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A Tribute to Our Origins on National Video Game Day

Today’s all about honoring one of the coolest inventions known to mankind: the video game! They bring people together from all over the world and provide a stress-relieving and exciting way to escape reality. Unless you’re one of those people who get really “passionate” while playing– but hey, as long as you’re having fun!

To celebrate this awesome day, we thought we’d share some cool things about where video games came from, their history, and why they’re so important to escape rooms.

Where did video games come from?

The first video game was created in 1971 when a company called Nutting Associates designed a space combat arcade game called Computer Space. To win, players had to come out on top in a missile battle using a set of hardware-controlled flying saucers. The following year, the developer that designed that game, Nolan Bushnell, joined Atari and helped successfully launch their video game, Pong.

The wild thing is, the history goes even farther than that.

History of Video Games

1940s
A computer with the game Nim was designed by Edward U. Condon. It was for a display at the World’s Fair but quickly had the crowd engaged despite the computer winning 90% of the games.
1940s
1950s
A computer chess game was outlined and programmed by Claude Shannon that would inspire the transition of in-person games, like tic-tac-toe, blackjack, and checkers, into computer games.
1950s
1960s
A baseball simulation was developed by John Burgeson that would serve as the foundation for the first-known baseball computer program.
1960s
1970s
Games including those that featured a simulation of a pioneers’ westward trek and a game featuring a labyrinth, called Maze Wars, added to the video game craze. Plus, Atari took their beloved game, Pong, inside the homes of game-lovers everywhere.
1970s
1980s
Nintendo disrupts the world of gaming with Donkey Kong, which introduced our favorite overall and red hat-wearing fella, Mario! This would inspire Disney to join the movement with the production of the movie Tron.
1980s
1990s
Microsoft develops their famous game, solitaire. This provided a model for more games to be designed, such as Bejeweled. Shortly after, games and consoles like the Sega Genesis, Mortal Kombat, the Sony Playstation, Tomb Raider, and Legends of Zelda were created.
1990s
2000s
The gaming world is taken on a wild ride with the creation of games like the Sims, which provided a more realistic simulation experience. Additionally, more innovations came to life like the Playstation DS, Xbox Live, and the Nintendo Wii, as well as games like Rockband and a crowd fave, Farmville.
2000s
2010s
Games like Minecraft, Fortnite, Last of Us, and free-to-play games take the stage. Plus, streaming services changed the lives of gamers everywhere by introducing a new way for viewers to watch gamers play live. And who can forget the way Pokemon-Go took over the wold in 2016?!
2010s

Video games have transformed into incredible, interactive experiences that look, sound, and feel so real! We’re just a year into this new decade and have already seen amazing innovations to the gaming industry, like the PS5 and the Xbox Series.

playing video game

Why do we love video games so much?

Without video games, there’d be no escape rooms. Whether you enjoy playing virtual escape games or prefer the thrills of the live experience, we have video games to thank. That’s because the first escape room ever invented was a video game that came out in 1988 called Escape the Room. It’s attributed as the first text-based escape video game. Soon after, the concept of graphics-based escape games took over with games like the Crimson Room, the first and most distinguished game of the online escape room craze.

Join us for another enlightening journey to learn more about the history of escape rooms! And remember to finish off today the right way: with a session playing your favorite video game.

Today’s all about honoring one of the coolest inventions known to mankind: the video game! They bring people together from all over the world and provide a stress-relieving and exciting way to escape reality. Unless you’re one of those people who get really “passionate” while playing– but hey, as long as you’re having fun!

To celebrate this awesome day, we thought we’d share some cool things about where video games came from, their history, and why they’re so important to escape rooms.

Where did video games come from?

The first video game was created in 1971 when a company called Nutting Associates designed a space combat arcade game called Computer Space. To win, players had to come out on top in a missile battle using a set of hardware-controlled flying saucers. The following year, the developer that designed that game, Nolan Bushnell, joined Atari and helped successfully launch their video game, Pong.

The wild thing is, the history goes even farther than that.

History of Video Games

1940s
A computer with the game Nim was designed by Edward U. Condon. It was for a display at the World’s Fair but quickly had the crowd engaged despite the computer winning 90% of the games.
1940s
1950s
A computer chess game was outlined and programmed by Claude Shannon that would inspire the transition of in-person games, like tic-tac-toe, blackjack, and checkers, into computer games.
1950s
1960s
A baseball simulation was developed by John Burgeson that would serve as the foundation for the first-known baseball computer program.
1960s
1970s
Games including those that featured a simulation of a pioneers’ westward trek and a game featuring a labyrinth, called Maze Wars, added to the video game craze. Plus, Atari took their beloved game, Pong, inside the homes of game-lovers everywhere.
1970s
1980s
Nintendo disrupts the world of gaming with Donkey Kong, which introduced our favorite overall and red hat-wearing fella, Mario! This would inspire Disney to join the movement with the production of the movie Tron.
1980s
1990s
Microsoft develops their famous game, solitaire. This provided a model for more games to be designed, such as Bejeweled. Shortly after, games and consoles like the Sega Genesis, Mortal Kombat, the Sony Playstation, Tomb Raider, and Legends of Zelda were created.
1990s
2000s
The gaming world is taken on a wild ride with the creation of games like the Sims, which provided a more realistic simulation experience. Additionally, more innovations came to life like the Playstation DS, Xbox Live, and the Nintendo Wii, as well as games like Rockband and a crowd fave, Farmville.
2000s
2010s
Games like Minecraft, Fortnite, Last of Us, and free-to-play games take the stage. Plus, streaming services changed the lives of gamers everywhere by introducing a new way for viewers to watch gamers play live. And who can forget the way Pokemon-Go took over the wold in 2016?!
2010s

Video games have transformed into incredible, interactive experiences that look, sound, and feel so real! We’re just a year into this new decade and have already seen amazing innovations to the gaming industry, like the PS5 and the Xbox Series.

playing video game

Why do we love video games so much?

Without video games, there’d be no escape rooms. Whether you enjoy playing virtual escape games or prefer the thrills of the live experience, we have video games to thank. That’s because the first escape room ever invented was a video game that came out in 1988 called Escape the Room. It’s attributed as the first text-based escape video game. Soon after, the concept of graphics-based escape games took over with games like the Crimson Room, the first and most distinguished game of the online escape room craze.

Join us for another enlightening journey to learn more about the history of escape rooms! And remember to finish off today the right way: with a session playing your favorite video game.

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