Video Game History: 1940-1985 Flashcards
What was the first computer with a memory?
EDSAC (1946)
What could the ENIAC (1946) do?
Carry out numerical problems through reprogramming
When did Alan Turning write a chess program?
1947
What was special with the Cathode Ray Tube Device (CRT) ?
It was the first computer to use a screen
Who created Tennis for two (1958)?
William Higinbotham
There was a computer in 1951 which could play Nim with a player opponent. What was it called?
NIMROD
When was Spacewar! created and by which two fellows was it made?
in 1962 by Steve Russell and Wayne Wiitanen (on the PDP-1 computer)
What is 1966’s Eliza?
A computer Therapist
Ralph Baer came to design a game playing device in 1967, what did he initially call it?
The Brown Box
What did the 1970 simulation software Life do?
Demonstrate complexity from simple rules.
What was the first known arcade machine to be released to the public and who made it (2 persons)?
Galaxy Game by Bill Pitts and Hugh Truck (A Spacewar! remake)
What was the first mass-produced video game?
Computer Space
Who made Computer Space?
Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney
What is common about the game Baseball and The Oregon trail?
Both are PC- text based games and both released in 1971
What was the first video game console and when did it release?
Magnavox Odyssey (1972)
How may games were included with the Magnavox Odyssey?
12
Who founded Atari and when?
Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in 1972
Who was it that programmed Pong
Al Alcorn
When did Pong release and by what company?
1972, Atari
When did Atari Japan open in Tokyo?
1973
What is considered to be the first FPS game?
Maze (1974)
How many players could play Maze (1974) at the same time (via linked cables)?
8
What was the first driving simulation game and what company made it?
Gran Tak 10 (1974) by Atari.
What happened in the end with Atari Japan?
It was sold to Nakamura Manufacturer in 1974 due to financial struggles.
What was Atari’s first game to sell more than Pong?
Tank (1974)
What was the first microprocessor-based pinball game?
Spirit of 76 (1975)
When did Atari release Home Pong?
1975
When did Atari’s Breakout release?
1976
What was the biggest arcade game of 1976?
Breakout (Atari)
What was the first controversial video game and when did it release?
Death Race (1976)
What was the first driving FPS game?
Night Driver (1976)
Who designed Night Driver (1976)?
Ted Michton and Dave Shepperd
What is considered to be the first computer text adventure game? (Easy answer)
Adventure (Colossal Cave Adventure) (1976)
Atari was bought up by Warner Communications. When?
1976
What was the first home console to use a microprocessor and what company made it?
Channel F console by Fairchild.
What was the first handheld commercial game?
Autorace (1976)
What was Richard Garriott’s first video game? When was it made?
D&D1. 1977.
What was Atari’s first home console?
Atari VCS 2600
When did the Atari VCS 2600 launch?
1977
What did Atari Japan come to be in 1977?
Namco
What video game introduced vector graphics to the arcades?
Space Wars (Inspired by Spacewar!) (1977)
What is special about Zork! ? What was originally supposed to be called?
It was released in 1977 on the PDP-10 and was one of the first interactive fiction computer games. Inspired by D&D. It was supposed to be called Dungeon….
Who designed Space Invaders?
Tomohiro Nishikado
When did Space Invaders release?
1978
What was the first flight simulator and on what device did it appear?
Flight Simulator (1978) on the Apple II computer.
What did Richard Garriott make in 1978?
Alkabeth: World of Doom
Atari Football was a great success. When did it release?
1978
Who made the first virtual world?
Richard Bartle and Troy Trubshaw
What was the first virtual world? What did the initials stand for?
MUD (Multi-User-Dungeon)
What was Atari’s first vector game?
Lunar Lander (1979)
Atari’s second vector game was a huge success. What was the game?
Asteroids (1979)
Galaxian by Namco is special because…?
It was the first game to use RGB graphics.
Video gaming’s first Easter egg is?
Warren Robinett’s name in Atari’s Adventure.
When did Nolan Bushnell leave Atari?
1979
4 Atari employees left in 1979 and formed…
Activision.
What trend did Activision start?
Making third-party games for the Atari 2600
Who developed the classic title Missile Command (1980)? Who published it?
Atari. Atari and Sega.
Nintendo’s first handheld was?
Game and Watch (1980)
Give a brief summary of Pac-Man’s origin: The designer, year of release and which company that developed it.
Toru Iwatani, 1980, Namco
When did Zork! arrive on home computers?
1980
Richard Garriott (Lord British) made what in 1980?
Ultima: The First Age of Darkness
How many years did it take Space Invaders to appear on the Atari 2600 after it’s initial arcade release in 1978?
2 years.
Who made and released Defender (1981)?
Eugene Jarvis and Williams Electronics
Hwne did Namco’s Galaga release?
1981
Who made Donkey Kong?
Shigeru Miyamoto
Who developed Frogger (1981)?
My wife (in Norwegian)
Which game is blamed for the video game crash of 1982?
E.T: The Extra Terrestial
Who was given six weeks to make E.T (1982)?
Howard Scott Warschaw
When did Pac-Man appear on the Atari 2600?
1982
Who made Sinistar (1982)?
Williams Electronics
What controversial 1982 game let’s the player rape a native american woman?
Custer’s Revenge
Q*Bert (1982) had which type of camera perspective?
Isometric view
Who made the super realistic character animation for 1982’s Pitfall?
Dave Crane from Activision.
Trip Hawkins founded what in 1982?
Electronic Arts (EA)
When did the Atari 5200 launch?
1982
With help from animator Don Bluth, what laser-disc was made in 1983?
Dragon’s Lair
What is most interesting about Lode Runner’s game design (1983)?
It had a level editor.
Nintendo’s first console in Japan was called?
Famicom (1983)
What game introduced the Japanese to the RPG formula?
The Black Onyx (1983)
Ultima III arrived in?
1983
What was the first 3D polygonal game created?
I, Robot (1983, Atari)
A virtual world was created in 1983 where players had to pay to play. What was it called?
Scepter of Goth
King’s Quest arrived in?
1984
Tetris was made when, where and by whom?
1983, Russia, Alexey Pajitnov
Karateka used what cinematic techniques?
Rotoscoping, cross-cutting and tracking shots.
In 1984, A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Game was made.
Okay.
What was the first video game to feature a fully synchronized soundtrack?
Deus Ex Machina (1984)
What fourth game in a series had a morale system and sold better than any of it’s own previous iterations in 1985?
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Balance of Power, a game with its own GUI, was made when and by whom?
1985, Chris Crawford
Gauntlet, one of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl arcade games and made by Atari, released in what year?
1985.
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) released in New York first in…?
1985.
in 1985, the most important release of the NES was?
Super Mario Bros.
Who made King’s Quest and what year did it release?
Roberta + Ken Williams, 1983
