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Science Fiction Video Games ◾ 2 the Complexly Simulative Rule Systems That Underlie Many Recently Devel- Oped Types of Game Boca Raton London New York CRC Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business AN A K PETERS BOOK CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2015 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Version Date: 20140730 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4822-0389-9 (eBook - PDF) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information stor- age or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copy- right.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. 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Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com Contents Preface, xv How to Read is Book, xvii CHAPTER 1 ◾ Videogames and Science Fiction 1 FURTHER READING 15 CHAPTER 2 ◾ Game Narratives 19 FURTHER READING 29 CHAPTER 3 ◾ Game Design 31 FURTHER READING 36 CHAPTER 4 ◾ Hyperfiction 37 FURTHER READING 41 CHAPTER 5 ◾ Independent Games 43 FURTHER READING 49 CHAPTER 6 ◾ Adventures 51 FURTHER READING 59 BENEATH A STEEL SKY 60 BEYOND GOOD & EVIL 61 BIOFORGE 62 BUREAU 13 63 CALL OF CTHULHU 64 CHRONOMASTER 66 v vi ◾ Contents CYBORG 66 DARK EARTH 68 DESTROY ALL HUMANS! 69 DIG, THE 71 DISHONORED 72 ENSLAVED: ODYSSEY TO THE WEST 73 EXILE 74 FAHRENHEIT 451 75 FISH! 76 FULL THROTTLE 77 GENE MACHINE, THE 77 HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, THE 78 I HAVE NO MOUTH, AND I MUST SCREAM 79 inFAMOUS 80 INFOCOMICS 83 JOURNEYMAN PROJECT, THE 84 KULT: THE TEMPLE OF FLYING SAUCERS 86 LAST OF US, THE 87 LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS 88 LONGEST JOURNEY, THE 89 MACHINARIUM 93 MANHUNTER 95 MANIAC MANSION 97 MANIAC MANSION: DAY OF THE TENTACLE 98 MARSPORT 98 MIND FOREVER VOYAGING, A 99 MINDWHEEL 100 NOMAD SOUL, THE 101 OBSIDIAN 103 OUTCAST 104 PATHOLOGIC 106 PEPPER’S ADVENTURES IN TIME 108 Contents ◾ vii PLANETFALL 108 PORTAL 110 PROTOTYPE 111 REMEMBER ME 112 SHADOW OF MEMORIES 113 SILICON DREAMS 114 SNATCHER 116 SPACE QUEST 117 STARCROSS 119 STARSHIP TITANIC 120 STAR TREK: 25TH ANNIVERSARY 121 SUSPENDED: A CRYOGENIC NIGHTMARE 122 TEX MURPHY 122 TIMEQUEST 124 TIME ZONE 125 TO THE MOON 125 TRINITY 126 WOODRUFF AND THE SCHNIBBLE OF AZIMUTH 127 ZAK McKRACKEN AND THE ALIEN MINDBENDERS 128 CHAPTER 7 ◾ Computer Role Playing Games 129 FURTHER READING 140 ALBION 140 ALIEN LOGIC 141 ANACHRONOX 142 AUTODUEL 144 B.A.T. 145 BORDERLANDS 146 BUCK ROGERS XXVC 148 CHRONO TRIGGER 150 CIRCUIT’S EDGE 152 EMPIRE I: WORLD BUILDERS 153 viii ◾ Contents FALLOUT 154 FINAL FANTASY 158 FREEDOM FORCE 167 FRONT MISSION 168 .HACK 170 INFINITE SPACE 173 MASS EFFECT 174 MEGATRAVELLER 180 FURTHER READING 182 MOTHER 182 PHANTASY STAR 184 RESONANCE OF FATE 187 ROGUE GALAXY 187 SENTINEL WORLDS 188 SEPTERRA CORE: LEGACY OF THE CREATOR 189 SHADOWRUN 190 SPACE 193 SPACE: 1889 193 STARFLIGHT 195 STAR OCEAN 196 STARQUEST 198 STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC 199 SUNDOG: FROZEN LEGACY 200 TWILIGHT: 2000 201 WASTELAND 203 WORLDS OF ULTIMA 204 XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 208 XENOGEARS 209 CHAPTER 8 ◾ Online Worlds 211 FURTHER READING 224 ANARCHY ONLINE 225 Contents ◾ ix CHAMPIONS ONLINE 227 CITY OF HEROES 228 DEFIANCE 231 EVE ONLINE 232 STAR WARS: GALAXIES 235 STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC 237 TABULA RASA 239 CHAPTER 9 ◾ Alternate Reality Games 241 FURTHER READING 243 BEAST, THE 244 MAJESTIC 245 CHAPTER 10 ◾ First-Person Shooters 247 FURTHER READING 250 ALIENS VERSUS PREDATOR 250 BIOSHOCK 251 CRYOSTASIS 254 CRYSIS 255 DEUS EX 258 DOOM 260 FEAR: FIRST ENCOUNTER ASSAULT RECON 263 HALF-LIFE 265 HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED 272 HEAVY GEAR 279 MARATHON TRILOGY 280 METALTECH 281 METRO 2033 284 PERFECT DARK 286 QUAKE 287 RAGE 289 RED FACTION 290 x ◾ Contents RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN 292 STALKER: SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL 294 SYSTEM SHOCK 296 UNREAL 298 CHAPTER 11 ◾ Third-Person Shooters 301 GEARS OF WAR 302 METAL GEAR 304 ONI 308 CHAPTER 12 ◾ Survival Horror 311 DEAD SPACE 312 RESIDENT EVIL 317 CHAPTER 13 ◾ Computer Wargames 323 FURTHER READING 331 ANDROMEDA CONQUEST 332 BATTLETECH 332 FURTHER READING 335 BATTLEZONE 336 CARRIER COMMAND 337 COMMAND & CONQUER 338 DARWINIA 344 DUNE II: THE BUILDING OF A DYNASTY 345 FROZEN SYNAPSE 346 GALACTIC SAGA 348 HOMEWORLD 349 HOSTILE WATERS: ANTAEUS RISING 351 LASER SQUAD 352 MIDWINTER 352 OGRE 353 PERIMETER 354 RENEGADE LEGION: INTERCEPTOR 356 Contents ◾ xi ROBOTWAR 358 SINS OF A SOLAR EMPIRE 359 STARCRAFT 361 STARFLEET COMMAND 365 STARFLEET ORION 367 STAR GENERAL 368 STAR TREK 369 SUPREME COMMANDER 371 SYNDICATE 372 TOTAL ANNIHILATION 374 WARHAMMER 40,000 375 X-COM 378 CHAPTER 14 ◾ 4X Games 383 EMPEROR OF THE FADING SUNS 385 GALACTIC CIVILIZATIONS 386 MASTER OF ORION 389 REACH FOR THE STARS 390 SID MEIER’S ALPHA CENTAURI 391 VGA PLANETS 392 CHAPTER 15 ◾ God Games 395 EVIL GENIUS 397 FATE OF THE WORLD 398 SPORE 401 STARTOPIA 404 CHAPTER 16 ◾ Toy Games 407 MICROSOFT SPACE SIMULATOR 409 SIMEARTH 410 CHAPTER 17 ◾ Space Sims 413 FURTHER READING 416 ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY 416 xii ◾ Contents BATTLECRUISER 3000 AD 417 CAPTAIN BLOOD 419 ELITE 421 FREELANCER 423 FREESPACE 424 INDEPENDENCE WAR: THE STARSHIP SIMULATOR 425 SPACE RANGERS 426 STAR CONTROL 427 STAR RAIDERS 428 STAR WARS: X-WING 429 TRANSARCTICA 430 UNIVERSE 431 WING COMMANDER 433 X SERIES, THE 436 CHAPTER 18 ◾ Others 441 ANGRY BIRDS SPACE 442 ANOTHER WORLD 443 ASTEROIDS 444 CRIMSON SKIES 445 DEFENDER 447 DEUS EX MACHINA 448 IT CAME FROM THE DESERT 448 LUNAR LANDER 450 MERCENARY 450 METROID 452 MIRROR’S EDGE 454 MISSILE COMMAND 456 MULE 456 PSYCHONAUTS 457 ROBOTRON 458 SENTINEL, THE 459 Contents ◾ xiii SPACE INVADERS 459 FURTHER READING 461 SPACEWAR 461 FURTHER READING 462 SPEEDBALL 462 STAR SAGA 464 STRANGE ADVENTURES IN INFINITE SPACE 465 TRUST AND BETRAYAL: THE LEGACY OF SIBOOT 467 WINGS OUT OF SHADOW 468 WIPEOUT 470 GLOSSARY, 473 BIBLIOGRAPHY, 497 Preface . M , Twith games that are part of the science ction genre (o en known simply as sf), rather than being set in magical milieux or (o en exagger- ated) versions of our own world. e initial chapters discuss game design and the history of science- ctional video games. e majority of the text, however, deals with individual science- ctional games, as well as with the histories and natures of their various forms, such as the puzzle-based adventure or the more exploratory and immediate computer role play- ing game. Unlike many existing books and websites that cover some of the same material, this work emphasizes critical analysis, especially the analysis of narrative, which is approached by means of an original catego- rization of story forms in games. In addition, this book is concerned with video games as works of science ction as well as with their identities as games. is means that as much time is spent on the ctions they con- vey and the links between them and other forms of sf (including tabletop role playing games and wargames as well as lm, television, and the writ- ten genre) as on the systems of rules (or mechanics) that de ne them as games. (Connections between works in dierent media are explored both explicitly and—by use of a specialized set of terms that represent such common science- ctional tropes as “long vanished but immeasurably superior alien species”—implicitly.) As a result of this approach, games have been selected for inclusion primarily on the basis of their interest as works of sf, with their historical or commercial importance as a secondary consideration. us, works that use science ction purely as a source of generic background images, or that simply reiterate the themes and details of the media from which they have been licensed, have in general not been included. It should also be noted that this book deals primarily with works that have been released in English (as is true of the great majority of video games of science- ctional interest). xv xvi ◾ Preface Many of the games described in this book were created to run on older hardware and computer operating systems that are no longer readily avail- able. However, in recent years most of these games have been rereleased in revised versions intended for use on modern machines.
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