The
Internet Connection
by David Coons
Well, I have to
be totally honest with you. With
the holiday season approaching and several REAL-LIFE responsibilities, I
have procrastinated in the development of this article. Trying to fill in for Jack is not an easy task.
As you all know, his articles and his NEAT NET TRICKS site are
chock full of quality, hard-hitting bits of information.
How in the world can I fill in for this man?
Each month that
I write this article, I will be attempting to take on a different facet of
the Net. Some may be
technical. Some may be
philosophical. Some may be
downright idiotic. In truth,
however, the Internet is all three of these things.
I hope that my ranting will keep you entertained or, perhaps
enlightened as we all trudge forward into the abyss that is…The
Internet.
MONTH 1 –
ONLINE GAMING
An Introduction
In the 1970s,
Atari, Odyssey and Intelivision burst onto the scene.
In the 1980s, names like Donkey Kong, Nintendo, and Sim City
entered our vocabulary. In
the 90s, Playstation, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mortal Kombat premiered.
Every year, we
are seeing more and more steps in the evolution of our video games.
One of the most dramatic changes in the past 5 years has been the
move from the SINGLE- and DOUBLE-player standalone games to INTERNET play,
which can range anywhere from 2 to 2,000 players or more.
Why Evolve?
It is
interesting to think about why this shift was so significant to the
world’s video gamers. It is
very simple, though. If you
can remember back to the 1980s, when video games were really taking off,
magazines started coming out with THE MAPS.
You know what I am talking about.
These were the pages that showed exactly how to maneuver yourself
through Donkey Kong’s home without getting killed, how to save the
princess in Dragon’s Lair without getting singed, and how to conquer all
715 levels of Ms. Pacman without breaking a sweat.
Although they
were the most awesome games of their day, video games were static.
Mastering their domain was as simple as learning the basic
maneuvers, learning the specific maps or using **GASP** the cheat codes.
As you can guess or remember, there was only so much fun and
excitement that you could get from a static video game.
Introducing
two-player games allowed you to go head-to-head with your friends (or
enemies) in a totally dynamic challenge.
From TANK BATTLE to JOUST to ASTEROIDS, the games now included a
new level of fun. Kids could
have bragging rights at school about beating their friends, rather than
the previous brags about merely holding the high score on the game.
Whether you are
talking about arcade games or the home video games, the two-player era
could only go so far as well. Your
friends would need to come over to your house or meet you at the arcade to
play, so a challenger was not a guarantee.
A New World “Wide” Order
With the
increase of home access to the Internet, game companies soon found an
emerging market for their games. Initially,
ISPs such as America Online started offering multi-player online games for
their subscribers. Now, you
can find people online to play games virtually 24 hours a day.
Below, I will highlight a couple of the current game styles that
are available on the Net and will include links in case you want to check
some of them out.
Sometimes, you need to get back
to the basics…
Some of the most
basic multi-player games are only as far away as your web browser.
Specifically, I have been impressed by the game site over at YAHOO.
Not only are there dozens of different varieties of games to choose
(from card games to board games to trivia games), there are thousands of
game rooms to join. I have
played at this site from time to time and was really impressed by the way
that they handled their EUCHRE game.
Many of the nuances of the game were built in and the look and
feel, coupled with the chat function, makes it seem like the real thing.
I can only assume that they have given the same level of detail to
the other games as well. Check
the site out to see if any of your favorites are there.
:-)
Playing in the MUD
Multi-User
Dimensions (or MUDs) were one of the first multiplayer games on the net.
These text-based games could best be described as online RPGs
(similar to Dungeons and Dragons). You
create characters, help them to grow more powerful and gain wealth.
From the original games, several variations sprung forth. MUSHes and MURPEs were more roleplay oriented than the
traditional HACK & SLASH games.
There are literally thousands of these games online now and most
are FREE to play. The games
vary in terms of quality, difficulty and genre (from Medieval Fantasy to
Futuristic to movie-themed). Though
it may be difficult to see a text-based game as being fun, it is actually
quite involving as you meet players and characters from all over the world
and you all play a game together in real time.
To check out
these types of games, I suggest that you look at the MUD
CONNECTOR. This site has
tons of information, message boards, a directory of games to play and just
about anything that you need to know about MUDs and their relatives.
Looking ahead into the Future
Game makers are
keeping the Internet at the forefront in their game development.
New Internet-ready games are coming out every month.
The advent of these games has created a new reason for online
communities, competition ladders & clans.
In the ‘First Person Shooter’ world, several games are helping
players waste their time online. Unreal
Tournament (my personal favorite) and Quake Arena are two such games that
have gained an awesome following. Roleplaying
Games, such as Baldur’s Gate, Everquest and Diablo are helping to expand
the playing arena to include thousands of players at a time.
Where we will be
going in the future is unclear. What
is nearly certain, though, is that more people are getting online
worldwide every day. As
bandwidth issues become less and less of a problem, game developers will
be able to bring us more and more to do online.
When you consider the possibilities of virtual reality and using
voice communications in real time, who knows?
What I do know
is this: It’s a great
time to be an online gamer.
See you next
month.
David Coons is a freelance writer and web designer from the
suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. When
not spending time with his wife and three daughters, he maintains several
websites, including his current missions-related shopping site,
MyFutureMall.com.
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