guys, i see a lot of people posting simply that "it's a game where you don't see party members because they are a blob", but the various people who wrote that are forgetting to mention
why:
- the entire point of that abstraction is so that the combat system can utilize:
a) rows and ranks that allow the utilization of such things as a vanguard and a rearguard
b) the ability to allow the game to utilize range-dependant values for the items and methods of targeting and attacking
c) and lastly to allow the combat system the freedom to be able to dictate in a grannular fashion every detail regarding an action taken by any unit during combat
they made it a "blob" because, for lack of a better term, in order to achieve the proper balance between complexity and accessability and be able to include the above elements which are usually mostly only seen in over-head-view type "tactical" games which allow the player to see a large "field" of the area and gauge player and enemy unit positioning and things of that sort--
-- thus to get all that shit into their combat system the best way they found to do it in the most minimalistic/abstracted way possible (i.e. the devs were very limited in what they could do) was to forgo altogether this stuff that we as gamers usually take for granted.
you know, like "animations", and "graphics". heh. Honestly this isn't that complicated (to the OP, once again).
My recommendations for playing a (turn-based) blobber and actually enjoying it (if you've never been into them before) are...
- as mentioned already the SNES remakes of Wizardry 1, 2, 3, and 5 are really great. You can emulate them on a fucking tablet and level up your Ninja while taking a massive dump. what the fuck more could one ask for? The snes versions also feature the Super Nintendo's very best 2d Sprite Art ever done for any cartridge, as the Wizardry 1/2/3 cartridge containing the remakes of those 3 scenarios was released in the very last year of the SNES' life-time.
It may sound ironic that I'm sperging over the graphics considering this is supposed to be blobber talk, but seriously, the enemy sprites are fucking
gorgeous in the SNES versions. WIZARDRY 6 (VI) also has a SNES remake, btw, and it also features incredible sprite Art and, needless to say, its graphics put the DOS version of Wiz 6 to shame.
(There are also the very same Wiz remakes for Playstation 1, but they use polygonal graphics and the enemy sprite work is not as good as the SNES versions. There are minor differences between them, mainly that the PS1 versions feature a beautiful string music OST while SNES versions obviously feature chip sounds; also the SNES versions are
slightly easier because they allow thieves to utilize abilities that they didn't have in the original versions and some people say the dice rolls are more forgiving in the snes version but honestly, having personally played through Wiz 1/2/3/5 on snes
and also played through Wiz 1/2/3/4/5 on PS1, the difficulty level is the same IMO).
- might and magic 1/2/3/10 for DOS and 10 obviously for Windows PC. I'm actually a complete newcomer to the MM series and my first one was recently MM10, but downloaded 3 and am enjoying it as well. It's like Wizardry except less dungeons and a lot more LARPing around countrysides. Also unlike Wizardry a lot of people to talk to and do shit for them and there are a lot of non-gameplay areas to visit and explore. Benefit is some consider this to be a truer RPG experience as you're not just traipsing around a dungeon for 100 hours, but the downside is that the game doesn't offer the singularly intensive instances of "dungeoneering" that the Wiz-clone will offer.
Either way, so far I'm enjoying 10 and 3 quite well.
- Paper Sorcerer for the Windows PC is an indie game that came out a few years ago that utilizes Wiz-style blobber gameplay complete with a plot that is a direct homage to the infamous plot of Wiz 4. In Paper Sorcerer you are a human who is mysteriously transported to a strange land, first in imprisoned you soon break free of your cell and acquire the ability to summon "monsters" like vampires, mummys, etc, to function as your party members.
combat is turn-based, and it is NOT grid-based; instead you move in first-person view like an FPS using WASD and you look around with your mouse (although there's not that much need to move the camera around). The game's graphics are in beautiful and distinctive "black and white" style monochrome and the enemy art is top notch by going for a simulacrum of drawings come to life.
- for the NINTENDO DS entertainment system I recommend the Wiz-clone "The Dark Spire", which was actually developed by the same studio who did all of the Wizardry remakes for the Playstation 1. This game was their "dream game" and it was their reward for successfully making the Wizardry remakes. Instead of going on about it, I'll let the pictures talk instead:
- Elminage Gothic for Windows PC was my very first true blobber experience that I played feverishly and it is thanks to this game that I then discovered the Wizardry titles, and now in turn the Wizardry titles led me to discover Bard's Tale and Might and Magic as well as opened my eyes to dozens of RPGs that, in the past, I would not have considered worth playing becasue...
...I used to think "blobbers" were primitive dungeon simulators that didn't contain role-playing, and now I realize how incredibly wrong and incorrect I was; they are instead the truest and most purest distillations of RPG design and their emphasis on rock-solid game play and its mechanical systems make "blobbers" games that are not only good RPGs but also good
video games that stand the test of time and never become tiring to play because the point of playing them is to enjoy their game play and not, usually, their "story".
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btw, don't assume (to the OP) that "oh, so all blobbers are like the stuff aweigh is posting about int hose pictures". Far from it; I am simply making what I personally consider
good blobbers for
a beginning player to dive into their mechanics.
This post is not meant to try to argue or whatever that THESE are the best ones, or whatever the fuck. Like I said: these make for good first-blobbers, IMO, of the Wizardry-clone style.
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real time blobbers are something I don't enjoy much, but I plan to someday devote my energy and will into "understanding" them. I'll leave it to the RT blobber lovers to post about those, though I assume a great RT blobber for a beggining player would, of course, be:
- Grimrock 1/2; I tried both of these and I enjoyed the time I spent playing Grimrock 1
much more than Grimrock 2. I preferred Grimrock 1's stronger focus on good dungeon design and it offered better and more interesting navigation and exploration than Grimrock 2 which instead, in a weird direction, barely features dungeons at all and has a lot of walking through large, empty, badly-designed "over world" areas.
I have been told that I should play Eye of the Beholder for my first true RT blobber, and I'll probably do just that eventually.
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There are also blobbers that are neither real-time NOR are they Wiz-derivatives, such as the Etrian Odyssey series or the aforementioned 7 MAGES blobber that V_K as written extensively about.
Also D.W. Bradley's unique style of blobber design, such as in the games Wizardry 7 and the game Wizards and Warriors, feature an... "interesting" blend of classic Wizardry but turned into something I can't really truly describe, but basically boils down to: dungeons, overworld areas, towns, lots of puzzles, magic systems, races, classes, etc.
Bradley's 2 best blobbers, Wiz 7 and WaW, aim to do it all, as you can read in the previous sentence. In my opinion he fails at it, but a lot of people disagree with this opinion and love those two blobbers.
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There is also an upcoming fresh-off-the-oven Western-made one called Starcrawlers that releases in mid JUNE. It's turn-based, grid-based, and I played the beta build recently and it is very enjoyable.
move with WASD, look around w/ mouse, engage in turn-based combat, map out and navigate "dungeons" though in this case they are space ships usually and the "twist" is that there are factions in the game, 3 i think, and depending on which missions you complete you'll align yourself with one of those factions and thus (potentially/theoretically) the game will provide at least 3 different experiences.