Circa 1997.

              Throughout this blog you have read me mention the canvas for games that is technology. The 1990's is one of the most innovative and impressive decades in human history when it comes to technological advancement. Last year, 1996, we saw this advancement mirrored in our new entertainment medium made possible by this tech. The much faster CPUs availablePrin in the last 18 months had allowed crazy levels of interaction with Duke Nukem 3D and a fully 3D and textured world like Quake. Quake being the prime example of the type of game that just simply couldn't exist before. This was reinforced when the OpenGL version of the game shipped allowing video card acceleration. Cards like the Voodoo1 from 3DFX could assist the CPU in a way that provided much higher resolutions, texture filtering to clear up the textures and much faster performance. Nvidia would soon in 1997 release the Riva 128 and its GPU concept allowing a dedicated processor for real time rendering to handle even more task through bespoke hardware.
                 Computer hardware had been evolving and as a side effect monumental computing task could be done at home and make interactive experiences like video games. However by 1997 we see computer hardware splitting off and specifically evolving for real time 3D rendering. Quake was the very tip of a very large ice berg. Voodoo, Nvidia and with ATi coming back strong later in 97 the markets leaders where shaping the gaming industry. But so was Sony and Nintendo. Sony new to gaming hardware and Nintendo the returning king of game platforms for the late 80's and early 90's. This will be the first year you finally see me incorporate console games into this list. With console's like the PS1 and N64 using slightly scaled down workstation equivalent CPUs and custom primitive GPUs. Both consoles would deliver incredibly high end hardware comparatively to high end PC hardware. These where monster machines built around 3D graphics. The trade offs and features set would be different between them and 3D rendering was very much the wild west still. In its infancy along with the solutions to all of 3D's problems both technically and in consideration of game design.
                     Technology was certainly changing the world. 1997 was making economics and daily life radically different that how it all worked at the start of the decade. The Dot Com boom was in full swing in the United States. Silicon Valley at its center. It was still a very different world from today but the seeds of modern technology was growing fast. 1997 even more so than 1996 would show exponential progress in the world of video games especially first person shooters. 1997 would be one of the best years in the genre's history.

- Classic movies many of us grew up with: Titanic, Jurassic Park, and Men in Black would all three come out this year.
- Princess Diana died in a car crash.
-Shows like King of the Hill and South Park debuted this year.
-Spice Girls was the most popular Pop group in the world.
-Min. Wage was $5.15 an hour.
-Wifi 802.11 was introduced to the world.
- World Population was 5.8 Billion people.