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PDP-1 first produced.
The PDP-1 is first produced, then sold in 1960, and finally arrived at MIT in 1961.
"PDP 1" by Matt Hutchinson is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Russell shares his idea.
Russell shares his idea with fellow hackers, but is hesitant in starting development. He made excuses as to why he could not create it, mainly citing a mathematical function he needed before he could start. Alan Kotok acquired exactly what Russell needed and gave it to him.
"File:Mplwp sin cos tan piaxis.svg" by Geek3 is licensed under CC BY 3.0. -
Stephen 'Slug' Russell imagines up Spacewar!
Inspired by his readings of Sci-Fi novels, Russell comes up with a hack idea for a game set in space along with two friends, Martin Graetz and Wayne Wiitanen.
"Amateur Rocket Sees Space" by jurvetson is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Spacewar! is released.
In February, Russell, with help from Bob Saunders, showed a basic version of the game to the MIT hackers, opening up the opportunity for community editing.
"Spacewar!" by ToastyKen is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Background developed.
Peter Samson, dissatisfied with random dots, programmed an accurate star background for the game.
Photo from ESA/Hubble & NASA, H. Ebeling: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_acos520_potw2317a.jpg -
Mechanics developed.
Wanting to add difficulty to the game, Dan Edwards programmed a central, collapsing star that the players revolve around. Shag Garetz, wanting a last resort out for the star, programmed a random teleportation feature deemed "hyperspace."
"Neutron Stars Rip Each Other Apart to Form Black Hole" by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Controllers evolved.
Alan Kotok and Bob Saunders created a controller for the game, and endless other modifications were done by an array of MIT hackers.
"Steve 'Slug' Russell showing Spacewar controller" by Joi is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Spacewar! at the Open House.
In May, at the yearly MIT Open House, Spacewar! was demonstrated and showcased to great success.
Dan Edwards and Peter Samson playing Spacewar! on a PDP-1. (1962). Computer History Museum . photograph. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102631264. -
Digital Equipment Corporation.
After the MIT Open House, Spacewar! spread between PDP-1 owners. Russell did not charge anything for Spacewar! and let it spread freely, which eventually led to DEC getting a copy. Once they did, they started using Spacewar! as a testing tool for their computers. -
Computer Space.
Computer Space, the first commercial arcade game by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, is released with Spacewar! as inspiration.
"Computer Space" by Pargon is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Rolling Stone.
The first article about video games was made, published by the Rolling Stone magazine. It even included instructions for how to program your own Spacewar!
"Rolling Stone Awards" by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity Photographer is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. -
Space Wars.
Larry Rosenthal releases Space Wars, an improved arcade version of Spacewar! that he made a special processor for.
"'Space Wars' Arcade Game" by Schill is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Asteroids.
Atari's game Asteroids is release, also influenced by Spacewar!
"Asteroids Sign" by Sam Howzit is licensed under CC BY 2.0. -
Future development.
From the 1970s and onward, more and more video games are made, many are directly or indirectly inspired by Spacewar! -
Emulated to the internet.
In 2012, Norbert Landsteiner made an emulated version of Spacewar! for the internet. This allowed it to be played by anyone, anywhere.
Screenshot from: https://www.masswerk.at/spacewar/
