December 6, 1999
Space War: The First Computer Game
Tidbit Archive
| One of the many joys (well, maybe not so many) of cleaning
out one's attic is coming upon things that take on new meaning in the current
context. So it is with a brochure that I, a certified pack-rat, uncovered
in a recent foray among the dusty boxes. The brochure is entitled
"The PDP-1 Computer and SPACEWAR," and I found it among papers from my
undergraduate days at MIT in the early 1960s.
Space War is widely regarded as the first computer video game. It was developed by hackers (before that word has today's negative connotations) at MIT in 1960 and subsequently used by the PDP-1's manufacturer, Digital Equipment as a demonstration of the machine's capabilities. Some quotes from the brochure: At first look, Spacewar is a fascinating space-age game, in which two players maneuver rocket-armed spaceships in the near weightlessness of space until one is in a position to fire the winning shot.I loved playing Space War (although I wasn't all that good at it) and was awed by the capabilities of the machine behind it. It doesn't seem like all that long ago. . . |
Links:Space War home page, includes several interesting articles about the game and a number of links -- probably the best single source of information on the game and its history
SpaceWar lives! (in the form of a java applet at MIT's Media Lab)
Classic Video Games Nexus (for all that came after SpaceWar)
PDP-1 Manual, including pictures and instructions
PDP-1 on Digital Equipment Corporation's computer timeline (now part of Compaq)
Description of the PDP-1 from the Computer Museum, citing Space War as "the first computerized video game" (includes a color photo)
