1 the History of Pong

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The History OfPong: Avoid Missing Game to Start Industry

By Matt Barton,Bill Loguidice

[In the first in a series of Gamasutra-exclusive bonus material originallyto be included in Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton's forthcoming bookVintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto,

Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time, the duopresents a history of Pong, the game that jumpstarted the gamebusiness, and some of the innovations it inspired.]

Although it wasn't the first, Atari's Pong was the first video game to get

the ball rolling -- or bouncing, as it were. Humble even by contemporarystandards, Pong was an effort to introduce a video game so intuitive thateven a child (or inebriated bar patron) could grasp it instantly.

It was in many ways a reaction to the first commercial arcade video game, Computer Space,from 1971, an overlyambitious effort based on Spacewar!,a pioneering mainframe computer-based space combat simulation from the 1960s

developed by and for engineers (which will be covered in an upcoming article, "Spacewar! (1962): The Best Waste of Timein the History of the Universe").

Unfortunately, Computer Space proved too complex for the first wave of would-be gamers to handle. Whereas ComputerSpace had boldly gone where no coin-op had gone before, Pong merely asked players to "avoid missing ball for high score."The banal but intuitive gameplay made it the right game at the right time.

In 1972, most Americans were just getting used to color television; the idea of playing an actual game on a TV screen wasrevolutionary. What Pong really achieved, then, was demonstrating to the masses that computers were far more than

esoteric tools for engineers and rocket scientists. It was the TV game of the future -- a future they were now part of.

A classic image ofPong as displayed by the Coleco Telstar Alpha home system.

The modern video game industry was born on November 29, 1972, in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California. Thegame was Pong,a machine recently constructed by Al Alcorn, an engineer working for gaming entrepreneurs Nolan Bushnell

and Ted Dabney, who had recently incorporated under the name "Atari."

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As curious patrons gathered around the machine, others plunked quarters into its slot. Although the patrons that night wereundoubtedly enthusiastic, we can only wonder if any were aware that history was being made.

Here was the dawn of a new form of entertainment, a medium that asked for more than eyeballs and silence. For too longpeople had been asked to watch passively as others performed for them. Now they were asked to perform themselves, to

become part of the action on the screen.

Three decades and hundreds of thousands of video games later, we can only imagine what it must have been like to be apatron in Andy Capp's Tavern that night, marveling at the modest machine that Alcorn had built with a few cheap parts and

a $75 black-and-white television from a Walgreens drug store.

The story ofPong has been told many times, and of course it makes for a more compelling story if the game's precursors

aren't mentioned. Bushnell and Alcorn, much like Jobs and Wozniak (the two Steves who founded Apple), are culturalheroes who are too often portrayed as mad scientist-types, geniuses who woke up one morning, shouted "Eureka!" andwent about creating the world's first video games and personal computers, respectively.

As we've seen already, however, Pong was not even the first coin-operated video game, much less the first video game. Itwasn't even the first video game based on "pinging" a ball back and forth across a screen, not by a long shot. To begin then,we must recap the events that led up to that fateful day in November 1972.

The origins of today's computing power can be traced to World War II. The U.S. Army was on a continuous quest to gain the

upper hand against the Axis Powers, and several promising projects -- and some not-so-promising -- were given funding onthe chance that a few might be successful. One such proposal was to create a high-speed electronic device to calculateballistics firing tables, which at the time was being performed manually by female mathematicians called "computers."

Development of the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer -- better known as ENIAC -- began in 1943; however, itdid not become fully operational until 1946, when it became the first comprehensive reprogrammable digital computer.

Conceived and designed by John Mauchly and John Eckert, the room-sized ENIAC influenced the development of laterincreasingly smaller and more powerful computers from a variety of commercial companies, beginning the slow transitionfrom centuries-old mechanical and analog paradigms to fully digital devices.

Unreliable and bulky vacuum tubes used into the 1950s were phased out in the 1960s by transistors that were morereliable, yet less expensive. These transistors were soon incorporated into the Integrated Circuit, or IC, where a large

number of these semiconductor devices were placed onto small silicon chips.

Nevertheless, after several decades of innovation in circuitry and refinements in operation and utility -- including a switch to

a stored-program methodology that offered a fully reprogrammable environment -- large and expensive mainframecomputers still remained the norm.

A modern simulation ofOXO running on the EDSAC mainframe.

Despite the size and cost restrictions that limited these computing systems to government and large institutions such as

universities, games found their way onto even the earliest mainframes, starting the ongoing trend of implementing videogames wherever a viable platform presented itself.

The first known instance of an actual implementation was Alexander Douglas's 1952 creation ofOXO (also known as

Naughts and Crosses), a simple graphical single-player-versus-the-computer tic-tac-toe game on the EDSAC mainframe atthe University of Cambridge. Although more proof of a concept than a compelling gameplay experience, OXO nevertheless

set the precedent of using a computer to play games.


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A simulated screenshot of what Tennis for Two looked like.

The first known precursor ofPong debuted in 1958 on a visitors' day at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NewYork. It was there that William Higinbotham and Robert Dvorak demonstrated Tennis for Two, a small analog computer

game that used an oscilloscope for its display.

Tennis for Two rendered a moving ball that was affected by gravity (the first known use of physics[1] in a game) in asimplified side view of a tennis court. Each player could rotate a knob to change the angle of the ball, and the press of a

button sent the ball toward the opposite side of the court.

As with OXO, few people got to experience Tennis for Two, but in many ways it can be considered the first dedicated video

game system. Without the benefit of hindsight, this milestone was even lost on the game's creators, who, after a secondvisitors' day one year later, disassembled the machine's components for use in other projects.

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[1] Defined as the science of matter and energy and their interactions, with a focus on the latter when it comes tovideogames.

It wouldn't be until 1962 that the most famous early computer game, Spacewar!, blasted onto the scene. Initially designedby Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, and Wayne Wiitanen, with later contributions from Alan Kotok, Dan Edwards, and Peter

Samson, the game was the result of brilliant engineering and hundreds of hours of hard work.[2]

Developed on the DEC PDP-1 mainframe at MIT, Spacewar!'s gameplay was surprisingly sophisticated and ambitious,pitting two spaceships against each other in an armed duel around a star that exhibited gravitational effects on the twocraft. Each player controlled a ship via the mainframe's front-panel test switches or optional external control boxes,adjusting each respective craft's rotation, thrust, fire, and hyperspace (a random, evasive screen jump that could cause the

user's ship to explode).

Over the years, the game was improved many times and inspired many clones and spiritual successors, including the first

commercially sold arcade video game in 1971, Computer Space, which was designed by Bushnell and Dabney for NuttingAssociates. Unfortunately for the parties involved, Computer Space landed with a thud.

Featuring a stunning, smooth-edged fiberglass cabinet with metalflake chips embedded in the clearcoat finish[3] that camein a range of colors, a large screen and a multibutton control panel that wouldn't look out of place in an Apollo moonmission, Computer Space was intimidating, particularly to a public that had never seen a video game.

Bushnell, who can perhaps best be described as an entrepreneur with a vision and background in engineering, was able toidentify the root cause ofComputer Space's failure -- it was implicitly designed for the enjoyment of his engineering friends

-- and banked on the simplicity ofPong,right down to its angular wooden cabinet and controls, to drive the success of hisnew company, Atari.

Unfortunately for Bushnell's still undeniably impressive legacy, it has been proven that he took the idea forPong frominventor Ralph Baer, who designed the first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey.

Baer conceived the basic ideas behind the Odyssey during the 1950s, but his concept for a television video game was so


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novel that he was unable to garner enough support to even build working prototypes until the mid 1960s. His first attemptto build a home video game console was a simple game of tag featuring two squares, which soon morphed into his "Brown

Box" prototype. The prototype included several additional diversions, including target shooting and the pivotal paddle andball games.

After being rejected by several TV manufacturers, Baer finally signed an agreement in 1971 with Magnavox, who released arefined version of the prototype the following year, renaming it the Odyssey Home Entertainment System (model 1TL200).

Although relatively limited in capabilities, requiring considerable manual intervention and imagination from its players, the

Odyssey nevertheless had many basic features in its forward-thinking design that would eventually become standard. Theseincluded detachable controllers, additional controller options (a light rifle/gun), and interchangeable game cartridges. The

cartridges enabled play for each of the various activities, but in reality these plug-in cards simply turned the console'sbuilt-in features on or off, like a selector switch.

Twelve games were included with the system; ten more were released separately. The Odyssey could display only white

squares and lines on a black background, so two different sizes of color overlays were provided to enhance game play andaccommodate different types of televisions.

In addition, many games also included external enhancements, such as playing cards, maps, dice, and game boards. Muchof the system's playability came from the use of these accessories, as there was limited onscreen interaction. The systemregistered only object collisions, and there was no sound or score tracking.

The original Magnavox Odyssey in its organizer case. Note the rolled-up television overlays and extensivearray of real-world playing pieces.

Perhaps the Odyssey's most enduring legacy, however, was inspiring Bushnell at a Magnavox product demonstration in1972. Later that same year, Bushnell cofounded Atari, and with engineer Alcorn developed Pong, which was clearlyderivative of one of the Odyssey's paddle-and-ball games.

As Baer puts it, "The fact that Nolan Bushnell developed Pong after he played a ping-pong game on an Odyssey 1TL200 atan L.A. Magnavox dealership demo in May of 1972 is also well-known."[4] Incidentally, although Baer credits Bushnell withthe title of "father ofarcade video games,"he proclaims himself "the father ofhome video games." We'll have more to say

about Baer in a moment.

"Mezrabad" described the Odyssey's Table Tennis in a tongue-in-cheek review for Armchair Arcade, where he pretends he'sback in 1972 playing this game with his son for the first time. The review shows the striking similarities toPong:

Table Tennis uses both Player Spots, Ball Spot, and Line Spot. It is the onlyOdyssey game that uses Cart #1. It uses nooverlay. Cart #1 is inserted into the Odyssey's slot which automatically turns the Odyssey "on" and it begins its "broadcast"to your TV. Remember, this is only being broadcast to yourTV. Don't call your neighbors and tell them to please turn tochannel 3 or 4 to watch you play Table Tennis.

Table Tennis is designed to help proud new Odyssey owners learn how to manipulate the controllers of the Odyssey. Two

controllers come with the system. They are little white boxes with knobs on the right and left sides. The left knob controlshorizontal movement of the Player Spot and the other knob controls the vertical movement of the Player Spot.

In the center of the left knob is yet another knob which controls the "ENGLISH" of the Ball Spot. I think "ENGLISH" refers to

something in the real-world game of billiards that governs how a ball's trajectory curves due to its spin. This "ENGLISH"


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control allows a player to control the trajectory of the Ball Spot after deflecting it with the Player Spot. The Odyssey Manualalways capitalizes the word "ENGLISH" so forgive me if you think I'm shouting.

Oh, and I guess I should make this clear. When I say a controller "controls" the movement of a Player Spot, I mean thatthere's a little white rectangle/square on YOUR TV SCREEN that moves depending on how you turn a knob on your

controller. Really! Yes, it is astonishing at first. Not since I discovered the vertical hold dial have I had this much fun withmy TV.[5]

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[2] Steve Russell developed the first version of the game in 1961. It wouldn't be significantly and recognizably improved in

a collaborative manner until the 1962 version. See http://tinyurl.com/3xhe5j.

[3] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nutting_ComputerSpace-Blue.JPG.

[4]http://www.pong-story.com/inventor.htm.

[5] See Mezrabad's complete "Chronogaming" series on the Magnavox Odyssey here: http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/taxonomy/term/948.

Nevertheless, what distinguishes Bushnell's design and Alcorn's implementation is that the gameplay inPong was pared

down to just up/down paddle movements, with any "English" (really just a sudden change in direction) merely a result ofwhere the ball strikes the paddle. Also, unlike Table Tennis, which tries to adhere to most of the rules of Ping-Pong bymaking balls hit to the top or bottom of the screen fly "off the table," the top and bottom ofPong's screen function as walls

that bounce the ball off them.

With the complexity stripped and the game controlled via a single paddle (dial), Pong could be played anywhere -- even theaforementioned bar -- where a thirsty patron could hold a Schlitz in one hand and the dial in the other. With the addition ofthe iconic sound effects and automatic scoring that encouraged friendly competition, the experience was complete and ahuge success for Atari.

Atari's success with Pong led several other companies to copy the game's concept. Magnavox later won a lawsuit againstAtari for patent infringement, forcing the fledgling company to settle for a lump sum and other manufacturers to pay hefty

licensing fees for years to come. Baer, a meticulous engineer with an array of broad patents, was certainly not willing tostand by as Atari and others profited (in his view, unfairly) from his basic ideas.[6]

Although the Odyssey received a small sales boost from the popularity ofPong and the various clones that sprung up in the

arcade, the console never really overcame its limited marketing and the unfortunate misconception that it would work onlyon Magnavox televisions.

When Atari created a home version ofPong, complete with the arcade version's automatic scoring and sound, the

then-dominant retailer Sears agreed in 1975 to distribute it under their own brand name, Tele-Games. The arrangementwas a huge success, and legitimized the viability of Baer's original plan to market video game systems for home use. Atari

released its own branded version of the console starting in 1976, just as an explosion ofPong clones saturated the homevideo game market.

Coleco's popular home Pong clone, the Telstar Alpha. Besides "Tennis" (Pong), the unit also played "Hockey,"

"Handball," and "Jai Lai."

In 1975, chip maker General Instrument was looking to develop a low-cost "Pong-on-a-chip" as an answer to Atari andMagnavox's proprietary Pong and Pong-like systems. General Instrument succeeded with the AY-3-8500 chip, which couldplay as many as six paddle-and-target games, depending on the vendor configuration.

Baer received early information on the chip's development and contacted Coleco's president, Arnold Greenberg, about the


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Coleco's intriguing Telstar Arcade from 1977, a primitive color cartridge-based system with a wild controlpanel that played many of the same types of games found on dedicated Pong units.

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[6] See Baer's 2005 book, Videogames in the Beginning, for more details on the man, his inventions, and the various

lawsuits: http://tinyurl.com/ys26h4.

[7] Of the many Pong-like and single-game-chip variations that Coleco produced in the Telstar line, the Telstar Arcade wasthe most unusual, because it accepted cartridges and did not use any of the standard General Instrument chips, insteadhaving custom microcontrollers within each cartridge.

[8] Later known as the Fairchild Channel F System II, with rights passing on to Zircon. In a competitive nod toPong-stylesystems, two-player hockey and tennis games were built in and accessible from the VES's "G?" prompt without a cartridgeinserted. Tennis (button 2 at the "G?" prompt) was pure Pong. Hockey(button 1 at the "G?" prompt), however, used every

one of the game controller's special features to independently control both a partially mobile offensive player and afixed-path goalie through fairly sophisticated motions. Nevertheless, the game still utilized typical blocky line-basedgraphics and Pong-like sound effects.

By the early 1980s, nearly all of today's familiar video game and computer elements were in place. These elements rangedfrom input devices such as multifunction digital and analog controllers to online services, like the proprietary CompuServeand The Source, each of which featured a selection of relatively sophisticated multiplayer games (see book Chapter 24,"Ultima Online (1997): Putting the Role-Play Back in Computer Role-Playing Games"). However, before all of that

happened, Pong had one more significant role to play.

In Sunnyvale, California, from the early to mid 1970s, gifted hacker Steve Wozniak ("Woz") worked as an engineerspecializing in calculator technology at Hewlett-Packard (HP), where he reunited with an energetic summer employee bythe name of Steve Jobs, whom he had befriended when the two were in high school.

The friendship generated a series of external business partnerships. For example, Jobs helped to sell Woz's underground"blue box," a device that "phreakers" (a type of hacker targeting the phone system) used to make free long-distance callsand to eavesdrop on conversations.

Jobs was hired as Atari's fortieth employee in 1974 as an hourly technician and, after a short hiatus for a spiritual journey to

India, returned the following year to work at the innovative company that was about to repeat its arcade success with ahome version ofPong.

Jobs, now a night-shift engineer, was tasked with creating Breakoutfor the arcade, which was designed to be a single-player, vertical Pong.[9] The goal of the game was to destroy rows of blocks at the top of the screen by bouncing a ball off asmall, movable paddle at the bottom.

Atari was unable to lure Woz away from HP after witnessing his impressive self-built home Pong clone. Nevertheless,because he was a fan of both Atari arcade games and up for any engineering challenge, he agreed to help Jobs complete the

assignment.

Woz completed the bulk of the work in about four days, with an efficient design that used far fewer chips than any otherAtari arcade game at the time. For the impressive effort, Jobs received a nice payout and bonus -- most of which he kept


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for himself -- and a reengineered Breakoutwould become another Atari arcade hit.[10]

The Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS) conversion ofBreakout(1978).

After years of hardware hacking and his two dalliances in video games, Woz began development on a television computer

terminal. Inspired by regular meetings at the legendary Homebrew Computer Club -- in which many early industry pioneersshared their ideas and passions -- Woz created and showed off what would become known as the Apple I.

Although nothing more than an elegantly designed circuit board with a low-cost MOS 6502 microprocessor, 4 KB RAM, andexpansion connectors, the Apple I nevertheless laid the foundation for what was to come. Atari and HP were not interestedin the idea, so the two Steves formed their own company, Apple Computer, on April 1, 1976.

Many variations on the paddle-and-ball theme hit the arcade. Shown here is Atari's Avalanche with simulatedcolor overlay, which tasked players with catching boulders. The Atari VCS would receive an unofficial port of

the game via Activision's popular Kaboom!(1981), which replaced the boulders with lit bombs.

Working out of Woz's bedroom and eventually Jobs's garage, they began production on the Apple I. The persuasive Jobsnegotiated with local hobbyist computer store, the Byte Shop, for an order of units worth $50,000.


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Credit, time, and supply constraints were tight, but the Byte Shop order was met, with the computer store providingfull-stroke keyboards and wooden cases to complement the circuit board. Through the Byte Shop and magazine coverage

and advertisements, the company had slow, but steady growth.

Taito's arcadeArkanoid(1986) would take the concepts in Breakoutto the next level, with powerups,different types of enemies, and multiple levels.

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[9] The concept was from Bushnell and Steve Bristow.

[10]Breakoutwas released May 13, 1976, and inspired a long line of clones and knock-offs itself.

By the time the Apple I was officially released, Jobs and Woz were already thinking about adding new features; theyfrequently updated its design and shared their progress with the club.

The result was the Apple II, which -- despite the short gap between releases -- improved on the Apple I in nearly everyway, including a complete molded plastic enclosure with full-stroke keyboard, external peripheral ports, and eight easily

accessible internal expansion slots.

Breakoutwas a direct influence on that legendary computer, as summarized nicely on Wikipedia:

[As Woz stated,] "A lot of features of the Apple II went in because I had designed Breakoutfor Atari. I had designed it inhardware. I wanted to write it in software now." This included his design of color graphics circuitry and the now infamous

beep and click sound circuitry.

It also directly influenced his design of Integer BASIC (which he referred to as "Game Basic"), with his Integer BASIC

version of Breakout being the first "proof of concept" application running on the prototype Apple II. His desire to playBreakout on his new computer also led to the addition of a paddle interface, and ultimately the bundling of paddle

controllers and a cassette tape containing the code for Breakout for the Apple II's commercial release.[11]


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