Baseball (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Baseball was one of the first-ever baseball
computer games
, and was created on a PDP-10
mainframe
computer at Pomona College
in 1971 by student Don Daglow
. The game (actually spelled BASBAL due to the 6-character file name length restrictions) continued to be enhanced periodically through 1976. The program is documented at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York
.
Its sabermetric style mathematical models were the basis for many later commercial baseball video games and computer games over the next three decades, including Intellivision
World Series Baseball
(the first video game to use multiple camera angles) (1983), the Earl Weaver Baseball
series (1987–1991) and the Tony La Russa Baseball
series (1990–1997).
A version of Baseball was distributed by the Digital Equipment DECUS
file sharing network in 1972 to a handful of universities and other PDP-10 sites, but it fell far short of the popularity of Daglow's 1972 Star Trek
.
The distributed version of the game printed the results of each play on a piece of paper in the computer terminal. Two human players could oppose each other, one person could play against the computer AI, or the computer could manage both teams and complete the game without human intervention.
At the start of each inning the batter's and pitcher's names were listed, and the player in the field could enter a number to choose whether to pitch to the batter, walk him intentionally, warm up a reliever or change the pitcher. In a later version the options for a pitchout and for a visit to the mound were added.
The player controlling the batter could choose to put in a pinch hitter. If runners were on base the player could direct them to try to steal.
Once the players had entered the desired orders, the game would print out the result of the at-bat, update the number of outs, the score and the location of the runners, and print the name of the next batter.
If a game was still a tie after nine innings, extra innings would be played in accordance with baseball rules. When Daglow ported the game to a batch processing
IBM 360 mainframe computer in 1973 this code malfunctioned during testing of the game's card deck and the game continued for thousands of innings, consuming an entire case of printer paper.
A separate version of the game, never distributed by DECUS, simulated the complete 1954 baseball season, printing out the results of each game and the final standings after several hours of computation. A more sophisticated version of the system was used in the first commercial computer game to simulate an entire baseball season, Earl Weaver Baseball
, designed by Daglow and Eddie Dombrower
and published by Electronic Arts
in 1987.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
, and was created on a PDP-10
PDP-10
The PDP-10 was a mainframe computer family manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation from the late 1960s on; the name stands for "Programmed Data Processor model 10". The first model was delivered in 1966...
mainframe
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
computer at Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
in 1971 by student Don Daglow
Don Daglow
Don Daglow is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. He is best known for designing a series of pioneering simulation games and role-playing games, as well as the first computer baseball game and the first graphical MMORPG, all between 1971 and 1995...
. The game (actually spelled BASBAL due to the 6-character file name length restrictions) continued to be enhanced periodically through 1976. The program is documented at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Its sabermetric style mathematical models were the basis for many later commercial baseball video games and computer games over the next three decades, including Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
World Series Baseball
Intellivision World Series Baseball
Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball is a baseball sports game , designed by Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower and published by Mattel for the Intellivision Entertainment Computer System. IWSB was the first video game of any kind to use multiple camera angles, and the first sports game...
(the first video game to use multiple camera angles) (1983), the Earl Weaver Baseball
Earl Weaver Baseball
Earl Weaver Baseball is a baseball computer game , designed by Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower and published by Electronic Arts. The artificial intelligence for the computer manager was provided by Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver, then manager of the Baltimore Orioles...
series (1987–1991) and the Tony La Russa Baseball
Tony La Russa Baseball
Tony La Russa Baseball is a baseball computer and video game console sports game series , designed by Don Daglow, Michael Breen, Mark Buchignani, David Bunnett and Hudson Piehl and developed by Stormfront Studios. The game appeared on Commodore 64, PC, and Sega Genesis, and different versions were...
series (1990–1997).
A version of Baseball was distributed by the Digital Equipment DECUS
DECUS
The Digital Equipment Computer Users' Society was an independent computer user group related to Digital Equipment Corporation.The Connect User Group Community, formed from the consolidation in May, 2008 of DECUS, Encompass, HP-Interex, and ITUG is Hewlett-Packard’s largest user community...
file sharing network in 1972 to a handful of universities and other PDP-10 sites, but it fell far short of the popularity of Daglow's 1972 Star Trek
Star Trek (script game)
Star Trek was a text-based mainframe computer game written by Don Daglow on a PDP-10 timesharing computer at Pomona College in 1972, and upgraded periodically through 1974, including contributions by Jonathan Osser...
.
The distributed version of the game printed the results of each play on a piece of paper in the computer terminal. Two human players could oppose each other, one person could play against the computer AI, or the computer could manage both teams and complete the game without human intervention.
At the start of each inning the batter's and pitcher's names were listed, and the player in the field could enter a number to choose whether to pitch to the batter, walk him intentionally, warm up a reliever or change the pitcher. In a later version the options for a pitchout and for a visit to the mound were added.
The player controlling the batter could choose to put in a pinch hitter. If runners were on base the player could direct them to try to steal.
Once the players had entered the desired orders, the game would print out the result of the at-bat, update the number of outs, the score and the location of the runners, and print the name of the next batter.
If a game was still a tie after nine innings, extra innings would be played in accordance with baseball rules. When Daglow ported the game to a batch processing
Batch processing
Batch processing is execution of a series of programs on a computer without manual intervention.Batch jobs are set up so they can be run to completion without manual intervention, so all input data is preselected through scripts or command-line parameters...
IBM 360 mainframe computer in 1973 this code malfunctioned during testing of the game's card deck and the game continued for thousands of innings, consuming an entire case of printer paper.
A separate version of the game, never distributed by DECUS, simulated the complete 1954 baseball season, printing out the results of each game and the final standings after several hours of computation. A more sophisticated version of the system was used in the first commercial computer game to simulate an entire baseball season, Earl Weaver Baseball
Earl Weaver Baseball
Earl Weaver Baseball is a baseball computer game , designed by Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower and published by Electronic Arts. The artificial intelligence for the computer manager was provided by Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver, then manager of the Baltimore Orioles...
, designed by Daglow and Eddie Dombrower
Eddie Dombrower
Eddie Dombrower is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. He is best known as the co-creator of the seminal baseball games Earl Weaver Baseball and Intellivision World Series Baseball...
and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
in 1987.
See also
- Intellivision World Series BaseballIntellivision World Series BaseballIntellivision World Series Major League Baseball is a baseball sports game , designed by Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower and published by Mattel for the Intellivision Entertainment Computer System. IWSB was the first video game of any kind to use multiple camera angles, and the first sports game...
- Earl Weaver BaseballEarl Weaver BaseballEarl Weaver Baseball is a baseball computer game , designed by Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower and published by Electronic Arts. The artificial intelligence for the computer manager was provided by Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver, then manager of the Baltimore Orioles...
- Tony La Russa BaseballTony La Russa BaseballTony La Russa Baseball is a baseball computer and video game console sports game series , designed by Don Daglow, Michael Breen, Mark Buchignani, David Bunnett and Hudson Piehl and developed by Stormfront Studios. The game appeared on Commodore 64, PC, and Sega Genesis, and different versions were...
- Old Time BaseballOld Time BaseballOld Time Baseball is a baseball computer personal computer game designed and programmed by Don Daglow, Hudson Piehl, Clay Dreslough and James Grove...