Grand ol' game master

IN CONVERSATION

He is credited with the making of the first-ever video game. But back in the 1960s, when Ralph Baer invented the first home video game called Magnavox Odyssey, gaming was completely unheard of. Baer also worked closely with the Indian government when he made mobile HF transceivers for commercial and government use. Since then he has been involved in the gaming industry at various levels and has seen the industry grow by leaps and bounds. Over an e-mail interview, AABHAS SHARMA caught up with Baer on his views on the gaming industry

What did you have in mind when you conceived the concept of a video game?

To make some 40 million television sets in the US alone, never mind the rest of the world, do something interesting other than watch network broadcasts "" a natural combination of a television engineer's knowledge of how TV works and some inspiration.

Did you ever think video games would have such a wide reach and impact?

There is no way you can read a crystal ball. The rapid advance of semi-conductor technology was totally unforeseeable in the sixties. It took everything else along with it, from cars to toasters, cell phones to spacecraft and, of course, the personal computer, the web and video games.

What are your thoughts on the debate of video games encouraging violence among children? Or video games alienating children from their families?

Kids are under a lot of stress nowadays. It is not surprising that some of them will do psychotic things. Violence has always been around but never more than with today's ubiquitous access via TV and the web which graphically show what is going on in the world.

Is it any wonder that kids grow up with fears that cause some of them to react irrationally? Playing violent videogames may contribute to the problems some kids have, but so do violent movies and the stuff we see every day on the TV.

What do you feel is the future of video games? How do you see the gaming industry evolving?

You don't need me to tell you that videogames have already evolved into an art form that is ubiquitous "" it's in the home, on consoles and on computers, on the web and in the office, on the subway, on hand-helds and cell phones and finally adapting to hook older generations as well. Everybody is "doing it".