![]() ![]() And while she couldn’t have known it then, Williams’ kitchen-table hobby would become the origin of graphic design in the world of computing and technology-two industries that now dominate life as we know it. It’s impossible to conceive of a computer or video game released today without any visuals, but the idea to include them had to start somewhere. The year was 1980, and Roberta Williams, a shy, soft-spoken housewife with little coding or design experience to speak of, rose from obscurity and designed “ Mystery House,” the first-ever computer game with graphics. ![]() They were monochrome, ridiculously rudimentary, and they blew everyone away. But it wasn’t just the text, flashing on the screen of an 8-bit Apple II that shot out like a siren call from the wild-it was the graphics. It was the same way all text-based computer games started: a bare-bones setup and an invitation to venture forth, uncover the clues, and win the game. To anyone else, it might read more like the beginning of an odd and boring story, but the format will be familiar to all those who have ever dabbled in microcomputing. Two simple sentences and a cursor, blinking like a heartbeat, waiting for your command. If you’re a computer programmer or digital designer over the age of 40, this is probably how the future began for you. ![]() YOU ARE IN THE FRONT YARD OF A LARGE ABANDONED VICTORIAN HOUSE. From the opening credits of “King's Quest”
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