Charting History

One of my favorite aspects of writing about games is the opportunity to help chronicle the history of this medium we all enjoy so much. While video games have now been around for roughly half a century (depending on when you start your count), that’s only the blink of an eye compared to the long history of other forms of expression like theater, painting, or the written word. 

There are several nascent efforts and emerging scholars who have begun to explore the history of gaming, including our partners at the Video Game History Foundation. It’s through their help that we now offer our complete backlog of digitally scanned issues, dating back to Game Informer’s launch in 1991. Even as actual historians continue their efforts, it also means that many of the stories about the history of gaming have fallen to magazines and websites like our own to help share the stories of the creators and artists who have molded these early decades of interactive digital experiences. 

I’m fascinated by the ebb and flow of popular genres, the rise of new technologies within gaming, and the way everything you’re playing now was inspired by what came before. Whether with long-running series or brand-new visions, every developer I’ve ever spoken with acknowledges their history with gameplay and the way it has helped inform their work.