Two Simple Ideas

When I had to write a report on my hero, I had a difficult time deciding. I love video games, and I want to be a professional
gamer. I could not decide between the inventor of video games or the owner of the first professional video game league.
Therefore, I decided to write about both of them, William Higinbotham and Angel Munoz.

Companies had created computer games before. There were tic-tac-toe games and checkers games, but they were not
designed to be enjoyed. The first video games were made to show how computers work. In 1958, William Higinbotham
created his game in order for people to have fun.

Higinbotham worked for a science lab, and he wanted to show off the instruments used to safely move dangerous materials
around. He designed his game to use the new instruments. The game was a simple tennis simulator with a digital ball that
bounced between two sides with a net in the middle. People used the new instruments to control the angle of the paddle on
the screen and propel the ball. The game simulated the physics of the ball on a real tennis court, including the ball bouncing
on the ground and the possibility of hitting the net.

By today’s standards, the graphics of the game would seem weak. There were just two lines—one for the net and the other for
the paddle—and a dot for the ball. The game did not even have a scoreboard. The players had to keep up with the score for
themselves. That said, the game was a huge hit. Hundreds of people lined up to play the game. Higinbotham was amazed at
how long the lines were to play.

William Higinbotham is my hero because he saw the entertainment potential of the computer. By creating the first video
game, he began a long line of programming and computer design dedicated to having fun with computers instead of doing
complicated math or controlling robots. Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation fans all over the world certainly owe Dr. Higinbotham
gratitude for his creativity.

While Higinbotham created the video game, Angel Munoz made it possible for someone to make a living playing them. He
created the first professional video game league. Angel Munoz had been making money from video games since 1995 through
his magazine, Adrenaline Vault. His magazine was for gamers to keep up with the latest and greatest in console and computer
gaming. However, there was a growing field of competitors and Munoz saw that with the popularity of video games, there was
potential for creating a professional video game league.

Video game tournaments were not a new idea. Stanford University hosted the first competition on October 19, 1972. First
prize was a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. Soon, tournaments were organized on college campuses by
computer clubs and gaming companies all over the country. However, Angel Munoz realized that these tournaments would not
turn gaming into a profession. In order for professional video gaming to take off, there needed to be a league.

Football has the NFL. Baseball has MLB, and the best basketball is played in the NBA. Every major professional game has a
professional league that sets the rules, monitors the teams, and organizes the competitions. So, on June 26, 1997, Angel
Munoz launched the CPL—the Cyberathlete Professional League.

Munoz hosted The FRAG, a Quake tournament, in Dallas, Texas with a grand prize of $1,500. The following year, through
expanded sponsorships and popularity, Munoz was able to give a total of $15,000 in prizes. By the year 2000, attendance and
sponsorship had grown so much that CPL was able to award a $40,000 grand prize.

Soon the CPL was sponsoring international competitions, and in 2005 they organized a world tour. Competitions were held in
11 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, each with a $50,000 grand prize. The final was held on November 22, 2005 in
New York City with a grand prize of $500,000.

Munoz has made it possible for me to dream of becoming a professional gamer. At the same time, without Higinbotham, there
might not be any video games for me to play. For this reason, both are important for the development of my dream, which is
why I chose to write my biography project on both of them.