A Look At How Far PC Gaming Has Come 427
Bit-tech is running a feature examining the progress PC games have made over the past couple decades. The article highlights aspects of modern games we often take for granted or nitpick, and compares them to earlier games in which such features were implemented poorly or not at all. Quoting:
"Doom's legacy is still being felt today in fact and it's a fair bet that you can take any shooter off a shelf, from America’s Army to Zeno Clash, examine it, and list a dozen things that those games owe to Doom. Things like the wobble of the guns and the on-screen feedback that tells you which direction you are being shot from — these were things that id Software invented. On the other hand, from a story perspective, Doom was absolutely rubbish. You start in a room, no idea what’s going on and you are surrounded by demons. You have to read the manual and supporting media to get a grip on it all — something modern games would get heavily slated for doing. Yet the idea that plot was optional caught on and the same flaw was replicated in other games of the era, such as Quake and (to a lesser extent) Duke Nukem 3D. There were years and years where the lessons of early story-driven games were forgotten and all anyone really cared about was having as many sprites or polygons as possible."
Doom (Score:5, Funny)
Duke = Citizen Kane (Score:5, Funny)
Without Duke Nukems thick layer of metaphors and social commentary, Kojima would never have been inspired to make Metal Gear Solid.
same as life (Score:3, Funny)
> You start in a room, no idea what's going on [...] You have to read the manual and supporting media to get a grip on it all
looks like my own life
born in room
no idea what's going on
need to read holy book (manual) to get a grip on it all
ans life seems laking sense if I don't follow the book
at least a game is WYSIWYG
which is not the case with life
An earlier article... (Score:0, Funny)
Chess's legacy is still being felt today in fact and it's a fair bet that you can take any board game off a shelf, from Cluedo to Monopoly, examine it, and list a dozen things that those games owe to Chess. Things like the wobble of the pieces on the flimsy base board and the cheap plastic moulding in the box that doesn't quite hold the pieces right -- these were things that Chess invented. On the other hand, from a story perspective, Chess was absolutely rubbish. You start at your end of the board, no idea what's going on and you are surrounded by pawns. You have to read the manual and maybe the Wikipedia page to get a grip on it all -- something modern board games would get heavily slated for doing. Yet the idea that plot was optional caught on and the same flaw was replicated in other games of the era, such as Chequers and (to a lesser extent) Backgammon. There were years and years where the lessons of early story-driven games were forgotten and all anyone really cared about was having as many kinds of pieces capable of making as many totally arbitrary different kinds of moves as possible.
Re:Doom3 (Score:3, Funny)
You're right about Doom3, except for being the first, the first with true black-on-black rendering was Gears of War. Nothing like Black guys with black guns wearing black clothes shooting black aliens in a black city that's so covered by black smoke that all you can see is pure pitch black to set the "atmosphere" going.
Re:doom didn't need a story noob! (Score:4, Funny)
Hey, what you do mean no story?
No story to speak of. You just broke the rules! Ssh.
Re:Doom (Score:5, Funny)
Man, I loved that game. And it taught me how to spell "Annihilation", which is no small feat. So if I ever have to write something with the word "annihilation" in it, I'm ready.
You can't say computer games aren't educational.
Re:Doom (Score:1, Funny)
i lernd to spel "sub machine gun" juts bi plaing cod4!
Doom had a great story. (Score:1, Funny)
Didn't you ever see the movie?
Re:Doom (Score:3, Funny)
Who needs a story? (Score:1, Funny)
Sometimes all the story you need is "The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?"
Then you just walk to the right and kick some ass.
Re:Doom (Score:3, Funny)
My favorite game education is I learned "obsequious" from Starflight II.
Re:Doom's gameplay (Score:3, Funny)
I personally like the story behind Tetris. The social commentary about how you may turn yourself to fit into a group, but you can never change your true shape. And just when you find a good, solid group to fit in with, it disappears, leaving you turning in the wind again, trying to fit in somewhere else.
It's like a metaphor for being a teenager.
Re:Growing up on Wizardry, Empire, Starflight (Score:3, Funny)
Slashdot: the only gaming forum on the Internet populated primarily by people who don't play games.
Re:Doom (Score:1, Funny)
FPS games require reflexes and skill. RPG games consist of pressing the same button over and over in endless, semi-controllable battles.
Playing an FPS is like being an athelete. Playing an RPG is like being a sports fan.
Re:Doom (Score:3, Funny)
I dunno man, being able to have sex with a prostitute and get VD because you didn't use a condom, that shit was pretty revolutionary.
Leisure Suit Larry represent!
Re:Doom (Score:3, Funny)
Not to mention Wolfenstein.
Hey, look at that first picture and caption right in your face when you bring up the fine article!
Oh, I suppose you could be talking about the summary ;-)
Re:Doom (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Doom (Score:3, Funny)
That's true. The civilopedia was very well done.
You don't want to confuse the actual game with history, though. I really don't want to consider the ramifications of the Aztecs getting nukes.