Pixelation nation: Here’s a review of the early history of video game graphics

By Will Fulton November 18, 2014

pixelation nation review early history video game graphics — Image used with permission by copyright holder

This new video from Ahoy, the first in a five-part series, reviews the early history of video game graphics from Pong in 1972 through the genesis of home consoles and full color, sprite-based graphics in the 1980s.

Today fans get riled up over 720 versus 1080 resolution and whether or not the game maintains 60 frames per second. There was a time not so long ago when the most exciting development was the addition of color that’s not from a transparent overlay on the screen or movement that can scroll past the edges.

The video is an excellent stroll through gaming history. It points out an often-forgotten chapter when the pixel-based raster graphics that would go on to dominate the field shared the stage with smoother vector graphics, like those old Star Wars arcade machines. The second part of the series goes online on Tuesday, November 18.

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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