WASD
A retrospective
In the humid summer of 2006, I received a 2gb thumb drive discreetly labelled as "war3.exe" from a fellow schoolmate whilst schooling in architecture school. For the uninitiated, the executable file in the drive was Warcraft III, a popular real time strategy game then.
This was before Steam has mainstream and notably, before schooling children had money to afford AAA PC games. Having a portable version of the game that could be played off a thumb drive on any computer was perhaps the worst productivity detractor as an architecture student.
Though, it was an empowering moment and a sight like no other. With that humble USB stick, the architectural design computer lab was transformed into a LAN shop. We could host games running at under 1ms ping with the school's IT infrastructure, terrific latency for any title at that time. We mostly played Sheep Tag and Tower Defense custom campaigns, local area network games had that kind of atmosphere where we could strategise by simply shouting across the room.
Again this was when internet enabled devices for gaming were niche. iPhones and Android devices were still in R&D. If you've got a new Nokia Symbian phone, you were the coolest kid on the block running Pokemon Gold on a Nintendo Gameboy emulator.
The Zeitgeist
Gaming today has evolved significantly. LAN parties are scarce, with 1 gigabit connections fairly common in the city. There's a plethora of arcade style shoot-em-up or platformers easily available in the palm of your hand with just a few taps of your finger. Free-to-play games for serious gamers have evolved and iterated to profitable micro transactions business models.
Prospectus
I've enjoyed my fair share of gaming with my cousins, mates and strangers on the internet over the years. Now as a dude in his 30s with a full time job, it is increasingly difficult to commit to time sinks such as the typical JRPG that sucks 60 to 100 plus hours behind the console. I'd rather not play something at all than start and give up mid way.
Regardless, here are the ones that I've managed to squeeze time for over the years. These are the ones I've completed at any% where you see the credits roll.
| Game Name | Genre | Quick Review | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
Clicker type idlers | Idler | ||
Factorio | Resource/Logistics Simulation | ||
Mindustry | Resource/Logistics SimulationTower-defense | ||
Final Fantasy 3,6,7, 8, 9, X, X-2, 12, 13, 15 | Action/AdventureJRPG | ||
Monster Train | Deck Builder | ||
Slay the Spire | Deck Builder | ||
Vault of the Void | Deck Builder | ||
Loop Hero | RoguelikeDeck BuilderIdlerTower-defense | ||
Hades | RoguelikeAction/AdventureDungeon CrawlerTop-down Isometric | ||
Darkest Dungeon | RoguelikeDungeon Crawler | ||
Catan Universe | Table Top Simulation | ||
Guide of Dungeoneering | Deck Builder | ||
Tropico 6 | City Simulation | Humor gets predictable after awhile, and sandbox mode is not challenging. Learning curve is higher compared to previous tropicos. | Maybe, did not complete. |
Dicey Dungeons | Deck BuilderRoguelike | Easy to learn deckbuilder, but difficult at higher levels due to high RNG factor. Builds can be interesting. | Maybe |
Horizon Zero Dawn | Open worldAction/Adventure | Post apocalyptic action adventure with unique sci fi world building. | Yes |
Inscryption | Deck BuilderTable Top SimulationRoguelike | Genre bending deck builder card battler with captivating alternate reality story | Yes |
The Riftbreaker | Action/AdventureTop-down shooter | Build, shoot, defense top down hybrid. Missions are dull, but upgrade path for mech is interesting. | No |
Per Aspera | City Simulation | Mars city builder. Got meddlesome with resources acquisition after awhile | No, did not complete. |
Dead Cells | Action/AdventureRoguelikeSouls-likeDungeon Crawler2D-scroller | ||
Tetris Connected | Puzzle | ||
Beat Saber | VRRhythm |
Yet that wasn't the story, we've managed to graduate and went on to higher education eventually. Then, few of us came earlier in the day to use the powerful workstations to draft our designs, and spent the extra periods between classes doing LAN party in WC3.
KAI LEOW © 2022