SUBSIM Review

Games of Olde An Introduction by Richard N. Gillespie

 

    When Neal Stevens extended an invitation to join the SUBSIM Review staff I was a bit hesitant. I had to admit that my last extensive sub simulation had been Aces of the Deep but Neal insisted that it didn’t have to be submarine related for my first article. The offer was given because Neal knew of my longtime experience with computers and my modest ability to form words into coherent sentences. His first assignment for me was to write an introductory article. 

    "Just a sample to let the readers get to know you," he said.

    So, with that in mind plus the biography comments on how long I’ve been frolicking across this electronic fantasy world, I’ve decided to reach wayyy back into the farthest reaches of my memory and tell of the first computer game to ever capture my imagination.

    A long, long time ago, before the age of megabyte memory, before 128 bit sound processors and 3D video cards, there existed a world of computers unsophisticated. Computers that had no hard drive, where memory was measured in kilobytes, where programs were loaded with, of all things, a tape cassette deck. Woe to the player who could not achieve proper  volume control for uploads, for his task would be nigh impossible with results uncertain and undependable. Games would load partially, often crashing at ill-opportune moments. Once games were successfully loaded they were played sans instructions, sans sound, and--dare I say it?--sans graphics!

    The computer I played these games on was a Radio Shack TRS-80, aka the Trash 80 by those who loved and hated them. One might ask why bother playing games in such a frustrating manner when we could hook up the old Pong to the television and paddle our way into  dot-bouncing oblivion? Indeed, many of the original computer games I played were hardly improved over those joystick addled, overpriced, brain-numbing, contraptions. But then I came across my first true adventure game.

[Monitor displays black screen with green text. That's all.]

You are in a room with four walls. On the north wall there is a door:

[Player types in] Look down

There is an object on the floor:

Examine object

It is a key:

Unlock door with key

You do not have a key:

Crap! 

I do not understand "crap":

Pick up key

You have a key:

Examine key

It is a skeleton key. It looks very old:

Unlock the door

You are not close enough:

Go to door

Give directions N,S,E,W,:

Dumb computer

I do not understand "dumb computer":

Go north

You are at the door:

Unlock door

The door is not locked:

Screw you

That would not be nice:

Open Door

The door opens to a hall running east and west:

 

    So now you get the picture. After spending at least 30 minutes plugging in profanities just to get the computer’s response, I began to explore the castle, gathering items I might need as I went. The object of the game was the escape the castle. The trick was you had to kill Dracula to escape and you only had three days to find Dracula and the implements necessary to perform this grisly task. Any attempt to  leave without killing Dracula was met with wrathful villagers who assembled at the gates and immediately descended and dispatched you as an agent of evil.

    Staying in the castle to hunt and kill Dracula had a downside, too. As each day ended in your search for tools and weapons a mist would fill the room. Dracula would arise and drain you of blood. You would groggily awaken the next morning to find your weapons gone . . . never to be found again! It took a few reincarnations into a bloodsucking demon before I figured out that if you dropped your stash before nightfall, Dracula would not take it.

    Eventually I collected all the required objects and sent Dracula to hell. Now in today's world of high-resolution graphics and ground-shaking sub-woofers, I don’t expect Neal will be flooded with requests for copies of this antiquated program which, by the way, took almost all of the 4 kilobytes of RAM my computer had to offer. But I haven’t gone into what made the game so captivating. This game required the most sophisticated graphics generator ever created: The human brain. Every twist and turn of that castle is still etched in my mind. The dark passages, stone walls seeping moisture from between the decaying mortar. The view of the ancient battlements from the windows. The plank floors creaking beneath my feet and echoing into the darkness before me. At the end, Dracula’s coffin, ornate, foreboding, closed before me. Every moment in the game was timed. Each day passed with just so many movements allotted before nightfall and a step closer to unholy death. On the last day each entry had to lead to Dracula's destruction or you would run out of time and lose. The pervasive emotions were anxiety and tension. Each action had to be precise. Collect the stake, the hammer, the torch. Type carefully because a wrong turn or misspelled word meant one action too many. Not enough time, the sun sets, you lose. There wasn’t a save mode. Losing meant starting over from scratch.

    How does one judge a great game? I’ll tell you how I do it. A glance of the clock when I begin playing. Another time check ten minutes later. If three hours have gone by then I know I’m hooked. What is the lesson of this story? I guess I want to emphasize what every player knows at least subconsciously but designers tend to lose in their quest for the next great visual effect or audio extravaganza; Capture our imaginations and you capture our hearts, our loyalty, and of course, our pocketbooks. This is especially important in a submarine simulation. This is needed most here because a real submariner is blind to his surroundings. His ears hear only the mechanical sounds of an enemy’s screws or engines, or worse, the high-pitched sound of torpedo screws entering the water. You can dazzle us with periscope views of exploding ships or accurate depictions of our boats inner workings, but don’t allow our minds to believe we are not in dire straits when the destroyer overhead begins actively pinging us. Give us the ultimate. Give us the three-hour time warp. Make us believe!

Until then, see you in the games.

Richard Gillespie

 

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SUBSIM Review
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