The Arcade OG Collection -Nolan Bushnell x Zai Ortiz

As we dive into the next chapter of the digital renaissance, we are reminded of our not so distant beginnings and the innovators who helped us get to where we are today. Looking back at history, there are many critical technological inflection points that have led up to this zeitgeist moment in NFTs, with the birth of electronic gaming being at its center.

Nolan Bushnell, the legendary creative visionary and entrepreneur behind Atari, Computer Space, Pong and Chuck E. Cheese, entering the NFT space alongside long time collaborator Zai Ortiz, a creative visionary in his own right, signals another turning point for digital culture. This full circle moment honors the genesis electronic game and its colossal impact through a genesis NFT collection – The Arcade OG Collection.

Nolan Bushnell & The Video Game Revolution

It doesn’t matter how old you are – chances are Nolan Bushnell’s inventions have defined your childhood in one way or another. Commonly referred to as the “father of video games” Bushnell’s impact reaches far and wide, from the first ever electronic game – spawning the birth of arcades, to the launch of Atari, one of the first video game companies and the family friendly arcade franchise, Chuck E. Cheese which is still a cornerstone of American childhood. Bushnell is also known for being Apple CEO Steve Jobs first and only boss and creating the foundation for Silicon Valley’s innovative culture.

It all started in the 1970s – Long before the days of Iphones, social media and the metaverse, where computers were only accessible at universities, the internet was in its infancy stages and the digital possibilities of today ceased to exist. It was during this time (1972 to be exact) that Bushnell launched Atari, one of the world’s first ever video game companies. With this launch, Bushnell would essentially change the world as we know it ushering in a new culture centered around electronic gaming that has grown to unimaginable heights (and is nowhere near stopping.)

Bushnell has always been obsessed with games. Growing up he loved board games of all kinds. In the third grade, he caught the engineering bug after participating in an electrical science experiment assigned by his teacher. At 19 years old, he worked as the games manager at a local theme park while he completed his electrical engineering degree. In an interview, Bushnell claims that working at the theme park was like getting his MBA in economics of games, giving him an inside look at the mechanics of the game business.

Game Changers: Computer Space & Pong

Photograph from PIXELS IN PRINT (PART 1): ADVERTISING COMPUTER SPACE – THE FIRST ARCADE VIDEO GAME by Video Game History Foundation

Inspired by the 1962 computer game Spacewar! born at MIT, Bushnell created Computer Space with Ted Dabney. At this time, computers were extremely expensive and rare – mass distributing an actual computer game would be nearly impossible. Bushnell and Dabney found a scalable solution in off-the-shelf televisions: By tweaking the dedicated circuit logs within the television’s wiring, the duo were able to make a dot appear and move around the screen; replicating the effects of Spacewar! with no actual computer or software. For the first time ever, a game was presented through video.

At six feet tall, with organic, free-flowing curves and sparkling colors, the Computer Space machines were certainly out of this world. Bushnell designed the interstellar console himself out of modeling clay and the duo found a swimming pool manufacturer who would recreate Bushnell’s model in colorful fiber glass.

The release of Computer Space marked the first ever arcade video game in history, as well as the first commercially available video game giving birth to the commercial video game industry. The success from the game helped to provide the funds for Bushnell to launch Atari – the legendary pioneering game company.

Atari caught the world’s attention with Pong – a simple, ping-pong inspired game originally developed by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise from Bushnell. The first Pong machine was set up at a Sunnyvale bar, Andy Capp’s Tavern, and met with intense enthusiasm. In fact, three days after its release Bushnell received a call that the first machine had broken down after being overfilled with coins. Pong fever quickly swept the nation with the game popping in arcades and restaurants across the nation. Introducing millions to video games for the first time, Pong is often considered the game that established the commercial video game industry.

A Legacy of Innovation

The introduction of Computer Space and Pong would forever change the way we think about games, yet Bushnell’s work was far from over. Looking for a way to make video games more accessible and family friendly, Bushnell launched Chuck E. Cheese – a pizza parlor arcade filled dancing robotic animals that would become a childhood staple for American youth for decades to come. Bushnell was also the first to commercially introduce navigation technology for cars, providing a framework which is still used today by companies like Google Maps.

Photograph from Pong inventor Nolan Bushnell launches Pizza Time Theater
by SF GATE

Zai Ortiz, a multidisciplinary artist at the intersection of art and technology, has been a long friend and collaborator of Bushnell’s. Ortiz has an extensive background presenting cutting edge technology through a creative lens: In Hollywood, he’s best known for constructing the J.A.R.V.I.S. system holograms in Marvel’s Iron Man and has led teams of 50+ artists to deliver stunning visuals for films such as TRON: Legacy, Mission: Impossible, Thor, The Twilight Saga, and Sherlock Holmes. Ortiz has worked with Bushnell on a number of collaborative projects over the year, usually centered on presenting innovative ways to interact with games.

The duo’s recent collaboration St. Noire, an Alexa powered murder-mystery game, brought board games into the future and introduced a video game in a social, not solitary format. The game was highly praised for its innovative use of AI and unique structure, and received the 2020 CES Award for Game Innovation

Arcade OG: Honoring the Genesis Game

For their next creative collaboration, the duo embark on their journey through the NFTsphere, simultaneously celebrating the past and the future of gaming and digital culture with a potent recollection and symbolic double genesis series: The Arcade OG Collection.

Video Courtesy of Zai Ortiz

An ode to innovation, The Arcade OG Collection was created by Ortiz as an homage to Bushnell’s game changing contributions Computer Space and Pong. Honoring the games that paved the way for video game culture and the digital revolution of today, Ortiz takes us back in time on a nostalgic trip filled with retro aesthetics and the soothing sounds of old school games. An opportunity to revisit, or experience for the first time, the magical feelings of excitement, awe, even obsession, sparked by the world’s introduction to games via video.

Video Courtesy of Zai Ortiz

The Arcade OG collection introduces a new way to experience and interact with the Computer Space and Pong, immortalizing the culture-defining games and setting the stage for Bushnell and Ortiz’s NFT legacy.

The collection consists of two unique 1/1 NFTs, each the only of its kind: A red Pong depiction, which contains the added utility of an in-person day of games with Nolan Bushnell himself and a yellow Computer Space inspired NFT artwork which includes a physical clay model created by Bushnell himself.

Video Courtesy of Zai Ortiz

The collection also includes three open limited edition NFTs ($500 each). Any collector who purchases all three will receive a special Arcade OG Montage NFT and are entered into a raffle for a chance to win an Atari 2600 console signed by Bushnell.

It’s only fitting that Bushnell and Ortiz’s genesis collection contain an element of gamification, which takes form in Arcade OG as the mystery box: Determined by chance, five artworks with varying rarities are awarded probabilistically with each $250 purchase.

All 1/1s and open limited editions (excluding the mystery box editions) come with a special AR component that will allow users to transport their Pong or Computer Space machines anywhere in the world with the flick of a finger.

This collection marks a historical first as one of the world’s most impactful innovators enters the NFT atmosphere. Bushnell and Ortiz are just getting started, and every artwork within the collection acts as a ticket to join their ever-evolving adventures within the metaverse.

The Arcade OG Collection launches on 10/12 at 3:30 PM PT on MakersPlace.

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The Arcade OG Collection

Pong | Red Machine

Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers only

*A 24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met

*Owner will win the opportunity to spend a day playing games with Nolan Bushnell at the Two Bit Circus in LA

Computer Space | Yellow Machine

Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers only

*A 24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met

*Winner receives a clay model replica of the original Computer Space machine. The replica has been hand-molded by Nolan Bushnell himself.

OPEN LIMITED EDITIONS

All editions will be open for 24 hours, from 3:30 PM PST on 10/12 to 3:30 PM PST on 10/13 unless 100 editions are sold, in which case a 15 minute closing countdown will be triggered.

Collect all three open limited editions and unlock the bonus montage artwork + be entered into a drawing for a signed Atari 2600.

Pong | Orange Machine

Editions: Open Limited Edition
Pricing: $500

*All editions will be open for 24 hours, from 3:30 PM PST on 10/12 to 3:30 PM PST on 10/13 unless 100 editions are sold, in which case a 15 minute closing countdown will be triggered.

*Owners receive special AR component

Computer Space | Green Machine

Editions: Open Limited Edition
Pricing: $500

*All editions will be open for 24 hours, from 3:30 PM PST on 10/12 to 3:30 PM PST on 10/13 unless 100 editions are sold, in which case a 15 minute closing countdown will be triggered.

*Owners receive special AR component

Computer Space | Blue Machine

Editions: Open Limited Edition
Pricing: $500

*All editions will be open for 24 hours, from 3:30 PM PST on 10/12 to 3:30 PM PST on 10/13 unless 100 editions are sold, in which case a 15 minute closing countdown will be triggered.

*Owners receive special AR component

*Bonus Montage Artwork

Editions: Open Limited Edition
Pricing: Free

*Only available to collectors who purchase all three open limited edition artworks.

*Montage owners will be entered into a drawing for a signed Atari 2600.

GamePlay Mystery Box

Artworks will be available through a Mystery Box mechanism: Purchase an artwork from the box for a flat ETH/$ amount and receive a probabilistically selected edition. Once 100 editions are purchased, a 15 minute closing trigger will begin.