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Saturday, May 28, 2022

Blips on a Screen: How Ralph Baer Invented TV Video Gaming and Launched a Worldwide Obsession, written by Kate Hannigan and illustrated by Zachariah Ohora. Alfred A. Knopf, Penguin Random House. 2022. $23.99 ages


"He liked the idea of working with radios -
people around the world tuned in every 
day to gasp over mystery shows, laugh 
with comedians, and worry over wartime 
news. He enrolled in radio-repair classes."

I have no business writing a post about a persistent and prolific inventor who made video gaming a fixation for people around the world. However, having read this book about Ralph Baer and being able to follow his process thanks to the detailed illustrations created by Zachariah Ohara, I feel a touch more qualified at this point. I hope I can do it justice.  

For Kate Hannigan, inspiration came while wondering what her son would find interesting enough to read. Wanting to learn about what was important to him, she researched the history of gaming. She begins with the journey from one blip on the screen to the Brown Box. This led her to Ralph Baer, the man whose move to New York from Germany as a child grew up to love working with radios. He enrolled in radio-repair classes, and went from there to renown in his field. 

That love led him to look to television, which was fast becoming an important household word. He began designing them and quickly realized that their lines on the screens looked like board games. Why not use them to play games? It took many years, using his combined knowledge of radio, television and military experience, before he developed his idea for a 'game box'. 

Real work often got in the way, but Ralph and his friend Bill Harrison worked tirelessly through countless long nights to create the 'first two-person video game contest in history'. The work did not end there. Ms. Hannigan keeps the story going as Ralph patented, presented, produced, and improved on his remarkable invention! 

In back matter, four pages of questions and answers add further facts about Ralph and his life. A timeline follows, as well as a list of resources (books, websites and museums). Ralph Baer died in December 2014 at age 92. His legacy lives on for people around the world. 

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