The NEC AD OS Poster #1 (2600x1600 .jpg) ▼ and NEC AD OS Poster #2 (2600x1606 .jpg) ▼ below take a very familiar metaphor (the OS for a desktop PC) and playfully reimagine it for a PCE-centric universe. The icons, the user-interface and even the file structure revolve around NEC, the PCE and its library of software…
NEC AD OS Poster #1. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE #1, January 1993
NEC AD OS Poster #2. SOURCE: Gekkan PCE #2, February 1993
FASHION BY BAZARU: NEC has its own mascot (Bazzy!), so why shouldn't you accessorize your wardrope with cute, banana-yellow Bazaru de Gozaru Duffle Bags? Were four different sizes really necessary? Yes, they were…for the complete PCE lifestyle. Bazzy said so.
LOGICALLY SOUND: The logic of the user-interface is consistent. First, the entire OS is color-coded. Blue desktop = hardware. Red desktop = software. Simple.
More importantly, the OS is easy to navigate. If cousin Bazzy complained that he was not making par with a standard TurboPad in Power Golf 2, you could give him directions (NEC> DUO> PERIPHERALS> PCE MOUSE) over the phone to help him improve his game. Of course, instead of guiding Bazzy to the PCE Mouse, you could just as easily direct him to the other peripherals (e.g., Virtual Cushion, MB128, Infrared Wireless TurboPad)…
COLOR-CODED: Blue desktop = Hardware
TRIVIA: (A) "PC-Engine" with a hyphen! I no longer have to qualify my use of a hyphen at tg-16.com, ha! (B) I thought only North Americans referred to the standard controller as a "TurboPad"? (C) Is the last item in the PERIPHERALS window a text box labeled "Others"? (D) In the vertical menu bar, only one icon baffles me. I have deemed it a PC-FX, but what is it actually supposed to represent?
CHARMING DETAILS: The only ugly thing about this OS is the 3-D mouse pointer (what an abomination!). Otherwise, the aesthetics are quite nice and forward-thinking (even modern OS's could benefit from these)…
• Soft, rounded edges on windows/icons. In 1993, most OS's (MS Windows 3.1, Mac OS 7, AmigaOS, GEOS, Atari TOS, etc.) had sharp, right-angles everywhere.
• Cute, circular "close buttons" on window tabs.
• Elegant drop shadow to create depth.
• Clean, vertical menu bar. Convenient for right-handed folks! The bane of southpaws.
Although the first advertisement displays ten titles in a window entitled "NEW SOFTWARE LINE-UP", the second ad, with multiple overlapping windows, more creatively extends the OS metaphor by illustrating how entries from the software database could be accessed for Metamor Jupiter (NEC> SOFTWARES*> STG> METAMORJUPITER) and for Magicoal (NEC> SOFTWARES*> ARPG> MAGICOAL). How cute are the software filenames? Apparently, NEC AD OS only supports uppercase letters and forbids special symbols/spaces in file names.
COLOR-CODED: Red desktop = Software
*TYPO: Unfortunately, the tab is mislabeled "SOFTWARES".
MYSTERY: What genre is supposed to be represented by a checkerboard and the obtuse label "BDG"?
PSY•S: What?! I never realized that the soundtrack to Metamor Jupiter (SCD, 01.22.1993) was, apparently, by Psy•S, a Japanese progressive pop/rock band. Masaya Matsuura, the main creative force behind Psy•S, would create PaRappa the Rapper (12.06.1996) on PlayStation nearly four years after composing the soundtrack to Metamor Jupiter on PC-Engine.
PICK A METAPHOR: Perhaps my interpretation of these advertisements was overreaching—did I use the right metaphor? Instead of representing an entire operating system, the ads could simply be a metaphor for a computer program or an application (a digital catalog of PCE hardware and software, for example). Both metaphors are apt, and both work. However, it is far more thrilling to embrace my original interpretation—however grandiose it may be—and imagine a world where every aspect of life revolves around PCE. Or does that frighten you? Is there any room in the menu for additional buttons (Nintendo, Sega, Atari, Sharp, Fujitsu, etc.) next to the prominent one for NEC?
Continued below…
Table of Contents for Gekkan PC Engine #01 (February 1993)▲
- 01 Cover: Gorireo as Manji Maru in Tengai Makyou II. Artist: Masami Esaka.
- 02 Advertisement: PCE Mouse, MB132, Virtual Cushion, IR Port+Pad, Metamor Jupiter, Magicoal, Bazaru de Gozaru Duffle Bags. 02 03
- 04 Advertisement: Super Darius II, Monster Maker, Rainbow Islands, Sotsugyou II Neo Generation. 04 05
- 06 Top Ten. 06 07
- 08 Table of Contents. 08 09
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- HELP: If you can translate the Table of Contents (or any other part of the magazine) into english, please contact us! Your efforts benefit all TG-16/PCE fans. Thank you!
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