A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

I kept dying. My Playstation 3 came bundled with one game. It was fun racing around MotorStorm's dirt track but I have to be honest; I didn't take much time to really put the game through its paces. I found it disheartening when involved in a serious enough accident to cause death. The screen slows down and one's flying body bounces around pitifully. It doesn't really hurt though. There's not much to prevent one from racing around rather foolishly and recklessly.

I wanted to see something else and have been interested in graphic adventure games since King's Quest I on the PC. Although amazing in 1986, Sir Graham appeared as a little stick figure on the CGA cards of the day. Last week, I stopped by the Canadian Superstore as they had a newer adventure game on sale. I wanted it.



I picked up Uncharted - Drake's Fortune. There was about a half hour over the weekend when I had some extra time. I began the game and so far it has more than met my expectations. In fact, the graphics I saw would have to be categorized as stunning. I've only been on the island for a little while but the lush vegetation is very impressive in high definition 720P. A waterfall was pretty enough, so that I simply had to walk up the river and take a better look. The storyline was engrossing and has made me want to get further involved.

I can hardly wait to take occasional extra minutes to explore more.

Labels: games, PS3

I'll admit I can remember Pong on a home TV. Yet, as mentioned in my eJournal and images before, most of my game playing experience occurred when friends and I ran an arcade during the summers of my college days. That was the late 1970's and early 1980's. I remember shooting at tanks from inside a virtual world of vector graphics in Atari's Battlezone. This would've been the original, stand-up cabinet where the player looked through a periscope. I knew that even thin green lines in 3-D sure seemed to beat out the coloured, but flat, images on the Pacman machines.



For years and years after that I didn't play games.

I did toy with an original xbox which is still in a closet here somewhere. We used it to play DVDs for a while and I spent a few hours impressed with Voodoo Vince.

Today, I spent most of the morning looking at trailers for the Sony PS3. This time things seem right for a fit to the Onkyo home theatre sound and the 42" Toshiba LCD. Although I'm thinking about buying one primarily for playing Blu-ray movies, if it's all connected, I will probably end up exploring a few game titles too. The Playstation 3 isn't known for having many good games at present: however, I expect the number will increase through 2008.



Yikes, we've gone beyond basic, wire frame graphics in the last 28 years, haven't we?

Labels: Bret, games, Joel, PS3, Sunapee, The Harbor Gameroom

High definition TV is delicious. For months and months my only hint of what it really looks like is through the high-def satellite channels of Bell ExpressVu.

My up-converting DVD player can provide a picture which is marginally better than standard TV, but it sure ain't the real McCoy. I've commented with disgust on the annoying format war for true high-definition discs. This week, that battle has apparently ended with Sony's Blu-ray as the victor. The competitor, Toshiba has officially thrown in the proverbial towel. I'll settle for this scenario as long as it means an increasingly quick proliferation of mainstream HD.

The problem presently preventing widespread adoption is cost. The cheapest Blu-ray player is going for around $399 at local electronics suppliers. Many of these players are not even very future-proof as they do not provide the Net access necessary to implement BD Live (Profile 2.0). In fact just about the only safe bet if one were purchasing today would be to go with a Sony PlayStation 3. It has built in wireless and a hard drive.

For the same $399 one can have a machine with a lot more flexibility than a stand-alone Blu-ray player. Putting a Blu-ray disc in the gaming console was considered unwise and costly when the PS3 first shipped. Now however, it appears as if it was the Trojan horse that stealthily helped push Sony's HD format to victory.

I might be convinced to go purchase a new PlayStation 3 this weekend, but production has stopped on the higher end, 80 GB $499 model. I must wait until the new unit shows up as it may have 120 or 160 GB for the same price. People can only speculate on the configuration as Sony is notoriously tight-lipped about unrealeased products.

Labels: games, HDTV, Internet, PS3, television

What a blustery day! I'm happy there's no class today due to it being a 3-day weekend for many businesses in Canada. The rain and wind started in the middle of the night. The noise woke me up. Even our gas fireplace blows out from the force and angle of the wind. Although it's mid-morning it hasn't let up. So, it is a suitable day just to hang around and watch DVD's, review email, and blog.

Last week, when I discussed games, I talked about old-school arcade machines. I even located an Internet photo of Xenon, the pinball machine for that entry. And wouldn't you know that Bret was able to scrounge up an actual photo from Sunapee, NH! Here's a scanned image from the Harbor Gameroom circa 1980.

Labels: Bret, games, New Hampshire, Sunapee, The Harbor Gameroom

Earlier this morning, I was looking at the my eJournal and images page which showcases my games label.

I guess I'm now old enough to be a little nostalgic.

I hear about game titles like BioShock in popular media but I've never been much of a first-person shooter. Although it must be said that I had a 22 rifle as a teenager. I even became quite good at skeet shooting with a 12-gauge. These were real life situations with family though. I just cannot seem to get too excited about buying into any of the modern gaming consoles. In fact, my old, original XBOX actually sits in a box.

I was a happy, however, to re-visit an old link I had entered in September 2003. It pointed to www.flippers.com. It seems to be a local Vancouver company and although the guy's no stunning web designer, it's the content that I found so very appealing.

As mentioned here previously, two high-school friends and I had an arcade in our little hometown of Sunapee, NH decades ago. It was the industry's turning point from mechanical to electronic. Pacman, Space Invaders, and Galaxian were fun to play but there was nothing better than the selinoid-thumping, electro-mechanical sounds of a real pinball machine.

I'd own a vintage example today were it not for a 725 sq ft apartment and the $2000 to $3000 price tag for an average setup. I bet it'd be much more for a mint conditon Bally Xenon. After all, that suductive female voice coaxing a player to "try a tube shot" could catipult just about anyone back into one's adolescence. And how much is that worth?

Labels: games, New Hampshire, Sunapee, The Harbor Gameroom

It's already a part of popular culture. Last night CSI:NY included a plot featuring Second Life. I'm not a game player and as proof I have an original X-BOX that's sitting in the closet after being played less than a dozen hours.

Okay, they say this online experience is not really a game. I say it's a little freaky. Still, I think one owes it to oneself to keep up on what's current. I don't know how many people my age can be found running around the virtual worlds but if you happen to run across a Wendell Latte, do say hello to me.

Labels: games, Internet

The Internet has everything, or so I thought. I'd never before been able to come up with a topic on which I couldn't find copious amounts of information.

I was recently admiring satellite views of the world through Google Earth. Back when personal computers were new and I worked overseas, I used to collect pirated software. In the Gulf, in the eighties, there were no avenues to purchase authentic copies. I was reminded of a very early program I once used. A company called BlueSky Software once created IBM-compatible software called PC Globe.

I came up nearly empty on the Internet. I only discovered a bit about the company and the titles they produced but very little about when the specific piece of software in question was released. What I really want to see is a view of the, then state-of-the-art, CGA graphics that it boasted. Suddenly I remembered, I could double check on PC Globe by looking at my Software Games from 1989 pdf. Unfortunately, the 5 1/4 inch bendable floppy disc I was thinking about is not listed there at all.

It's a bit sad to think that something created within the last twenty years can vanish so completely. This is especially poignant as computers are what the Internet is all about. I've been unsuccessful in my search. Please drop me a line if you know anything about BlueSky's PC Globe. I volunteer to be a resource and will even write up an entry for Wikipedia!



Today, it's possible to even zoom in on the very neighbourhood where I grew up. I'm 5,000 kilometers from that location and maybe that adds to the romanticism of being able to look where my feet trod over 45 years ago.

Labels: computers, games, Google, Internet, New Hampshire, software

How much of your time at the keyboard now takes place on the Internet? The change has been a while in coming but I'd say it's here. Nowadays, I spend much more time typing in www.blogger.com, www.gmail.com and my.bcit.ca than in Microsoft Word on my local drive. If my Internet connection were to fail, I'd consider my computer broken.

Whatever did I used to do on pre-Net computers? How did I spend so much time on a PC in the decade from 1985 to 1995? Oh yeah. It was possible do do things with local software only.

Here, I scanned a picture of Jay playing Moonbugs on an old XT-compatible in Bahrain in 1990. Click it to see it on Flickr.

Labels: Bahrain, games, software

Finally! I've been waiting for a smooth segue to add this graphic. It's been sitting on my hard drive for a while anticipating the chance to join this blog. In yesterday's entry there was an Acrobat file which showed the game copies I had in 1989. So, now I'm able to include these two screen captures.



Jay maintains this was the only fun computer game. It used to run on my original IBM XT clone's CGA card. He doesn't have much regard for up-to-date equipment because one can't play Moonbugs.

I never use my computer to play games nowadays. Hell, my XBOX sits in a cardboard BOX as I never even manage to fire it up. I would be able to blast people right out of the room with Dolby 5.1 though. It might be I was thinking of this topic because of last month's buzz about the XBOX 360.

Labels: computers, games, software

I saw mention of it on the Internet. I have to admit I'm a sucker for useless gadgets and this little darling was available at Wal-mart. It looked like an item one would use for fifteen minutes and then put in a drawer until ... forever. Still, I rationalized buying one because I decided it cost only as much as a calculator. (Actually, it was a bit more as I'd forgotten calculators are now just $2.19.) I don't think I went expressly to buy the Radica's 20Q but as long as I was there ...



You know the game of 20 questions, don't you? This is just an electronic, handheld version that has uncanny accuracy. The user just thinks of an item. I'll use 'refrigerator' as an example. Here's our conversation:

Gadget - I know what you're thinking. Ready?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - Q1 Is it an animal, vegetable, mineral, other, or unknown?
Dennis - other
Gadget - Q2 Is it flat?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q3 Would you use it daily?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - Q4 Does it bring joy to people?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q5 Can it bend without breaking?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q6 Is it smaller than a loaf of bread?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q7 Does it use electricity?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - Q8 Is it a common household object?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - Q9 Can it be found in a classroom?
Dennis - no
Gadget - You think you can beat me. Let's see. Q10 Is it larger than a microwave oven?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - Q11 Do you open and close it?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - Q12 Does it get wet?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q13 Can you hold it?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q14 Can it be stolen?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q15 Was it used over 100 years ago?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q16 Do you use it in your home?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - Q17 Does it come in a box?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q18 Does it contain a liquid?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - I will ask a few more questions ... before I win! Q19 Does it get really hot?
Dennis - no
Gadget - Q20 Would you find it in an office?
Dennis - sometimes
Gadget - I think you thought you were tricky! Is it a refrigerator?
Dennis - yes
Gadget - That was easy. I know you want to try again?
Dennis - no

Labels: games, lists, Walmart

A person could read any blog from the beginning. However, if there happens to be any logical development in the topic, then it occurs in reverse chronological order. For example, here's a recap of the last few days:

Last Friday, I mentioned that I had brought my camera to BCIT.

So, on Saturday, I showed a picture taken in the computer lab.

On Sunday, that led me to consider the music at the beginning of the PC era.

Yesterday, I spent some time discussing the movie, TRON, from that time period.

Now here's the current connection: The movie, TRON, contained arcade games as an important aspect of the plot. This has led me look around for a picture of the gang who brought Pacman to the Harbor at Sunapee, New Hampshire. Look at the friends in the picture who began The Harbor Gameroom. Thanks to Bret Wirta's endless business acumen, Joel Thomas's engineering aptitude, and the good fortune of the arcade boom, we created a summer business during my college years.

Although the building no longer exists, our business is kept alive in memory. Our large roof sign now sits in the Sunapee Historical Society.


"Come Play With Me .... at the Harbor Gameroom". That's what
the t-shirts used to say and it was accurate for the hundreds of local
and visiting patrons. I'm in the back. In the first row, Joel Thomas
is on the left. Bret Wirta appears in the middle and his brother, Mark
Wirta is on the right.

Labels: Bret, camera, games, Joel, New Hampshire, Sunapee, The Harbor Gameroom

All right, I've given up on my XBOX's Voodoo Vince. I cannot even defeat the wild, wrench-throwing gas pumps. I will just have to scour the Internet for cheats.

To me a driving game was staying between 'reflectors' in the pong-era gaming console.

Yesterday, I rented Midtown Madness 3 at Roger's Video. Graphics have sure come a long way, baby. One drives around in actual Washington, DC or Paris, France. There are pedestrians walking around carrying packages. There are also street signs, and many other vehicles. Most of the other cars use their turn signals. The trees blow in the breeze. I even spotted graffiti on a mail box.

Before I begin to cruise around I can pick the time of day which affects shadows and lighting. I can also decide if it's raining or not. Perhaps more importantly I can choose the vehicle. Do I feel like driving a taxi or a dump truck today? Maybe after I get better at staying in the road, I will compete with the software to deliver a pizza before my competition. However, that old Cadillac drives like a floating barge.

My only reservation about this might be letting teenagers at it as there's apparently no incentive not to mow over everything in one's path! How about a controller that administers appropriate electric shocks?

Labels: games, software

I remember the original King's Quest on the computer that's pictured in yesterday's entry. I was amazed when I first saw it. As one moved the little stick man to the edge of the screen with the keyboard's arrow keys, new pages appeared.



On Thanksgiving, I bought an XBOX. I'm working through an adventure game called Voodoo Vince. I am again amazed. Now, I'm using a game controller to move a highly-defined, burlap, animated character. He exists in an expansive, 360-degree, 3-dimensional world with lighting and textures.

Labels: games

Maybe it is time to purchase an XBOX. The MS game console really does seem the most advanced on the market now. Can someone over 40 buy one for themselves? An Xbox would plug right into my 5.1 HTS and they've certainly attained a certain 'coolness' on TV sitcoms. (Yet, TiVo has been displayed in a few of the shows I saw this week and most of my friends don't know what that is. What synergy --- TV promoting a way to watch more TV!)

I guess you might say that I've had an interest in computer games since the classics. Most of the games with which I'm familiar would be from a bygone era. Thankfully this apartment is very small or I'd own a $US 800.00 Asteroids cabinet. (They do ship to the USA though, Bret!)

Labels: Bret, games

I got a message from Michael Ansart the other day about the death of singer/songwriter Warren Zevon. You see during my college days, a group of three ran an arcade in our small town in New Hampshire. The Harbor Gameroom was a hangout for not only summer visitors but also for the local youth in our tourist town of Sunapee. In that arcade there was a jukebox that burned the favorite tunes of those times into our brains. During the summer of 1978 one of those songs was Zevon’s Werewolves of London.

Here’s a recent email exchange:

Michael Ansart: For some reason as soon as I heard the news, I felt the pain from old bruises sustained in a cardboard "pizza disk” fight at the gameroom.

Dennis Hurd: Thanks for the news. Okay, Bret ... what was the number on the jukebox?

Bret Wirta: All this ol' brain remembers is N4. Was that Main Street? Love is Like Oxygen?

Mark Wirta: Why couldn't it have been the Heart sisters instead. Would have given me some measure of satisfaction for having to listen to Barracuda every time that Bungay kid had an extra quarter.

Dennis Hurd: You mean the jukebox used quarters? I remember just opening a little door, reaching inside, and hitting ...

Michael Ansart: Years ago I saw Warren Zevon in a small club, I went in just liking his music, but came away with a bit of admiration for the man. He was three songs into his first set, when this loud group of approx. 8 entered the club and made a big deal with the club staff. Essentially demanding that they set a table up for them near the front of the stage. The club staff, trying to avoid a scene complied. Between songs, the loud and most obnoxious of the 8 repeatedly tried to talk with Zevon. Right in the middle of one song, Zevon simply stopped playing and turned to the audience and said, “Did you ever notice how the f#$*ing a*^holes who are up front at a show, are the ones who care least about the music?” Then he announced to a semi-stunned crowd, “I’m not going to continue until this table is empty” Then to wild applause the club staff escorted the table of 8 to the door. Ever since that night, I always enjoyed listening to Zevon a little more.

Labels: Bret, games, music, New Hampshire, Sunapee, The Harbor Gameroom