YOU CAN CLICK ON THE GAME TITLE IN THE HEADER TO GO THERE
Here is some most likely useless information for you to digest. This page is dedicated to the games I and my friends like to play. It is organized by subject (Computer, Board games, RPG, and other) and then in alphabetical order. I keep a list of potential opponents under "Doom2" under Computer because this is my favorite action game except maybe Duke3D, and it is probably the most universally owned, but most people there will be willing to play others as well.
Computer
Board Games
Computer
Doom-The famous follower of Wolfenstein 3D, it had much that Wolfenstein didn't. First of all, it was a Sci-Fi shoot-'em-up, so it didn't need to stay realistic in weaponry, settings, and monsters. Unfortunately, its designers did not exploit this fact to its full extent, so the weapons remained primarily usual until Doom2. It did, however, have the rocket launcher, one of my favorite weapons. Most importantly, the monsters were interesting, original, and varied. Instead of just pistol guys and dogs, Doom had soldiers, sergeants, demons, imps, and chain-gunners, and many others, requiring the player to actually use more than his favorite weapon and his favorite tactic. Furthermore the sound effects were of higher quality and the settings were much more unique and impressive. The topography provided for much more interesting game-play. Monsters were not always on the same level as the player, so even ground based enemies could shoot from above. The player also had to make use of stairs and platforms to get through the level. Finally, the transporters injected an even larger element of uncertainty into the game as players stepped on the pad and found themselves in the middle of a gaggle of imps. The interaction level was only slightly enhanced though. Players could be hurt by acid and could globularize enemies by shooting exploding cans. Buttons opened distant doors and platforms could be lowered or raised as needed, but that is virtually all a player could do to alter the environment.
Doom2- Doom 2 is, appropriately, simply an extension of Doom. More monsters (Cyberdemon!), more weapons (You got the BFG 9000! Oh, Yes!), and more graphics provided novel gameplay for even the most addicted fan of Doom. Two player deathmatch games were much better in this version mostly because of the increased quality of weaponry. The only super effective weapon in Doom was the rocket launcher, which was at least as likely to kill you as your enemy if you were playing some one of equal ability. Now came the double-barrel shotgun, which can kill with a single shot from close range even if the opponent is at 100% health (this has happened to me!), but which more importantly can shoot through bars more effectively than any other weapon. The Plasma cannon and BFG 9000 added more weapons that required different tactics. The BFG, with its ultra-slow shots had to be used in vastly different conditions than the Plasma cannon to be effective. This game remains my favorite of all Wolf3D clones yet because of variety. Granted that there is no swimming, no flying, no item storage, and no jumping, but this game, in my opinion, has the best consistency of great graphics and original, fun, weapons.
Here is a list of those in the St. Louis area looking for deathmatch games:
- NAME.......................................E-MAIL............................PHONE
- ME (Chas Schweizer) ................cbs2@cec.wustl.edu..........935-2267
Duke Nuk'em 3D-My second favorite after Doom2, Duke Nuk'em is known mostly for, well, Duke. He makes funny comments about himself, such as "Man, I'm lookin' good!", is able to relieve himself given the proper facilities, and also makes comments about the enemies in the game, such as "What a mess." The environment is very interactive. Toilets can be used or broken. To crawl through vents you can smash the grate covering it. There are many destroyable items sitting around, including prostitutes that turn into cash when killed. Other advantages over Doom 2 include storable items, the ability to swim (a scuba unit allows Duke to stay under for extended periods of time, something Quake lacks), the ability to jump (booster rockets allow Duke to fly), and the ability to crawl and duck. My main complaints are that the weapons, though somewhat original, are not as exciting as Doom 2's. Sure, Duke has pipe bombs, trip laser bombs and a shrink ray, but the first two seem more to me like strategical traps than weapons, while the latter provides neither big explosions or globularized enemies. The RPG takes the place of the rocket launcher and the pistol, chaingun, and shotgun are copied, but there is nothing to rival the Plasma Cannon and BFG (please note that I have not played the full version, so do not know much about that lightning thing). My other complaint is that the monster graphics are no good, and not at all varied. There are a few forms of that pistol carrying thing, whatever it may be, a shotgun wielding boar, and whatever that psionic floating guy is. The only decent graphic would be that of that psionic dude. I do, however, favor the explosion effect in Duke3D more than that in any other game. Sure, Quake is great with the body parts that fly out all over the place leaving trails of blood that slowly fall to the floor, but the body parts are only unrecognizable brown chunks. In Duke (like in Rott), arms, legs, and even eyeballs are spewn forth amidst the chunks-o'-gore. Unfortunately, these are mostly absorbed somehow by the floor, leaving only the bloody pulp of the body and maybe footprints if you happen to walk across the body and track its blood across the room. Another complaint some people make is that the 3D is not quite as 3D as one might hope. The urinals are obviously contained within the plane of the wall, as are the sinks in the counter. I do not know why this is because there are several objects that do stick out. You can walk on the counters and step up on benches or chairs. I guess the urinals were just too difficult. At any rate, this game ranks 2 on my list. It surpasses Quake in graphics and effects, weapons, and humor. Despite its name, it is not as 3D as Quake, but has more things to be 3D. Quake has no funny objects, no original weapons, and poor graphics (in my opinion). It falls surpasses Doom 2 in environment and interaction, but falls short in variety and quality of monsters, and excitement of weaponry.
Quake- When Quake came out, every one was praising it. I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. When I finally downloaded the shareware version, I was woefully disappointed. The setting was beyond boring. EVERYTHING IS BROWN!!! This is THE MOST drab game I have ever seen. The monsters are unrecognizable. Brown polygon beasts, all. Only their size and general shape allow the player to distinguish between them (all right, so this might be a little exaggerated, but this is how I feel). The weapons are unoriginal: nailgun and super nailgun take place of pistol and chaingun, rocket launcher for rocket launcher, shotgun and super shotgun for shotgun and double-barreled shotgun. The grenade launcher is kind of neat, but does not seem very effective to me. For that style of weapon I would prefer the pipe-bomb anyway, because you can decide when it goes off. I don't like the lightning gun. No particular reason why, it just doesn't appeal to me. The only really good part is that when some small monster is killed with the rocket launcher, brown chunks bounce all around the room leaving trails of blood through the air. This is moderated, though, by the fact that said brown chunks are unrecognizable as body parts. In my opinion, the only reason for playing this game is that one can play it on a Quake server over the Internet against several (sometimes up to 16) human players. A list of such servers can be found on the Quake Stomping Grounds page.
Warcraft II- Possibly the best war strategy computer game around right now, Warcraft II's most notable feature is its real-time game engine. There are no turns. The speed with which you can organize your side often determines whether you win or loose. Combine this with a great variety of creatures and a great variety in styles of attack (from self-detonating sappers to invisible mages causing ice storms to flying, fire-breathing dragons to healing empowered paladins) and whole new worlds of tactics open up. Here are some links to people who worship the game even more than I, as well as a list of potential opponents (in St. Louis only, please).
Bob's Homepage- This is a really high-tech page. One neat thing- it has a Warcraft II league.
B. Mellis' Warcraft II obsessive page- This guy is really obsessed, but his page is neat. He has lots-o'-links.
- NAME.................................E-MAIL............................PHONE
- ME (Chas Schweizer)...........cbs2@cec.wustl.edu..........935-2267
Board Games
Diplomacy- Diplomacy is a game of European conquest in which each of seven players (representing one of: Germany, England, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Italy) try to expand his/her territory and armed forces by gaining 'supply centers', usually at the cost of an opponent. Negotiation, double-dealing, back-stabbing, and allying are the most important methods of play. Military tactics become secondary, and luck plays no part at all. For further description, go to my Diplomacy Page.
Trivial Pursuit- Trivial Pursuit is a rather well-known but little thought of game in which each of 2 to 6 players match knowledge of history, art, science, and less meaningful categories in an attempt to collect six "pie pieces". Though this might not sound overly fun, it can become extremely hilarious when playing late at night with friends. Though I have not actually ever gotten drunk, it seems to me that it would be even funnier when playing against slightly drunk opponents.
I am afraid that this description will be brief because it has occurred to me that this would be an all or nothing section. Either I tell merely what it is and why I like it, or one thing will lead to another and I will be giving huge in depth descriptions of every facet of the game, my characters, and my world. Trust me, you do not want me to do this. So here it goes: AD&D is an open ended RPG in which anywhere from one to a large group (in my opinion over 5 becomes unwieldy) of people play imaginary characters with set attributes, skills, and personality ranges. A "Dungeon Master" creates adventures for these players that test the character's attributes and skills, as well as the players' role-playing ability and puzzle solving skill. There are huge books of set rules, though these can be added to and subtracted from at the DM's (Dungeon Master's) discretion. The possibilities are endless. Since I am too lazy/smart to write much more, here are some links to follow:
[links to be added]
Everyone has heard of chess. Most know how the pieces move. Because of this, this section will also be brief. Basically, its purpose is to tell any visitors that I like chess and that if they currently reside at Wash. U. and are not of consummate skill, they might seek me out to play a game or two. If they live at CalTech, they might then seek out my friend John Hatfield. Please note that John is very good at chess, but can't play speed chess worth #$%@.
Doubles Speed Chess THIS IS DAMN FUN!!!- If you have not played this, try it. It is called different things depending on where you live (Bughouse is the second most common name), but the game remains pretty much the same. First of all, the setup consists of two boards next to each other with like colors on the diagonal. That is, if you are sitting at one place and playing black, your team-mate sitting next to you should be playing white. The general idea is that when your team-mate captures a piece, you can spend one of your turns putting it on the board as one of your pieces. The judicious placement of pieces is a very important part of the game. The rules for placing pieces are: 1) You cannot put a piece on your opponent's back row. 2) You can place no piece such that it puts the opponent in check. The objective of the game is to capture an opponent's king. Because of this, there is no "check" and "checkmate". If you move to attack the king and your opponent doesn't see it, just take the king as your next move. Whichever team captures either opponent's king first wins and both games end. You can also have a fifth player or even a line that sub.s in for the person who lost his/her king. If you think your opponent is taking too long, start counting. If he has not moved by the time you get to ten, it is your move (some people remove an opponent's piece, other than the king or queen, in addition to making the opponent lose his/her turn). Simple, right? You try it.
Here are some links to neat chess places. The first on the list, The Chess Server, allows two players to play a game over the 'net. It is kind of neat but takes a while. Also try watching a game. The rest are just informative links.
Chess on the Net- You can get other chess players' e-mail addresses within 24 hours.
Chess Variants - This page has some really weird ways to play chess. You should try some of the saner ones, but some of them sound just a little too far-fetched for me.
me with suggestions, comments, or questions.
This page designed and programmed by Charles Schweizer.
All graphics and layout ©1996 Charles Schweizer.
