<News> - An interview with Ralph Baer - the father of video games(?)

[saint]

Talk about it!

[Jeff AMN]

That was awesome. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Level42]

Yeah, I always knew video games had to be a European invention...................................





I think he got what he deserved, a fair amount of money for his idea. But he never got "the spotlight". But he's that type of guy that is inventing in his room and not getting the thing across.....it's making that link that makes brillant people.....Like Bushnell. Also, remember that Nolan never really thought about Pong as a serious game, just a project to practice on for All Acorn.

Another thing, has anyone here ever seen that "pong" like game Ralph Baer made fo real ?
All the video's I've seen so far only show the ball steadily bouncing between the two paddles. I think that was THE key to the success of Atari's Pong. The angle you hit the ball made the ball go a different direction.

I've never played the original Atari Pong, but I know some clones sometimes got into a position that you could keep the ball going back and through forever.

Did Atari's Pong have something like a "randomizer" ?

[shorthair]

GS: Yeah, if you look up "video" in a dictionary, it says something essentially the same. It's just television.

RB: Yeah, and then it got to be in general use, like how people call a "television set" a "television." [That] always grates on me...grates on my nerves. The frickin' thing is not a "television," it's a television set! Or receiver, right? So the word "television" suddenly becomes the generic noun for a "television set." And "video" just becomes a generic name for anything that gets displayed, especially moving imagery on a screen -- regardless if it's an LCD screen, or a plasma screen, or a vacuum tube set. But that's not how it started.


This is why I like, and have always liked, hearing these kinds of stories.

[CMelissinos]

Spent the day with Ralph at his home.  Check out the photos and video on my blog. 

http://blogs.sun.com/ChrisM/entry/my_day_with_a_living

And, yes, I did play against him on the actual 40 year old Brown Box prototype.  AWESOME!

-Chris

[Level42]

Chris, that was awesome !!! Great to finaly see the game played. I never realised that there actualy was a  control to change the balls direction AFTER you hit it. A little unfair maybe, but fun addition.... It's also fun to see how "unlineair" the ball moves from right to left. You can see it's all analogue electronics.

AND of course I have to come back on my previous posting, apart from a brillaint engineer he clearly did have views on how to implement/sell the product. That "all pupose box" is SO ahead of it's time

Everyone should at least watch the video's, I especialy liked the one's from '73. My sideburns are exactly the same size now, funny how everything returns

Anyway a big round of  and a deep  to Mr. Ralph Baer !!!