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Game Master Journal #34 - .d70 Internet Edition

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Anthony Shubert

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Nov 9, 1993, 3:42:38 AM11/9/93
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*____________________________________________________________________________*
| | |
| ### # # ##### The USEnet Edition | SPECIAL REPORT: Jaguar on the hunt| |
| # ## ## # . | GMJ Poll Question: SSF2 = cheap? |
| # ## # # # # | |
| # # # # # . "d70 format" | Issue 34 |
| # # # # # # | November 4th - November 13th 1993 |
| ### # # ## | |
|____________________________________________________________________________|
* *
Our Super Street Fighter II coverage continues as the debate rolls on!

IN THIS ISSUE: (the * names at the end are for our .com version readers)

Letter from the GMJ Crew............................................* GMJ CREW
Ace's Angles............................................................ * ACE
Ace's Angles on 'cheap players'
Software Creations....................................................* SOFTCR
Genesis Reviews......................................................* GENESIS
Aladdin
Rocket Knight Adventures
Sega CD Review.......................................................* SEGA CD
Silpheed
Express Mail............................................................* MAIL
What FTP? Back issues? "I think GMJ is ______" and more
Ask the Game Masters..................................................* ASK GM
You think you can stump us? TRY IT!
INTERVIEW: with Donald Griffen.....................................* INTERVIEW
Aladdin's Musical Director sheds life on MIDI and the universe
GMJ Top 10............................................................* TOP 10
Exec PC..............................................................* EXEC PC
FTP Info Sheet...........................................................* FTP
Point / Counterpoint...................................................* POINT
Two opposing opinions on one hot topic: cheapness
SPECIAL REPORT.......................................................* SPECIAL
The debut of the Atari Jaguar
SPECIAL REPORT.....................................................* SPECIAL 2
The 3DO is reviewed!
3DO Review...............................................................* 3DO
Crash 'n Burn
Next week's issue...................................................* NEXT GMJ
Why read us next week? INTERVIEW, that's why!
Corrections........................................................* WE GOOFED
We ARE human, after all.

* GMJ CREW
(---------------------------------------------------------------------------)
LETTER FROM THE GMJ CREW
(---------------------------------------------------------------------------)
Since our second appearance on the Internet, we have received more mail than
ever before. Our new breed of readers had plenty of suggestions and demands
like interviews, more 3DO coverage, and special issues....well you got it!
We did all that and then some....:

It has been a crazy last two weeks. We made it to the Internet for the
second time, we made it to the Atari Show in New York, we Spoke with Donald
Griffen the music composer for Aladdin, we spoke with the president of
Atari, we scrounged up some great 3DO coverage and reviews, the second EP
issue is underway, we are back to weekly and as always we have a lot of
great reviews, news and rumors to get you going.

Hey guys, Christmas season is coming and you know what that means....SYSTEM
WARS! And you can expect full coverage from GMJ from sales and rentals
figures, to a special game review issue, to the Japanese coverage we have been
bragging about for so long and look for a special head to head to head
outlook on the "new generation" systems (Jaguar, 3DO, Amiga CD32 and Pioneer's
LaserActice CD unit and its FIRST EVER complete specs list!), TONS of reviews,
interview with the Atari Corp prez, and a lot more all coming this friday!

Well, before I leave, I would like to address all of the support we have
received from the Internet. As for a couple who took our "opinions" just a
little too seriously. I would just like to say that this is a "critic's mag."
We are in the standpoint of critics, not lawmakers. We express our opinions as
any person would situated in everyday conversation. We feel that should not be
different in a magazine situation. The separation of fact and opinion should be
made by the reader in the topic of discussion not the discussion of the topic.
For those who made their comments about this in a more tasteful manner, I
appreciate your comments and always take them into consideration strongly.

"Da Phunky Pheel One", Home Systems Editor

* ACE
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ### ### #### ' ### ***** * * **** * ***** ***** |
| # # # # # * * ** * * * * * |
| ##### # ## ## ******* * * * * *** * ** ***** |
| # # # # # * * * ** * * * * * |
| # # ### #### ### * * * * **** ***** ***** ****** |
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Hi gang! We're back, and once again.. we're WEEKLY! Well, almost weekly.
We come about about once every nine days so check the top of each issue tosee
when the NEXT one comes out. We come out 5 times during the January and June,
the CES months.
Lets see.. please look at our Point/Counterpoint this issue. This
'cheapness' issue is really getting on my nerves and I want all of the Game
Masters out there to reply and tell us what you think. I really HATE it when
people fireball-fireball-uppercut ALL DAY, doing nothing else ever. This is
BORING! What do you think?
"The amount of email one writer can get sent in a twelve-day span." "What
is 33?" CORRECT. I want to thank ALL of the GMs out there, and here's some
of the answers (rumor-related) that I can provide...
SSF2 is taking in record amounts of money around here (in L.A.), but most of
the people seem to just use Ken/Ryu. Why? don't ask me.. maybe they are
afraid to try someone new.
Speaking of someone new.. I FOUND a new move. It's listed in this issue's
Warp Zone.. before I get flames (for the non-Internet people, that's insults)
let me just say that this DOES work but not all of the time. See below [Warp
Zone.]
Other rumors.. sorry gang, despite some people's thoughts the Saturn will
NOT be 3DO compatible.. Nintendo's Project Fiction (err, reality) won't be
coming until '96, if at all.. Mortal Kombat II is showing up in a few places
[beta testing? hmmm...] after it's strong showing at the recent AMOA show.
Look for it everywhere in the weeks to come.. and YES, GMJ Television looks
like it may actually happen! But more on that when I can say how y'all will
see it :)
Well, I think that's enough bandwith (once again, bandwith = space.) so I'll
see y'all two issues from now in late November. IN THIS SPACE NEXT WEEK:
Letter from the GMJ Crew.

* SOFTCR
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
|The Home of | ### ### ##### ##### # # ### #### ##### | |
|the Authors | # # # # # # # # # # # # | |
|BBS... this | ### # # ### # # # ##### #### ### | North |
|is the home | # # # # # # # # # # # # # |America's|
|of all major| #### ### # # # # # # # # ##### |#1 BBS!!!|
|shareware | | |
|companies! | ### #### ##### ### ##### ##### ### # # ### | |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=+ # # # # # # # # # # ## # # +-=-=-=-=-|
| # #### ### ##### # # # # # # # ### |
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| ### # # ##### # # # ##### ### # # #### |
| |
| :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| : : 63,000|
| : 508-365-2359.. over 80 nodes! Internet Access, messages and more : Active|
| : : Users!|
| :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| |
| As voted by readers of Boardwatch magazine, September 1993 Gigs of Files!|
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+

* GENESIS
____________________________________________________________________________
| |
| ### ##### # # ##### ### ##### ### R E V I E W S |
| # # ## # # # # # |
| # ## ### # # # ### ### # ### R E V I E W S |
| # # # # ## # # # # |
| ### ##### # # ##### #### ##### #### R E V I E W S |
|____________________________________________________________________________|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|TITLE: |PUBLISHER |GAME TYPE: |SIZE: |AVERAGE OF REVIEWS: |
| Aladdin | Sega, Disney| Adventure |16 MEG| ...................99 |
| | Virgin Games|RATING: GA | | *****%%%%%@@@@@##### |
|---------------+-------------+--------------+------+------------------------|
|MAIN REVIEW BY: OTHER REVIEWERS |
| |
| Instigator 98 Da Phunky 100 Anderson 98 Ace 99 |
| The Farmer 100 ---------- ** ---------- ** |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The Sega Genesis version of Aladdin is flawless. Disney/Sega/Virgin created
one of the best side scrolling action games of all time, with perfect
graphics, perfectly translated music that's straight from the movie, and
perfect gameplay. The Genesis has never looked this good, with character
sprites reaching 30 frames of animation a second. This game has a high chance
of being the Game of the Year.

The buzz on this game started at the Summer CES, with a lot of media attention
going towards the cartoon quality animation and graphics of Aladdin. Actual
Disney animators who helped on the movie drew the sprites and backgrounds in
this game, giving great visual detail to everything from the stucco buildings
to the way Aladdin climbs a rope.

Once you get by the initial shock of seeing this game in play, you begin to
realize how good of a game this sucker really is. The gameplay is top notch,
and it really draws you in and makes you feel as if you REALLY are Aladdin.
Your main weapon is your sabre, but you can also throw apples or outsmart
enemies by finding secret passages. Aladdin can jump from danger or he can
execute various maneuvers such as ducking, pushing, climbing ropes, or hanging
from ropes and crawling to safety. You can backtrack in a level and find
yourself walking in a previously explored territory, buy you're on a new layer
of background.

Aladdin follows the movie perfectly as you play the role of Aladdin and try to
win the heart of Jasmine. The story-line is updated in between levels, and
the actual levels themselves are taken from various parts of the movie.
Jaffar is out to get Aladdin and his lamp by putting guards and henchmen in
his path. The different settings include the marketplace, the desert,
Jaffar's castle, and several other direct movie sequences. The complete
background and foreground scenery were performed by Disney painters, so
authentic scenarios are possible in this game. The backgrounds are some of
the best available on any cart.

Part of what made the movie so magical was the great music that accompanied
the cartoon animation. Some of the better known songs from the movie, (eg.
"A Whole New World", "Friend Like Me", "Arabian Nights", and "One Jump Ahead")
are all captured beautifully on the Genesis. 5 original tunes were also
included, and the quality of those songs rank up there with those from the
movie. The sound effects and voices are the best that have ever been heard on
the Genesis. They're all digitized, with some coming straight from the movie.
Every action has it's own sound, and finding them is half the fun.

Each level has a theme to it, with the opening level having to just be
completed, but later levels have certain objects to be found. An Abu bonus
level is included where you must dodge pots falling from the sky while
collecting jewels, and a slot machine bonus level where you try to collect
extra lives and other valuables. In certain levels the peddler arrives and
you can purchase an extra life or continue with the money you gained
throughout the levels. The entire experience of this game is breathtaking.
From the fluid crisp animation, the detailed textured graphics to the music
and control, this game delivers for people of all ages. Sega has always made
the best Disney translations, and now Virgin takes the title with the best
Disney game yet.

Aladdin has only one fault, and that is that there are only three "bosses" in
the game, including Jaffar at the end when he turns into a snake. Other that,
this game is as much fun to watch as it is to play. With a lot of games today
being focused on violence, it's good to see a game come on top where little to
no violence (something Nintendo would like) is included. Aladdin shows what
can be done if effort is put in the development of the game. The next best
thing to watching Aladdin is playing it.

Da Phunky Pheel One - 100
Perfect perfect perfect. Aladdin is by far the best game I have played this
year. Ranking very high as the best side scroller ever, Aladdin is an example
of beautiful graphics incorporated perfectly with great sound, music, control,
and most importantly substance. One of the most entertaining carts I have
played.

Ace - 99
"Well Ali Baba had 'dem 40 theives, Sherazade [hey! That's ANOTHER videogame!
What's going on here?!] had a thousand tales!" But gamers, you're in luck..
cuz up Sega's sleeves is a brand of game that NEVER fails! GREAT game.. ya'
gotta love those Abu bonus rounds, and the sequence when Aladdin loses one of
his 'chances.' THIS is what games should be.

Aquarius - 100
Breaking the barriers once again is the Genesis with one of those "I didn't
know the Genesis could do that" games. You won't believe you are playing a
cart for the life of you. These are the BEST graphics and animation unleashed
on the Genesis and coincidently the BEST display of music and sound accompany
them. Graphics, music, and sound aside, Aladdin still ranks as a great game
with a good concept, great control, and a helluvalot of fun.

Anderson - 98
I am convinced. There are no "limitations" on the Genesis. Aladdin, like
Sonic, Flashback, Cool Spot, Sonic 2 and others has left everyone with their
mouths open drooling and wondering when the Genesis will be over the hill.
With this kind of masterful programming, Sega is handing out an ass woopin' to
the competition this Christmas.


+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|TITLE: |PUBLISHER |GAME TYPE: |SIZE: |AVERAGE OF REVIEWS: |
| Rocket Knight | Konami | Action |08 MEG| ..................87 |
| Adventures | | | | *****%%%%%@@@@@###-- |
|---------------+-------------+--------------+------+------------------------|
|MAIN REVIEW BY: OTHER REVIEWERS |
| |
| Anderson 89 The Farmer 90 Ace 82 ---------- ** |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Konami, best known for creating NES and S-NES games that standardized the
industry, has now gone one gaming system further with their first Genesis
release, Rocket Knight Adventures. Rocket Knight is possibly the best third
party game released for the Genesis in a long time, and hopefully Konami will
continue their Sega support.

Rocket Knight Adventures is a side scrolling action game as you take the role
of Sparkster, a possum with a jetpack and an attitude, as you fly and fight
against evil in the world (taking the shape of some ugly ass pigs). Sparkster
can attack enemies by either firing at them with your sword or using your
jetpack to propel yourself at enemies and striking them down. If the attack
button is held down for a couple seconds and then released, Sparkster will
perform a "Ninja Gaiden" slashing move where he slices everything around him,
and if you are holding the directional pad when you release the button
Sparkster will take to the skies with his jetpack.

Those unsavory bad boys on the screen just look great! Konami made Rocket
Knight look just like a S-NES game with great color usage and some very fluid
animation. Never before seen techniques like the mirror image are now
possible on the Genesis, not to mention some of the biggest sprites to be put
on the screen that can be interacted with. Remember that highly touted Super
Mario World feature where you could climb a fence and switch to the other side
of the fence? Well, this idea has been taken a step further where you can
sometimes "jump" to another layer and attack things on the other side. This
is used during a waterfall scene where you can jump to the other side of the
waterfall and cling to the vines found there.

Things like the layered switch and the jetpack make for some of the best
gameplay to be found on a home system. Precise control seems to be downplayed
for better graphics or sound in a lot of today's games, but a great
combination of these three elements is found in Rocket Knight. A great
example of this combination is when you fight the first boss on a waterfall.
The controls are purposefully sluggish to give you a feeling of really
fighting atop water, and the actual waterfall swirls in some weird patterns
while the action is backdropped by a fierce soundtrack second to none on the
Sega.

Most of the levels are side scrolling action sequences, but an outer space
level and city level take on a shooter style game where your jetpack has an
unlimited amount of fuel and you fly and attack things in the air. The rest
of the levels all share the fabulous graphics that Konami is known for, but
now on the Genesis. Sea, desert, and cavern levels are all explored in Rocket
Knight, all being extremely long and difficult to complete.

For Genesis owners who have been whining about the lack of quality games since
summer, I have to recommend Rocket Knight just to show that the Sega is not
just your overdecorated paper weight, but a legitimate gaming machine. Not to
mention, Rocket Knight is one hell of a game! So live a little and buy Rocket
Knight Adventures. After playing it you'll never look at your Genesis the
same.

The Pepperidge Farmer - 90
Another strong cart on the Genesis makes it obvious you don't need a Sega CD
yet, and by the time you do, the Saturn will (should) be out and going. This
is just plain a fun cart with good graphics, good sound and an overall
guarantee to keep you happy.

Ace - 82
This game was pretty good... but nothing earth-shattering. Don't get me
wrong, this was a great entry into the Genesis market by Konami, great first
effort. This game would have been in the high-90's 2 years ago. Nice
tail-tactics though.

* SEGA CD
==============================================================================
SEGA
CD
REVIEWS
==============================================================================

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|TITLE: |PUBLISHER |GAME TYPE: |SIZE: |AVERAGE OF REVIEWS: |
| Silpheed | Sega | Shooter |?? MEG| ..................87 |
| | | | | *****%%%%%@@@@@###-- |
|---------------+-------------+--------------+------+------------------------|
|MAIN REVIEW BY: OTHER REVIEWERS |
| |
| Instigator 90 Aquarius 85 ---------- ** ---------- ** |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The first two shooters for the Sega CD, Sol Feace and Robo Aleste, can't
prepare you for the ride in Silpheed. Silpheed takes the overhead shooter
approach but adds the best polygon backgrounds ever to create one of the best
Sega CD titles.

Straight off the bat, Silpheed is not the 3-D shooter that Starfox was, but is
instead an intense action game that is pasted onto some great backgrounds.
Yeah, some of the backgrounds can be interacted with, but it doesn't have the
depth of Starfox and it's SFX chip.

Interaction aside, the graphics and sounds in this game just blew me away.
The sprites all scale and rotate with ease, while the action unfolds with
backgrounds that are taken from the depths of outer space to the bow of a huge
space ship. A lot of the backgrounds, such as the huge asteroids in level two
or the walls and barriers of a planet on level four, can all be crashed into
causing damage to your ship. You can tell if a particular part of the
backdrop can be interacted with by firing at it and seeing if your bullets hit
it. Sometimes it can be confusing trying to figure out what part of the
screen can cause damage, but it doesn't hurt the game in any way.

The weapon system is unique when compared to other shooters because you gain
more weapons as the game progresses. Starting at the second level you can
choose what weapon you want for the each side of your ship, and your special
weapon can also be chosen. For the side weapons you can choose between a
straight shot, spread fire, homing shot, and a sideways shot. You can have
different weapons for either side of the ship so that your weapon system has
an added range. Your special weapon is limited, and ranges from a lightening
strike, fire shield, a photon torpedo, and a blast that knocks away enemy
fire.

Your Silpheed craft can move sideways and towards or away from the viewer.
Most of the dangers come from the formations of attackers that spray you with
bullets, but attention must also be given to the various surroundings. The
attackers are pretty pathetic, ranging from indistinguishable polygon shapes
to small aircraft jets that only circle around the screen. The screen is
sometimes filled with attackers, but their formations make them pretty easy
targets. The boss ships all look pretty much the same, with only the attack
patterns setting them apart from each other. The baddies are the only
downpoint of the game.

As you fly along you'll notice that a lot of speech in included in this game.
They sometimes tell when a boss is coming up, or they sometimes ramble on and
yell out "I got a big one! Give me another!" or "Jesus!!" If you access the
voice test at the beginning of the game with the special code, you can hear
all the voices including the non-edited ones that have some "bad words" in
them. Some of 'em are real funny! The rest of the sound effects are pretty
average, and the songs all have a disco-techno flair to them. Some of the
songs reminded me of the tunes found in Starfox, with a lot of drums and
guitars.

Five intermissions are included, and each is worth the trip getting to. They
all are of your ship cruising around space, but they are all extremely fluid,
with a lot of scaling and objects on the screen at one time. The camera zooms
around the ship with ease, and a "Star Wars" series of battles takes place
with numerous ships battling in out. The intermissions are the best in any
game ever released in the video game industry.

Silpheed got the reputation as being an "all show" game, but many people were
surprised by the playability of this game. The player get's caught up in the
on-screen action, with some scenes being truly breathtaking. At times the on
screen action can become confusing, but the overall fun of this game really
shines through on the later levels. This game, just like Night Trap, is a
first of it's kind and a definite "Must See." All action lovers will go nuts
with this game, from trying to select the right gun for a level or just
checking out the scenery. Simply put, this game works.

Aquarius - 85
This is the first must have game on the Sega CD. Although I would not run out
and get a Sega CD just for this one, it is a great example of awsome scaling,
rotation and huge ships. Best shooter in a while but a little boring.


* MAIL
____________________________________________________________________________
]^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^[
] Innovative Creations [
] 29 David Road +--- + + +--+ +--+ +--- +-- +-- [
] South Carver, MA 02330 |- ++ +--+ |-++ |- +--+ +--+ [
] (shu...@usc.edu) +--- + + | | \ +--- --+ --+ [
] |\ /| +--+ -+- | [
] | | |--| | | EXPRESS [
] | | | | -+- +--- MAIL [
]____________________________________________________________________________[
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here is where we give detailed answers to questions received by the Game
Masters. If you have ANYTHING on your mind, send it along! See our addresses
below.
Before we get to this week's letters, we here at GMJ would just like to say
thank you to our loyal readers. With out you, we're nothing.


** GMJ is ________, and where can I get it through FTP?

Hi,
I've just got a copy of GMJ off the NET and think it is a fine piece of
work and I would like info on where it can be downloaded from in the
future.
If it gets any better, it will be banned DownUnder for sure.

Keep up the good work guys and girls.

Thanks,
Derek. <de...@ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dear Game Master Journal,
Well my first issue (ever) of your electronic magazine was #33 and I
of the popular game systems. I hope to see more issue's in the
future, and that brings me to a good segway;

You mention throughout the GMJ that your distributed via FILE, ASCII
message and even paper format, but you never really pin down any
specifics, like where to download the FILE from, either an FTP site,
or a particular BBS. When it comes to the ASCII message format
GMJ #33 is the first I have seen in the rec.video.games.* conf's

(I hope to see more), and lastly the paper format, which I presume
people who subscribe get this via US Mail. <?>
All in all I'm glad to see GMJ on the Internet and will distribute a
printed version to friends without a PC to view GMJ on.
Awaiting #34,

Keith Emery (en...@lakes.trenton.sc.us)
By the way how would I go about obtaining issues 1-32 of GMJ?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Well, I just recently acquired a copy of the issue #33 from some bullerton
board, and I am just wondering where I can download this magazine (w/ all the
SVGA pics and souns) In the #33 issue, its said that the magazine is very big,
but I have a 16.8k modem so It shouldn't be a problem for me. Do you guys
have it on any FTP sites? or can you email the file to me somehow? I am not
too familier w/ internet and the vax system that I am using.

thanks. XSTC...@FULLERTON.EDU
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Just read issue 33 of GMJ and it is looking really good (and it's free!). I
do have a few questions though:

1) I'd like to get the monthly print version via mail. Are you talking email
or postal mail? If email, my address is k...@iti-oh.com, postal mail:
[edited]

2) Where can I ftp the electronic copies with graphics?

Keep up the great work!

Thanks,
Keith <k...@iti-oh.com>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Anthony,

I read your publication when it was transmitted through news
(rec.games.video.sega), and was impressed with it! It did mention a graphical
version, and would like to get that particular release.

Could you send me that version, and/or subscribe me in your listserver?

Thanks!
-Joe Hutchison
hu...@gmu.edu
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Anthony,

Where can I find GMJ? Are the issues on any internet site so that I can ftp
them?

Thanks,
Todd
kawa...@spock.usc.edu
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hi,

I am interested in read GMJ but do not know how to get it. When you say look
in rec.games.video.* do you mean the newsgroup and what newsgroup is *. Does
this mean all under rec.games.video or is it just rec.games.video.misc or
rec.games.video? Please reply to jyba...@cs.umr.edu.

Thanks,
-Jym- jyba...@cs.umr.edu

[ Game Master Journal is available through rec.games.video.* * meaning ]
[ nintendo, sega, misc or arcade. We are also in alt.games. sf2 and mk.]
[ ]
[ See the FTP Info Sheet on where we are and how to get us. ]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASK THE GAME MASTERS
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Need help on a video game? ASK THE GAME MASTERS! If we know the answer to
your troubles, we'll answer. Otherwise, it's up to the GMJ readers out there
to help out a fellow reader!
=============================================================================

I was wondering whether or not you guys know of the cheat in Super Mario Kart
for the SNES I want to try my luck on the special cup and I know there is a
cheat for the time trial, so if you know could you please e-mail it to me..
Thanks in advance.

Oliver Tual
tu...@ist.flinders.edu.au

[ Well gang, we are stumped! If you know, send it in and then ALL of the ]
[ GM's out there will know! :) ]

* INTERVIEW
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/:::#:::##::#:::#:::#:::::#:::#:#:::#:::#:::#:::::#:::::#: WITH: :\
\:::#:::#:#:#:::#:::##::::####::#:::#:::#:::##::::#:::::#: Donald Griffen :/
/:::#:::#::##:::#:::#:::::#:::#::#:#::::#:::#::::::#:#:#:: :\
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+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+

Home System Editor Phunky recently had a chance to speak with Donald Griffen,
the music composer of Aladdin for the Genesis. He had a lot to say, and we
didn't leave out a word.

Phunky:
Hi Don, I would like to start off by letting you know that we feel that the
soundtrack for Aladdin is one of the best for any Genesis games in recent
years. (not purposely kissing butt)

Now, for the music or soundtrack to a game, do you actually do any of the
writing or do you work mostly by converting songs from a movie (like Aladdin)
or tv show?

Don:
There is really no such thing as "just converting songs" when it comes to
going from a fully orchestrated film score of a Hollywood movie down to a
piece of code that will run an inexpensive little sound chip in a computer
game machine. When a composer takes someone else's music and re-works it to
make it fit a new medium, like going from a piano and vocal to a full
orchestra, or going from a full orchestration down to a 6 voice fm synthesizer
it is called Arranging.

The last example is what I did with 5 of the tunes from the movie Aladdin to
get them to fit into the game. Tommy Tallarico of Virgin Games as the Music
Producer for Aladdin, which means he hired me and okayed my work. At my
request he called Disney to ask for any sheet music they might have of the
movie orchestration which I could use as a starting point to my arrangements
for the game. Unfortunately the only thing they sent me was a standard Piano
& Vocal book like you can buy in a local music store.

Musicians know that there is a LOT of difference between what's in these books
and what's actually in the movie's music so the message was clear that I was
on my own. The only thing I had to work with was that book and a CD of the
movie sound track which I had to buy myself. The video of Aladdin was not
released until after the game was finished so I didn't have that to work with
either. This meant that all I had to make the game sound like the movie was
about a $10 synthesizer chip in the Genesis and a CD of the soundtrack.
Naturally I spent many long hours playing short segments of the soundtrack
over and over to try to hear everything that was in the original so I could
decide what I could keep and what I could not fit. An Orchestra like the one
used in the movie Aladdin can have 50 or 100 instruments and some of those
like the piano and harp can have 6 or more voices sounding at one time. Six
voices was my whole orchestra on the Genesis so this took some thinking.

My biggest goal was to try to make the game music sound exactly like the
movie. The arrangements done for the movie were excellent, so why change
them? The hard part was reproducing them with what I had. I also composed 5
full length tunes for Aladdin-Genesis entirely from scratch. These are
totally new compositions entirely by me just for this game. When I started on
Aladdin, Tommy made a point that he didn't want the music to be too short or
it would get boring when played over and over again. To guard against this I
wrote all my original music to be more than two minutes long and sometimes
over three minutes. In fact, Tommy told me that the tunes were so long that
he had to cut them in pieces to make them fit into the GEMS music system used
to put music into the Genesis. None of that music repeats itself so when you
are done listening to it one time through you have not heard anything more
than once.

A typical song you hear on the radio is three minutes long but most songs get
that length by playing two or three short sections, called verses, several
times. So the tune is actually more like forty seconds to one minute in
length without repeating itself. This my two to three minute tunes in Aladdin
equivalent to 10 minute tunes on the radio.

Phunky:
When I looked at the Aladdin booklet, I noticed your name was listed second.

Don:
There has been a lot of confusion about who did what as far as Aladdin's
Music. I composed or arranged all of the main songs that you hear while you
are playing the game and Tommy Tallarico wrote the rest, mostly short filler
tunes for special events. Tommy also selected the Genesis instrument sounds
to be used with my MIDI file of my music.

Phunky:
So which tunes did you arrange from the movie?

Don:
One Jump Ahead, New World (Whole New World), Friend Like Me, Prince Ali and
Arabian Nights

Although I did not compose these tunes the arranging for the Genesis was every
bit as difficult as the work I did composing the following tunes:
Arab Rock (1&2), Turban Jazz, Rug Ride, Gloomy Tune, and Camel Jazz.

Phunky:
What are some of your earlier works and how did you get interested in music?

Don:
I assume you mean music for computer games but I actually started composing
and arranging when I was a Sophomore in High School, around 1977. I was
President of a the Songwriters' club and a Senior named Rob Lothringer, who
was a big Elvis fan, wanted to do a serious Elvis impersonation for our Senior
Variety Show. Elvis had only died a few years before and he thought it would
be well received. This was in the days before Elvis impersonation was a big
joke and he wanted to do a real good job. He needed someone to handle getting
a band together and arranging music and I was the only one who would take the
job. I was a bit of a music nerd and he was a jock and very popular. For
awhile he took me to parties and introduced me to popular girls. It was a big
kick. I put together a whole big orchestra like Elvis used on Tour. We had
Piano, Bass, Drums, Lead and Rhythm Guitars, three Trumpets, two Trombones,
tow Saxes, Flute, Timpani (for the traditional 2001 type opening that breaks
into C.C. Rider), 3 female backup singers and everybody was well rehearsed
and had my written music arrangements of about 7 tunes. It was a whole
show-within-a-show. Well that was what got me started with arranging anyway.

I wrote my first song with words within about a year when a good friend, Steve
Ozmer, who had been one of the Trumpet players in the Elvis act, died of
Cancer. It seemed the right thing to do and it was performed as a narration
with piano playing the music at a school concert but I felt kind of cheap
because everybody loved the song but I felt like I had used Steve's death to
bring out people's emotions. I know that music is supposed to do that but I
want it to be only my music and not the circumstances.

Since then I have only written music, not words. You can't cheat with
instruments like you can with words. If I wrote a great tune about a tacky
subject you might not like it. If I wrote a mediocre song about AIDS or drug
abuse you might praise me for the subject matter and forgive bad music. If I
play a piece of instrumental music for you... there it is. There is nothing
for it to hide behind. You either like it for what it is or you don't. I
really like that kind of straight forward situation.

MIDI lets me take it a step further by playing all the instruments myself.
Now if you don't like it I can't blame it on the musicians. I AM the
musicians. That's one reason I really care about getting credit for my work
because I usually do ALL of the work. In the case of Aladdin Tommy did a
great job of finding good instrument sounds to match what I wrote for but I
also asked Tommy what instruments he had for the Genesis that sounded good and
only composed for those instruments.

Anyway, back to your question. I composed and recorded about 20 original
compositions for large jazz bands before got started with MIDI. Musicians
would often play wrong notes or not even show up for recording sessions which
made it hard for me to put my music on tape. When I discovered MIDI, I sort
of took a few years off just trying to figure out how it all worked and how to
make it do what I was already doing with real instruments.

I eventually had things just about worked out when a friend of mine told a
game producer at Strategic Simulations, Inc., They were starting a PC game
that is still not finished today. They liked my demo tape and I was their
second choice out of about 10 people. They had me do some demonstration music
of how I would handle the game and they liked my demos and bought them for the
game. Later I was asked by them to do war music for Carrier Strike and
Conflict Korea, both for the PC. Since then I have written about 140 pieces
of music for computer games and educational products like Rules Of Engagement
2, Wild Learning Safari, Monopoly Deluxe, Mario's Time Machine (PC version),
and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 3.0.

One of my tunes is the Parade Tune in Cool Spot for the Genesis and tomorrow
(November 6) I am starting work on I Wanna Be Like You for Jungle Book for the
Genesis. I am also doing lots of music and sound effects for an adventure
game for the PC called Mark Of The Beast which will be out in a few months and
I've designed an Algorithmic Music Engine for a screen saver which will let
the computer endlessly generate it's own music for hundreds of hours without
ever exactly repeating itself.

Phunky:
Moving on to the next Q: Besides video game titles, do you do any personal
music in which you would like to build a different carrer with? Would you like
to some day becom a commercial or radio artist?

Don:
I don't consider computer game music to be a sideline. It is my 'main
squeeze' as a composer right now and I 'give it all I've got', to quote Chuck
Mangione. I used to think of computer game music as a first step on the way
to somewhere else but I was talking to a staff composer at Electronic Arts one
day and I said I'd like to use my profits from gaming to build up my studio
more then go 'main stream' and he said: "Why would you want to go over there?
They all want to come over here!" I checked into it a bit more and realized he
was right.

As computers become more of a part of mainstream entertainment our pond will
become a lake and we will be the big fish in it. To make sure that the new
fish from the Hollywood pond don't gobble me up I spend most of my time trying
to stay on the cutting edge of Interactive and Algorithmic Music. Interactive
music is music that doesn't have a certain starting and ending point and only
one way to go between the two. Interactive music also means that the listener
does something to control what happens in the music. Algorithmic music is
where the computer actually takes control of the music according to some kind
of formula or Algorithm.

I wouldn't mind my music being used in commercials, radio, movies, theater,
wherever people can hear it is a good place for it. But I am not going to be
unhappy if I stay in the field I am in now. I have carved out a nice little
place for myself and I only need so much work to keep me busy pretty much all
year long. After all, in Japan computer game music composers are treated like
rock stars. I wouldn't mind a few groupies (but my wife would!) Wouldn't if
be funny if there was a Donald S. Griffin fan club? Stranger things have
happened.

Phunky:
Ok, so how did you actually start in this business. Did you ALWAYS want to be
in this particulr business, or did you just kind of "find" yourself there?

Don:
I actually started as a Trumpet player when I was in 5th grade. I was very
ambitious and very dedicated. Until an incident in High School when a punch
in the mouth required a plastic surgeon to remove some of the scar tissue in
my upper lip, I seriously planned to be The Best Trumpet Player In The World.
Really! I did! I had been practicing every day for 3 to 6 hours.

In my senior year I had it worked out that I could play Trumpet in 4 of my 6
classes each day. and I practiced in the afternoons and evenings every day of
the year. Between taking about a year to get my playing back in shape and
noticing that professional musicians I knew were all poor. I decided that
being a composer was a much better idea but a few problems later I realized
that I couldn't afford to go to a good music school.

I got discouraged and settled a major in computer science at a local Junior
College, that turned into an Accounting major. As it turned out things could
not have worked out better if I had planned them, which I didn't. I needed
the accounting and business law classes to handle my business. I needed the
computer programming skills to understand computer music and to relate to the
game programmers. I needed the additional music training because my
highschool had a weak music program and even though I had been teaching myself
music from the very beginning, I still needed the extra music theory courses
that college offered. And I needed the 6 years as a data entry operator to
give me some real encouragement to make my new business succeed.

I could never go back to having to go to a job every day and do what somebody
else thought was important and to be judged by the job I had. At my last job
I was totally underrated. They paid a computer consultant $100 an hour to do
what he told them I had the training to do but they wouldn't consider me as
anything other than a low paid, low trained, replaceable grunt. I was lucky
if I could get the Vice President's attention long enough to say hello. Now I
AM the President. When I deal with a company I deal with their President or
somebody just below him/her. I work when I want to and I sit around and
vegetate when I want to. The problem is the when I vegetate I usually get
good ideas and I have to go back to work. It's a vicious cycle. If I sound
like I love my job it's because I do.

Phunky:
That's great and definetely true. When I designed the Electronic Print
version of this mag, I was on my vacation trying to get my mind off of it,
and bang.

[But wait! There's more! This interview was so long we';ve decided to split
it up into two issues. Tune in THIS FRIDAY too see part 2!]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* TOP 10
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GMJ TOP TEN |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
This is a list of the top 10 most popular [as determined by reader input and
net.surfing] games for all systems.

#1) Virgin Games - Aladdin - Sega Genesis
#2) Acclaim - Mortal Kombat - Super NES
#3) Sega - Gunstar Heros - Sega Genesis
#4) Capcom - Street Fighter 2 SCE - Sega Genesis
#5) Electronic Arts - NHL '94 - Sega Genesis
#6) Sega - Shinobi III - Sega Genesis
#7) Sega - Silpheed - Sega CD
#8) Crystal Dynamics - Crash 'n' Burn - 3DO
#9) Arena - Mortal Kombat - Game Gear
#10) Capcom - Street Fighter 2 Turbo - Super NES

* EXEC PC
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
/ /
\ ##### # # ##### ### #### ### "The Gaming Forum" \
/ # # # # # # # # /
\ ### # ### # ## #### # M from top menu \
/ # # # # # # # 1 for Entertainment Room, then /
\ ##### # # ##### ### # ### B for the Gaming Forum \
/ /
\ We are absolutely free. We have many contests for free games, and \
/ discount game options. We are the ONLY place in the world where you can /
\ get shrink-wrapped Genesis, SNES \
/ or PC games for under $10 with # # ### # ## /
\ our game auction. # # # # # # \
/ ### # # ### /
\ The EXEC-PC is the WORLD LARGEST # # # # <-- 2400 baud users \
/ BBS...............check us out!! # #### # # /
\ \
/ # # # # # ##### ### ### # # ## #### ### /
\ # # ## # # # # # # # # # # # # <-- 9600 - 14,400 \
/ ### # # ### - # ### ### - ### ## # ## baud users /
\ # # # # # # # # # # # \
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* SPECIAL
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3-D-O HARDWARE REVIEW
HARDWARE SYSTEMS REVIEW by Chris Wickman of Exec PC

>>> Panasonic FZ-1 R-E-A-L 3DO Interactive Multiplayer <<<

Description/Info/Experience:

Well, what can I say?!? I went out and bought the beast this week and haven't
regretted yet my $700 purchase! And that is really saying something. 3DO
features 2 dedicated video co-processors that handle most of the graphics
routines and accelerate video dramatically. The 32-bit Multitasking Operating
System is designed for maximum efficiency and is designed specifically for the
32-bit power, unlike 16-bit DOS. It has a powerful math co-processor for
handling and helping out on graphic routines. 3DO has absolutely amazing
sound. 16-bit, 44.1KHz or "CD-Quality". This is one trained puppy!

I started up 3DO with Crash N' Burn, a heart pounding, kill or be killed,
ultra-fast, stereo sound, PCs and Sega/Nintendo eat-your-heart-out, driving
simulator. And to think, they haven't even taken advantage of this system
yet! When I was done I was afraid to go back to my PC to play X-Wing!
Unbelievable stuff, really.

3DO also came with a sampler CD with tons of new product screen shots, demos,
and a couple cartoons. The cartoons were very impressive, running perfectly
smooth, EXACTLY like the real thing. And the loading times of the games are
no worse than compared to PC's loading times. The 640x480 res looks so good,
that you cannot see the pixels unless you look super close. Get 3DO just to
see what it can do! Excellent power, no slowdown like some PCs, and companies
now know what they are programming for!

3DO should have no problem with software support. Currently there are 380+
third party software publishers signed, and the software looks VERY
impressive. Take for instance Red Baron on 3DO vs. Red Baron for the PC.
Now you can't really compare PC games to 3DO games because 3DO has the power
to blow them away totally. Red Baron on 3DO looks MUCH, WAY, TOTALLY,
ALL-THE-WAY, 100% better than on a PC. The graphics and sound look totally
re-done.

The controller fits perfectly in your hands, with 5 buttons to support future
software. Speaking of future software, this system will be excellent for
reference titles too! Like almanacs and encyclopedias which will be making
there debut. I guess 3DO's target audience is something for the whole family.
Such as Gametek's popular Air Warrior game, which is featured on GEnie, will
be available on 3DO and will offer modem support! Well doesn't that tell you
something, eh?

Games coming out should be spectacular. Super Wing Commander looks very good
and takes advantage of 3DO's graphics and sound capabilities unmatched by
anything else. I can't wait to see Mortal Kombat run on the machine, as well
as EVERYTHING else too! So many companies, so little time.

All this power comes at a price. $699.99 which I must add is well worth it
compared to upgrading to a DX2/66 which still won't match the 3DO. Don't get
me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my 486 workhorse, I don't know how I would live
without it, but I think PC games cannot and will not match the 3DO's
price/performance ratio. PCs were not meant for games anyways. If you are
thinking of upgrading that computer and the main reason is to play the latest
and greatest games, STOP! I recommend 3DO instead of a "super-powerful" gaming
PC.

The Panasonic FZ-1 model can play Audio CDs, Audio/Graphics CDs stating the
[graphics] mark, 3DO CDs, Photo CDs, and soon Movies on CD. I have already
seen Batman being played on 3DO and it is not distinguishable from a VCR, no
kidding! And the sound is playing at 44.1KHz compared to VCR's 32KHz.

I am in absolute awe at what 3DO can do, and this coming from a guy who loves
and plays PC games! I will CERTAINLY stick with PC games though, but when I
have a choice, I'm going for the 3DO title.

Specs:
-32-bit RISC CPU made by Advanced RISC Machines
-Math Co-Processor
-640x480 pixel resolution at 16.7 million colors
-Accelerated Video Co-Processors (64 million pixels per second)
-32kb SRAM Cache
-Doublespeed 300kbps Data Transfer CD-ROM Drive
-Multitasking 32-bit Operating System
-Super Fast BUS Speed (50 megabytes per second)
-36 Seperate DMA Channels for Processing Data Quickly
-16-bit Stereo Sound
-44.1KHz Sound Sampling Rate
-Fully Supports Dolby(tm) Surround Sound
-16-bit Digital Signal Processor (DSP)
-2 megabytes of RAM
-1 megabyte of V-RAM
-2 expansion ports
-Upgradable


* 3DO
][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][
3333 DDDD OOO
3 D D O O
3333 D D O O
3 D D O O
3333 DDDD OOO
][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|TITLE: |PUBLISHER |GAME TYPE: |SIZE: |AVERAGE OF REVIEWS: |
| Crash 'n Burn | Crystal | Racing |200 + | |
| | Dynamics | |MEG CD| *****%%%%%@@@@@##### |
|---------------+-------------+--------------+------+------------------------|
|MAIN REVIEW BY: OTHER REVIEWERS |
| |
| Chris Wickman 87 ---------- ** ---------- ** ---------- ** |
| PLAYED ON: Panasonic FZ-1 3DO Multiplayer |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The first of the 3DO generation of games kicks some serious b-u-t-t. The
graphics and sound will amaze you, making you wonder when arcade games will
get this good. It offers some really cool FMV and is fast, no slowdown when
racing at all. Play this one LOUD and play it with surround sound, or
headphones to get the true effect.

This game surely doesn't show 3DO's full abilities, which makes me wonder if
this isn't showing 3DO's full potential, I can't wait to see what is next. It
has some really neat rendering effects after you complete a Tournament mode
level. This game is sure to keep you playing.

The game's control is excellent. You can switch between 2 views. The cockpit
and the chase view. When you are strapped in the cockpit, it offers a
surprisingly realistic effect and looks better than the chase view. But I
found the chase view a little easier for you can see more of the outside and
get a better perspective.

The games objective is to make it all the way to the very last track (I
believe it is 31?) and compete with Demolition Man, the ultimate racer. The
tracks are spectacular. There are tracks in the city, tracks in the hills,
tunnels, and roller-coaster like ones where you drive in the sky and the track
is glass and you can see right through it.

There are two modes. Rally and Tournament. Rally mode is where you just race
around and shoot on a bunch of tracks. Think of it as an exhibition.
Tournament offers the same realism as rally, but this time you are playing for
money. There are TONS of things you can buy to upgrade your machine. Better
tires, guns, phasers, shields, mines, and much more.

To choose from there are I believe 6 different racer machines. All having
there own unique abilities. I've gotten to the 8th track in tournament mode,
and the racing and music is incredible, better than most arcades. And 3DO
somehow saves your game every time, in battery backup.

This game offers great graphics and sound, no slowdown, and hot action. This
is a must get for 3DO owners (heck,it comes with the system!). And this
game is really cheap too! <big grin> Good action...

In Short: The first of the wave of 3DO games combines fast action with
incredible scrolling (scaling?) effects. The games is ultra fun and should keep
you Crashin N' Burnin for hours...


* FTP
*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
: FTP Info Sheet... where, when, and how to use FTP to get all versions! *
*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
Okay. You want to see back issues, you want to see the ELECTRONIC PRINT issue
and you want it NOW. Well, here is how you can do it.. FTP!

[This service is used through the Internet, and non-net readers cannot access
GMJ through it. Call our home board, Software Creations, instead and join
file area 63. (F)ind text '* SOFTCR' for more info]

WE ARE AT SERVER 128.252.135.4 (wuarchive.wustl.edu) and can be accessed
through there. Here's how....
[The user-dependant parts are in brackets. This will be different for each
user. The name before the (1) will also change.]

From your main prompt, do the following, typing in the things with ^ below:

aludra.usc.edu(1): ftp 128.252.135.4
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
------------------------
You have connected to wuarchive... [etc etc]
Name: anonymous
^^^^^^^^^
------------------------
Anonymous login ok, send real ident as password
password: [j...@schmoe.com]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
------------------------
opening ASCII connection for /bin/ls
.
.
ftp> cd pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/game_master_journal
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ftp> dir
^^^
( a listing appears )

ftp> get [filename]
^^^ ^^^^^^^^

ftp> quit
. ^^^^
.
.
aludra.usc.edu(2): kermit
^^^^^^
Kermit> send [filename]
^^^^ ^^^^^^^^
(Then use your term program to get it [download or whatever. This varies with
school / program.] )

ANY QUESTIONS: shu...@usc.edu
Please be aware that not all Internet sites allow ftp access.

* POINT
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
/ | \
\ #### ### ##### # # ##### | WHAT IS CHEAP IN SUPER SF2? WE WANT /
/ # # # # # ## # # | YOUR OPINIONS! PLEASE SEND THEM TO \
\ #### # # # # # # # | OUR E-MAIL ADDRESS WITH THE SUBJECT /
/ # # # # # ## # | LINE CALLED: "POINT/COUNTERPOINT" \
\ # ### ##### # # # +-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-/
/ \
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\ ### ### ### # # # ##### # # # ### ##### # # # /
/ \
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
Here's my "doctoral thesis" on cheaping, etc. Please send all comments,
suggestions, death threats, etc. to m...@engr.LaTech.edu


FAIR PLAY AND FIGHTING GAMES
by Michael P. Gaudet


It has been the experience of the professional Go player Ing Chang-Ki (Go is a
oriental game more complex than chess) that anything which increases the total
number of moves possible and thus increases the number of situations possible
is good for Go, as it makes the game more complex and makes it require more
skill to master. Why should any other game be different? Tic-Tac-T oe becomes
more interesting when you add the third dimension.

Video games become more interesting as more and more options are available
to the player to use in his quest for video superiority.

There have been many debates about what is 'correct', 'honorable', and 'fair'
to do in a video game. Most of these debates have been spawned by the new
form of video gaming which has recently taken hold of the game scene -
multi-player adversarial gaming. No longer are you competing against a
faceless computer, or indirectly for points and powerups against another
human. You are locked in "Mortal Kombat" with another person who can display
the entire lower range of human emotions in your general direction if you
defeat him and force him to put in more money should he want to continue
playing.

Most accusations of 'cheap' play seem to be provoked when the victor instills
a sense of helplessness in the loser; the defeated gamer feels that the winner
has done something that he cannot possibly counter. If we agree with the
statement made by Michael Hudson in his novel _Thieves of Light_, that the
object of war is to instill in the enemy a conviction of defeat, then to be
declared cheap by one's opponent is the ultimate victory! Indeed, in a world
where, as the technopop band Information Society claims, "you're never dead
until you run out of quarters", the only measure of definitive superiority is
to make your challengers realize that they CANNOT be better than you! After
all, the person who ends up on the losing side of a close match may feel as if
he could have won, and may still win someday...when he has another paycheck!

In my opinion, anything that either player has an equal opportunity to do
within the confines of normal game play is within bounds, and not 'cheap.'
What is left in the definition of 'cheap'? Nothing, save maybe pulling out the
plug of the machine or intentionally spilling a coke on the console. However,
these actions remove conflict from the realm of normal game play, and should
not be considered at all by game players. Either player can pick the
character that has an insurmountable advantage. Either player can perform the
hideous combo that renders resistance futile. Either player can use any
combination of strategy and tactics because either player has the potential to
do the same things with the joystick and buttons; the computer doesn't care
about morality or sympathy, nor does it have an evil side that enjoys letting
mean people win. It just looks at the joystick and button input, and EVERY
PLAYER HAS EXACTLY THE SAME POTENTIAL! Thus, nothing is unfair.

What about the tactic of ticking, which entails trapping a downed opponent
with a flurry of quick attacks, and then throwing him? And what about the
popular strategy in Mortal Kombat: score one hit, dodge for the rest of the
match, and win on time? Again, either player is capable of performing the
first tick, or scoring that first critical hit. Critics claim that allowing
such play causes the game to degenerate into a simple contest in which very
little skill is involved. Quite to the contrary, it forces players to realize
the importances of every aspect of game play. The fireball trap of Street
Fighter II forces players to respect the importance of the corner. The
run-away strategy of Mortal Kombat forces players to realize that every attack
is important. These realizations take the game to a new level. Players begin
scrambling for position, rather than wildly thrashing about.

One may raise the objection that players may, on my above logic, choose to
trigger bugs in the video game which prevent either player from continuing the
game. I argue that such people are not attempting to win the game, and are
thus not even using a game tactic. They are acting outside of the parameters
of the game. A response to that argument might be that people who run out the
clock are not trying to win the game, but, by defintion, whoever is ahead when
time runs out wins. If there is currently a tie, the player is betting that
he will be able to win the next round. Bugs which do not crash the game, but
merely 'freeze' one player are, again, accessible by both players. These bugs
leave the game intact.

THE ONLY MOVES THAT ARE CHEAP ARE THE ONES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE GAME.

Copyright (C) 1993 Michael Gaudet; permission to print & edit to GMJ


* SPECIAL 2
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The Jaguar goes on the Prowl!

As I stepped into the room, where this almighty press conference was
being held, I looked around. I saw the jungle, lady Jaguars, and lots of
people. This conference was held to show off the upcoming release of the
Jaguar system, a new 64 Bit system being produced by Atari Corp., which is
sure to knock your socks off. With a suggested retail price of only $249
and games costing around the same price as a normal Genesis or Super
Nintendo game, this system is sure to hit BIG.

As far a specifications go, this thing has got it all. It's got a 64
Bit architecture, which will beat anything available out there any day.
It's rendering/Animation speed is greater that 850 Million Pixels/Second.
It's got True Color 32-bit graphics with 16.7 million colors on one
screen. The heart of the machine is made up of 5 processors- the GPU,
DSP, Object Processor, Blitter, and 68000, each doing it's own separate
job. The system has a MIPS (Millions of instructions/second) rating of
55. "We can display up to about 1000x1000 if we wanted to" says Richard
Miller, the top designer on the system. "but unfortunately, no ones TV
can support that, but we are ready for HDTV when it comes." Right now, the
resolution is set at 720x576 on a standard television.

Games and support are a VERY big part of a gaming system, and this
one has the stuff to back it up. Several big company support was
announced tonight with games that will be going along with them. The
following games will be available between now and Christmas. These four
titles are Cybermorph, a polygon-based game, where the player flies into a
real-time world, and has to rescue stranded survivors of a dying war,
Crescent Galaxy, another space game which is a side scroller with amazing
graphics, Evolution Dino-Dudes, which is another version of the popular
caveman survival game redone to perfection, and Raiden, in which the
player pilots over a war like territory.
Some third party publishers and the games the are going to produce are
as follows (all of the following games should be out by Fall '94):

ID software - Doom (a Wolfenstien type game - amazing graphics),
Virgin Interactive - TBA,
Interplay - Battle Chess
- 3 other titles,
NubySoft - Jimmy Conners Tennis,
Gremlin Graphics UK - Grand Prix
21st Century Software UK - TBA,
Millennium UK - TBA,
Accolade - Bubsy
- Al Michales announces Hardball
- Charles Barkley Basketball
- Jack Nicholas Golf
- Brett Hull Hockey.

Other companies have already joined with Atari for the new gaming system,
however, we were unable to retrive an exact list. So keep waiting, and GMJ
will get it to you first.

My own personal opinion on this game system is that it has REAL potential. At
current, a lot of the games like Cybermorph and Crescent Galaxy boast great
graphics and sound, however, they lack originality. Some of the upcoming games
seem to be better as well. The system has PLENTY going for it, and will most
likely become one of the best selling gaming machines there is.

The Atari Jaguar will be released on November 15th in New York and San
Francisco. It's national release date in January 1st.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| IN THE NEXT INTERVIEW: Aladdin's (Sgea) musical director! |
| ISSUE OF... SYSTEM INFO: Jaguar |
| |
| GAME MASTER At least 6 SNES + Genesis games reviewed, AND |
| JOURNAL info, WAY BEFORE the other guys, about the |
| upcoming Winter CES this January! |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

* WE GOOFED
In our last issue, part one of our SSF2 Strategy guide was wrongfully copied
from the Internet by Sr. Jnx. Although a portion of it was his own work, we
feel that this action should not be allowed to happen. Sr. Jnx is no longer
with us.
Our thanks to the REAL contributors: Matt Kruse, RPM and the others that
worked hard on a great article. [Some have gone and made their OWN magazine,
good luck to them.]

Producer: Anthony Shubert Online Layout Editor: Anthony Shubert
WWIVcolor editing by: Will Crawford ANSI Editing by: The Last ANSI
Head Writing Staff: Contributors:
HOME SYSTEMS Reny Falzarano Mr. Sims, the Pepperidge Farmer,
HEAD REVIEWERS Instigator Mr. Mojo Risin', Aquarius,
FUTURE WAVE Tanya Kutasz Emax, Sai-Blade, Matrix, Shez
IBM GAMES Will Crawford

We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the followig companies:
Nintendo of America, Sega Enterprises, Turbo Technologies (NEC),
Atari Corp., Atari Games, SMSG, or any other videogaming company.

Product names are either (c) or trademarks of their respective
companies, and the non-marking of such product is not a challenge to
its status.

Ace's Angles, Chronicle, Express Mail, Warp Zone, and all content, unless
specifically marked otherwise (c) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 Innovative Creations.

:: Some ASCII/ANSI work created with use of 'TheDraw' Shareware program ::

E. Kontei

unread,
Nov 9, 1993, 11:55:45 AM11/9/93
to
In article <2bnl5u$g...@girtab.usc.edu>, shu...@girtab.usc.edu (Anthony Shubert) writes:
>
> 3DO also came with a sampler CD with tons of new product screen shots, demos,
> and a couple cartoons. The cartoons were very impressive, running perfectly
> smooth, EXACTLY like the real thing.

Well, THIS is one magazine I won't trust to give level-headed reviews...

> The games objective is to make it all the way to the very last track (I
> believe it is 31?) and compete with Demolition Man, the ultimate racer.

Or informed reviews, for that matter. :-p
--
E n r i q u e C o n t y
Coordinator, Project Zeta
co...@cbnewsl.att.com jes...@ihlpm.att.com
Disclaimer: You're not dealing with AT&T

Joe Czagas

unread,
Nov 9, 1993, 4:44:27 PM11/9/93
to
In article <CG8Ho...@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> co...@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (E. Kontei) writes:
>In article <2bnl5u$g...@girtab.usc.edu>, shu...@girtab.usc.edu (Anthony Shubert) writes:
>>
>> 3DO also came with a sampler CD with tons of new product screen shots, demos,
>> and a couple cartoons. The cartoons were very impressive, running perfectly
>> smooth, EXACTLY like the real thing.
>
>Well, THIS is one magazine I won't trust to give level-headed reviews...
>
>> The games objective is to make it all the way to the very last track (I
>> believe it is 31?) and compete with Demolition Man, the ultimate racer.
>
>Or informed reviews, for that matter. :-p

While we are on the subject of being informed, let's look at the
following: :)

In article <2bnl5u$g...@girtab.usc.edu>, shu...@girtab.usc.edu (Anthony Shubert) writes:

>Konami, best known for creating NES and S-NES games that standardized the
>industry, has now gone one gaming system further with their first Genesis
>release, Rocket Knight Adventures. Rocket Knight is possibly the best third
>party game released for the Genesis in a long time, and hopefully Konami will
>continue their Sega support.

Konami's "first Genesis release" was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Hyperstone Heist. It came out about this time last year.

>Ace - 82
>This game was pretty good... but nothing earth-shattering. Don't get me
>wrong, this was a great entry into the Genesis market by Konami, great first

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Look, there it is again. In case you missed it the first time. :)

>effort. This game would have been in the high-90's 2 years ago. Nice
>tail-tactics though.

I thought TMNT: Hyperstone Heist was a weak overall effort, especially
for Konami. I can see where it would be easily and thankfully forgotten. :)


J.A.C.


Anthony Shubert

unread,
Nov 9, 1993, 8:04:51 PM11/9/93
to
co...@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (E. Kontei) writes:

>> 3DO also came with a sampler CD with tons of new product screen shots, demos,
>> and a couple cartoons. The cartoons were very impressive, running perfectly
>> smooth, EXACTLY like the real thing.

>Well, THIS is one magazine I won't trust to give level-headed reviews...

If you looked at the beginning of the article, you would have seen that this
person was writing an article *special* for GMJ. HE is not a regular
contributor.

>> The games objective is to make it all the way to the very last track (I
>> believe it is 31?) and compete with Demolition Man, the ultimate racer.

>Or informed reviews, for that matter. :-p
>--
> E n r i q u e C o n t y

> co...@cbnewsl.att.com jes...@ihlpm.att.com

Well, lets see.. SARCASM is a wonderful thing. :)
thanks for another pointless flame [macro tm]

Anthony Shubert, publisher / Game Master Journal (c) 1993

Anthony Shubert

unread,
Nov 9, 1993, 8:07:55 PM11/9/93
to
cza...@ida.mlb.semi.harris.com (Joe Czagas) writes:

>>Konami, best known for creating NES and S-NES games that standardized the
>>industry, has now gone one gaming system further with their first Genesis
>>release, Rocket Knight Adventures. Rocket Knight is possibly the best third
>>party game released for the Genesis in a long time, and hopefully Konami will
>>continue their Sega support.

>Konami's "first Genesis release" was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
>Hyperstone Heist. It came out about this time last year.

>>Ace - 82
>>This game was pretty good... but nothing earth-shattering. Don't get me
>>wrong, this was a great entry into the Genesis market by Konami, great first
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Look, there it is again. In case you missed it the first time. :)

Great - more for our "We Goofed" section :) I thought that we wouldn't have
anything to put there on friday :)

>>effort. This game would have been in the high-90's 2 years ago. Nice
>>tail-tactics though.

>I thought TMNT: Hyperstone Heist was a weak overall effort, especially
>for Konami. I can see where it would be easily and thankfully forgotten. :)
>J.A.C.

Once again, sorry. You're right. But hey - it wasn't a fantastic game either
:)

Anthony Shubert, publisher of Game Master Journal (c) 1993

michael grisham

unread,
Nov 10, 1993, 11:53:53 AM11/10/93
to
In article <CG8Ho...@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> co...@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (E. Kontei) writes:


I'll second that.

MG

--
The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
internet: laUNChpad.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80

Dennis Crowley... the man the mystery the legend the slamdancer

unread,
Nov 13, 1993, 10:11:18 AM11/13/93
to
Anthony Shubert... haven't seen you in a long time. Hows GMJ... From what
Reny and CJ tell me you're doing quite well.

Drop me a line sometime....

late.den

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