What was the first game controller?

The very first game controller to be showcased on this ultimate video game controller timeline is the control box for the immensely influential space combat video game Spacewar!, which is the first known game to be publicly distributed and played on multiple computer installations. It was created in 1962 by computer scientists for the DEC PDP-1 minicomputer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The game featured two spaceships, “the wedge” and “the needle”, which engaged in a dogfight while trying to evade a lethal gravity well.

At first, the game was controlled by the front panel of the minicomputer, but this proved to wear down quickly and be cumbersome for two players. To combat this difficulty, computer programmer Bob Saunders developed an early gamepad, which is the first controller on this timeline.

This gamepad featured a switch for turning right or left, a switch for thrusting forward or engaging in hyperspace, and a torpedo launch button. The button was constructed to be silent so the opposing player would not tip off about an incoming torpedo.

When was the first video game joystick invented?

The first video game joystick was invented in 1967 by Ralph H. Baer, the creator of the Magnavox Odyssey console which was launched in 1972. It was capable of controlling the horizontal and vertical position of a spot displayed on screen. Prior to this, an electrical two-axis joystick was invented by C.B. Mirick at the United States Naval Research Laboratory in 1926 with the intended use of remotely controlling aircraft.

The Magnavox Odyssey also featured the Shooting Gallery, a light gun accessory, which makes its mark in video game controller history as the first light gun for consoles. It functioned by “registering” a hit when pointed at a light source such as a dot on the television screen.

As you explore the timeline, you can see how these early video game controller functions both evolved and stayed true to their origins throughout the years.

The types of games vary from platform games, adventure, RPG, first person shooter games, third person shooter games, sports, racing, space shooting, fighting, action, puzzle, simulation, and strategy games. This is in addition to the web games that are played over the Internet, which are often team games, and they are called a massively multiplayer game on the Internet, where a large number of players from different regions play at the same time.

Game Development

In the past, it was possible for a single programmer or a small group of programmers to make a game, and this game would be a complete and successful game, but with the development of games it now requires the work of a specialized team of programmers. Game development often requires:

Producers: To supervise the project.
Designers: Their task is to design the game, its rules, and its installation.
Artists: Their task is to draw the visual arts of characters, backgrounds, and others.
Programmers: They are software engineers who use available tools and programming languages ​​to turn designs into a game.
Stage designers: Their competence is to design cities, regions and stages in detail.
Sound Engineers and Composers: Their job is to create the right music and sound effects for the game.
Testers: They are a group of players who thoroughly check the game before releasing it and report any bugs or other bugs.

Conclusion

Game development does not include the post-completion phase of game programming, as another company carries out many operations such as marketing, publishing, distribution and selling. With the development of games, the cost of production is between 1 million and 20 million US dollars per game today.