FunUnGames

Old School Arcade Titles On Consoles

Porting classic arcade games into consoles has become the latest rage in the gaming industry. The trend clearly affirms the fact that arcade games are not dead.

The gamers are not an elderly bunch of people who grew up on these titles. Kids are also addicted to it. The games have been revamped graphically but never shed the addictive game play which, of course, is the part and parcel of every game.

Arcade games have not been graphically interesting, but this move successfully negates the fact that the popularity of a game largely depends on its game play and not seemingly awe-inspiring graphics.

This phenomenon has also triggered a resurrection of arcade games and made it popular among online gamers. Arcade games are also being ported into handheld consoles like PSP.

This clearly indicates the popularity of arcade gaming.

Some of the ported titles are

Geometry Wars – The game was a classic when it was released back in 80’s. The upgrade features high end particle physics, digital sound, new special effects, a new scrolling area and high end graphics.

It is set in the far reaches of the galaxy where you battle hordes of vile, neon blazoned aliens. It also lets you choose between the old version and the updated version.

Pac-man – The all time classic has been upgraded with high definition graphics. The game still retains the original game play and the charming retro look.

The newer version features 250 levels of pure action packed fun. The game retains the original music and sound score that the fans remember so well.

The Pac-Man Syndrome

Pac- man was created by Toru Itwani and licensed by Namco. The game was centered on an old Japanese folk tale.

The object of the game was simply to move through a maze, while gobbling the dots and avoiding ghosts. Pac Man was a tear away success spawning a cult in its wake.

It was picked up for production in the US by Midway.

Pac-man was a nice breakaway for gamers bored with an extreme dose of space invaders. The game soon went on to strip ‘Asteroids’ as the greatest selling game of all time.

Game play

The player maneuvers the protagonist through a maze eating dots. The game proceeds to the next level once all the dots are eaten.

There are four ghosts which roam around the maze trying to catch Pac-man who is the character maneuvered by the player. If the ghosts touch Pac-man, a life is lost.

The game ends when no lives remain.

At the corners of the maze there are four power ups. These power-ups render Pac-man a short-timed ability to gobble up the ghosts.

Once a ghost is eaten, it returns to the ghost pen where it is revived. The regeneration time for the ghosts shortens as the game advances through the stages.

Despite the seemingly randomness movement of the ghosts, their nature is strictly deterministic. This allows experienced players to devise precise patterns of movement that enables them to complete levels without being caught ever.

The simplicity of the game and the adrenaline rush it created, when a ghost came near transformed this game into an addiction. Unofficially, it is the most played game of all time.


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A.I. System in Arcade Games

The first arcade games were built on discrete logic and were strictly based on competition between the players. Therefore, there wasn’t any A.I. system.

Heuristic algorithms have been used in the arcade games. The common method of controlling an NPC in the game was by scripting.

‘Path finding’ is another common A.I. system that has been used in the real time strategy games. ‘Path finding’ works by calculating how to get an NPC from one place to another after considering the terrain and obstacles.

Games like Quake and Pursuit based all the enemy actions on particular stored patterns. The space invaders further refined this movement, by adding in-game events which were dependent on the hash functions.

This resulted in more varied and complex enemy movements.

Pac-Man incorporated this technology, at the same time jazzing it up by providing different personalities for each ghosts.

Although the ghost movements in Pac-Man felt random, it was a cleverly scripted and well disguised action.

The 1990’s saw the emergence of finite state machines. The arcade racing games were powered by a ‘rubber banding’ A.I. system.

If the computer controlled the opponents “fall behind”,
they received a superb boost allowing them to catch up.

The system too, works the other way around, enabling the human players to catch up if they fall behind. The arcade shooting games should ideally have a large rule base which is basically the list of NPC options like attack long range, call for help, flee etc.

The trick lies in using a random factor to choose from this base factor. This has displayed an enhanced feeling of intellect and developed the fun factor.

Online Arcade Gaming Community

The success of online arcade gaming can be attributed to the huge number of dedicated online communities that support arcade games.

These games have stood their ground at a time when technological advances have paved way for hardcore graphic systems capable of rendering movie like graphics.

The online community regularly conducts tourneys for arcade games with huge prize money at stake.

Xbox Live conducted a Pac-man championship in New York in May of 2007.

Nine finalists from around the world fought each other for a one of a kind Pac-man inspired Xbox 360 console, 100,000 Microsoft points, and a Pac-Man Live Arcade Trophy.

Finalists were selected based on scores of Xbox LIVE Arcade leader box from Japan, USA, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Canada and Mexico.

The primary reason for a spurt in the online arcade community is the rise of a huge number of multiplayer arcade games.

Arcade games are from another era that is hard pressed to survive an intense competition. This is the primary reason for the close knit nature of arcade gaming communities.

The resurgence of arcade titles on consoles and handhelds is another reason for the growing arcade communities. The online arcade communities have made sure that arcade games are here to stay.

Arcade games have shown an immense resilience surviving everything from consoles to the Internet. The arcade communities have played a huge part in seeing the genre through the hardest of times.

With the advent of internet, these communities saw a massive rise in numbers. These communities are closely knitted and work as a single entity when it comes to competing game genres.

Rise of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games

A new phenomenon in the online arcade gaming industry is the rise of MMORPG (Rise of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games).

Several thousands of players share a common environment and fight each other for glory. Multiplayer online gaming is the newest rage with programmers.

Almost every game is designed to include a multi-player option. Arcade games have shown an ability to overcome numerous obstacles in its 40yrs of existence.

It was pretty obvious it would win the war with the Internet. The arcade industry responded to the growing threat of multiplayer games on internet by coming up with games of their own.

Like they say “if you can’t beat them join them!”

Common Arcade Games

Lunia is an action packed arcade MMORPG that combines the classic RPG elements like character growth and community system with intense paced action. The game has breathtaking environments and takes you through eerie dungeons and abandoned castles.

Anarchy Online is a science fiction MMORPG arcade game that’s hugely popular and won 20 international awards.

The game allows for unmatched character customization, hundreds of devastating special attacks and thousands of items. The game sets up a hyper fast game play with more action and less camping.

The Anarchy online has a well scripted deep story line. The game lets you play as a soldier, healer, tech expert, trader or adventurer.

The game features stunning environments with clubs, bars and apartments.

Anarchy online gives you the option of fighting thousands of monsters or challenge human opponents in Player vs. Player areas.

Gamers Dedicated Server

Online gaming has become a burgeoning business. No longer are online gamers relegated to just playing simple games online such as arcade games. Today, online gaming is big. In addition to the countless role playing games that many people are pretty much addicted to, there are also casino games.

Many gaming websites have found it necessary to get a gamers dedicated server. When the gaming website first began, as is most cases, they may have used a shared server. As the game grew in popularity, it became necessary for the website to get their own dedicated server. As internet gaming is such big business today, those who design an internet website game are wise to switch to a gamers dedicated server in order to grow their business.

Gaming websites are not like ordinary business websites. They are selling the idea of playing the game. While some games become big hits on the internet, with thousands of players visiting the sites daily, others are not so popular. Not every gaming website needs a dedicated server.

A dedicated server is different than a shared server in that it is "dedicated" to serving only your website. You do not have to share the server with other websites that may impede traffic to your site. There is nothing worse for your customers than the inability to access your website due to lack of bandwidth.

A gamers dedicated server is especially important for those who have a website that depends upon daily traffic. Most internet gaming websites charge customers a certain amount of money each month to access the site and play the game. It is imperative, therefore, that the customers be allowed to access the site.

If bandwidth, which directs the speed as well as traffic into your website, is not sufficient, you may have customers that are unable to access the website. This can cause quite a bit of problems with customers, particularly in the gaming industry. Internet games can be addictive and people who are paying to access a site every day are bound to be upset if they cannot get to the site when needed.

Once your gaming website is well established and you see an increase in customers, start thinking about getting a gamers dedicated server. Although this will cost more money per month than a shared server, it will be well worth it as it will enable you to retain your customers as well as attract more customers. The amount that you will pay for the monthly fee will be determined by the type of service you want as well as the bandwidth and space on the server.

Your dedicated service provider will be able to help you with questions as far as maintaining your site and will keep you updated with the latest equipment. By having a gamers dedicated server, you are actually hosting your own website. This is the reasonable option for you if your internet gaming website has become a growing business. You can even add more options to your website with your additional space that will attract even more customers and earn you a greater profit.

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January 2000

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