GAME
OF THE MONTH COLLECTION!
PONG
(Atari, 1972)
Since my site is reborn
here, I thought I would talk about a game that would change the gaming world.
It was not too long ago when video games as we know it did not exist. There
were a few computer video games during the 50's and 60's like the rare Tennis
for Two and the college favourite Space War but neither game wasn't
something you could just go into a common store or bar and play. The technology
was just starting to break out so with the right hardware a commercial video
game could be possible. Something had to get the ball rolling and there was
only one game that meant with any kind of success. That game was Atari's
Pong!
Atari founder, Nolan Bushnell was both a fan of Space War and he also
worked in the gaming industry. Bushnell did try to sell a real commercial
video game called Computer Space in 1971. Computer
Space was popular on some school campuses where people could admire the technology
but the game wasn't very successful in the important common markets like the
bars and if you couldn't make it in the bar then you just weren't going to
make a lot of money to begin with. Bushnell would not give up though and his
next game project would be the one that changes history.
Bushnell would hire engineer Al Alcorn to work on a simple idea for the next
game. Bushnell also said to Alcorn that he had a big budget deal with General
Electric even though the GE deal was a complete lie. Alcorn looks back on
it as insensitive to work harder on the big game then if he knew the truth.
Although Bushnell did have a deal going with Bally/Midway to create a video
driving game, Alcorn was just starting out with video games so the assignment
was make a very simple Tennis/Ping-Pong game and see what happens. Al Alcorn
would create Pong! Here's what you have do in Pong. You must use roller dials to move
on screen paddles up and down. Once the ball is served, it’s a battle
for survival has you try to defect shots back to your opponent's side. If
the person misses the ball, then the other side earns the point. The first
one to get 11 (or 15) points is the winner. The game is not nearly as easy
as it sounds because the two paddles are very small and if you the ball in
a certain way then it can really speed up the shot thus making a game much
more intense.
If you want cutting edge graphics then you certainly won't find them here.
The original Pong was just a basic black and white only unit just like most
video games in the 1970's. There was just a simple center line, a few numbers
to intricate the points, and each paddle was only a simple white stick that
hits a tiny ball. That's it! There are no Mode7 effects, no polygons, no half
naked girls, and no detail of any kind for that matter. You Odyssey
fans may also recognize the look of Pong when compared to one of those games
on the early system Magnavox machine. Odyssey creator Ralph Baer wasn't
too pleased with this and this lead to a lawsuit against Atari. The case was
settled out of court so Atari would pay royalties and Pong could still make
tons of money. You can also forget about any background music either. Pong
offers basic only two basic sound effects, one 'Ping' when you hit the ball
and one loud 'Beep!' when a person scores. Pong has simple yet effective features.
Pong may have been a ground breaking achievement for the video game industry
and all but just look how video games have advanced in the last 30 years.
Sure, you can play Pong with a friend and get a few kicks but the thrill can
only last for so long when other sports games have came so far. Still, we
owe a lot to Atari's original Pong because without its early success in 1972
we may not be in the place we are in today and your kids could still be playing
with some cheap View masters or something. Atari Pong can be found on the
Playstation and Dreamcast editions of the Atari Anniversary Collection
and various other classic compilations.