4 ~ Sunday, August 23, 1992 — North Shore News Warrior games in cyberspace Bob Hunter STRICTLY PERSONAL I’VE BEEN to cyberspace. And come back alive. Well, nat technically. Technical- ly, | was blown to pieces several times and dragged off into the sky by a pterodactyl, and dropped from a great height. Isaw my body break apart when it hit the ground. Nasty mess. But then I blew the other guy to pieces a dozen times or so. L also took out the ptezodactyl a few times. Although I’ve got to say, your hand has to be steady and your nerves like steel when the flying lizard banks and goes into a power dive straight for you. It also makes an insane cackle and jabbers something about be- ing hungry. It’s enough to rattle an inexperienced cyberspace war- rior. Your gun isn’t an automatic or even semi-automatic. There's a terrifying delay of at least a cou- ple of seconds before you can fire again. So it behooves you to wait until the creature is close enough to be a huge. unmissable target before you pull the trigger. You may not get another chance. The biggest danger is if it comes at you from above. To avoid that, you've got to be twisting and tur- ning all the time, looking behind, ahead and on both sides, as well as straight overhead. It’s not just the menace of the pterodactyl, either. Your opponent could be any- where. All you know for sure is if you can’t see him, he’s probably gone around behind you and is sneaking up. You'll know when you’re hit. Your head and arms and legs come flying off. . You also know when you’ve been grabbed by the pterodactyl, because you are hauled up among the stars, out of control, before being dumped. And then a dizzying plunge toward one of the numerous checkerboards floating in the void, linked by staircases. And splat: there you go, break- ing apurt again. Fortunately, you quickly reasserable. You still have your gun in your. hand. It’s like a street fight. If you have the bad luck to get knocked down, you have to get up again as fast as you can, and start raoving. The faster the better. Twist. Turn. Dodge. Dive. Run. There’s the stairs. Look down as you descend. You can hear your boots clattering across the floor. Get over behind that green pyramid. There’s the other guy, charging from behind hose ar- chways on that other level. Duck! He’s shooting! Give him a blast back! You raise your gun, swivel around to take a bead, aim, hear the explosion, watch a white firebal! sailing toward him. Oops! Missed. Now he's shooting. Try to dodge. Get behind that pillar. Wheel around. Fire again. I wish he’d stop that insane laughing. It’s getting to me. Look out! How'd he get over there? I swing my gun around as fast as I can, but it’s too late. Splat! My head goes tumbling through cyberspace. “You lose!’’ the other guy howis. Heart pounding, I lower my gun and unclamp the Visette. Reluctantly, I lift the plastic helmet with its two miniature TV screens, and make the ‘‘jump’’ back from cyberspace into the real world. Cyberspace, of course, is the computer-generated environment you visit the moment you strap yourself into the Virtuality machine, clamp on the Visette helmet, and press the joystick that sets you moving in whatever di- rection you choose. You're standing on your own two feet during the game inside a platform with a padded ring around it to stop you from taking 3 fall as you lurch about, whirling and spinning to take aim and fire. In reality, you can’t see a thing because the helmet fits over your head like a large insect shell, and it is eyeless on the outside. Inside, it is a bit as though you were wearing a diving mask, ex- cept that the two tiny TV screens immediately in front of your eyes are giving you a three-dimensional picture of a world created entirely by computer software through which you can move either slowly or swiftly. You can rotate 360 degrees if you want, and still keep seeing something new. “‘Virtuality’’ is the trade name for a British version of the Amer- ican invented Virtual Reality machine that I’m sure everybody has heard about. But apart from the animated version that was shown in the - movie The Lawnmower Man, few people have had a chance to try it yet. When the chance comes, grab it. I did for the first time the other day and have to report that there is absolutely no comparison between it and ordinary video games.” This is genuinely 3-D and you are genuinely in the middle of it. Too bad individual machines still cost $80,000. But they’il come down in price as the market grows, and I predict it will grow fantastically. - Because, hard as this is to ex- plain, J felt at home in cyberspace. As though I belonged there.... ROADSIDE SCREENING DEVICES rs of FIT IN THE PALM OF ANY ANY TIME... ANYWHERE IN B.C. VAM ARATE: VAY AYATA LS AT SEARS DON’T PAY UNTIL JANUARY, 1993 NO PAYMENTS OR CREDIT CHARGES UNTIL JAN. 1993 ON APPROVED CREDIT. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. ‘No Payments’ offer applies to automotive parts and services over $200. including tires, batteries. Offer ends September 19, 1992. Or where Sears is open Sun., Sept. 20, 1992. ‘21-45 OFF SuperGuard ST, Guardsman Response XL and Guardsman Performance. Sears reg. 71.99-149.99. Each 49.89-104.99 *30-82 OFF SilverGuard’ Response, RoadHandler Plus, RoadHandler GT Plus, Pirelli Response and RoadHandler SCR. Sears reg. 99.99-217.99. Each. -59.99-435.89 For safety, do not mix radials with other tire types Raa TB MTA VALS ; Siete f SALE PRICES END SUN., AUG. 30, 1992 while quantities last YOUR SEARS STORE...JUST MINUTES AWAY your money's worth...and more Sears Canada Inc. Satistaction guaranteed or money refunded. “Reg” ‘and “Was” refer to Sears Canada Inc. prices. There's a Sears store near you... shop today at: Burnaby 433-2211, Surrey 588-0811; Mon., Tues. and Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 pam.; Wed., Thurs. and Fri, ‘til 9:00 p.m.; shop Sunday from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. Richmond 278-5542 Mon, and Tues. 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Wed., Thurs. and Fri. ‘til 9:00 p.m.; Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; shop Sunday from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. Capllane Mall 865-7722 Shop Mon., Tues., Wed. and Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 pm.; Thurs. and Fai. ‘til 9:00 pum.; shop Sunday fram 12 noon to 5:00 pm. -- Langley 533-4993 Mon., Tues. and Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Wed., Thurs. and Fri. ‘til $:00 p.m.; shop Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm...