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Computer Gamer - Book Web |
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 Computer Gamer was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Argus Specialist Publications, covering home gaming during the late 1980s. It was a colourful relaunch of the failing "Games Computing", a more conservative magazine published throughout in monochrome.
Like many similar magazines, it contained sections of news, game reviews, previews, tips, help guides, columnists, reader's letters, and occasionally cover-mounted game demos.
Although lost in the crowd of titles on the market in the mid-80s, Gamer did achieve the distinction of having an issue banned by W H Smith and other UK newsagents. The cover promoted a game called "Blood And Guts" but was considered to be too gory and was replaced by a plainer rush cover. The offending image, constructed from pink hessian, bubblewrap, red paint and a Turkish knife, was demoted to background art on the revue pages - without complaint.
Video game
A video game is a game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally refers to a raster display device. However, with the popular use of the term "video game", it now implies any type of display device. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms are broad in range, from large computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use.
The input device normally used to manipulate video games is called a game controller, which varies across platforms. For instance, a dedicated console controller might consist of only a button and a joystick, or feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks. Early personal computer based games historically relied on the availability of a keyboard for game play, or more commonly, required the user to purchase a separate joystick with at least one button to play. Many modern computer games allow the player to use a keyboard and mouse simultaneously.
Beyond the common element of visual feedback, video games have utilized other systems to provide interaction and information to the player. Chief examples of these are sound reproduction devices, such as speakers and headphones, and an array of haptic peripherals, such as vibration or force feedback.
Game demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released computer or video game.
Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version. For console video games, they are often released with magazines that include the demos on a CD or DVD and likewise may be exclusive to a certain publication. Demos are also sometimes released on cover tape/disks, especially in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, but given the increasing size of demos and widespread availability of broadband internet, this common practice throughout the 1980s and '90s gradually lost cover focus to full games. With the advent of console online services such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network, demos are also becoming available as a free or premium download.
Console manufacturers also often release their systems with a demo disc containing playable previews of games to be released for their console.
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Magazines
