PC game
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A personal computer game is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment played on a personal computer. Presently, the term more accurately encompasses games that run on general purpose computers, including certain earlier home computers models, which are capable of operating other applications besides computer games.
Like console games, personal computer games primarily require a processing devices contained in a computer case, a display device in the form of a computer display, and input devices in the form of a keyboard and mouse by default to function. However, at present, such hardware may be obtained as a set, along with additional audio devices, graphic accelerators, and network devices. The modularity of a personal computer also allows for significantly easier hardware upgrades.
Personal computer game are usually distributed using standard storage units for personal computers, such as compact discs and most recently, DVDs. Floppy disks have also been widely used in the past, and certain games are also distributed via the Internet.
Overview
Games have been around on personal computers (PCs) for about 30 years, evolving from text-adventures such as the 1976 game Adventure to the almost-ubiquitous video games of today. Many PC games released recently are also available on dedicated games console platforms, like the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube but current PCs are more powerful than games consoles (with the notable exception of the Xbox 360), often resulting in the option for more detailed graphics or AI in the PC versions. The vast array of customisation available to a PC makes PC game software piracy a much bigger problem than with other forms of video gaming.
History
The history of computer games has not received much attention from researchers. Although one might expect a consensus on such a 'young' research area, many details are more than cloudy. Which game, for example, was the first?
The usual answer is Spacewar. In the 1960s computers were a luxury for the few. The machines were enormous and usually exclusive to research institutions or the military. In 1961, MIT students Martin "Shag" Graetz and Alan Kotok, with MIT employee Stephen "Slug" Russell, used a computer for statistical calculations for employees at the university. However, he and his friends had another interest; they were devoted fans of Edvard E. Smith's science-fiction saga Skylark. With this saga fresh in memory they constructed Spacewar.
In 1976, the first adventure game was born Adventure (Crowther and Woods 1976) and was purely text-based. With the arrival of the mouse, textual interaction was replaced by graphical interfaces. In the 1980s, strategy games gained popularity in the wake of successes such as Sid Meier's Pirates! (MicroProse, 1987) and SimCity (Maxis, 1987). The FPS genre was created with the release of Wolfenstein 3D (id Software, 1992) and remains one of the highest-selling genres today.
The first generation of games lacked the polish and AI seen in modern video games. They were text games where the player communicates with the computer by typing the direction in which to move. Nowadays these are known as interactive fiction. The first text-adventure, Adventure was created 15 years after Spacewar, but unlike the original Spacewar it could be played on a computer you could have in your house. The next generation of PC games were a hybrid of text and static graphics, commonly seen in the SSI [gold box] games like the original Pool of Radiance.
With advances in technology other game types were developed as computers became powerful enough to control and render more moving objects. Some were based on the IBM PS/2 Model 30 - with a 20 megabyte hard drive and 256 color MCGA graphics. Many currently popular, highly graphical mouse-based games originated on the Amiga computer platform since it had the most advanced colour graphic and animation capabilities of its time of introduction in 1985. Sequels to titles like Leisure Suit Larry and SimCity are still popular today. Other games included flight simulators (Comanche, Microsoft Flight Simulator series), Microsoft Game's Mechwarrior series, and strategy games (Command & Conquer, StarCraft, Warcraft). Around the same time, 16-bit systems had little capability to create 3D texture maps. However, systems did have enough power to use simple flat-shaded polygon environments, often a selling point in flight simulators and racing games of the time.
In the early 1990s third-party developers created shareware demos of games, usually allowing people to play the first section of the game for free and requiring payment to play the rest. Apogee Software was one company that distributed shareware demos on disks and later through the Internet. These have since been replaced by free downloadable demos of games, or demos that come with gaming magazines.
While leading Sega and Nintendo console systems kept their CPU speed at 3-7 MHz, the 486 PC processor ran at a much faster 66 MHz allowing it to perform many more calculations. 1993's 3D PC-based first-person shooter Doom was a breakthrough in graphics and design while consoles still had 2D side-scrollers like Nintendo's Mario series. As technology grew more sophisicated, dedicated games consoles caught up with the advances made by personal computers, paving the way for third-party developers to share game franchises like MDK between the different platforms,
Many early PC games included extras like the peril-sensitive sunglasses that shipped with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. By the mid-90s these extras had been dropped for a long time but many games were still sold in the traditional over-sized boxes that used to hold the extra "feelies".
The added competition from console games and the early 2000s explosion in computer game development was the trigger to redesign this packaging and by 2001 PC games were almost exclusively sold in smaller DVD-sized game boxes.
Distribution media and marketing
Traditional
Typically, games are distributed via storage media that would be standard to personal computers, and distributed to local retailers. Different formats of floppy disks were initially the staple storage media of the 1980s and early 1990s, but has largely fallen back in practical use as the increasing sophistication of computer games also increased the overall size of the game's data and program files.
Compact discs have largely replaced the role of floppy disks, supporting a rough total of 600 to 700 megabytes of data, sufficient for many computer games released during the 1990s, although a handful of such games had utilized multiple CDs, such as the two CD Command & Conquer set, which contained missions and video cut-scenes for one of the two warring factions in each of the CDs.
Towards the late 1990s, the size of games and introduction of complex graphics engines once again forced developers to release games in multiple CDs. DVDs have been eyed as the next compact storage media to replace CDs for personal computer games, as a single-layer DVD can store 4.7 gigabytes, far more than a CD would, as well as the increasing availability of DVD drives in newer personal computers. To date, CD and DVD formats are still offered for certain games.
Shareware
- Main article: Shareware
Shareware distribution, whilst common in the early stages of the computer game industry, has near all but disappeared for all major production companies as a form of distributing their product. In the early 1990s it was common for fledging game companies to use the shareware model to distribute their games (notable examples include Apogee Software, Epic Megagames and id Software). The trend that smaller, 'up and coming' or garage developers has since continued to help these smaller companies distribute their media and gain popularity. However, it is not common for established development teams to use shareware in the current market. Shareware today does not exist as much in its traditional meda-based form, but it has been adapted to games available exclusively through the Internet, with the same try-before-you-buy intention. PopCap Games, in particular, has used the shareware model to great sucess.
Web-based delivery
Games are common on the Personal Computer, from card, chess and poker games, to online Macromedia Flash games. Some games use HTML coding or JavaScript as a common creative tool for popular games like Chess, and casino games. Most games on the Internet offer the relief of bordem inconjuction with newly developed concepts. A good example is iSketch, and thousands of other games are created from this type of web-based software.
Service-based delivery platform
Gametap
Steam
Steam is a Internet server where consumers can buy their games online and download them directly to their console without buying the disk. Seventh generation video game consoles will most likely implement this feature as well.
Piracy and warez
Software piracy has come to include the distribution and sale of computer games that are copied on to CD-Rs or DVD-Rs. The lack of enforcement on such storage media has resulted in common "ripping", or duplication, of original games; while hacking tools widely available on the Internet has aided in the creation of codes bypassing copy-protection. This has largely created flourishing businesses in parts of the world that cater to the production and distribution of illegally copied and distributed software and games, usually done for profitable ends.
Other ways of hacking usually requires less effort in hacking the code by obtaining it through other users in mIRC channels, and open networks like Kazaa. Unauthorized distribution of copyright software is generally considered illegal, but when it is given away for free use it is not. Pirated software has disabled features in games such as online play because hacked code is not of the original, and has largely prevented users of pirated games from fully utilizing the game's multiplayer.
Emulators
Emulators are software based content from the internet for PC and Console gameplay. They mostly consist of old school videogames, or of old arcade games from systems and arcades that are no longer playable. Because of its hard accessibility and its distribution of copyright material, emulators are mostly pirated or for private nolstagia.
Expansion packs
Expansion packs are add-ons to an existing game. Expansion packs generally add new content like: units, missions, maps, and/or areas. Since they are just designed to add new content to a game, the original game is needed in order to utilize an expansion pack.
Popular and notable genres of PC gaming
Personal computers, due mostly to input available from the keyboard, mouse, and third-party joystick peripherals, have been the home genres of games that have never proved popular on video game consoles. The PC, due to its relative advanced hardware compared to video game consoles, has seen the development of new genres of gaming not possible on other systems at the time. The most notable example of this is the first-person shooter. Some games, such as SimCity and Wing Commander have been ported to console, but to lessened, if any, success. The genres that are popular today are in stark contrast from the games that were popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Adventure games and turn-based games used to be very popular, but have been since usurped by games that focus more on reflex as opposed to critical thinking.
- Action Shooter:
- Notable examples: Wolfenstein 3D, Descent, System Shock, Doom, Half-Life
- Squad-based Shooter:
- Notable examples: Delta Force, Ghost Recon, America's Army
- Tactical Shooter:
- Notable examples: Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In, Splinter Cell, Raven Shield
- Notable examples: Dune II, StarCraft, Age of Empires
- Notable examples: Civilization, Worms, Heroes of Might and Magic
- Notable examples: SimCity, Populous, The Sims, Black & White
- MMO-Role-Playing Games (MMORPG):
- Notable examples: Ultima Online, EverQuest, World of Warcraft
- MMO First-Person Shooter (MMOFPS):
- Notable examples: World War II Online, PlanetSide
- Notable examples: Football Manager, Championship Manager, Total Club Manager, Out of the Park Baseball
- Military tactical strategy/simulator:
- Notable examples: Harpoon, 688 Attack Sub, Steel Panthers
- Buisness Simulators:
- Notable examples: Railroad Tycoon, Theme Park
- Notable examples: Falcon 4.0, Microsoft Train Simulator, Live for Speed
- Traditional game:
Notable examples: Microsoft Solitaire, Battle Chess, Nibbles, Bejeweled
Notable examples: Zork, NetHack, Legend of the Red Dragon
Notable examples: King's Quest, Sam & Max Hit the Road, Bioforge
Notable examples: Wasteland, Ultima VI: The False Prophet, Fallout, Dungeon Siege
Characteristics unique to PC gaming
Moddability and user-created content
- Main article: Mod (computer gaming)
Computer games have a large and active following of mod communities. This may be attributed to easier access to the games' coding and perimeters using editing tools, courtesy of the personal computer's capability to run non-gaming programs. Also, easier access to the Internet using a personal computer may help make games modding and mods more accessible to common computer gamers.
Modding had allowed much of the community to produce game elements that would not normally be provided by the developer of the game. This may include objectionable contents that are related to sex and violence.
In the case of the PC port of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a third party modification was found to enable a disabled sex mini game abandoned by the developers of the game. While it was also revealed that the mini game was unlockable using third-party tools in the console port of the game, the availability of the mod through the Internet may had helped garnered more publicity and controversy, and forced the game to be re-rated, recalled, and criticized by computer and video game critics such as attorney Jack Thompson.
Rich user experience
Through the availability of peripherals exclusive to PC gaming, many gamers are able to receive a richer experience than available on other platforms. Such examples are… Some gamers today go to great lengths to achieve realism or the best experience possible; several people hook up 4 to 12 LCD panel displays in order to see a cockpit, in Microsoft Flight Simulator, for example [1]. Thrustmaster has long supported PC's with its creation of authentic flight joysticks, throttles, and peddles which allow gamers to control their plane/tank/car in a more realistic manner.
More players in online gaming
As personal computers pioneered the concepts of multiplayer gaming, and especially online gaming, it is logical for this platform to see a deeper extent of online gaming than its console bretheren. PC games support many more players, on average, than the equivalent console game. Battlefield 2, for example, supports up to 64 players in its PC incarnation, but only 32 players in its console verison, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. In fact, QuakeWorld, which premiered in 1997, allowed 64 players at a time when console didn't even have internet gaming capabilities. MMORPGs on the PC platform allow for hundreds of simultaneous participants in any given area, with thousands of players across the game world. This ability for more participants is not due to bandwidth, but do to superior processing and storage capabilities compared to video game consoles.
Preferences
PCs are popular for console emulation play and for setting up as game systems. The variety of third party controllers and adapters, like the Gravis gamepad, Microsoft Sidewinder and flightsticks show the superior feel for comfortable controls. The Radeon card series have the ability to hook up Digital Visual Interface imputs to high-definition television for superior gaming and high resolutions in the living room as well. While systems have come close to having the ability of playing games on a monitor, keyboard and mouse (see Sega Dreamcast), they have not been able to emulate the feel of gaming in both the living room and office environment.
Computer gaming hardware
Hardware
Most setups will include a keyboard and mouse. Other common gaming peripherals are headset and microphone for faster communication with teammates or opponents in online games, joysticks for flight sims and steering wheels for driving games.
PC games have to deal with the constantly-improving PC hardware market that makes it potentially confusing for game buyers to tell if a new game is compatible with their machine. New CPUs and graphics cards are coming out all the time and many games have a minimum hardware requirement, with successive new releases often requiring newer and faster processors or graphics cards. Unlike consoles, a 3-year-old PC will not be able to run the latest games. Unfortunately, many PC owners buy pre-packaged PCs and simply don't know the speed of their computer's processor or graphics card. Even if they do, the complexities of trying to deal with all the possible configurations of graphics card, processor, motherboard and RAM can lead to PC games being much more buggy than their console counterparts.
Operating systems
At present, computer games commonly require a specific operating system such as Microsoft Windows to function. Mac and Linux operating systems have significantly less support than Windows among the big game developers but compatible versions of popular games are becoming more commonplace. As of 2005, very few companies publish or port tiles to the Mac OS; the most notable publisher is Blizzard Entertainment. The Macintosh has seen some notable titles being its exclusive domain, most notably the Marathon series developed by Bungie (of Halo fame). Even with more titles being made for the Apple platform, it typically takes over a year for the titles to reach the system. Even fewer companies publish Linux versions; iD Software and Epic Megagames are the only major commercial game developers to make available Linux versions of their titles.
Installing and running computer games has become much easier with recent operating systems. Many gamers remember in the late 1980s and early 1990s, having to utilize boot disks in order to free up enough RAM to get the games to run. Moreover, specific hardware drivers, presently, with the advanced hardware architecture of modern operating systems combined with graphical platforms like DirectX have made computer games much easier to configure and run properly on a multitude of hardware.
Many older games of the 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s became incompatible with Windows 2000 and Windows XP, even when utilizing the built-in backwards compatibility modes. This is due to the internal structure of the operating systems being changed from where hardware could be directly accessed, to where it has to go through the hardware abstraction layer. Recently, a freeware DOS emulator entitled DOSBox has allowed many of these previously incompatible titles to yet work again. DOSBox is also compatible on Linux, opening up a wealth of software titles which were previously unavailable. In 2004, a commercial product entitled WineX was launched which allows many modern games to run on Linux, even though they are designed for the Windows platform.
Multiplayer
Support for networked multiplayer through Internet or LAN connections has become a requirement for many genres, like first person shooters, real-time strategy and racing games. The Internet has also allowed the creation of massively multiplayer online games supporting hundreds to thousands of simultaneous players.
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Cultural impact
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Japan
Many Japanese gamers view personal computers as a business tool, and that games are best played on dedicated hardware. However, some genres like bishōjo games are popular. The MSX Computer series also impacted the future of games for computers and consoles alike.
UK and US
Gamers in the UK and US have embraced PC games from their inception and most PC games are developed in these countries. Among hardcore gamers there has traditionally been a subset of this group who will spend tremendous amount of money upgrading their PCs several times a year, just to keep up to date with the latest technological developments in gaming.
Most Western gamers play PC games over the Internet in the comfort of their own homes or bring their own PCs to designated places (e.g. someone's home, or a commercial venue) to play against each other in a Local Area Network. These gatherings are known as LAN parties and have the benefit of much faster connection and response times than playing over the Internet, as well as feeling much more social.
Southeast Asia
LAN parties are less common in Southeast Asia, with the majority of competitive PC gaming going on in LAN gaming centres, particularly in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea. These are much more prevalent than in the western countries and can sometimes occupy an entire floor of a shopping centre. They allow gamers to play competitively without the technical knowledge required to set up the LAN as well as providing access to Internet games. This can allow gamers in MMORPGs or team FPS matches to coordinate much more effectively than if they were communicating through headsets. They avoid potentially crippling communication problems such as lag.
Screenshots
See also
External links
- Gamespun Gaming news and commentary.
- PC Gamer Magazine PC Gamer Magazine: A great Source for Pc Gaming news and PC Gaming Hardware News.
- Gamers 2.0 Gamers 2.0 is a new gamers website with reviews, news, discussion communities.
- Gamers Tools Gamers resources and industry news.
- Linux Gamers' How-to