Last week I took the SSAT exam. There is only one center in all of Spain that administers the exam, and it’s in Madrid. After months of grueling studying, memorizing, problem-solving and restless sleep, it was time to make the 4-hour drive to Madrid.
Right now you may be thinking this post is about my experience taking the SSAT, but, that will come later, filled with tips and advice. (If you can’t wait, DM me on instagram for all the details.) This post is about what happened the day after testing day.
It was a Sunday morning and my dad told me he had a surprise for my sister and me for working hard preparing for the SSAT. He said we were going to “an exhibit,” but he never specified what type. When I think exhibit, the first thing that comes to mind is “museum.” To me, exhibit = museum, so I naturally thought, “Oh we’re going to a museum.”
While driving to the “exhibit,” I noticed signs around the road that read “Game On! The history of gaming exhibit.” I started to wonder if we were going there because it did say “exhibit.” I didn’t want to get my hopes up because I was worried I would end up being disappointed. We parked the car and my parents told me it was a couple minute’s walk to the exhibit. We got close to the entrance and I soon realized we were going to “Game On!”
I couldn’t wait to go in and tried to keep myself together.
The exhibit is organized into a timeline through the history of video games. The first game in the exhibit is Mine Storm. The game was released in 1982 by General Consumer Electronics. At the exhibit, it was running on the Vectrex computer system, released by the same company. Unlike computers today, Vectrex has no operating system . The computer has to be manually programmed to do exactly what you want it to do.
Bottom line, this thing needed a lot of manual hours to set it up for public gaming.
The Vectrex computer system also hosted the original Spacewar video game I felt like I had a bit of Boston with me as it was designed by a team at MIT. Spacewar was the first popular computer game, and one of the first ever video games created.
When I held the controller and tried to play Mine Storm, I was a bit confused. The game was unlike any game I had played before and I did not even know where my character was on the screen. The object of the game was to use the limited controls to dodge the mines and other space ships. I played the game for a little while but it was incredibly difficult to maneuver. I thought I would get the hang of it after a while but it was not easy. I kept hitting the mines.
I walked further passing by some small, not as significant games until I reached two of the most well-known games of all time.
Pong, and Pacman.
Pong was the first commercial video game ever invented and really begun the massive video game industry. And of course, the legend that is Pacman. I tried my hand at both games starting with Pong. I heard many things about the game but never played it myself. Pong was a fun game but I felt like I would get bored playing the same thing after a while.
Right next to Pong was Pacman. “Oh, Pacman”. This game I have played many times and really enjoy it. Something about eating little blue dots while running away from ghosts is really fun and satisfying. I was playing with one life left and only a few dots left to eat. I was soo close to beating the level when I got a bit nervous with so many people watching me and a ghost hit me.
“Noooo!”. I was so close. But that is the nature of video games!
I made my way through the rest of the retro videogames playing all the ones I thought I would enjoy. I saw many titles I have heard of before and was happy I was finally able to try them out.
I made my way to a hallway of games made by famous companies like Nintendo and Microsoft. These games were the start of the transition from the retro games to the more modern games. I saw games like the first Super Mario Bros and others I have not heard of. These games were completely different from the ones I had played just earlier today.
The controls were way more complicated and there was a lot more to focus on. I realized that as I walked through the timeline, the video games were not just newer but they grew in intensity and complexity. When I reached games like Fifa and other more modern games I realized that over time, games are just going to keep growing in complexity.
It was crazy to me that just a few years ago the games only had two or three controls whereas now, the games have more than ten!
As I made my way to the end of the timeline I was reflecting on everything I had just seen. Learning the history of gaming was incredibly fun and fascinating. I’m accustomed to modern video games, but to see the progression and in such a short time, I wonder how gaming will change in the next 10 years.
What an awesome experience!