A brief history of video games (Part I) - Safwat Saleem

薩夫瓦特‧薩林姆：電子遊戲的一段歷史（第一集）

譯者: Ou Chih-Hong 審譯者: Hao-Wei Chang

Hi, I'm Medium Invader

嗨，我是一個中型魔王

from the classic video game Space Invaders,

我來自一款經典電視遊戲：太空侵略者

and I want to tell you a little bit

我要告訴你一小段

about where video games came from.

關於電子遊戲的由來

A video game is an electronic game

電子遊戲是一種

that has an interface designed for human interaction

有和人類互動的介面

on a video device.

顯示在電視這類設備上的遊戲

Simple.

就這麼簡單

Video games are used by scientists,

科學家會使用電子遊戲

the military,

軍隊也會

and people like you,

你我都會

and their evolution has spread across arcades,

電子遊戲的發展 經歷了大型遊戲機台

consoles,

computers,

遊樂器

電腦

smart phones,

智慧型手機

and all kinds of other electronics.

還有其它的電子設備

These days video games are everywhere,

最近，電玩無所不再

but they were actually made in science labs.

但其實它們來自實驗室

In fact, the earliest U.S. video game patent on record

事實上，美國最早 登記註冊的電子遊戲

was in 1948,

是在 1948 年

and at the time it was referred to

那時電子遊戲被稱為

as a cathode-ray tube amusement device.

陰極線管娛樂設備

That's a mouthful!

多麼饒舌啊！

Some of the earliest video games include

一些最早期的電子遊戲還有

the Nimrod computer,

寧羅電腦

OXO,

圈圈叉叉

Tennis for Two,

雙人網球

and my personal favorite, Spacewar!

還有我的最愛，太空之戰！

But none of these early video games

但是這些電子遊戲

were ever sold to the public

沒有一項對外銷售

because they were either too huge

因為他們不是體積太大

or too expensive

就是太貴

to get out of the lab.

而無法離開實驗室

This all changed when a man named Ralph Baer

不過，這一切都因 拉夫‧貝爾 而改變

looked at his television screen and wondered

當時他看著電視想著

how else it might be used.

電視還能有什麼用途

In 1972, Baer's idea to get video games

1972 年，貝爾想讓電子遊戲

out of the science lab and into the living room

走出實驗室、進入客廳

led to the release of a game console

此舉讓電子遊戲大眾化

called Odyssey.

這款遊戲機叫做奧德賽

Odyssey allowed you to play a game on your TV.

奧德賽讓你 可以用電視玩遊戲

At about the same time,

差不多也是那時候

two other people, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney,

諾蘭·布希內爾 與 泰德·巴內 這兩個人

were working on something similar

在一家叫雅達利的小公司裡

in a little company called Atari.

也在著手研究類似的東西

You might have heard of it,

你也許聽過

and even if you haven't,

縱使你沒聽過

I'm sure that your Dad has.

我也確定你爸爸聽過

Atari's first major game release was in 1972,

雅達利在 1972 年推出首款主打遊戲

an arcade game called Pong.

叫做乓，一款投幣式街機遊戲

It was an immediate hit,

當時馬上造成風潮

and it's credited

這款遊戲也被譽為

as the first commercially successful video game.

首款成功的商業化遊戲

Atari then released a home version of Pong in 1974.

雅達利在 1974 年推出家庭版的乓

By 1978, competition between Atari

在 1978 年，雅達利碰到了競爭對手

and another game company called Midway

另一個叫做米德威的遊戲公司

was heating up.

競爭越演越烈

Midway had licensed an arcade game

米德威早為了日本公司太東

for the Japanese company, Taito,

註冊了一款街機遊戲

that put them on the map.

太東公司讓米德威聲名大噪

The game:

遊戲有：

Space Invaders.

太空侵略者

It featured iconic actors, like me,

裡面有些很有名的角色，像是我

and it went on to become

這款遊戲之後也成為

the second highest selling arcade game of all time.

接機遊戲有史以來，銷售量第二高的遊戲

Space Invaders also helped kick off

太空侵略者也開啟了

what is known as the Golden Age of Arcade Games.

所謂的街機遊戲黃金年代

In response, Atari followed

為了還擊，雅達利推出

with the release of the arcade game Asteroids,

爆破慧心

which ranked sixth on the list

在當時的街機遊戲銷售量表上

of highest selling arcade games.

它排名第六

It was a good game,

這款遊戲不錯

but it's no Space Invaders.

但打不過太空侵略者

By 1980, color came to arcade games,

1980 年，街機遊戲有了顏色

and this was also the year

同樣也是在這年

that another video gaming milestone was born.

電子遊戲的 另一塊里程碑又誕生了

Pac-Man, created by the Japanese company Namco,

由日本公司南夢宮發明的小精靈

was brought to the U.S. by Midway.

由米德威公司引進美國

Important to the spread

小精靈的重要是

of video games into popular culture,

讓電子遊戲走進大眾文化

Pac-Man was a character that could be licensed.

小精靈這個角色是可以被註冊的

It wasn't long before it had a song on the charts,

不久後，它就有了主題曲

a Saturday morning television show,

週六早晨電視秀

and all sorts of other products.

和其他各式各樣的產品

In just a year, Pac-Man arcade games

一年後，小精靈這款街機遊戲

made over one billion dollars in quarters.

一季中就能賺進十億美金

Then, in 1981, a company called Nintendo

1981 年，有一家叫任天堂的公司

started making waves in the U.S. video game market

開始在美國電子遊戲市場掀起波瀾

with their release of Donkey Kong.

該公司推出森喜剛這款遊戲

It was the earliest video game

這是第一款有劇情的

to have a story line.

電視遊戲

The story went a bit like this:

故事大概就是這樣：

Donkey Kong is the pet

森喜剛是

of a carpenter named Jumpman.

是木工跳跳人的寵物

Jumpman mistreats his pet ape,

跳跳人對這隻寵物猩猩不太好

so the ape steals his girlfriend,

所以猩猩就搶走了跳跳人的女朋友

leaving the game player to assume the role

讓玩家去扮演跳跳人的角色

of Jumpman and rescue the girl.

把女生救出來

Jumpman was eventually renamed to Mario.

跳跳人最後重新命名為馬力歐

Other iconic arcade games from the early 80s include

在 80 年代初期，代表性的街機遊戲還有

Frogger,

青蛙過河

Dragon's Lair,

龍穴歷險記

and Mario Brothers.

馬力歐兄弟

Perhaps the last iconic game considered

街機遊戲黃金時期中

to be part of the Golden Age of Arcade Games

最具代表性的街機遊戲

is Double Dragon.

可能就是雙截龍系列

It was the first really successful example

雙截龍系列是首款很成功的例子

of the beat-them-up genre.

劇情為將敵人全數打敗

It was released in 1987,

1987 年，這款遊戲問世

and, like Donkey Kong,

就像森喜剛一樣

it featured a damsel in distress storyline,

它的特色是少女受困的劇情

a storyline common in many video games.

這和很多電子遊戲的故事相同

By the mid-90s, the Golden Age of Arcade Games

90 年代中期，街機遊戲的黃金時期

was coming to an end,

漸漸地步入尾聲

and the home game console

而家庭式遊戲機

was gaining in popularity.

越來越受歡迎

While arcade games continued

儘管街機遊戲在過去幾年來

to decline in sales over the years,

銷售量一直下滑

the popularity of video games was merely beginning,

然而，電子遊戲的風潮才剛開始

and we'll talk about that

我們會在

and a lot more

電子遊戲簡史第二集

in part two of a brief history of video games.

再討論更多