In 1988, games started to move away from their 4-color CGA graphics to 16-color EGA graphics, with Sierra On-Line making use of this new graphics mode first. While this was the obvious next step in computer graphics, it was only around for a year--
1989 was a year dominated by many "firsts" for the gaming industry. The first game that used 256-VGA graphics was published this year. The first sound cards, the Adlib and Soundblaster, showed that games could have better music and sound effects than the "beep" of the internal speakers. The first games that could be played over the modem were also published this year. And of course, 1989 also saw the first CD-ROM game--"The Manhole" by Activision.
Without these advances in 1989, the computer gaming industry would not be what it is today. Can you imagine a game that didn't come on a CD-ROM? How about a game that didn't have at least VGA graphics? I remember that after I bought my Sound Blaster in 1990 that I refused to get a game that didn't work with my sound card. After games started appearing, I started to buy any game that did work with my sound card.
With the graphics and sound gaining in complexity in 1990, computer companies began working on "user-friendliness". LucasArts introduced their now-famous "point-and-click" interface, which made the old text-parser interface obsolete.
SimCity, the first computer game I bought for my new computer, an IBM 286, was released this year.
Next Week: The problem with CD-ROM's, some really great games, SVGA, more sound advances, and the future!
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