Towards a new Paradigm in Computer Gaming

In the bad old days, we pushed pieces of cardboard over flat maps which looked much like the image1 to the left. Using our imaginations, we could see the city and the trees, but the map was flat and lifeless due to the limits of available technology.

Artwork consisted of a few hatch marks to denote cities, fat blue lines for rivers and green blobs for trees. Not a very visually stimulating environment.
       It was certainly possible, and I think was even tried once or twice, to create a three dimensional mapboard, but cost considerations prevented its wide-spread adoption. As a result, we were left with the flat map and the cheesy artwork.

The computer allows us to expand the graphical horizon by making it easier to generate three dimensional playing surfaces. In the second image1, above, The city

and the trees were rendered vertically as well as horizontally. This adds depth to the image and presents a more interesting playing surface. Playing pieces were stood up on end and supported by tiny stands to help make the 3-D illusion.
       Additional effort is probably in order to add depth to the river, correct the run of the road through the trees and perhaps to add some texture to the ground itself. However, the second image above is already much more visually interesting than the first.
       One can get carried away at this business of visual stimulation. You probably know

of a computer game where too much attention was paid to the graphics, and not enough to the game itself. One standout in this category is The Great Battles of Alexander2 shown in the screen shot to the left. In this game, the graphics are excellent, and one quickly learns to judge the relative strengths of the various formations by the number of

men still standing. Yet, in my opinion, altogether too much time was spent making pretty pictures and animations, and not enough time was spent making a game. I found that most of the time I spent playing Alexander, I was sitting idle watching things happen on the screen, and the computer was depressingly easy to beat once the basic game mechanics were mastered.
       While the improved graphics available through the computer enhance the gamin experience, it is unfortunate that PC games focus so much time and energy on the graphics, and so little on the underlying AI.

1.		Images shown above were made using simple tile sets created by DX6EDIT from Kimbro Software.
		Tile Set for Traditional Map Tile Set for Tilted Map
2.		The Great Battles of Alexander is a trade mark of Interactive Magic.

Page Last Updated 10/28/99