Many books and papers concerning the history of computer games (as with history in general) attempt to build upon a timeline that is not always linear. This is because several technological changes either occurred simultaneously or were, in their own time, not obviously important, but eventually proved to be so.

Pargman and Jakobsson provide an account of the five most important branches of the technological expansions of computer games, namely: “in-game space,” “virtual/real world interface,” “physical game space,” “when and where games are played,” and “games transcend play.”

The first item refers to the virtual space within the game, evolving from the never-changing environment directly seen on the screen, as it is in Pac-Man, up to the modern four-dimensional (4D) games (three-dimensional (3D) space, one-dimensional (1D) time), which are interactive and adaptive.

The second branch is closely related to the previous, just adding to it the realism that has been achieved with regard to sound quality, computer graphics, and the feeling of immersion thus provided.

The third perspective of expansion concerns the evolution from the simple joystick to very complex systems for interaction. Some systems no longer involve just hands and feet, but also include helmets and other devices.

The fourth issue is that since computers have reduced in size and weight steadily, computer games have evolved from large machines to those that can be played on cell phones or other small devices, thus making play available to practically everyone, everywhere, at anytime.

The last subject of this list is perhaps the one with the most ample future. The authors reckon that games are no longer played merely for fun, but also for learning, training, advertising, and even persuasion (mental conditioning, similar to advertising, but with purposes perhaps different than those of marketing).

Overall, I found this article to be very refreshing and original in style. Personally, I might have called it “branches of expansion” instead of “perspectives” since to me the authors use only one: expansion through different directions.

I highly recommend this article to historians and computer game developers, and even to nonspecialists who wish to have a brief and fruitful account of computer game development.