A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

HIJMS Shokaku burns in Silent Service II's An Embarrassment of Riches scenario. © 1990, 2015 MicroProse/Retroism (Tommo)  Hi, there, Dear Reader. As you know, my favorite video games or computer simulations deal with some aspects of military conflict. Whether it’s a flight simulator along the lines of F-15 Strike Eagle II or a land warfare sim like M1 Tank Platoon or a grand-strategy game along the lines of Strategic Command WWII: World at War, if it is action-packed, historically interesting, yet not so complex that you must earn a degree in Military Science to play it, the wargame genre is my favorite. Within that category, there is a sub -category of wargame that I am fascinated by, and that’s the submarine simulation game. "Logbook" of USS Cavalla, © 1990, 2015 MicroProse/Retroism (Tommo) Since 1987, I have owned quite a few submarine-centric games. The first one I owned was Silent Service , which was published in 1985 by the original MicroProse Software. Desig...

A few days ago, writer Harry Turtledove (a novelist who specializes in the alternate history sub-genre of science fiction and is known for his Worldwar series, as well as his novel about Spanish-occupied Britain, Ruled Britannia ) posted this whimsical #70sChristmasList tweet on Twitter: #70sChristmasList Harvest gold refrigerator Avocado stove Betamax Quadraphonic sound system English Leather, or maybe Brut Cargo pants for the guys Hot pants for the women Platform shoes A leisure suit A case of Miller Lite Or of US-brewed (aka ruined) Löwenbräu Inspired by Mr. Turtledove, I've decided to share similar Christmastime wishlists across the decades, starting with the 1970s and ending with the 2010s. The wishlists are not real lists that I handed out to family and friends before the holidays. I mean, sure, Mom (and sometimes my older half-sister) would ask me to write a short list of things I wanted for either Christmas or my birthday, but more often than not my friends, who ...

© 1990 MicroProse Software/MPS Labs and Retroism  Hello there, Constant Reader! It's Wednesday (Hump Day), November 20, and it's a chilly (by Florida standards anyway) morning in my corner of the world. Currently. it's mostly sunny here, with the temperature at 51℉ (11℃); per the forecast on my Weather app, we are expecting no rain and a high of 72℉ (22℃) later today. This is as fall-like as we've gotten so far in 2019, and after a long hot summer and a tense hurricane season (which, by the by, ends on November 30), it's literally a breath of fresh air. I was going to try and write a review today, but I woke up a bit too early and I don't think I can pull that rabbit out of my hat, so I'm going to give you one of those "lightweight" list-type blogs till I can get my shit together as a writer. As a regular reader of A Certain Point of View, you know of my fascination for the Second World War. You also know that this interest in the largest a...

Screenshot from Crusade in Europe. © 1985 MicroProse Software Well, 2018 is almost over for those of us who live in the Americas, and I am glad! It's still morning in the subtropical state of Florida, and it looks like it's going to be one beautiful New Year's Eve day. It's mostly sunny as I write this, and the temperature outside is 71℉. If I don't get sucked into watching Star Wars; The Force Awakens,   or try to get some writing done, I might grab one of my many books and go read on the front porch later. Knowing myself well, though, it's quite likely that I'll probably end up taking a shower, change into comfortable but nice-looking clothes, then come back to my computer and play one of my favorite games for a couple of hours. Since I got my first computer 31 years ago (it was a gift from my paternal Uncle Sixto), I've always divided my time at my desk between "productivity" and "entertainment." Starting from the time wh...

Silent Service II torpedo-firing cutscene. (C)1990 MicroProse Software In 1990, the now-defunct video game and computer simulation publisher MicroProse Software released Silent Service II, a submarine simulation game set in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. Developed by MicroProse’s in-house MPS Labs, the game is a sequel to 1985’s best-selling Silent Service. It is a single-player game that puts you in command of a U.S. Navy submarine during America’s war with Japan in various areas of Earth’s largest ocean. The game’s design team – led by the project’s main designer Arnold Hendrick and programmer Roy B. Gibson – took advantage of improvements in computer technology (such as more powerful CPUs, better sound cards, and VGA graphics) to create a more realistic and enjoyable gaming experience that took its cues from Sid Meier’s original game but was a bigger and better simulation. In Silent Service II , players can: Choose Boats from Nine Dif...

Screenshot of the "Main Title" game-is-loading screen from Silent Service II. (C) 1990 MicroProse Labs In the late 1980s and early 1990s, around the same time that I started working as a freelance writer and writing consultant in Miami, I spent much of my free time playing computer games. I went out with friends to the movies or to eat at inexpensive chain restaurants such as Denny's or Ruby Tuesday's, but I mostly stayed at home and spent countless hours at my computer desk playing my favorite games and simulations.  This era was also the Golden Age of the now-vanished MicroProse Software, a company co-founded by Sid Meier and retired Air Force Col. William "Wild Bill" Stealey in 1982. Based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, MicroProse was one of the first companies to publish easy-to-play yet challenging strategy games ( NATO Commander, Crusade in Europe, Conflict in Vietnam ) and simulations with a military flavor to them ( F-15 Strike Eagle, Gunship ). ...