Year: 2013

  • Joel Bergen, creator of “Global War” and “Global Backgammon”

    Joel Bergen, creator of “Global War” and “Global Backgammon”

    From paper tape to the BBS door game “Global War,” Joel Bergen discusses his history with computer programming.

  • Global War memories

    Global War memories

    Though I had never played the board game RISK before, I discovered that I already knew, more or less, how to play. I had learned years earlier by playing a similar game for BBSes called “Global War” by Joel Bergen.

  • Video: “The Joy of ASCII with Bob Ross”

    Video: “The Joy of ASCII with Bob Ross”

    This awesome new YouTube parody is like nostalgia squared. It imagines the late painter Bob Ross … if he had been an ANSI artist instead (though the video calls it “ASCII” art). If that whetted your appetite for more ANSI, then check out 8BitMUSH an intruigingly retro virtual world.

  • Amit Patel, creator of “Solar Realms Elite”

    Amit Patel, creator of “Solar Realms Elite”

    In 1990, Amit Patel created the BBS door game “Solar Realms Elite.” In his other life he has worked with programming languages, scientific equipment, data analysis, visualization, geological exploration, simulation of complex systems, economic modeling, maps, trend analysis, artificial intelligence, and web software. He’s now working on interactive reference materials for game developers.

  • Solar Realms Elite memories

    Solar Realms Elite memories

    What made SRE magical was the number of people who were playing at the time I encountered it. These games were not meant to be played solo; they were meant to be social experiences as you tried to dominate other players and build the mightiest empire. And when I began playing, SRE was a popular…

  • BBS doors: innovative social games?

    I came across a fantastic essay written by Andrew Chen in 2009: BBS door games: Social gaming innovation from the 1980s He makes the case that BBS door games pioneered many techniques used today by social games. I think he’s right on, especially in this passage: You may notice from all of these screenshots that…