Remember the days when the only way to connect with your fellow gamers was to be in the same room? Whether it was showing off your custom Excitebike track or networking a group of PCs in your parents' living room, connecting with other players was decidedly local experience. Today, on-line multiplayer allows us to play simultaneously with dozens of people in as many countries...as long as the connection is stable. This week, inspired by articles from Chris Dahlen and Phill Cameron, we discuss the wonderful world of routers, ports, lag, and the culture surrounding on-line gaming. Feel free to reach through your firewall and leave a comment with your thoughts on the past, present, and future of inter-networked. Some discussion starters:- What responsibility do developers and publishers have in terms of connection issues and standardization? Would you pay more for increased stability?- What role does a game's community play in alleviating or normalizing connection issues?- Could an asynchronous multiplayer system enjoy the same kind of success that real-time multiplayer does?To listen to the podcast: - Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed. - Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format. - Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.Show notes:- Run time: 30 min 14 sec- "Trying to Make a Connection," by Phill Cameron, via Game Set Watch- "Will We Ever Game Against Mars?" by Chris Dahlen, via Edge- Music provided by Brad Sucks