A video game , or game software , is a Jeu using a device Informatique. The player uses peripheral to act on the Jeu and to perceive the environment Virtuel.

History of the video game

See also: History of the video game

The beginning of the history of the video game is relatively vague taking into account the fact that the concept even of video game is not precisely tallied and constitutes the object of debates between specialists. According to the definition which one accepts of the video game, its history can start in the neighborhoods of 1950 with the idea of Ralph Baer or 1952 with OXO , 1958 with Tennis for Two or 1962 with Spacewar , which is the date most commonly allowed. Pong as for him is the first play whose Gameplay was sufficiently hooker and addictif to make known to him success near the general public.

If Pong did not invent the video game, it gave the kickoff to the videoludic Industrie. This one knows an explosive and feverish growth with the the United States until in 1983 where it undergoes a crash which made it migrate towards the Japan. It is there that she sees her rebirth, in particular thanks to the BORN of Nintendo and with the play Super Mario Bros. in 1985 which inaugurates a new philosophy in the design of the video games: richer and opened with all the public ones.

Since, the sector of the video game is in continuous growth, and starting from 2002 its sales turnover world exceeds that of the cinema.

Data-processing device

Platforms

There exist several types of system on which it is possible to play video game, and many plays are available on several of these environments. The computers, the game consoles and the terminals of arcade are the three principal ones. There exist also the electronic game, kinds of small portable console using an electronics dedicated for only one play, and which in addition practically disappeared. More recently, the cellphones become an adapted support, some being conceived to meet the needs for the players, as well as the Satellite television, with the arrival of chains being only used to play.

The computers are heterogeneous data-processing platforms which it is possible to find and to make evolve to various powers. They are not especially designed to play, but from their modularity certain configurations lend themselves to the plays, sometimes by the addition of material dedicated like a Graphics card or a peripheral of particular control. The plays are thus advised to be used on a particular whole of configurations to make coincide the power required by the play with the power allocated by the machine. If it is not the case, a play can not function of the whole, or sudden of the problems of fluidity. The computers, from the constant evolution of the Computer material, have the advantage of the power vis-a-vis the other machines of play.

The video game consoles are computing systems dedicated to the video game. With the difference of a computer, a console uses a dedicated material, which can be only seldom improved. Commonly, the consoles of living room connect on a television set and are sold out of standard with a Joystick, although it is possible to associate other peripherals even plays in promotional parcellings. The portable consoles, in addition to their autonomy of energy, have the whole of the interactive peripherals integrated in the wandering case. The plays are developed by taking account of the capacities of the machine, and are then placed at the disposal on the numerical support which it uses.

The terminals of arcade are systems designed to function in places in free access. A terminal is composed classically of a robust coiner, and peripherals. One generally distinguishes two main categories of terminals from arcade: the dedicated terminals which do not contain that only one indissociable play of the aforesaid the terminal, and are generally the first terminals of arcade having existed, or those requiring of the peripherals specific to the play given; and generic terminals, appeared at the beginning of the Years 1980, thanks to a standardization of the connector allowing to change the play inside the terminals.

Peripherals of entry

After the first attempts at peripheral of control, the majority of the video games on console of living room and computer turned respectively to the joysticks and the duet keyboard/mouse which will remain the most used peripherals for a long time.

Certain plays can also use dedicated controllers, without however restricting their use by the means of the three current controllers, the keyboard, the mouse, and the joystick. For example, the joystick S and the stealing S, some with return of force, are used to improve the experiment of play of the flight simulators and the sets of races, without being essential.

Lastly, certain plays are dedicated to certain specific controllers. It has been the case for several years for the majority of the plays on terminals of arcade. Thus the plays of rate/rhythm require a Tapis of dance, and the plays of shooting function with guns laser or optics.

Today, of the commercial experiments using of the standardized original controllers are undertaken. The portable console Nintendo DS and thus the whole of its plays use a touchscreen and a Microphone. The levers of the consoles Wii and PlayStation 3 make use of the movements of the player to interact with the play, in addition to their traditional uses.

Peripherals of exit

The video games restore information by the means of the image and the sound.

Posting is carried out mainly on existing material, like the television for the consoles of living room, or the monitors of computer, possibly by means of an exit Vidéo (for posting on big screen, for example). Made sound of the play is retransmis via external Haut-parleur S, or an audio exit towards an external device of Amplification (chain Hi-fi, for example).

The devices of Virtual reality, increased Réalité remain experimental.

The industry of the video game

Plays multi platform and exclusivenesses

Nowadays, the majority of the third editors (independent of the manufacturers) leave their plays on several platforms. That is due to technical reasons (the technological bringing together between the machines) and to industrial reasons (increase in the average costs of production). Despite everything, each manufacturer (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft) may find it beneficial to propose exclusive titles of quality to develop their machine. He does it through internal productions or while making from the agreements with third editors. Thus, the quality of the exclusive plays is often higher than the plays multi-platform and they are the exclusive ones which makes the success and the fame of a machine.

Evolution of the modes of consumption

To the neighborhoods of 2000, the distribution of video games was done mainly in traditional form, by the means of the hyperspecialists (such as Fnac or Virgin…), specialized signs (such as for example Score Ranges, Micromania…) or of large distribution (Auchan, Crossroads, etc). Then, pushed by the passion of the public for Internet and online shopping, certain signs started to propose on line video games at prices gravitational than the traditional distribution systems (a low number of intermediaries in the chain of marketing allowing of the reductions):

  • the BAD ( Buy and Download , literally To buy and Download ): many sites make it possible to download video games with the unit;

  • the GOD ( Ranges one Demand , literally Plays with the Request ): sites such as Gametap or Direct-2-Drive with the the United States, or Metaboli in France make it possible to subscribe with bouquets of plays for competitive prices.

Initially regarded as dangerous for the interests of the editors and originators of video games (risk of raised hacking, difficulty of controlling the market), the sale of video games on Internet settles gradually in the landscape videoludic. The last conquest being the Steam platform.

Economic impact

In spite of several crises mainly due in particular to a fall of the quality of the productions, the video game quickly rose with a row of major activity. The economy created around this practice had notable consequences on our company. The rise to power of the computers and the profitability of the Loi of Moore can be mainly explained by the fact why the people who are most inclined to buy a new computer material and often renovated are mainly players; the Office automation and navigation on Internet being activities requiring of material scanty means. For this reason, manufacturing them of computer material (graphics cards, audio charts…) sponsored very early the competitions of video games have.

Trades of the video game

The video games are generally created by teams of developers, various trade associations:
  • originators, or Range designer , charged to imagine the concepts on which are based the play, like the Gameplay or universe of this one;
  • originators of level, or Level design er , charged to carry out the levels of play by respecting the total instructions defined by the range designer ;
  • the computer graphics experts 2D and 3D, the musicians, the technicians, assist the originators that it is for the phase of design or realization;
  • the programmers, in charge of the global development of the play, and which deal of the creation or the integration of the driving of the play, but also of the realization of additional software, such as for example the creation of an editor of level;
  • the testers, more or less many according to the advance of the project or the parts of the play tested, which check if the software functions as it was agreed.

Although some plays amateurs are carried out by a person alone, the larger developments utilize amateurs who are distributed the work in an identical way. For the creation of MOD S, the development all the more is facilitated that the tools for creation of the contents are sometimes provided free to the community of the players, thus allowing impassioned to create their own universe. Certain developments amateurs, such as for example Counter-Strike , become thereafter of true plays taken again and developed by professionals.

In France, the multi-media Association of the producers of works (Apom) estimates at 5.000 the number of direct uses in the sector of the video game in 1998 compared with 3.000 in 2002 and 1.500 in 2006.

Great names of the video game

Some of the people having marked the history of the video game according to jeuxvideo.com ( alphabetically ):

  • Andy Davidson

  • Nicolas Gaume
  • Suda Goichi
  • Frédérick Raynal
  • Philippe Ulrich
  • Eric Viennot
  • Hiroshi Yamauchi
  • Will Wright
  • Jason Rubin
    • -->

    Classification of the video games

    As a cultural product, there exist several manners of classifying the video games, by their kinds, their sources, their times… Undertaken research, it does not come out any absolute classification from it. As a consumable which can run up against the sensitivities, of classifications were installation since 1994 (see the systems of evaluation of the video games).

    Principal kinds videoludic

    See also: Standard of video game

    The principal kinds of video games are ( alphabetically ):

    Influence video game on the company

    As the video games allow a more or less complete immersion in a different and relatively intimate universe, they are often looked with an special attention. The video game is a recent activity and much of parents of newborns in the Années 1990 did not know the video games in their childhood or their adolescence, knowledge that they have of it remainder reduced and is often impressed of mistrust, still at present ( Années 2000 ). Thus, several subjects make the subject of debate specific.

    An invading pastime?

    See also: Dependence with the video game

    The studies seem to converge and show that the users of video games use less other means of occupying their Loisirs (for example, they look at less the Télévision or read less books). Nevertheless, this is for a great majority of them a simple matter of time, the time devoted to a given leisure being inevitably lost on others. Certain psychiatrists even affirm that the video game, if it is well used of course, can support the social integration.

    Simulated violence and real violence

    One worries sometimes about the level of Violence present in certain video games. They can generate a level of Stress which results in an increase in real violence apart from the context of the play. However, certain studies tend to minimize the bond between the practice of the video game and the aggressions. However a recent study reports that to play violent video game makes aggressif significantly than to play non-violent play.

    Criminals (sometimes young people) directly took as a starting point the setting in scene of their preferred video game (for example, Doom , Counter-Strike or Grand Theft Auto ). Nevertheless, this kind of case, driving with a passage to the act with the heavy consequences or not, remains extremely anecdotic.

    • the video games seem to have neither more nor less influence than television.

    • the phenomenon of identification towards a character is possible in the video games, but also in the books, television and in the life of the every day.
    • the cases of crimes in connection with the video games are very rare. Million players practices this leisure without any complication.
    • In neurology, it was shown that there is no difference, on the level of the mechanism of the brain, between acting, and seeing somebody acting. In other words, if one bases oneself on this discovery, the video game is not more dangerous than the television news or a newspaper. The video game would thus not be dangerous in itself, only certain fragile people psychologically could the being, by enormously of things, of which video games.

    Protection of the children

    Certain infants can be prone to fears following a part (of a play of horror for example), also of measurements were installation as of 1994 at the United States, and since 1999 in France to advise a minimum age with the players like that is done for films, the series or the documentary ones televised. This information is indicated on limps of the play, and it remains with the legal guardians only to supervise the purchases or lease of the entertainments of the child. With the new generation of game consoles, the supports (cartridges, cédéroms, dévédéroms) integrate this information of advised age, and on consoles like the Wii or the PlayStation Portable, the parents can thus prohibit the use of certain plays.

    In the majority of the countries, it is the case in North America and in the majority of the European countries , the video games are not prone to prohibition strictly speaking: the indications being reproduced on the jackets of video games specify an age of recommendation to the sale as well as the contents of the play likely to influence the young players (violence, insults, sex…). These informative indications are intended to the parents who must thus assume the responsibility for the plays practiced by their children; and not with any repression forms which would apply to a player enfreignant the age limit suggested . But it is not the case for all the countries: in Australia for example, the plays intended for a public of more than 18 years are prohibited, and thus not marketed.

    The consoles of last generation (Wii, Ps3 and Xbox 360) have a parental control system making it possible to prevent the reading of plays " déconseillés" in lower part of a certain age. The computers equipped with Windows Vista have a parental control system nativement, making it possible to define time beaches, and also making it possible to prohibit the use of certain plays. The plays especially developed for Windows Vista, them, will be blocked by a definition of the age of the child in the software: for example, if you install a disadvised play at least 16 years, and that you indicated to the software parental control that your child is 10 years old, the play will automatically refuse to launch out. On the preceding versions (Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98 and consors), parental control is not possible that by the installation of a dedicated software.

    Video games and epilepsies

    After certain incidents, part of the medical community could worry about the risk to see the images of a video game starting epileptic fits. Today the consensus seems to be:
    • the prolonged use of the video games can generate phenomena of intense tiredness (headaches, evils of stomach, etc)
    • At subjects already sensitive to the epilepsy known as photosensitive, the sequence fast or jerked images of very animated plays can start an epileptic fit. To play for long lengths of time seems to slightly increase this risk at these subjects.
    • Of many countries imposed the addition outside the box of a mention indicating this risk for the people epileptics.

    Simulation and training

    The soldiers states-uniens noticed that the new recruits had better reflexes that their elder. They allot it to the use of the video games. Recent studies in England confirmed that accustomed video games - playing since at least four years - have better reflexes and a better intelligence of space and observation.

    As of the beginning of the year 1990, the army of the United States developed and used tactical combat and strategic combat simulators. More recently of the tools immersifs were developed to treat some disorder psychological like the Agoraphobie or the Acrophobie. These simulators rest on technologies which were developed with the base for the video games.

    The video games are also used as source of interest in certain teachwares. The educational video games, which one generally compares to software for the awakening of the all small ones or like teaching supports intended for the children, gave birth more recently to educational plays “for adults” known mainly under the name of Serious range whose interest is to transmit a Savoir-faire in a ludic way.

    Effects on health

    An American study affirms that to play video games of action improves visual faculties.

    See too

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