A history of computers, part one

When did video games begin? This is quite a debatable question, depending on what you consider a video game to be. The likes of pong and Computer Space from the early 70's are a far throw from the games we play today. Huge advancements in technology over the last 40 years have paved the way for far more visually and technologically sophisticated games. Modern games don't simply consist of a small challenge involving two blocks and square anymore; they tell stories, engage the player on an emotional level. Some games even present the player with some kind of moral dilemma, forcing them to make their own decisions. But firstly, I'm going to step far back from here. What and where did all of this develop from? and how did the dawn of the earliest computers lead to the creation of the games console?

       

The Difference Engine is an enormous mechanical calculator invented by Charles Babbage and is thought to be the worlds first automated computing engine. Babbage designed his difference engine around the year 1849, however the first working machine was only completed in the year 1991 by the London Science Museum, some 140 years after it was designed. Right now, this has practically nothing in relation with video games, however this invention marks the starting point in history for the development of all automated computing machines to come.

Something else that interests me about the Difference engine is the fact that this is a mechanical computer, powered by hand using gears and levers and invented years before any electronically based computer. It interests me to think about how much of a difference this machine could have made to modern computing had it been possible to construct at the time of its design.  

Babbage's Steampunk calculator thingy

Video game consoles obviously have their roots more closely in programmable digital computers. The earliest of this kind is the Zuse Z3, created in 1941 during WWII by civil engineer and computing pioneer Konrad Zuse. Zuse created this computer as way to show that complicated arithmetic problems could be solved via a working machine, and the Z3 was used by the German Aircraft Research Institute to perform analysis and gather numerical information on wing flutter. While this is still very distant from a games console or modern computer the Zuse Z3 is worth a mention as it is considered to be the earliest fully functional programmable digital computer.

Look everybody, the Zuse Z3

Some of the biggest technological advancements have typically occurred during times of war. The last 100 years has seen marginal advances in technology in all things from aircraft to computers, especially during the periods of WWI and II. Another pioneering wartime computer was the Colossus, invented in 1943 by Tommy Flowers. This time, it was the British who used this computer in order to crack and decode encrypted German messages during WWII.

While impressive at the time, its quite clear that computers were exceptionally linear and were usually only invented to carry out a single function. Its hard to believe that now, only 70 years on, we are in excess of small handheld devices and laptops that are infinitely more powerful.

The Colossus Mark 1

In 1939 modern computer giant Hewlett-Packard had created their first product, the HP200A which was an audio oscillator, something that produces a single frequency or sound and is used for testing sound equipment. At the time of its invention HP was not an established company, the first few HP200A's were built in Dave Packard's own garage behind his house, however this simple and linear machine provided the foundation for the company to grow into one of the largest computer equipment manufacturers in the world.

HP Audio Oscillator

The 1940's through to 50's saw many more developments in computing. International Business Machines, (IBM) who had been developing tables and equipment for computing since the early 1900's created the SSEC in 1948. This machine was used for calculating the positions of the moon and planets but only operated for a total of four years as it became quickly outdated by more ever growing technology.

1947 saw the invention of the Cathode ray tube amusement device by Thomas Goldsmith Jr and Estle Ray mann. This was a missile simulator, inspired by radar displays of world war 2. The cathode ray beam represented a crosshair, which appeared as a dot on the screen. Like most devices of the time, it used analog circuitry to allow the player to control the position of the crosshair over a plane in order to fire within a set time limit. In the broadest sense, the Cathode Ray tube amusement device is arguably the worlds first video game.

Cathode ray tube amusement device