Digital Entertainment and Game Design
What It Means:
Most of us have spent some time immersed in the virtual world of computer or video games. Gaming technology is the art and
science of developing software for such games. After its rudimentary beginnings in the early 70's with games such as Pong and
Space Invaders, the technology spawned a revolution in both computing and entertainment. And any doubts about the viability of
the video game industry ended in 2001 when the U.S. market for video games grew to $9.4 billion in annual receipts-surpassing,
for the first time, the total annual box office revenues of Hollywood.1
The video game industry is nothing if not fast-paced. Gameplay has rapidly evolved from single player arcade formats to first person action games networked for hundreds of players. Game platforms and software architectures are also constantly moving forward, and the games of the future are as likely to appear on a PDA or a mobile phone as they are on a computer or TV. This points to a future where opportunity favors those capable of adapting to rapid changes in consumer tastes and entertainment technologies.
