Computer Tennis
Computer Tennis (retroactively known as Tennis For Two) was a game initially created at the Brookhaven National Laboratories in October 1958. The simulation ran off of the Donner Model 30 analog computer coupled with custom electronics as a simulation of a basic tennis game with two players. A second version was implemented in 1959 with additional features, before the entire thing was disassembled and largely forgotten. In the 1970s, lawyers part of the Magnavox v. Bally patent lawsuit surfaced the game as an example of prior art. After being championed by journalist David Ahl as the earliest known video game, the broader public came to understand the game as the origin of real-time video games.
Development Documents[edit]
Photos[edit]
🇺🇸 1958
A photo of Brookhaven Laboratories' line-up of demonstrations showcased at their annual visitors day in 1958. Computer Tennis is on an oscilloscope second from the left behind a table with the controller devices. The Donner Model 30 powering the game sits on the far left.
Game credits[edit]
- Game Designer, Hardware Designer
- William Higinbotham
- Hardware Designer
- Robert Dvorak
