Editorial Back in my day we used to fight rats!

[shihonage]

I clicked on the article because I thought it would be interesting.

Then I got to "You see, in Oblivion, there IS a sense of adventure. Want to know why? Because the environment is immersible. It's beautiful.", and ragequit.

 

[janjetina]

I'd like to immerse writer's head in a pool of sulphuric acid, to see if it's immersible.

 

[Gragt]

Impossible, it's already immersed in the writer's own ass.

 

[Jaesun]

Impossible, it's already immersed in the writer's own ass.

 

[bishop7]

This guy is a simpleton, regardless of what age he is.

He doesn't like to read. A lot of his whining involves the sheer amount of text you have to read with some of the older games.

He doesn't have a good memory. In fact, I think there might be something wrong with him -- perhaps ADD or brain damage. He had to constantly write things down while playing Baldur's Gate. I could probably play the game and nail the vast majority of the sidequests without looking at the journal and my short-term memory is notoriously awful.

He's imcompetent. After he left Candlekeep in BG, he couldn't survive. That mutated gibberling sure is a tough opponent! Yeah, I don't think I need to provide any more examples. Moving right along...

His opinions are nonsensical. He uses the difference between modern and classic FPS as a metaphore to support his arguments. He feels that being able to overcome any challenge without customizing your character to be able to tackle those challenges (eg. becoming a master thief without thief skills) is variety.

A nice surprise is that he has apparently played some of the classics. He couldn't have read about them, i'm sure the sheer amount of text would have discourage him.

 

[Lockkaliber]

I don't feel like reading oodles and oodles of his text until my eyes are bloodshot. He should hire voice actors.

Come to think of it, his site's user interface is godfuckingawfully ugly, and I get no directions whatsoever on how to browse it.

 

[Luzur]

depends more on what games you grew up with , i guess.
but if you where born in or later then 1989 it prob means that you are one of the Generation Playstation.

Quoted for spelling. And games are tied to date of birth, so they're kind of the same thing anyway.

spelling? did i spell wrong somewhere? (i got quite a cold right now with high fever so im kinda slow atm.)

As someone mentioned before, some RPGs of old required people to take out a sheet of paper and a pencil and actually write down where things were, who people are, or even draw maps, because the game lacked the details to provide such things.

I'm three years older than him and he makes me feel like I'm a fucking dinosaur. I want to stab him with a knife, cut him up and eat him. Holy fucking shit...

ive done all that "draw your own maps, scribble your own clues etc" troughout the years and if anything i felt it immersed you more since you had to pay attention on drawing your maps correctly and read every text you come across so you didnt miss any clue.

 

[orao]

Sure, he's an idiot, but in how many different ways is it necessary to phrase it?
3 pages of insults? Pah.
Also, who doesn't agree good graphics are better than sprites and 2d backgrounds? The problem is most of the time those graphics aren't accompanied by deep, engaging gameplay, there's no meat to back it up, it's hollow.
Most of you want to hang on to the past, but the truth is most games suck today, and most games sucked then. Very few games are any good.

 

[poocolator]

This guy is a simpleton, regardless of what age he is.

He doesn't like to read. A lot of his whining involves the sheer amount of text you have to read with some of the older games.

He doesn't have a good memory. In fact, I think there might be something wrong with him -- perhaps ADD or brain damage. He had to constantly write things down while playing Baldur's Gate. I could probably play the game and nail the vast majority of the sidequests without looking at the journal and my short-term memory is notoriously awful.

He's imcompetent. After he left Candlekeep in BG, he couldn't survive. That mutated gibberling sure is a tough opponent! Yeah, I don't think I need to provide any more examples. Moving right along...

His opinions are nonsensical. He uses the difference between modern and classic FPS as a metaphore to support his arguments. He feels that being able to overcome any challenge without customizing your character to be able to tackle those challenges (eg. becoming a master thief without thief skills) is variety.

A nice surprise is that he has apparently played some of the classics. He couldn't have read about them, i'm sure the sheer amount of text would have discourage him.

Well said!
His article reeks of pubescent angst and wild, hormonal discharge. This guy is like an e-nerd-emo, ho ho.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

Most of you want to hang on to the past, but the truth is most games suck today, and most games sucked then. Very few games are any good.

Yeah, but the problem is when somebody takes a new game that sucks and say it's better than an old game that's good.

and anyway, sprites and 2d background can be good graphics.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Sure, he's an idiot, but in how many different ways is it necessary to phrase it?
3 pages of insults? Pah.
Also, who doesn't agree good graphics are better than sprites and 2d backgrounds? The problem is most of the time those graphics aren't accompanied by deep, engaging gameplay, there's no meat to back it up, it's hollow.
Most of you want to hang on to the past, but the truth is most games suck today, and most games sucked then. Very few games are any good.

Well, I'd like to stab the little fucker but I guess that'd prove him right, somehow. Oh, those savage dinosaurs with their pens and their three minute short-time memory spans!

Also: give me examples of these "most games" you mention. Maybe I wanna stab you too? Let's explore all possibilities.

 

[mondblut]

Also, who doesn't agree good graphics are better than sprites and 2d backgrounds?

Who said "good graphics" and "sprites and 2d backgrounds" are polar opposites?

Good graphics is graphics that look good, nothing more to that.

See any "bad graphics" in there? I surely don't.

 

[BearBomber]

See any "bad graphics" in there? I surely don't.

>>TOEE character models are fugly. But you're right I've been playing Anvil of Dawn and Stonekeep recently and I've realised that despite using ancient technology they look better than Oblivion. IMO if you wanted to show superiority of 2d graphic you shoul've posted Neverwinter Nights and Baldurs Gate screenshots for comparison.

 

[Shannow]

Also, who doesn't agree good graphics are better than sprites and 2d backgrounds?

You try to create a dichotomy that doesn't exist. It invalidates your opinions. It even invalidates your existence. You do not exist.

 

[SuicideBunny]

You try to create a dichotomy that doesn't exist. It invalidates your opinions. It even invalidates your existence. You do not exist.

whom are you talking to?

 

[Crolug]

You try to create a dichotomy that doesn't exist. It invalidates your opinions. It even invalidates your existence. You do not exist.

whom are you talking to?

I suppose he was talking to himself...

 

[Irxy]

Daggerfall is a shitty game, but it's very difficult to get lost in it.

It's just a bunch of standard modules connected together, and you have a detailed minimap that you can track all over to find where you started.

Are you serious? I still remember how I wandered into one of its huge randomized dungeons without setting a recall spell - and after about 7 hours of walking around it I still wasn't able to find the quest target nor the exit and eventually had to reload. A whole weekend wasted on some unimportant random quest. Daggerfall has some of the most confusing dungeons I've ever seen in computer games, with zero sense design and countless 3d layers of interlocking corridors and teleporters (thanks to which the map didn't help at times at all). Still, it was fun.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Sure, he's an idiot, but in how many different ways is it necessary to phrase it?
3 pages of insults? Pah.
Also, who doesn't agree good graphics are better than sprites and 2d backgrounds? The problem is most of the time those graphics aren't accompanied by deep, engaging gameplay, there's no meat to back it up, it's hollow.
Most of you want to hang on to the past, but the truth is most games suck today, and most games sucked then. Very few games are any good.

There was a reason CRPG's lagged behind other game types in the graphics department, way back when (except for wargames, for much the same reasons); They needed the development time and computer power to put in the guts of the game, while graphics were secondary. They had a lot more going on under the hood. Somewhere along the way, this has changed. RPG's are expected to have excellent graphics, while they get more simplistic as the years go by.

RPG's were not meant for everyone. Unfortunately companies would rather they were for everyone.

 

[orao]

Alright I was a bit rash. Some pixel art is positively beautiful. In any case, my point stands, very few good games exist.
Let's see, as far as RPGs go, I'd say Fallout 1 + 2, Baldur's Gates, later Might and Magics excluding the last one, ..., Dwarf Fortress!, and a few others, hell maybe even as many as 20. But the vast majority of what is produced is crap.

 

[zioburosky13]

Some people have no respect for old but goldie stuff...

 

[mondblut]

There was a reason CRPG's lagged behind other game types in the graphics department, way back when (except for wargames, for much the same reasons);

Well, this is far from truth. Ultima Underworld was a first modern first person engine, vastly superior to Wolfenstein 3D and even to Doom (having elements of true threedimensional layout - in form of bridges and water beneath). Ultima 7 was the first game which wouldn't possibly fit into those 640 kilobytes that would be enough for anyone. RPGs like M&M4 were among the first games to introduce digitized speech (not exactly graphics, but falls under same umbrella). Overall, high-profile RPGs in late 80s-first half of 90s were easily on par technically with their peers from other genres, and more often than not were huge technical achievements of their age.

Somewhere along the way, this has changed. RPG's are expected to have excellent graphics, while they get more simplistic as the years go by.

The thing that really changed is amount of details expected to be modelled and animated. 100 vs 10 two-frame sprites wasn't that big a difference, an average RPG developer could easily allow himself a luxury of the former. But 100 vs 10 high-poly models with scores of animations tailored for several different skeletons is a tremendous difference measured in dozens of man-months.

This, and the target auditory of other genres multiplied like thousandfold, while RPG fanbase hardly changed at all. Back in 1990, you could make an RPG for 200k and sell 50k copies for 40$, or you could make a game of a lesser genre for 100k and sell 25k copies for 40$. Hardly a difference. 20 years later, you can make a game of a lesser genre for 5m and sell 1m copies for 40$, or you can make an RPG for 5m and, well, sell 50k copies for 40$. The arithmetics are obvious.

 

[Luzur]

RPGs like M&M4 were among the first games to introduce digitized speech (not exactly graphics, but falls under same umbrella)

actually, M&M 3 was first with digitized speech with the intro with Sheltem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aVds_czOo0 (amiga intro but it is the same on PC)

 

[poocolator]

Daggerfall is a shitty game, but it's very difficult to get lost in it.

It's just a bunch of standard modules connected together, and you have a detailed minimap that you can track all over to find where you started.

Are you serious? I still remember how I wandered into one of its huge randomized dungeons without setting a recall spell - and after about 7 hours of walking around it I still wasn't able to find the quest target nor the exit and eventually had to reload. A whole weekend wasted on some unimportant random quest. Daggerfall has some of the most confusing dungeons I've ever seen in computer games, with zero sense design and countless 3d layers of interlocking corridors and teleporters (thanks to which the map didn't help at times at all). Still, it was fun.

I don't see how wandering around a meaningless dungeon for 7 hours would be fun... but to each his own, amirite?

 

[Gnidrologist]

Everyone is aware that to be successful in RPG games, you need a strategy and execute it to perfection. The same thing applies for online poker games, especially in texas hold'em. There are also some reckless players in RPG games that just ruin the fun for everyone. I would believe they can do well in an online casino by trying out their luck.

 

[Shannow]

Also, who doesn't agree good graphics are better than sprites and 2d backgrounds?

You try to create a dichotomy that doesn't exist. It invalidates your opinions. It even invalidates your existence. You do not exist.

whom are you talking to?

I suppose he was talking to himself...

Your readings "skills" make you two (SuicideBunny and Crolug for the retarded readers) look pretty stupid. But hey, at least I don't have to bother to come up with any creative invective. Thanks for that.