Pixelated Lag
circa April, 1999
I'm following my ex-roommate Andrew over some rooftops. It was nighttime. As desperately as I tried to keep up with him, he kept gaining ground, because he had a better connection and I was experiencing a lot of netlag. He finally waited for me at the top of fire escape. He jumped to the next building over. I hesitated to follow, but then I gave it a try. My worst fear was realized as I experienced some packet loss at the critical moment of actually making my jump, and I slipped over the edge. I reloaded and tried again. I made it.
I got into a boat and paddled down the river, the city lit up on either side. The city skyline lost resolution the farther I looked, as if to save processing time. Not blurry, just less detailed, and using fewer colors.
posted by Phlegm at 11/24/2003