In 1972, “Pong” was released as the first commercially successful video game. It is considered the “progenitor” of gaming, but the table tennis game was not the first video game ever developed. Another game emerged almost 15 years before Pong and has an amazing history.
What was the first video game? Commonly, “Tennis for Two” is regarded as the first video game. It was designed for two players and aimed to simulate a tennis match. The game ran on an analog computer and used an oscilloscope as a screen. These devices can visualize electrical signals.
“Tennis for Two” was showcased on October 18, 1958, during the visitor days at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). Normally, research at the lab focuses primarily on nuclear and energy physics. However, on this occasion, hundreds of visitors are said to have lined up to test a game.
When the first video games were developed, hardly anyone could have dreamed how far gaming would come in the ensuing years. The “Deep Dive” is intended to allow us to experience our games like never before, but what is that actually?
From Nuclear Weapons to Video Games
Who developed the first video game? “Tennis for Two” was created by nuclear physicist William Higinbotham. In the early 1940s, Higinbotham had worked on radar systems at the MIT Radiation Laboratory. A method was needed to display radio waves that bounced back from distant targets.
During World War II, Higinbotham was recruited for the Manhattan Project – yes, the Manhattan Project that developed the first nuclear weapons under the leadership of Robert Oppenheimer. Higinbotham led a team that created the electronic triggers for the first atomic bombs.
However, the researcher had ethical concerns and, by his own account, was not proud of his involvement. In 1945, the physicist joined the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), an association of scientists advocating against nuclear weapons. Higinbotham became the first secretary of the FAS.
How did the development come about? In 1947, Higinbotham began working for the BNL, where they were committed to the responsible and peaceful use of nuclear energy. There, the physicist worked on analog computers.
The idea for “Tennis for Two” came to Higinbotham when he read the manual for one of the new computers in the lab. It described how different curves could be represented on the CRT screen of an oscilloscope.
Among the examples provided in the manual were the trajectories of a projectile, a rocket – and a bouncing ball. This bouncing ball reminded the researcher of a tennis match and prompted him to invent the first video game on the fly.
Physicist Laid the Foundation for Video Games in a Few Hours
How did “Tennis for Two” come about? As Higinbotham later recalled, he took about two hours to design the basic concept. A few days later, the physicist teamed up with Robert Dvorak, the lab’s technician, who assembled the device in about three weeks.
Both took the time to thoroughly test “Tennis for Two” – after all, it was designed for two players – and thus the first video game was born. According to the official BNL website, the blueprints are still in the possession of the lab today.
In 1959, “Tennis for Two” received perhaps the first major update in video game history: instead of the original 5-inch screen, a larger display with a diameter of 10 to 17 inches (about 43 cm) was used. Additionally, players could choose between different variations of tennis – on the moon, with low gravity, or on Jupiter, with high gravity.
Almost 15 years after “Tennis for Two,” the table tennis game “Pong” followed, which is considered the first commercially successful video game. You can learn more about the story of Pong here.
Some people already see the players competing against each other in “Tennis for Two” at the open house of the Brookhaven National Laboratory as the first competitive e-sport match. However, the first major tournament would still take several years. You can learn more about the history of e-sports here:
What was the first e-sport tournament and who is considered the first professional player?
