EOTO Research Project

     The history of video games is a long and complicated one. There is not one direct inventor of video games but rather, multiple as the origin of video games can be traced back as early as the 1950s and 1960s. During that timeframe, computer scientists began designing simple games on minicomputers, which would later translate to the first video game, SpaceWar! in 1962. Created by MIT student hobbyists, this was the first video game to use a video display. After Pong was created in 1970, many video game companies wanted to capitalize on its fame, causing the industry to go through several boom or bust cycles due to lack of innovation.

    Around the 1980s, video games were going through a really tough time. The 1983 video game crash hit the United States really hard from too many games to cheap knockoffs. This prompted Japan to take charge of the video game industry, as the crash did not seem to hit them as hard, if at all. In 1985, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System, reviving the video game industry and brimming it full of life for many years to come. Nintendo's original ideas bundled with its very easy to understand game mechanics allowed for people of all ages to enjoy video games once again

Since then, video games have changed the world, becoming a dominant branch of the entertainment industry, being present in many families homes, and a common hobby among children and adults alike. Video games have brought forth a positive impact on the world by helping strengthen problem solving and social skills in children. This can be explained by video games constant engagement with players and how they utilize puzzles, strategy, and problem solving to encourage critical thinking skills. With the recent introduction of online multiplayer gaming, communication has evolved in video games with people now able to communicate across very long distances with friends and online opponents alike.

However, it has gotten quite the negative impact in recent years. Contrast to its improvement of social skills in children, video games also teach children to be antisocial if they are not playing and interacting with other people. Video games have also brought on unhealthy habits such as obesity and carpal tunnel, two very important diseases that are heavily linked to obsessive play of video games. Gaming is also very addicting, as it is officially labeled as "internet gaming disorder" (IGD) and can suffer dire consequences such as loss of appetite, loss of sleep, and even losing relationships and interests in other activities.

    Despite the negative criticism towards video games, video games have changed the world for the better, and in some cases, for the worst. They help communication while also hindering it. They evolved the world while also setting back. It is a very give or take subject that as humans, we are still figuring out. Gaming has evolved into a very popular branch of the entertainment industry and thanks to its communication benefits, will stay around for many years to come.