Leah Dantinne

Online Games Elective

June 22, 2003

My Online Game Experience

To complete the online gaming assignment, I chose to use the Yahoo! Games website. The site was easy to understand, use, and easily linked to from the Yahoo main page. There are many types of games to choose from, ranging from simple card games such as blackjack and spades to intense, multiplayer arcade games like Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. In order to play any of the Yahoo! Games, you must log in with an existing account or create a new one. I chose to play the multiplayer pool game. Once logged in under your account, the screen shows multiple “rooms” to choose from. The player chooses a room, and the next screen shows all of the pool games available within the chosen room. You can either join an existing game, or create your own. Specifying certain rules such as timing of shots or rating of players. Every player in the “pool” gaming section has a personal rating. This rating changes (increases or decreases when winning or losing, respectively) when playing a “rated” game. Players may also choose to play “unrated” games. Once I found a game with rules suiting me, I clicked on the icon to join. The majority of the games were rated, un-timed games.

The controls are relatively simple, utilizing primarily the click and drag actions to control your cue stick and striking power. After learning these basic moves, I was able to expand into more advanced techniques such as bank shots and giving the cue “English” or spin.

If desired, you can also chat with your opponent in “IM” format at the bottom of the applet window. This was interesting, because I learned that the various players compromise a truly culturally diverse population. I wrote to people from the UK, Australia, and Norway.

I played about twenty games and my record was quite good at 15-5