SELECTION OF YOUR SOFTWARE LIBRARY - RANDOM or PLANNED ?

               Sent in by Brian Burke

As a games player I, like any of us, am apt to make a fairly
instantaneous judgement as to whether the game attracts me or not.
In an adventure or RPG scenario this is likely to take a little
longer. For instance, the ease of use of the control system needs
to be evaluated as does your brain's absorption of the various
character statistics. Chances are though that within half an hour
or so you've made your decision. Problem is that, unlike an item
of clothing from Marks and Spencers, the likelihood of being able
to return the game if you don't like it is remote.

Usually the only choice left with a duff game is either to try and
sell it on to an unsuspecting punter or grit your teeth and play
the thing anyway. Of course there are ways to avoid and minimise
these instances, after all leisure time is too precious to waste
on doing things we don't enjoy and that's besides the "loss" of
the œ20-40 spent in the software shop.

One of the obvious elimination methods is to read the games
reviews in one of the ever growing number of format dedicated
magazines. Yet another problem here, at the end of the day which
reviewer's choice do you choose?  The choice of magazine then
becomes subjective (relative to your own subjectiveness, that
is!!)

I'm unfortunate in that, as an Amiga owner, I find the reviewers
are mostly half my age and only have an eye for what they perceive
as an arcade dominated readership. The end result is that the Gold
Box games from SSI are described as boring, fit only for acne
ridden train spotter types, whist Pavement Brawler III gets a 98%
score every time.

The couple times I did 'tune in' to an Adventure reviewer was once
with CU Amiga in the days it was called Commodore User. A writer
called Keith Campbell (I think) did the column and I took great
note of his comments.  The other was Pat Winstanley when she wrote
for the now defunct ACE magazine. I liked ACE with its
multi-format content - got a good perception of what was happening
on all fronts, killed off by the consoles I guess.

I've never been all that influenced by software adverts and I
doubt whether most people are. I see such displays as telling me
that such and such a company has released (ho hum - some
advertising hype starts about a year prior to release) their
latest game on such and such a format.  Sometimes that's the only
magazine space that a game is going to get.  Apart from the glossy
artwork the other reason I'm pleased to see them is because the
more advertising space a mag can sell the less likely its price
is to rise.

A further elimination tool is to subscribe, as we do, to a
dedicated fanzine. The odds begin to get much better now because
the subscribers to the magazine are much more in tune with your
thinking. Why else would they bother - right? There's still the
danger of individual subjectiveness but by reading a few issues
it's relatively easy to home in to individuals who are close to
your own wavelength. So when these folks write a letter with views
about a game or send in a positive review it's time to sit up and
take note. Point to note I guess is that at sometime the reviewer
themselves have had to make a conscious purchase decision which
brings us to another critical point in the selection path.

Somewhere in the past there's a game you've played that's given
you hours of fun, probably hours of frustration as well otherwise
where's the satisfaction of finishing it? The selection process is
now concentrated into two areas. Firstly the software
programming/publishing house and secondly the brains behind it all
- the game designer.

When considering a software house such as Origin, say, we are
channelled down a path that focuses on the Ultima series of games.
We know, more than less, what to expect in the content. We can be
delighted by technological strides in game presentation. Just look
at how Origin capitalised on the success of Dungeon Master and the
like by releasing the Ultima Underworld games. They not only
equalled but surpassed their competition by the use of real time
movement as well as real time combat. The game engine changes but
the punter's attention is riveted on the progression of the
storyline.  We are hooked. Our pound notes flow over the counter
'cos we know that hours, nay days, of sublime enjoyment are just a
bus ride and a floppy disc install away.

A similar sort of analysis can be attributed to most any
successful software house but when you hear the name Sid Meier you
automatically think of a strategy game. I doubt that there are
many Syntax readers who haven't got or played a Sid Meier game.
The man's a legend. He has a game design track record second to
none.  It wouldn't matter where he worked, whether at MicroProse
or Electronic Arts or wherever, his games are playable and
interesting. So find yourself a programmer/designer who produces
your sort of game and hang on to his coat tails.

Hopefully then, after sifting through the options, there won't be
too many games gathering dust on your software shelf for the wrong
reasons.  Those previously misspent pound notes can be saved to
expand your machine or pay the TV licence for a change.

BUT remember, if you don't take a risk once in a while, you might
just miss that one game you always waited for.........

















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