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Flash Attack: The
Original Network PC Game
This section was
initially titled The First Network Game. However, it was difficult
to choose one game because there are so many homegrown and
commercial versions of classic games (such as checkers and chess).
So we added the word original. Then we added PC for
further clarification. (In other words, we didn't want to confuse
this section with "networking" a game on a mainframe over dumb
terminals.)
Our intention is to pay tribute to the first original game
designed to be played over independently processing computers. This
model, in which developers create an original concept that can be
enjoyed by multiple gamers, each on their own PC, is at the heart of
today's thriving multiplayer game industry.
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Flash Attack's graphics were simple
yet superior to the character-only "graphics" of the '70s and
early '80s.
| But we digress. Mach 1
Software released Flash Attack for the Commodore PET computer in
1980. Authors Ken Wasserman and Tim Stryker cowrote this
black-and-white tank battle game. In order for two players to
compete, two PET computers were connected with a cable running
between their parallel ports. The object of the game was to destroy
the opponent's tanks and base using your tank, mines, and ICBMs. The
graphics depicting the 40-by-60-pixel battlefield were simple yet
superior to the character-only "graphics" commonly used in strategy
and adventure games during the '70s and early '80s.
The game was fairly complex considering its small scale, and it
required tactical thinking, weapons management, and deception to
win. One could argue that Flash Attack was also the first
multiplayer real-time strategy game for a PC. It all depends on your
definition of the word strategy. Hey, if it worked for
President Clinton, it works for us.
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