04-09-2003, 08:50 AM
Hail Premezilla,
I personally think all games are on the decline recently. Funnily enough, earlier this week, one of the breakfast presenters on the radio station I listen to commented that he liked Galaga; they ribbed him about that, so asked for listeners to phone in whether the new games, or the old games, were better. I forget the exact results, but I am sure it was old games won. Sure, you couldn't use that in any respectable journal as meaning diddly squat, but since when was I respectable? ;)
Anywho, DII was the last game to excite me, and before that it was DI. Before that, the old console RPGs (I still play them now and then :D ), and before that it was the likes of Zork, and Cockroach. Today, if you look at my system, I have many of those kinds of things about: DI and DII, all the old Zorks, Adventure, NetHack, and a small collection of RPG ROMS (all abandonware, so don't start complaints!). I would like to try Final Fantasy IX and X, as I am a big fan of the series (and a fellow fan told me X is clearly the best), but I am not dishing out for a Playstation just so I can play two lousy games...well, two games I'll most likely enjoy ;) At 8 TRUE FF games played (games like Mystic Quest and FF Adventure are not true FF games), I only disliked two of them: I like those odds!
Meanwhile, looking at what has been coming out of late, they are all flashy graphics, special effects, and no bloody substance. Now, that I enjoyed the Diablo games means a solid plot is not high on my priorities - though it helps to have something. There is also too much emphasis on multiplayer: although it's good, most people online are morons: plain and simple. If I wanted someone to shout out "I 0wnz0r u", and listen to the complaints of the other fools, I would go to the local kindergarten, and give the chocolate bar to only one kid, and tell them not to share. In both cases, the signal to noise ratio is the same, though I would perhaps think the intellect of the average kindie kid is a tad higher - and that one kid would possably be mature enough to share, and make the whole group happy.
Then there's all the money involved in it: the industry is all about making money, and not about making games. Sure, that flaw is in damned near everything these days, but that does not mean I have to agree with it. The games I enjoyed were - for the most part - made to make games, not make money. When Diablo came out, did Blizzard think "Oh my God, we've created a cash cow?" Hell no! They created a game, and it turned out to be an outstanding success. DII was more about money, and suffered, but I suspect 1.10 - which is definitely NOT about money - shall do enough to correct that in my eyes. Zork? I think I payed $10 for the collection. Those old RPGs used to cost about $20 each, and I am still entertained by them - talk about value for money. Then the ones never released outside of Japan...damn they made good games!
I'll cut my rant short here, as I know I can go on for hours (and I don't have that much time), so I'll just answer your final questions.
Funniest memmory? The first time I ever played Zork: I had no idea how to play. Instructions? Oh, I read them about a year later ;) Anywho, I was trying all kinds of things, but never managed to do anything out the front of that house... I got anoyed, and typed: `bite me'. The game replied something along the lines of: `Self harm will not help you here'. The gamer was enlightened :) I quickly picked up on the verb-noun syntax, and was underground in no time whatsoever!
Craziest Character? Not sure. You mean insane? Cefca: destroying the world for no real reason is pretty crazy. Totally random, where the heck did they get that idea? Vincent (FFVII): he looks cool, acts cool, and makes absolutely no sense ;)
I personally think all games are on the decline recently. Funnily enough, earlier this week, one of the breakfast presenters on the radio station I listen to commented that he liked Galaga; they ribbed him about that, so asked for listeners to phone in whether the new games, or the old games, were better. I forget the exact results, but I am sure it was old games won. Sure, you couldn't use that in any respectable journal as meaning diddly squat, but since when was I respectable? ;)
Anywho, DII was the last game to excite me, and before that it was DI. Before that, the old console RPGs (I still play them now and then :D ), and before that it was the likes of Zork, and Cockroach. Today, if you look at my system, I have many of those kinds of things about: DI and DII, all the old Zorks, Adventure, NetHack, and a small collection of RPG ROMS (all abandonware, so don't start complaints!). I would like to try Final Fantasy IX and X, as I am a big fan of the series (and a fellow fan told me X is clearly the best), but I am not dishing out for a Playstation just so I can play two lousy games...well, two games I'll most likely enjoy ;) At 8 TRUE FF games played (games like Mystic Quest and FF Adventure are not true FF games), I only disliked two of them: I like those odds!
Meanwhile, looking at what has been coming out of late, they are all flashy graphics, special effects, and no bloody substance. Now, that I enjoyed the Diablo games means a solid plot is not high on my priorities - though it helps to have something. There is also too much emphasis on multiplayer: although it's good, most people online are morons: plain and simple. If I wanted someone to shout out "I 0wnz0r u", and listen to the complaints of the other fools, I would go to the local kindergarten, and give the chocolate bar to only one kid, and tell them not to share. In both cases, the signal to noise ratio is the same, though I would perhaps think the intellect of the average kindie kid is a tad higher - and that one kid would possably be mature enough to share, and make the whole group happy.
Then there's all the money involved in it: the industry is all about making money, and not about making games. Sure, that flaw is in damned near everything these days, but that does not mean I have to agree with it. The games I enjoyed were - for the most part - made to make games, not make money. When Diablo came out, did Blizzard think "Oh my God, we've created a cash cow?" Hell no! They created a game, and it turned out to be an outstanding success. DII was more about money, and suffered, but I suspect 1.10 - which is definitely NOT about money - shall do enough to correct that in my eyes. Zork? I think I payed $10 for the collection. Those old RPGs used to cost about $20 each, and I am still entertained by them - talk about value for money. Then the ones never released outside of Japan...damn they made good games!
I'll cut my rant short here, as I know I can go on for hours (and I don't have that much time), so I'll just answer your final questions.
Funniest memmory? The first time I ever played Zork: I had no idea how to play. Instructions? Oh, I read them about a year later ;) Anywho, I was trying all kinds of things, but never managed to do anything out the front of that house... I got anoyed, and typed: `bite me'. The game replied something along the lines of: `Self harm will not help you here'. The gamer was enlightened :) I quickly picked up on the verb-noun syntax, and was underground in no time whatsoever!
Craziest Character? Not sure. You mean insane? Cefca: destroying the world for no real reason is pretty crazy. Totally random, where the heck did they get that idea? Vincent (FFVII): he looks cool, acts cool, and makes absolutely no sense ;)
May the wind pick up your heels and your sword strike true.