.

[sigard]

.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

 

[Bohrain]

Resign from using the b-word in the vicinity of Atlantico so that his delicate empath soul doesn't get triggered.

 

[Thac0]

A good time

 

[Falksi]

Ur mom

 

[Grauken]

All valid answers

 

[Atlantico]

With reference to discussion that is happening in this thread:
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/rpg-codex-top-ten-vintage-rpgs-poll-results.141815/
I decided to create this thread.
Have fun.

It's a name some people use for a Dungeon Master-like game. That's all.

Blob is a term used to describe player controlled party which moves as a whole unit and takes space of a one grid tile in a grid based enviroment. Blobber is a game that uses this kind of application.

So it's like Ultima V, I see. What a useful description! In that game you control a party which moves as a whole unit and takes space of one grid tile in a grid based environment. What a useful definition!

 

[Grauken]

Ultima V

Top view or not, blob ia a blob.

Not if the combat is top-down where you can order individual party members around a field, hence Ultima 5 has blobber-like moments but isn't one in general

 

[JarlFrank]

- first person
- you control at least two characters, single character is not a blobber
- your multiple characters don't move individually but as a blob
- grid movement is common but not required (later M&Ms and Wiz8 are also blobbers but have free movement)

Basically a first person RPG where you move as if you controlled a single character directly, but you actually control a party of multiple characters.

 

[Atlantico]

Ultima V

Top view or not, blob ia a blob.

Exactly. thank you!

"Blobber" is a terrible term and incredibly bad and unhelpful.

So is "gridder" for that matter and any other homebrew "witticisms".

first person
- you control at least two characters, single character is not a blobber
- your multiple characters don't move individually but as a blob
- grid movement is common but not required (later M&Ms and Wiz8 are also blobbers but have free movement)

Basically a first person RPG where you move as if you controlled a single character directly, but you actually control a party of multiple characters.

What happens if you solo a "blobber" with one character, what is it then? Why not just call it a Dungeon Master-like game?

 

[Grauken]

Ultima V

Top view or not, blob ia a blob.

Exactly. thank you!

"Blobber" is a terrible term and incredibly bad and unhelpful.

So is "gridder" for that matter and any other homebrew "witticisms".

first person
- you control at least two characters, single character is not a blobber
- your multiple characters don't move individually but as a blob
- grid movement is common but not required (later M&Ms and Wiz8 are also blobbers but have free movement)

Basically a first person RPG where you move as if you controlled a single character directly, but you actually control a party of multiple characters.

What happens if you solo a "blobber" with one character, what is it then? Why not just call it a Dungeon Master-like game?

Wizardry-type games are also blobbers

 

[Atlantico]

Wizardry-type games are also bobbers

I see what you're saying. That would make a whole lot of jprgs "blobbers" as well, wouldn't it?

That being said, I would not group Dungeon Master and Wizardry together as the same type of game.

 

[Grauken]

Wizardry-type games are also bobbers

I see what you're saying. That would make a whole lot of jprgs "blobbers" as well, wouldn't it?

That being said, I would not group Dungeon Master and Wizardry together as the same type of game.

jRPGs in general lack the first person perspective, hence no

Dungeon Master-type games are basically a real-time spinoff from Wizardry-type games

 

[Oberon]

Wait why don't incels like the term blobber now?
It's just a name :/

 

[Grauken]

Not if the combat is top-down where you can order individual party members around a field

- first person

So, blob based movement first person dungeon crawler with isometric view tactical combat where party members can move and act individually would be a blobber or not? I saw this kind of game in the making, it's somewhere here on codex, forgot the name, tho.

They aren't

 

[JarlFrank]

Not if the combat is top-down where you can order individual party members around a field

- first person

So, blob based movement first person dungeon crawler with isometric view tactical combat where party members can move and act individually would be a blobber or not? I saw this kind of game in the making, it's somewhere here on codex, forgot the name, tho.

The Gold Box games are basically that.

You have blobber movement and tactical isometric combat.
The game is not a blobber, but it has a blobber element: the first person exploration.
Same with the Realms of Arkania/Das Schwarze Auge trilogy.

A pure blobber has the entire game play out in first person: Might and Magic, Wizardry, Dungeon Master, Bard's Tale, Eye of the Beholder, etc.
Gold Box and RoA can be considered hybrid blobbers.

 

[JarlFrank]

"Blobber" is basically a convenience term coined on the Codex (IIRC, I believe it emerged here as a common term during the early 2010s) to refer to games where you control a party in a first person game.
It's a more convenient thing to say than "first person party-based dungeon crawler", or explicitly referring to "Wizardry clones" or "M&M clones" or "Dungeon Master clones" or "games that share the movement of Wizardry, Might and Magic, and Dungeon Master, which is the one defining feature that serves as a similarity between the three branches of CRPG lineage, while other mechanics might differ (wego TB vs igougo TB vs real-time)".

Blobber is much shorter and snappier.

 

[Grauken]

Found it, it's Archquest.
Watch from 17:56 to see what I was talking about:

Same principle as the Goldbox games, it has blobber elements but isn't fully one, so in general would not be considered a blobber. You can still call it a dungeon crawler

 

[Modron]

Wasn't blobber a precodex grognard term? The real question though is where does the blobber end and begin. I would argue that Wizardry 8 isn't technically a blobber since your characters can occupy different places of your choice on the battlefield, left and right, forward, back, and it has been a while but wasn't there a center position as well? These positions determined what enemies could or could not be engaged in melee.

Then I like to ask why Wasteland isn't considered a blobber for extra fun.

 

[Grauken]

Wasn't blobber a precodex grognard term? The real question though is where does the blobber end and begin. I would argue that Wizardry 8 isn't technically a blobber since your characters can occupy different places of your choice on the battlefield, left and right, forward, back, and it has been a while but wasn't there a center position as well? These positions determined what enemies could or could not be engaged in melee.

Then I like to ask why Wasteland isn't considered a blobber for extra fun.

re Wiz 8, it's still a blob allthough you can shift positions inside of the blob

re Wasteland, no first-person perspective and you can move characters around the field (though you don't see it, its all text descriptions if I remember correctly)

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Wizardry 8 isn't technically a blobber since your characters can occupy different places of your choice on the battlefield, left and right, forward, back, and it has been a while but wasn't there a center position as well?

So was Dungeon Master...

 

[Grauken]

Oh yeah, forgot about the ol' Gold Box. That's why it's so confusing. The blob part. We had a blobbers, now it turned out we have also a hybrid blobbers which are not pure blobbers, because the lack of first person combat.
So, I'm kind of wondering are games with first person combat also a hybrid blobbers?

you mean FPS in general?

 

[wishbonetail]

Blobbers are hilarious. Played MM6 not so long ago, couldn't get this image outta my head.

 

[BruceVC]

"Blobber" is basically a convenience term coined on the Codex (IIRC, I believe it emerged here as a common term during the early 2010s) to refer to games where you control a party in a first person game.
It's a more convenient thing to say than "first person party-based dungeon crawler", or explicitly referring to "Wizardry clones" or "M&M clones" or "Dungeon Master clones" or "games that share the movement of Wizardry, Might and Magic, and Dungeon Master, which is the one defining feature that serves as a similarity between the three branches of CRPG lineage, while other mechanics might differ (wego TB vs igougo TB vs real-time)".

Blobber is much shorter and snappier.

I am glad you mentioned its a Codex colloquialism because I had never really heard of it until I became active on these forums 4-5 months ago
I like your description, it makes sense

 

[Atlantico]

Dungeon Master-type games are basically a real-time spinoff from Wizardry-type games

OK the what sets Skyrim apart from blobbers, other than there is just one character being controlled in Skyrim?

What if you're only controlling one character in Dungeon Master? Does it stop being a blobber?

This term is terribad.