WarGames is 38 years old as I write this, yes, it was released in 1983. That’s a long time in technology.
Remember that Facebook is about 17 years old, and when it started was quite basic. Even Amazon, as Calabria, only started in 1994. Of course, my employer, IBM started a lot farther back in time, but that’s an exception.
So, is WarGames still relevant?
Well, we still live with some degree of fear about nuclear warfare, though the Doomsday Clock is perhaps focused on a wider range of possible causes to end human life.
No, what caused me to write this, was that when David Lightman is researching the system’s designer, Professor Stephen Falke, he starts by researching him.
Learning who the end user is, whether you’re a hacker or a normal computer system or software designer is vital. These days it’s more about your success with that audience. Of course, success as a measurable, differs by the progenitor. I mean, a hacker will want to successfully deprive you of some asset, whereas a software or system designer wants your hard earned cash… OK, so maybe they’re all after the same end result… 😉
WarGames I think is still highly relevant, it’s fun, escapist (especially when we’re all still stuck at home), it’s educational, and a nicely told story.
Enjoy!
