What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I tell you the word "cockpit"? You are most probably thinking about pilots in their aircraft's cockpit. You might even have considered astronauts' cockpit in their spacecrafts. Those of you who are inclined towards racing and sports would have considered driver's cockpit. But how many of you considered games when I suggested the word?
Even though a cockpit is found in almost every gaming zone these days and is one of the most popular variety of games, you still do not readily associate with it (unless you are a gamer of course!). It is for this reason that when it did happen for the first time, it turned out to be a pathbreaker in the field of gaming.
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In the early 1970s, the world was just coming to grips with the coin-operated videogames. Children and adults alike were flocking the stores that had these games on offer. Pong, one of the earliest arcade video games, was among the most popular offering.
Released by Atari in 1972, the table tennis game with simple two-dimensional graphics was the first sports arcade game. Though Atari were easily the leaders of the market, they realised that in order to retain that position they had to do more than merely bringing out iterations like Superpong, Quadrapong and Pong Doubles.
Gran Trak 10, the company's first car-racing game, was the first such innovation that was released in 1974. It proved to be successful, with the realistic controls that included a steering wheel, gearshift and a brake pedal particularly impressing the end users.
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Play while seated!
The main drawback in this game turned out to be the fact that the player had to play this racing game standing! So when Atari released Hi-Way a year later, it was their first sit-down game featuring a cabinet in which the user could sit and play. Not only were the graphics improved, but the cockpit made the user feel as if they were driving a real car.
The design patent for this cabinet was applied on October 20, 1975, but was only granted in 1977. With each such cabinet requiring at least 16 square feet of floor space, the single moulded form including screen and the seat enhanced the feeling of being inside a vehicle.
A first-person driving game in which one had to dodge other cars and drive, the sit-down cabinet also gave the additional thrill of those around you watching you succeed and fail, heightening pressure and expectation. Gaming was never the same again as Hi-Way heralded a new era of realism.
Over the last 40 years, gaming has become a global phenomenon. Graphics, in particular, have come a long way with the visuals in games these days near-reality. The cabinets introduced in Hi-Way have also evolved, but continue to be an integral part of the gaming industry.
Reach A.S.Ganesh at ganesh.a.s@thehindu.co.in