SPACEWAR MODE!

How Early Digital Games

Normalized the Screen
Matthew Wells, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, June 27, 2014
DEMO PROGRAM CRITERIA
1. It should demonstrate as many of the
computer's resources as possible, and tax those
resources to the limit;
2. It should be interesting, which means every
run should be different;
3. It should involve the onlooker in a pleasurable
and active way in short, it should be a game.
(Graetz, 1981)
SPACEWAR MODE
Games both reflect and have influence over
the evolution of computer architectures.

KEY POINTS
Display not inevitable component of digital
computing platform.
Display conveys information, but also hides
information.
Display not a passive device; implicates user
into a specific relationship with computer.
CATHODE RAY TUBE
CRT APPLICATIONS
PROJECT WHIRLWIND
EARLY IMPRESSIONS
The display equipment now in use with WWI is
intended primarily for demonstration purposes.
(Servomechanisms Laboratory, 1949, p. 29)

Keep in mind we were not trying to build a
display here; we were building a computer. All we
used the display for was testingso displays were
ancillary completely to the main event.
(Hurst et al., 1989, p. 22)
EXPERIMENTATION
BOUNCING BALL
The trick was to set the
frequency such that you
hit the hole in the floor.
This kept a lot of people
interested for quite a
while, and it was clear
that man-machine
interaction was here to stay. Anyone could turn the
frequency knobs. (Hurst et al., 1989, p. 21)
LEGACY
Something is always happening on a TV
screen, which is why people stare at them for
hours. On MIT's annual Open House day, for
example, people came to stare for hours at
Whirlwind's CRT screen. What did they stare at?
Bouncing Ball.
(Graetz, 1981)
TX-0 & INTERACTIVITY
The TX-0 was one of the earliest computers that
allowed the operator to use the cathode ray tube
for interactive
computationThe TX-0
display was used to
show immediately the
results of changes made
to a program.
(Allen et al., 1984, p. 5)
MOUSE IN THE MAZE
The TX-0's counterpart to Bouncing Ball was the
Mouse in the Mazea stylized mouse searched
through a rectangular maze until it found a piece
of cheese which it then ate, leaving a few crumbs.
You constructed the maze and placed the cheese
(or cheeses you could have more than one) with
the light pen.
(Graetz, 1981)
MOUSE AS DEMO
Game conveys features and capabilities of
hardware platform, also serves as good
demonstration program.
Gaming as an expressive medium for both
programmer and player.
PDP-1
The PDP-1 would be faster than the Tixo, more
compact, and available. It was the first computer
that did not require one
to have an E.E. degree
and the patience of
Buddha to start it up in
the morning.
(Graetz, 1981)
GAMING IN REAL TIME
DISPLAY AS MANAGER
In a real-time interactive system, the display
plays a critical mediating role.
The display must convey a sufficient amount
of information to the user.
The display narrows the users options, defines
relationship with machine.