History Of Games Part 2- 1980s-1990s

While researching for the topic I am writing about today, I discovered that a lot of games were created during this period and that this was the beginning of different genres of games.

Some of the genres of games created during this time and an example of a game in this genre are (Information from Wikipedia):

• Adventure Games- King's Quest (created in 1984. This had colour graphics and a third person perspective).
• "Beat 'em Up" Games- Kung Fu Master (created in 1984, this was the basis af scrolling, beat 'em up games).
• Fighting Games- Karate Champ (created in 1984, this made one-on-one fighting games very popular).
• Maze Games- 3D Monster Maze (created in 1981, it was the 1st 3D game for a home computer).
• Platform Games- Mario Bros. (created in 1983, 1st game to allow co-operative play).
• Racing Games- Turbo (created in 1981, 1st game to have a third person perspective and a rear view format).
• Role-playing Games- Megami Tensei (created in 1987, broke the tradition of medival role playing games by in favour of sci-fi).
• Survival Horror Games-  Haunted House (created in 1981, 1st game to introduce elements of horror).

Personally, I think that it's safe to say that the most well known game of the 80's is definately Pacman (created in 1980) from the maze genre of games. This game is still played today and other spin-off games have been created from it later on such as Ms. Pacman and Pac Adventure.

Overall, I can see that games developed a lot during this period as they started to get more 3D, different types of games were developing to intrest differnent types of people and they started to get more like the games we have today. There was also more of a variety of games that could be played in the home and therefore, were able to be enjoyed at people's leisure. This period is a significant change from the 20 years before it as these were very basic games with simple light displays that could be controlled, during this period, things were formed and some of them (such as Pacman, Mario, and Legend of Zelda) are still very famous today.

History Of Games 1950s-1970s + my own personal history :D

Personal History of Games

Well first i'll start with my own history of games.
The first console I can ever remember having was the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) but this was when i was very young and I barely remember it at all.
The console and games I remember playing the most is the Nintendo 64. I remember thinking how good the graphics were on these games (lol) and I also discovered my favourite game of all time (which is still my favourite game now), The Legend of Zelda, The Ocarina of Time. I still recognise all of the ocarina songs that are learned in the game.
However, another of my favourite games is Super Mario 64 although I could never complete it 100% by getting all the stars and I really wanted to see Yoshi on the roof of the castle to get my 100 lives :(
Most of my consoles have been by Nintendo although I did have a Playstation 2 at one point. I do plan to get an xbox 360 to start playing games with a higher "tri count" (if that's what it's called).

Games from 1950-1970s

Ok, first i'm going to do the boring thing and list the most important games that were created during this period and show the progression in this time. However, I will also talk about why these were created. I have peiced this information together using various websites.

1952- A.S. Douglas created the first graphical computer game - a version of Tic-Tac-Toe. The game was programmed on a computer, which had a cathode ray tube display.

1958- William Higinbotham created the first video game ever. His game was called "Tennis for Two" or "Ping-Pong." It is one of the first electrical games to use a graphical display. It was created to cure the boredom of visiters at The Brookhaven National Laboratory which is where he worked.

1962- Steve Russell invented SpaceWar! and it as the first game intended for computer use. This was created with intent to impliment it onto a computer called PDP-1 which is an early digital equipment corporation. The computer was orginally donated to the creaters of the game in hope that they would make something amazing for it however they didn't expect this game!

1967- Ralph Baer wrote the first video game played on a television set, a game called Chase. Ralph Baer was then part of Sanders Associates, a military electronics firm.

1971- Nolan Bushnell together with Ted Dabney, created the first arcade game. It was called Computer Space, based on Steve Russell's earlier game of Spacewar!. This shows that computer games progressed.

1972- The arcade game Pong was created by Nolan Bushnell (with help from Al Alcorn). Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney started Atari Computers that same year. In 1975, Atari re-released Pong as a home video game.

Therefore, Pong was the first video game able to be played at home and this is why it is the most well-known earliest game. However, from my research, I can now see that there are a few games invented beforehand that inspired this game to be made.

About Me :D

I have never blogged before in my life so cut me some slack. :D

My name is Emma Cunnington. I have lived in Leicester almost my entire life. 

I chose this particular course as I wanted to do something art based as it has been my passion for many years, however I wanted to do something specific rather than just art/design. I originally wanted to do architecture or interior design but after my work experience in year 10, I decided this wasn't for me. I came to a couple of open days at De Monfort University and it seemed like a really good atmosphere to study and socialise in.

My ambition for this year is to pass but to not just to scrape a pass.  By the end of my course, I hope to have an interesting and unique portfolio to show potential employers in hope of getting a satisfying job. My interests apart from gaming are mainly art based although I do socialise with my friends and I enjoy reading too.

My dream job is to be employed by a game company although i'm not too sure on what exactly I want to specify in yet.

Blitz Games have quite a few vacancies available at the moment. One that caught my eye was for an environmental artist. The main responsibility for this job is to build the world that the player should be immersed within. This involves such things as 3D modelling using Maya and Z-Brush, creating and applying textures and creating small animations when required.
The essential skills are to be able to make good artistic judgements and to be able to use a variety of tools to create high quality game art. Also, a good knowledge of form, colour and composition is required as well as a good understanding of lighting and human anatomy.
My skills at the moment are lacking in many areas for me to be able to get this job. I do not know how to use 3D modelling programs yet and I think I have a lot to learn to increase my drawing skills. To get to this level, I intend to work hard during my Game Art university course to try and make myself stand out from others. This will include learning new drawing techniques, using different drawing materials and learning how to use modelling programs to transform my work into impressive looking 3D models.

This is probably too formal but I will improve in my later posts :P