Play History, Episode #2

In the second episode of my video series on early video games, we explore the depths of 1950s and 1960s computer culture. One of the longest lasting games of all time is created. AI become a “thing”! Plus a special appearance at Brookhaven.

Be sure to check this episode’s script page for the notes and more in-depth research.

In this episode:

• How a nuclear physicist rejiggered old technology to a new purpose.
• The long-lasting legacy of the Whirlwind computer on how we interact with machines.
• Origins of the artificial intelligence discipline and how that guided new developments at MIT.
• The mainframe computer landscape and the place of IBM within greater computing.
• Fantasy baseball’s first emergence, in digital form!
• Where the term “hacker” comes from and what it means.
• What it meant to design the world’s fully-fledged “video game” in a modern sense.
• How Spacewar! lit up the world.

Thanks for stopping by! Two down, three to go.