PC Gaming is about your online community experience!
Long before blogs were around, PC games have developed their own 'community' and for those of you who enjoy PC gaming - you can relate to this experience! Either way, please follow along... but first - a little history of my gaming and community background.
I started my PC gaming experience way back in the early '80s - using an old Apple ][+ with 48k of RAM, and I still remember my parents freaking out when I started upgrading by pulling chips and installing joysticks, adding a memory board (woo-hoo up to 64k!), and writing some BASIC programs making all sorts of noises and graphics on the computer.
After getting frustrated with my clunky 300 baud modem I upgraded to a 1200 baud modem which really opened things up into a whole different realm - Bulletin Board Systems (BBS)! Computer users were on these systems - communicating, sharing, distributing and overall - forming an online community! Remember Compuserve? Prodigy? AOL? So what has changed?
First and foremost, my "gaming rig" is MUCH more potent at delivering the experience - via multi-core Intel Core 2 Quad Processor, Intel Solid-State Harddrive, awesome graphics card, and a large 24-inch monitor to present it all to me over a decent broadband Internet connection...
Ultimately, the adoption rate of 'easy to use' devices on the Internet has revolutionized the BBS into a totally different; yet familiar experience. Many of you reading this blog are probably using a High-Speed Internet provider, or Wireless LAN connection - most of which are hundreds of times faster than those old dialup modems! Why? Because we (as end users) have a NEED for more info! We crave an interactive experience, something that we can relate to and make it more of a part of our daily lives. We no longer wait for data updates in letters or newspapers, or even the daily news on the TV. Things like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogs, and online forums have become part of our daily lives - giving updates, sharing photos/video/experiences, and just blowing off some steam; which brings me back to my subject - PC GAMING Communities!
For me, PC gaming is a way to relax at night after a long day at work. Having a hobby that so closely mirrors work can have its benefits that's for sure! I've played many games in the past 20+ years, and I'll be blogging about some of my favorites! I've hosted several LAN parties at my home - usually 10-25 people, and it's usually a LONG day! Sometimes starting as early at 8am Saturday and we've played up till 2am Sunday! But why?
It's not just to show who's the best (although that part is really fun!), it's more about the friendships that have been established, and the newcomers that join our community every time we get together. Sometimes we rotate between homes; sometimes we go to larger parties, like Intel's own LANFest, but lately - it's not about lugging your PC around, it's about finding these friends ONLINE!
Online gaming communities are deeply entrenched in the Internet today. Interactive online community games are more than multiplayer games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 and the Unreal Tournament series. How many of you have played an interactive game on Facebook, or MySpace, or even in your favorite Instant Messenger? While these types of games may not be as wholly immersive, they're available for most any PC user - whether you have a smartphone, netbook, laptop, or desktop PC. All you need is your game, and your friends list.
More immersive online gaming is a whole different experience. There are tons of online communities - e.g. IRC, Usenet, Ventrillo, Steam Games, SecondLife, etc... Whether they're generalized across many games, or more specific to a certain genre they're out there; and they're all part of the gaming experience.
I will be blogging about these interactive gaming experiences soon - but I invite you to share your 'online gaming community' experience...
- How has PC gaming expanded your 'community'?
- Do you belong to a gaming group (either in person or online) - what are your likes/dislikes?
- What tools do you use to enhance your game interaction?
- What forums, groups, sites do you most frequent when setting up matches or games?
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Comments
Feb 02 | james said:
Yo Todd. Did you ever play Dark Castle! The game was way ahead of its time! In fact, that was the last time I ever owned an Apple machine. I may go back.
Feb 02 | Todd said:
Hi James - Thanks for responding - I don't remember Dark Castle, but I did check it out online, that was more into the Mac timeframe. I remember older stuff like Choplifter, F-15 Strike Eagle, Castle Wolfenstein, Karateka and Zork! Wow, talk about turning on the way-back machine!!! Some of which was ported to the PC a long time ago...
I still remember being really excited when I was able to hook it up to a color monitor for the first time... WOW! no more monochrome green!
I love the new Apple computers, ever since the move to Intel processors they've really knocked my socks off!
What games are you playing now? Believe it or not - TF2 is still pwning my evenings!
Feb 02 | Katie said:
Zork Nemesis! "I am the boss of you!"
I did babysitting for weeks upon weeks to save up enough to buy my commadore vic 20. /boggle
Turn Left
Examine Timeline
Feel Old
Feb 02 | used said:
this is one of the most informative post which i have read on net at this morning really well i have less technical knowledge specially for the history of computers but i love to get round back to it thanks todd
Feb 03 | marc cook said:
Does Intel sponsor any external LAN parties? I work for a small company in silicon valley and the entire tech support department (about 30) are all gamers.
Let's do this!
Feb 03 | Todd said:
@Katie - ROFL! I spent WAY too many hours on Zork!
@Marc - YES! Intel DOES have external LAN Parties! I referenced http://lanfest.intel.com above... here's an excerpt from their site for upcoming LANs
Mark your calendars for these great Intel LAN Fest events coming soon…
Intel LAN Fest Portland Winter 2009: February 28th - March 1st
Intel LAN Fest InfernaLAN Spring 2009: March 27th - 29th
Intel LAN Fest Desert Bash Summer 2009: June 13th - 14th
Feb 08 | dreamhunk said:
More people are heading to indie game devs these days.
http://www.gamefocus.ca/?nav=article&did=382
Feb 15 | Allan said:
Todd,
I recently bought a new laptop the MSI VR601 with Intel's Dual Core Pentium and a Intel GMA X3100 Graphics Chip. What im trying to do is play the game Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and once I really get to develop my park the game lags. Im sending my Dxdiag with system info and the games system requirements. I hope you can help me as ths is the last straw before I return the computer to the store. The reason I upgraded to a new laptop is it has some features my old computer did not have like DVD-R Drive, Web Cam with Mic, IEEE1394 Firewire, 2 extra USB Ports, 4 in 1 Card Reader, S-Video Out/ etc. I hate to give it up, but I didn't pay over $600 for a computer that wont run my game. Is there some patch or something im not aware of or a fix from Atari/Frontier? Anyways here is my information:
In order to play RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3, you will need a PC running Windows®. (A version for the Apple/Mac computers is NOT planned at this time).
Minimum and recommended computer specifications are as follows:
Operating System: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP (Windows® XP recommended)
Processor: Pentium® III 733 MHz or compatible (Pentium® 4 1.2 GHz or compatible recommended)
Memory: 128 MB RAM; 256 MB for XP (256 MB; 384 MB for XP recommended)
Hard Disk Space: 600 MB free CD-ROM Drive: 4X CD-ROM or faster (8X or faster recommended)
Video: Any ATI Radeon™ or GeForce™ 2 with 32MB or higher; or other video card with 32MB and hardware T&L (ATI Radeon™ 64 MB SDR or GeForce™ 2 Pro or other video card with 64 MB or more memory and hardware T&L recommended)*
Sound: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP-compatible 16-bit sound card*
DirectX®: DirectX® version 9 (included) or higher
Dxdiag.exe: [snipped]
Feb 17 | Todd Christ said:
Hi Allan - thanks for the info! I love RCT3 - my kids play it all the time and I was hooked for a while building up a huge park!
It seems that your display driver is outdated, there is a newer one for your laptop available at MSI's website. This will hopefully improve your experience. I usually suggest that you keep your drivers updated to the latest supported release; whether it's from your PC or OS vendor.
You can also try Intel's Driver Update Utility" to see if the newest driver will work on your machine...
Happy Gaming!
Feb 19 | Kyle said:
Whats up Todd, Just read your blog, and i love the part of your LAN PARTIES WHAAAAOOOOOOOO. I have 3 PC in my house and going for more. But the money is low and had to stop a 3 pc's :( . I love to stay up with my buddys and play World OF Warcraft(Horde FTW)... I want to run my own gaming store and have 30 PC's to have big LAN Parties.. That will take some time before i get that far. But anyways just wanted to say hay and it was fun to read about more people out there who loves to game with there friends as much as i do.. Peace
Feb 20 | Todd Christ said:
Hi Kyle - sounds like you've definitely got the LAN Party bug ;) It's great that you're providing PC's for everyone to play, as we sometimes have friends who want to play - but don't have a PC that is 'gaming capable'. Happy Hording! ;)
Feb 26 | Kyle said:
So where do you have all of your PC's at? like in your house or do you have a Gamer Store that you run or go and play at. I live in Utah and not alot of places here have a gaming store with Gaming PC's to play on. So i am hoping to make some extra money and open my store. But with the Economy on the low it's hard to scrap up the money to buy a building and the PC's. but hopfully i can do it soon. Well good chatting with ya.
Cya
Feb 26 | Todd Christ said:
Hi Kyle
We have different levels of LAN parties, some are at home - this is great for groups of 8-20 (although 20 is really pushing it). Some are at LANFest (http://lanfest.intel.com) - see if you can make one of these - usually over 150+ people! I've tried a few LAN party/gaming stores - they were fun, and people could rent the machines so everyone could play! Check some of you local online communities/forums to see if others are interested in your endeavors as well. Good luck!