Graphics/Gaming
Dublin Core
Title
Graphics/Gaming
Subject
The evolution of Graphics and Gaming in the 1980's
Description
This collection will explore how the mediums of Graphics and Gaming grew and evolved during the 1980's. Through the items in this collection, you will see the Golden Age and subsequent decline of arcade games as well as the meteoric rise of home consoles as the primary form of gaming.
Collection Items
The Best Selling Computer Ever
The Commodore 64 was a revolution to the graphics side of computers. The main difference is the way the Commodore could be connected to a screen. The device used a more generic connection port, allowing anyone with a television to have a personal…
Atari 2600
The posterchild for the second generation of home video game consoles, the Atari 2600 helped introduce interchangeable cartridge-based consoles to American households, replacing from fixed single-game devices. Originally released in 1977, the 2600…
Golden Age of Arcade Games
Arcade Gaming was an integral part of pop culture in the early 1980s. Titles such as Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, and Frogger became incredibly popular in North America, causing an explosion of interest in video arcades.
Nintendo Entertainment System
Released in 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System was the most popular of the third generation of video game consoles. The NES helped revitalize the industry of home gaming after the Video Game Crash of 1983. Nintendo marketed the system as a toy…
Graphics Processing Unit
Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) first became widely available to home computer systems in the early 1980s. Among the first and most popular of these in the decade was the NEC D7220, which utilized the technology of Large Scale Integration circuit…
Sega Genesis
The system which defined the fourth generation of gaming consoles, the Sega Genesis pulled the industry into the 16-bit era. Sparking the first "console war" with the SNES, the two companies fought through a series of marketing campaigns. The Genesis…
Silicon Graphics
Founded in 1984, Silicon Graphics was a high-performance computer manufacturer which led the industry in 3D graphics software and workstations. SGI's computers focused on pushing the limits on what was possible for computer graphics, with built-in 3D…
Vol Libre
The first short film that uses fractals to generate 3D graphics. Created by Loren Carpenter of Boeing in 1980, the short film represented a revolution in imaging software, and Carpenter would go on to work for Lucasfilm ILM and later Pixar.
Macintosh Computer
Released in 1984 by Steve Jobs and Apple, the Macintosh (or Mac) was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a graphical interface instead of rather than the command-line interface of its predecessors. The Mac's production was…
Nintendo Game Boy
The Game Boy was Nintendo's first entry into the market of handheld video games. Released in 1989, the Game Boy was an 8 bit gaming system that was both wireless and portable. The Game Boy was incredibly popular, selling over 118 Million units over…