Tech: WWII, The Silly Version

The best explanation of the term "gamey" can probably be had by playing "Battlefield 1942," Digital Illusions' ambitious WWII FPS computer game released in 2002:



Looks great in theory, doesn't it? Land, sea, and air combat all combining together in one exciting melee. You could pilot a bomber, blast apart a bunker with a tank, fight as an infantrymen in urban combat, and even sail a battleship. The Internet being the Internet, though, this was what usually happened in a typical Battlefield 1942 match:



You'd spawn on board a Japanese aircraft carrier. All your "teammates" would be there, too, instead of going out and fighting the enemy. The reason? Everybody wanted to fly the airplanes, everybody camped the carrier.

An airplane appears! You jump in, and start accelerating for takeoff. Suddenly, the clattering of bullets rings off your hull. Has the enemy penetrated your aircraft carrier? Nope, your own teammates are shooting your plane down - they want to fly the airplane, and destroying yours (with you in it) is the quickest way to get the plane to respawn on the carrier.

You respawn, and all bets are off. You frag the teammate who killed you, but this starts a firefight on the deck of the carrier. For one absurd moment, a half-dozen Japanese sailors are shooting at each other over what is essentially empty space. You get killed.

You respawn, and decide not to go for the plane again. Another player grabs it, and takes off, managing to evade the deadly fire of his teammates. The Allies, unfortunately, have a flak cannon aimed at the plane, and both pilot and vehicle explode about ten seconds into the flight.

Another plane spawns, and another player attempts to fly it. Unfortunately, the pilot does not know the controls for controlling the plane, and he quickly nosedives into the carrier, which causes enough damage to actually sink the aircraft carrier. You abandon ship as the carrier sinks into the sea.

And that's Battlefield 1942 in a nutshell.