The definition of game may vary, but let us focus on video games for this essay. If we take other forms of games into consideration, people should have enjoyed playing games to entertain themselves for a long time. Even in the modern English, wild animals which are hunted for food or taken for sport or profit are called "games". Considering that human beings relied on hunting before they started to grow grains, we can say that the history of game should be as long as the history of human being.
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The history of video games should be closely related to the development of technology. Before 20th century when the television was invented, there could not be any video game that can be played by looking at the screen. Since the definition of video game is "any of various interactive games played using a specialized electronic gaming device or a computer or mobile device and a television or other display screen, along with a means to control graphic images" (Dictionary.com, "Video game"), it also needed the development of computer technology that could calculate the result of the input and simultaneously print out the output to the screen. Therefore, computer engineers took a huge part in developing the earliest video games, and the first known game to display visuals on a video monitor was OXO, created by Alexander S. Douglas in 1952 (Wikipedia, "OXO").
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With the rapid growth of computer technology in 20th century, there was also a significant improvement in games. With the spread of low-cost Internet access, people could connect and play with other people who are not physically with them. This was an important change in game industry, because it provided the players an incentive to win against other players, not computers. Although the artificial intelligence has developed a lot within a few decades, the computer still cannot win a human being with a few exceptions, such as chess. Therefore, the availability to play a game with other players increased the interest of a player, and he could also feel a sense of accomplishment by playing with other people. The rank of a player have become an identity of a player in a game, and he feels the game is interesting while he tries to level up his character and find a way to win against his opponents.
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