Before all the internet cafes, I had experienced online multiplayer at home. My family had bought our first PC during my early junior high school years. [we were relatively late on the home PC thing]. I have had some basic hands-on experience in elementary school with an Apple Computer and it's 5.25" floppy drives.
I had a school project and my mother drove me to Staples to buy some materials. On this rack was a wrapped Warcraft II jewel case. It was only $15 dollars as opposed to the boxed versions for $40. I begged my mother to buy it for me. She was reluctant, but I urged her because it was much cheaper than the boxed version. I didn't understand it at the time but... it was shareware! Was I pissed when I got past the second mission.
Over time, I gather the bits and pieces of the definitive Warcraft II collection: Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and it's expansion, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. I began 'glittering prizes' my way through the campaign. [Warcraft II is where I learned to type, forget Mavis Beacon!]. Soon, I began construction my own maps until I expanded my Warcraft II harddrive footprint to 500 megabytes. That's over five times the space required for a fresh installation!
I hooked up with a friend, Dan, in church to play an online session of Warcraft II. We both had a slow dial-up connection. Setting it up took over 40 minutes. I don't recall much of the match, but I remember being carried by him through out. When the game started on the "Gold Separates East From West" map, he was in the one o'clock position, with me and the computer at two o'clock and five o'clock position, respectively. Dan played Humans and I was Orc. The computer was also Orc. It was a two on one comp stomp.
[The game balance was biased towards Orc.
Orc grunt > Human Footman.
Dragon > Two sequential Gryphons!]
I was excited as I started laying down my town hall. After my peon had finished building the vast building all by himself, I sent him to labor on a farm. I believed I went to rush a tower for defense, but I was interrupted by an enemy Orc Grunt. I had no defenses, just enough peon meat to satisfy the enemie's axe. My back up came in the form footmen. Dan had sent all his available units to stop the massacre at my base. He told me to tower up, to which I did. Victory followed soon after.
Orcs appealed to me for two reasons. One because they were overpowered. Back then, I was a pansy and I hated to lose. The total opposite of what I believe in now. [I refuse to play anything on easy difficulty, I rather never beat a game than win on easier difficulties.] The other reason why I chose them was because they were BADASS. Not some pansy [ironic, lol] humans. The Orcs were awesome back then and they still are now.
