Which Games Are Better

[win98]

jusr wondering if old games are better than new games please vote

[omg]

its been said many times but back in the days they concentrated more on the engine and story than they did on graphics and market share.

[DeathDude]

Yup I can remember much more classics from back then I can say about today, more focus on story, lots of innovation, willing to take risks with the way a game went, not so much worry on graphics.

[Danny252]

where be the no preference option?

[Sebatianos]

Well you must know that it's really hard to play every game that comes out. I still haven't played half the old games I'd like to (some I even downloaded now, but hadn't had the time to play). Let alone can I play most of the new games.
So I'm wondering that there are dozens of great new games and tousands of great old games (well - the time period 80's 90's is 20 years - after 2000 is only 5 years).

[Unknown Hero]

You have to the right place to ask this question! LOL


Voted old games!

[Fruit Pie Jones]

I think the answer depends a lot on the type of game you prefer. In general older games did seem to concentrate more on interesting gameplay, whereas eye-catching visuals are emphasized more today (partly because current technology means that they can be). I really enjoy combat flightsims, and that's one genre that I consider to have improved vastly over the past 20 years, because modern computers have the power to model flight and damage characteristics far more accurately than those of 20 years ago. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can't answer the question!

[UnHoly]

I don't have any preferences, I like both of them. Everything is changing, games or no exception. New games are just different than the old ones, but I don't think they are worse.

[Jman4117]

Newer games tend to put so much into the way it looks that actual gameplay plummits. Give me a 90's game anyday.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Amen to that.

[Maikel]

Don't expect objective results on a forum dedicated to classic gaming :D

[Tom Henrik]

Let's see... games from two decades versus games from 5 years...


Uhm... Strangely enough there was more good titles created over the course of 20 years, then what has been created in 5...

Age doesn't matter. Games are all about fun, and those games were made then and are still made now. If a game is good you should try it. Buy the ones created today, and download the old abandoned ones... that's what I say.

I still buy old games to this day. Just yesterday I bought the entire Realms of Arkania triology for only a couple of bucks :ok:

In case someone wondered. I didn't vote.

[BeefontheBone]

Me either - I don't think it's a fair comparison to make since the harware capabilities advance so quickly that games today are entirely different to those of a few years ago, let alone 25.

[Doubler]

I won't vote, as in my opinion, games have always come in varying degrees of quality. Nowadays, the games are more profit-oriented, sometimes lacking in originality, and sometimes less personal, but this doesn't mean they're no good, though.
I think there's little difference, besides attitude.

[KingTizz]

Well i based my vote on this..... I used to buy quite alot of games, there were alot of games in production i was looking forward too. However i've bought maybe 5 games in the last year, and there are only a few i'm looking forward too. So i guess the 80/90's games are better since i bought more of them.


However any game with a sniper rifle is a good game.

[Doubler]

Hmm, for some reason I'd expected the current outcome LOL
(it can change, though; it won't, but it can.)

[TheChosen]

I vote for old games.

It might change when i get a new computer....... :whistle:

[Omuletzu]

old games are better because the new ones aren't original anymore.Also many old games have better graphics than the new ones.

[hanut]

Didn't i put up a similar poll??

[Quintopotere]

A good game is a good game!

And depends also in what you want to play in a specific moment! Sometimes i want only to kill houndres of evil aliens and sometimes i prefer to live a deep humorous/fantastic story...

Good oldies tell you very-well written stories full of humor or suspense or magic... nowadays there is (almost) only action and 3d-grafic, that are good things when i want to stop thinking for some minutes.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Well, the whole "rushed" thing is there. Back in the days, they have polished the games until the last moment, perfecting existing features and hammering all the bugs, since they knew they wouldn't have a chance later.

Now, with the expansion of Internet, the whole thing changed. Also computer game magazines had their part in that, especially since the popularization of cover CD's (one or more). Developers rush the games out to fit in the deadlines set by the company who employed them, hoping that any bugs in the final release they can fix lat some later date via a patch.

Man, how mad this makes me you cannot imagine.

[racer]

Oldies all nite and all day long :D

Nice topic by here :max:

It depends on what type of game we are talking about. Let´s take racing games. It´s obvious that GP2 is worse than GP4. BUT to enjoy GP4 to the limit one has to have a 3Ghz machine, armed with a light speed fueled graphic card, and GP4 has thousands of bugs that make it unplayable in some modern hardware.(hyperthreading, freezes, low FPS and a long etc.)

RPG´s are not as good like the oldies definitively. And how many RPG´s were realized in 2004? I can use just both hands to count them. How many were programmed from 90 to 2000? Too many to enjoy now and without spending big money luckily. One can play 2 or 3 hours with a modern RPG, and for 1 or 2 months with an old one.

Also, have in mind that games industry is taking a different path. Now they´re more oriented to games consoles, puting aside the PC market. PC´s just have too many different hardware combinations and compatibility problems.

A modern computer costs money, a very good graphic card cost money, 1 ghz memories, 1ghz HDD, and DVD drives too (and one has to keep spending money in hardware to catch up).

Mr. Bill had the skill to bring us Direct3D, XP, and put DOS in a hole. Now, we´re using eating memory computers to handle the D3D routines, lurking Win XP and coders have to do the major effort to work it out.

There´s nothing like a good old RPG at 1 am with your favourite beer, with or without your gurlfriend, and not having to worry if the game (or Windoze) will crash in the next minute. The command line still rocks :whistle:

[Lizard]

I voted for new games.Why?
I think that games evolve....There still coming out original and great that of which will my generation remember as "classic".Most people forget that there were DOZENS of non-original crap games that just copied everything from "classics" in the "good old times"...There are now forgotten as will be forgotten most of todays "ah so good commercial 1000 and 1 clone games"...The only difference is that now,there is greater amount of these games...
And about hundred and thousands good original and perfect old games in the past and just few good original games in present?
a)The 80ties and early 90ties, was beginning of game era,so almost every third idea was new,original and revolutionary...Now it is more(and "more" is VERY weak word) difficult to get some originality in the game...
b)80-90 were 20 year decade.And there is just 5 year decade from 2000+.Of course that there is more good older games that new ones!Just give it time... :)
I wont stop playing my favorite oldies. The time has tested which games are really worth to play and finish.But I will still buy,play and like new games becouse I am sure that after another 10 years there will be lot of them that will honourosly bear the title "classic"

EDIT:My first post was little plain and stupid so I editet it now

[troop18546]

There was a post that said:
- New games arent original anymore.
NO!!!!!! :tai:
WTH????? Imagine a guy who invented a game idea in the 1600s and a guy who invented the same idea NOT knowing of the guy who thought of it earlier. Who is then the ORIGINAL creator??? :whistle:

I think that old and new games are equally great. :whistle:

[Doubler]

Problem: Is this really the case?

Sometimes, maybe (although it doesn't necessarily has to happen nowadays).
Indeed it is getting harder to be original, but sometimes people don't even try. Staying with a fixed formula can be a sure way to make good bucks.
Looking back, I see this problem in the past too, though...

[MdaG]

I voted new ones. The gaming industry has become a huge industry so I suppose the games of today appeal to a wider audience. On the other hand my favorite games are all from the 90's, but I believe that's more a question of generations (I'm now 24).

[Iron_Scarecrow]

I had to null my vote.

And about originality, a lot of games have been made, and there are a lot of stories and there are a lot of games genres, it's not easy comming up with something original now, saying the games of today are not as original as the games of the 80's and 90's is an invalid arguement. What the *meep* do you want game creators to do?

[Doubler]

-try- to be original...
Sometimes they don't even try, you know.

[KingTizz]

I play through something like say Half-Life 2 and i finished it in less than a week, not really trying that hard and it just felt empty, no sense of achievement. When i complete something like say UFO on superhuman i feel like a god.

Newer games are shallow, very few pull you in and make you play till you finish. I used to look at a clock and realise it was 5am all the time, not done that in years. I once played settlers 2 for 3 days solid (before the time speed up thing was added). Even the supposedly 'best' games of the moment never keep me hooked for more than a couple of hours.

[troop18546]

Well, I've enjoyed playing every single game I own... :whistle:

[Borodin]

No preference--which should have been an option. ;) There are good, mediocre and awful games at all times. I'll not give up my copies of Morrowind or Patrician III, but Magic Candle I and Hidden Agenda did some wonderful things, too.

[Lizard]

Originally posted by troop18546@Apr 30 2005, 06:54 PM
Well, I've enjoyed playing every single game I own... :whistle:
Lucky b*stard!
I envy you :kosta:

[troop18546]

What'cha call me?! :angry:
(thats because I only picked games that appealed to me. :D )

[Lizard]

Originally posted by troop18546@Apr 30 2005, 09:07 PM
What'cha call me?! :angry:
(thats because I only picked games that appealed to me. :D )
I try it too,but I was quite disapointed from some games,that should be actually good.Both with old, and new ones.
Btw lucky b*stard wasnt an acusation,but a praise.... :whistle: :D

[troop18546]

I know. Just playing with'cha... :whistle: :D

[Lizard]

Originally posted by troop18546@Apr 30 2005, 09:43 PM
I know. Just playing with'cha... :whistle: :D
I know you know.... :whistle:
I playing with ya too. :evil:

[omg]

i shouldnt have voted for the old days, like many people have said this mellenium is only 5 years in also there have been some amazing games out in this 5 year period
halo, american mgess alice, battle realms, deus ex, eve online, emporer battle for dune, (to name but a few)
yes things are more commercial these days but as the pie lover pointed out simulation games benifet massivly from the new mathmatical capabilities of the new hardware, so do rts, (when i first saw emporer i was like *whoa*)
if you love adventure games buy them from the few people who make them and try to convince your freinds to as well, stay away from warez as it damages the industry (and potentiolly your computer)
"oh but i cant pay 35$ for a game i hear you cry, well the anser to that is to wait for it to go down in price, even when im on a good paycheck you will see me in the budget rerelease section, i think the only game i have paid over 10$ for in the last 10 years is battle realms (cuz it looked like a fresh rts, an the shop had nothing else i wanted)
cd,s went down in price because of the consumers refusing to buy them and cd shops only shifting units on sales, (and cd writers suddnly got cheap + mp3s ..) im hoping the games industry will follow suit, but they complain about the develpoment cost, soo how much does it cost to make a movie? whens the last time u paid 35$ for a dvd (not counting boxed sets) if you want more adventure games tell the developers, get an online movement going (the peacekeeper wars wouldent have happened if it wasnt for the fans) or play the independent games and tell the developers when you love what they have done, if they charge u nothing an email at least heaping praise is a given really.
rant over i should really finish dfend tutorial, (just gotta get some ceaser 2 in first to relax my mind)

[PrejudiceSucks]

hehey to be honest I voed for new games. We have had in the last five years, as omg stated, System Shock 2 (I think), Metal Fatigue, Deus Ex, the Max Payne games, Operation Flashpoint, the Trackmania games (very good) and a fair few others. Baldurs Gate 2 was nice.

[riskysim]

without a doubt, oldergames are better! some say its there more simplified design, some the original and intuitive storyline, others just like returning to our roots

[Sonny Bonds]

I agree that older games are better... It's all I play. :D

[Mara]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(troop18546 @ Apr 30 2005, 06:54 PM) 102508</div>
Well, I've enjoyed playing every single game I own... :whistle:
[/b]

So do I. If I spend money on a game, I wanna be sure I will like it (demo are good to test :) )

I don't buy really new games (mainly for prices resons ) Though I recently get Harry potter 4, trackmania Sunrise, and a second-hand myst 5 (12 euros instead of 50 cool!!)
geez!! 50 euros gone ! :ph34r: So now, you finish the games you bought before buying new ones :whistling:
And new games tands to be harder too! (too hard sometimes).

oh but i cant pay 35$ for a game i hear you cry, well the anser to that is to wait for it to go down in price[/b]
I'm becoming a pro at waiting :ok: For games, dvd, books, everytings !
the problem with olds games, is that they can not be easily found, or not at all...

[_r.u.s.s.]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mara @ Sep 23 2006, 12:56 PM) 256884</div>
And new games tands to be harder too! (too hard sometimes).
[/b]

false? :blink:
older games were way more difficult than new ones. publishers wants to "sell the games" and tend to make a game more easy so every kid can complete and buy it

[Wildlotus]

I think lots of newer games have lost the witty humour in character interaction so often characteristic of older games (think Monkey Island, Grim Fandango).

Although it is true that new games have the benefit of coming with state of the art graphics, I think lots of game publishers spend so much money and time on graphics that they compromise on witty dialogue.

Newer games are mostly about flashy graphics, awesome weaponry, advanced character animation ("lets make things bigger, let's makes things faster, let's make things grander") but quite lacking in individual character development, resulting in forgettable gameplay. You play it once and you go "Ok been there, done that. NEXT!" You seldom go "Hmm.. what if I had done this instead of that.. what if I had said this instead of that.. Let's start all over again because there were so many things I probably didn't explore the first time round.." - I think what I'm trying to say here is there is less replayability factor in new games.

Ah well, but that's just my two-cents worth. What do I know really.. :sneaky:

[Mighty Midget]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wildlotus @ Sep 23 2006, 07:53 PM) 256921</div>
What do I know really.. :sneaky:
[/b]

A lot, in my book. I agree that older games had greater playability due to more interesting characters, dialogue a.s.o. Also, I still find some really old ones (C64) really addictive still :) in a way I don't find in newer games. BUT: I do get dumbstruck by graphics if the game is a bit interesting. My problem here is that my machine doesn't cope very well with the latest, most brutal releases. But for entertainment value, I'd say the old games are sweeter.

[Blood-Pigggy]

I'm not going to play Wasteland or X-Com for longer than twenty minutes every day, but Day of Defeat Source, Battlefield 2, or Diablo II will keep me busy for longer.

It's just more fun.

[_r.u.s.s.]

you cant compare multiplayer and match games with single player games with story line..

[Blood-Pigggy]

Yes you can.
That's why we rate games with one score, instead of splitting it for multiplayer and singleplayer.

Even if you do single them out, you still have games like Snake Eater or Grand Theft Auto. Story has also gotten a lot better, play any of the MGS games or Indigo Prophecy, hell, try Killer 7.

Because we can do more, we're having more fun, you don't want to go back to butter churns or personal butcher houses do you?

[_r.u.s.s.]

no, comparing those games is like comparing book and footbal match
and it depends on taste of person who plays it, which he/she likes more

btw i played mgs and yes, it has good story. i didnt complain about story line of SP games o_O

[Wildlotus]

A lot, in my book. I agree that older games had greater playability due to more interesting characters, dialogue a.s.o. Also, I still find some really old ones (C64) really addictive still :) in a way I don't find in newer games. BUT: I do get dumbstruck by graphics if the game is a bit interesting. My problem here is that my machine doesn't cope very well with the latest, most brutal releases. But for entertainment value, I'd say the old games are sweeter.
[/b]

Hey Mighty Midget. Thanks for the compliment. ^_^ And I think you said everything I wanted to say in a lot lesser words. I think you should give me a crash course in summative writing.

[troop18546]

Well - I chose option 2, because:

Technology is only improving and so are the games. Ofcourse, we like old games too, but they cannot be compared to games nowadays, with - storyline, graphics, AI and such.

BTW, you could've made this: 80's; 90's; Newer;

[_r.u.s.s.]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(troop18546 @ Sep 23 2006, 08:58 PM) 256968</div>
Ofcourse, we like old games too, but they cannot be compared to games nowadays, with - storyline, graphics, AI and such.
[/b]
you r forgetting about gameplay ;)

[Mighty Midget]

I think the best oldies are far better than the best new ones as far as story lines go. I believe they had to make it better due to hardware limitations on graphics and so on. "If we can't give them better graphics, then at least we can give them a better story" or something like that. To me, stories and characters add greatly to gameplay.

[Blood-Pigggy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(_r.u.s.s. @ Sep 23 2006, 05:12 PM) 256970</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(troop18546 @ Sep 23 2006, 08:58 PM) 256968
Ofcourse, we like old games too, but they cannot be compared to games nowadays, with - storyline, graphics, AI and such.
[/b]
you r forgetting about gameplay ;)
[/b][/quote]

Exactly, that's why games like God of War make us say "HOLY muck! Did I just do that?" it's ten times better and more ufn.

[thebes]

Well I put oldies I guess because I remember a lot of great gameplay. I have not tried a lot of the newer games. I have a few like IL-2, Desert rats vs Afrika Korps, Hearts of Iron3, the new Bards Tale, the new Pirates!(most excellent)! I enjoy them about as much as many of the old games too. So really old or new if it's a good game I like it, graphics or no. There were some old stinkers too. ^_^

[_r.u.s.s.]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Blood-Pigggy @ Sep 24 2006, 12:52 AM) 257012</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(_r.u.s.s. @ Sep 23 2006, 05:12 PM) 256970
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(troop18546 @ Sep 23 2006, 08:58 PM) 256968
Ofcourse, we like old games too, but they cannot be compared to games nowadays, with - storyline, graphics, AI and such.
[/b]
you r forgetting about gameplay ;)
[/b][/quote]

Exactly, that's why games like God of War make us say "HOLY muck! Did I just do that?" it's ten times better and more ufn.
[/b][/quote]
in older games you could also tell "holy muck! did i just do that?" o_O
so you r sayng newer games have better gameplay than older ones? ehm...

[Cloudy]

I prefer playing older games.

Old games had simpler graphics, but the gameplay was often much deeper than in games today.

Nowadays games are totally focused on graphics a lot of the time and depth of gameplay is sacrificed for that.

Another reason is that games are much more expensive to make nowadays. Older games were created on much lower budgets, and the developers were adventurous with them. But nowadays, games cost millions of dollars to make, and when huge sums of money are involved like that, the designers and publishers are willing to take fewer risks, so they will make games that they are sure will sell, resulting in less interesting games.

(I know this is a generalisation, and that there are still interesting games out there, but, in the last couple of years in particular, things have been getting worse for me. Games are getting simpler and simpler, dumbed down for the masses. Look at Deus Ex 2 for example, it was far poorer than the original, because it seemed to focus on becoming a console game and lost a lot of the features that made the first game good. Oblivion is another good example, although it is still a great game in it's own right, it focuses far too much on eye candy, and has lost a lot of the cool gameplay features that Daggerfall and Morrowind had. Overall there just seems to be fewer original games out there. Everything seems to be focusing on console games, making things simpler, more generic. That is why I mainly like older games better.)

[Blood-Pigggy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(_r.u.s.s. @ Sep 24 2006, 08:07 AM) 257082</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Blood-Pigggy @ Sep 24 2006, 12:52 AM) 257012
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(_r.u.s.s. @ Sep 23 2006, 05:12 PM) 256970
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(troop18546 @ Sep 23 2006, 08:58 PM) 256968
Ofcourse, we like old games too, but they cannot be compared to games nowadays, with - storyline, graphics, AI and such.
[/b]
you r forgetting about gameplay ;)
[/b][/quote]

Exactly, that's why games like God of War make us say "HOLY muck! Did I just do that?" it's ten times better and more ufn.
[/b][/quote]
in older games you could also tell "holy muck! did i just do that?" o_O
so you r sayng newer games have better gameplay than older ones? ehm...
[/b][/quote]

Yes they do, and being stuck in SA with a crappy C64 and a horrid IBM PC that lagged when I played Doom, I can easily say that I NEVER had an experience like that in an old game, I never ripped some monster in half then used the top of his torso to beat another monster into submission, it's NOTHING like that.

Gameplay has improved along with graphics, we can do much more, and being able to do much more is so much fun. No one wants to go back really, because for all the things you could do in an early 2000 game, would do what would take twenty early 90s games, you can take nostalgia, and throw it in a ball, but the truth is, when it comes to gameplay and the cinematic further of current games, you aren't going to want to go back anytime soon.
Today's games are also a lot deeper, when playing something like Contra or Zork, you were basicly stuck to an extremely linear path or just plain shooting, right now we've gone far beyond that, stories, characters, and places are far more fleshed out than what we had before, I'm never going to care about a character or what I just did to someone more than I did in Indigo Prophecy, throw me back to the old text games where I can't put a personality or voice to a character, but now we've gone so much farther into making a deeper world, and people can really focus on the details that flesh them out and bring them to life. Everything is deeper, and while some may be as simple as they were before in the old days, there's so much that brings it to life that it's different from wandering around a blotchy pixel landscape devoid of color.

Just go play Dead Rising or GRAW and tell me if you want to go back to Zork or Doom, it's not going to happen, we should look back on older games with fondness, but they're not "better" they may be more important than today's games because they shaped what our industry is today, but their just dusty old games, not many of them are really worth playing beyond going back, since you have better alternatives today.

[Treewyrm]

In simplified form my opinion might look like this:

There are crappy new pc/console hybrid games, there are good new pc games, there are good old dos/win games, there are great old dos games and there are genius ancient zx/c64/dos games that remain unbeaten even now.

[Eagle of Fire]

Old games are just more fun, more gameplay oriented. You can't beat that.

On the subject of the thread tough... I think the best games got out from the mid 80 to the late 90... And there is no option for 90's to 2000 in the poll... :rolleyes:

[Blood-Pigggy]

More gameplay oriented? Technology was being pushed just as much as it was now, in fact, it was at its all time worst during the 80 - 90s when the Atari VS Intellivision battle was going on, it was ALL about technology back then.

[Eagle of Fire]

And your point about technology is? :huh:

[Blood-Pigggy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eagle of Fire @ Sep 24 2006, 04:15 PM) 257165</div>
Old games are just more fun, more gameplay oriented. You can't beat that.
[/b]

Games are usually of three categories, gameplay-oriented, technologicaly-oriented, or a balance of both. I was saying that games in the 80s and early 90s were actually trying to push technology much more over gameplay since there were several more systems and PC platforms vying for the biggest chunk of the thang, the thingity thang.

[_r.u.s.s.]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Blood-Pigggy @ Sep 24 2006, 04:55 PM) 257126</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(_r.u.s.s. @ Sep 24 2006, 08:07 AM) 257082
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Blood-Pigggy @ Sep 24 2006, 12:52 AM) 257012
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(_r.u.s.s. @ Sep 23 2006, 05:12 PM) 256970
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(troop18546 @ Sep 23 2006, 08:58 PM) 256968
Ofcourse, we like old games too, but they cannot be compared to games nowadays, with - storyline, graphics, AI and such.
[/b]
you r forgetting about gameplay ;)
[/b][/quote]

Exactly, that's why games like God of War make us say "HOLY muck! Did I just do that?" it's ten times better and more ufn.
[/b][/quote]
in older games you could also tell "holy muck! did i just do that?" o_O
so you r sayng newer games have better gameplay than older ones? ehm...
[/b][/quote]
...
[/b][/quote]
"advantages" you talk about piggy are effects and detail, not gameplay. i still think older games were more fun, as they had to put more effort to level design and maybe dialogues and humor.
its like you were sayng that books are worse than TVmovies becouse its not "deep" as movies

[Treewyrm]

Old games were much like books, they too had us use our imagination to fill the details we normally didn't see. Modern games are trying to fill that gap using technology leaving us little to no space to imagine. It is the reason why am I playing old games mostly. They inspire us to create, to imagine, to think. They are like books when you have read it you instinctivly trying to imagine the rest of the story. Modern games are more like movies where you simply watch what happens on the screen without much freedom to imagine, you're only left to push buttons in right patterns in order to complete the game. Of course this is quite simplified explanation but you get the idea.

[gregor]

[/quote]
"advantages" you talk about piggy are effects and detail, not gameplay. i still think older games were more fun, as they had to put more effort to level design and maybe dialogues and humor.
its like you were sayng that books are worse than TVmovies becouse its not "deep" as movies
[/quote]


hehe except for adventure games and maybe some RPG's other didnt' really have that. racing games, FPS, 3rd PS ... story? gameplay? nah..

[The Fifth Horseman]

Old games were much like books, they too had us use our imagination to fill the details we normally didn't see. Modern games are trying to fill that gap using technology leaving us little to no space to imagine. It is the reason why am I playing old games mostly. They inspire us to create, to imagine, to think. They are like books when you have read it you instinctivly trying to imagine the rest of the story. Modern games are more like movies where you simply watch what happens on the screen without much freedom to imagine, you're only left to push buttons in right patterns in order to complete the game. Of course this is quite simplified explanation but you get the idea.[/b]
That's my opinion as well.

[Treewyrm]

There is another thing I'm going to mention. It's not really applicable to everyone, but since level design was my hobby for many many years (and a full-time job for the past two year, but I retired recently) I thought it's good to say a word or two about modding possibilites the old games had and why there is a growing problem in modding for modern games.

As you know many old games are still pretty much alive because of the modding communities that keep the light within them sometimes making innovative and dare things worth looking and playing. This is becase of the simplicity of those games, accessibility was high and possibilities were given to make your own content without vast technological knowledge. Provided you could learn map editor (and they were quite simple back then) there was nothing but your imagination sparking and leading you towards creating your own worlds. Technological simplicity gave possibility for many people without much knowledge to create their own maps and levels. It's like you only had to have a pencil and a paper and with them you could make a really beautiful picutre worth looking and keeping on your hard drive for years. As the time and progress goes on so does the techonological side: it grows and becomes far more complex than it was before. Complexity is a barrier and a problem for creative teams now, it is the reason why we aren't seeing that amount of maps for modern games as we've seen for Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Warcraft II and so on. And if you're into the modern modding you're about to get no less but a second job that will take all your time and will demand much than you can possibly allow even for a hobbie like that. It's like pen and paper are no longer enough to make a brilliant picture and the new games demand you to use so much that is getting ridiculous. It is a problem I think, the modding communities are very powerful tool in good hands, examples are all around us, for instance the old UT99 which is pretty much alive and kicking hard and personally I think modding is playing major role in keeping it that way. Look at the console games... they die like flies, developers are only reusing the same old again and again without any bit of innovation and seelling them again. What gamers left to do? They're only left to buy and play and repeat. And I mind you that many today successful innovations weren't actually made by those companies selling games that implement them, many were inspired by mods made by gamers like us. It is kind of innovation I will always be for. And what worries me now is that the console "buy-play-repeat" tendency is apparently coming to the PC gaming as well.

[Fantasy Freak]

Nostalgia is great but we have to look to the future as things can get even better, when it comes to games, if nothing else!

[thebes]

Good Show treewyrm! In answer to Blood-piggy I enjoy playing War in Russia as old as it is as much as Hearts of Iron II. I enjoy the old Bard's tale as much as Might and Magic 6. It's replayablity. ^_^

[silz]

Definitely the 80s have the best games. But don't forget that at that time, PC gaming was new and as with everything new and untested they are a bunch of originality and no one is afraid to venture out with different concepts. Back then, it was a wild jungle out there. 27 years down the road, its a different story. Concepts are overused or recycled extensively, thats why we find it isn't so good anymore.

Nowadays, making a game is more expensive and yet still going through the original channel of developer to publisher, to retailer, and to end user. With the internet selling used games are also easier and that greatly reduce overall revenue for the makers of the game. No one is willing to keep games that they bought anymore unless its their favorite titles hence the making of the sequels only.

[Eagle of Fire]

Way to go resurecting a 2 year old topic... <_<

[gufu1992]

Give me X-com:UFO any day - just make it snappy(and working on my compputer)
And latest games just kill my 382MB Ram computer... and out if 144GB I only have 49GB left!
(0's gave the best games... 80's created gaming - but best games came at 90's...

[The Fifth Horseman]

and out if 144GB I only have 49GB left![/b]
You're by no means alone in that. I've got 450 GB of HD space... and already running out.

[Dave]

Thanks Eagle, I did not see the topic..
I love old and new games but....Amiga games are the best one!!...It's very strange but the last month I've resurrected my 15 years old Amiga...I was very nostalgic.. :drool:
Unfortunatly it's a little bit sick... :unsure: ...the rgb colors works bad, but the gameplay is still the same!!
GREAT GREAT GREAT! :kosta:

[CorruptMylar]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Treewyrm @ Sep 25 2006, 06:20 AM) 257278</div>
Old games were much like books, they too had us use our imagination to fill the details we normally didn't see. Modern games are trying to fill that gap using technology leaving us little to no space to imagine. It is the reason why am I playing old games mostly. They inspire us to create, to imagine, to think. They are like books when you have read it you instinctivly trying to imagine the rest of the story. Modern games are more like movies where you simply watch what happens on the screen without much freedom to imagine, you're only left to push buttons in right patterns in order to complete the game. Of course this is quite simplified explanation but you get the idea.
[/b]

I don't know about that. Some of the newer games that are only possible with modern technology can be very inspiring to creativity and imagination. Think of the Sims games or Roller Coaster Tycoon. Let's not forget things like map editors, and the whole modding community explosion. Nowadays, you have gamers take over development of some games and actually breath new life into it.

I guess your point was more about how, since graphics and the like are so good that everything is kinda spoon fed to people and there is no need to imagine the enviroment around the game. I do agree that a lot of games have been dumbed down to appeal to a broader audience because development costs are higher. You will see fewer "quirky" titles because company have to play it safe to recoupe development costs. It's not just a few guys with computers anymore, now it's a huge team with multi-million dollar budgets and deadlines. This can lead to a lot of clones, but there were plenty of clones of 80's and 90's games too.

[Luso]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(the_fifth_horseman @ Sep 25 2006, 03:40 PM) 257307</div>
Old games were much like books, they too had us use our imagination to fill the details we normally didn't see. Modern games are trying to fill that gap using technology leaving us little to no space to imagine. It is the reason why am I playing old games mostly. They inspire us to create, to imagine, to think. They are like books when you have read it you instinctivly trying to imagine the rest of the story. Modern games are more like movies where you simply watch what happens on the screen without much freedom to imagine, you're only left to push buttons in right patterns in order to complete the game. Of course this is quite simplified explanation but you get the idea.[/b]
That's my opinion as well.
[/b]


my opinion too :kosta:

[silz]

And latest games just kill my 382MB Ram computer... and out if 144GB I only have 49GB left![/b]

Sorry, are you still using SDRAM? Hehe my previous computer has that too and it was like struggling to play anything. WinME also kills everything with their memory leak problems. I am getting Vista soon probably but I'm afraid I can't run all this and the previous games after that and I probably will add another HDD for Vista so I can keep my WinXP.

[JudgeDeadd]

I think that neither old nor new games are better. I like both.

[Scatty]

Being active in the age of more classic Dos games, it's naturally for me to choose them over the "new" games. Though graphically they lose to the more current games, in question of game fun and a special magic classic games clearly win, at least for me.

[JJXB]

to be honest, i have no preference since i play both old and new games. i recently went back to deus ex/anachronox and they have a much better storyline than most RPG's now (come off it, most of them are based around either some kind of hero vs villain corrupting the land or something similar wheras DX/anachronox were more open yet detailed with the story meaning you had a choice rather than a linear storyline path etc)

shooters now are better (compare doom to half-life 2 in terms of gameplay for example) and technology has played some part in that gameplay progression but it's more than that. it's the current gamer's demand for pick up and play games (easy to get into but very fun) and some developers fail in that, some succeed in that.

the RTS genre has got boring no matter how much technology you use so it's pointless trying to say "C&C 3 is the best" when gameplay wise it may be but it's boring now because your likely to say "seen this before, seen that before" and in the end your going to say "bugger this, i'm not playing anymore, it's no fun". same thing with god games as well though IMO.

[Subach]

old games example wing commander series; because of the real actors in the game instead of the ingame cutscene using game engine in these days

[keremix]

old games for sure