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It is not a video game because there's no video. But the idea is cool and a good representation of the state of art in commuting circuits at that time.
by elzbardico 3y ago
It is not a video game because there's no video. But the idea is cool and a good representation of the state of art in commuting circuits at that time.
- shortrounddev2 3y agoYeah, the game was electromechanical. If that's the qualification for a video game, then pinball machines were video games too
- JKCalhoun 3y agoNuance, but the lights on the Nimatron appear to be the game display (not so with pinball) making it a little more legitimate as the first ... um ... electronic-visual game.
- vman81 3y agoAhoy did a really good deep dive into what should count as the first video game on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQ4WCU1WQc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQ4WCU1WQc
- JKCalhoun 3y agoSplitting hairs on "first" is an interesting pursuit. I prefer selecting "first" in terms of context/influence. Unless Bushnell, just to pick an oft-named starting point, was not inspired by (or even heard of?) the Nimatron then Nolan might be said to have won round one against Nimatron. I think what's interesting is the direct lineage leading us to, say, Pac Man — not just who checks off the minimal definition of "video game". But as James Burke showed us, working backwards can take us in all manner of strange directions so it is not an easy task.
- Slow_Dog 3y agoIt's got several 4x7 pixel displays.
- gwbas1c 3y agoI think it's more accurate to call it an early precursor to the video game.
- echelon 3y agoA pixel matrix sounds like a video display to me.
- alanbernstein 3y agoA single light is a 1x1 pixel matrix. And there is no need for electricity to be a requirement. So a single candle is a video display! Turns out we've had video games all along!
- Gordonjcp 3y agoIsn't there? What would you call a bitmapped interactive display?