Before the Beginning: A short tour of the prehistory of electronic games—including an homage to early pinball machines—and the key technological breakthroughs that made electronic gaming possible. Meet the earliest pioneers and experimenters who dreamed of using video screens for interactive entertainment. The 70s: Against the backdrop of a new era in social awareness and youth-oriented culture, the stage is set technologically for the birth of a new industry. Visionaries Ralph Baer and Nolan Bushnell lead the way, and Pong becomes a household word. The 80s: The electronic games industry is ready to rock and roll. While one hit follows another in the arcades, millions of homes across America are being invaded by Atari, Intellivision, and ColecoVision gaming systems. The personal computer and the floppy disk make it possible for anyone to become a game developer. The 90s: The CD-ROM, 3D graphics, and high-speed Internet access radically change the face of electronic gaming. New rivalries create rapidly escalating technologies, immersive realism, and a wide range of crossovers and tie-ins. Developmental budgets skyrocket, interactive games become very big business, and the companies themselves begin to merge and consolidate.
Rusel DeMaria (Grants Pass, OR) has been an observer and/or participant in the electronic gaming industry since its inception. Beginning in 1980, he began writing professionally about games. He has written nearly 60 strategy guides and is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of that book genre. In addition to his books, Rusel has been a senior editor and columnist for several national magazines. Johnny L. Wilson (Seattle, WA) is Group Publisher for Wizards of the Coasts magazine group, which includes Dragon, Dungeon, Top Deck, Star Wars Gamer and Star Wars Insider. He is perhaps better known as the former editor-in-chief of Computer Gaming World (1992-1999), the premier magazine for computer-gaming fans.
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