Gadgetory

check this out epic complex graphics plenty of smoke plenty of explosions high-definition shadows and a ton of anti-aliasing mixed in many youngins take these visual creations for granted and I don't blame them it's all they've ever known for the most part but I want to step back way back I'm only 21 so I fit into this category as well the quote worst computer-generated graphics I can remember were from my uncle's old Nintendo 64 so yeah not that far back now at the time the games look great cutting-edge and snappy I didn't think that they were terrible but of course in comparison they aren't even in the same realm I want to step back much further than that to the time of cathode ray tubes there's an off chance you still may be using one they aren't extinct but they've been phased out by LCD and OLED technologies color CRTs use electron firing guns with different phosphors to display images against a lead glass screen remember high-energy waves emitted from electron clouds are not good for you we call them x-rays these are technically analog displays which are based on voltages that change over time digital displays utilize intermittent pulses of data instead which is why they can transmit more data per second typically most electronics are not digital many would argue that analog graphics don't really fall under the same category but nonetheless it's where it all started and that's what we'll discuss first and what better way to start them with a game like space war it has its roots in a little College you may have heard of MIT only the most prestigious schools that access to top-of-the-line tech and in 1962 this was it it was written for the PDP one which utilized 2700 transistors compared to over 1 billion transistors found in modern until skylake processors we've come a long way the game utilized a color cathode ray tube and quickly pave the way for arcade games like asteroid the game circular screen was predominantly neutral and featured unique physics charts mimicking those you would experience in real life you can actually play a Java rendered version of this game via the link in this video's description it has a bit of a learning curve but it's very cool to step back in time like this and to think that this was once cutting-edge computer graphics also bled into virtual reality in the same decade yes computer-generated VR was invented in 1966 Ivan Sutherland built the first computer-controlled hmd the head-mounted device which used two independent screens to display wireframe images the technology was revamped by NASA in the 1980s but Sutherland became a graphics pioneer soon after its creation he moved to the University of Utah and trained folks like John Warnock who later invented Adobe Systems I'm sure you've heard of that I know I have Photoshop After Effects and programs of that sort you get the point remember computer graphics doesn't just involve moving images so pictures like this one were being sculpted more and more by computers than by hand in 1972 pong was created by Allan Alcorn and employee of Atari as a quote-unquote training exercise it was basic at first but thanks to advancements in both memory and compute power Alcorn was able to add additional features over time increasing the level of difficulty and overall interest as a result it was popularized in its arcade cabinet style and later emulated on more complex machines by 1980 computers were bleeding into homes and offices as consumer and commercial products rather than least experimentation machines dire straits money for nothing music video was one of the first 100% three-dimensional computer-generated productions ever undertaken and it was a definite hit for MTV it was definitely primitive no one is arguing that but it was a landmark nonetheless and the signal of another great beginning Pixar released one of the first shader programs in 1988 a big step for CGI and was later used to create fully computer-generated movies Toy Story 1995 it's a jump ahead but bear with me became the first full-length fully computer animated film under the Pixar Animation Studios name in terms of arcade in computer gaming I can personally recall games like paperboy and pokemons grabbing my attention even well into the 2000s actually Marble Madness Tetris classic arcade games that have been remade and revamped time and time again thanks to their basic yet addicting styles metal gear anyone created in 1987 and ported to the NES albeit with heavy mods this one gave uses an unfamiliar take on third-person gameplay graphics weren't phenomenal but it gave the impression of true depth as did later games like doom resolution at this point wasn't the priority was arguably depth the strive for a true three-dimensional gaming that would be both captivating and immersive we finally got it with a game called quake real-time 3d with eventual support for OpenGL 3d rendering adding to the smooth gameplay and boom just like that first person shooters role-playing games even car racing games all became just more interesting anything that wasn't 3d was suddenly considered old it's a trademark of technology in general there's always something better and after quake developers could not keep up regardless of the platform or target audience consoles like the Sony Playstation which I deconstructed right here began releasing titles that were based on older franchises Metal Gear is an example I mean look at the difference there a personal favorite of mine Crash Bandicoot became a huge hit as well I had to mention it sorry for movies at this point computer-generated graphical interfaces were staples just look at Terminator 2 I mean the concept behind a liquid metal machine would not be possible without CGI period how about Independence Day all those alien spacecraft battles CGI and green screens of course all controlled and rendered by computers with dedicated graphics cards and fully compliant 3d compute software I know I'm jumping around quite a bit there's a lot of information to consume but you get my point things exploded at around the same time the 3d rendering became technologically possible we had games like Diablo and Max Payne in The Sims all work into the computer consumer industry full-length CGI films like Final Fantasy the Spirits Within captivate audiences with breathtaking and surprisingly realistic textures and shadows for 2001 I remember when this movie was released it was it was crazy and open-world concepts like grand theft auto vice city racking millions on the first modern consoles I want to end the video like this here is the first Grand Theft Auto ever released I still remember this game as a kid and here's a clip of Grand Theft Auto 5 at max settings and in a much higher resolution we've come a long way in just 20 years and we've come much further in the past 40 and 20 more channels like my own will have this GTA on the left and a much newer and more realistic game on the right what do you imagine it look like it's anywhere close to the difference between GTA and GTA 5 I don't know I can't picture it just yet but it'll be here before we know it be sure to give this video a thumbs up if you thought it was cool give it a thumbs down you feel the complete opposite or if you hate everything about life be sure to click Subscribe but if you have it already stay tuned for more interesting videos like this and check out some of the other history videos that I have in the history playlist this is science studio thanks for learning with us