It’s difficult to say with certainty what the most popular titles or genres were in the early years of computer games. Many of the games were sold directly by mail-order, or through tiny single-proprietor stores, and no software trade organization was collecting comprehensive sales statistics. In 1980, the magazine Softalk began running a list of… Continue reading The Home Computer Hybrids: Atari, TI, and the FCC
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, one could participate in a variety of (mostly novel) hobbies that all asked “what-if”: reading and watching science fiction (especially Star Trek), reading the writings of Tolkien and his growing body of imitators, playing tabletop war games that simulated everything from ancient warfare to World War II, engaging… Continue reading The Rise of Computer Games, Part II: Digitizing Nerddom
Creatures of Thought 