OXO
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| OXO | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | A.S. Douglas |
| Designer(s) | A.S. Douglas |
| Released | 1952 |
| Genre | Traditional game and Paper and pencil game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | EDSAC |
| Media | Delay line memory |
| Input methods | rotary dial, console |
OXO (also known as Noughts and Crosses) is a tic-tac-toe computer game made for the EDSAC computer in 1952. It was written by Alexander S. (Sandy) Douglas as an illustration for his Ph.D. thesis on human-computer interaction for the University of Cambridge. OXO was the first known (graphical) game to run on a computer. However, there is a patent dating from 1947–1948 that describes a missile simulation game utilizing a cathode ray tube.[1]
The player played against the computer, and output was displayed on the computer's 35×16 pixel cathode ray tube. The source code was short, yet it played a perfect game of noughts and crosses. OXO did not have widespread popularity because the EDSAC was a computer unique to Cambridge.
OXO consisted of a digital display system that showed a "pod" visual system like scoreboards at the Olympics. It is argued that OXO was the first video game ever made, predating even William Higinbotham's Tennis For Two from 1958.
Contents |
9 8 7 NOUGHTS AND CROSSES 6 5 4 BY 3 2 1 A S DOUGLAS, C.1952 LOADING PLEASE WAIT... EDSAC/USER FIRST (DIAL 0/1):
EDSAC/USER FIRST (DIAL 0/1):1 DIAL MOVE:6 DIAL MOVE:1 DIAL MOVE:2 DIAL MOVE:7 DIAL MOVE:9 DRAWN GAME... EDSAC/USER FIRST (DIAL 0/1):
- ^ Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a United States patent application on January 25, 1947 and U.S. Patent #2 455 992 issued on December 14, 1948.