So I find myself quitting another new game (Oblivion) and browsing Abandonia for this afternoon's entertainment.

New games just don't compare to old. Please, tell me if it's true or maybe I'M just getting old...... (I'm 28).

Supporting evidence.
I played every nook and cranny of all the eps for Heroes of Might and Magic 3 but I can't be bothered finishing HOMM 5.
I loved Civ 2 and its eps but I've only played about 3 games of Civ 4.
The Longest Journey was way better than Dreamfall.
Nothing has ever compared to Ultima 7.
Quest for Glory 5 was great - how many years ago was that now?
Baldur's Gate 2 was so huge I still haven't finished TOB. (And I'm not sure my computer can play it any more.)

Is it so wrong to want a decent, story filled, probably 2D rpg or linear adventure? How about a new Ultima using the Baldur's Gate 2 engine? Or a HOMM sequel with nice flat graphics instead of cringeworthy 3D characters? And a Dreamfall sequel without cheesy little "arcade" sequences?

So tell me. Why did every Sierra and Origin game get infinitely better in sequels and whereas todays RPGs and adventures seem to be going backwards? Should I retire (after a very considerable gaming history) and get a shares portfolio to occupy my time? Anyone else feel the same or am I alone in my torment? - Planescape Torment, that is. Please reply!

I don't really know, but maybe it's just:
1. Time is money
2. New ideas takes time
3. New ideas means less money
and with the insane production costs these days, as opposed to the times when great games were made by 1, 2, maybe even 3 people... in their spare time, it's no wonder why modern games seems so lacking in uniqueness and freshness.

Relax and be happy - you're computer ACTUALLY(!) plays old games!
Mine can't either new FPS's and barely some strategy games(LAG and freezing!) and neither I can play old goodies! GAH!

I think that "back in the day" people like Ken and Roberta Williams were creating truly new things, because there were no defined genres, no market analyisis etc. so they just did their thing, and creativity followed.
Now that those gaming genres have been established things go pretty much the way Mighty Midget stated. Big business isn't particularly good at just going with free-flowing creativity, so a creative medium like games suffer.

Incidentally, what was up with the ending of Dreamfall?! That has to be the most annoying and ridiculous ending to a game ever. It made me feel like the time (and money) I had put into the game was just a waste.
It felt as if Mr. Tornqvist was giving me the middle finger salute and laughing in my face whilst telling me, "Ha! Now I've got you for the infinite number of sequals that I plan to produce, which will trade off the originality and freshness of the first game, but will progressively get worse and worse as the gameplay and writting die slowly and painfully at the hand of profit margins and corporate strategy."

Yup, it irritated me :)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(howmanymegs @ Jan 12 2007, 01:36 AM) [snapback]274414[/snapback]</div>No, you're not alone. Everyone is. ^_^
They stopped producing good games like several years ago. If you now find any enjoyable games that are high end, it's a gem. Rare.
Games like Tetris, Super Mario, Flashback, Indiana Jones, Zelda, Lands of Lore, a.s.o., a.s.o.

WILL PROBABLY NEVER EVER BE INVENTED AGAIN!!! :hairpull:

It seems to me that today everything is about fancy-a55 graphics. <_<

Well, not all, there are rare exceptions. One of them is a RPG game made by German team in a city nearby, called Gothic. Two sequels followed, each one worth playing through in my eyes that loved the first game on the first encounter, and hungry took on the second game in the series, soon after adding the expansion pack to it. Only the third game is waiting yet to be played through one day when my PC will be a better one than I have now :)
Of course, this game is quite a unicum among the today's games anyway, but not all new games are boring and lacking good ideas, there are sometimes some worth playing too :)

Maybe all of the ideas has been invented?
Maybe there is no place for home made games, that brings something new?
Maybe it won't give money enough to producers, when they'll create something old-school style?

Maybe. But then it's time for something that would succesfully replace the computer games in the mass interest list, and I don't think that's soon enough to happen as there doesn't exist yet such a thing that would be more popular than computer games.

It's not just you. I'm 23 and most of my favorite games came out before/during my time in elementary and middle school.

And not just PC games, either.

Nintendo has never surpassed Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World.

Square has never surpassed Final Fantasy VI.

IMO, the best games have the VGA-style, Super Nintendo quality, 256 color graphics. Good enough to inspire awe and wonder, but you still have to fill in all the details by yourself and make you use your imagination. Beyond that, you tend to get too busy making ultra graphics and forgetting things like gameplay or plot (I'm looking at you, Final Fantasy VII and beyond).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Thanos6 @ Jan 12 2007, 01:54 PM) [snapback]274548[/snapback]</div>YAY! That's what I'm saying! :w00t:
Don't you think the developers had to put even MORE effort im making good graphics with less options?
I mean you really can see how much time and passion is in the graphics. :wub: ^_^