The first Video Game PONG

I read a magazine about the history of Atari and the history of video games. In this modern world where movies look like videogames and vice-versa, it’s difficult to explain the appeal of some of those early games.

The first videogame available to everyone was Pong. Each player was a line on the side of the screen. A square bounced between the players and the edges. Basically it was tennis. Instead of characters like today, Pong had lines as players. There were no characteristics, just a line. The playing line went up and down. There was no forward and back to serve the ball. There was no circle movements to return the volley. You waited till the ball-square came to you and you moved up to get it. Like any game, when you play tennis, it becomes addictive. The square-ball went faster. It bounced off the sides more.

Pong wasn’t just an Atari game. Every early system like Magnavox Odyssey had a game.

To play, the player twisted a knob round and back. The joystick hadn’t been invented yet.

It was so simple, it’s funny to watch.