This is the third installment in my series “A different way to play” about front-end clients for BBS door games.
OOIITERM (also called “Overkill Ansiterm”) was a front-end for Operation Overkill II. Its purpose was to render the game’s interface instantly for users who had slow modems. It also offered optional SoundBlaster sound effects.
This is the first installment in my series “A different way to play” about front-end clients for BBS door games.
Silent. Simple. Social. I suspect that’s how many people remember BBS door games.
In our memories, we recall quaint multiplayer, turn-based, text games. They lacked sophisticated graphics, music, and sound effects — significant flaws for most people. What made these games special for most of us were the social interactions they fostered, which was their primary advantage and marketable difference over video games of the 1980s and 90s.
It’s those “flaws” that I’d like to dig deep and consider today. How did the limitations of BBS technology shape door games? How did door game authors work around those limitations?
