into the stories and subplots of the games, making for a far richer experience. As Nina
Huntemann, a writer for Game Over magazine, said, “You know what's really exciting about
video games is you don't just interact with the game physically -- you're not just moving your
hand on a joystick, but you're asked to interact with the game psychologically and emotionally as
well. You're not just watching the characters on screen; you're becoming those characters.”19
Such an experience was evident in Tomohiro Nishikado’s Space Invaders. Considered to
be the pioneer of “human-versus-machine action” in which the ultimately doomed player had to
hold out as long as possible against an invading alien army, Space Invaders took emotion in
video games to the next level. Players described it as “exhilarating, stressful, adrenalinepumping, and intimidating.”20 Its high-resolution vector graphics, colored visuals, and raw
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emotional response presented a new bar for video game designers. Throughout the 80s and 90s,
games that could surpass this bar would become the most successful. Another gaming revolution
was the introduction of “Easter Eggs” (hidden prizes within a game) in Warren Robinett’s
Adventure. With microprocessing power, Robinett pioneered putting such prizes (which became
characteristic to each designer) in video games. For example, within Adventure, Robinett had
placed a secret room that could only be accessed by finding a specific dot within the game’s
maze and bringing it to a wall. Only then would the room open and the player would see the
words “Created by Robinett” in all the colors of the rainbow.21 Easter Eggs gave players even
more reason to fully explore the game, thus adding to the sense of completion that they now
demanded of themselves – another side-effect of increased game size.
The 1980s continued to develop the video game experience as technology advanced.
Perhaps the greatest leap forward was the advent of 3D graphics (not in the sense used today, but
merely objects on screen with dimensionality). Introduced with Atari’s I, Robot, 3D graphics
“baffled the game-playing public” and set a new standard for video games.22 As the director of
Opera Soft said, “a videogame is a visual experience and some spectacular graphics can make up
for a game that is not particularly good.”23 Even today, game reviewers have their own criteria
for presentation. This is not to say, however, that visuals stultified story and gameplay – on the
contrary; graphics were mainly used to enhance the story telling effect, especially with
cinematics. In fact, many Japanese games have cinematics over an hour long! 3D visuals also led
to the rise of the politically infamous first person shooters, such as Galaxian and Doom.
The feeling of being immersed in this dimensional world “cranked up the intensity of [the
players’]… challenge” and led to the development of new interfaces.24 No longer was the
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standard two-button set enough – with the increased gameplay options presented in first-person
shooters, the joystick and five-button set
became customary.
Doom gameplay25
The 80s and 90s saw three more revolutionary advances in video gaming experiences.
The first was the advent of open-world gaming, in which “players decide what to do and where
to go, rather than being required to complete pre-decided goals in worlds that restricted their
choices.”26 This new level of freedom was unprecedented, for it achieved one of the holy grails
of the programming industry: virtual realities. In virtual realities, the game is what the players
make of it. For example, in Grand Theft Auto, one can choose to shoot his target or make a deal
with him and backstab your employers. The freedom was exciting for players who had been
running through linear games for a decade because it made the game unique to each individual,
in some cases even bringing the individual’s morality into play.27 Now people could differentiate
between gameplay. Another game, Mass Effect, not only has multiple characters to play as but
even has different endings based on the decisions gamers make!28 The second important advance
was online gaming. First introduced with Doom in 1993, players could connect their consoles or
computers via telephone lines and fight each other from miles away (later, games would connect
via the Internet).29 This took multiplayer to a whole new level; instead of fighting the computer,
now gamers were fighting their friends. Online gaming also became the new social interaction
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fad, for players could now talk over the Internet. Kids no longer met at the candy bar – they met
online with intent to mutilate each other…and they loved it (so much, in fact, that the Senate
held a hearing on the negative effects of violent video games).30 The third and most important
advance in video gaming was the release of the CD-ROM in 1989. The CD-ROM was cheaper
to make and could hold 300 times as much data as a cartridge. This led to the development of
bigger games, and a “radical transition for game audio.”31 Music became so important to
storytelling because whole tracks could be added. If one were to watch Star Wars without music,
then a second time with, the difference in emotional response would be great. The difference was
the same with video games: soundtracks made them so much more immersive and expressive.
More storage also meant more detail within the game – better graphics, longer campaigns, more
gameplay options, and more audio.32 Thanks to CDs, video games went from a 2-hour
experience to a 30 hour experience.
As years passed, no new revolutionary technology developed; the existing ones, such as
graphics and size, were simply improved as successive consoles and game sequels were made.
This generation holds the best technology so far, which makes for stellar video gaming
experiences. The level of detail has surpassed even that of books and movies, so it comes as no
surprise that the video game industry is now bigger than both.33
The Future of Gaming
Now we move beyond the realm of the past and focus on the future of gaming
technology, and how new advancements will change the gaming experience.
Over the past 50 years, the raw power of the processor has multiplied ten-fold. According
to Moore’s Law of processing power, within 20 years, game systems could boast processors with
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speeds of over 500 GHz.34 This would lead to an amazing array of video game capabilities.
Entire countries could be recreated in digital form; games could span hundreds of hours of
gameplay; the amount of customization would be indefinite; and the artificial intelligences that
control the computer simulations would be smarter than the players. Increased processing power
would also lead to photo-realistic graphics in all dimensions. For example, today’s highdefinition televisions have 2.07 million pixels to project light from.35 The eye, on the other hand,
can see 14.83 million pixels, and as a result, Japanese researchers are working on an ultra-highdefinition television.36 And thanks to new storage devices like Blu-ray, which can store 50 GB of
information, games may soon be able to utilize such televisions, bringing the ultimate graphics to
living rooms and capturing every nuance of a character or set, making the game seem all the
more real.
The dimensionality of videogame visuals will change as well. Today, games are at the
cutting edge of 3D technology, where characters and scenery literally jump out of the screen.
Tomorrow may hold more immersive 3D equipment, where the gamer is surrounded on all sides
by holographics. Such an experience would take virtual reality to a whole new level, putting the
player inside the game.
Online gaming will undoubtedly play a bigger role than it does even today. For example,
many games are restricted (by processing power) to a maximum number of online players per
map or game mode. Halo: Reach, for example, allows only 16 players to fight each other at
once. Strides have been made, but in the future, entire battlefields will be recreated purely online,
along with hundreds of gamers to inhabit them. With a 500 GHz processor, like the one
mentioned above, a game could pit thousands of Nazis against an invading Allied force at
Normandy. The social interactions involved will also have to be developed to allow the hundreds
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of gamers to communicate with each other, even coordinate their attacks. Downloading games
from the Internet will increase in popularity as well. As bigger hard drives come out, and more
memory can be stored, gamers will simply buy games online and put them directly on the
console. In fact, this is already in practice today.
Next, the future of gaming will lie in motion control – a future already in development
thanks to Nintendo’s Wii, Microsoft’s Kinect, and Sony’s Playstation Move. Motion controlling
will revolutionize user interfaces, doing away with the standard analog stick and button
controllers of today, and replacing
them with the gamer himself. Of
course, this opens up a much broader
range of games to be developed, such
as fitness games, more direct shooters,
and anything else a developer can dream up.
Microsoft’s motion-controlled Kinect gameplay37
This technology will not limit itself to the living room – eventually, scientists and researchers
will use motion controlled holographic displays to perform experiments and analyze data. It truly
will be a new era of technology.
Already, game companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are pushing the bounds of
technology. The rate of development is like nothing seen before, and it will only continue to
increase. With new technology, gaming revolutions will occur yearly and more consumers will
flock to the videogame industry. Just as the jump from cartridges to CD-ROMs added so much
more to games in terms of graphics, story, settings, and social interactions, so too will faster
processors, bigger hard drives, and new displays transform the way we play games. It is not a
matter of if, but when.
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1
Bellis, Mary. "The History of Radio." About.com. N.p., 1997. Web. 2 Jan. 2011.
<http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/radio_2.htm>.
2
Berardini, Cesar. "The Xbox 360 Dissected." TeamXbox.com. IGN, 12 May 2005. Web. 2 Jan. 2011.
<http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1145/The-Xbox-360-Dissected/p2/>.
3
Malley, Michael O. Computer Space. 2005. Web. 22 Jan. 2011. <http://www.oneswitch.org.uk/2/sd-arcade.htm>.
4
History of Computing: Video Games. Ed. Ted Stahl. N.p., 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. <http://www.thocp.net/index.html>.
5
History of Computing: Video Games. Ed. Ted Stahl. N.p., 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. <http://www.thocp.net/index.html>.
6
Ibid.
7
Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant, 2010. 380. Print.
8
Ibid. 64.
9
"Magnavox Odyssey." Console Database. N.p., 2000. Web. 2 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.consoledatabase.com/consoleinfo/magnavoxodyssey/>.
10
History of Computing: Video Games. Ed. Ted Stahl. N.p., 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. <http://www.thocp.net/index.html>.
11
Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant, 2010. 65-67. Print.
12
Ibid. 65-67.
13
"The History of the Atari 2600." CNET.com. Ed. Daniel Terdiman. CNET, 2 Jan. 2008. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9838693-52.html>.
14
15
Ibid. 75.
History of Computing: Video Games. Ed. Ted Stahl. N.p., 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. <http://www.thocp.net/index.html>.
16
Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant, 2010. 56. Print.
17
Ibid. 55.
18
Ibid. 77.
19
"Quotes on Video Games." notable-quotes.com. Ed. Nina Huntemann. N.p., - . Web. 26 Jan. 2011. <http://www.notablequotes.com/v/video_games_quotes.html>.
20
Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant, 2010. 76. Print.
21
Kent, Steven L. The Ultimate History of Video Games. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. 188. Print.
22
History of Computing: Video Games. Ed. Ted Stahl. N.p., 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. <http://www.thocp.net/index.html>.
15
23
Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant, 2010. 121. Print.
24
Ibid. 263.
25
"Doom to Dunia: A Visual History of 3D Game Engines." MaximumPC.com. Ed. Paul Lilly. N.p., 21 July 2009. Web. 26 Jan.
2011. <http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/3d_game_engines>.
26
Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant, 2010. 121. Print.
27
Bissel, Tom. Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. New York: Pantheon Books, 2010. 173. Print.
28
Ibid. 106.
29
Ibid. 131.
30
Kent, Steven L. The Ultimate History of Video Games. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. 467. Print.
31
Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. East Sussex: Yellow Ant, 2010. 238. Print
32
Ibid. 239.
33
Kent, Steven L. The Ultimate History of Video Games. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. xiv. Print.
34
"Moore's Law: Made real by Intel Innovations." Intel.com. Intel, - 2010. Web. 22 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.intel.com/technology/mooreslaw/index.htm>.
35
"The Future of 3D Technology." EmergingEdTech.com. Ed. K. Walsh. N.p., 12 May 2010. Web. 22 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/05/the-future-of-3d-technology/>.
36
37
Ibid
"Microsoft Taking Kinect on the Road for National Tour." G4TV.com. Ed. Jake Gaskill. G4TV, 16 July 2010. Web. 26 Jan.
2011. <http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/706283/microsoft-taking-kinect-on-the-road-for-national-tour.html>.
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<<http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/radio_2.htm>>.
Berardini, Cesar. "The Xbox 360 Dissected." 12 May 2005. TeamXbox.com. 2 January 2011
<<http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1145/The-Xbox-360-Dissected/p2/>>.
Bissel, Tom. Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. New York: Pantheon Books, 2010.
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16
Huntemann, Nina. "Quotes on Video Games." notable-quotes.com. 26 January 2011 <<http://www.notablequotes.com/v/video_games_quotes.html>>.
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<<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9838693-52.html>>.
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