According to Kotaku, the first video game “Tennis For Two” was created by William Higinbotham, a physicist and member of the Manhattan Project. This was the world’s first atomic bomb development project, conducted near the end of World War II.
After the war, Higinbotham worked at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1947. During his tenure, he had the opportunity to work with the Donner Model 30 (DM30) computer – a device capable of simulating trajectories with wind resistance through bouncing objects on an oscilloscope.
This invention, while still simple, laid the groundwork for many other famous games to come.
At that time, Higinbotham thought that with the right program, the DM30 could create an engaging game. He quickly sought the assistance of his colleague Robert Dvorak to develop a simple tennis game called Tennis For Two.
When Tennis For Two became the center of attention at the 1958 Brookhaven Fair, Higinbotham decided to enhance the game to take it further. Specifically, he added a gravity adjustment feature that allowed players to experience tennis on other planets like the Moon or Jupiter. Higinbotham’s invention, although still basic, paved the way for many other well-known games, notably “Pong.”
What few people realize is that about 25 years earlier, Higinbotham was a scientist involved in creating the first atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project. He worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory as the team leader of the ignition system development for this nuclear weapon.
However, according to The New York Times, Higinbotham stated that shortly thereafter, he founded the Federation of American Scientists, an organization that strictly monitors nuclear weapons, upon realizing the severe impact of atomic bombs. He also dedicated the rest of his life to advocating against the use of nuclear weapons.
