This is the fourth installment in my series “A different way to play” about front-end clients for BBS door games.
GTERM
GTERM was a front-end for Land of Devastation that enabled an SVGA-resolution interface with graphics, music, and sound effects.
 |
 |
| Land of Devastation in a traditional terminal | Land of Devestation in GTERM |
Above you can see a comparison of the same location in LOD as experienced on a BBS in the terminal Telemate (left) and in the front-end GTERM (right). Click on the images to see them at full-size. Since GTERM runs in SVGA, the interface is considerably larger than the traditional BBS interface.
The graphics are a big improvement over the ANSI maps of the plain BBS version and help the player better visualize his movements through the game’s world.
As a designer, though, I can’t help but wish GTERM took better advantage of the screen real estate afforded by SVGA. The “map grid” (top left), where maps and special graphic screens are displayed, should have been the largest element; the inventory display (bottom left) could have been shrunk.
READ MORE
Click these links to read the rest of this series about front-end clients:
- A different way to play, part 1: Front-ends
- A different way to play, part 2: Pit Terminal
- A different way to play, part 3: OOIITERM
- A different way to play, part 4: GTERM
- A different way to play, part 5: TWTerm
YOUR MEMORIES
Did you ever use GTERM to play Land of Devastation? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments.