Your heart pounds as you scrutinise the green expanse of the Bolivian jungle. Everything is quiet, but you know this is the calm before a furious storm. You adjust the sniper mode of your rifle and there: Target sighted! The terrorist knows it too though and, just before you squeeze the trigger, BAM! You're dead.
A raspy voice intones, "Terrorists win!"
As your shoulders droop in frustration, there's a round of applause and a hand nudges your elbow. "It's okay, dude. You can get me some other time." Your eyes light up. Yes, there always is a next time.
Welcome to the world of 3-Dimensional LAN (Local Area Network) gaming. Guess where the action's happening? At your friendly neighbourhood cyber-café, that's where. Aren't they supposed to offer just surfing facilities and coffee? Nope. An increasing number of cafes in major metros are beginning to add some blood and gore to the list.
But why cyber-cafes? Because every 3-D game with a multiplayer option requires a LAN connection and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) layer, which suits the infrastructure at a cyber-café perfectly. That most have relatively high-end machines also helps, along with ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) lines and recent broadband cable services.
Cyber cafes use a central server that distributes bandwidth across a LAN line to individual machines. This server can also be configured to host multiplayer games, and networked machines that have the game installed can conveniently connect to it.
Another question: Isn't multiplayer 3-D gaming essentially an Internet phenomenon? Lakhu Israni of the 'Private I' cyber-café in Bandra agrees it is, but says that the LAN mode has been a better alternative in India, given its bandwidth constraints.
He adds that even if an average dial-up user had decent bandwidth, it won't help much because most gaming servers like Mplayer, Heat, BarrysWorld etc. are based in North America, Canada and Europe, leading to a decrease in playability on account of the time lag. Even if you are a pro at Counter-Strike or Quake III, poor connections are a definite annoyance.
Lakhu is enthusiastic about LAN gaming, but some cyber café owners are wary, given the possibility of gaming licence and proprietary rights issues coming into the picture.
The gamers remain unconcerned. Ryan 'DookNookem' Pereira, 20, says, "Since playing from a dial-up is next to impossible, cyber-café LAN gaming should work. When you nail your opponent and manage to get a look at his face while you're at it, the feeling is heady."
It doesn't end with college students and school kids either. Zoeb, of the Dishnet DSL cyber café at Bandra says, "We have often had people over 30 trying Need For Speed out of sheer curiosity". Costs don't matter much, with charges ranging from Rs. 15 to Rs. 50.
The hottest news is that IndiaGames is hosting the finals of the preliminaries for the World Cyber Games from November 8-11, 2001, in Mumbai. The best gamers win a trip to Korea, face the world's top players and take home three hundred thousand dollars in prize money! Organised in all major metros, the national round to be held in Mumbai will select a team of 11 to represent India in the finals.
Last question: Is LAN gaming here to stay, then? You bet it is. GO, GO, GO!!!
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