Technology

     MineStorm was designed by John Hall as the default, onboard game for the Vectrex home arcade system. Vectrex, designed by John Ross (hardware), John Hall and Gerry Karr (system ROM), and Walter Nakano and Colin Vowles (case design), is the only vector based gaming system to be produced for home use. The vector graphics used in the Vectrex display operate by showing an electron beam connecting line segments that form an image dictated by the machine's on board computer. Vector graphics were first used for computer display purposes in a 1963 project undertaken by Ivan Sutherland and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Sutherland was a pioneer in computer science and a foundational figure in the development of the Internet. Vector graphics were then adopted for military purposes, being used as heads-up displays in aircraft by the early 1970's. In 1981, John Ross and his colleague Mike Purvis at Western Technologies, Inc. (an early game development company) were tasked with finding a use for a specific kind of vector generating tech the company had bought at liquidation. They settled on an idea for a vector screen mini arcade system.

     The development of vector graphics, and subsequently Vectrex and MineStorm, benefited immensely from the cultural institution of the university. As a scientist with funding from MIT, Ivan Sutherland was able to dedicate his time to the technology he and the institution were seeking to create. With a long history and established reputation for leadership in fostering tech innovation, MIT was motivated to support research into applications for vector graphic technology. Success in such areas brings the university much attention (and sponsorship) from industry, government and student enrollment, leading to profitable commercial and military applications.

     The development of vector graphics also relies on a capitalistic advanced society that has infrastructure to support institutions like MIT, along with resource extraction models to support the manufacture. Vast networks of people have to source or mine or refine the iron, oil, copper, aluminum, glass etc. that go into creating this hardware. The video game industry is not only reliant on tech development, but also a consumer market with time, money and interest in the product. As the middle class expanded in North America in the late 1970s and early 1980s, people had enough free time and disposable income to seek entertainment from a variety of sources. The interest in and accessibility of home video arcade systems was echoed in other entertainment media, like movies on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc.

     MineSorm for Vectrex is in the Asteroids genre of games, started and developed for public arcades. Many of the versions or variants of the Asteroids genre developed for home use fell short, by failing to provide the player with the same reactivity or richness of gameplay experience. While Vectrex did not ultimately succeed, MineStorm did. The game was and still is hailed among fans of the Asteroids genre as being the best home-based attempt to capture the arcade experience. In its relatively short production (around two years), cut short by the video game crash of 1983, MineStorm helped shift video games closer to their present incarnation; a decidedly home-based entertainment experience. Because of MineStorm's quality, it is in large part responsible for the modest success the Vectrex system was able to achieve. Vectrex and MineStorm inspired a small but dedicated faction of video game enthusiasts and creators to take a more independent approach to gaming. Even though the system failed commercially, it has remained a favourite of those who got the chance to use it. As it has attained a cult status, people have developed their own Vectrex games, creating "homebrew" cartridges. Despite the present day rarity of the system and the relative obsolescence of the technology it utilizes, Vectrex and MineStorm live on.