Video game development
The history of game making begins with the development of the first video games, although which video game is the first depends on the definition of "video game". The first games created had little entertainment value, and their development focus was separate from user experience—in fact, these games required mainframe computers to play them. "OXO", written by Alexander S. Douglas in 1952, was the first computer game to use a digital display. In 1958, a game called "Tennis for Two", which displayed its output on an oscilloscope, was made by Willy Higinbotham, a physicist working at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. In 1961, a mainframe computer game called "Spacewar!" was developed by a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students led by Steve Russell.
Video gaming in the United States
The 1970s included the birth of the video game console. The first console released was titled "Magnavox Odyssey" and the foundation of Atari occurred around the same time, marking the start of "Pong's" development. Upon "Pong's" completion it become the hottest selling Christmas product of 1975. The evolution of the console was incredibly rapid. A few years after their invention, consoles received microprocessors and programmable ROM cartridge based games, allowing users the ability to change games by simply switching cartridges. Important consoles released at this time were the "Telstar, Fairchild Channel F., "and "Atari 2600." Arcade games also received advances with the game "Space Invaders", which allowed high scores to be tracked and displayed. A year later the game "Asteroids "built on the idea and gave high scorers the ability to enter initials by their scores.