PC
Within this section, i will be covering not Computers as a whole, but the gaming aspect to it. This will include the history of how gaming has become a big aspect to a lot of PC users, and why the PC is often considered as one of the best suited platforms for gaming.
Timeline:
1951
In 1951 the British computer company Ferranti promised the government it would contribute to the Festival of Britain, in hopes to instill hope to the population after the events of the Second World War. Ferranti planned on entering an exhibit into the Exhibition of Science in South Kensington in London, however it wasn't until the few remaining weeks before the festivals begging, when the company was struggling with what to do, that an employer by the name of John Bennet provided a good idea. Bennet proposed that they should create a computer that could play Nim. Nim was a simple game in which players are given a pile of matches, and each player takes it in turn to remove a number of matches from the pile, calculating it so that they are the one who removes the last match, in order to win the game. Inspired by the Nimatron, an electro-mechanical machine showed at the 1940 worlds fair, Bennet came up with the Nimrod. Although his pitch was that of a game playing computer, his real intention was to just create something which could demonstrate the power of a computers mathematical calculations. The work to begin the Nimrod started in 1950, however it wasn't until 1951 that it was completed and ready to be shown off to the public. This huge machine measured 12 feet wide, 5 feet tall, and 9 feet deep. It wasn't the processor that took this space however, which only took 2% of the space. It was instead the vacuum tubes used to display lights, the electronic equivalent of the matches used in the game Nim, that took all the room. When presented on May 5th of 1951, the exhibit claimed the Nimrod was "Faster than thought" and allowed the public to try and play a game of Nim against it. Unfortunately for Bennet, the public didn't care about calculation power and maths behind it. But fortunately the the future of gaming on PC's, the public loved the gaming aspect to it, and it was a huge success. This was the first gaming computer, and helped pave the way for gaming on computers.
1952
The success of the Nimrod showed people that PCs were indeed capable of gaming, and its because of this that other people took to creating projects based around gaming. What is considered by many people to be the first proper PC game was created in 1952, and was called OXO by a man named Alexander Douglas. This game was a computerized naughts and crosses. The game was created at the University of Cambridge as a study on the interaction between human and computer, but went down very successfully as the first video game. However there is often confusion over what the first true video game is, as this game was only shown to members of the university, so it did not receive a lot of publicity. The game was played by the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator, AKA the EDSAC, and worked using cathode ray tubes to display the graphics, and the program for the game was read off of input tape, hole punched paper which was read as code by the EDSAC. Once again this demonstrated the processing capabilities of a computer and its AI, even for its time.
1975
With the invention and growing popularity of video games in arcade and console form, the gaming industry was more focused on said platforms, leaving computers for more scientific developments, and it wasn't until the 70s that computers had progressed enough to significantly improve the previous PC game attempts and have an open role in the gaming platform. In 1975 the game Empire was released. This ran on what is called the PLATO network, and had the first ever networked multiplayer game. The game itself was a simple space craft war where your ship was controlled by typed commands. The way in which it was able to connect other players to the game was through PLATO as mentioned. But what is PLATO? this was a system originally designed for Computer Based Education, and acted like a very primitive internet, allowing computers to transfer data such as forums, emails, and screen sharing. By utilizing this network is was possible to link a single game to multiple computers, creating an online multiplayer experience.
Timeline:
1951
In 1951 the British computer company Ferranti promised the government it would contribute to the Festival of Britain, in hopes to instill hope to the population after the events of the Second World War. Ferranti planned on entering an exhibit into the Exhibition of Science in South Kensington in London, however it wasn't until the few remaining weeks before the festivals begging, when the company was struggling with what to do, that an employer by the name of John Bennet provided a good idea. Bennet proposed that they should create a computer that could play Nim. Nim was a simple game in which players are given a pile of matches, and each player takes it in turn to remove a number of matches from the pile, calculating it so that they are the one who removes the last match, in order to win the game. Inspired by the Nimatron, an electro-mechanical machine showed at the 1940 worlds fair, Bennet came up with the Nimrod. Although his pitch was that of a game playing computer, his real intention was to just create something which could demonstrate the power of a computers mathematical calculations. The work to begin the Nimrod started in 1950, however it wasn't until 1951 that it was completed and ready to be shown off to the public. This huge machine measured 12 feet wide, 5 feet tall, and 9 feet deep. It wasn't the processor that took this space however, which only took 2% of the space. It was instead the vacuum tubes used to display lights, the electronic equivalent of the matches used in the game Nim, that took all the room. When presented on May 5th of 1951, the exhibit claimed the Nimrod was "Faster than thought" and allowed the public to try and play a game of Nim against it. Unfortunately for Bennet, the public didn't care about calculation power and maths behind it. But fortunately the the future of gaming on PC's, the public loved the gaming aspect to it, and it was a huge success. This was the first gaming computer, and helped pave the way for gaming on computers.
1952
The success of the Nimrod showed people that PCs were indeed capable of gaming, and its because of this that other people took to creating projects based around gaming. What is considered by many people to be the first proper PC game was created in 1952, and was called OXO by a man named Alexander Douglas. This game was a computerized naughts and crosses. The game was created at the University of Cambridge as a study on the interaction between human and computer, but went down very successfully as the first video game. However there is often confusion over what the first true video game is, as this game was only shown to members of the university, so it did not receive a lot of publicity. The game was played by the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator, AKA the EDSAC, and worked using cathode ray tubes to display the graphics, and the program for the game was read off of input tape, hole punched paper which was read as code by the EDSAC. Once again this demonstrated the processing capabilities of a computer and its AI, even for its time.
1975
With the invention and growing popularity of video games in arcade and console form, the gaming industry was more focused on said platforms, leaving computers for more scientific developments, and it wasn't until the 70s that computers had progressed enough to significantly improve the previous PC game attempts and have an open role in the gaming platform. In 1975 the game Empire was released. This ran on what is called the PLATO network, and had the first ever networked multiplayer game. The game itself was a simple space craft war where your ship was controlled by typed commands. The way in which it was able to connect other players to the game was through PLATO as mentioned. But what is PLATO? this was a system originally designed for Computer Based Education, and acted like a very primitive internet, allowing computers to transfer data such as forums, emails, and screen sharing. By utilizing this network is was possible to link a single game to multiple computers, creating an online multiplayer experience.
1974
In the following year, another game arose using the same PLATO system to once again use online play. The difference between this game and Empire was that this one was a 3D game, allowing for up to 32 players to play in a spacecraft shootout. The game was named Spasim and was created by Jim Bowery. This game was overshadowed in history by another game however. This game was Maze War and was created by Steve Colley. The first ever multiplayer FPS. This game had the player navigate through a maze as the name suggests. Each player was an eye ball, and had to navigate through the maze seeking each other out in order to wipe each other out. This game is considered to be one of the most impacting games for the online gaming sector, and helped shape the future of gaming by creating an entirely new genre of gaming, which is still enjoyed and is one of the most popular genres of today. Throughout the following years, PC gaming evolved at an amazing speed, creating more more and more games designed for online games, Such as the 1978 first virtual world M.U.D, or Multi- user Dungeon, allowing players to interact with objects and each other.
1999
The next most significant development wasn't until 1999 however, when the first 3D graphics card was created. Graphic cards, or GPU, are cards within a computer which handle all of the computers graphic processing. So when a graphic such as pictures, programs, video, or animations are on screen, it is the GPU's job to calculate how they are shown on the screen so that it may control and enhance them. This is obviously a very important component to a computer, especially when looking at PC gaming, as the better the graphics card, the better graphics the game will have, and the more intricate games can be. So in 1999 when the GeForce 256 graphics card was developed, capable of processing a minimum of 10 million polygons per second, and a 256-bit rendering engine, it enabled PC gaming to take a leap forward towards more realistic looking games and graphics. The fact that this became possible alone helped steer game developers towards the PC platform, as Computers were now powerful enough to house even the most complex games of the time.
2003
Thanks to the ever evolving processing power of computers, games were becoming more and more favored for PC. And so when Steam started up in September of 2003, it became a huge success. Steam is a game marketplace available on the PC which allows people to not only download games straight t their computers, but also player them within Steam too. Steam was created by the games developers Valve, and from 2014, there has been over 3700 games available for purchase. This marketplace also allows people to connect through a friend and chat system, as well as allowing communities to interact through game forums, and it even promotes and encourages people to create mods for the games sold, in order to make a better community of gamers and to make the games they sell even better. Steam is a perfect example of how computers have progressed through the years to reach a point where programs such as Steam are made to allow players to choose from thousands of games.
In the following year, another game arose using the same PLATO system to once again use online play. The difference between this game and Empire was that this one was a 3D game, allowing for up to 32 players to play in a spacecraft shootout. The game was named Spasim and was created by Jim Bowery. This game was overshadowed in history by another game however. This game was Maze War and was created by Steve Colley. The first ever multiplayer FPS. This game had the player navigate through a maze as the name suggests. Each player was an eye ball, and had to navigate through the maze seeking each other out in order to wipe each other out. This game is considered to be one of the most impacting games for the online gaming sector, and helped shape the future of gaming by creating an entirely new genre of gaming, which is still enjoyed and is one of the most popular genres of today. Throughout the following years, PC gaming evolved at an amazing speed, creating more more and more games designed for online games, Such as the 1978 first virtual world M.U.D, or Multi- user Dungeon, allowing players to interact with objects and each other.
1999
The next most significant development wasn't until 1999 however, when the first 3D graphics card was created. Graphic cards, or GPU, are cards within a computer which handle all of the computers graphic processing. So when a graphic such as pictures, programs, video, or animations are on screen, it is the GPU's job to calculate how they are shown on the screen so that it may control and enhance them. This is obviously a very important component to a computer, especially when looking at PC gaming, as the better the graphics card, the better graphics the game will have, and the more intricate games can be. So in 1999 when the GeForce 256 graphics card was developed, capable of processing a minimum of 10 million polygons per second, and a 256-bit rendering engine, it enabled PC gaming to take a leap forward towards more realistic looking games and graphics. The fact that this became possible alone helped steer game developers towards the PC platform, as Computers were now powerful enough to house even the most complex games of the time.
2003
Thanks to the ever evolving processing power of computers, games were becoming more and more favored for PC. And so when Steam started up in September of 2003, it became a huge success. Steam is a game marketplace available on the PC which allows people to not only download games straight t their computers, but also player them within Steam too. Steam was created by the games developers Valve, and from 2014, there has been over 3700 games available for purchase. This marketplace also allows people to connect through a friend and chat system, as well as allowing communities to interact through game forums, and it even promotes and encourages people to create mods for the games sold, in order to make a better community of gamers and to make the games they sell even better. Steam is a perfect example of how computers have progressed through the years to reach a point where programs such as Steam are made to allow players to choose from thousands of games.
Features:
One of the leading features the PC has when compared to other gaming outlets is its vast components. By this, i am referring to the thousands of different aspects which make up a computer, which can be changed, swapped, and upgraded to suit perfectly what the computer is needed for. For example, if one wants a perfect gaming computer, you could ensure it has state of the arts GPU, and a fast RAM. RAM is Random access memory, and is what the computer uses to store commonly used and needed data. By storing this, it means the computer can directly find the information needed, and so when it needs it, it can find it quickly and easily, allowing for a quicker running computer. The feature of being able to swap out aspects of a computer to tailor it to the specific needs of the user is unique to this platform, as other gaming outlets such as consoles are created not to be messed with by law. This is one of the reasons Computers are now being referred by gamers as the "Master Race", as they are not only fully customization, but also the fact that, with enough money, a computer has the ability to be the most advanced engine to run games on out of everything. Many hardcore video gamers actually build their computers from scratch, knowing fully what they need to prioritize in the system to run video games well. Good evidence of this can be seen when looking in the settings of a computer game, and changing them accordingly. An example of this can be seen in Minecraft. Minecraft is a relativity simple looking game, but even some computers struggle to play it. Its because of this that there is a fog setting which can be adjusted to suit that of the needs and abilities of every computer. This can be seen below.
One of the leading features the PC has when compared to other gaming outlets is its vast components. By this, i am referring to the thousands of different aspects which make up a computer, which can be changed, swapped, and upgraded to suit perfectly what the computer is needed for. For example, if one wants a perfect gaming computer, you could ensure it has state of the arts GPU, and a fast RAM. RAM is Random access memory, and is what the computer uses to store commonly used and needed data. By storing this, it means the computer can directly find the information needed, and so when it needs it, it can find it quickly and easily, allowing for a quicker running computer. The feature of being able to swap out aspects of a computer to tailor it to the specific needs of the user is unique to this platform, as other gaming outlets such as consoles are created not to be messed with by law. This is one of the reasons Computers are now being referred by gamers as the "Master Race", as they are not only fully customization, but also the fact that, with enough money, a computer has the ability to be the most advanced engine to run games on out of everything. Many hardcore video gamers actually build their computers from scratch, knowing fully what they need to prioritize in the system to run video games well. Good evidence of this can be seen when looking in the settings of a computer game, and changing them accordingly. An example of this can be seen in Minecraft. Minecraft is a relativity simple looking game, but even some computers struggle to play it. Its because of this that there is a fog setting which can be adjusted to suit that of the needs and abilities of every computer. This can be seen below.
By having fog placed within the game, it reduces the amount of processing required to render each frame, as there is less to show on screen. Its because of this method that the game can be enjoyed on many different types of PC's without a reduction in frame rate or graphics. Tailoring a game to fit even the lowest of specs is important for a game, as it means it can be played on the vast amounts of systems available. But featuring the ability to improve the games settings to maximize its graphics and power is also important, as it lets those who have dedicated time and money to creating a good gaming computer be rewarded with superior graphics and game play.
Online:
One of the most beneficial aspects to PC gaming is its internet capabilities. Computers these days are almost always used for the internet, and this heavy focus and reliability on them to access the internet has benefited the gaming community. This is in numerous ways. Firstly, the online play in computer video games are usually a main focus for the game developers, and as such they ensure that there will always be enough servers to allow online play. This therefore aids the gamers experience through playing a game. Secondly, because of the ease of access to the internet on computers, games can be downloaded straight to the system. And because computers are usually used for other things such as saving documents and programs, they typically have a much bigger hard drive than that of a console. This means that firstly it is easy to download games instead of going out and buying a physical copy, and secondly it means that there is plenty of free memory for many games to be installed within it.
One of the most popular online features to PC gaming is the amount of Massively Multiplier Online Games, or MMO for short. This is where you go online and play a game which is constantly connected to a server filled with hundreds or thousands of other players. These MMOs are often Role Playing Games, and because the game has such a huge map and amounts of activities to do, as well as constant updates, gamers can play them for years. An example of this is the MMORPG World of Warcraft, a leading game in the MMO market.
Offline:
Another great aspect to PC gaming is that while it does have a strong dependence on online features, there are many games that once downloaded, don't require the internet to play. This is where Steam is most popular, as it allows players to play their installed games even without an internet connection. While it is not as common these days as it was in the past, PC games can come in a physical copy too, which can be installed on the computer via disk, not the internet. This variation on how a game can be added to the computer is another reason as to why the PC format is so flexible, as online or offline, the game can still be played.
Limitations:
One of the main limitations to PC gaming compared to console gaming is that it is not a level playing field. With consoles, everyone has the same specs, as that is what the console comes with and cannot be changed. However because PCs can vary so greatly in what specs are included, that one player may have a significant advantage over another because their computer is running faster, rendering quicker, etc. This can be compared to a casual player verses a pro gamer. On the console, one may be better than the other, but because they run on the same device, it makes it a fairer fight based on skill. Whereas on the computer, odds are the casual player has computer designed for other things, and playing games on it occasionally is more of perk than its purpose. But a pro gamer will most likely have their computer set to play specific games really well, and might even have other accessories or gamer specific items plugged in to make the game easier, such as a 6 buttoned gamer mouse, or a keyboard which is laid out to better ft the players hands.
This brings me onto my next limitation, the control. When computers were first created, the focus was not on gaming, but on tasks such as document creating. So a computer is not built for gaming, gaming has had to adapt to the keyboard and mouse combination. This is different to consoles, which clear purpose was to play games. This is why PCs are less suited to the gaming industry. A lot of games have adapted to this setup by using the "W, A,,S, and D" keys for player movement, and in terms of FPSs, the mouse for aiming. While this offers more precision with aiming when compared to console controllers, it is less suited to other typed of games, such as the driving genre. The PC is also less kind to beginners as many games rely on many different shortcuts and combinations of keys to play well, which can be more overwhelming to new players than a simple controller.
Once again, the limitation of cost is also present, much like the most gaming platforms. While the cost of PCs or laptops differ greatly based on their individual spec, its almost guaranteed that if you want a good gaming PC, its going to cost more money the better you want it. Even custom build computers can cost a lot, and it usually costs over £600 to create a PC that is able to play most games well without lag or slow rendering times. In addition to this, new hardware is always coming out, and so you could pay a tremendous amount of money to have the most top of the line computer, only to have it become outdated within a month. This constant evolution is good long term as it allows computers to improve, but when players get let behind it can prove annoying, especially after forking over a lot of cash to get it.
One of the most beneficial aspects to PC gaming is its internet capabilities. Computers these days are almost always used for the internet, and this heavy focus and reliability on them to access the internet has benefited the gaming community. This is in numerous ways. Firstly, the online play in computer video games are usually a main focus for the game developers, and as such they ensure that there will always be enough servers to allow online play. This therefore aids the gamers experience through playing a game. Secondly, because of the ease of access to the internet on computers, games can be downloaded straight to the system. And because computers are usually used for other things such as saving documents and programs, they typically have a much bigger hard drive than that of a console. This means that firstly it is easy to download games instead of going out and buying a physical copy, and secondly it means that there is plenty of free memory for many games to be installed within it.
One of the most popular online features to PC gaming is the amount of Massively Multiplier Online Games, or MMO for short. This is where you go online and play a game which is constantly connected to a server filled with hundreds or thousands of other players. These MMOs are often Role Playing Games, and because the game has such a huge map and amounts of activities to do, as well as constant updates, gamers can play them for years. An example of this is the MMORPG World of Warcraft, a leading game in the MMO market.
Offline:
Another great aspect to PC gaming is that while it does have a strong dependence on online features, there are many games that once downloaded, don't require the internet to play. This is where Steam is most popular, as it allows players to play their installed games even without an internet connection. While it is not as common these days as it was in the past, PC games can come in a physical copy too, which can be installed on the computer via disk, not the internet. This variation on how a game can be added to the computer is another reason as to why the PC format is so flexible, as online or offline, the game can still be played.
Limitations:
One of the main limitations to PC gaming compared to console gaming is that it is not a level playing field. With consoles, everyone has the same specs, as that is what the console comes with and cannot be changed. However because PCs can vary so greatly in what specs are included, that one player may have a significant advantage over another because their computer is running faster, rendering quicker, etc. This can be compared to a casual player verses a pro gamer. On the console, one may be better than the other, but because they run on the same device, it makes it a fairer fight based on skill. Whereas on the computer, odds are the casual player has computer designed for other things, and playing games on it occasionally is more of perk than its purpose. But a pro gamer will most likely have their computer set to play specific games really well, and might even have other accessories or gamer specific items plugged in to make the game easier, such as a 6 buttoned gamer mouse, or a keyboard which is laid out to better ft the players hands.
This brings me onto my next limitation, the control. When computers were first created, the focus was not on gaming, but on tasks such as document creating. So a computer is not built for gaming, gaming has had to adapt to the keyboard and mouse combination. This is different to consoles, which clear purpose was to play games. This is why PCs are less suited to the gaming industry. A lot of games have adapted to this setup by using the "W, A,,S, and D" keys for player movement, and in terms of FPSs, the mouse for aiming. While this offers more precision with aiming when compared to console controllers, it is less suited to other typed of games, such as the driving genre. The PC is also less kind to beginners as many games rely on many different shortcuts and combinations of keys to play well, which can be more overwhelming to new players than a simple controller.
Once again, the limitation of cost is also present, much like the most gaming platforms. While the cost of PCs or laptops differ greatly based on their individual spec, its almost guaranteed that if you want a good gaming PC, its going to cost more money the better you want it. Even custom build computers can cost a lot, and it usually costs over £600 to create a PC that is able to play most games well without lag or slow rendering times. In addition to this, new hardware is always coming out, and so you could pay a tremendous amount of money to have the most top of the line computer, only to have it become outdated within a month. This constant evolution is good long term as it allows computers to improve, but when players get let behind it can prove annoying, especially after forking over a lot of cash to get it.
Definition:
A gaming computer is a computer which has been tailored to play games well. This is one of the many benefits of playing video games on PC, as the general convention is that PCs can be altered through changing parts such as the graphics cards, or CPU processors. Unlike consoles and arcade machine, altering the specs is actually encouraged so that the user may have a computer to fit what they wish. This aspect is why computer gaming is so popular, as the wide variety of adjustments and tweaks make for a well adapted platform. Computers are at the top of technology at the moment, and as such, it means that almost every game released for consoles are most likely available, or at least playable, for the PC. The suitability for gaming varies on the PC, as it has the capability to surpass that of gaming consoles, but also has the opportunity to fall far short too.
A gaming computer is a computer which has been tailored to play games well. This is one of the many benefits of playing video games on PC, as the general convention is that PCs can be altered through changing parts such as the graphics cards, or CPU processors. Unlike consoles and arcade machine, altering the specs is actually encouraged so that the user may have a computer to fit what they wish. This aspect is why computer gaming is so popular, as the wide variety of adjustments and tweaks make for a well adapted platform. Computers are at the top of technology at the moment, and as such, it means that almost every game released for consoles are most likely available, or at least playable, for the PC. The suitability for gaming varies on the PC, as it has the capability to surpass that of gaming consoles, but also has the opportunity to fall far short too.