The first game invented specifically for the computer appeared in early 1962. A new $120,000 computer had just arrived at MIT that was faster and easier to use than the handful of other hulking machines on campus. And a group of young MIT programmers who just happened to be reading science fiction books about space battle had been itching to test it out. In less than a year, the programmers, led by Steven Russell, produced Spacewar, a game complete with rocket-powered spaceships, missiles, gravitational effects, and even an unpredictable "hyperspace" function. Although it was never commercialized, Spacewar inspired those who would bring video games to the masses 10 years later.

As Russell and his friends awaited the arrival of the new computer, a PDP-1 built and donated by Digital Equipment Corporation, they were already thinking about what demonstration programs to write for it. Demonstration programs for earlier computers were not very exciting. One, for example, moved a mouse through a maze that had been created by the user. In another program, the user manipulated console switches to change patterns on the screen. But the MIT programmers wanted to create a game that demanded skill and strategy and kept players engaged for more than a few minutes. Russell had just finished reading a series of books by Edward "Doc" Smith about warriors who zipped across galaxies in spaceships. It didn't take long for the idea to dawn on him and his friends: Spacewar!