PC games

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PC games

PC games, laying the foundation.

A personal computer game, more commonly known as a PC game, is an video game that can be played on a personal computer or laptop. From the first computer games such as Spacewar! and Pong, to today's high deifinition games like Starcraft 2.

PC games are played using the computers interface devices like the mouse and keyboard and in some case, a joystick or gamepad. The computers monitor may display the visuals and gameplay of a PC game, but it ultimately depends on the internal hardware of the computer.


Golden years of the PC game

There's a common misconception that the first video game released was Pong. This is technically not true; the arcade game Computer Space was the first commercially sold video game and were mainly featured in arcade centres in the late 1970s. Since those times, computer games grew along side technological improvements of the computer hardware industry. As componets like graphics cards got better, so too did PC games improve dramatic of the past few years, the introduction of the recent DirectX 11 interface that has blurring the border between in-game charactors and their human counterparts

PC games,  as well as console games, are generally made by one or more game developers using 2D-3D graphics software and powerful data processing computers. The process of making a single video game takes precise planning, a huge development team and a budget ranging from thousands to even millions of rands.

Many game developers have started out small, branched out and merging with other game publishers in an attempt to meet the demand for better visuals and gameplay in PC games. The most popular publishers responsible for big budget PC and console games are Activision, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and many others.


The Making of a PC game

Modern PC games rely heavily on the computer's hardware and components to allow the player to get the best gaming experience from latest graphical innovations. A fast CPU will allow multiple calculations to be made that will result in more complex graphics, in-game physics and AI (artificial intelligence).

Most high-end computer games employ realistic 3D graphics that can only be created using graphics processing units (GPU) which can be either found on computer motherboards or powerful graphics cards. To tie all these powerful components together is the central software program called a game engine.

The popular first person shooter game Farcry, was created using a state-of-the-art game engine called the CryEngine by developer Crytek. Capable of improving on a graphics card's shader detail, lighting effects, texture improvements, etc the engine showed the strength of the personal computer and could be applied to current and future gaming projects.


Multiplayer PC games

The mouse and keyboard interfaces can force PC games to be perceived as "single" player only experiences but that is far from the truth. Two district multiplayer gaming methods have been used for years and have also been growing in popularity during the last decade, Local area network (LAN) and online gaming have increased the social and competitive element of PC gaming, diminishing most stigmas surround video games in general.

LAN gaming - Computers that are connected to each other by way of a router and multiple network cables, can join in on a single game at any time. This is an alternative to online gaming where increased broadband internet cost limits gaming on a wider scale.

Online gaming - PC users who have access to high-bandwidth broadband internet connections have found online gaming to be convenient and an popular past time. Any player can join a game using a fast internet connection form anywhere in the word.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like for example the World of Warcraft series, have seen extensive growth because of increasingly lower broadband cost in other countries like America and China.


Shopping for a PC games Online

Recent studies have showed that PC games hs increased in sales due to advancement in 3D computer graphics, higher quality textures and physics and enhanced game mechanics showing that PC gaming will remain at the fore-front of next generation video gaming.

Compliment your computers performance with the most impressive selection of PC games from trusted online retailers. OneShop has the best game reviews and PC game ratings of the latest gaming titles on the market so you can experience all that PC gaming has to offer.


Other PC Game Resources

Learn more about the history of the PC game on Wikipedia

See Webopedia for futher definitions on "What is a personal computer game"

Get full details about the CryEngine at mycryengine.com