Predictions...
RoBearBellie
games that I haven't read in ages. It is titled "Usborne Guide to
Computer and Video Games" Basically they are like a For Dummies book
that explain how the video games and computer worked and how to win at
many of the popular games. It is circa 1982.
Near the end of the book, there were some predictions, which appears to
have been met on all counts. Those within quotes are actual material
from the book, used without permission. Also from the spelling style
(ie colour), I assume the author was of a British background.
"Within ten years, the computer games of today will probably seems very
basic and primative. The games of the future will be faster and more
exciting, with superbly realistic screen display."
How true. Not only that but cheaper if you adjust the inflation rate
for the then price vs today's price.
"These games will contain computers a hundred times more powerful and
faster than those of today and capable of storing millions of pieces of
information. Computers like these will be built by packing more and
more complicated circuits into a chip of silicon."
Yep. And as of 18 years later, it's closer to thousands time faster and
million times more just for a midrange PC, and trillions for the
mainframe type computers.
"Here are some of the features we might see in computer games in the not
too distant future."
"A TV game with very large memory will be able to reconstruct detailed
pictures of say, the Battle of Waterloo or a space battle, and the
players will be able to control far more of the details in the picture
than they can"
True. Some PC has upward of 32+ MB of RAM just for the video and modern
complex games are at or over gigabyte of disk space for the PC.
"In TV Sports games, you will probably be able to control each of the
players individually. These games will also have electronically
synthesized voices and the referee will tell you when you are offside or
given a free kick."
Comparing the original Football game for VCS with the newest Football
game of today, you can tell this one also came true.
"Powerful computer will be able to create adventure infinitely more
complex than those you can play on a micro today. To help the human
player there will probably be a board and counter to plan and keep track
of their moves"
Comparing VCS' Adventure with today's Ultima 9 or Diablo and you go past
needing the counter and board, you need a guide or hint book just to
survive.
"At present, most computer games are for only one or two players. More
powerful computers though, will be able to cope with instruction from a
number of people playing at the same time, either as team against each
other or against the computer"
I've seen arcade machine that can be played by up to 16 players at once,
possibly more. And if you try Phantasy Star Online, hundreds of players
can go together at once. Also 4 players or more players per comsole is
more of a standard than an option.
"Hand held electronic games will still have liquid crystal displays, but
they will probably be in full colour and will be as detailed and
realistic as thpictures for a TV programme today."
Yep. Lynx, Game Gear, Turbo Express, Gameboy Color, Neo Geo Pocket
Color, and the upcoming Gameboy Advance.
"By the year 2000, you will be able to challenge someone hundreds of
miles away to a game. The game will contain miniature radio
transmitters and recievers which will transmit your moves and recieve
those of your oppoment with very little time or delay. Your oppoment's
moves will be automatically carried out in the liquid crystal display."
I guess cell phones hadn't been invented in 1982. Now some portable
games have links to cells and still the predictions came true. Not
quite the way the author had envisioned.
"The ultimate game will be a super-realistic computer simulation which
takes place all around you in a special game cubicle. The game, perhaps
a space invasion or adventure game, will have three deminsional effects,
laser lighting, and quadrophonic sound."
We call it the virtual reality. ;-)
Well, that's it. The rest of the book was a good trip down the memory
lane. Your comment?
PS the front cover had an illustration of a grey and orange computer
that resembles O2 but says Phillips G7000. Defiantly not written in USA
since G7000 was not released here.
jt august
(RoBearBellie) wrote:
> Well, that's it. The rest of the book was a good trip down the memory
> lane. Your comment?
Of all the predictions for the future I have read several years after they
were printed, this is decidedly the most accurate. If he had predicted
the 1-900- lines, he'd have been rich.
--
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to reply to me directly.
Jon
> While I was cleaning out my bookshelf, I found a book relating to video
> games that I haven't read in ages. It is titled "Usborne Guide to
> Computer and Video Games" Basically they are like a For Dummies book
> that explain how the video games and computer worked and how to win at
> many of the popular games. It is circa 1982.
>
Thank you for the very interesting post.
--
Please remove "nospam" to reply by email.
Timothy Farley
heard yet about a new product this year called a Cybiko (www.cybiko.com) A
Cybiko is essentially a portable greyscale game device that attaches to your
computer and you can download hundreds of games for free over the internet.
The unit also comes equipped with a RF Transmitter/Reciever that allows you
to communicate wirelessly with people up to like 400m away as if they were
connected to the network!
Some games I believe, allow you to play with up to 99 other players over
the RF network, and chat with them too.
It is an interesting device and the company is currently promising one new
*FREE* game or application every day! There is a developers kit (C or
Hitachi H8S ASM) available freely from their website so you can start
writing your own applications as well....
What do you guys think?
- Tim -
cav
The trident was buried thrice will emerge to a savior from France,
he will make the strong one out of the bridge and arrow to be bound with the
kings golden cup.
The nautical Frog in its gyron be agreement in threes
the great locusts will once again fall from the heavens.
-Cav
"RoBearBellie" <robear...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1el8mua.x8ckwu1ytn5exN@[192.168.0.1]...
cav
"By 1990, your doctor may be a computer, questioning you about your health
and coming up with a complete diagnosis. In fact, patients who have been
examined by computers have given them more candid answers than they would
have given their doctors!"
"Computers may mean a cashless society. Computer banks will simply issue
you credit from any one of hundreds of terminals, probably across the
world."
"Talking computers will run households and buinesses as well as book your
holiday and provide you with all sorts of video amusement."
"Whole libraries will be available at the touch of a button, as will the
morning newspaper, stock market prices and a host of other information. You
will be able to shop from home and order things from your favorite
supermarket. Your home video terminal may even let you work at home!"
(Imagine that!)
"Books and newspapers as we know them will disappear, to be replaced by
video disks. You'll be able to call up your favorite novel or magazine from
a computer bank in a central warehouse and project them onto your own video
screen at home."
As good as those were, they also have a few wing ding ideas:
"Vacuum tubes may be able to whisk you from New York to Los Angeles in just
21 minutes; other systems would speed around the world at about 14,000 mph."
"Your car will get around 100 miles per gallon - just as well since gas will
be $8 a gallon or more! Or it could be running on a mixture of gasoline and
alcohole called "gasohol" or on propane." (...and propane accessories)
-Cav
c...@classicgamer.com
http://www.classicgamer.com
"RoBearBellie" <robear...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1el8mua.x8ckwu1ytn5exN@[192.168.0.1]...
RoBearBellie
> What do you guys think?
I might get Cybilko if I can get Tempest. How about this: 2 players
Tempest, where the second player is at the opposite end of the gamefield
and you have to avoid your oppoment's fire in addition to the usual
enemies. Proceed to the next round only if one player is left.
Nugneant
Here, I'll make some predictions myself about the state of gaming in 10
years:
1) 10 years from now, the state of games today will seem awfully primitive
- almost as if it were 10 years old or something.
2) 10 years from now, graphics will be better.
3) 10 years from now, online games will be the norm.
4) 10 years from now, etc etc etc etc.
Neat stuff anyway.
~N
RoBearBellie <robear...@aol.com> wrote in article
<1el8mua.x8ckwu1ytn5exN@[192.168.0.1]>...
O_v
message...
>4) 10 years from now, etc etc etc etc.
Oh, yeah?
10 years from now, we will be 10 years into the future from now.
Let's see _that_ come true. HAH!
--
O_v
Remember Otakuboy!
See the abridged history: http://otakuboy.com
jt august
<c...@classicgamer.com> wrote:
> Ok, I've got a book here from 1982 with some predictions about computers...
>
> "By 1990, your doctor may be a computer, questioning you about your health
> and coming up with a complete diagnosis. In fact, patients who have been
> examined by computers have given them more candid answers than they would
> have given their doctors!"
Nope. Doctors still need a bedside manner.
> "Computers may mean a cashless society. Computer banks will simply issue
> you credit from any one of hundreds of terminals, probably across the
> world."
Missed, but not by far. ATMs deliver cash. Or you can use a cheque
card. Pretty good calll here, though.
> "Talking computers will run households and buinesses as well as book your
> holiday and provide you with all sorts of video amusement."
I'm amazed as much as a to do about computer synthetic speech as we had in
the early 80's, today, it is almost all digitised speech, and thus
predesignated messages. Apple still provides MacInTalk as part of the OS
(at least up through all versions of system 8, not sure about System 9 or
OSX), but it is severly underutilized. About the most valdi use is to
have it read you your e-mail while you fiddle with something else.
As to computers running businesses, again no. They help, do a lot of the
number criunching, but people are still in charge. The net made it
possible to book your onw travel via computer, but you are still in
charge.
But on entertainment, well sheesh, so much is computerised, what with
robot dogs, video games, musical keyboards, talking dolls that respond to
proxy sensors in their accessories . . . .
> "Whole libraries will be available at the touch of a button, as will the
> morning newspaper, stock market prices and a host of other information. You
> will be able to shop from home and order things from your favorite
> supermarket. Your home video terminal may even let you work at home!"
> (Imagine that!)
'nuff said.
> "Books and newspapers as we know them will disappear, to be replaced by
> video disks. You'll be able to call up your favorite novel or magazine from
> a computer bank in a central warehouse and project them onto your own video
> screen at home."
Back in 1993, I was removed from the Gateway Area Macintosh Users Group's
Board of Directors by the then president (I was club librarian) because I
spoke out loudly and at length against taking the club newsletter and
chainging it from a printed form to a disk with the newsletter contained
therein. My contention was that members liked a real newsletter they
could carry about with them to read at their leisure, and did not want to
sit in front of their mac to read. (Many members were employed in the
graphics art and printing industries at the time). The club changed
formats, and many members did not renew, siting the awful change in the
newsletter as one of the considerations. Membership dropped by almost 60%
in one year, and has never grown back since..
Now, with some upcoming technologies that make electronic text as
conveniently portable as newspapers and other printed material, that may
finally change, but don't look for it to happen to fast.
> As good as those were, they also have a few wing ding ideas:
>
> "Vacuum tubes may be able to whisk you from New York to Los Angeles in just
> 21 minutes; other systems would speed around the world at about 14,000 mph."
Can you say Tron? And also, will you need a DSL, or would a 56K dial-up
be sufficient?
> "Your car will get around 100 miles per gallon - just as well since gas will
> be $8 a gallon or more! Or it could be running on a mixture of gasoline and
> alcohole called "gasohol" or on propane." (...and propane accessories)
Yeah, well, they failed to account for the politics of dancing. People
want power, in many forms. Political, economic, finacial, military, and
under the pedal. The human psychie is the biggest obstacle to anything.