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- From: jpenne@ee.ualberta.ca (Jerry Penner)
- Subject: GEnieLamp Aug 1992 (Vol 1 No. 5) (5 parts)
- Message-ID: <jpenne.713864914@ee.ualberta.ca>
- Summary: part 5 (final part)
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- Organization: University Of Alberta, Edmonton Canada
- Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 07:48:34 GMT
- Lines: 680
-
-
- GEnieLamp Vol 1/Num 5 August 1, 1992
-
- Part 5 of 5
-
- This article first appeared on GEnie and I was asked to post it on the
- Internet. My GE-Mail address is J.Penner1 and my internet address is
- jpenne@ee.ualberta.ca if you need to discuss something regarding this
- posting. I don't work for GEnie or anything to do with the Internet.
-
- ----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<-- cut here --8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----
- >>> NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: BACK TO THE BASICS... <<<
- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-
- I want to take a short break in this discussion of the Apple II
- firmware to look at some other items that will make further descriptions
- easier to understand. If you are a programmer already, you may want to
- skip this section, since you probably already know this stuff. First we
- will examine some definitions of terms that are commonly known to
- programmers, but possibly not to you. Next will be a brief excursion into
- the realm of hexadecimal, and finally a look at the memory map of the
- original Apple II.
-
- First, let's look at definitions of some words that I have been
- loosely throwing around:
-
-
- BIT The smallest piece of information that a computer can deal
- """ with, it is either a "0" (off, clear) or a "1" (on, set).
- BYTE The most convenient piece of information (for humans) that
- """" computers use. One byte consists of eight bits, and ranges
- from "00000000" (0 decimal) to "11111111" (255 decimal).
- NIBBLE (also spelled "nybble"). One half of a byte, consisting of
- """""" four bits, ranging from "0000" (0 decimal) to "1111" (15
- decimal).
- WORD Two bytes (or four nibbles, if you prefer), consisting of
- """" sixteen bits, and ranging from "00000000 00000000" (0
- decimal) to "11111111 11111111" (65535 decimal). Not used
- much in microcomputers.
- BINARY A system of counting using only two digits, "0" and "1"
- """""" (base 2). Computers speak in binary at their most basic
- level; anything else is translated into binary, so the
- computer can understand it.
- DECIMAL A system of counting using ten digits, "0" through "9" (base
- """"""" 10). Most of the Western world uses this system.
- HEXADECIMAL A system of counting using sixteen digits, "0" through "9"
- """"""""""" and "A" through "F" (base 16). Programmers use this system
- as a convenient way of organizing groups of binary numbers.
- KILOBYTE Abbreviated "K", "KB", or "Kbytes", it refers to 1,024
- """""""" bytes. A 64K computer has 64 x 1024 = 65536 bytes.
- MEGABYTE Abbreviated "M", "MB", or "meg", it refers to 1,024 Kbytes,
- """""""" or 1,024 x 1,024 = 1,048,576 bytes. A 32 MB hard disk, the
- largest size volume that ProDOS can handle, holds 32 x 1,024
- = 32,768 Kbytes, or 32 x 1,024 x 1,024 = 33,554,432 bytes.
- GIGABYTE Abbreviated "G", "GB", or "gig", it refers to 1,024 MB, or
- """""""" 1,048,576 Kbytes, or 10,737,441,824 bytes. The Apple II
- Smartport (which will be mentioned later in this history)
- can handle disk devices up to 4 gig in size (although the
- software to handle that type of size has yet to be written).
- RAM Random Access Memory. Any data stored in this memory
- """ disappears when the computer is turned off.
- ROM Read Only Memory. Data cannot be stored in this type of
- """ memory, but instead it usually contains programs or other
- information that does not disappear when the computer is
- turned off.
- HARDWARE The physical electronic components and mechanical parts that
- """""""" make up a piece of computer equipment. Examples would be
- the keyboard, disk drive, or television monitor (also called
- CRT, or Cathode Ray Tube).
- SOFTWARE The digital instructions executed by the computer in RAM.
- """""""" They may act on the hardware that is attached to the
- computer. Examples would be a BASIC or Pascal program, an
- assembly language routine to read a clock, or a disk
- operating system. Since software is executed in RAM, it
- disappears from memory when the computer is turned off.
- FIRMWARE The same as software, except it is executed from ROM, and
- """""""" does not disappear when the computer is turned off. Almost
- any software could be in ROM, except programs that modify
- themselves as they run.
-
- Next, let's look at hexadecimal numbers in more detail. Since
- computers deal in binary (base 2), the true language of computers is either
- in terms of "0" (off) or "1" (on). However, it quickly becomes cumbersome
- to refer to large numbers in binary; the base 10 number "458" is
- "111001010" in binary. So programmers have decided to group numbers in
- such a way as to make it easy to convert part or all of that number to
- binary if necessary, but still have numbers (almost) as easy to deal with
- as our standard base 10 system.
-
- Now, in the familiar base 10 system there are ten digits, 0 through 9.
- When counting, after you pass 9, you add one to the digit to the left of
- the 9, change the 9 to a 0, and continue. So, "09" becomes "10", "19"
- becomes "20", and so on. However, in the base 16 system there are sixteen
- digits, 0 through 9, and then A through F (representing decimal 10 through
- 15). When counting, then, you go 7, 8, 9, then A (not 10), B, C, D, E, F,
- 10, 11, 12, and so on. In the Apple world we have traditionally used a
- preceding dollar sign to signify a hexadecimal number, so "25" means
- twenty-five, but "$25" means thirty-seven (2 x 16, plus 5). To translate a
- hexadecimal number to decimal, use powers of 16:
-
- $B65F = (11 x 16^3) + (6 x 16^2) + (5 x 16^1) + (15 x 16^0)
- = (11 x 4096) + (6 x 256) + (5 x 16) + (15 x 1)
- = 45056 + 1536 + 80 + 15
- = 46687
-
- The same thing can be done in reverse to convert base 10 to
- hexadecimal, starting by dividing the number by 4096, then the remainder by
- 256, then 16. If the number is greater than 65536, you need a bigger power
- of 16 (and you are probably not dealing with an 8-bit Apple II!) Or you
- can just get a programmer's calculator like mine that automatically does
- the conversion for you...
-
- When dealing with memory addresses on an Apple II, we usually
- designate them as four digit hex numbers (such as the $B65F example above).
- Numbers less than $1000 often are printed without the leading blank ($400
- instead of $0400), and numbers less than $100 are treated the same way ($32
- instead of $0032).
-
-
- >>> THE APPLE II: MEMORY MAP <<<
- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-
- To understand the memory layout of the Apple II, consider this
- analogy: Imagine a cabinet with sixteen shelves, and sixteen separate
- slots or pigeon holes on each shelf (similar to those found in old roll-top
- desks). Each slot refers to a specific address in memory on the computer,
- and each slot can hold a number between 0 and 255. (Since a byte is eight
- bits wide, the largest number that can be represented by eight binary bits
- is 255). The bottom shelf is row "0", and the leftmost slot in that row is
- slot "0". The address of that slot, then, is $00. As we move to the
- right, the addresses increase, $01, $02, $03, and so on to $0F at the end.
- We then go up to the next row, (row "1"), and the addresses continue in the
- same fashion with $10, $11, $12, and so on as before. The sixteenth row is
- row "F", the rightmost slot in that row is slot "F", and the address of
- that slot is $FF. This cabinet has, then, 256 slots (16 x 16), and
- represents what is called a "page" in the Apple memory. The cabinet itself
- has an address (since computers need addresses for everything), and this
- one's address is "00". The full address of row "5", slot "A" on cabinet
- "00" is $005A.
-
- Only the Altair 8800 came with just 256 bytes of memory, so we have to
- account for the entire 64K memory space that the 6502 chip in the Apple II
- can handle. There is a cabinet sitting on top of cabinet "00", and it is
- laid out in the same fashion with its 256 slots in sixteen rows. This is
- cabinet "01", and on top of that one is cabinet "02"; this continues on up
- until we reach cabinet "FF" way up at the top. Apple programmers refer to
- these cabinets as "pages" of memory. There are 256 pages of memory, each
- with 256 bytes on a page, making a grand total of 256 x 256 = 65536 bytes
- of memory (or slots that can hold a number, if you prefer the analogy).
-
- In discussing the memory map on the Apple II, we can refer to pages of
- memory with a hexadecimal two-digit number for shorthand if we wish. The
- general layout of the Apple II memory is as follows:
-
- Page $00: used by the 6502 processor for storage of information that
- it can access quickly. This is prime real-estate that is
- seldom available for general use by programmers without
- special care.
- Page $01: used by the 6502 for internal operations as a "stack."
- Page $02: used by the Apple II firmware as an input buffer when using
- the keyboard from BASIC, or when a program uses any of the
- firmware input routines.
- Page $03: general storage area, up to the top three rows (from $3D0
- through $3FF) which are used by the disk operating system
- and the firmware for pointers to internal routines.
- Pages $04-$07: used for the 40 column text screen.
- Pages $08-$BF: available for use by programs, operating systems, and for
- hi-res graphics. Within this space, Woz designated pages
- $20-$3F for hi-res "page" one, and pages $40-$5F for hi-res
- "page" two.
- Page $C0: internal I/O and softswitches
- Pages $C1-$C7: ROM assigned to each of the seven peripheral cards
- Pages $C8-$CF: switchable ROM available for any of the seven cards
- Pages $D0-$D7: empty ROM socket #1
- Pages $D8-$DF: empty ROM socket #2
- Pages $E0-$F7: Integer BASIC ROM
- Pages $F8-$FF: Monitor ROM
-
- The memory space on the Apple II between $C000 and $CFFF was assigned
- to handle input and output. From $C000 to $C0FF the space was reserved for
- various soft-switches used to control the display, and various built-in I/O
- devices, such as the keyboard, paddles, annunciators, and the cassette
- port. (A soft-switch is simply a memory location that, when a number is
- stored there, changes something in the computer--such as switching on
- graphics mode). From $C100 to $CFFF the space was reserved for ROM on the
- plug-in peripheral cards for each of the seven slots. Slot 1 was given the
- space from $C100 to $C1FF, slot 2 from $C200 to $C2FF, and so on. The
- $C800 to $CFFF space was special slot-selectable ROM that was uniquely
- available for each of the seven peripheral cards. For example, a program
- running on the card in slot 6 to control a device could use the $C800-$CFFF
- space for its own purpose. When control passed to the card in slot 3, that
- card could use a program of its own that ran in the same $C800-$CFFF space.
- This was accomplished by allowing each card to have ROM code that covered
- pages $C8-$CF, and making that space "switchable", depending on which card
- wanted to use it. Having this space available made writing ROM code
- simpler, since it would not have to be capable of running at various memory
- locations (depending on which slot a card was plugged into).
-
- The memory from $D000 to $D7FF and $D800 to $DFFF was empty on all
- early Apple II computers. On the motherboard were two empty sockets that
- were available for the user to plug in their own ROM chips. The
- $D000-$D7FF space was most often used by a plug-in ROM chip sold by Apple,
- known as "Programmer's Aid #1." It contained various utilities for Integer
- BASIC programmers, including machine language routines to do the following:
-
- Renumber BASIC programs
- Append one BASIC program to the end of another
- Verify a BASIC program that had been saved on tape (to confirm it was
- an accurate save)
- Verify non-program data that had been saved on tape
- Relocate assembly language routines to a different location in memory
- (most would only run in one place in memory)
- Test the Apple II RAM
- Generate musical tones through the built-in speaker
- Handle hi-res graphics from BASIC, including code to clear the hi-res
- screen, set colors, plot points and lines, draw shapes, and load
- shapes from tape.
-
- All the routines on the Programmer's Aid #1 ROM were written by
- Wozniak between June 1977 (the RAM test routine) and April 1978 (program
- renumber and append), except for the music routine, which was written by
- Gary Shannon.
-
- The other empty ROM socket (covering memory from $D800 to $DFFF) was
- never filled by Apple. Various third-party vendors sold ROMs for that
- socket (or for the $D000-$D7FF socket used by the Programmer's Aid #1 ROM),
- but none made enough of an inroad to be preserved in the INTBASIC file that
- would later be included on the DOS 3.3 System Master disk. In fact, the
- $D800-$DFFF space in the INTBASIC file on that disk contains an image of
- that same space taken directly from the Applesoft ROM! It is completely
- useless to Integer BASIC, of course, but disk files being what they are,
- Apple had to fill that space with SOMETHING!
-
- The Integer BASIC interpreter lived in the ROM space between $E000 and
- $F7FF. However, BASIC only used the space up to $F424. Between
- $F425-$F4FB and $F63D-$F65D could be found a floating-point math package
- that was not used by Integer BASIC, but was available for BASIC programmers
- who were astute enough to figure out how it worked. (An early Apple user
- group, the Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange, or A.P.P.L.E., sold a
- tape and notes by Steve Wozniak they called "Wozpak", that documented some
- of the secrets of the Integer BASIC ROM). Between $F500-$F63C there was
- code that was known as the "miniassembler", which was executed starting at
- the ominous address $F666. The miniassembler allowed you to enter short
- machine language programs using the standard 6502 mnemonics (the three
- letter codes that referred to a specific type of operation; for example,
- "LDA #" represented the 6502 opcode $A9) instead of entering the program
- byte by byte in the monitor. The $F689-$F7FC space contained Woz's SWEET
- 16 interpreter. Wozniak wrote SWEET 16 to simulate a 16-bit processor; it
- simplified some routines he wrote for the Apple II ROMs, including the
- Programmer's Aid #1 renumber, append, and relocate routines. Simply put,
- he took a series of hex bytes, defined them as "opcodes" the way HE wanted
- them to function, and when executing the code used his SWEET 16 interpreter
- to translate the code into legal 6502 operations. It ran slower than
- standard 6502 code, but when memory space was at a premium it was better to
- have a slow program than to not have enough room for the program at all.
-
- For those who are keeping count, there are a few unreferenced bytes in
- the latter part of the Integer ROM. Those bytes contained filler bytes
- that were not used as any program code.<9>,<10>,<11>
-
- The last part of the Apple II memory, from $F800-$FFFF, contained
- Wozniak's Monitor program which has already been discussed above.
-
- [*][*][*]
-
-
- NEXT INSTALLMENT The Apple II, cont.
- """"""""""""""""
-
- NOTES
- """""
- <1> Jack Connick, "...And Then There Was Apple", CALL-A.P.P.L.E., Oct
- 1986, p. 24.
-
- <2> -----, "Memory Organization", APPLE II REFERENCE MANUAL, 1979,
- 1981, pp. 70-73.
-
- <3> Val J. Golding, "Applesoft From Bottom To Top", CALL-A.P.P.L.E. IN
- DEPTH #1, 1981, p. 8.
-
- <4> Michael Moritz, THE LITTLE KINGDOM, p. 157.
-
- <5> Steven Levy, HACKERS: HEROES OF THE COMPUTER REVOLUTION, pp.
- 260-261.
-
- <6> Steve Wozniak and Allen Baum, "A 6502 Disassembler From Apple",
- Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia, Sep
- 1976, pp. 22-25.
-
- <7> Jack Connick, p. 23.
-
- <8> Christopher Volpe, "Beep: A Tale of (T)ERROR", CALL-A.P.P.L.E.,
- Mar 1983, p. 114.
-
- <9> Bob Bragner, "Open Discussion", SOFTALK, Nov 1983, pp. 51-52.
-
- <10> -----, PROGRAMMER'S AID #1, 1978.
-
- <11> Dick Sedgewick, "SWEET 16 - Introduction", MERLIN USER'S MANUAL,
- 1982, pp. 103-109.
-
-
- ////////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
- / "(Someday I'll have to tell the story of the well-known hardware /
- / company that found, in reality, the IIgs memory expansion slot /
- / was actually being made with tighter signals than were specified /
- / in the Hardware Reference. So they designed their card to require/
- / the tighter specs and saved a few bucks -- until Apple made a /
- / production change that made the signals looser but still _well_ /
- / within the specs, and they had to run an upgrade program. Oops.) /
- /////////////////////////////////////////////// M.DEATHERAGE ////
-
-
-
- [EOA]
- [GAM]//////////////////////////////
- GAMES PEOPLE PLAY /
- /////////////////////////////////
- Focus On Computer Games
- """""""""""""""""""""""
- By Darrel Raines
- [D.RAINES]
-
-
-
- >>> IS THAT GAME ANY "GOOD"? <<<
- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-
- A few words of introduction are in order. My name is Darrel Raines.
- I will be writing a new column for the Apple II version of GEnieLamp
- dealing with games and gaming. Since this is our first article together, I
- thought you might want to know a little bit about my background. I am a
- long time computer user and hobbyist. I have owned an Apple II+ since 1982
- and a IIgs since 1987. I have used personal computers at work and at home
- ever since I graduated from college. I currently work for NASA as a
- contractor on the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Training Simulator. I still
- work with computers on a daily basis, yet enjoy working/playing with my
- Apple II when I get home.
-
- My Apple IIgs is used for a programming service that I run out of my
- home. I also spend a fair amount of time playing games on my computer. I
- consider computer games to be an important part of the reason to own a home
- PC. Along those lines, I have written my own game software and released it
- as freeware or shareware. When it comes to gaming, I enjoy playing all
- types: on a computer or otherwise. In this column, I hope to explore
- various games available for the Apple II series of computers. Along the
- way we will discuss many topics that I hope are of interest to the general
- computer user and/or programmer. I thought it would be fair to start with
- a look at what criteria we measure a game against to determine if it is
- "good".
-
- Let us get started by discussing some of the skills acquired while
- playing games, on or off the computer. I believe that learning to play
- games helps to build a number of character traits that are important to a
- person's development. Logical thinking is a skill that can be learned and
- honed while playing many games. Sportsmanship and fair play can be taught
- through games (no one wins every game). Since games are played by a set of
- established rules, a person learns something about citizenship and living
- under a government. Hand/eye coordination and motor skills are developed
- through participation in sports games (and, the couch potato says, using a
- joystick). Cooperation and teamwork are learned while playing games
- between teams.
-
- All of the traits listed above can be acquired while playing at one
- game or another. Stated differently, every well designed game gives the
- participants the opportunity to learn one or more of these traits. Going
- back to the subject of this article, we have slipped into what I consider
- to be the prime quality that defines a "good" game. For your
- consideration, I will now place before you a shopping list of
- characteristics that I believe to be important in the development of game
- software. I will also indicate some games (past and present) that meet the
- criteria given here.
-
-
- Skill Development How well does the game teach one or more of the various
- """"""""""""""""" skills that we discussed in the previous paragraphs?
- A single game cannot hope to accomplish every expectation of a "good" game.
- However, ONE or more of these characteristics will be developed in a well
- designed game.
-
- Chess will always be a favorite game for millions of people since it
- epitomizes the logical game. Nothing is hidden and all possible moves are
- known by both players. Therefore, it is sheer thinking ability between the
- players that is the deciding factor in the outcome of the game. Computer
- versions of this classic game have done nothing to diminish the allure of a
- head-to-head battle. I am always joyous at any victory that I am able to
- eek out over Chessmaster 2100.
-
- Adventure games can teach a player how to cooperate with other team
- members. You will not make it very far in any of the Bard's Tale scenarios
- if you do not heal your wounded companions. I always spend the first part
- of any role-playing adventure game trying to determine how to best use my
- various characters. This helps out in the later part of the game where it
- is imperative that you kill off your foes with the least amount of effort.
-
- Playability Does the game make you want to come back and play "just one
- """"""""""" more time"? Does it draw you back to the keyboard when you
- know that you should be hitting the pillow instead? Measuring a game's
- ability to addict the player is not always easy. But it is certainly
- undeniable that certain games are very addictive.
-
- How many of you have fallen prey to the mesmerizing pleasures of that
- fiendish delight, Arkanoid (I or II)? Come on, be honest and raise your
- hands. Both my wife and I were caught up in this wonderful game. The
- premise is simple and the game is very easy to learn. All you have to do
- is hit the ball with your paddle and make sure that it does not reach the
- bottom of the screen. The problem is that a gamer wants to play just one
- more time to reach that next level. Eventually, you can't seem to stop
- until that evil demon has been knocked back into the far reaches of space
- from whence he came.
-
- At one time, Lode Runner was the hottest game going on almost any
- computer system. I can remember spending hours dissolving bricks, picking
- up lodes, climbing stairs, hanging from the high wire, and eventually
- clearing the current level: only to have to do it all over again on the
- next screen. What fun! I once was enjoying a particularly successful game
- of Lode Runner, when I hit the pause button to rest my hand. I had cramps
- from hitting the fire button on the joystick too many times. The fact that
- I was on level fifty pleased me very much until I looked at the clock. I
- had been playing for two hours and I still wasn't done with one game!
-
-
- Stimulation Does the game make you think in new and creative ways? Are
- """"""""""" you faced with challenging situations that allow you to do
- things that you don't get to do in real life? Admittedly, this is
- something that you don't want from every game that you play. However, the
- joy of discovery and the excitement of the unknown make some games well
- worth the time spent playing.
-
- When you play the Infocom game Sherlock Holmes and the Riddle of the
- Crown Jewels, you are forced to think like a detective. You begin to look
- for clues. You try to determine motive behind actions. You try to emulate
- Holmes knack for deducing so much information from so few clues. When I
- began to play this game I was reminded of my love of the character and the
- story telling ability of Arthur Conan Doyle. This stirred me to the point
- that I pulled out my old books and reread some Sherlock Holmes stories. I
- had first read these stories as a teenager. The experience was extremely
- enjoyable.
-
- I have always loved to play basketball. I enjoy officiating basketball
- (more than six seasons of experience). I even enjoy watching basketball.
- Currently, I do not have the time to do any of these activities. So how do
- I get my basketball fix? I plug in Gamestar's Two-on-two Basketball and
- dunk to my heart's content. This is especially nice since I could never
- even come close to dunking a basketball in real life. By the time that my
- team has made it through the playoffs and won the world championship, I
- feel like I have accomplished the real thing. The Chicago Bulls had better
- watch out.
-
- Random Events Does the game have some amount of random occurrences or
- """"""""""""" situations? This factor makes a game less predictable and
- more entertaining. The random events should not be so prevalent that they
- alone determine the outcome of a game. No one wants to play a game where
- their efforts do not make any difference in the outcome. However, the
- addition of factors that the players cannot predict can add to the
- excitement of a game.
-
- I enjoy playing war and tactical games when I have a good bit of time
- to spend with them. The games can tend to be somewhat on the dry side if
- the designers are not careful. Even the best strategists in a real world
- battle may be hampered by the onset of an unexpected blizzard. Therefore,
- I want the simulations that I play to have the same type of possibilities.
- The space war game Reach for the Stars has a number of random event options
- that may be selected. If you turn on the natural events option, you may
- start to wage an all-out offensive on a neighboring planet only to find
- that your best production planet gets hit by the plague.
-
- Computer Player Modes -- Does the computer opponent (when available)
- adapt to my skill level? Can I select a level of opponent to match my
- playing ability? If a game is too easy to win, then you loose interest
- easily and do not play it for long. If a game is too hard to win, then you
- get frustrated by it and no longer play. This factor can do much to extend
- interest in a game to a wide variety of players.
-
- One of the reasons that I prefer to play Jack Nicklaus Golf (JNG)
- instead of Mean 18 has to do with the computer players. JNG does not have
- very many courses to choose from and it is very slow. But all of the bad
- things about the game are compensated for by the computer players that are
- available to compete against. When you get really good at the game, you
- can invite Jack himself to a friendly (growl) game of golf. One of my
- greatest thrills in computer gaming occurred the day that I finally beat
- Jack in a head-to-head skins match. Now if I could just do that on a real
- golf course...
-
- Fun Factor Is the game fun to play? There is no way to quantify this
- """""""""" item. The only defense I have in listing it as a criteria is
- that it definitely exists. Perhaps a way to test for this factor would be
- to take ten average computer game players. Put each of them in front of a
- computer running the game in question. Have them play for an hour and ask
- them the question "did you have fun"? If at least three answer to the
- positive, then you may have a "good" game.
-
- If any of you have played Infocom adventures you know that many of
- them can be very tough. I usually get frustrated at some point along the
- way in any of these games. I just cannot seem to find the right word or
- command to progress in the adventure. I have come to the point where I
- will not even start an Infocom game without a walk-through in my possession
- for emergency reference. With this type of frustration likely while
- playing a game, you might think that I would not even bother playing. An
- illustration should suffice to show you why I keep going back for more.
-
- In the hilarious adventure Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you
- eventually get stuck on an alien ship. You need to get a babel fish stuck
- into your ear so that you can understand what the aliens are saying.
- However, the stubborn little fish just will not seem to cooperate. I
- finally had to give up and get some help. The answer to the puzzle was not
- at all obvious. You needed some material that I had tossed away much
- earlier in the game. Then you had to perform two very unlikely acts in
- sequence. The result of your maneuvers puts that pesky little devil in
- your ear where he belongs. I would have NEVER figured out how to solve
- that problem. So why did I keep playing? Because the description of what
- goes on to the little babel fish on the way to my ear had me in the floor
- with laughter. In a word, it was fun.
-
- If a computer game can succeed in one or more of the areas listed
- above, I would consider it to be "good" game. If I ever find a game that
- stands up well to all of the categories listed, then I may never see the
- light of day again. Since most of the criteria that I have put before you
- are subjective in nature I expect that various people will disagree as to
- whether or not they enjoy a particular game. That is okay. My purpose
- here is to establish a set of guidelines for future discussions on the
- subject. Now that we are done until next month, let the games begin!
-
- You may contact me via electronic mail to register opinions, gripes,
- ideas, or your favorite games for future examination. My GEnie address is
- D.Raines . I will try to respond to each letter so long as the volume does
- not get too high. If you are writing a commercial or shareware game that
- you would like to see reviewed in an upcoming column, please contact me via
- GEmail.
-
-
- //////////////////////////////////////// GEnie_QWIK_QUOTE ////
- / "Of course, if using GEnie is a regular habit for you, you /
- / may want to check out Aladdin. It works great with a TT! /
- / I've even used it to call CompuServe!! :)" /
- //////////////////////////////////////////// BOB-BRODIE ////
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- [EOF]
-
- --
- Jerry Penner jpenne@ee.ualberta.ca | "Wanna buy a duck" (Hi Joe :)
-