Today’s episode is the first of an abbreviated series on the history of video gaming, intended to set the framework for the podcast ahead. In this episode, I provide a brief look at the origins of video gaming and the technology necessary to create it, as it made the transition from being produced on hardware to being programmed on software. This episode covers the very first video games and first attempts at monetizing them. I hope you like it, and I hope you’ll stick around for a while!

And don’t worry, I’m going over all of this content (and so, so much more) in greater detail in the future.

Game on, friends!

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Media:
1. Cathode ray tube amusement device (design), 1947.
2. Bertie the Brain, 1950.
3. OXO / Noughts and Crosses, 1951.
4. Draughts, 1951.
5. Photo of Tennis for Two on display at the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s annual exhibition in 1958.
6. Video of the game (a re-creation) in action.
7. Video of the PDP-1 and Spacewar! in action (begins at 13:55).
8. Galaxy Game, finished product.
9. Emulation of Galaxy Game (1971) gameplay.
10. Computer Space cabinet.
11. Footage of Computer Space (1971) gameplay.
12. Full-size mass-produced Pong cabinet.
13 First-generation video game consoles.
14. Second-generation video game consoles.

Credits:
– Theme: Azureflex – “Intro” obtained from freemusicarchive.org (Creative Commons License: bit.ly/1HyZTCk)
– “8-Bit Celtic” obtained from dl-sounds.com
– All sound clips used in accordance with the FAIR USE Act