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Nim
The first game machine was created by Dr. Edward Condon, based on the old game Nim. Nim was a game in which 2 players would strategically and alternatively pick a certain number of matches. The way a player of this game would lose would be if they were to pick the last match. -
Tennis For Two
Tennis for Two was the first video game ever created. Created by physicist William Higinbotham and technician Robert V. Dvorak for display in the Brookhaven National Laboratory's annual public exhibition, the game was designed as a two player game, hence the name. The game played like this: players adjust the angle of their shot using a knob, trying to hit it over a net on the other side of the court. The game was very popular during the 3 day exhibition. -
Sega and Taito
We all know Sega, after all they created our favorite blue hedgehog. What you might not have known was that them and a company called Taito were the first game companies to catch the public's eye when they released the games Periscope and Crown Special Soccer. These games were electro-mechanical, meaning it was run by electricity and could be controlled mechanically by us (obviously). -
The Brown Box
The "Brown Box" was a prototype game system created for commercial home use. It could be connected to a TV set and allowed for 2 player play. The "console" was programmed to play games such as ping pong and checkers. This game system also had accessories for specific games like an attachment for a golf game and a gun for a shooting game (disclaimer: gun wasn't real, duh) -
Atari
Atari created not only arcade games but also games to be played at home. They were the ones who started selling the game Pong. Arcade machines owned by Atari were also showing up in places like bars, malls, and bowling alleys. This was the first company to really set a mark on the gaming community forever, with more than 15 companies following in their footsteps. If not for Atari, we might not have the games we have today. -
The First Massive 3D Multiplayer Game
Jim Bowery created Spasim, a 32-player (what) space shooter for PLATO. Spasim was regarded as the first 3D multiplayer game. In this game, there were 4 teams of 8 players who fought each other, and in a later version of the game, competed to get to another planet and also manage resources. -
The First 2 Player (separate screen) Game
The first game to ever have multiplayer on 2 screens emerged with a game called empire. Well, not necessarily 2 screens. Up to 8 as a matter of fact! The game was a strategic turned based game created for the PLATO network system, which was originally built by the University of Illinois but was later taken over by the CDC. Empire was played for a total of about 300,000 hours between 1978 and 1985. Isn't that insane? -
Maze War
This game was also considered to be the other "first 3D multiplayer game", but this one was possibly the origin of one of the most popular genres of all time, first person shooters, and other genres such as RPGs. In this game, players wandered around a maze, moving backwards or forwards, also able to turn left or right in 90 degree increments. This game utilized what we know as tile-based movement, or the movement between tiles. Players gained points for shooting and lost points for getting shot -
Gunfight
Gunfight was another example of an early PVP shooter. Gunfight was a huge deal when it hit the arcades because of the play style. Players would use 2 joysticks, one for movement and the other for aim, which was revolutionary for this time period. The premise of this game was basically 2 cowboys dueling. Whoever shoots the other cowboy first would win, but each cowboy would have multiple opportunities to score points. This game was made by Taito. -
The Atari VCS
The Atari VCS, later to be known as the Atari 2600, was a console that was made while Americans were still just getting used to color TVs. Upon release, the console had 10 games such as Pong, Outlaw, and Tank, built in. The console, however, did come with an external slot for cartridges, which probably influenced later consoles such as the SNES or the Sega Genesis. The integration of the microprocessor to this console led to Space Invaders, which began a new era of gaming. -
A New Era: Computers (date isn't exact)
Space Invaders's introduction to the world caused a massive boom of new gaming companies and consoles, which resulted in an overflow of consoles and not enough new and interesting games on them. Then came computers such as the Apple II. These computers provided technology required for gamers to create their own games with basic code. Bill Gates, for example, made a game called Donkey, which involved dodging donkeys while driving on a highway. Needless to say, this was a great new era for games. -
Connecting to other consoles
Computers such as the Macintosh and some consoles like the Atari ST allowed users to connect their devices to another player's. For example, a game called Midimaze was released on the Atari ST which allowed players to connect one computer's MIDI-OUT port to another computer's MIDI-IN port. This was the first step towards the idea of a deathmatch. -
DOOM
We all know about the game DOOM. I'm sure we've all played it at least once. This game was an FPS produced by id Software and was one game that severely helped in the boom of FPS games. This game was about an unnamed space marine (later popularly known as Doomguy) fighting through hordes of demons from Hell. DOOM was played by over 15-20 million people within 2 years of release. -
The Sega Dreamcast
The Sega Dreamcast was a console that introduced the world to online gaming as we know it. It came with a 56 Kbps modem and a copy of the PlanetWeb browser, meaning everyone could play online on this console. It was a massive failure, however. This does not mean that it wasn't popular, but Sega just couldn't pay the bills for the internet access. Oops ¯_(ツ)_/¯