The Story of Video Games
Travel back in time to see how simple dots on a screen became massive digital worlds. Discover the consoles, characters, and creators that changed how we play forever.
Like Duolingo, but for The Story of Video Games. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
54 levels across 4 sections, about 108 minutes end to end, roughly 22 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Very First Games, The Golden Age of Arcades, Handhelds and 3D Worlds, and The Modern Era of Gaming. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Story of Video Games
- Computing hardware was prohibitively expensive for individuals
- Computers were massive machines found only in universities or labs
- Tennis for Two used an analog oscilloscope
- Spacewar! was developed on the DEC PDP-1
- Willy Higinbotham created the game for a public open house
- The goal was to make science more engaging to visitors
- Oscilloscopes were standard lab tools for measuring voltage
- Early graphics were vector-based signal plots
- Why the first games were confined to research labs
- The academic and scientific purpose of early game experiments
- Mapping specific early games to their original hardware and purpose
- The specific hardware used to visualize the first games
- Testing the limits of new computer hardware
- Exploring how humans interact with computers
- The goals of early academic game development
- Mainframe CPUs were too expensive for commercial coin-op use
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Story of Video Games the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If you wanted to see a functioning computer in the 1950s, where would you most likely find one?
Get it right to open this lesson and 53 more in the app.
How to learn The Story of Video Games, step by step
Go in order. 54 short levels across 4 sections, about 1 hour 48 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
The Very First Games
- Games in Science Labs
- The Birth of Arcade Machines
- Pong and the First Home Boxes
- The Space Invaders Craze
- 2
The Golden Age of Arcades
- Pac-Man and the Power Pellet
- Donkey Kong and the First Jump
- The Rise of Adventure Games
- Why the Game Industry Almost Ended
- The Nintendo Entertainment System
- Mario Takes Over the World
- 3
Handhelds and 3D Worlds
- Tetris and the Game Boy
- The Console Wars Begin
- Moving from 2D to 3D
- 4
The Modern Era of Gaming
- The Internet and Playing Together
- Games on Your Phone
- Independent Creators and New Ideas
- Virtual Reality and the Future
- Why We Love to Play
4 sections · 18 units · 54 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Story of Video Games
How do I learn The Story of Video Games?
Go in order: start with The Very First Games, then The Golden Age of Arcades, then Handhelds and 3D Worlds, then The Modern Era of Gaming. On Tomo that's 54 short levels, about 1 hour 48 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Story of Video Games?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Story of Video Games is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Story of Video Games free?
Yes. The Story of Video Games is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Story of Video Games?
54 levels across 4 sections, about 1 hour 48 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Story of Video Games?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Story of Video Games is taught in the Comedian style: learning with the laughs left in. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Story of Video Games today.
Download Tomo, search The Story of Video Games, and play your first lesson in under a minute.