<s>
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
is	O
a	O
space	O
combat	O
arcade	O
game	O
developed	O
in	O
1971	O
during	O
the	O
early	B-Application
era	I-Application
of	I-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
is	O
an	O
expanded	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
1962	O
Spacewar	O
!,	O
potentially	O
the	B-Application
first	I-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
to	O
spread	O
to	O
multiple	O
computer	O
installations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
consisted	O
of	O
a	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
PDP-11	B-Device
minicomputer	B-Architecture
attached	O
by	O
a	O
cable	O
to	O
a	O
wooden	O
console	O
with	O
a	O
monitor	O
,	O
controls	O
,	O
and	O
seats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
coin-operated	O
video	O
games	O
;	O
the	O
prototype	O
was	O
installed	O
in	O
November	O
1971	O
at	O
the	O
Tresidder	O
student	O
union	O
building	O
at	O
Stanford	O
University	O
,	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
months	O
after	O
a	O
similar	O
display	O
of	O
a	O
prototype	O
of	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
second	O
known	O
video	O
game	O
to	O
charge	O
money	O
to	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
consoles	O
had	O
a	O
blue	O
fiberglass	O
casing	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
was	O
housed	O
inside	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
was	O
Spacewar	O
!,	O
created	O
in	O
1962	O
for	O
the	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
(	O
DEC	O
)	O
PDP-1	B-Device
minicomputer	B-Architecture
by	O
Steve	O
Russell	O
and	O
others	O
in	O
the	O
programming	O
community	O
at	O
the	O
Massachusetts	O
Institute	O
of	O
Technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
copied	O
to	O
several	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
installations	O
in	O
American	O
academic	O
institutions	O
after	O
its	O
initial	O
release	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
potentially	O
the	B-Application
first	I-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
to	O
be	O
available	O
outside	O
a	O
single	O
research	O
institute	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spacewar	B-Application
was	O
extremely	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
small	O
programming	O
community	O
in	O
the	O
1960s	O
and	O
was	O
widely	O
recreated	O
on	O
other	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
and	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
later	O
migrating	O
to	O
early	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
computer	O
scientist	O
Alan	O
Kay	O
noted	O
in	O
1972	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
game	O
of	O
Spacewar	B-Application
blossoms	O
spontaneously	O
wherever	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
graphics	O
display	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
computer	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
contributor	O
Martin	O
Graetz	O
recalled	O
in	O
1981	O
that	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
initially	O
spread	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
found	O
on	O
"	O
just	O
about	O
any	O
research	O
computer	O
that	O
had	O
a	O
programmable	O
CRT	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
widespread	O
for	O
the	O
era	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
still	O
very	O
limited	O
in	O
its	O
direct	O
reach	O
:	O
the	O
PDP-1	B-Device
was	O
priced	O
at	O
and	O
only	O
55	O
were	O
ever	O
sold	O
,	O
most	O
without	O
a	O
monitor	O
,	O
which	O
prohibited	O
the	O
original	O
Spacewar	B-Application
or	O
any	O
game	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
from	O
reaching	O
beyond	O
a	O
narrow	O
,	O
academic	O
audience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
developers	O
of	O
Spacewar	B-Application
considered	O
ways	O
to	O
monetize	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
saw	O
no	O
options	O
given	O
the	O
high	O
price	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
it	O
ran	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1966	O
,	O
Stanford	O
University	O
student	O
Bill	O
Pitts	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
a	O
hobby	O
of	O
exploring	O
the	O
steam	O
tunnels	O
and	O
buildings	O
of	O
the	O
campus	O
,	O
broke	O
into	O
a	O
building	O
he	O
found	O
out	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
Stanford	O
Artificial	O
Intelligence	O
Project	O
,	O
which	O
held	O
a	O
DEC	O
PDP-6	B-Device
time-sharing	O
computer	O
system	O
with	O
20	O
Teletype	O
consoles	O
connected	O
to	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soon	O
,	O
Pitts	O
had	O
ceased	O
going	O
to	O
classes	O
,	O
instead	O
spending	O
his	O
nights	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
lab	O
interacting	O
with	O
the	O
graduate	O
and	O
postgraduate	O
students	O
and	O
playing	O
Spacewar	B-Application
on	O
the	O
PDP-6	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
one	O
Spacewar	B-Application
session	O
that	O
took	O
place	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
source	O
,	O
between	O
1966	O
and	O
1969	O
,	O
Tuck	O
remarked	O
that	O
a	O
coin-operated	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
be	O
very	O
successful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1971	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
Pitts	O
,	O
who	O
by	O
then	O
had	O
graduated	O
and	O
was	O
working	O
at	O
Lockheed	O
as	O
a	O
PDP-10	B-Device
programmer	O
,	O
learned	O
of	O
the	O
1970	O
DEC	B-Device
PDP-11	I-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
sold	O
for	O
around	O
US$	O
14,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
of	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
,	O
like	O
Spacewar	O
!,	O
involves	O
two	O
monochrome	O
spaceships	O
called	O
"	O
the	O
needle	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
the	O
wedge	O
"	O
(	O
though	O
their	O
appearances	O
have	O
been	O
modified	O
for	O
the	O
coin-op	O
version	O
)	O
each	O
controlled	O
by	O
a	O
player	O
,	O
attempting	O
to	O
shoot	O
each	O
other	O
while	O
maneuvering	O
on	O
a	O
two-dimensional	O
plane	O
in	O
the	O
gravity	O
well	O
of	O
a	O
star	O
,	O
set	O
against	O
the	O
backdrop	O
of	O
a	O
starfield	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
features	O
,	O
as	O
improvements	O
over	O
the	O
original	O
,	O
optional	O
modifications	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
have	O
faster	O
ships	O
,	O
faster	O
torpedoes	O
,	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
star	O
and	O
its	O
gravitational	O
field	O
or	O
reverse	O
the	O
gravity	O
to	O
push	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
star	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
wraparound	O
effect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
movement	O
of	O
the	O
ships	O
was	O
controlled	O
with	O
a	O
joystick	B-Device
,	O
while	O
the	O
torpedoes	O
,	O
hyperspace	O
,	O
and	O
game	O
options	O
are	O
controlled	O
via	O
a	O
panel	O
of	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
deciding	O
to	O
begin	O
work	O
on	O
a	O
coin-operated	O
version	O
of	O
Spacewar	B-Application
,	O
the	O
pair	O
,	O
with	O
assistance	O
from	O
Tuck	O
's	O
family	O
,	O
bought	O
a	O
PDP-11	B-Device
and	O
started	O
working	O
on	O
a	O
prototype	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
spent	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
single	O
arcade	O
machine	O
for	O
two	O
players	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
original	O
Spacewar	B-Application
,	O
deciding	O
to	O
price	O
the	O
game	O
at	O
ten	O
cents	O
per	O
play	O
or	O
25	O
cents	O
for	O
three	O
games	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
winner	O
of	O
a	O
match	O
given	O
a	O
free	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
used	O
a	O
PDP-11/20	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
(	O
14,000	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
1300A	O
Electrostatic	O
Display	O
(	O
3,000	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
spent	O
the	O
remainder	O
on	O
the	O
coin	O
acceptors	O
,	O
joysticks	B-Device
,	O
wiring	O
,	O
and	O
casing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
display	B-General_Concept
adapter	I-General_Concept
for	O
the	O
monitor	O
was	O
built	O
by	O
Ted	O
Panofsky	O
,	O
the	O
coin	O
acceptors	O
were	O
sourced	O
from	O
jukebox	O
manufacturer	O
Rowe	O
International	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
joysticks	B-Device
found	O
at	O
a	O
military	O
surplus	O
store	O
as	O
remainders	O
from	O
B-52	O
bomber	O
controls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
code	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
Spacewar	B-Application
running	O
on	O
a	O
PDP-10	B-Device
in	O
the	O
Stanford	O
artificial	O
intelligence	O
lab	O
,	O
but	O
modified	O
with	O
additional	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pitts	O
and	O
Tuck	O
renamed	O
their	O
product	O
from	O
Spacewar	B-Application
to	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
due	O
to	O
anti-war	O
sentiment	O
and	O
founded	O
a	O
company	O
called	O
Mini-Computer	B-Architecture
Applications	O
in	O
June	O
1971	O
to	O
operate	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
it	O
neared	O
completion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bushnell	O
had	O
also	O
played	O
Spacewar	B-Application
during	O
the	O
1960s	O
and	O
wanted	O
to	O
make	O
an	O
arcade	O
game	O
version	O
of	O
it	O
,	O
but	O
had	O
gone	O
in	O
a	O
different	O
technological	O
direction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
and	O
Ted	O
Dabney	O
had	O
initially	O
started	O
with	O
a	O
US$	O
4,000	O
Data	B-Device
General	I-Device
Nova	I-Device
computer	O
which	O
they	O
thought	O
would	O
be	O
powerful	O
enough	O
to	O
run	O
multiple	O
simultaneous	O
games	O
of	O
Spacewar	B-Application
;	O
when	O
it	O
turned	O
out	O
to	O
not	O
be	O
,	O
they	O
had	O
started	O
investigating	O
replacing	O
the	O
computer	O
hardware	O
with	O
custom-built	O
parts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
had	O
soon	O
discovered	O
that	O
while	O
a	O
general-purpose	O
computer	O
cheap	O
enough	O
for	O
an	O
arcade	O
game	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
powerful	O
enough	O
to	O
run	O
enough	O
games	O
of	O
Spacewar	B-Application
to	O
be	O
profitable	O
,	O
a	O
computer	O
purpose-built	O
for	O
solely	O
running	O
one	O
game	O
could	O
be	O
made	O
for	O
as	O
low	O
as	O
US$100	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
August	O
1971	O
when	O
Bushnell	O
called	O
Tuck	O
and	O
Pitts	O
,	O
he	O
and	O
Dabney	O
had	O
already	O
displayed	O
a	O
prototype	O
of	O
their	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
game	O
in	O
a	O
bar	O
near	O
Stanford	O
and	O
had	O
found	O
a	O
commercial	O
manufacturer	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
Nutting	O
Associates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
felt	O
that	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
,	O
a	O
single-player	O
game	O
without	O
the	O
central	O
gravity	O
well	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
,	O
was	O
a	O
pale	O
imitation	O
of	O
Spacewar	B-Application
,	O
while	O
their	O
own	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
was	O
a	O
superior	O
adaptation	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
1971	O
,	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
prototype	O
debuted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
veneered	O
walnut	O
console	O
,	O
complete	O
with	O
seats	O
for	O
players	O
,	O
was	O
located	O
on	O
the	O
second	O
floor	O
of	O
the	O
building	O
and	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
in	O
the	O
attic	O
by	O
a	O
100-foot	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
low	O
prices	O
meant	O
that	O
they	O
did	O
not	O
come	O
close	O
to	O
making	O
back	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
,	O
but	O
they	O
were	O
excited	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
reception	O
and	O
had	O
not	O
intended	O
the	O
prototype	O
to	O
be	O
profitable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
initial	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
prototype	O
was	O
displayed	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
a	O
few	O
months	O
after	O
the	O
first	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
prototype	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
believed	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
second	O
video	O
game	O
to	O
charge	O
money	O
to	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
reception	O
to	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
,	O
Pitts	O
and	O
Tuck	O
started	O
work	O
on	O
an	O
expanded	O
prototype	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
second	O
machine	O
,	O
they	O
built	O
a	O
full	O
blue	O
fiberglass	O
casing	O
for	O
the	O
consoles	O
,	O
improved	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
joysticks	B-Device
with	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
a	O
machine	O
shop	O
,	O
and	O
modified	O
the	O
computer	O
with	O
a	O
newer	O
display	O
processor	O
to	O
support	O
up	O
to	O
four	O
games	O
at	O
once	O
on	O
different	O
monitors	O
—	O
either	O
multiple	O
simultaneous	O
separate	O
games	O
or	O
up	O
to	O
four	O
players	O
playing	O
the	O
same	O
game	O
on	O
two	O
screens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
placed	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
inside	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
consoles	O
rather	O
than	O
in	O
a	O
separate	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
prototype	O
was	O
displayed	O
at	O
several	O
locations	O
around	O
the	O
area	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
not	O
as	O
successful	O
as	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
at	O
the	O
student	O
union	O
building	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pitts	O
later	O
explained	O
that	O
he	O
and	O
Tuck	O
had	O
been	O
focused	O
on	O
the	O
engineering	O
and	O
technical	O
challenges	O
of	O
producing	O
a	O
faithful	O
coin-operated	O
Spacewar	B-Application
game	O
and	O
paid	O
little	O
attention	O
to	O
the	O
business	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
;	O
he	O
felt	O
that	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
had	O
been	O
more	O
commercially	O
successful	O
because	O
Bushnell	O
had	O
focused	O
more	O
on	O
the	O
business	O
side	O
of	O
his	O
idea	O
than	O
the	O
technical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Game	I-Application
prototype	O
remained	O
on	O
display	O
in	O
the	O
Tresidder	O
building	O
until	O
May	O
1979	O
,	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
removed	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
display	O
processor	O
becoming	O
unreliable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
museum	O
loaned	O
the	O
console	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
to	O
be	O
placed	O
at	O
their	O
headquarters	O
campus	O
at	O
the	O
request	O
of	O
Pitts	O
—	O
who	O
wanted	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
displayed	O
—	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
discussion	O
with	O
senior	O
vice	O
president	O
Jonathan	O
Rosenberg	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
been	O
hired	O
as	O
a	O
13	O
year	O
old	O
by	O
Tuck	O
and	O
Pitts	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
to	O
keep	O
the	O
machine	O
cleaned	O
.	O
</s>
