Spacewar!

Summary

The PDP-1 (Computer Programmed Data Processor 1) is the first minicomputer in the world (about the size of a cabinet) and works with transistors instead of tubes. On this device, computer scientist Steve Russell and his colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology develop Spacewar! within six months. In this game, two players compete against each other, each controlling a spaceship against the background of a starry sky. The aim of the game is to destroy the opposing ship and not to plunge into the sun (but its gravitation can be used tactically).

Spacewar! will be such a big success at MIT that playing is forbidden during working hours. Employees who switch to other facilities make Spacewar! also available there. It is the first video game to exist on more than one device, but since only 55 PDP-1 are built in total, the number of players in total remains low.