Gaming Heaven With A Vengeance

I recall the very first video game, an epic of its time. Only available in large cabinet form, this game adorned the corner of many a pub and even the slot machine arcades. It was called “Pong” and the idea was very simple indeed. Two players stood at the machine, and each held onto a large knob, not unlike a massive volume control. The screen had a white “ball” consisting of around six pixels in its low resolution display, and at the sides, a three inch vertical line, movable up and down by your gigantic volume control, became your “paddle” or bat. Each time your bat struck the incoming ball, there was a loud “beep” and it bounced back with a trajectory determined by the angle it hit the bat from. Electronic Ping Pong or “Pong” was born. You may fall over laughing at its rudimentary simplicity in this day and age, but man, it was addictive! Pairs of players from all walks of life battled to spin their outsized volume control, gradually (well a tad faster than gradually, but it was still slow) positioning the “bat” at the anticipated point to deflect the “ball” and send it flying back towards their opponent. Tennis, football, they all became part of the imagination as you either played as a goalkeeper or a tennis player; the game was still the same, but the tactics interpreted by whoever was playing increased the longevity of its success. The screen was a ten inch or thereabouts monochrome low resolution display. The controllers were analogue wheels. The idea was a simple one. But it caught on, and started the world of gaming, heralding the arcade epidemic that was to follow, slowly at first, but then increasing exponentially.

The black and white streaky low resolution one beep Pong game was followed by another arcade classic, which will forever be written in the annals of gaming history; Space Invaders. Imagine the scenario; Earth is being attacked by aliens, and you are the only hope to stop their advance (until the next 10p is inserted into the slot). Base stations, movable from left to right, took over the bat/paddle used by Pong as the means of aiming the stream of tracer fire (laser cannon) that had to destroy the rows of invaders, a scary bunch of dome-shaped characters that moved from left to right whilst dropping random bombs to destroy your bases. Control was now in the form of a joystick as a left and right direction changer, and a fire button. Two other buttons allowed single player or two player options (at last, a single player could play a video game!)The sound was much more atmospheric with basic effects and a soundtrack, and it was also brought to you in colour! The Atari VCS, (Video Computer System), later to be known as the Atari 2600, was the first games console to use this game, enabling thousands to play it at home, without the need for an endless stream of change for the arcades. This happened in 1980, and the home gaming, still in its infancy, got its first spark of recognition, reporting to millions who were unaware, that there was now a home games system available, in parallel with the arcades.

Now we have flown through the decades right up to the twenty first century; eleven years in, in fact. Today, huge screens showing high resolution images are more the norm than commonplace, when I was growing up, not all families even had a television, now it is not uncommon for households to hold four or more to cater for individual family members’ needs. Computers, netbooks, laptops and smartphones are another step towards individual ownership of personal cyberspace, enabling each family member to do their own thing. Dad checks his favourite local football team fixtures, and reads all the news on their webpage. Sis is checking out the cute guy on the left in the X-Factor, googling (whilst ogling) to find out as much as possible about her new idol. Your room is different. Sporting a fast gaming computer that can outperform much of the secret stuff the Government deny having, the customised case spews forth a tangle of wires into your custom desk, where everything becomes organised and purposeful. A large flatscreen monitor (or maybe multiple monitors, it’s your room) sports high resolution content in impeccable detail. The Corsair Gaming Vengeance V90 Keyboard waits dutifully at your fingertips, whilst you right hand cradles the Corsair Vengeance M90 Laser Gaming Mouse, its ergonomic design interfacing with your body and mind as though it were an organic extension of your anatomy. Your head is encased in the Vengeance 1500 Dolby 7.1 headphones giving neural information of your three dimensional environment, be it an enemy hiding behind a rock, or the discrete whistle past your head of a snipers bullet (the next shot will be on target, so it’s as well you were aware of it). Its noise cancelling microphone awaits your command/chat to your gaming companions, which will be clearly received, be it bellow or whisper. That is the future of gaming, here and now. Your Dad will not hear the mayhem, thanks to the headset, and neither will the rest of the household, so you stop gaming when you want to, not when the family retire to bed. The keyboard is virtually silent, too, so your sister, who hears everything she shouldn’t, won’t tell your parents she heard you tapping the keys into the night.

Oh, you are an adult, living alone in a penthouse flat? I would still recommend the above, to feel the total immersion in the game, in comfort is well worth the investment; and far better than queuing with two pockets full of credits behind the guy that continues playing, racking up extended plays like they were spent ammunition, at the high-tech arcade of the future.

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