[1969 The first documented Video of a Ping-Pong game]
Welcome back to Input Origins - 10th edition.
This time, we're spotlighting perhaps the most iconic input method of them all. So iconic, in fact, that people tattoo it on their bodies.
Give it up for the gamepad!
[1958, "Tennis for Two", an oscilloscope for display]
1958 - "Tennis for Two"
The First Video Game
In 1958, inside a U.S. government energy lab, physicist William Higinbotham (yes, the same guy who worked on the Manhattan Project) found himself staring at a Donner Model-30 analog computer.
It could simulate ballistic missile trajectories... or, with a bit of imagination, a bouncing ball with wind resistance. So he did what any bored genius would do: he made a video game.
The first video game.
Displayed on an oscilloscope, the screen showed a tennis court viewed from the side. The computer handled all the physics, even simulating the ball hitting the net.
[1958, The first ever gamepad, designed for playing "Tennis for Two"]
The First Gamepad Was Aluminum
To play, you picked up one of two aluminum controllers each with a single button and a knob. Turn the knob to aim your shot. Press the button to serve. That was it. Simple, tactile, and way ahead of its time.
The electronics? A clever blend of vacuum tubes, relays, and early transistors powering the oscilloscope display. All of it packed into a custom-built rig about the size of a child's shoe box.
Press X for History
After disappearing into obscurity for three decades, gamepads made a triumphant return in 1982 with the Vectrex console, and then went mainstream with the Nintendo Entertainment System’s iconic rectangular controller.
Since then, they’ve evolved through endless variations, dual joysticks, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers on systems like PlayStation and Xbox.
And yet, the core idea has barely changed: thumbs on buttons, fingers on triggers.
Today, you’ll find gamepads beyond the living room, piloting drones, navigating robots, and steering virtual worlds far beyond Mario and Halo.
[Gaming with Mudra Link]
Neural Gamepad?
We don’t think neural interfaces are going to replace gamepads anytime soon.
But that hasn’t stopped us from playing games with Mudra.
There’s something wild about moving a character with just a flick of your finger or casting a spell without touching a single button.
Read Previous Editions of -Input Origins-
