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Link Trainer
Virtual Reality has existed since the late 1920’s, while this technology wasn’t available to the general public; it was used to train pilots in the military. This invention was called “Link Trainer” also known by many as the “Blue Box”, invented by Edwin Albert Link (July 26, 1904 – September 7, 1981) in 1929; the purpose of this invention was to safely train new pilots without causing causalities or unnecessary accidents. The invention would really become popular during World War 2, as it train -
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Digital Persona
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Sensorama
The concept of virtual reality would return 33 years in 1962, as Morton Heilig, filmmaker and director, considered by many to be the father of virtual reality, created the “Sensorama”. The Sensorama was considered ahead of its time, an arcade sized movie machine, moviegoers could watch a film while experiencing real life special effects while the film played. -
ARPANET begins development
ARPANET, the precussor to the world wide web, begins development under IPTO at the Network Measurements Center in UCLA. The main goal of this project was to be able to transfer information between computers. -
The first email
In July of 1971, a young engingeer by the name of Ray Tomlinson working for BBN Technologies developed and sent this first email between two computers in the same room. Ironically, Thomlinson doesn't remember what the first email detailed, citing that it was probably gibberish to notify that the computer received its message. -
Control Video Corporation Begins
In 1983, AOL began under the name "Control Video Corporation", a digital download service that allowed users to rent games for under a $1. The company would fail a year later and would change hierarchy and its name to AOL. -
Sega Master System
In 1985, Sega released the “Sega Master System” in direct competition to Nintendo’s “Nintendo Entertainment System”, boasting 3D capabilities with the use of its 3-D glasses. While the console was not a huge success, it marked the first time an entertainment console used 3-D technology, one such example is the underrated classic “Space Harrier 3-D”(1988), which was released the same year as the console did. While the Sega Master System was upstaged by Sega’s “Genesis” console, the system is wide -
Virtuality
. By the early 80’s and 90’s, films such as “Tron” (1982) and “The Lawnmower Man” (1992) increased interest on the topic of VR even more, creating a “boom” within the industry. Soon after, an arcade machine known as the “Virtuality” (1992) entered arcade systems, while not a video game in itself, the system was mainly used for “first impressions”, in an article published by “Kill Screen”; “The initial draw of these pods was not, and would never really be, the games; the units were not being prom -
Yahoo Geocities
In 1994, Yahoo would start what would arguably be the very first social media website that allowed users to connect with one another over the internet, Yahoo! GeoCities. The website would feature a "neighborhood" type system, which would allow users to connect to one another based off hobbies and passions, overall there were 29 neighborhoods available. -
Nintendo Virtual Boy System
3-D and virtual reality technology would make a return in 1995 with the release of Nintendo’s “Virtual Boy” system, and is considered by many to be Nintendo’s biggest failures in the console market. By the 1990’s, Nintendo was already a behemoth in the video game industry, its previous consoles, the NES, sold over 61.9 million units and the Gameboy sold over 40 million. Due to negative marketing from both Nintendo and mainstream outlets, the system had a one year lifespan and was quietly retired -
Oculus Rift: The Beginnings
After the failure of the Virtual Boy, the video game industry would not see any type of virtual reality concept implemented for the next 16 years when a single self-taught engineer by the name of Palmer Lucky decided to use Kickstarter to fund his idea of a VR headset to immerse players in their videogames. The project was a success, as by the time the Kickstarter ended in 2012, Palmer’s company, Oculus VR raised over $2,400,000. -
Virtual Reality: The 2nd Wave
In 2014, the Oculus VR would be brought by Facebook for over 2 billion dollars, and shortly was announced to have a targeted 2016 release date. Not to be outdone, Sony would announce their own VR project known as Project Morpheus for their PlayStation 4, releasing a tech demo at GDC 2014. The project would receive positive reviews in terms of gameplay and graphics, and with the PlayStation 4 setting record selling units, Project Morpheus seems to be the logical rival for the Oculus Rift in the y
