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Rendelius
Critical Error
Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 16
Location: Austria |
| UO: Dumbing down of the gaming industry |
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Our reader will pointed us to an interesting editorial at UnknownPlayer: <a href="http://www.unknownplayer.com/archive/03/02/03/1380.php" target="_blnk">Dumbing down the gaming industry</a>. The auhor talks about how the games get more and more mainstream and how they have lost a lasting appeal this way. He illustrates that with the changes that happened to Ultima Online. You don't have to agree on each and every point he brings up. but it is an interesting article for sure. Here's a little bit of proof:
<br><UL><i>UO is just one example of the dumbing down of the game industry. New developers skip the entire "dumbing down process" and jump right onto Dumb. This way they can maximize profits as long as possible. All that is necessary for a new game to be successful is a few splashy graphics and some cyber heroine. Thought has left the arena completely, replaced by marketing schemes. All that's left of new games is using sellable formulas for development, another new game with feature X and graphics Y. My advice is that developers should please their fans and not try to make everyone happy. 100 newbies are not worth 10 loyal players.</I></UL> |
Wed Feb 05, 2003 8:29 am |
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Garrett
Joined: 13 Jul 2001
Posts: 74
Location: Munich, Germany |
True...I also noticed that for single player games. Imagine, when Baldur's Gate came out, everybody praised its features...but only us older players were surprised, as we seen it all in Ultima 7...just one example!
There is but hope left: Arx Fatalis & Divine Divinity tend back towards the right direction - more please! |
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Wed Feb 05, 2003 8:31 am |
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Jay
Fearless Paladin
Joined: 07 Jul 2001
Posts: 245
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I suppose that Unreal 2 is the latest example of this trend. Judging by reviews so far on the net, the game is a carbon copy of the first one but with better graphics. With the technology we have today, I would have expected FPS to have advanced much further then they have. As Ultima 7 is for RPGs, Duke 3d is for FPS. The interaction in that game far surpassed the majority of today's (with the notable exeption of NOLF2, an unnoticed gem) FPS. Hopefully Deus Ex 2 will be a huge hit, showing that mainstream games can be intelligent and sell. |
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Wed Feb 05, 2003 10:45 am |
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Darksider
Guest
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| Re: UO: Dumbing down of the gaming industry |
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For all being more interested in the issue, please, read the Scratchware Manifesto on http://www.the-underdogs.org
 Greets |
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Wed Feb 05, 2003 3:56 pm |
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TheMadGamer
High Emperor
Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 487
Location: Southern California |
quote:
Originally posted by Garrett
True...I also noticed that for single player games. Imagine, when Baldur's Gate came out, everybody praised its features...but only us older players were surprised, as we seen it all in Ultima 7...just one example!
Don't get me wrong... Balder's Gate was a great game. It offered a lot of interesting gameplay features.
When I was following the development of Balder's Gate I was comparing it to Ultima VII, probably because of the similar perspective.
However, in the end, aside from the perspective, BG was a very different play experience from U7. To me, this was because U7's game world was far more interactive. BG's game world was very static. And that difference created a very different 'feel' for each game.
I'm not trying to be argumentative, I get your original point and that point is well taken. But I'm still searching for a game that continues on where U7 left off and I'm still searching (Gothic, Divine Divinity, and Arx Fatalis are all close...)
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The Poster Previously Known As NeptiOfPovar |
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Wed Feb 05, 2003 4:45 pm |
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Jay
Fearless Paladin
Joined: 07 Jul 2001
Posts: 245
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You're not alone there. Ultima 7 is still the best PC RPG I have ever played, and with Exult I'm still enjoying it
Last edited by Jay on Wed Feb 05, 2003 6:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Wed Feb 05, 2003 6:20 pm |
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TheMadGamer
High Emperor
Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 487
Location: Southern California |
quote:
Originally posted by Jay
You're not along there. Ultima 7 is still the best PC RPG I have ever played, and with Exult I'm still enjoying it
Me too. I've been playing both U7 and Serpent Isle using Exult.
I find it interesting that the memories I have of each game that are the reasons why I think both games are great are few compared to what I am experiencing playing the games again. I had already forgotten about so many little details about the games that also make them great.
It's great to be able to play them again.
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The Poster Previously Known As NeptiOfPovar |
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Wed Feb 05, 2003 6:28 pm |
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Wisp
Village Dweller
Joined: 06 Feb 2003
Posts: 5
Location: Brasil |
| U7 + Fallout 2... that would be cool |
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Ultima 7 is in no doubt one of the best CRPG's ever. What I would really like to see is a game that mixes the world depth of U7 and the ability to choose and receive feedback on decisions seen in Fallout 2 (ok, it is not perfect but it has a lot of it).
I wonder what a game like that would be like... maybe something close to a real computer RPG? Or maybe a real-life simulation - I remember I used to stay a lot of time just making bread in Ultima 7, because I was astonished that such a thing could be made... other times I piled wood to make huge stairs and stuff like that. Wow. I feel like playing U7 again.
Anyway, I wonder why such incredible things we could see in U7 so many years ago have not evolved... in fact, I don't see them anymore. Damn you MAINSTREAM! 
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We have two ears and one mouth, but we never follow the proportion.
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100% Nerd. Ho ho.
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Thu Feb 06, 2003 4:35 am |
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TheMadGamer
High Emperor
Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 487
Location: Southern California |
| Re: U7 + Fallout 2... that would be cool |
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quote:
Originally posted by Wisp
Anyway, I wonder why such incredible things we could see in U7 so many years ago have not evolved... in fact, I don't see them anymore. Damn you MAINSTREAM!
Agreed. Probably one of the biggest reasons some of us who have been around a while still so fondly remember games such as U7 is because there has been no adequate successor to point to.
Still, Arx Fatalis, Divine Divinity, and even Gothic 1 come close... but not quite.
It's interesting that you mention the 'awe' factor of being able to bake bread in a CRPG.
That activity was the 'essence' of what made the U7 engine so terribly facinating and addicting. The discovery of baking bread, or stacking items to find hidden locations, and a lot of the other object and environment manipulations available gave the player a sense of 'I want to try anything and everything because there's a good possibility something I try might work.'
I remember during U9's development, there was a guy who became theh project leader, can't remember his name, but he was quoted as basically saying that 'ultima is not about baking bread.'
This to me was the first sign that U9 would fall short of its potential. Because what this man was basically saying was that he didn't believe in the 'essence' of what made Ultima 7 so great. He made a huge mistake. He might as well have said that star wars is not about Jedis or light sabres. Something so core and so much a part of the series he just dismissed. It was sad.
Unlike American developers, who seem to more engrossed with character development and equipment (which isn't a bad thing), it appears that several European developers have found the magic of some of the old Origin games. Because games like Arx Fatalis, Gothic, and even Divine Divinity have various aspects of U7 in them. I await with great anticipation with what else will be coming out of Europe.
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The Poster Previously Known As NeptiOfPovar |
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Thu Feb 06, 2003 4:45 pm |
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Jay
Fearless Paladin
Joined: 07 Jul 2001
Posts: 245
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Fallout is another classic RPG that deserved far more success. Both games are total classics. It's rarely I play a game more then once, but the Ultima 7's, Fallouts and Deus Ex are almost like old friends.
As for European developers. they seem to be on an incredible run the last few years. Outcast, Mafia, Arx, Gothic, Divine Divinity, Siberia, the Longest Journey, etc.. quite a list. It's almost as if Europeans are not ashamed to develop games aimed at adults. While American publishers seem to be determined to have us all playing consoles, Europe is holding the banner aloft.
Edited to say that RPGDot plays an very important part in getting these games noticed, and we owe them a lot. |
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Thu Feb 06, 2003 6:10 pm |
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