# Am I strange?



## mahmer (Apr 19, 2005)

There are lots of new generation computer games(high graphics,good sound quality)but i cant stand them,i still play duke 1 or mortal combat 1 or other old games,i dont know why im like this but i miss lucas arts days my disc driver my 1 mb hardisk my vga display card ((((((((((


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## Frey Slayer (Apr 20, 2005)

Lol
You know, the pure excitement I felt in discovering the easter egg in Atari's "Adventure" has never yet been equaled. Just goes to show ya...........


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## Rane Longfox (Apr 20, 2005)

Go retro...


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## Leto (Apr 20, 2005)

mahmer said:
			
		

> There are lots of new generation computer games(high graphics,good sound quality)but i cant stand them,i still play duke 1 or mortal combat 1 or other old games,i dont know why im like this but i miss lucas arts days my disc driver my 1 mb hardisk my vga display card ((((((((((



Nope. My favorite ages of empire is still the very first one. 
Sound quality and graphics is just one part of the game. Story, easy to play, fun  it procures is also a major part. Some oldies still got it, some new ones has it too. Let's enjoy them all !


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## Lacedaemonian (Apr 20, 2005)

I played most of my old games until completion but these days I very rarely complete a game as I get bored of them too easy.  *Wings *on the Amiga was perhaps one of the greatest games I have ever played, they have not made a flight combat game anywhere near as good since then.


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## Neon (Apr 21, 2005)

I love the new stuff, but nothing will ever replace the Nintendo or SNES for me.


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## Rahl Windsong (Apr 21, 2005)

Computer games are suffering from the "I can do that, only better" syndrome, and thus they are now pretty much all the same. Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) suffer from this syndrome horribly. Ever since the original EverQuest was released, nearly all developers have tried to make their version of EQ, only better. 

Even Ultima Online, which was a much better game, eventually fell into the EQ clone syndrome when they made the game more friendly by making an exact duplicate of the game world only in the duplicate world you could not attack other players. If there are no real consequences for your actions then there is no real fun, and developers have completely forgotten this. You don't have to be masochistic about the consequences but there must be consquence for your actions. 

Take World of Warcraft, immensely popular but once again the developers of taken the no consequnce route. This week they added in a patch that is called the "Honor System" and if you kill other players you gain honor. But wait! There is no dishonor! If say you are level 60 (the level cap) and you go around killing level 40 players you gain honor and rewards with no consequence for your dishonorable actions. You can even camp the persons corpse so when they come back to it to resurect you can kill them again and again and again gaining more and more honor. You can even camp the spirit healer at the graveyard and do the same thing, how does this resemble anything about honor? How can there be honor when there is no dishonor? Its impossible and the developers don't have a clue, they say "give it a chance" they are complete fools. Lord of the Flies anyone?

Basically a computer game, and it does not matter the platform, makes the player do something and then rewards the player with some item that the player percieves as being "cool".

What needs to happen in computer game development is for the developer to remember that in the early days, when games were good, there was actually a story and that was what they used to draw the player to the game, items were secondary to the story. Items supported the story, they were not the game.

Computer games have become nothing more then a ...

My sword/ray gun/space ship/whatever is better then yours is! And that gets old really fast and THAT is why you like the games from way back when, because they pulled you into it with the story, and they had real consequences for your actions. Even single player games had consequences for doing things wrong, you didn't get to see the rest of the story so you had to reload at a save point and figure out what you did wrong.

If you want to see a game that is being developed with the old game concepts of story and thinking and not items...look here http://www.agesofathiria.com/ In this game you can kill anyone you want, but if the player you killed is from a city that has executution for murder as part of its laws, and you are caught by someone from that city, you can be executed and now you have to reroll your character if you want to continue to play. In other words there is perma death if you are caught, and yes players can pass judgement on you if you are a murderer, it does not have to be an NPC guard, a player from that city will have the power. Real consequences, I can't wait. There is MUCH more to the game then the perma death consequnce, so much more that I believe this game is the next step in the evolution of the MMOG genre.

Read the entire FAQ, then register and take part in the developers forums. We need to support projects like this so that the computer games of today evovle rather then the opposite, which is what is taking place now. Game design is going backwards not forwards in terms of simplicity and concept. 

If it looks cool it must be good right? That is the basic design concept of todays developers. No wonder we are so bored with them.

Rahl


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## cercar (Apr 21, 2005)

That's why you've gotta stick with muds.  You get 100 people on line all roleplaying and pking and it's awesome.  Depending on the mud eq can be the difference maker but nothing beats good zone knowledge, fighting skill, and the help of a friend or two.


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## dsgirl (Mar 24, 2006)

all i can say is get find whatever you want =)


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## Cyril (Mar 24, 2006)

Good old games have a sense of gameplay that modern graphics will never counterbalance. I regularly play old *Close Combat* strategy games (and I'm trying to forget by the way the catastrophic *First to Fight* attempt), I don't refuse from time to time a good *Doom* (The original one I mean) or the more modern *Serious Sam : The first encounter* that I prefer to *Serious Sam 2* despite its older graphics.

Computer graphics are a good point in a game, but they will never transform a boring game in an attractive one. Only gameplay and atmosphere can do that.


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## alex22 (Mar 24, 2006)

Rahl Windsong said:
			
		

> Computer games are suffering from the "I can do that, only better" syndrome, and thus they are now pretty much all the same. Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) suffer from this syndrome horribly. Ever since the original EverQuest was released, nearly all developers have tried to make their version of EQ, only better.
> 
> Even Ultima Online, which was a much better game, eventually fell into the EQ clone syndrome when they made the game more friendly by making an exact duplicate of the game world only in the duplicate world you could not attack other players. If there are no real consequences for your actions then there is no real fun, and developers have completely forgotten this. You don't have to be masochistic about the consequences but there must be consquence for your actions.
> 
> ...


 
Rahl Windsong.......perhaps Rhal Windbag. I havent seen a more easily answered topic turned into an essay!
No you are not strange, the reason you are attracted to the old style games is because they are much simpler. Complex games are very addictive, but you need to be hooked by these new games if they are to keep you're attention.


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## Paige Turner (Mar 24, 2006)

I don't game, but it seems to me that if you're asking people, "Am I strange?" then the answer is likely yes. The good news is that being strange is exactly how you want to be. I know lots of people who aren't strange, and none of them gets invited to my annual dress-up Cronenberg Festival.

Word to the wise.


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## Quokka (Mar 24, 2006)

I do think there is always an element of 'rose coloured galsses' to our preferences to gaming. Plus the market is growing so fast now that it may be harder to find that unique idea/gamplay out of 10,000 games per year rather than the few hundred from the 80's etc. Still I believe those gem's of a game are still being produced. 

My personal favourite RPG is a sega megadrive/genesis series called shining force, for me I'd get more enjoyment out of going back to complete it... yet again, then I have most modern RPG's, which I have probably started a dozen times and never finsihed. But it's all relative, people who's introduction to RPG's was Baldurs gate etc may find SF boring whilst prefering BG to more modern games... which yet younger gamers dismiss. 

Likewise I'll always think of DOOM and Street Fighter 2 as revolutionary games in their genre but I can accept that someone who's childhood memories are Quake4 may not feel the same way. And ditto with the MUD I played years ago and still haven't found a MMORPG to compete with.


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## Brian G Turner (Mar 24, 2006)

I agree. 

Because I'm supposed to be working on the PC and online, I can't get any involved strategy games to work with.

So what I would do is crash out for a half-hour or so on Panzer General or Allied General - 2 great turn-based strategy games from the early 90's. 

Unfortunately, since reformating my harddrive a few weeks back, I lost my downloads of these, and the only copies I can find online are the somewhat crippled DOS versions. 

I would also enjoy killing time on Operation Flashpoint - but for some reason, it just enjoys crashing on my more recent PC, and isn't worth the hassle of installing these days. 

So nowadays, when under pressure, I've been known to slip into Yahoo! Games and do time on Gem Mine or similar. I'd much rather do the war gaming though.


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## Lacedaemonian (Mar 24, 2006)

Ah Brian you are getting old and dull.  You will be playing Spider solitaire soon.  Why do you not have time to play Brian?  This makes me sad.  I cant fit enough gaming in these days and am generally too tired from work, but I need my gaming.  How do you cope?


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## Brian G Turner (Mar 25, 2006)

That's the point - you're working, so don't play - when I'm working, I don't play. 

And when I'm not working, I try and step away from the computer.


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## kyektulu (Mar 25, 2006)

*My problem with alot of modern games is that they are too concerned with graphics than the actual gameplay.
They have also got very repetative, RPG's anyway.*


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## Thunderchild (Mar 25, 2006)

I spent close to $1000 on a graphics card a few years ago so im not playing old games untill fell I got my moneys worth. Not that its that hard to find decent games with great graphics - play Doom 3 at night with the lights of and you'll see what I mean, then theres Half Life two one of the most emersive games ever made and farcry, Dawn of war, Rome:Total war, or for RPGs: Guild Wars(mmmm so pretty)


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## cornelius (Mar 25, 2006)

and Oblivion


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## Stenevor (Mar 25, 2006)

I was a big game fan for 20 odd years on and off, from Sinclair ZX81 to XBOX/PS2 with most consoles in between. Then a few years ago I lost all interest. I dont know if it was because games got bigger and more complicated, demanding more of my time or that I just wasnt prepared to give them the time anymore. Probably a bit of both.

The only games I would play on my own now is retro stuff on emulators for the PC, old simple stuff like Pacman, Moon Cresta, Galaxians, Rainbow Islands. Simple uncomplicated stuff with good gameplay. I still occasionally have an odd game on SNES and N64 emulators, Super Mario World and Ocarina of Time still play great.   

I wouldnt mind playing a big RPG again but not on my own, it would have to be a 2 man effort with someone else to keep the enthusiasm going.


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## Denie Alconn (Mar 26, 2006)

I wouldn`t say strange, maybe just different?
I love gorgeous graphics (like they have in oblivion) but I still mourn to play "Bandit Kings of Ancient China" propperly.And that was like 10 years ago I played it.


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## weaveworld (Mar 26, 2006)

I would play 'Alex the kidd' if I could get hold of a sega master system.

I loved that game.

Remember the tune anyone?


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## Denie Alconn (Mar 26, 2006)

What system was that on?


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## weaveworld (Mar 26, 2006)

Sega


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## Denie Alconn (Mar 26, 2006)

what, the old mega drive? Wicked!!!


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## weaveworld (Mar 26, 2006)

*It was the master system II that was out before the mega drive (which I also loved, I use to play sonic constantly!).
*


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## Denie Alconn (Mar 26, 2006)

oh dear, I always thought the sega mega drive drive was the first one, I learned something new


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