We are in the age of fast action first person shooters, but once upon a time, there were turn-based strategy games. Before the dawn of efficient processors, large hard drives, and a large computer savvy consumer base, a type of game existed where intellect and strategy were king. Trigger happy teenagers were beat by patient methodical adults, and time could be put into making the right moves, without fear of a mouse failure, a broken keyboard, or a faulty internet connection. Yes, these were the days of true strategy games.
Chess is a classic example of a turn based strategy game that has lost relative popularity. In chess, there is a clear objective, there are set rules, and planning is paramount. It is played between two individuals looking to have a battle of the wits. In the early 1980s, a series of games were made for early Macintosh computers and DOS machines, based off the same fundamental concepts that made chess a success.
These games were often written with little graphics, and offered at low one-time purchase prices. In the instance of Strategic Conquest, a turn based war battle, the game was available at a reasonably low price, and could be played as a multi-player version or against the computer. Turns could be taken on a single computer or on an Appletalk network. In the early 1990s the game disappeared from the public eye, only to be played on special occasions, often with nostalgia as the primary motivator.
As the technology boom of the mid to late 1990s progressed, this genre of intellectual gaming was nearly lost completely. Fast processors and cheap computers opened the door to mass production of high-quality first person shooters with 3d graphics, motion, and sound. Only recently, have these types of games popped back up into the public sphere.
I will introduce one such example of a website catering completely to the text based, strategy era. The Global Game Network, which was founded and has been maintained for the last 12 years by a true veteran of the computer age, has brought back many popular strategy games from our lost era, and remade them as modern online versions. The games are available for free, and are played actively by a loyal user base ? old and new to true strategy.
Ben Rogovy, president and founder of Front Door Enterprises, enjoys playing online strategy games in his free time. While he is not playing games, he is working on developing and implementing creative marketing strategies.
Tags: playing games, games, era, chess, online, first person shooter, amp, internet, gaming, these games, free, game, online game, online games, free time
