Bob.Nordling@f13.n396.z1.fidonet.org (Bob Nordling) (04/26/91)
The GAMER Project Becomes An International User Group Place: All Networks The GAMER Project(tm) has become an international user group promoting the entertainment and educational qualities of the Apple Macintosh(tm) by offering support for game enthusiasts and educators/parents, user groups, shareware authors, and commercial developers. The bi-monthly disk-based magazine published by the GAMER Project hopes to fill a niche that the corporate oriented magazines neglect, namely the Home & School Mac(tm). A focus on the "Home Mac" includes reviewing and exploring entertainment software whether it be game software proper or pre-school software to amuse/teach the kids. The "Home Mac" involves exploring utilities to enhancement non-computer hobbies, such as software for organizing/cataloging one's album/CD, book, coin, stamp, videotape, and other collections. There are hundreds of shareware and commercial programs available for the Mac which turn one's Mac into everything from a "home planetarium" to a "pinball machine" and these types of programs will not be neglected. A focus on the "School Mac" includes reviewing and exploring educational software for all all subjects and all ages, whether it be the fundamentals of reading, grade school/high school math, college physics, or references on art masterpieces, beer breweries, or orchestral instruments. Also teaching aids for educators are given coverage. Representatives of the GAMER Project can be contacted on the major networks: America Online(tm), BIX(tm), CompuServe(tm), Fidonet GEnie(tm), Usenet/Internet. Representatives have already also been established in the United States and the United Kingdom to gather materials for inclusion in this publication (Information Managers), and distribute the publication and software associated with it (Network Distributors). Representatives are being sought in other countries as well. Benefits Game Enthusiasts and Educators/Parents benefit through access to the GAMER Project's bi-monthly publication, the Home & School Mac*, which features articles, reviews, interviews covering Macintosh entertertainment and educational/children's issues, information not readily found anywhere else. A compilation of all six issues is published each year under the title H&S Mac: EARbook , and this publication also includes the "Excellence in Amusement Roster" in which awards are granted to the year's best new entertaiment, game, educational, and children's programs. The best programs from previous years are also acknowledged. Home & School Mac and the H&S Mac: EARbook are distributed on the major networks, and may be placed on Bulletin Boards. Non-Profit User Groups benefit since newsletter editors have permission to reprint the articles and reviews contained within Home & School Mac for the enjoyment of their readers. Software librarians of non-profit user groups can distribute issues of Home & School Mac on their Disk-of-the-Month or include them within their shareware libraries. Shareware Authors (of game and educational/children's software) benefit by having a centralized means of distributing their software to the widest possible market. Such software can be mailed to the Shareware Distribution Manager for prompt circulation on America Online, BIX, CompuServe, Fidonet, GEnie, and Usenet/Internet (and soon international distribution as well). Plans are in process for a GAMER Project BBS on which shareware authors would have access to a private "Shareware Authors Roundtable" to discuss techniques of programming and distribution with other authors. Also the GAMER Project BBS could be a central means of providing support for programs, as well as gathering bug reports and suggestions for improvments or new games. Instead of mailing upgrades and new programs to the GAMER Project's "Shareware Distribution Manager" or to the individual "Network Distributors" for rapid widespread circulation, shareware authors could opt to upload the software to the GAMER Project BBS instead. Shareware authors should also inquire about the 3 month complimentary "passes" to the GAMER Project BBS which they will be able to give to those who register their programs, as well as coupons worth $3 off the membership dues of the GAMER Project which likewise can be given to those who register their programs (*which have a minimum shareware fee of $3). Should the GAMER Project's revenues exceed expenses, a yearly GAMER Project "Excellence in Shareware Programming" award in the categories of entertainment and education will be presented -- this would be cold hard cash and a piece of game/education software the honorees would most like to have. Commercial Developers (of game and educational/kid's software) benefit by having a Mac publication dedicated to games and education in which reviews of their software and information about new products and upgrades can be disseminated. The sending of a review copy of new products (entertainment, educational, children's software) to the GAMER Project for review by one of its staff will insure that a review is included in an upcoming issue of the newsletter. However many articles/reviews will be included from materials gathered/submitted from sources/members worldwide as well. Plans are in process for a GAMER Project BBS to which official representatives from commercial developers of entertainment and education will have access to offer support for their products as well as post press releases and news of upgrades and new releases. The Membership of the GAMER Project benefits by being mailed 6 issues of the organization's publication, Home & School Mac. On the same disk as the best shareware games/education software which has been released during the previous two month is included in compressed form (Compactor self-extracting archives) so that 1200k - 1500k of software can be distributed with each issue of the disk-based newsletter. Finally, on the GAMER Project BBS, the membership will have access on a daily basis to a collection of the latest shareware entertainment, game, educational, and children's software for downloading, as well as message b