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1962 · Steve Russell · Flight simulation · Science

Spacewar!

Spacewar! is one of the earliest digital computer video games. It is a two-player game, with each player taking control of a starship and attempting to destroy the other. A star in the center of the screen pulls on both ships and requires maneuvering to avoid falling into it.

Released: 1962
Platforms: PDP-1 PDP-11 Windows mainframe computer
Genres: Flight simulation Science Shoot 'em up Shooter Simulation Third-person shooter
Developers: Steve Russell
Publishers: Steve Russell
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: United States

About

Spacewar! is a space combat video game developed in 1962 by Steve Russell in collaboration with Martin Graetz, Wayne Wiitanen, Bob Saunders, Steve Piner, and others. It was written for the newly installed DEC PDP-1 minicomputer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was later expanded by other students and employees of universities in the area, including by Dan Edwards and Peter Samson. It also spread to many of the few dozen installations of PDP-1s, making it the first video game to be played at multiple computer installations.

The game features two spaceships, "the needle" and "the wedge", engaged in a dogfight while maneuvering in the gravity well of a star. Both ships are controlled by human players. Each ship has limited ammunition and fuel for maneuvering, and the ships remain in motion even when the player is not accelerating. Flying near the star to provide a gravity assist is a common tactic.

Keywords

vehicular combat
gravity
death
spaceship
war
vehicle combat
single-screen level
duel

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The gameplay of Spacewar! involves two monochrome spaceships called "the needle" and "the wedge", each controlled by a player, attempting to shoot one another while maneuvering on a two-dimensional plane in the gravity well of a star, set against the backdrop of a starfield. The ships fire torpedoes, which are not affected by the gravitational pull of the star. The ships have a limited number of torpedoes and supply of fuel, which is used when the player fires the ship's thrusters.

Torpedoes are fired one at a time by flipping a toggle switch on the computer or pressing a button on the control pad, and there is a cooldown period between launches. The ships remain in motion even when the player is not accelerating, and rotating the ships does not change the direction of their motion, though the ships can rotate at a constant rate without inertia.

Development

Russell, Graetz and Wiitanen developed the basic Spacewar! concept in the summer of 1961, in anticipation of the PDP-1 being installed. Russell had recently finished reading the Lensman series by E. E.

"Doc" Smith and thought the stories would make a good basis for the program. "His heroes had a strong tendency to get pursued by the villain across the galaxy and have to invent their way out of their problem while they were being pursued. That sort of action was the thing that suggested Spacewar!. He had some very glowing descriptions of spaceship encounters and space fleet maneuvers."