Peter Takacs

So You Wanna (Re)build One of the 1st Video Games?

User Image ksnyder | January 24, 2011
Earlier this month, BNL physicist Peter Takacs told you about his progress in resurrecting one of the world's first video games. And you wanted to know, "How do I do that?" Based on feedback from that post, we've uploaded the original high-resolution schematics for Tennis for Two to the end of this story on Brookhaven's website. An original schematic for Tennis for Two We've also included notes from the game's inventor, William Higinbotham, as well as the deposition he gave during a legal battle over the first video game patent (held by Magnavox). So start searching for an analog computer…

Resurrecting One of the World's 1st Video Games

User Image ksnyder | December 14, 2010
This guest post is written by Peter Takacs, a physicist in Brookhaven Lab's Instrumentation Division. Takacs, who earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, joined Brookhaven in 1979. Peter Takacs More than a half-century ago, Brookhaven Lab nuclear physicist Willy Higinbotham sought to "liven up the place" with an experiment in entertainment. At BNL's annual open day in 1958, Higinbotham created what is often credited as the world's first video game. Hundreds waited in line for a chance to play "Tennis for Two," an interactive game made from an analog computer, two chunky controllers…