Video amusement by it very nature is a communal activity, compared to the predominantly solitary nature of Internet and consumer gaming. One of the biggest draws of amusement is the group player environment, linked to player exhibitionism.
Trail blazing games like Namco's Final Lap established the mechanisms of multiple player games, accommodating up-to eight players. Games like Atari / Time Warner's T-MEK laid the foundation of in-game communication, and tagging, with the more recent RUSH The Rock supporting network gaming of a considerable number over a Wide Area Network (WAN).
WAN gaming linked to player score databases, tournaments and complicated membership schemes / competitions first attempted with the abortive Atari Games WaveNet technology added to RUSH The Rock. It has now been revitalized with the embryonic Midway Tournament Network, the MTN offers a unique spin on the previous tournament systems actually sharing in the operators coin-box revenue by offering a increase in revenue, games supporting this system have however proven slow to appear.
Read My Tag!
The concept of 'tagging' originated from the urban graffiti culture of the 70's, wall artists recognized by their 'style' or particular characteristic (icon). Tagging has grown-up to encompass the specialized icon or logo attributed to a player's character in a WAN game. Crafted airplane tail patches, digitally sprayed markers or elaborate emblems to donate teams.
In amusement you can actually see your competitor (he's that guy in the cabinet opposite, grinning in your face as he rams your Daytona car off the track!. But with the growth of network amusement the cultivation of a character, or gaming persona, by the player is part of the new culture surrounding the future of arcade gaming.
Since Atari's classic Asteroids introduced the initialized high-score, skillful players have been rewarded with the adoration of their piers, and have benchmarked the standards envied and emulated by other players.
This video exhibitionism cultivated by shrewd operators for the increased revenue that amusement competition generates. The "look at me!" mentality of high-scores a major factor in amusement culture since its birth. Tournament gaming in teams, an expanding facet of the culture, complimented by detailed score keeping as personified by the excellent Twin Galaxies website and dedicated scoreboard repository.
Towards the future and the promise of WAN style amusement, with different players in different locations, glimpsed in the success of Incredible Technologies' golf game Golden Tee Force. This product in particular has achieved network player/team recognition, moved to new heights with players even traveling great distances to take part in tournaments in facilities with the system, the draw of a cash prize good encouragement.
Don't Leave Home Without It!
But how should the player carry around his play characteristics; the player's preferred character selection, setting and color, stores for each game.
Capcom's PowerStone 2 went some way in Asia to establish a direct link to Internet modification, and secret character activation, linked between Dreamcast and NAOMI interaction. This game, like a number of Asian releases, used the peripheral VMU (Visual / Visual Memory Unit), bundled with the SEGA Dreamcast, as the transfer medium.
The dream that SEGA's VMU would revolutionize interspecies gaming (home pieces transferred to arcade and visa versa) seems to be as stillborn outside Japan, as SNK's previous attempt some ten years previous. Even Midway experimented with saving ‘plays' using the Memory Pak of the Nintendo 64 on their football game NFL Blitz.
The idea that players could modify and enhance their particular favored character, via down loadable software from the consumer or Internet source, only to return to the arcades to show-off his colossi, is still the dream. The VMS was seen as the catalyst, one having been sold with every Dreamcast system (millions sold in Japan and Internationally) it could still become the ultimate fashion accessory in the arcade – worn round the neck like a badge of courage.
The future of this technology can still be bright, but a transitional market means slow adoption. The amusement adoption of the VMS has stalled outside of Japan, though the Golden Tee's Force cabinets boasting the Golden Tee Gold Card system, to allow online statistics and a personal ID to check individual tournament information. Club membership and player interrogation, an obvious advantage to maximizing returns from the players.
Konami's encompassing KIC (Konami Internet Championship) network, and the recent Leisure Link Rally Championship Challenge, a shot in another direction offering 24-hour ‘monitorable' high-scores (Internet transmitted), linked to the ultimate in player exhibitionism and reward schemes. The modernizing of facilities to support smart / swipe card payment systems now fuel the consideration of card storage of player details.
The future offering the opportunity for operators not only to know their players, but also their placidity's, their wants, and more importantly… their credit card details!
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Kevin Williams
Business Development Director
INSKOR Entertainment
Tel: +44 208 222 9700
Email: kwilliams@inskor.net
Web: www.inskor.net
