Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

computer games 103• stalking or harassment, particularly involving chatrooms or social networks• child pornography, particularly distribution of imagesIn recent years many law enforcement agencies havebecome aware of the importance of proper investigation andtreatment of evidence in our digital society, and demandfor trained computer forensic specialists is expected toincrease.Further ReadingBritz, Marjie T. Computer Forensics and Cyber Crime: An Introduction.Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2003.Carrier, Brian. File System Forensic Analysis. Upper Saddle River,N.J.: Addison-Wesley Professional, 2005.“Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining ElectronicEvidence in Criminal Investigations.” U.S. Dept. of Justice,July 2002. Available online. URL: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/s&smanual2002.htm. Accessed September3, 2007.Steel, Chad. Windows Forensics: The Field Guide for ConductingCorporate Computer Investigations. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2006.Vacca, John R. Computer Forensics: Computer Crime Scene Investigation.2nd ed. Hingham, Mass.: Charles River Media, 2005.computer gamesToday, playing games is one of the most popular computingactivities. In the early days of computing, games offered away to test AI techniques (see artificial intelligence).Games have also encouraged the development of moresophisticated graphics (see computer graphics) and waysof interacting with the machine (see user interface).Games and AIAlthough modern computer games may draw upon severalgenres, several recognizably distinct types of games havebeen developed over the past half century or so. The firstwere computer versions of existing board games. “Deterministic”games (where there is no element of chance) suchas tick-tack-toe and, more important, checkers and chessoffered a challenge to the first computer scientists who wereseeking to learn how to make machines perform tasks thatare usually attributed to human intelligence. For example,Alan Turing and Claude Shannon both developed chessplayingprograms, although Turing’s came at a time whencomputers were still too primitive to handle the volume ofcalculations required, and was thus carried out by hand. Bythe time a computer program (Deep Blue) had defeated theworld champion in 1997, the AI field had long since left thegame behind (see chess and computers).Simulation GamesMilitary planners had devised war games since the 19thcentury, but the complexity of modern warfare (includinglogistics as well as tactics) cried out for the help of the computer.By 1955 the U.S. military was running large-scaleglobal cold war simulations pitting NATO against the USSRand the Eastern bloc. Unlike deterministic games such aschess, war games generally use complex rules to captureA scene from the computer strategy game Civilization. Some gamesspecialize in realistic physical simulation, while others (such as thisone) embody sophisticated economic and strategic considerations.the many interacting factors such as the morale, experience,and firepower of a military unit or the performanceof an air defense system against different types of targets.The results will be more or less realistic depending on howmany factors are properly accounted for—often only latercombat experience will tell.The use of game theory (the mathematics of competitivesituations) and economics also proved to be fruitful areasfor the use of computer simulations. In 1959 Carnegie Tech(later Carnegie-Melon University) introduced a simulationcalled “The Management Game.” Until the 1980s, however,lack of inexpensive computing power kept sophisticatedsimulations limited to large institutions such as the military,government, universities, and major corporations.Today simulation games are popular in both the educationaland consumer markets. They include flight simulators,a variety of sports including baseball, football, soccer,and golf, and games in which the player strives to build a19th-century railroad empire or run a modern city. Indeedsome games, such as the popular kingdom-building simulatorCivilization or the complex Sim City, while marketed primarilyas entertainment, can easily fit into a social studiescurriculum.Arcade and Graphic GamesStarting in the 1960s, CRT (television-like) displays gavethe new minicomputers the means to display simple graphics.In 1962, an intrepid band of game hackers at MIT createdSpacewar, the first interactive graphic game and theforerunner of the arcade boom of the 1970s. When thefirst home computers from Apple, Commodore, Atari, andIBM hit the market in the late 1970s and early 1980s, theyincluded rudimentary (but often colorful) graphics capabilities.Many amateur programmers used the computers’built-in BASIC language to create games such as lunarlander simulators and Star Trek–style space battles. Around