second speech

Topic: Video Games Type: Objects Organizational Pattern: Topical

I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: Have you ever wondered why video games have become such a

widespread hobby for people of many different age groups? B. Brief Background to topic: Video games have been around ever since the mid

1900’s and have since exploded into the huge phenomenon we know today. From tic-tac-toe to Super Smash Bros., we are familiar with most of these popular games whether we have played it or not.

C. Audience Relevance: I’m positive that we have all played a game at least once in our lives whether it be verbally, online, or on paper. We play for entertainment and there are so many different options in today’s world. There is something for everybody and we are continuously producing new ones every year!

D. Thesis: Video games are a large part of modern day society due to its effects on behavior as well as its massive availability and exposure to the public.

E. Preview of main points: I will be giving a brief history on the world of video games, the new technological advances it has created for the human population, and its effects on today’s youth, both positive and negative.

F. Transition to point 1: Now, I will be talking about the first point in my speech: History of video games.

II. Main Point 1 A. Video games began in a place that you probably would never expect: a research

laboratory. According to an article on History.com written by an unknown author who has contributed to multiple other articles on this website all relating to pieces of history all around the world, “British professor A.S. Douglas created ​OXO​, also known as noughts and crosses or a tic-tac-toe, as part of his doctoral dissertation at the University of Cambridge in 1952” on September 1, 2017. He was studying human-computer interaction and decided to create this game as part of his thesis. Of course, however, early variations of board games including tic-tac-toe date all the way back to 1300 BC where the Egyptians would play these games on roofing tiles. This was just the first virtual form of the game.

B. Some of the first video games made that began this boom in the video game culture, however, began in the early 1960’s and 1970’s. In 1962, Steve Russell at the ​Massachusetts​ Institute of Technology invented ​Spacewar!​, a computer-based space combat video game. It was made for the newly installed PDP-1, or the Programmed Data Processor-, a cutting-edge computer mostly found only at universities, at MIT at the time. It was very influential as it was the first video game that could be played on multiple computer installations and it also inspired

the creation of some of the first arcade games. This game became such large part of the video game history also due to it being the first entry in the game canon at the U.S. Library of Congress. Another major influential game is one that you all may or may not recognize, Pong!. It was the 2-D game featuring two walls on the left and right side that you could move up and down, a dotted line in the middle of the board, and a ball bouncing in between them. You could not let the ball get past your wall or you would lose. It is basically a 2-D table tennis. It had such a huge influence on video games as it actually made it a viable business. It was created by Allan Alcorn in 1972 as a mental training exercise for himself, but was manufactured aftwards. It was commercially a huge success which led to other companies producing games similar to it. It let the public know that video games could now be a product to pull in monetization.

III. Transition from point 1 to point 2: So now that I have talked about the history of video games and their influences on gaming as a culture, I will now talk about the technological influences of video games as well as some examples.

IV. Main Point 2 A. The video game industry has evolved immensely since the 1900’s where we could

only play on certain computers with limited graphics. Older games consisted of pixelated graphics and 2-D layouts. However, this paved the way for 3-D displays and realistic animations. Before, you could only move your character up, down, left, and right. Now, you can move your character diagonally, forwards, backwards and make them crouch or jump. In some games, you can even control you character with your own body!. This is where VR, or virtual reality, comes in. According to an article in Digital Trends written by Luke Dormehl, a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends who has also written for Wired and Fast Company, he states,”The breakthrough in VR technology came in 2010 when 18-year-old entrepreneur Palmer Luckey ​created the first prototype of the Oculus Rift​. It included a 90-degree field of view that hadn’t been seen previously in a consumer device and raised $2.4 million on Kickstarter a couple years later, before the company was ​purchased by Facebook for $2 billion in 2014​” on November 13, 2017. This is the most widely known form of VR technology. From looking at a screen, we are now able to feel as if we are a part of the video game world, within the time and space of the game we are playing. Of course, alongside the graphics of games, there has also been an evolution in the consoles we use to play them. The industry has evolved from only producing PC games to inventing consoles with various different controllers such as the Wii, Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo DS.

B. Some examples of games that partake in the use of 3-D technology is Super Mario 64 and Final Fantasy VII. They were the first games of their respective titles to

switch over from a 2-D layout to a 3-D one. Some of the most popular games that use virtual reality are Beat Saber, Fallout 4, and Resident Evil 7. With the release of the Wii came some of the most well known games of our generation: Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. And with the release of the Nintendo DS, came our childhoods filled with Pokemon, Super Mario, and Animal Crossing.

V. Transition from Point 2 to 3: Now that I have spoken about the technological advances that video games have contributed, now I will talk about the effects it has on today’s youth.

VI. Main Point 3 A. Video games can have a profoundly positive effect on today’s youth. The strategy

involved in some games can improve children’s abilities to problem solve, improve their motor skills such as typing speed and hand-eye coordination, and enhance their critical thinking capabilities. Games like these can include auto-chess or combat games. Video games can also improve social skills of a person of any age. Multiplayer and open-world games can help youth learn about proper netiquette as well as lead them to making new and lifelong friends. MMORPG’s can also help a child learn about teamwork and heighten their understanding of contributing to a team as well as achieving goals as a team. Also, in today’s society, there is much more representation in video games in terms of the types of characters that are created. According to an article in The Guardian written by Kieth Stuart, an author and journalist. He has written about video games, technology and digital culture for 20 years, it states,”​...a vital element of entertainment is representation. Sometimes we need to see characters who look like us, who love the people we do, who do things we could imagine ourselves doing. There are more voices, more points of view and more opportunities to see heroes like you being available and controllable on screen” on October 6, 2017. This exposure can help youth learn about these different characteristics of people whether it be sexual orientation or gender identity and lead them to become more accepting. ​These skills can be applied in real life situations when children are forced to be away from the computer and give them a more enriching life.

B. There are also some cons to youth playing video games including causing addiction amongst youth and negatively influencing their behavior. Violent video games such as RPG shooters may cause children to believe that it is acceptable to display this behavior in real life, as there are no consequences for it online. Also, staring at a screen for long periods of time can cause damage to children’s vision, brain, and memory. An addiction to video games can cause violent behavior as well when the child is not allowed to play.

VII. Transition to conclusion: Now that we have covered everything, let’s review.

VIII. Conclusion A. Restate thesis: Video games play such a huge role in the modern day world

because of its large fan base and its effects on human behavior. B. Review main points: I have explained a brief history of video games, the

technological advances they have created for us, and the effects (both positive and negative) they have on human behavior.

C. Memorable closer: Now, when you go home and turn on your PS4 or your PC to play the latest update of GTA V, LoL, or Dota, you will have a better understanding of how you got there and how you are being affected by it.

Work Cited

Dormehl, Luke, and Luke Dormehl. “8 Major Milestones in the Brief History of Virtual

Reality.” ​Digital Trends​, Digital Trends, 4 Apr. 2018,

www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/history-of-virtual-reality/.

Editors, History.com. “Video Game History.” ​History.com​, A&E Television Networks, 1

Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/inventions/history-of-video-games.

Stuart, Keith. “The Eight Best Advances in Gaming during the Last Decade | Keith Stuart.”

The Guardian​, Guardian News and Media, 6 Oct. 2017,

www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/06/gaming-advances-decade-guardian-games-

editor-keith-stuart.