Video games have been around for decades, longer than some people may think. In October of 1958, William Higginbotham created what most people believe to be the first video game, which similar to the game Pong.

Fast forward to today and people who are parents and grandparents still play video games.

“I first played on an Xbox 360, and the first game I played was Skyrim,” said Emily Tilton, who is a Science teacher at Rose Hill High School.

There are different factors that can contribute to what games people play and who they play them with.

“I did play video games and what drew me to them I think was my friends that I had,” said Social Studies teacher Brandon Barger. “I didn’t have a lot of time because I was in sports a lot, but I did play them whenever I could as a high schooler and a college kid.”

The way generations play video games have also evolved over the years. In 1972, Magnavox released the very first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey. In 2019, there are many consoles to choose from. PlayStation to Xbox and now, portable consoles like the Nintendo Switch.

“We didn’t have the online version that kids have now, so you’d go over to somebody’s house and you’d play with whatever the console was,” said Science teacher, David Penner. “You’d go over there and play together. It was a way for us as friends to hang out and for us to interact with each other.”

The advancement of technology is a big contributor to the history of video games. As technology changes, games become more graphically advanced.

There are many genres of video games. Some are violent; some are action-filled and adventurous, there is simulation, sports and many more.

For some, video games have really influenced their lives; maybe they’ve learned some things about themselves while playing video games. Although, others may think that video games are just something they like to do in their free time. Some people do them for fun, and others can even have the opportunity to compete in official competitions against others for a prize.

Barger talked about how as you grow older, you have more and more responsibilities, which at one point have to take over the video game portion of it.

Tilton said it is something that has turned into more of a pastime for her.

“I feel like it’s just a hobby,” said Tilton. “I don’t know, I feel like maybe with video games, once
I started accomplishing missions and stuff, it sounds silly but I built a little bit more self-confidence when I was younger and that carried over to the rest of my life.”

The influence of video games on a person’s life doesn’t have to be a good or bad thing.

“I think that looking back on it, video games probably took up a lot of my time that I could’ve been using to be proactive doing other things,” said Penner. “Do I think that it’s made me a better or worse person? No, it probably just wasted a lot of my time.”