Early Days (1950s-1960s) - The roots of AI in gaming can be traced back to the 1950s when early computer scientists and researchers began to experiment with simple games like chess and tic-tac-toe. In 1951, Christopher Strachey developed the first-ever computer game, "Checkers," which featured a rudimentary AI opponent. In 1956, AI pioneer John McCarthy coined the term "artificial intelligence" and laid the groundwork for AI research. The 1960s saw the development of basic game-playing programs capable of making simple decisions based on predefined rules.