It was just a deconstructed digitalized version of ping pong—two straight lines batting a square dot across a pitch-black court. But when Atari’s Pong released in 1972, it was clear that video games were here to stay. Its simplistic yet challenging gameplay met the basic needs of a game—entertainment and competition. It took no time for developers to add engaging narratives to these digital wonders, albeit simplistic ones. For example, Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers may have been a story about two (apparently) Italian plumbers saving a princess from a fascist turtle king. However, it was enough to hook millions of gamers.
Though games like Super Mario Brothers are still loved in the 21st century (and have countless sequels to prove it), today’s gamer demands more from their gaming experience than simply collecting coins and jumping on turtles ad infinitum. That is not to say such games are not entertaining. Ask anyone with a smartphone. Games like the successful Angry Birds keep them glued to their smartphone, entranced by wingless birds flung from slingshots. There is no shortage of entertaining games; rather, there is a gluttony.
© 2025 Jonathan Porter. All rights reserved.
