Beyond the Arcade

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Keith Campbell

A HANDFUL OF BOOKS As a change from slaving away over a hot keyboard, I sat down and relaxed for a while with a batch of recently released books on Adventure. Graphics Adventures for the Spectrum 48k is by Richard G. Hurley and contains listings for seven graphics Adventures. They are reproduced (presumably from printer output) in greater clarity than I have seen before in print. Having said that, there is no point in buying the book unless you intend to sit down and type - or should I say "rubber pad"? - at least one of the listings in to your Spectrum. Looking through them, it is not a job I would fancy, since some have over two pages of numeric data. Make an error and... Each game is preceded by hints on typing in the listing, saving the game - some non-routine saving methods are used - plus tips and instructions on how to play. The blurb says that to help you write your own Adventures, the techniques used in writing the programs are explained. This is true, but only as brief preambles, so you should not expect to learn how to write such programs from scratch. If Graphic Adventures are your thing, and you are adept at entering listings, then this book could represent very good value for money, although I can't vouch for the quality of the games, as I have not keyed them in myself. Graphics Adventures for the Spectrum 48k is by Richard G. Hurley and published by Micropress at £5.95. Beyond the Arcade must be a title to appeal to Adventure fans, who can usually be relied on to have an interest in most games requiring thought and strategy, as opposed to fast reactions and manual dexterity. By Nicholas Palmer, the book starts off with a useful discussion of the characteristics of most current popular micros from the gamer's point of view. This takes into account the software available, graphics capability and so on. If you are about to buy a computer, and unashamedly admit that it's mainly for gaming, then here's a useful comparison. The book then takes the reader through the whole range of strategy games, from Adventures, through war and resource games, to play by mail games. In fact, almost half the book is devoted to the latter and it's the most complete rundown on the subject I have come across. Pure Adventurers, though, should peruse it before buying, as not an awful lot of it is about Adventure games. Beyond the Arcade, by Nicholas Palmer, is from Mosaic Publishing, priced £6.95. Finally, I came to The Adventurer's Notebook by Mike Gerrard. This is presented with a metal ring spine and is intended to be a working notebook for the Adventurer. The main bulk of it consists of sheets of dummy maps and blank tables for writing in objects, locations and actions, for use as an aide-memoire during play. It's an excellent idea, but what happens when the pages run out? The idea might have been better presented as a proper loose-leaf folder, with replacement forms readily available, rather than as a book. Some 38 pages of text precede the notebook section and comprise the history of Adventure, hints on playing and a list of currently available software. There is even a sort of abridged thesaurus included and a chapter on Recommended Adventures. Interestingly, Artic's series is included in this list, contrasting with the views of Nicholas Palmer (see Beyond the Arcade above) who finds Planet of Death "amazingly dense" and the others little better. Yes. The text part of the book continues with recommended books and I was pleased to see The Computer & Video Games Book of Adventure being the only one named as non-machine-specific. Obviously C&VG is not thought by the author to be worthy of true Adventurers, whilst PCN(?) is! And who's this Bridge fellow he mentions? Only joking, Tony! The Adventurer's Notebook is by Mike Gerrard and is published by Duckworth, priced £3.95.

Micro Adventurer

Tony Bridge

NOT MUCH VISIBLE BEYOND THE COVER AUTHOR: Nicky Palmer PUBLISHER: John Wiley & Sons/Mosaic Publishing PRICE: £6.95 Nicky Palmer is a very well-known name in war-gaming circles as an author, editor, contributor and critic as well as a games designer. It is therefore with a certain amount of respect that one approaches this latest volume from Mosaic Publishing. Beyond the Arcade is subtitled Adventures and Wargames on Your Computer. It is a 150-page book covering the subjects that you would expect, given the title. With a noticeably strong bias towards the American computers like the Atari, Apple, PET and iBM, half the book is devoted to a rather critical overview of available adventures. When Palmer decides to venture into the ground held by British computers, he concentrates on the Spectrum, with the Dragon gaining an honourable mention. Adventures like The Hobbit are looked at - he says that "it seems unlikely that this is quite the start of the new age of adventuring that the designers would have us believe," and then goes on to say, "a stronger candidate for the New Age is Valhalla." Adventures are covered rather sketchily - I couldn't, for instance, find any reference, except in the Appendix, to Infocom, or anywhere to Scott Adams, surely necessary candidates for inclusion in a round-up of adventures? There is passing reference to techniques, but really nothing from which a novice would gain. There is also a very short chapter which gives a few hints on how to market your own adventure. After a few rather uneasy pages devoted to adventures, Palmer eventually works his way round to wargames, and here he is on much firmer ground. The discussion quickly gives way to a look at Play-By-Mail Computer-moderated Games, and this takes up half of the book. All the old favourites take a bow in this section of the book Keys of Bled, Starlord and Starweb among others, and they are all accorded much more space than many of the adventures seen in the first part of the book. Here the novice PBM'er will find plenty of advice on playing these complex games. There follows advice on setting up your own PBM game (advice of the "buy a magazine and get an idea of what is offered by other people" variety). £6.95 is a very high price to pay for this book - it's a nice afternoon's read, but is too basic for the experienced computer wargame player, and not basic enough for the tyro. Palmer, I believe, wanted to write a detailed volume about Play-By-Mail games, and was pressured into including Computer Adventures to pander to the current vogue. Thus the book falls between two stools, and ends up offering nothing new to anyone.

Personal Computer News

John Lettice

'Beyond the Arcade' by Nicholas Palmer, published by Mosaic at £6.95 (paperback, 151 pages). A curiously unsatisfying book, this. It seems to be aimed at the gap between arcade gamers and that weird species on the fringes of civilisation, the wargamer/Dungeons and Dragons freak. Although it pays lip service to games design by telling you about the financial side of games production. It doesn't actually set out to give programming tips. It therefore seems to fall somewhere between being a work of reference and an introduction to the more thoughtful breed of computer game. Unfortunately, this turns out as a disorganised series of potted reviews. The author doesn't review everything that's available, and there's no index, so as a work of reference it falls down drastically. This is a great pity, as Mr Palmer writes quite well, but the book as it stands is only likely to be of use to people who feel they might be interested in strategy games, and need something to fire their imagination.