Lecture by Chris Weauve and M. Evan Brooks
In 1999, 74 games were published that loosly fit the wargame category (not all are historical): 24 desktop published, 17 in magazines, and 33 other professionally done games. The top topics:
20th Century and Future: 14 Pre-Napoleonic era: 12 American Civil War: 7 WWI: 6 Napoleonic: 6 Other 19th Century: 4 The buzz was about Totaler Krieg (WWII), War Galley (ancient naval), and Paths of Glory (WWI). Some of the series games got new life: Europa, ASL, and Great Campaigns of the ACW. Major events:
Switch from store distribution to direct sales Rise of Desktop Published games Internet inspires collecting binge In the past five years, the distribution channel has collapsed. Growing printing costs means capital outlay recaps occur in 12-15 months--too long. Distribution alternatives include:
Columbia Games and autoship new releases--much like a subscription. The Gamers and GR/D go all-direct (no retail) sales DTP games are on the rise because it allows designers to publish small games on obscure subjects for low cost. The Internet means more games are discounted, and people can find other obscure games for collecting. Computer Games Overview Nifty slides of state of the art graphics from 1999 games vs. 1980s games. Huge difference! The strength of computer games means smart AI (always a opponent), saves in progress (play anytime), and replay value(modify set-ups and starts). However, games still play the same for the last 10-20 years, and the interface needs to be improved. More Connections 2000:
Lecture: Opening Remarks Lecture: History of Wargaming Lecture: Aerospace Power 101 Lecture: Games the Navy Plays: Naval Wargaming Past and Future Lecture: Sliding Timescales in Published Wargames Lecture: Wargaming: The End of the Millenium Lecture: Effects-Based Modelling Lecture: Global Defense and Wargaming Lecture: Army Transformation 2000 Lecture: Global Wargame Lecture: Global Engagement Lecture: Commercial Wargaming 1999 Lecture: The Human Factor: Modeling Inputs Lecture: The Modeling of Intangibles National Security Decision Making Game Recap Back to List of Conventions Back to Travel Master List Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 2000 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. |