| 30 APR 2006 at 4:25pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
It's probably a combination of both. Back then, interactive PC and video games in general were still new to many people and almost any decent new title seemed very exciting. After a while, that newness wore off for most of us players and we become a bit jaded.
But so too has the industry begun to exaust the obvious storylines and styles in most genres. They have now explored all the basic, traditional literary and film directions of action / adventure, comedy, drama, war, mystery, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, etc. and most of the fundamental gameplay elements have now been established for both online and offline gaming. Interfaces and game controllers have been refined, most of the classical puzzles types have been used and we are simply seeing fewer all-new wow moments in games as the result.
The same thing happened when motion pictures and TV were still new. Every single flim or show seemed quite amazing, fun and innovative. But after a while the audiences started to yawn at the repetition when new formats, genres, basic story types and truly remarkable technical advancements inevitably started to run out.
Cheers, Terry
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| 30 APR 2006 at 5:33pm |
| Deleted User | Which current games didn’t you like? You didn’t say, so it’s hard to respond.
I think there are some great current games, like AGON –The Mysterious Codex, Dreamfall, Keepsake, The Indigo Prophecy. Have you tried any of those? Echo and Return To Mysterious Island are very good, too.
I’ve a lot of older games myself, and while they’re fun to revisit, I’m getting excited again by the quality of some of the newer games, myself.
And for that 'just read a good book feeling', I highly recommend Dreamfall.
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| 30 APR 2006 at 6:51pm |
shed22Space Cadet
Posts : 106
Joined: 18 SEP 2005
Status : Offline | If, however, you're looking for an extremely well done, yet "Old Style' first person game, may I suggest either Scratches or Barrow Hill. I think you'll be impressed.
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| 30 APR 2006 at 10:14pm |
kuddlesPrivate Detective
Posts : 702
Joined: 22 OCT 2004
Status : Online | Maybe you just need to take a break away from them for awhile. I know that happens with me. I'll stop reading books or watching movies or playing games for a stretch of time, until I get that itch again. I also think as you get older, you become less patient with things you don't like about the medium. Like Terry stated, when you become interested in a new entertainment medium, or even a new genre of a medium, you aren't used to the cliches, and the parts that are irritating or annoying are too new for them to bother you immediately.
[size=10][b]Games:[/b] Europa Universalis III&&[b]Music:[/b] [i]Awoo[/i] - Hidden Cameras&&[b]Series:[/b] Dexter (S1)&&[b]Movies:[/b] The Prestige (8/10) Little Miss Sunshine (5/10)&&[/size]
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| 30 APR 2006 at 10:36pm |
pSyCHoSpiLLeRIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 23
Joined: 12 APR 2004
Status : Online | I believe that the change in engines from largly 2D to 3D engines has made a mark. There is something about the atmosphere in a well done 3D in 2D like Syberia or 2D like the early Myst games, that I find more engaging than current 3D engine games like Dreamfall. One thing that undermines the atmosphere there is too much obvious billboarding. This breaks my suspension of belief. Also clumsy 3D controls distract from sightseeing.
The issue does not seem to be about story lines or me because I can care as much about a character like Zoe in Dreamfall as I can Kate Walker in Syberia.
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| 30 APR 2006 at 11:31pm |
PoyntenklikSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 201
Joined: 25 AUG 2005
Status : Online | Maybe it's not your cup of tea, but, have you considered trying different genres of games for a contrast? I flit between adventure games to action games. One minute I'm playing doom3, then sherlock holmes, then tomb raider, then moment of silence, runaway, then quake 4, and so on. Those are the only genres I like, but when I get bored of pointing and clicking, some real action with juicy physics engines, ( eg, half life 2) is just the ticket. Maybe that would keep you fresh. Unless you hate FPS of course. Or maybe try an RPG, or a strategy game.
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| 30 APR 2006 at 11:43pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Great advice Poyntenklik and I'd be happy to help any of our ardent AG players explore a few of the better RPGs that have terrific stories, characters, dialog, exploration and even a few good puzzles.
You can help them in the FPS department (as I'm a little behind in that genre right now) and perhaps some of our other forum members who love good strategy games and/or sims can offer the same kind of hands-on guidance in those genres.
Cheers, Terry
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| 30 APR 2006 at 11:45pm |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | I think there are some great current games, like AGON –The Mysterious Codex, Dreamfall, Keepsake, The Indigo Prophecy. Have you tried any of those? Echo and Return To Mysterious Island are very good, too.
I think a game like Keepsake being considered "great" these days may be part of the problem.
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| 1 MAY 2006 at 2:31am |
VroomfondelIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 14
Joined: 19 APR 2006
Status : Online | Adventure games have changed for me too. I used to love adventure games, to the point of practically refusing to buy anything but adventure games (That's an RTS game, bud. I only play adventures.) When Sierra died, I didn't have a steady source of AGs to play, so I sort of gave up on the genre. The only AGs I found were parser games and they were fan-made: Space Quest: The Lost Chapter and Space Quest 0: Replicated (both quite excellent, I might add). I've slowly degenerated into an FPS gamer. I play a lot (read: too many) FPS games, and it shows. Upon downloading a whole bunch of old abandonware AGs that I missed out on, I suddenly found that I no longer had the patience to play through the puzzles (What do you mean I have to figure this out?! I just want to see the ending darn it!). Instead of actually bothering to solve them, I usually resorted to walkthroughs, something which further frustrates me. The few "new" adventure games I've managed to play just don't hold my interest the way the oldies do/did.
-Vroom
Space Quest: The Xenonian Candidate&&-In Production
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| 1 MAY 2006 at 3:11am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4940
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Cultura (30 APR 2006 4:02pm)
I it just me, or have games changed?
When I started out adventure gaming in 1998 (RiVen, Morpheus where among my first games) I got really immersed in games. I felt I was really wandering around those deserted islands, or I was wondering about routes and solutions all the time, losing sleep over it.
Whenever I had finished a game, it felt as I really went through some kind of experience. Or like I had just read a great book.
But since a couple of years my drawers fill up with countless games I never finish, or leave me with a empty feeling. What's up? Is it me, or is it the games?
As someone else said, maybe a little of both. One of the reasons I started my AG collection specifically of games from 1993 on, was to address some of those 'empty' feelings. In other words, if I have some sort of nostalgia for 'the old days', I pick a good classic from the collection and play it. I also avoid walkthrus and hints to make the experience last as long as possible.
So, perhaps one solution would be for you to look at some of the lists of old games, read some reviews on a few that look interesting and start hunting for them on Ebay. You may find that they give you those old warm fuzzy feelings. (You can't possibly have played all the games from that 'Riven/Morpheus' era!)
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 1 MAY 2006 at 3:38am |
pSyCHoSpiLLeRIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 23
Joined: 12 APR 2004
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Poyntenklik (30 APR 2006 11:30pm)
Maybe it's not your cup of tea, but, have you considered trying different genres of games for a contrast?
Poytenklik, my list of games sounds like yours and would include FPS with a strong story line--like Max Payne II or Half Life II. Both of these titles have compelling story line and strong environment. And yet, for me there is some failure of atmosphere, having to do with artwork and navigation in a 3D engine. Maybe its just some quirk of perception or maybe just a quirk.
But I feel that some the of latest 3D AGs issued do not work at the smoothness of control that MP2 or HL2 achieve.
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| 1 MAY 2006 at 4:01am |
jalexSchattenjger
Posts : 2503
Joined: 5 MAR 2003
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By shed22 (30 APR 2006 6:51pm)
If, however, you're looking for an extremely well done, yet "Old Style' first person game, may I suggest either Scratches or Barrow Hill. I think you'll be impressed.
I agree. These are both good choises. I played Scratches when it first came out and I just finished Barrow Hill and they both gave me those feeling you talked about when I finished them. Those old game were more polished than a lot of the new ones but there are still many comming out that are also great games.
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| 1 MAY 2006 at 7:07am |
CulturaJourneyman
Posts : 1337
Joined: 1 SEP 2004
Location: NL, Amersfoort
Status : Offline | Well, I have played many games since RiVen and Morpheuas. From oldies such as Obsidian and probably every Adv game that has been published since then. Yes, from Syberia1,2, Pilgrim, TLJ, TMoS, Atlantis1,2,3, Journeyman Project, Grim Fandango, Omega Stone, Crystal Key, all of them at least 50+.
It is funny you should bring it up Poyntenklik, since I am not a purist. I have played HalfLife (1 en 2), and CallofDuty (1 and 2), all Tombraider games and more FPS's (RTS is not for me). And you know what? I thought that HalfLife2 did a better job of immersing me into a game, than most of the adventure titles. Which in turn made me feel rather sad -I wished there was an AG out there that was that good.
Shed22: I have just received Scratches and just ordered Narrow Hill. They looked kind of familiar in the demo, so I'm geving them a try in the coming weeks (although I was almost put off by the Gamespot review of Scratches: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/scratches/review.html). Yes, maybe it is a simple yearning for old days.
On this note, I must disagree with Psycho: that 3D environments might have detracted from the experience. Although it is a interesting point. Or maybe he is right? I'm sure to find out when playing Barrow Hill, which is about a 2Dflat as you can get it - curious to see how that goes down after all 3D extravaganza's of late. Let's see how that holds out against Dreamfall, which I have not ordered yet, pending the JA+ review and more feedback from you all here at this forum on this game. For I am really kind of frustrated: I have at least 20 unfinished games sitting in my closet and I am not really in need of more flotsam.
And SirDave's idea might also be worth considering: try the older games once more to see if that feeling of bygone days can be regained. Anyone tried that remedy yet? And did it work?
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| 1 MAY 2006 at 11:35am |
colpetSchattenjger
Posts : 1630
Joined: 12 APR 2003
Status : Offline | And SirDave's idea might also be worth considering: try the older games once more to see if that feeling of bygone days can be regained. Anyone tried that remedy yet? And did it work?
I recently played a slew of new games, then went back to RealMyst and Riven (2 of my all time favorites). I have to agree that within this bunch, only te Delawares came close to an exceptional gaming experience.
Nancy Drew Secret of the Old Clock – Feb 5/06 – Feb 5/06
Nancy Drew last Train to Blue Moon Canyon – Feb 9/06 – Feb 11/06
Last Half of Darkness – Feb 18/06 – Feb 19/06
Martin Mystere Operation Dorian Gray – Feb 23/06 – Feb 27/06
Lifestream – March 5/06 – March 10/06
Shady Brook – March 11/06 – March 16/06
Delaware St. John Curse of Midnight Manor – March 17/06 – March 18/06
Delaware St. John Town with no Name – March 19/06 – March 19/06
RealMyst – March 18/06 – March 25/06
Riven – March 25/06 – April 2/06
Remedy – April 3/06 – April 8/06
AGON - April 8 -
I love the Nancy Drew games; they alway give me good entertainment, but they are not exceptional, more like predicable (which is fine by me). Lifestream and Shady Brook were a disappointment. I could not work out what to do on my own and virtually played with the strategy guide to get the most out of the game. Martin Mystere was an ok game; I will get the sequel if there is one. I really liked te Delaware games - good story and spooky environment, plus a hint of Gabriel Knight. Remedy was sweet, easy and beautiful, just not outstanding. I'm still working through AGON, but as you can see, I've not been rushing to get back to it, so it doesn't have me hooked.
I haven't replayed many games (just too many on my shelf unplayed), but I had a hankering to play something I knew I would love. RealMyst and Riven were just as wonderful as before; in fact, the stories melded together much better as I have read the Myst books and recently replayed Exile too.
Just to clarify, I haven't played Myst IV and V, Rhem 2, Scratches, or Barrow Hill. These are games I know I'm going to love. So I plan to savor them and dole them out inbetween other games to have something to look forward to should newer games fall short.
Occasionally visiting Uru Live (KI 0063722 .&&
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| 1 MAY 2006 at 11:53am |
trudysgardenSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 312
Joined: 19 JUL 2005
Status : Online | Sometimes I think it's the stack of unplayed games that causes me to become apathetic. Kind of a "there's more where that came from" attitude that also seems to happen to me when there's a ton of food or snacks in the house. Too much of a good thing.
That said, I mix them up between genres myself with some success. I went from Vampire Masquerade Redemption to Bloodlines to 80 Days to Fable to Scratches to Psychonauts recently and enjoyed them all.
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| 2 MAY 2006 at 11:49pm |
BlountSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 271
Joined: 19 APR 2006
Status : Offline | I know how you feel. I suppose its related to growing up/getting older, finding coincidences in stories (books, comics, movies, games...) and assuming they will be obvious and thrilled instead of living the moment and get pleasantly surprised as you did as child/teen.
That if the problem was you, but I think its also because of nowadays adventures are not exactly a moneymaking opportunity, so basically its easier to focus on technical boasts (which is the only thing that satisfies most this "eyecandy generation" than creating an original story with unique characters (Day of the Tentacle) or an atmospheric captivating world (Myst).
Its sort of the kind of "advantage" that movies have over books usually looking more appealing to younger audiences and offering an "quicker" entertainment that demands less attention.
My advice would be (as has been said) not to play games for a while, until you go hungry again .
Trudysgarden Sometimes I think it's the stack of unplayed games that causes me to become apathetic. I agree.
Currently Playing: Dracula Origins&&&&Check out my Videogame Music Covers!! http://www.youtube.com/user/SixStringsGeek
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| 3 MAY 2006 at 8:24am |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By jujigatame (30 APR 2006 11:45pm)
I think there are some great current games, like AGON –The Mysterious Codex, Dreamfall, Keepsake, The Indigo Prophecy. Have you tried any of those? Echo and Return To Mysterious Island are very good, too.
I think a game like Keepsake being considered "great" these days may be part of the problem.
If you don’t like Keepsake that’s fine, but it doesn’t make my thinking it’s great be a ‘problem’. All I’m trying to say is that I don’t personally feel that the newer games are worse than my early favorites, so to me there is no “problem” to begin with.
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| 4 MAY 2006 at 1:05am |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | Your tastes notwithstanding, I think the adventure gaming community calling mediocre games like Keepsake "great" could certainly be part of the problem that Cultura is experiencing. When you hear a game is "great" you get excited to play it. If you then play it and it is mediocre, this devalues the whole "getting excited to play a great game" feeling.
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| 4 MAY 2006 at 1:48am |
shed22Space Cadet
Posts : 106
Joined: 18 SEP 2005
Status : Offline | Hmmm I'd hope that thread doesn't become another excerise in semantics. (We've tended to do that lately.) I played Keepsake and, in honesty, found it a lot less than "Great". However, I understand that anyone who really appreciates unique and beautiful graphics would think it was one of the best. Maybe that's what has happened to adventure gaming. There is something for everyone and all of a sudden there are lots of games out there. If you're like me and love 1st person immersive games, they are out there. If you like 3rd person 'Big" games they are there too. How can that be a bad thing?
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| 4 MAY 2006 at 3:32am |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By jujigatame (4 MAY 2006 1:05am)
Your tastes notwithstanding, I think the adventure gaming community calling mediocre games like Keepsake "great" could certainly be part of the problem that Cultura is experiencing. When you hear a game is "great" you get excited to play it. If you then play it and it is mediocre, this devalues the whole "getting excited to play a great game" feeling.
Well it’s all a subjective analysis then, isn’t it?
For instance, having heard Morpheus is great form other sources, I eagerly pursued getting a copy of it and loaded it only to find the cut scenes are terribly washed out and blurred – some odd mixture of green baby puke and purple, and the game so far is a big exercise in matching missing barbells to door locks, song titles on juke boxes to rooms, etc, which to this gamer is just busy projects and very tedious. It to me lessened the 'getting exited to play' feeling.
In Keepsake, door locks where actual games – ie the leap frogging statuettes.
You say Morpheus, I say Keepsake… ToMAtoe, ToMAHtoe….LOL
Btw – I’ve found that liking games or not is such a personal thing and that the gaming community can embrace a wide variety of games. There’s certainly room for everyone and all likes (I hope).
I’m curious. If Riven is the standard of the past, what do Rivenites think of Myst V? Do they think it is ‘part of the problem’ and if not, then how are the recent games letting them down? :-?
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| 4 MAY 2006 at 4:12am |
BazzaLBPrivate Detective
Posts : 512
Joined: 27 AUG 2005
Location: AU
Status : Offline | Hmm, you reminded me.. I haven't finished Myst V.. mind you I never finished Myst 4 either.. come to think of it, I haven't finished 90% of the games I started in the last 18 months or more.
Oh, I did finish "Still Life" when I was on holiday a while back... hmm, actually, I did finish "Return to Mysterious Island" too... Didn't finish "Voyage" or Mysterious Journery II (got close before meandering off to something else).
I even got bored of F.E.A.R!
I tend to be more into Racing simulators these days. Things like rFactor, netKAR Pro, LFS S2, GTL, Richard Burns Rally... hell I even picked up a sailing sim "Virtual Skipper 4", but otherwise I struggle to get into just about any game these days.
I was looking forward to Oblivion for ages and I only just realised I haven't played it for a couple of weeks.
I blame my waning attention span. I'm a jaded old game player. Perhaps I've been playing games far too long.. I have been a solid Game player since the very early 80's! I think its just wearing thin. (Things seemed so much better then because it was all a new experience... now can't help feeling like I've been there, played that)
Ok, I rambled... happens to the best of us I guess.
EDIT: I'm pretty sure, if I ever get a copy of Tomb Raider Legends I'll finish that no problems.
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| 4 MAY 2006 at 6:10am |
jalexSchattenjger
Posts : 2503
Joined: 5 MAR 2003
Status : Offline | Game are like movies I think. I like about 1 out of 20 now and I remember when I used to like most of the ones that were comming out even though a lot of them were B/W. A lot of the new ones seem to really look great but are lacking in there story lines and enddings now.
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| 4 MAY 2006 at 2:08pm |
CulturaJourneyman
Posts : 1337
Joined: 1 SEP 2004
Location: NL, Amersfoort
Status : Offline | I think Jujigatame has a point. I have been terribly dissapointed after buying a game that had great reviews either at this site, or another gaming site.
How on earth can a game like Conspiracies get a A rating at JA+ while it is simply one of the worst games I have ever had on my hard disk? Or Dark Fall2 for that matter.
And Wowforce, as I am indeed a 'RiVenite', I never finished Myst Revelation nor End of Ages. I think they just didn't deliver. I just couldn't get immersed in those 'ages'. And ewven though purely 2D, I think RiVen is still one of the best looking games ever - even compared to the 3D extravaganza's of late.
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| 5 MAY 2006 at 1:00pm |
papillonSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 340
Joined: 3 JUL 2003
Status : Online | One of the reasons I'm so picky about plot and character is that I *am* so busy. I'm usually hard at work creating my own projects. Most games I play are really quick feel-good toys, things I can play for ten minutes and then set aside.
So if I buy an adventure game and it DOESN'T have a plot and characters strong enough to make me care about what's happening and draw my attention back to it to find out what's happening.... it's going to get set aside and forgotten.
I bought Voyage to the Moon because my other half and I had fun playing with the demo. But we haven't even installed it. It looks like a fun toy and if we ever feel like exploring it together we'll probably have fun, but it doesn't have that "Gosh, I've *got* to find out what happens!" pull. Whereas Ever 17 went straight onto the computer and COMPLETELY ATE MY BRAIN for the next week and some. Because I cared.
[url=http://whineaboutgames.blogspot.com]I Whine About Games[/url]&&&&[url=http://www.hanakogames.com]Anime Games[/url]
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