Spasim

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Spasim
Studio Jim Bowery
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 March 1974
platform Mainframe computer (PLATO system)
genre First person shooter
Game mode Multiplayer (1-32)
control keyboard
system advantages
preconditions		 network
information Is considered the first 3D multiplayer first-person shooter.

Spasim (abbreviated for space simulation, English for space simulation ) belongs to Maze War (3D maze game, 1973) to the first computer games of the genre first-person shooter (FPS) and was in March 1974 at the University of Illinois at Urbana -Champaign completed. It was developed in January 1974 by James Allen "Jim" Bowery, initially at the University of Iowa. Be played could with up to 32 players over a PLATO network system , a learning system originally designed for CDC - mainframe , and also was the first 3D multiplayer - Online Game (MOG), the later massive multiplayer online games followed (MMOG).

description

In Spasim, four teams from different fictional planets, each with up to eight players, can virtually steer spaceships through space at the same time and try to hit and destroy enemy ships with phasers and torpedoes. The gameplay is similar to that of the text-based Star Trek games .

The monochrome plasma screen of the PLATO-IV system shows the space from the first person perspective of the respective player in a large graphic window in the upper part and shows the enemy ships as wire-frame models , generated by orange vector graphics on a black background. Below the graphics window, which fills about 2/3 of the monitor content, there are status information such as coordinates and possibly messages from opposing players on the left. On the right-hand side, directly below the graphics window, there is a command line in which commands consisting of individual letters can be entered. This z. B. the viewing direction, zoom factor and speed are set, and weapons are fired. The flight direction originally had to be calculated and entered by the player himself using the position values ​​in the coordinate system. In the second version (July 1974), the keys QWEADZXC or WADX, according to the position arrangement on the keyboard (similar to WASD ), could be steered.

The screen content is updated once per second so that the graphics are not completely smooth. Unlike Maze War, overlapping graphics are not removed. Unlike the 3D view , the text and the numbers are generated using raster graphics , which can be displayed at the same time. The graphics resolution is a total of 512 × 512 pixels.

It was also possible to play over a network with players at other locations where PLATO computers were available. The transmission speed was initially 1200 bps.

Since the game was recognized as a learning program, it was initially not deleted like other games.

Predecessor and successor

Rank Trek on a PLATO V

Thematically similar programs were various 2D space shooters like Spacewar ! (1962) for two players.

The direct predecessor was the PLATO game Empire , which was written in May 1973 by John Daleske. This is similar to Spasim, but in 2D and initially for up to eight players. Later it developed u. a. Netrek . Other PLATO games were Dogfight (2D, around 1972) and Airfight (3D, around 1974, a forerunner of Microsoft Flight Simulator ) programmed by Brand Fortner.

A well-known game with polygon graphics and first-person perspective was Battlezone, released by Atari in 1980 . This is a 3D tank simulation that initially appeared as an arcade game and was later implemented for home computers.

In July 1974, an improved and smoother version of Spasim appeared with additional details such as room bases, larger surroundings and more. In 1983, Bowery wrote The New Spasim with Danny Sleator after deleting the original game.

Maze War did not have a network mode in the original version from 1973, so Spasim was the first 3D FPS. It is also a different game principle / genre. Nevertheless, both games are considered to be the pioneers of today's first-person shooters .

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