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Lightman's Room
There were 7 computing technologies in Lightman's room, but only 6 of them were actually visible in the movie. All of the technologies were realistic, although some were given a different name or didn't actually function [2].
Electrohome 17" Monitor (Left) - Lightman's monitor that displayed text [2].
Acoustic Coupler (Right) - A device that converts between sounds and electrical signals [2].
IMSAI IKB-1 Keyboard - Lightman's keyboard that he used to communicate to his computer [2].
IMSAI FDC-2 dual 8-inch floppy drive - Lightman's floppy drive with 2 8 inch slots [2]. Like most other technologies in the room, it was made by IMSAI.
Above the monitor is the IMSAI 212A modem. Although it was labeled as an IMSAI product, it was actually a 212A modem from Cermetek since IMSAI didn't make modems. It was used by Lightman to connect his computer to his schools system (as shown in the picture), video game companies, and later the WOPR [2].
IMSAI 8080 - The computer that was shown in Lightman's room. While it was a technology that actually existed and functioned properly at the time, it wasn't actually used in the movie and was only displayed to keep with the IMSAI theme in Lightman's room [2].
CompuPro System 8/16 Computer - The computer that Lightman's keyboard and monitor were actually connected to. This is the computer that provided the display on Lightman's monitor for the movie [2].
War Operation Plan Response System (WOPR)
The WOPR was NORAD's supercomputer that was used as a way to simulate war operations. While most of the technologies featured in the movies were realistic, the WOPR was an exception. This is because if featured a program with the capability to learn by playing against itself in Tic-Tac-Toe [1]. This is similar to the idea of Deep Learning which is something that was created long after the movie came out.
The WOPR - The system that Lightman played Global Thermonuclear War on. At the end of the movie, the WOPR is able to learn the futility of nuclear war by playing Tic-Tac-Toe against itself [1]
An Apple II Computer - Since the WOPR didn't exist, an Apple II Computer was used to provide the display for what the WOPR did in the movie [2].
[1] YouTube, WarGames, 6 Jan. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNLQ-O-Qx3Y&t=1779s&ab_channel=YouTubeMovies (20 Sept. 2021)
[2] Phil Johnson, The Technology of WarGames, (CIO, 17 June 2013), https://www.cio.com/article/3404461/the-technology-of-wargames.html (11 October 2021)
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