The Article

I thought I would post this on here to gather some peoples thoughts on my article. To me When you look back at all your favorite RPG's as a kid, you seem to remember small details about each of them, that otherwise would slip your mind. I think theres a huge lesson to be learned for game developers today, who should really look back at their RPG adolescence and garner some ideas from it.

-Jive

It's not just you! http://republicnews.net looks down from here.

edit:

back up.

Morrowind was awesome, but when I went back to it it was kind of meh.   Guess I played it before and got older.

I think the most telling thing in the article was how a North American adolescent had to have a PC game only to play it for 15 minutes. I think there is something there, I really do. Excellent article and very well written.

The thing about really old games, it seems to me, is they felt like a sandbox but they weren’t. They required so much imagination to play, and today all that imagination has been replaced by advanced graphics and game play that isn’t nearly as effective. Today games want you to stick to their advanced script, and early games barely had any. The well-designed linear progression is getting older by the day.
 

Originally posted by qazyman

I think the most telling thing in the article was how a North American adolescent had to have a PC game only to play it for 15 minutes. I think there is something there, I really do. Excellent article and very well written.

The thing about really old games, it seems to me, is they felt like a sandbox but they weren’t. They required so much imagination to play, and today all that imagination has been replaced by advanced graphics and game play that isn’t nearly as effective. Today games want you to stick to their advanced script, and early games barely had any. The well-designed linear progression is getting older by the day.
 

 My sentiments exactly: Back in the day, we had to actually imagine beyond the 8 bit pixels on our screen that could barely be made out. Look at the old nintendo games like Zelda and Final Fantasy, where they really have absolutely no visual appeal compared to the games of today, yet managed to rake in millions through game play and concept alone.

Thing is I go back and play all the games I used to love and they're just horrible now lol. Games have gotten far better than they used to be in every way but the reason why we loved them so much back then was they felt more innovative. Games were a really new thing and the whole 3D revolution which made new genres just amazed us. We don't have any of that innovation now in gameplay and it just seems set on making everything for casual gamers, easier to play and all that.

Though I played Morrowind back then and thought it was horrible. I mean the combat was like it came out in the mid 90's lol. It's really hard to forgive games for their downfalls when you've played everything thats come out. I mean games have to be AAA these days for me to like cause if theres anything wrong with it then I just can't stand it. When I was younger I played so much crap and loved it all but I guess thats just part of growing up and not having enough time to waste on crap.

I do miss them days though because everything that came out was amazing and now nothing excits me. Thats just part of being a kid and how everything in the world is so big and amazing and now you're an adult you revisit places you went to and they ain't great anymore lol.

When I was a kid I'd always try to get out of the level and explore the world and everytime I'd see a game I'd imagine all the kool stuff I could do. However now I know how games are made and I've created maps for games in the past all the magic of exploration in games has gone. You know that it's all scripted A.I and nothing is dynamic. The world in GTA doesn't grow and no matter how much you try and wish for it, you would be able to blow up buildings lol.

That said I don't miss any games from the past, I loved them in their day but whenever I go back and play them, I end up hating them.

I agree: most games these days seem ridiculously easy compared to some old games. This means games get finished a lot more quickly. In old mag, when they reviewed a game, they are a criterion about play time (long? Do I get enough hours for my money?) and replayability (do I get even more hours)...