OXO
Encyclopedia
OXO was a computer game written for the EDSAC
computer in 1952, an implementation of the game known as Noughts and Crosses in the UK, or tic-tac-toe
in the United States. It was written by Alexander S. Douglas
as an illustration for his Ph.D.
thesis on human-computer interaction for the University of Cambridge
. OXO was the first digital graphical game to run on a computer.
The simulation was played using a rotary telephone controller. OXO is often listed as the first computer game.
In OXO the player played against the computer, and output was displayed on the computer's 35×16 pixel
cathode ray tube
. The source code
was short, yet it played a perfect game of noughts and crosses. OXO did not have widespread popularity because the EDSAC was a computer unique to Cambridge
.
EDSAC
Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator was an early British computer. The machine, having been inspired by John von Neumann's seminal First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, was constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory in England...
computer in 1952, an implementation of the game known as Noughts and Crosses in the UK, or tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...
in the United States. It was written by Alexander S. Douglas
A.S. Douglas
Professor Alexander "Sandy" Shafto Douglas CBE was a British professor of computer science, credited with creating the first graphical Computer game OXO a tic-tac-toe computer game in 1952 on the EDSAC computer at University of Cambridge.Douglas died in sleep on April 29, 2010, from...
as an illustration for his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
thesis on human-computer interaction for the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. OXO was the first digital graphical game to run on a computer.
The simulation was played using a rotary telephone controller. OXO is often listed as the first computer game.
In OXO the player played against the computer, and output was displayed on the computer's 35×16 pixel
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
cathode ray tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
. The source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
was short, yet it played a perfect game of noughts and crosses. OXO did not have widespread popularity because the EDSAC was a computer unique to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
Startscreen
9 8 7 NOUGHTS AND CROSSES
6 5 4 BY
3 2 1 A S DOUGLAS, C.1952
LOADING PLEASE WAIT...
EDSAC/USER FIRST (DIAL 0/1):
Program output
EDSAC/USER FIRST (DIAL 0/1):1
DIAL MOVE:6
DIAL MOVE:1
DIAL MOVE:2
DIAL MOVE:7
DIAL MOVE:9
DRAWN GAME...
EDSAC/USER FIRST (DIAL 0/1):