Multimedia worlds f From page 26 The shift from the reality of Lower Lonsdale to the many possi- ble digital spaces available to feed CD-ROM drives at InterAction is a small taste of what's in store for all of us when multimedia, television and computers do the inevitable mind-melding trick for consumers sometime soon down the infotain- ment road. Fancy a cyber-drive down Highway 61 with Mr. Zimmerman right now? Check out Bobbie D's _interactive music CD-ROM. Yearning for escape to “‘a strife- laden world” where you “must not allow the forces of chaos to reign’? Dive into the realm of Warhammer, Shadow of the Horned Rat. There are useful reference titles too, like the CD-ROM Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, or educational titles such as the Casper (the friend- ly and interactive spook) Brainy Book, a CD-ROM package with which to build children’s reading skills. - Hagenson, 25, opened the store about four months ago. He says he’s the only one specializing in the area. But the story really begins with Pong, Astercids and Space Invaders, games he immersed himself in while growing up in North and West Vancouver. “I’ve been a vidiot basically all of my life. I’ve run with that,” Hagenson acknowledges. Urban economics at UBC turned a “little too stale“ for him and he got to thinking about capitalizing on his obsessions. The store buys, sel!s, rents and trades CD-ROMS. Hagenson generally has about 200 CD-ROMS on hand to rent, another 200 in new releases and about 150 used titles to pick from. About 10% of the stock is for Mac users. “Once they finish an adventure game, it’s like watching a movic over and over again. People can bring them in here and I can give them credit towards a new title,” ne said. Hagenson carries Sony PlayStation and Sega Satum for TV game playing. He also has the computer periph- erals needed for the ultimate at- home multimedia experience, multi- media upgrade kits with CD-ROM drives; sound card and speakers bundled with software inclusive. Unsettling but true, a lot of this technology was first developed by the military to twain people to become more efficient at killing other pecple. Hagenson points out the hottest flight-stick on the mar- ket, for example. The F-15E Talon by Suncom Technologies is 85% of the actual F-15 flight stick. “It’s got 48 programmable commands for whichever game you're playing. With the drop of a button you can drop your landing gear, power down to 20% and lower your flaps.” UARD Rate Watch . THE RETIREMENT SPECIALISTS . Monthly, athly Income on $50,090 Investment RAF. ‘aninan Another nifty item is the Advanced Gravis GrIP Controller. It solves the vexing problem of multi- player game access on a PC. “Gravis, they're actually out of Bumuaby, has it so that you plug into one joystick port and it turns it into four game pads going at the same time. You can have four guys all playing hockey.” Hagenson said. Adventurous Cyberheads can’t help but lust for VFX1 Headgear™ The Woking investment Wednesday, February 7, 1996 — North Shore News — 27 lourish to clamp on to the noggin. Forte Technologies gets the player inside the game. Hagenson carries the thing. Where is the CD-ROM market thought to be going this year? Sales growth in the field is expected to grow by more than 40% between 1995 and 1997. But the big news is the anticipated introduction of the DVD (digital video disc) format as a new stan- Gpportunity Fund is a ntivately managed und owned by individual British Columbians that brings together business, labour and governinent. its mixed portfolio consists of equity investments in small and medium sized B.C. businesses, treasury bills and other investment-grade securities, Don’t Miss Out Again This Year! For more information call. Global S Securities Corporation _525-4094 dard for CD-ROM discs. Existing discs hold 650 Mb of information. A DVD formatted disc will hold up to 18 Gb of data (that’s about four feature length movies). “It looks like the first drives are slated to shift fourth quarter 1996.” Hagenson believes quad speed players will remain the industry standard for a while yet. His Top Five new CD-ROM titles of the moment: Police Quest SWAT, WarCraft U, Mechwearrior II, NHL 96, and Angel Devoid. Contact InterAction at 987- DISC. 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