Computer Games
I've been playing computer games in various forms since around 1978 when I first saw the arcade game, 'Space Invaders' at the 'Lagland Street Boys Club' in Poole. From there, I was ocassionally able to play some 'table top' games in the Royal British Legion club. They had 'Space Firebird' I remember and a couple of others. I also remember our local swimming pool had a 'Galaxian' machine. (I absolutely love Galaxian!)
From then on, as the number (and popularity) of arcade machines continued to grow, places called 'Amusement Arcades' started to appear. Imagine that! - Places dedicated purely to playing games machines! It was like some kind of Utopia.
My first taste of Utopia came when I discovered the amusement arcade at the Rockley Sands holiday park in Poole. I say 'discovered' in the true sense, as most of what I did back then consisted of cycling around on my bike and discovering nooks, crannies and new places. Rockley Sands (now just called 'Rockley Park') was a 'free roaming' place in those days and anyone could wander around the park and use any of the facilities.
One of those facilities was an amusement arcade. It was a big arcade with lots of empty space in it, and although it didn't contain a huge number of games (not that many games existed then), it did have some great ones. Namely
From then on, as the number (and popularity) of arcade machines continued to grow, places called 'Amusement Arcades' started to appear. Imagine that! - Places dedicated purely to playing games machines! It was like some kind of Utopia.
My first taste of Utopia came when I discovered the amusement arcade at the Rockley Sands holiday park in Poole. I say 'discovered' in the true sense, as most of what I did back then consisted of cycling around on my bike and discovering nooks, crannies and new places. Rockley Sands (now just called 'Rockley Park') was a 'free roaming' place in those days and anyone could wander around the park and use any of the facilities.
One of those facilities was an amusement arcade. It was a big arcade with lots of empty space in it, and although it didn't contain a huge number of games (not that many games existed then), it did have some great ones. Namely
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It also contained a great 'roulette' game (with a real table that spun) and I used to sometimes gamble my last 2p and try and get it up to 10p, so I could play Pacman or Scramble. It's worth noting that this roulette game was a 'real' one, that relied soley on probability to make its money. I have seen roulette games since that clearly have magnets in each slot, so the machine can influence the result! - Outrageous!!
Click on a format below to discover more about the games I enjoy.
Click on a format below to discover more about the games I enjoy.
The ZX Spectrum
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The Arcade Era
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In-Depth Game Analyses
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Virtual Reality (June 2016)
Back in 1991, I tried out what was then being called 'the next big thing'....Virtuality. It was some type of plane simulation. (I believe it was called VTOL). You wore a clunky headset and became a pilot in which you flew around a virtual world. It was pretty poor. Graphically it was bad (just a few polygons/shapes moving around), it didn't track your head very well - and the concept died on its feet.
Well now it's 2016 and it's back! This time I do think it's here to stay. I honestly think it's the future of gaming (and the future of a lot of things). Having tried out the latest release of Oculus Rift (June 2016), the technology is light years ahead of where we were. Now it really does work.
There are masses of improvements still to come, but in principal, everything is already in place to transport you into places and situations that would otherwise be impossible.
The Oculus currently comes bundled with a set of small demos. Short little experiences which give you a taste of what is possible. One puts you in a submarine. Deep under the sea, metal creaking, pipes breaking and steam leaking out, klaxxons going off. The feeling of being in that space is superb.
Another places what looks like a miniature village in front of you. As if some great model maker had made one and put it on his dining table. It's wonderful. You can move around the village. Look behind buildings, move in close to the little train that is making its way around the town. See small characters sitting by a fire and playing catch, then watch a plane take off and fly up and into the air and around your head. It's fantastic. Another sees you standing atop a ridiculously high building, on the edge of a platform. The depth and sense of perspective is awesome! What I find most encouraging about all this, is that at the moment, there is still a huge amount of room to improve resolution. At the moment, the graphics never approach looking real. You can tell they are graphics. But the key point is, that it doesn't really matter. The brain is fooled because the environment moves with you. Because there is perspective. Because you have headphones over your ears and the sound is directional. It all works.
And this is just the very thin end of the wedge. I've no doubt we will see an explosion of titles over the next 12 months. Games will come out in number I'm sure that some are going to blow us away. Sony is releasing it's new Playstation with its own version of Virtual Reality. This will really bring it to the masses. Prices will tumble (Oculus is currently £500) and it seems every major games manufacturer is on the bandwagon.
For me though, one of the most exciting aspects is perhaps how the arcades might be affected. Is it possible that they will be given a new lease of life? Will we see Virtual Reality public spaces? Two-player head to heads which others can watch? What about teams of players? Call of Duty in an arcade? 4 vs 4? 8 vs 8? The future of this technology is almost boundless. I can't wait to watch it unfold!
Well now it's 2016 and it's back! This time I do think it's here to stay. I honestly think it's the future of gaming (and the future of a lot of things). Having tried out the latest release of Oculus Rift (June 2016), the technology is light years ahead of where we were. Now it really does work.
There are masses of improvements still to come, but in principal, everything is already in place to transport you into places and situations that would otherwise be impossible.
The Oculus currently comes bundled with a set of small demos. Short little experiences which give you a taste of what is possible. One puts you in a submarine. Deep under the sea, metal creaking, pipes breaking and steam leaking out, klaxxons going off. The feeling of being in that space is superb.
Another places what looks like a miniature village in front of you. As if some great model maker had made one and put it on his dining table. It's wonderful. You can move around the village. Look behind buildings, move in close to the little train that is making its way around the town. See small characters sitting by a fire and playing catch, then watch a plane take off and fly up and into the air and around your head. It's fantastic. Another sees you standing atop a ridiculously high building, on the edge of a platform. The depth and sense of perspective is awesome! What I find most encouraging about all this, is that at the moment, there is still a huge amount of room to improve resolution. At the moment, the graphics never approach looking real. You can tell they are graphics. But the key point is, that it doesn't really matter. The brain is fooled because the environment moves with you. Because there is perspective. Because you have headphones over your ears and the sound is directional. It all works.
And this is just the very thin end of the wedge. I've no doubt we will see an explosion of titles over the next 12 months. Games will come out in number I'm sure that some are going to blow us away. Sony is releasing it's new Playstation with its own version of Virtual Reality. This will really bring it to the masses. Prices will tumble (Oculus is currently £500) and it seems every major games manufacturer is on the bandwagon.
For me though, one of the most exciting aspects is perhaps how the arcades might be affected. Is it possible that they will be given a new lease of life? Will we see Virtual Reality public spaces? Two-player head to heads which others can watch? What about teams of players? Call of Duty in an arcade? 4 vs 4? 8 vs 8? The future of this technology is almost boundless. I can't wait to watch it unfold!