Hi everyone,
Upon reading the section of Kline’s “Digital Play” about “Spacewars,” two things appear problematic.
First, Kline et. al. approach the creation of “Spacewar” in a fashion typical of academics, upholding an argument the factual basis of which is shaky at best. Perhaps it is my bias as someone immersed in the economics department at George Mason, but I am always skeptical when told that any given historical event “could only have come about in exactly XYZ conditions” (usually referring to the aid of government subsidy). There must be some appeal to glorifying events as semi-miraculous, once-in-a-millenium opportunities, but I frankly don’t see it. The authors appear intent on emphasizing that the developments in computer technology and application behind modern videogames were indeed such miracles, and that “it was only by building on and appropriating the technological foundations of [military-space research and the “playful ‘gift economy’ of hackers”] that industrial capital could launch itself from a Fordist to a post-Fordist regime” (Kline p. 2).
There is far more to be said here, but alas, it must wait for a later post, as the second problem is far more pressing: Kline’s article does not give me nearly enough information about Spacewars. If any of you are intrigued about the intricacies of spacewars (and the subsequent games derived from it), here is the first part of a moderately humorous YouTube series which elaborates in style. There is far more to the gameplay of the original Spacewars than Kline lets on.
(For whatever reason, when I preview my post the embed is nowhere to be seen, so I’ll simply post the url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X58CdkLVr6A)