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[The Fifth Horseman]

IMO it's simply that producers seem too fixated on super-hyper graphics and don't care much about gameplay.
They just want to make "THE next shiny thing for the masses".

Those games where the makers actually put effort into gameplay are few and far between.

But there is also that part worse then most, these inept producers who produce "games" like Terrorist Takedown, Ardennes Offensive etc... :vomit:

[Eagle of Fire]

You are not alone. I'm 25 and it been a long, long time since I've played a true gem for the first time. Recent games just don't cut it, part for the reasons cited above, part because all the budget is mainly dedicated to graphic candy first, then the rest follow and gameplay is often relegated to the latest stage.

The real problem here is not the producers in themselves... The main problem here is that most, if not all of us regulars here at Abandonia, are Elites. Elites of our gaming age. We are so much on top of our turf that we not only reign as master of our console/medium of choice, we also wish to communicate with others like us in an effort to exchange ideas, ideals and goals. At least, that's how I see it.

Then, we have on the other side of the balance the average Joe who plays for fun and don't care the slighlest bit about what is going on in the scene. All they want is games they consider as fun (read stupidly simple, especially since most of them are complete newbies or losers in the sense that they just plain suck at videogames) but extremely flashy and easy on the eye. As long as it works and it's graphicaly well done, they are happy.

Now, the gaming companies are not stupid. They are completely aware of this and what is going on... But truth is, whatever the kind of type of game you build, the only way to really make profit is to mass sell the game. No matter if the game is really poor, as long as you ship millions of them you are making huge profit! Is it really a surprise then that those aforementioned companies aim almost all their products to the biggest customer range in term of number? Not at all.

And that's where we lose, my friends. Because in anything, there can't be a big number of Elites in a given group. It's the mathematical law of the average: you'll always have extreme cases, but the vast majority will always be around the middle... Like the average Joe.

[Scatty]

Well said Eagle of Fire. I would like also to add a quote from some guy of an older game company whose both names I don't recall right now - "We make games on a motto: from freaks for freaks". That's how it was earlier, therefore the games had a certain touch to them they lack today, as today it's rather "From big companies for the masses and their money".

[Lulu_Jane]

"We make games on a motto: from freaks for freaks".

Well said sir, well said.

If games have become mass consumption entertainment as Eagle of Fire says (with which I agree) then every so often something glorious should wriggle its way out of the consumer demand "Long Tail." The annoying thing is finding those gems in amongst all the sub-par products.

[Mighty Midget]

EoF is right.

The video games industry is growing to become a major factor in entertainment. Sure, you won't find a virtual Hollywood where Lazy Jones, Pacman, the Mario Bros, Lara Croft and the others live, and it still finds it hard to be accepted as an entertainment phenomenon as the movie indutry, but the fact is that it is getting as important as Hollywood or Bollywood, spewing out products for the masses. The grumpy, living-in-the-past abandonhead lot that we are will never become an important target group for these companies. Movies again: I prefer older movies, not because they're old, but because they offer me what I want in a movie, even if they don't have the latest digital special effects. But as with underground/indie movies, you have underground/indie games. Take 5 Days for instance. Here's a fairly new game that takes me back to "the Glorious Days Of Old".

[U-Boat Commander David]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Icewolf @ Jan 12 2007, 09:23 AM) [snapback]274469[/snapback]</div>

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

Yeah, this sucks. Just look what they did to Counter Strike Source. Semi-Fancy graphix but a *meep*ed up netcode and countless other shortcomings when compared to CS 1.6, wich had countless shortcomings to CS 1.5 wich was teh rulerer of all.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(the_fifth_horseman @ Jan 12 2007, 02:26 PM) [snapback]274553[/snapback]</div>

But there is also that part worse then most, these inept producers who produce "games" like Terrorist Takedown, Ardennes Offensive etc... :vomit:
[/b]

I actually purchased Ardennes Offensive and i finished it just because i was so angry at myself for even getting that crap in the store... :wallbash:

[bobson]

I think that some of the games that are here are not as much entertaining as the new ones. Many things have changed. For example Warcraft (not WoW): I never liked to play the first part because of controls. I find it annoying to click on the icons or use the shortcuts. I like the W2 style, where my army knows what I want after just one click. And in w3, they not only know what they should do, but they know how not get stuck in front of some trees.

When i was starting my adventure with abandonia i downloaded a lot of games, which I had played whaen I was a kid. Another example: International Karate. After playing MK4 or SF:alpha it's nothing more than a nice memory. Not playable for me.

The thing is different with games, which are (I think I cn say it) gone. 2D simple games. Pac-Man style. I still like to play sometimes a C64 game called "Wizard of Wor" It's really fun stuff to me. Montezuma's Revenge, Gods, Blues Brothers also are on my computer, and i play them sometimes.

Everything is changing. Games are, we are ...

It's very good to have place like this, to watch all of the things, that we have been playing with, when we were younger, to show today kids a part of history.

[howmanymegs]

Thanks for the replies, fellas. I knew this was the right forum to post on with my pain and sufffering.

Of course, I agree that its less about "hardcores" like us and more about that 12 yr old boy I saw in EB getting 5 games (how does one even find 5 games to buy in one go?) but I suppose its the rejection that hurts so much! I mean, when I was 12 I was so excited about getting the latest King's Quest for Christmas that I wrote (with pen and paper) to Roberta Williams - and she actually wrote back. Cool, hey? And although I'm 28, I felt a similar excitement waiting for HOMM 5 and Dreamfall last year (soon to be replaced by disappointment). I wonder if Ragnar Tornquist would write back. (Might be worth a try.)

Its not that I want to go back to the pixelated days of yore but surely they can use new technology to make a few more decent games. And for the record, I HATE 3D graphics. I dont consider close up views of angulated idiots to be any better than a pixelated little King Graham sprite.

Meg

PS. I played Ultima 7 again recently (yay) and was reminded of the whole Elizabeth and Abraham story. For those of us who remember, Origin created absolute masterpieces with the Ultimas (at least from 4 onwards). But Electronic Arts; nowdays "good", thosedays evil, were trying to buy Origin when they were creating Ultima 7. Consequently Elizabeth and Abraham (EA) in the story were these incredibly powerful and evil characters spreading a false, if super-capitalist style "religion" in which "worthiness precedes reward" and other little telling catch phrases. Certainly after EA did buy out Origin, there were no more good Ultimas. Anyway, I appreciated Ultima 7 all the more given my current disappointments so I'm recommending a revisit to anyone who needs therapy.

[haakjay]

Civ 3 and 4 can be better if you turn off movement animations.
I also like best Civ 2 and 1.
And the older Heroes of Might and Magic.

I'm only 13 so I don't think you're old or perhaps I am. Awww

[Cosmonaut_Roger]

If it helps any, I've been feeling this way since late 2003. I've stopped playing new games almost completely, I only play old games from the 90s. It's not our imagination either, at least I don't think so. I've talked about this with other people and at other forums, and most hardcore PC gamers agree that the quality of games has gone downhill sharply with the rising popularity of gaming to the general public.

It's rough, but its reality and there's no escaping it. Since about 2004, I've been going back to the early 90s and playing older games I had missed the first time around. I've played very few new games, and I'm mostly focusing on older games that were great but for some reason or another I never got around to playing. The only new games I've played are Oblivion, FEAR, and Company of Heroes a bit. I'm not very impressed by those, and they don't hold my attention like Crusader No Remorse or Ascendancy does. So, despite having a new computer, I mainly use Dosbox or use an older computer I have and play old games. I scour the internet, Ebay, and used book stores for old games. I've discovered some amazing gems doing this, and its become my new favorite hobby, so I totally recommend it. Don't get discouraged by the current trends in PC gaming. In my opinion, PC gaming is dead or in hibernation, but there's PLENTY of quality old games out there just waiting to played by us today!