Video In Progress...
Release Date: July 1973
Platform: Mainframe (BASIC type-in)
Genre: Board Game
Developer(s): Peter Sessions
Publisher(s): Digital Equipment Corporation
Here's a curious game - one from the People's Computer Company, yet is exclusive to DEC and David Ahl's 101 BASIC Computer Games. I scoured the first several years of PCC magazines, and no mention of this game was to be found anywhere.
History
There were very few early video games based on distinctly Eastern board games around up to 1973. The only ones I can see on my list are "missing" games. One is a version of Go from 1968, and another is an earlier version of this game - Gomoku (Sessions misspelled the title), from 1972. I'm unsure whether these are recoverable in their earliest format (the '72 Gomoku was ported to the Sol-20 in 1981, so we'll get to see it then, at least.) We also have Awari, which I've already covered, but that game's origins are centred more around the Near East and Africa, not the Orient. This, for now, makes Gomoko the earliest extant video game based on a game from the Far East.
By quick way of reminder, Peter Sessions is a game author we've seen a couple of times before in my 1973 coverage. He also wrote Reverse and The Game of Chomp for PCC, before leaving the publication the same year (perhaps why Gomoko never featured in the magazines...) Gomoko here is his final credited work, according to MobyGames. As far as specific information is concerned about Gomoko, there unfortunately isn't anything beyond what we're given in 101 BASIC Games.
 |
| These cartoons really are something, aren't they? |
As for Peter Sessions, after he completed his final game, he remained in the computing industry for many years. He also delved into his other chief interest: music, writing a book on music theory, entitled The Functions of Chords: For Pop, Jazz, and Modern Styles. Very nice.
The Game
Sessions' final game comes with a welcome message, "Welcome to the Oriental game of Gomoko. What is Gomoko, or, correctly spelled, Gomoku? And why is it Oriental? Well, I won't go into too much detail here - I'll save that for my Brief History of Gomoku - but what I will tell you is that it's a Japanese board game that dates back several centuries, and also spread to neighbouring China and Korea. The objective is simple - line up five stones of your colour (black or white) in a row (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) on the board to win. Why it's not four-in-a-row like, say, Connect Four relates directly to the Japanese superstition surrounding the number four. In the language, one word for the number four is the same word for death. So instead we have what could be basically considered Connect Five.
 |
| The rules. |
Typically, Gomoku is either played on a 15x15 or a 19x19 board, with the black and white stone pieces of Go, a related Oriental board game. Sessions' game allows you to choose a board size between 7x7 and 19x19. According to 101 BASIC Games' notes, 7x7 is the smallest size "that can be used for a meaningful game." It would be rather difficult to make five in a row on a 4x4 board, wouldn't it? It also warns that the computer isn't very good, nor does it keep track of who has won. My playing experience can confirm that the computer is quite terrible.
 |
| All seems fairly regular here... |
I played my first round with a standard 15x15 board, and the computer's moves were... well, they were certainly moves, I can say that. The game notes do say that the computer's moves may surprise, though I'm not sure if randomly placing pieces on the outskirts of the board is the surprise Peter Sessions had in mind.
 |
| ...until the computer pulls out this. |
Interestingly, when I played a second game on the smallest board (7x7), I played almost the same strategy, and the computer responded in almost identical manner. It seems to not know what to do if you start your pieces in the centre of the board. For a third round, I tried developing my pieces in a different direction, and the computer responded in a slightly more rational manner - although it was still highly incompetent and didn't understand the concept of blocking your opponent's progress. I find this rather disappointing, as there have been some computer opponents that have been relatively decent in recent times, and ones that even learn from their human opponents.
Scores
You'll likely be expecting a low score for Gomoko, and you'd be correct in that expectation.
Time Played: 5 minutes
Difficulty: 1/10 (Brain-dead)
You don't have to think a whole lot when the computer makes nonsensical moves that allow for you to easily win every time.
Gameplay: 1
I can only give it a 1 for gameplay because it's rather broken in its execution. Yes, there is a range of board sizes to choose from, but with an AI so incompetent it hardly matters what you do.
Controls: 5
It's very standard for the type of game. The co-ordinate system is simple and as expected.
Visual: 1
There's nothing necessarily wrong with it visually - it does what you'd expect it to for the type of game it is. I do find the larger board size a little overwhelming and harsh on the eyes with how many zeroes are present on screen at once.
Functionality: 5
I think the AI is broken, but that's a design choice, not an error in the code (or just poor programming.) The game itself runs well, and I didn't run into any problems other than it not being fun.
Accessibility: 3
This rendition of Gomoku is relatively easy to understand for a text-based adaptation.
Fun Factor: 1
The times when the computer isn't being completely broken provide the faintest glimmers of rewarding gameplay, but those are very few and very far between. It isn't fun to always win.
Overall: 16
Gomoko earns a pitiful score of 16. This puts it in league with some less-than-stellar company in the F tier, alongside the likes of Button, Button, Who's Got the Button? and Stars. It's not a game I'd recommend playing, not even out of historical interest. Some bad games are entertaining on account of the hilarity of their terribleness, while others are just bad and hold no value at all. Gomoko is one of the latter.
You may notice of you check the Master List, that I've updated the Tier List. I've changed the score lines and tier thresholds to make it work with a 100-point scale. Very few actual position changes, but the F-tier is a whole lot smaller now. Gomoko still manages to find itself there, even after the changes.
Up Next: A Brief History of Gomoku.
A Personal Note
I know I said that the article on the Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device was coming up next. It's since been delayed by a couple of weeks. I want to quickly apologise for that, and simply admit that I heavily underestimated the amount of work that project required. Even a couple of years into this blog, and I'm still learning things - particularly about work flow and ensuring a consistent stream of content. This article is quite heavy on research, and the accompanying video is quite ambitious for me, and in a very different style to what I've been doing. A lot of growing pains.
On a personal level, things have not been well either, and that has impacted my motivation to work on blogs and videos. It becomes increasingly hard to not feel depressed and guilty about performance or not doing the right things when one is surrounded by people that disapprove of everything you do and constantly question your character and faith. I don't typically like to share a whole lot about my personal life, but I'll admit that this year has been one of the most difficult of my entire life. But, be reassured that I am making changes, and to surround myself with people who will have a positive impact on me going forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment