8 ms·

The Nimatron: first 'video game' debuted in 1939

62 points by samizdis 5y ago

animal531 5y ago
Not nearly that old, but I'm reminded of the Casio calculators from the 80's that came with games. The one we had had a number matching game. It would for example spawn a 4, then you had two buttons, one to rotate through all the numbers and one to fire (ie. match). Over time it would spawn faster and faster, but it had different levels and some special game elements.
Max-q 5y ago
Isn’t this a game, not a video game? I thought video games used a video screen, instead of a static setup. But cool anyway!
- causi 5y ago
  There are products that definitely ride the border. For example, if Nim isn't a videogame, are LCD-games videogames? I think most people would still call Game & Watch consoles videogames, despite the fact they aren't doing any kind of bitmap imaging.
  - adventured 5y ago
    > For example, if Nim isn't a videogame, are LCD-games videogames? I didn't consider them video games growing up. It's going to vary from person to person. For example in the 1980s I owned a hand-held electronic interactive game made by Tiger, called John Elway's Quarterback [1]. They try to call it a video game on the back of the packge it was sold in (an "LCD video game"), but back then (~1989) Nintendo games were video games, and that Tiger device was merely an interactive electronic toy game (as far as I was concerned). GameGear was a video game however, as was GameBoy (video game playing devices; the cartridges were the video games, to be specific); I think it's the depth/elaborateness of the game (what it's capable of) and level of interactivity possible that separates them in my view. [1] photo from eBay: https://i.imgur.com/PVcMFok.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PVcMFok.jpg
- samizdis 5y ago
  I debated whether to include "video game", as it was described in the sub-heading. Maybe I should edit to quote those words. [edit to add - I've just wrapped quotes around them.] Somewhat related, I noticed that the Nimatron Wikipedia page [1], which has quite a bit of interesting info, also mentions Nimrod. On its Wikipedia page [2], it says, "The Nimrod, built in the United Kingdom by Ferranti for the 1951 Festival of Britain, was an early computer custom-built to play Nim, inspired by the earlier Nimatron. The twelve-by-nine-by-five-foot (3.7-by-2.7-by-1.5-meter) computer, designed by John Makepeace Bennett and built by engineer Raymond Stuart-Williams, allowed exhibition attendees to play a game of Nim against an artificial intelligence." Also an interesting read, in my opinion at least. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimatron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimatron [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_(computer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_(computer)
- k__ 5y ago
  It got multiple lights to display game state, so why not? These handhelds LCDs that could only display a small number of images are also considered video games.
  - jhbadger 5y ago
    Normally I think those are called "electronic games", as were the earlier games that just used LEDs (like the famous Mattel "Electronic Football" from the 1970s that had you control an LED representing an American football quarterback trying to get touchdowns without being tackled by opponents, also LEDs). Video games are electronic games, but not all electronic games are video games.
- dahart 5y ago
  Looks like Nimatron has a 4x7 pixel display. Maybe that should count?
- kingcharles 5y ago
  When I was young I don't remember the term video game being used very much, the preferred term was always "computer game", even for console games.
cosmiccatnap 5y ago
wildzzz 5y ago
This is as much of a video game as Simon and Bop-It are video games.
- raldi 5y ago
  I agree, except I think all three are video games.
  - SkyBelow 5y ago
    Electronic game or video game?
masswerk 5y ago
I think, we should really come up with a suitable definition in order to separate the concept "video game" from other technically-mediated games. I once [1] came up with the following criteria for the term "digital video game": - Digital real-time computing* running some kind of simulation, - A visual display to communicate the state of the game (preferably a CRT as in “video”), - Means of user input for uninterrupted real-time interaction. - Further, the simulation and its on-screen rendition should be updated at a pace, which conveys the impression of a seamless interaction (i.e., about a minimum of 10-12 steps per second). Meaning, there's a closed feedback loop between the machine and the player(s), which exposes intervals for accepting interactive input, which may be used by the player to change the game's state or may be passed, as well, and that the rendition (primarily visual, on a planar surface) of the output of this loop is supposed to generate a seamless experience of the game world (as governed by its mechanics, rules, and internal states, which may be exposed to a varying degree). In other words, according to this proposed definition, video games in the stricter sense are frame based (as opposed to turn based) and include a temporal dimension. (E.g., Lunar Lander for the PDP-8 is not a [digital] video game, even when displayed and operated by a video terminal, while Lunar Lander for the GT40 is.) *) Notably, "real-time computing" doesn't necessarily mean general purpose computing. Any kind of interactive signal generator will do. (Compare Computer Space, Pong, etc., in the analog domain Higinbotham's Tennis, AKA Tennis for Two.) [1] https://www.masswerk.at/nowgobang/2019/michigan-pool https://www.masswerk.at/nowgobang/2019/michigan-pool
- Agentlien 5y ago
  I don't like the idea of requiring continuous real-time input and visual updates. This disqualifies a lot of applications which I would definitely consider video games. For example, this rules out anything turn based which listens to input only when it is the user's turn and updates the screen only when turns are taken. This could be anything from a simple board game to a highly complex turn-based 4X strategy game. I would also argue this doesn't allow for any type of text based adventure game in the vein of Zork: they may listen to input most of the time, but there's no indication of a continuous logic or render loop running while waiting for user input.
  - 5y ago
brennopost 5y ago
An interesting video on the first "video game". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQ4WCU1WQc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQ4WCU1WQc
alenmilk 5y ago
> The Nimatron.” A non-programmable digital computer. How can a computer be non-programmable? The whole idea of a computer is that it runs a list of instructions.
- astoriafloyd 5y ago
  I believe they mean that it was not RE-programmable, it was designed to do exactly one thing, and would require hardware changes to execute a different program.
- assbuttbuttass 5y ago
  I assume it's all implemented in hardware. Maybe misleading in today's terms to call it a "computer"
  - dahart 5y ago
    We have hard-wired non-programmable computers in production today. GPUs have sub-components that do fixed-function computation and don’t run on instructions. I suspect this analog AI processor is not programmable: https://www.mythic-ai.com/product/m1076-analog-matrix-processor/ https://www.mythic-ai.com/product/m1076-analog-matrix-proces.... It seems likely to me that we’re about to see a lot of growth in specialized non-programmable hardware since chips have started hitting size & process limitations. Turning common workflows into fixed-function hardware is one of the lowest hanging fruits we have for increasing compute efficiency.
    - orbital-decay 5y ago
      Plenty of DSPs can't be programmed. Many analog computers of old, as well.
- dahart 5y ago
  By making fixed-function hardware, which may or may not run on hard-coded instructions per se. Think about a calculator to start with. There are lots of ways to make a computer that are not a Von Neumann architecture, which is what you’re thinking of. There are a bunch of examples of non-programmable computers here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#History
m3at 5y ago
Others are pointing out that it's hard to call this a video game (agreed), but I never heard of the nimatron and it was interesting. So thanks for sharing anyway!
dang 5y ago
Only one small past thread: Machine to Play Game of Nim (1940) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29642355 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29642355 - Dec 2021 (3 comments) Also: https://pbgames.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/1940-nimatron/ https://pbgames.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/1940-nimatron/ (via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12319633 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12319633, but no comments there)
bitwize 5y ago
"Spacewar blossoms spontaneously whenever a computer is attached to a bitmapped display." This Alan Kay quote was, at its time (early 70s) one of the most succinct expressions of a general principle: that electronic computing and electronic gaming are inextricably linked and that where you found one the other soon followed. Apparently... even back in 1938.
aaron695 5y ago
gompertz 5y ago
Random fun fact... Nim was also played in Season 3, episode 9 of Halt and Catch Fire (between Cameron and Joe, at Comdex). Actually the title of the episode is Nim.

62 points by samizdis 5y ago

Not nearly that old, but I'm reminded of the Casio calculators from the 80's that came with games. The one we had had a number matching game. It would for example spawn a 4, then you had two buttons, one to rotate through all the numbers and one to fire (ie. match). Over time it would spawn faster and faster, but it had different levels and some special game elements.

Max-q 5y ago

Isn’t this a game, not a video game? I thought video games used a video screen, instead of a static setup. But cool anyway!

causi 5y ago
There are products that definitely ride the border. For example, if Nim isn't a videogame, are LCD-games videogames? I think most people would still call Game & Watch consoles videogames, despite the fact they aren't doing any kind of bitmap imaging.
- adventured 5y ago
  > For example, if Nim isn't a videogame, are LCD-games videogames? I didn't consider them video games growing up. It's going to vary from person to person. For example in the 1980s I owned a hand-held electronic interactive game made by Tiger, called John Elway's Quarterback [1]. They try to call it a video game on the back of the packge it was sold in (an "LCD video game"), but back then (~1989) Nintendo games were video games, and that Tiger device was merely an interactive electronic toy game (as far as I was concerned). GameGear was a video game however, as was GameBoy (video game playing devices; the cartridges were the video games, to be specific); I think it's the depth/elaborateness of the game (what it's capable of) and level of interactivity possible that separates them in my view. [1] photo from eBay: https://i.imgur.com/PVcMFok.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PVcMFok.jpg
samizdis 5y ago
I debated whether to include "video game", as it was described in the sub-heading. Maybe I should edit to quote those words. [edit to add - I've just wrapped quotes around them.] Somewhat related, I noticed that the Nimatron Wikipedia page [1], which has quite a bit of interesting info, also mentions Nimrod. On its Wikipedia page [2], it says, "The Nimrod, built in the United Kingdom by Ferranti for the 1951 Festival of Britain, was an early computer custom-built to play Nim, inspired by the earlier Nimatron. The twelve-by-nine-by-five-foot (3.7-by-2.7-by-1.5-meter) computer, designed by John Makepeace Bennett and built by engineer Raymond Stuart-Williams, allowed exhibition attendees to play a game of Nim against an artificial intelligence." Also an interesting read, in my opinion at least. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimatron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimatron [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_(computer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_(computer)
k__ 5y ago
It got multiple lights to display game state, so why not? These handhelds LCDs that could only display a small number of images are also considered video games.
- jhbadger 5y ago
  Normally I think those are called "electronic games", as were the earlier games that just used LEDs (like the famous Mattel "Electronic Football" from the 1970s that had you control an LED representing an American football quarterback trying to get touchdowns without being tackled by opponents, also LEDs). Video games are electronic games, but not all electronic games are video games.
dahart 5y ago
Looks like Nimatron has a 4x7 pixel display. Maybe that should count?
kingcharles 5y ago
When I was young I don't remember the term video game being used very much, the preferred term was always "computer game", even for console games.

cosmiccatnap 5y ago

wildzzz 5y ago

This is as much of a video game as Simon and Bop-It are video games.

raldi 5y ago
I agree, except I think all three are video games.
- SkyBelow 5y ago
  Electronic game or video game?

masswerk 5y ago

I think, we should really come up with a suitable definition in order to separate the concept "video game" from other technically-mediated games. I once [1] came up with the following criteria for the term "digital video game": - Digital real-time computing* running some kind of simulation, - A visual display to communicate the state of the game (preferably a CRT as in “video”), - Means of user input for uninterrupted real-time interaction. - Further, the simulation and its on-screen rendition should be updated at a pace, which conveys the impression of a seamless interaction (i.e., about a minimum of 10-12 steps per second). Meaning, there's a closed feedback loop between the machine and the player(s), which exposes intervals for accepting interactive input, which may be used by the player to change the game's state or may be passed, as well, and that the rendition (primarily visual, on a planar surface) of the output of this loop is supposed to generate a seamless experience of the game world (as governed by its mechanics, rules, and internal states, which may be exposed to a varying degree). In other words, according to this proposed definition, video games in the stricter sense are frame based (as opposed to turn based) and include a temporal dimension. (E.g., Lunar Lander for the PDP-8 is not a [digital] video game, even when displayed and operated by a video terminal, while Lunar Lander for the GT40 is.) *) Notably, "real-time computing" doesn't necessarily mean general purpose computing. Any kind of interactive signal generator will do. (Compare Computer Space, Pong, etc., in the analog domain Higinbotham's Tennis, AKA Tennis for Two.) [1] https://www.masswerk.at/nowgobang/2019/michigan-pool https://www.masswerk.at/nowgobang/2019/michigan-pool

Agentlien 5y ago
I don't like the idea of requiring continuous real-time input and visual updates. This disqualifies a lot of applications which I would definitely consider video games. For example, this rules out anything turn based which listens to input only when it is the user's turn and updates the screen only when turns are taken. This could be anything from a simple board game to a highly complex turn-based 4X strategy game. I would also argue this doesn't allow for any type of text based adventure game in the vein of Zork: they may listen to input most of the time, but there's no indication of a continuous logic or render loop running while waiting for user input.
- 5y ago

brennopost 5y ago

An interesting video on the first "video game". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQ4WCU1WQc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQ4WCU1WQc

alenmilk 5y ago

> The Nimatron.” A non-programmable digital computer. How can a computer be non-programmable? The whole idea of a computer is that it runs a list of instructions.

astoriafloyd 5y ago
I believe they mean that it was not RE-programmable, it was designed to do exactly one thing, and would require hardware changes to execute a different program.
assbuttbuttass 5y ago
I assume it's all implemented in hardware. Maybe misleading in today's terms to call it a "computer"
- dahart 5y ago
  We have hard-wired non-programmable computers in production today. GPUs have sub-components that do fixed-function computation and don’t run on instructions. I suspect this analog AI processor is not programmable: https://www.mythic-ai.com/product/m1076-analog-matrix-processor/ https://www.mythic-ai.com/product/m1076-analog-matrix-proces.... It seems likely to me that we’re about to see a lot of growth in specialized non-programmable hardware since chips have started hitting size & process limitations. Turning common workflows into fixed-function hardware is one of the lowest hanging fruits we have for increasing compute efficiency.
  - orbital-decay 5y ago
    Plenty of DSPs can't be programmed. Many analog computers of old, as well.
dahart 5y ago
By making fixed-function hardware, which may or may not run on hard-coded instructions per se. Think about a calculator to start with. There are lots of ways to make a computer that are not a Von Neumann architecture, which is what you’re thinking of. There are a bunch of examples of non-programmable computers here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#History

m3at 5y ago

Others are pointing out that it's hard to call this a video game (agreed), but I never heard of the nimatron and it was interesting. So thanks for sharing anyway!

dang 5y ago

Only one small past thread: Machine to Play Game of Nim (1940) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29642355 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29642355 - Dec 2021 (3 comments) Also: https://pbgames.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/1940-nimatron/ https://pbgames.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/1940-nimatron/ (via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12319633 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12319633, but no comments there)

bitwize 5y ago

"Spacewar blossoms spontaneously whenever a computer is attached to a bitmapped display." This Alan Kay quote was, at its time (early 70s) one of the most succinct expressions of a general principle: that electronic computing and electronic gaming are inextricably linked and that where you found one the other soon followed. Apparently... even back in 1938.

aaron695 5y ago

gompertz 5y ago

Random fun fact... Nim was also played in Season 3, episode 9 of Halt and Catch Fire (between Cameron and Joe, at Comdex). Actually the title of the episode is Nim.