Free demos put downloaders in game-playing heaven

Game demos from the Net giving a better taste of the real thing

Web posted June 23, 1997

 List of demo sites

By Paul Rosano
The Hartford Courant

Game demos. They're a tease, a taste, a trailer. They're previews, sort of, not the real thing, only a slice of it.

Demos have been around as long as computer games. But in the past year or so they have popped up all over the World Wide Web; they're free and they're much closer to being just like the real thing.

Software companies that specialize in PC games put demos on the Internet to promote their new products. Gamers freely download them from myriad sites. Besides the increasing number of demos on the Net, their quality has improved dramatically in the past year, for good reason: They serve both consumers and software developers.

Who wants to plunk down $50 on a new software package or upgrade that may look good, sound good from a review, but may be a loser by your standards ? The game demo lets you take a test drive .

For the game company, the high-quality demo is a new marketing tool .

``Some of the more popular demos on our site and other sites around the Internet have been downloaded by 30,000 to 40,000 people, and that's really a great way to get the word out there ,'' said Paul Bannister, editor in chief of Online Gaming Review, a site that is the Internet version of Computer and Net Player magazine.

``It has been proven by companies like id Software, who put `Doom' and `Quake' on the Internet,'' Bannister said. ``They really came out of nowhere and pioneered this idea of giving out part of the game, getting somebody hooked and saying come buy the full thing.''

The Online Gaming Review site features a modified version of a recent issue of the magazine, with reviews of the latest releases. If a favorable review is not convincing enough for you, there is usually a link from the review page to download the game demo. Other magazines such as Computer Gaming World and PC Gamer offer sites with similar features and links. The magazines in print also are available with a CD-ROM demo disc - at a higher cost, usually about $8. The discs include several of the newer demos, most of which are available on the Web for free.

You can find demos in many other places on the Net. Software companies large and small, from Electronic Arts, Sierra On-Line and Activision to id Software offer download links for their latest products. There are also Web magazines such as CNET.COM, which provides an extensive download section, download.com. It features reviews and lists of the most popular titles.

There are also independent sites, many of which started small with few frills but with the backing of advertising dollars have become graphically sophisticated and more extensive - such as Happy Puppy, GameSpot, The Games Place and Games Domain.

As recently as a year ago, many demos had big limitations, such as

a time limit or only one or two options or levels. Many companies used to eliminate important features such as high resolution graphics or soundboard support. But most demos now include these, so software users can get a sense of what the program is really like.

``The reason they're getting better is the hardware is getting better and the pipeline (Internet connection) is getting bigger,'' said Ken Embery, producer of the 3-D Ultra series for Dynamix and Sierra-On Line. ``People can download things at 28.8 (kilobytes per second). It makes the whole process easier.''

Besides the proliferation of 28.8 kps and higher modem connections, Internet service provider monthly fees are dropping and people are more likely to let their computers download for longer periods of time without worry of incurring extra charges.

More people are willing to wait a couple of hours to get a demo now, Bannister said, so developers are adding more features, such as the SVGA graphics, to give a better impression of the real game.

Some are worth the wait. For instance, Embery's 3-D line has a few of the best arcade demos out on the Net. ``3-D Ultra Pinball Creep Night'' offers a full SVGA table with MIDI sound, minus some sound effects. The demo has a five-minute time limit but gives you a precise feel for the game.

Dynamix's recently released ``3-D Ultra Mini-Golf'' is also a high-quality demo. The miniature golf game that features a different theme on each hole is on the Net in one- two- and three-hole versions, all essentially with complete features.

In the simulation/shooter genre, Activision produced a fine demo for the popular ``Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries,'' which gives the player three scenarios from which to choose with full sound and graphics and no time limit. One of their latest titles, ``Interstate 76,'' also has a stunning demo with two scenarios and everything you would find in the game from its infectious '70s funk soundtrack to high resolution graphics.

``In today's market, there are so many titles chasing so few consumer dollars that the need to have a really high-quality demo is something that publishers are becoming aware of ,'' said Henk Hartong, director of marketing at Activision.

In the case of ``Interstate 76,'' which has so far enjoyed critical and popular success, it was part of the strategy all along.

``The demo released only slightly before the game, so the game was basically done and what we had spent a lot of front-end time on was the shell and the interface,'' Hartong said. ``So we put high production values into the front end part of the demo, the artwork the consumer sees before they actually play the game. What we dropped in at the end was the actual game itself.''

In some respects, demos can be better than the games, particularly in an unfamiliar genre. If you like sports programs but are curious about shooters and arcade titles, a demo may give you enough of the experience to satisfy your curiosity and have enough repeat playability for your needs. Some see that as a possible danger.

``What we've begun to feel is it could be we're giving away too much game on the Internet, too much for people to see,'' Embery said. ``And people who are active on the Internet are just going around from one demo to the next demo....

``That's the other side of the coin; the other side of the sword. It's a consumer service. We're a little bit in a quandary about what direction to go.''

The future of demos may change, but in today's marketplace it is becoming more critical for publishers to provide the best possible demo and put it on the Net free of charge.

``We've run surveys on our site and said, `How important is it for you to try a demo of a game before you buy it?' and probably somewhere between 70 percent and 80 percent of the people who answered the survey said it's extremely important to try the demo first,'' Bannister said. ``So, people are getting burned buying games that are no good and they want to check in advance, `Is this worth my $50?'''

Here are some of the best sites for game demo downloads. Many contain a wealth of other information as well, such as reviews, previews, patches, cheats, screen shots and video clips: