The Golden Age of Video Games

What makes the prototype so valuable in comparison to its successors? That is, what gives an invention "vintage" status?; and moreover, what causes such an invention to generate interest in the continued development of its type?

Inventions become memorable in the eyes of history when they promote continued growth, promise change, and lead to innovation. Even something like war, the most destructive invention of mankind, leads to a change in the course of history; leads to innovation in the current condition of mankind (e.g. World War II saw some of the biggest advancements in medicine, technology and communication; as a matter of fact, the Internet was a direct consequence of this worldwide conflict).

In my opinion, a society deeply devoted to the creation and development of video games is one that demonstrates a relative amount of stability; in other words, one that has transcended the general need for things such as food and security, and can focus on the interaction between man and machine. When modern industry shifts its focus away from the means of production for subsistence, and instead concentrates on the development of interactive forms of entertainment, we may conjecture that focus has shifted away from fulfilling basic needs and moved towards the increased value in things that keep us occupied and engaged with one another. Perhaps, the most valuable thing about the video games of the golden age is that they introduced a new way for people to engage with technology and one another.

Now, because many of these games are remembered very fondly, we must understand the underlying reasons why. Is it simply a matter of nostalgia? Or is there something fundamental about the nature of these prototypical video games which evokes us to think deeply about their function in the history of computing?

I would certainly argue that they modified the definition of "User Experience" forever. At the start, engineers were simply problem solvers; they would design and develop new technology with the aim of simplifying a particular task, thereby making life easier and more accessible to others. However, the rise of video games introduced the idea that engineers could do much more than solve problems for others; namely, that they could creative interactive visuals which could engage others and motivate them to solve problems themselves.

The motivation of gamers to continue solving problems was directly an impact of the rise of these golden classics, and this drive to solve problems definitely generated an interest in the fundamentals of computing and programming. Given the wide demographic of video game players, the conception of these golden age games led to an induced cross-disciplinary burst of video game ideas: shooting games, adventure games, sports games, etc. Thus, it was proven that video games did not appeal to a particular group of people or strata of the general populace, but to each and all.

However, this led to more variation in video games, which has led it to become a worldwide phenomenon for all groups and ages. My dad, for instance, was not hugely interested in video games when they first started coming out; however, given his interest in sports, as the quality of sports video games progressed, he became a more frequent player of video games. Perhaps this goes to show that although the creation of video games in the golden age did not immediately captivate the entire world, they were the primordial stepping stone in understanding the way that users liked to be engaged, which aided the development of subsequent titles and consoles.