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John Frayn Turner is a British author specializing in military history.

He was born in Portsmouth, England and served in the Royal Navy.

He has written twenty-two books.

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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

Wan Chai Pier

The Wan Chai Pier (traditional Chinese: ????) , often called “Wan Chai Ferry”, is a pier at the coast of Wan Chai North on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. The pier is operated by Star Ferry, and provides ferry services to Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom. The pier is near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

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1986–87 Edmonton Oilers
Stanley Cup Champions
Presidents’ Trophy Winners
Campbell Conference Champions
Smythe Division Champions
Division	1st Smythe
Conference	1st Campbell
1986–87 record	50–24–6
Home record	29–6–5
Road record	21–18–1
Goals for	372 (1st)
Goals against	284 (9th)
General Manager	Glen Sather
Coach	Glen Sather
Captain	Wayne Gretzky
Alternate captains	Lee Fogolin (Oct-Mar) Kevin Lowe (Mar-Apr) Mark Messier
Arena	Northlands Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Wayne Gretzky (62)
Assists	Wayne Gretzky (121)
Points	Wayne Gretzky (183)
Penalties in minutes	Kevin McClelland (238)
Plus/Minus	Wayne Gretzky (+70)
Wins	Andy Moog (28)
Goals against average	Grant Fuhr (3.44)

The 1986–87 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers 8th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a heart breaking playoff loss to the Calgary Flames the year before, ending the Oilers bid for a 3rd straight Stanley Cup. Edmonton would win the Presidents Trophy, as they finished with 106 points, and win their 6th straight Smythe Division title.

Wayne Gretzky would lead the league with 183 points, earning his 7th Art Ross Trophy and win his 8th Hart Trophy. Jari Kurri would finish with 54 goals and 108 points, while Mark Messier had a career high 107 points. Esa Tikkanen had a break out season, getting 78 points, including 34 goals, along with 120 penalty minutes. Paul Coffey missed 21 games, but still finished with 67 points to lead Oilers defensemen.

In goal, Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog would once again split time, with Moog leading the team with 28 wins, while Fuhr posted a team best 3.44 GAA.

In the playoffs, the Oilers would get a bit of a scare in their opening game against the Los Angeles Kings, losing 5–2, but Edmonton would rebound, winning game 2 by a 13–3 score, and would win 8 games in a row to get past the Kings, and sweep the Winnipeg Jets in the process. Edmonton would have little trouble getting past the Detroit Red Wings in the Conference Finals, defeating them in 5 games, and would face the only other 100 point team in the NHL in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Philadelphia Flyers. The series would go the full 7 games, with Edmonton winning the 7th and deciding game by a 3–1 score to capture their 3rd Stanley Cup in the past 4 years. No Oiler won the Conn Smythe Trophy, as Ron Hextall of the Flyers won it despite failing to win the Stanley Cup.

Contents 1 Season standings 2 Game log 3 Playoffs 3.1 Edmonton Oilers 4, Los Angeles Kings 1 3.2 Edmonton Oilers 4, Winnipeg Jets 0 3.3 Edmonton Oilers 4, Detroit Red Wings 1 3.4 Edmonton Oilers 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3 4 Season stats 4.1 Scoring leaders 4.2 Goaltending 5 Playoff stats 5.1 Scoring leaders 5.2 Goaltending 6 Transactions 6.1 Trades 6.2 Free agents 6.3 Draft picks 7 References

Season standings

Smythe Division	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Edmonton Oilers	80	50	24	6	372	284	106
Calgary Flames	80	46	31	3	318	289	95
Winnipeg Jets	80	40	32	8	279	271	88
Los Angeles Kings	80	31	41	8	318	341	70
Vancouver Canucks	80	29	43	8	282	314	66

Game log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 9	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Philadelphia Flyers	0–1–0	0
2	October 11	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	Montreal Canadiens	1–1–0	2
3	October 12	Edmonton Oilers	3–5	Winnipeg Jets	1–2–0	2
4	October 15	Quebec Nordiques	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	2–2–0	4
5	October 17	Detroit Red Wings	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	3–2–0	6
6	October 19	Edmonton Oilers	6–7	Los Angeles Kings	3–3–0	6
7	October 21	Chicago Blackhawks	1–9	Edmonton Oilers	4–3–0	8
8	October 22	Edmonton Oilers	3–6	Calgary Flames	4–4–0	8
9	October 24	Boston Bruins	2–6	Edmonton Oilers	5–4–0	10
10	October 26	Vancouver Canucks	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	6–4–0	12
11	October 29	Washington Capitals	3–6	Edmonton Oilers	7–4–0	14
12	October 31	Edmonton Oilers	6–2	Vancouver Canucks	8–4–0	16
13	November 2	Los Angeles Kings	5–5	Edmonton Oilers	8–4–1	17
14	November 5	Calgary Flames	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	8–5–1	17
15	November 7	Edmonton Oilers	4–6	Calgary Flames	8–6–1	17
16	November 8	Montreal Canadiens	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	9–6–1	19
17	November 11	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	New York Islanders	10–6–1	21
18	November 13	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Boston Bruins	10–7–1	21
19	November 15	Edmonton Oilers	2–6	Hartford Whalers	10–8–1	21
20	November 16	Edmonton Oilers	8–6	New York Rangers	11–8–1	23
21	November 19	New York Rangers	4–5	Edmonton Oilers	12–8–1	25
22	November 22	Vancouver Canucks	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	13–8–1	27
23	November 24	Edmonton Oilers	5–6	Calgary Flames	13–9–1	27
24	November 26	Winnipeg Jets	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	14–9–1	29
25	November 28	Chicago Blackhawks	6–5	Edmonton Oilers	14–10–1	29
26	December 3	New York Islanders	1–7	Edmonton Oilers	15–10–1	31
27	December 5	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	16–10–1	33
28	December 7	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Philadelphia Flyers	16–11–1	33
29	December 9	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Minnesota North Stars	17–11–1	35
30	December 10	Edmonton Oilers	7–4	Winnipeg Jets	18–11–1	37
31	December 12	Winnipeg Jets	1–6	Edmonton Oilers	19–11–1	39
32	December 14	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	Los Angeles Kings	20–11–1	41
33	December 17	Quebec Nordiques	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	21–11–1	43
34	December 19	Vancouver Canucks	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	22–11–1	45
35	December 20	Los Angeles Kings	8–8	Edmonton Oilers	22–11–2	46
36	December 23	Winnipeg Jets	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	22–12–2	46
37	December 28	Philadelphia Flyers	4–6	Edmonton Oilers	23–12–2	48
38	December 30	Edmonton Oilers	7–3	Vancouver Canucks	24–12–2	50
39	January 3	Edmonton Oilers	8–1	Los Angeles Kings	25–12–2	52
40	January 7	Los Angeles Kings	6–1	Edmonton Oilers	25–13–2	52
41	January 9	St. Louis Blues	1–5	Edmonton Oilers	26–13–2	54
42	January 11	Calgary Flames	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	27–13–2	56
43	January 13	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Detroit Red Wings	28–13–2	58
44	January 15	Edmonton Oilers	4–1	Quebec Nordiques	29–13–2	60
45	January 17	Edmonton Oilers	7–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	30–13–2	62
46	January 18	Edmonton Oilers	5–6	Buffalo Sabres	30–14–2	62
47	January 21	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Winnipeg Jets	31–14–2	64
48	January 23	New York Rangers	4–7	Edmonton Oilers	32–14–2	66
49	January 24	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	33–14–2	68
50	January 27	Edmonton Oilers	4–4	Vancouver Canucks	33–14–3	69
51	January 28	Vancouver Canucks	3–7	Edmonton Oilers	34–14–3	71
52	January 30	Minnesota North Stars	2–2	Edmonton Oilers	34–14–4	72
53	February 1	Edmonton Oilers	4–6	Chicago Blackhawks	34–15–4	72
54	February 3	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	St. Louis Blues	35–15–4	74
55	February 4	Edmonton Oilers	6–5	Minnesota North Stars	36–15–4	76
56	February 6	New York Islanders	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	36–15–5	77
57	February 8	St. Louis Blues	2–6	Edmonton Oilers	37–15–5	79
58	February 15	Washington Capitals	5–3	Edmonton Oilers	37–16–5	79
59	February 18	Toronto Maple Leafs	2–9	Edmonton Oilers	38–16–5	81
60	February 22	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Winnipeg Jets	38–17–5	81
61	February 24	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Pittsburgh Penguins	38–18–5	81
62	February 25	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	New Jersey Devils	38–19–5	81
63	February 27	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Washington Capitals	38–20–5	81
64	March 4	Edmonton Oilers	8–5	Vancouver Canucks	39–20–5	83
65	March 6	Los Angeles Kings	3–9	Edmonton Oilers	40–20–5	85
66	March 7	Montreal Canadiens	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	41–20–5	87
67	March 11	Detroit Red Wings	3–6	Edmonton Oilers	42–20–5	89
68	March 14	Buffalo Sabres	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	43–20–5	91
69	March 15	Hartford Whalers	1–4	Edmonton Oilers	44–20–5	93
70	March 17	New Jersey Devils	4–7	Edmonton Oilers	45–20–5	95
71	March 19	Edmonton Oilers	4–5	Calgary Flames	45–21–5	95
72	March 20	Calgary Flames	6–3	Edmonton Oilers	45–22–5	95
73	March 23	Edmonton Oilers	7–6	New Jersey Devils	46–22–5	97
74	March 25	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Hartford Whalers	47–22–5	99
75	March 26	Edmonton Oilers	1–4	Boston Bruins	47–23–5	99
76	March 28	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	47–24–5	99
77	March 29	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Buffalo Sabres	48–24–5	101
78	March 31	Winnipeg Jets	4–5	Edmonton Oilers	49–24–5	103
79	April 2	Calgary Flames	4–4	Edmonton Oilers	49–24–6	104
80	April 4	Edmonton Oilers	7–3	Los Angeles Kings	50–24–6	106

Playoffs

Edmonton Oilers 4, Los Angeles Kings 1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 8	Los Angeles Kings	5–2	Edmonton Oilers	0–1
2	April 9	Los Angeles Kings	3–13	Edmonton Oilers	1–1
3	April 11	Edmonton Oilers	6–5	Los Angeles Kings	2–1
4	April 12	Edmonton Oilers	6–3	Los Angeles Kings	3–1
5	April 14	Los Angeles Kings	4–5	Edmonton Oilers	4–1

Edmonton Oilers 4, Winnipeg Jets 0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 21	Winnipeg Jets	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	1–0
2	April 23	Winnipeg Jets	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	2–0
3	April 25	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Winnipeg Jets	3–0
4	April 27	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	Winnipeg Jets	4–0

Edmonton Oilers 4, Detroit Red Wings 1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	May 5	Detroit Red Wings	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	0–1
2	May 7	Detroit Red Wings	1–4	Edmonton Oilers	1–1
3	May 9	Edmonton Oilers	2–1	Detroit Red Wings	2–1
4	May 11	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Detroit Red Wings	3–1
5	May 13	Detroit Red Wings	3–6	Edmonton Oilers	4–1

Edmonton Oilers 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	May 17	Philadelphia Flyers	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	1–0
2	May 20	Philadelphia Flyers	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	2–0
3	May 22	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Philadelphia Flyers	2–1
4	May 24	Edmonton Oilers	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers	3–1
5	May 26	Philadelphia Flyers	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	3–2
6	May 28	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	Philadelphia Flyers	3–3
3	May 31	Philadelphia Flyers	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	4–3

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Wayne Gretzky	79	62	121	183	28
Jari Kurri	79	54	54	108	41
Mark Messier	77	37	70	107	73
Esa Tikkanen	76	34	44	78	120
Glenn Anderson	80	35	38	73	65

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Save %	GAA
Grant Fuhr	44	2388	22	13	3	137	0	.881	3.44
Andy Moog	46	2461	28	11	3	144	0	.882	3.51

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Wayne Gretzky	21	5	29	34	6
Mark Messier	21	12	16	28	16
Glenn Anderson	21	14	13	27	59
Jari Kurri	21	15	10	25	20
Kent Nilsson	21	6	13	19	6

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Save %	GAA
Grant Fuhr	19	1148	14	5	47	0	.908	2.46
Andy Moog	2	120	2	0	8	0	.784	4.00

Transactions

Trades

June 25, 1986	To Montreal Canadiens Future considerations	To Edmonton Oilers Alfie Turcotte
July 3, 1986	To Winnipeg Jets Future considerations	To Edmonton Oilers Murray Eaves
October 2, 1986	To Buffalo Sabres Craig Muni	To Edmonton Oilers Cash
October 15, 1986	To St. Louis Todd Ewen	To Edmonton Oilers Shawn Evans
October 23, 1986	To New York Rangers Don Jackson Stu Kulak Miloslav Horava Mike Golden	To Edmonton Oilers Reijo Ruotsalainen Jim Wiemer Ville Kentala Clark Donatelli
December 11, 1986	To Vancouver Canucks Cash	To Edmonton Oilers Stu Kulak
December 12, 1986	To Hartford Whalers Dave Semenko	To Edmonton Oilers 3rd round pick in 1988 - Trevor Sim
March 2, 1987	To Minnesota North Stars Cash	To Edmonton Oilers Kent Nilsson
March 6, 1987	To Buffalo Sabres Lee Fogolin Mark Napier 4th round pick in 1987 - John Bradley	To Edmonton Oilers Normand Lacombe Wayne Van Dorp 4th round in 1987 - Peter Eriksson
March 9, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers Jeff Brubaker	To Edmonton Oilers Dom Campedelli
March 10, 1987	To Vancouver Canucks Raimo Summanen	To Edmonton Oilers Moe Lemay
May 14, 1987	To Montreal Canadiens Alfie Turcotte	To Edmonton Oilers Cash

Free agents

Player Former Team F Tom McMurchy Calgary Flames D Craig Muni Toronto Maple Leafs D Allan Tuer Los Angeles Kings F Danny Gare Detroit Red Wings

Player New Team F Simon Wheeldon New York Rangers

Draft picks

Edmonton’s draft picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	21	Kim Issel	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
2	42	Jamie Nicolls	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
3	63	Ron Shudra	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
4	84	Dan Currie	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
5	105	David Haas	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
6	126	Jim Ennis	Canada	Boston University (NCAA)
7	147	Ivan Matulik	Czechoslovakia	Bratislava Slovan Harvard (Czech.)
8	168	Nick Beaulieu	Canada	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
9	189	Mike Greenlay	Brazil	Penticton Knights (BCJHL)
10	210	Matt Lanza	United States	Winthrop High School (USHS)
11	231	Mojmir Bozik	Czechoslovakia	HC Kosice (Czech.)
12	252	Tony Hand	Scotland	Murrayfield Racers (BHL)

This sports related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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Hanil Cement Co, Ltd. is a Korea’s cement, concrete in chemical company. headquartered in Seoul, Korea. established in 1961. It is a remicon in portland cement products. and cement brand in Remital.

Contents 1 Products 2 Manufacturing network (South Korea) 2.1 Cement & Concrete manufacturer 2.2 Silo station 3 Competitor 4 See also 5 External links

Products

• Portland cement
• Concrete
• Remital

Manufacturing network (South Korea)

Cement & Concrete manufacturer

• Danyang
• Daejeon
• Jeonju
• Chongju
• Jochiwon
• Daegu
• Seodaegu
• Pohang
• Busan
• Kimhae
• Gaya
• Haman
• Gwangju
• Yeongdeungpo
• Seongnam
• Incheon
• Gunpo

Silo station

• Susaek
• Pyeongtaek
• Yeongju
• Osong
• Heukseok

Competitor

• Hyundai Cement
• Eugene Concrete
• Sung Shin
• Sampyo
• Asia Cement
• Aju Industry
• Dongyang Cement
• Hi-Mix
• Sunil Industry

See also

• Hanil Industry
• Economy of South Korea

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Tell Taylor (October 14, 1876 - November 24, 1937) was a United States songwriter. By far his biggest hit was “Down by the Old Mill Stream” from 1910, one of the most commercially successful Tin Pan Alley publications of the era.

Tell Taylor was born in Vanlue, Hancock County, Ohio. He performed on Vaudeville and established a music publishing house in Chicago, Illinois. His other songs included “He Sleeps Beneath the Soil of France”, “I Love You Best of All”, “If Dreams Come True”, “Little Old Home in the Valley”, “Rock Me to Sleep in the Old Rocking Chair”, “Some Day”, and “When the Maple Leaves Were Falling”. Taylor also wrote the Broadway musical comedies Tiger Lillee and In New York Town.

Tell Taylor died in Chicago of a heart attack and was buried in Van Horn Cemetery, Findlay, Ohio.

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Nakki Lake
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Location	Rajasthan
Basin countries	India

Nakki Lake is a lake situated in the Indian hill station of Mount Abu. It is an important tourist attraction of Mount Abu. There is the Toad Rock on a hill near the lake.Toad rock is so called as it looks like a toad about to jump into the lake, from the side of the rock facing the lake. There are two ways to go up and down the rock; to climb the rocky hill side or to use the steps leading down to Nakki Lake. By the side of the lake there is a path leading to Sunset Point. It is forbidden to climb to Sunset Point due to dangerous bandits living around the path to Sunset Point. Raghunath Temple and Maharaja Jaipur Palace are also on hills near the Lake.

Boating in the lake and horse rides around the lake are available.

 This article related to a location in Rajasthan is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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Rajapur is a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency of Maharashtra.

Members of Parliament

• 1977: Madhu Dandavate, Bharatiya Lok Dal
• 1980: Madhu Dandavate, Janata Party
• 1984: Madhu Dandavate, Janata Party
• 1989: Madhu Dandavate, Janata Dal
• 1991: Sudhir Sawant, Indian National Congress
• 1996: Suresh Prabhu, Shiv Sena
• 1998: Suresh Prabhu, Shiv Sena
• 1999: Suresh Prabhu, Shiv Sena
• 2004: Suresh Prabhu, Shiv Sena

Election results

General Election, 2004: Rajapur
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Shiv Sena	Suresh Prabhu	264,001	54.94	+3.87
	Congress	Sudhir Sawant	183,102	38.10	+14.23
	Bahujan Samaj Party	Mohan Parab	12,616	2.62
	Independent	Mahendra Natekar	9,303	1.94
Majority			80,899	16.84
Turnout			480,610	57.51	-0.2
	Shiv Sena hold		Swing	+3.87

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Kyung-jae may refer to:

• Kim Kyung-Jae (died 2002), first human being to die from playing a video game too much
• Lee Kyung-jae (born 1954), ethnic Korean community organiser

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Ecgonine
IUPAC name	3-hydroxy-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo octane-2-carboxylic acid
Identifiers
CAS number
SMILES	CN2C1CCC2CC(O)C1C(O)=O
Properties
Molecular formula	C9H15NO3
Molar mass	185.2203 g/mol
Density	1.293 ± 0.06 g/cm³
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox references

Ecgonine is an organic chemical and tropane alkaloid found naturally in coca leaves. It is has a close structural relation to cocaine: it is both a metabolite and a precursor, and as such, it is a controlled substance, as are all known substances which can be used as precursors to ecgonine itself.

Structurally, ecgonine is a cycloheptane derivative with a nitrogen bridge. It is obtained by hydrolysis of cocaine with acids or alkalis, and crystallizes with one molecule of water, the crystals melting at 198–199°C. It is levorotary, and on warming with alkalis gives iso-ecgonine, which is dextrorotary.

It is a tertiary base, and has the properties of an acid and an alcohol. It is the carboxylic acid corresponding to tropine, for it yields the same products on oxidation, and by treatment with phosphorus pentachloride is converted into anhydroecgonine, C₉H₁₃NO₂, which, when heated to 280°C with hydrochloric acid, eliminates carbon dioxide and yields tropidine, C₈H₁₃N.

See also

• Cocaine
• Benzoylecgonine
• Truxilline
• Hydroxytropacocaine
• Tropacocaine
• Cuscohygrine
• Dihydrocuscohygrine
• Hygrine
• Cocaethylene
• Anhydroecgonine
• Methylecgonidine
• Troparil

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A personal computer game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine. Computer games have evolved from the simple graphics and gameplay of early titles like Spacewar!, to a wide range of more visually advanced titles.

PC games are created by one or more game developers, often in conjunction with other specialists (such as game artists) and either published independently or through a third party publisher. They may then be distributed on physical media such as DVDs and CDs, as Internet-downloadable shareware, or through online delivery services such as Direct2Drive and Steam. PC games often require specialized hardware in the user’s computer in order to play, such as a specific generation of graphics processing unit or an Internet connection for online play, although these system requirements vary from game to game.

Computer games and game addiction are often the subject of criticism, focusing largely on the influence of objectionable content and prolonged gameplay on minors. The Entertainment Software Association and other groups maintain that parents are responsible for moderating their children’s behaviour, although the controversy has prompted attempts to control the sale of certain games in the United States.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early growth 1.2 Industry crash 1.3 New genres 1.4 Contemporary gaming 2 PC game development 2.1 User-created modifications 3 Distribution 3.1 Physical distribution 3.2 Shareware 3.3 Online delivery 4 Computer game genres 5 Computer gaming technology 5.1 Hardware 5.2 Software 5.3 Multiplayer 5.3.1 Local area network gaming 5.3.2 Online games 5.4 Emulation 6 Controversy 7 See also 8 References

History

Main article: History of video games

Early growth

Spacewar!, developed for the PDP-1 in 1961, is often credited as being the first ever computer game. The game consisted of two player-controlled spaceships maneuvering around a central star, each attempting to destroy the other.

Although personal computers only became popular with the development of the microprocessor, mainframe and minicomputers, computer gaming has existed since at least the 1960s. One of the first computer games was developed in 1961, when MIT students Martin Graetz and Alan Kotok, with MIT employee Steve Russell, developed Spacewar! on a PDP-1 computer used for statistical calculations.

The first generation of PC games were often text adventures or interactive fiction, in which the player communicated with the computer by entering commands through a keyboard. The first text-adventure, Adventure, was developed for the PDP-11 by Will Crowther in 1976, and expanded by Don Woods in 1977. By the 1980s, personal computers had become powerful enough to run games like Adventure, but by this time, graphics were beginning to become an important factor in games. Later games combined textual commands with basic graphics, as seen in the SSI Gold Box games such as Pool of Radiance, or Bard’s Tale.

By the mid-1970s, games were developed and distributed through hobbyist groups and gaming magazines, such as Creative Computing and later Computer Gaming World. These publications provided game code that could be typed into a computer and played, encouraging readers to submit their own software to competitions.

Industry crash

Main article: Video game crash of 1983

As the video game market became flooded with poor-quality games created by numerous companies attempting to enter the market, and over-production of high profile releases such as the Atari 2600 adaptation of E.T. and Pacman grossly underperformed, the popularity of personal computers for education rose dramatically. In 1983, consumer interest in video games dwindled to historical lows, as interest in computer games and the MTV-fueled music industry rose.

The effects of the crash were largely limited to the console market, as established companies such as Atari posted record losses over subsequent years. Conversely, the home computer market boomed, as sales of low-cost colour computers such as the Commodore 64 rose to record highs and developers such as Electronic Arts benefited from increasing interest in the platform.

The console market experienced a resurgence in the United States with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System. In Europe, computer gaming continued to boom for many years after.,,

New genres

Increasing adoption of the computer mouse, driven partially by the success of games such as the highly successful King’s Quest series, and high resolution bitmap displays allowed the industry to include increasingly high-quality graphical interfaces in new releases. Meanwhile, the Commodore Amiga computer achieved great success in the market from its release in 1985, contributing to the rapid adoption of these new interface technologies.

Wolfenstein 3D, released as shareware by id Software in 1992, is widely regarded as having popularised the first person shooter genre of computer games.

Further improvements to game artwork were made possible with the introduction of the first sound cards, such as AdLib’s Music Synthesizer Card, in 1987. These cards allowed IBM PC compatible computers to produce complex sounds using FM synthesis, where they had previously been limited to simple tones and beeps. However, the rise of the Creative Labs Sound Blaster card, which featured much higher sound quality due to the inclusion of a PCM channel and digital signal processor, led AdLib to file for bankruptcy in 1992.

The year before, id Software had produced one of the first first-person shooter games, Hovertank 3D, which was the company’s first in their line of highly influential games in the genre. The same team went on to develop Wolfenstein 3D in 1992, which helped to popularize the genre, kick-starting a genre that would become one of the highest-selling in modern times. The game was originally distributed through the shareware distribution model, allowing players to try a limited part of the game for free but requiring payment to play the rest, and represented one of the first uses of texture mapping graphics in a popular game, along with Ultima Underworld.

While leading Sega and Nintendo console systems kept their CPU speed at 3-7 MHz, the 486 PC processor ran much faster, allowing it to perform many more calculations per second. The 1993 release of Doom on the PC was a breakthrough in 3D graphics, and was soon ported to various game consoles in a general shift toward greater realism.

Many early PC games included extras such as the peril-sensitive sunglasses that shipped with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. These extras gradually became less common, but many games were still sold in the traditional over-sized boxes that used to hold the extra “feelies”. Today, such extras are usually found only in Special Edition versions of games, such as Battlechests from Blizzard .

Contemporary gaming

By 1996, the rise of Microsoft Windows and success of 3D console titles such as Super Mario 64 sparked great interest in hardware accelerated 3D graphics on the PC, and soon resulted in attempts to produce affordable solutions with the ATI Rage, Matrox Mystique and Silicon Graphics ViRGE. Tomb Raider, which was released in 1996, was one of the first third person shooter games and was praised for its revolutionary graphics. As 3D graphics libraries such as DirectX and OpenGL matured and knocked proprietary interfaces out of the market, these platforms gained greater acceptance in the market, particularly with their demonstrated benefits in games such as Unreal. However, major changes to the Microsoft Windows operating system, by then the market leader, made many older MS-DOS-based games unplayable on Windows NT, and later, Windows XP (without using an emulator, such as DOSbox).

The faster graphics accelerators and improving CPU technology resulted in increasing levels of realism in computer games. During this time, the improvements introduced with products such as ATI’s Radeon R300 and NVidia’s GeForce 6 Series have allowed developers to increase the complexity of modern game engines. PC gaming currently tends strongly toward improvements in 3D graphics.

Unlike the generally accepted push for improved graphical performance, the use of physics engines in computer games has become a matter of debate since announcement and 2005 release of the nVidia PhysX PPU, ostensibly competing with middleware such as the Havok physics engine. Issues such as difficulty in ensuring consistent experiences for all players, and the uncertain benefit of first generation PhysX cards in games such as Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and City of Villains, prompted arguments over the value of such technology.

Similarly, many game publishers began to experiment with new forms of marketing. Chief among these alternative strategies is episodic gaming, an adaptation of the older concept of expansion packs, in which game content is provided in smaller quantities but for a proportionally lower price. Titles such as Half-Life 2: Episode One took advantage of the idea, with mixed results rising from concerns for the amount of content provided for the price.

PC game development

Main article: Game development

Game development, as with console games, is generally undertaken by one or more game developers using either standardised or proprietary tools. While games could previously be developed by very small groups of people, as in the early example of Wolfenstein 3D, many popular computer games today require large development teams and budgets running into the millions of dollars.

PC games are usually built around a central piece of software, known as a game engine, that simplifies the development process and enables developers to easily port their projects between platforms. Unlike most consoles, which generally only run major engines such as Unreal Engine 3 and RenderWare due to restrictions on homebrew software, personal computers may run games developed using a larger range of software. As such, a number of alternatives to expensive engines have become available, including open source solutions such as Crystal Space, OGRE and DarkPlaces.

User-created modifications

Counter-Strike, a total-conversion mod for Valve Software’s Half-Life, achieved great popularity online and was subsequently purchased by Valve.

Main article: Mod (computer gaming)

The multi-purpose nature of personal computers often allows users to modify the content of installed games with relative ease. Since console games are generally difficult to modify without a proprietary software development kit, and are often protected by legal and physical barriers against tampering and homebrew software, it is generally easier to modify the personal computer version of games using common, easy-to-obtain software. Users can then distribute their customised version of the game (commonly known as a mod) by any means they choose.

The inclusion of map editors such as UnrealEd with the retail versions of many games, and others that have been made available online such as GtkRadiant, allow users to create modifications for games easily, using tools that are maintained by the games’ original developers. In addition, companies such as id Software have released the source code to older game engines, enabling the creation of entirely new games and major changes to existing ones.

Modding had allowed much of the community to produce game elements that would not normally be provided by the developer of the game, expanding or modifying normal gameplay to varying degrees. One notable example is the Hot Coffee mod for the PC port of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which enables access to an abandoned sex minigame by simply modifying a bit of the game’s data file.

Distribution

Physical distribution

Computer games are typically sold on standard storage media, such as compact discs, DVD, and floppy disks. These were originally passed on to customers through mail order services, although retail distribution has replaced it as the main distribution channel for video games due to higher sales. Different formats of floppy disks were initially the staple storage media of the 1980s and early 1990s, but have fallen out of practical use as the increasing sophistication of computer games raised the overall size of the game’s data and program files.

The introduction of complex graphics engines in recent times has resulted in additional storage requirements for modern games, and thus an increasing interest in CDs and DVDs as the next compact storage media for personal computer games. The rising popularity of DVD drives in modern PCs, and the larger capacity of the new media (a single-layer DVD can hold up to 4.7 gigabytes of data, more than five times as much as a single CD), have resulted in their adoption as a format for computer game distribution. To date, CD versions are still offered for most games, while some games offer both the CD and the DVD versions.

Shareware

Main articles: Shareware and Game demo

Shareware marketing, whereby a limited or demonstration version of the full game is released to prospective buyers without charge, has been used as a method of distributing computer games since the early years of the gaming industry and was seen in the early days of Tanarus as well as many others. Shareware games generally offer only a small part of the gameplay offered in the retail product, and may be distributed with gaming magazines, in retail stores or on developers’ websites free of charge.

In the early 1990s, shareware distribution was common among fledging game companies such as Apogee Software, Epic Megagames and id Software, and remains a popular distribution method among smaller game developers. However, shareware has largely fallen out of favor among established game companies in favour of traditional retail marketing, with notable exceptions such as Big Fish Games and PopCap Games continuing to use the model today.

The Steam content delivery system allows users to preload games prior to their release.

Online delivery

With the increased popularity of the Internet, online distribution of game content has become more common. Retail services such as Direct2Drive and Download.com allow users to purchase and download large games that would otherwise only be distributed on physical media, such as DVDs, as well as providing cheap distribution of shareware and demonstration games. Other services, allow a subscription-based distribution model in which users pay a monthly fee to download and play as many games as they wish.

The Steam system, developed by Valve Corporation, provides an alternative to traditional online services. Instead of allowing the player to download a game and play it immediately, games are made available for “pre-load” in an encrypted form days or weeks before their actual release date. On the official release date, a relatively small component is made available to unlock the game. Steam also ensures that once bought, a game remains accessible to a customer indefinitely, while traditional mediums such as floppy disks and CD-ROMs are susceptible to unrecoverable damage and misplacement.

Computer game genres

The real time strategy genre, which accounts for more than a quarter of all PC games sold, has found very little success on video game consoles, with releases such as Starcraft 64 failing in the marketplace. Strategy games tend to suffer from the design of console controllers, which do not allow fast, accurate movement.

Conversely, action games have found considerable popularity on video game consoles, making up nearly a third of all console video games sold in 2004, compared to just four percent on the computer. Sports games have also found greater support on game consoles compared to personal computers.

Computer gaming technology

An exploded view of a modern personal computer:

1. Display
2. Motherboard
3. CPU (Microprocessor)
4. Primary storage (RAM)
5. Expansion cards (graphics cards, etc)
6. Power supply
7. Optical disc drive
8. Secondary storage (Hard disk)
9. Keyboard
10. Mouse

Main article: Personal computer

Hardware

Modern computer games place great demand on the computer’s hardware, often requiring a fast central processing unit (CPU) to function properly. CPU manufacturers historically relied mainly on increasing clock rates to improve the performance of their processors, but had begun to move steadily towards multi-core CPUs by 2005. These processors allow the computer to simultaneously process multiple tasks, called threads, allowing the use of more complex graphics, artificial intelligence and in-game physics.

Similarly, 3D games often rely on a powerful graphics processing unit (GPU), which accelerates the process of drawing complex scenes in realtime. GPUs may be an integrated part of the computer’s motherboard, the most common solution in laptops, or come packaged with a discrete graphics card with a supply of dedicated Video RAM, connected to the motherboard through either an AGP or PCI-Express port. It is also possible to use multiple GPUs in a single computer, using technologies such as NVidia’s Scalable Link Interface and ATI’s CrossFire.

Sound cards are also available to provide improved audio in computer games. These cards provide improved 3D audio and provide audio enhancement that is generally not available with integrated alternatives, at the cost of marginally lower overall performance. The Creative Labs SoundBlaster line was for many years the de facto standard for sound cards, although its popularity dwindled as PC audio became a commodity on modern motherboards.

Physics processing units (PPUs), such as the AGEIA PhysX card, are also available to accelerate physics simulations in modern computer games. PPUs allow the computer to process more complex interactions among objects than is achievable using only the CPU, potentially allowing players a much greater degree of control over the world in games designed to use the card.

Virtually all personal computers use a keyboard and mouse for user input. Other common gaming peripherals are a headset for faster communication in online games, joysticks for flight simulators, steering wheels for driving games and gamepads for console-style games.

Software

Computer games also rely on third-party software such as an operating system (OS), device drivers, libraries and more to run. Today, the vast majority of computer games are designed to run on the Microsoft Windows OS. Whereas earlier games written for MS-DOS would include code to communicate directly with hardware, today Application programming interfaces (APIs) provide an interface between the game and the OS, simplifying game design. Microsoft’s DirectX is an API that is widely used by today’s computer games to communicate with sound and graphics hardware. OpenGL is a cross-platform API for graphics rendering that is also used. The version of the graphics card’s driver installed can often affect game performance and gameplay. It is not unusual for a game company to use a third-party game engine, or third-party libraries for a game’s AI or physics.

Multiplayer

Local area network gaming

Multiplayer gaming was largely limited to local area networks (LANs) before cost-effective broadband Internet access became available, due to their typically higher bandwidth and lower latency than the dial-up services of the time. These advantages allowed more players to join any given computer game, but have persisted today because of the higher latency of most Internet connections and the costs associated with broadband Internet.

LAN gaming typically requires two or more personal computers, a router and sufficient networking cables to connect every computer on the network. Additionally, each computer must have a network card installed or integrated onto its motherboard in order to communicate with other computers on the network. Optionally, any LAN may include an external connection to the Internet.

Online games

Main article: Online game

Online multiplayer games have achieved popularity largely as a result of increasing broadband adoption among consumers. Affordable high-bandwidth Internet connections allow large numbers of players to play together, and thus have found particular use in massively multiplayer online RPGs, Tanarus and persistent online games such as World War II Online.

Although it is possible to participate in online computer games using dial-up modems, broadband internet connections are generally considered necessary in order to reduce the latency between players (commonly known as “lag”). Such connections require a broadband-compatible modem connected to the personal computer through a network interface card (generally integrated onto the computer’s motherboard), optionally separated by a router. Online games require a virtual environment, generally called a “game server.” These virtual servers inter-connect gamers, allowing real time, and often fast paced action. To meet this subsequent need, Game Server Providers (GSP) have become increasingly more popular over the last half decade. While not required for all gamers, these servers provide a unique “home,” fully customizable (such as additional modifications, settings, etc) - giving the end gamers the experience they desire. Today there are over 500,000 game servers hosted in North America alone.

Emulation

Main article: Emulator

Emulation software, used to run software without the original hardware, are popular for their ability to play legacy video games without the consoles or operating system for which they were designed. Console emulators such as NESticle and MAME are relatively commonplace, although the complexity of modern consoles such as the Xbox or Playstation makes them far more difficult to emulate, even for the original manufacturers.

Most emulation software mimics a particular hardware architecture, often to an extremely high degree of accuracy. This is particularly the case with classic home computers such as the Commodore 64, whose software often depends on highly sophisticated low-level programming tricks invented by game programmers and the demoscene.

Controversy

Popular MMORPGs such as Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft are a major subject of criticism, amid concern that they encourage game addiction.

Main article: Video game controversy

Computer games have long been a source of controversy, particularly related to the violence that has become commonly associated with video gaming in general. The debate surrounds the influence of objectionable content on the social development of minors, with organisations such as the American Psychological Association concluding that video game violence increases children’s aggression, a concern that prompted a further investigation by the Center for Disease Control in September 2006. Industry groups have responded by noting the responsibility of parents in governing their children’s activities, while attempts in the United States to control the sale of objectionable games have generally been found unconstitutional.

Video game addiction is another cultural aspect of gaming to draw criticism as it can have a negative influence on health and on social relations. It has, in an extreme case, led to death as a result of prolonged gameplay. The problem of addiction and its health risks seems to have grown with the rise of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs).

See also

Video games portal

• List of gaming topics
• Gaming PC
• List of games with DirectX 10 support
• List of computer games that require Pixel Shaders

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