The battle for internet superemacy in the dotcom era.
Steam is essentially the ‘console’ for PC gamers. If you play games on your computer, you will have an account with steam. It is so common that Valve software, which makes Steam, is now working on making a console version of Steam for fans.
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| Is it just me, or does it sort of feel like they are going after Microsoft. |
Steam has become one of the biggest names in gaming today. We tend to look at it, and say no one else could possibly take the grand throne it sits on. Even if the OS is a bit odd.
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| Yeah, that same feeling again. |
It feels like Valve has an idea on their hands, and that they can become great.
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| This is so artistic. |
Steam has become so big, and so great that other companies have tried to steal the thunder away. Electronic Arts has Origin. The console companies have their own versions of steam, for example Nintendo has the Virtual Console. For PC’s the other big name in gaming is Good Old Games, which lets you enjoy older, and indie games without any DRM.
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| Where my other giant list of games I own sits. |
This article is not about these companies, and programs, but because they are modern equivalents of things like Sierra Online, SoftDisk, and 3DRealms. At one time they were competing for the same markets, and with the same ideas as Steam or Good Old Games today. This was during the pre dotcom era, when even the idea of having a website was new. The internet was just an idea that many in Academia knew about, but really hadn’t shared with anyone else. The coming of affordable PC’s meant anyone could connect to the internet, and find things to do.
SoftDisk was a magazine that was placed on a disk. The people who ordered it would get amazing games to play, and enjoy. The creators were none other then John Carmack and John Romero. The idea was that if you ordered from Softdisk, you would get a bunch of games to enjoy. Early computer users would hang out to see what was going to come out, and swap files with each other.
Sierra Online had a different idea, they would make full fledged games, and sell them over the internet. You would go to their website, and pay to download a game. You could also order it over the mail, and be ready for greatness. The games could be found at stores as well. The games for Sierra were long, graphics intensive games like King’s Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry.
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| Graphics are a relative term here. |
Apogee was different. They wanted to let you enjoy a bit of the game, and then pay for the rest. The term was called Shareware, and it was actually pretty old by the time Apogee came along. Basically, you bought a or downloaded the first few levels of a game, to try them out. They were quick, fast, and arcade like. Games like Commander Keen, and Wolfenstein 3D were released on the Apogee shareware disks. Both of those games were made by one company Id Software.
The games were so popular, that Id left the Apogee folks, and began to distribute their own games. The big game they made was Doom. It set the world on fire, and introduced gaming to First Person Shooters. When Id began to promote their newest game, with real 3D graphics, they had competition.
By this time Apogee had changed their gaming name to 3D Realms. The company was still going by the original and sort of boring sounding Apogee, but when it came time for Duke Nukem 3D it was called 3D Realms. Duke Nukem was the big challenger to Id, and they did it very well. A Duke Nukem game had a story to it that was told through the levels. The character of Duke was even more over the top than the Doom Marine.
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| Subtelty was not a trait of this era. |
It became a big competition over which game was better, Quake or Duke. Quake would have the better graphics since everything was in 3D. It also had the brown color that so many modern games have today.
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| Look at that brown, red, and muzzleflash glory. |
This competition went on during the dotcome era, and ended when Half Life came out. It was published by Sierra, and used the Quake engine to tell a full story. There were graphically superior games to Half Life, but they were not as well designed, or have great stories.
Half Life changed the way games were played, and how they were presented. In fact, when Duke Nukem’s sequel came out, many felt like it did not live up to the modern ideas of gaming. The company that was 3D Realms had gone from great game makers, to declaring bankruptcy during the same time.
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| All because of this little piece of awesome. |
During the same time Id Software went from the great FPS makers, to engine designers. Most games made were from separate companies. For example, Rage, has an engine made by Id, but designed by Bethesda.
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| This is not the greatest website ever made. |
The company still produces games, but is keeping it low key. As you can see from the website, they are not trying to make new and cool things. Duke Nukem 3D is now on Steam.
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| The little green bar means I bought the game. |
If you check the credits on Steam, there is 3D Realms.
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| My little brother was so surprised the game was rated M. He was really young during that era. |
The credits include other companies like General Arcade, and Devolver Digital, but 3D Realms is right with them. General Arcade is the one that took the game, and made the graphics better. Devolver Digital paid for everything, and distributed the games through steam.
During the early internet days, a website was new. Videogames were distributed by way of mail order, or retail. A few companies tried some new things, and became incredibly popular for their time. In fact, when we compare the companies, and what they did, we can see modern companies trying for the same things. Most of those companies don’t survive, or become shells or their former selves. Still, its nice to see that at least one is still around, and trying to do something.
