HISTORY OF
Solutions to boredom across the agesGAMES
Bryce Howitson & Homer Rutledge
PRE-HISTORYTHE CHALLENGE!“I can throw a spear further than you any day, time or weather...”
3500 BCESENETEgyptian game approximately 1000 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza. It’s so old we’ve forgotten how to play it!
2600 BCEROYAL GAME OF URThe oldest documented game that’s still played and a possible precursor of Mancala
2000 BCEWEI-QI (GO)As in “Take your turn already”! It’s played by an estimated 27million people today
770 BCEOLYMPIC GAMESForget the gold medal, a statue means you rule the leader boards for ever
400 ADCHATURANGA (CHESS)Because loosing a wooden knight is much cheaper than loosing a real knight
600 ADCARD GAMESCards are used for games of strategy and chance before some enterprising architect envisions a building material
1800’sBOARD GAMESBecause TV’s hadn’t been invented to keep your kids entertained
1971ARCADE GAMES22 to continue...
1980’sCONSOLE GAMINGEntertaining your TV & your thumbs
TODAYMOBILE GAMINGGames in your pocket and anywhere else you happen to be
THE FUTURE OFGAMESA game layer on top of the world
ITS TIME TO
And discuss the implication of gamesWAKE UP!
QUESTION
What do games say about the society that plays them?SOCIETY
QUESTION
What do games provide for the people who play them?BENEFIT
QUESTION
What game benefits can be used to influence society?INFLUENCE
QUESTION
What is leisure time worth in our society?VALUE