Juan Monroy — Video Games and the Third Screen

AT&T
- established 1877
- vertically integrated
- universal service
- Kingsbury Commitment
- natural monopoly
- common carrier
Break up of AT&T
- Modified Final Judgement, 1984
- divested of local telephone companies
  - Regional Bell Operating Companies
  - “Baby Bells”
- retained long distance company
  - new competition
  - Sprint
  - MCI
“Baby Bells”
- Ameritech
- NYNEX
- Bell Atlantic
- BellSouth
- Southwestern Bell
- Pacific Telesis
- US West
Telephone Networks
- wired
  - copper wire
  - fiber optic
- wireless
  - AM-FM terrestrial
  - microwave
  - citizens band
  - satellite
Analog Signals: Electronic
- code: Telegraph
- audio: Telephone
- video: Television
Digital Signals
- binary code
- software applications
- text
- audio
- video
- compression
Bits and Bytes
- bit
  - binary digit
- byte
  - series of bits, usually one character of text
- multipliers
  - kilo (k): 1 thousand
  - mega (M): 1 million
  - giga (G): 1 billion
  - tera (T): 1 trillion
  - peta (P): 1 quadrillion
- transfer rates
  - bits per second
Plain Old Telephone Service
- voice
- computer data as sound
- modulator-demodulator
  - as slow as 300 bps
  - as fast as 56 kbps
Broadband
- DSL: digital subscriber line: 768 kbps
- T1: T-Carrier, version 1: 1.5 Mbps
- FiOS: fiber optic system: 1 Gbps
First Generation Wireless
- analog radio
- network of cells
- weak signals
- relay system from one cell to another
- AMPS
Second Generation Wireless
- digital audio
  - small cells
  - compressed signals
  - increased capacity
- GSM: standard: Global System for Mobile Communications
- data transmission: 50 kbps – 1 Mbps
Third Generation
- switches between digital audio and computer data
  - telephone
  - web browser
  - email applications
- data transmission: 2 Mbps
Fourth Generation
- Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard
- co-mingled voice and computer data streams
- data transmission: 100 Mbps
Wi-Fi
- wireless internet
- IEEE 802.11
- internet packets over microwave radio
- 10–500 Mbps
Bluetooth
- wireless serial connection
- connects computers and peripherals
- lower bandwidth than Wi-Fi
- used for persistent connections
Satellite
- Low Earth Orbit
- Geostationary
- Telstar, 1962
- satellite broadband
- triangulation: geo-positioning system
Wireline Industry
- international record carriers
  - calls between countries
- long-distance: interexchange carriers
  - calls between area codes and LATAs
- local exchange carriers
  - incumbent LECs: pre-AT&T breakup carriers
  - competitive LECs: mixed telecommunications carriers
Wireless Industry
- national cell phone networks
  - AT&T
  - Verizon
  - Sprint
  - T-Mobile
- mobile virtual network operators
  - Boost Mobile
  - CREDO
  - Cricket Wireless
- FCC classification?
  - Title I: information service
  - Title II: common carrier
Wireline Apps
- POTS functions
  - dial tone
- computer switching functions
  - touch tone, three-way calling
- custom local area signaling services
  - caller ID
- toll-free calling
Wireless Apps
- platform specific
- computer software applications
  - location-aware
  - m-commerce
Access
- cell-phone carrier locking
- universal access subsidies: not the same as universal service
- Telecommunications Act: zero cent-per-minute long-distance
- Voice-Over IP
- wireless spectrum is auctioned thus less regulated as broadcasting spectrum
Privacy
- government surveillance
- warrant for wiretapping telephone and email
- warrantless bulk trap-and-trace information
- Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act
- government access to telephone central offices and Internet provider networks
Video Games
First-Generation
- video consoles
- transistor consoles
- one-screen game play field
- games hardwired
- line, block, and dot graphics
- e.g., home version of Pong
Second-Generation
- 8-bit microprocessor consoles
- ROM cartridges
- shapes and sprites: 160 × 192 pixels
- 2–16 colors
- sounds of beeps and buzzes
- e.g., Fairchild F (1976), Atari 2600
Third-Generation
- 8-bit computing consoles
- tile-and-sprite based graphics: 320x200 pixel
- D-pad game controllers
- 25–32 colors, from a 256-color palette
- e.g., Nintendo Entertainment System (1983)
Fourth Generation
- 16-bit computing consoles
- multi-button game controllers
- complex parallax scrolling, multi-layer tilemap backgrounds, with pseudo–3D scaling & rotation
- 64–4096 colors on screen, from a 65,536-color palette
- e.g., Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1990)
Fifth Generation
- 32-bit and 64-bit computing consoles
- 3D polygon graphics with texture mapping
- optical disc (CD-ROM) game storage
- display resolution from 480i to 576i
- 16,777,216 colors on screen
- e.g., Playstation and N64
Personal Computers
- advanced personal computers
- graphics and sound cards
- custom controller
- CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray drive
- headphones
- HDTV resolution
Handheld Systems
- Nintendo 3DS
- Playstation Vita
- Android and iOS devices
Post-Console Era
- cloud computing games
- controllers
  - dance pads
  - light guns
  - virtual reality
- screens
  - 3D games
  - augmented reality
- rules
  - continuously changing games
  - artificial intelligence
Gear Makers
- consoles
  - Nintendo
  - Sony
  - Microsoft
- custom controllers
- high-end gaming desktop computers
Game Publishers
- console makers play a large role in their own publishing games
- Electronic Arts
- MTV Games
- Zynga
Game Developers
- graphic artists
- computer programmers
- in-house design studios
- independent game developers
- mods: changing game features
- apps: smartphone games
Selling the Game
- coin-operated arcade machines
- toy stores
- game retailers
- big-box retailers
- digital downloads
Video Game Genres
- Abstract
- Sports, Game, Activity, Gambling
- Adventure
- Capturing, Catching, Collecting, Dodging, Combat
- Demo
- Driving, Flying, Racing
- Educational
- Escape
- Interactive Mode
- Simulation
- Obstacle Course
- Platform
- Puzzle, Maze
- Quiz
- Role Playing
- Rhythm and Dance
- Strategy
Video Game Effects
- violence scenes
- depictions of sex
- reinforces traditional gender roles
- anti-social behavior
Entertainment Software Rating Board
- self-regulatory body
- introduced after public outcry over Mortal Kombat
- content ratings
  - Early Childhood (EC)
  - Everyone (E)
  - Everyone 10+ (E10)
  - Teen (T)
  - Mature (M)
  - Adults Only (AO)