Test One Question and Answer Study Guide Flashcards
What company invented the microprocessor?
Intel
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, what were computer games sold and distributed on?
Floppy disks and casette tapes
What was the first microcomputer to go on the market?
Altair 8800
What is the television standard used in the US and Japan called?
NTSC
In the early 1990s, what invention provided change that swept through the personal computer industry, and what was that change?
CDs, 650 megabytes of data
The earliest commercially successful coin operated video game was?
Pong
In what year did the video game industry crash?
1983
What caused the video game crash?
Anyone could produce games with ease, resulting in a decrease of quality games
In 1986, which company single handedly revived the home console and how?
Nintendo by requiring all games to go through rigorous testing before they approved its release, therefore upping the quality consumers could expect from their products.
What are three reasons that arcade games are still popular?
The have a social aspect to them
They are a great source of revenue
They are easy to learn and quick to play
Video game consoles were first created by toy and arcade manufacturers: true or false?
True
Games made for the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision had to fit within how much memory?
4KB
What is the specialized version of a game console which contains hardware for communicating with a PC during game development?
Dev station
What was the first console that used interchangeable ROM cartridges?
Fairchild Channel F
What is one advantage and one disadvantage to developing games on console over PC?
Advantages:
Standardized hardware/software, console games outsell PC games by 3-10 times
Disadvantages:
Typically have lesser hardware, have to spend more time optimizing for hardware limitations, consoles themselves don’t make much profit
Computers first became commercially available in what decade?
1950s
What was the first graphical online RPG?
Meridian 59
In what year was the IBM PC introduced?
1982
How did 3-D accelerators improve games?
They freed up the CPU from computing and displaying the environment, allowing for richer and deeper games
What is one advantage and one disadvantage to developing games on PC over console?
Advantages:
Anyone can write a game for a personal computer.
Typically have better OS, hard drive, RAM, etc
Keyboard/mouse allow for complicated inputs and UI
Disadvantages:
Non-standard hardware and OS
Typically don’t sell as many copies as console games
Not designed for multiple users at one time
What is the color of death in China?
White
What is the process of modifying a game to make it suitable for release in different countries?
Localization
Which is more popular in Korea, online or single player games?
Online
What are the two largest game markets in order?
United States, China
What are three parts of localization, other than language?
Cultural norms, content regulations, technical requirements/standards
What is a term for computerized entertainment that the customer goes to, rather than purchasing and taking it home?
Location-based entertainment
What games were influential in the creation of the ESRB?
Night Trap and Mortal Kombat
What type of game is typically the most expensive to develop?
MMOs (aka Persistent Worlds)
Why are console games more popular than PC games?
More accessible/lower bar of entry
Cheaper
Why did “Interactive Movie” games never really take off?
Because they lack interactivity and tend to be very linear
