Computer Sports Games, Movies, Music, Humor ... and more

Computer Sports Games

When I was a young boy, back in the late 50's, I noticed an advertisement in a sports magazine for a dice-activated baseball simulation table-top game. It cost the ungodly amount (back then) of about $20. So I sent for it and in terms of hours of joy, that may be the best $20 I ever spent. 

I became hooked on sports simulation games ... and have remained so until this day. I still believe APBA is the best table-top, dice activated game available ... although the price over the years has risen to the $40-$50 range. The emphasis on "table-top, dice-activated" is intended.

Of course, as technology moved forward, the companies producing the dice-based games began to branch out into computer versions. Well, being the techno junkie I am...off I went " a-huntin ". I tried the APBA computer baseball and football games ... and enjoyed them very much. I also tried Strat-O-Matic^TM -- both dice and computer versions.

And, then this summer it happened !!

While browsing about The Internet in search of ... you guessed it ... computer simulation games ... I came across The Games People Play, an Internet webpage calling itself a "newsletter for serious sports gamers." This is a fascinating tour (including sport gamers online chat) that any "gamer" would wish to visit ... regardless of preference of manufacturer.

While browsing through the pages of TGPP, numerous sites to visit were listed. I went to them all. BUT I GOT STUCK ON ONE!!!

When I visited Cactus Development Company, Inc, a company doing business out of Austin, TX. I was intrigued. Available are baseball, pro basketball and college basketball simulation games. I downloaded the "demo" edition of their product titled Cactus League Interactive Baseball for Windows ^TM. Within an hour, I was hooked. Big time!! This is the most spectacular computer simulation game for baseball I have come across. I strongly urge "gamers" to visit their site. (No, I don't own stock in the company nor get any "kickback" from these folks}.

Allow me to conclude this discussion of computer sports simulation games by making a couple of points:

#1: by "simulation", we are talking about statistical replays of actual events in sports history ... the re-creation ... on a play-by-play basis using actual "real life" names and statistics for specific given years. For instance, I am currently "re-playing" the 1996 major league baseball season ... will be interested to see if the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees meet in the playoffs. Simulation DOES NOT mean interactive, joy-stock involvement where one player must "swing" at a pitch then the player (or other opponent players) try to chase down the ball and throw it somewhere. These can be wonderfully amusing, they are are not simulations.

#2: I was beginning to think other versions of computer sports simulations were very unlikely to take me away from APBA... I have been a loyal, devoted fan for 35+ years. And, as regards computer football, they still are my choice. However, for baseball, Cactus Development Company most surely did that.

I could spend hours typing what I like about the Cactus product ... such as report development, automatic schedule development, boxscores (just like you see in the newspaper), etc. You can use "default" formats, or create your own. You can let the computer play the games and watch ... or you can become fully involved. The user involvement is common basically to all manufacturers ... but the "killer" with Cactus is the incredible reports/statistics power. I have written a lot of computer programs, but can only begin the imagine the technical wherewithall it took to put this product together.

So, enough already. If you came to this page in the first place, you just might want to take a look at some of my other interests. Read on!!

From the first time I saw the movie Shane , this classic 1952 western has been my favorite. A classic tale of the homesteaders against cattle ranchers ... filmed with the magnificent backdrop of the Grand Tetons near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Easily Alan Ladd's most famous film, the cinematography is very interesting with a majority of camera angles from the eye-level of a six or seven-year-old boy (Brandon de Wilde) ... giving the audience the "point of view" of the boy.

Others ...