4 ms·

Broadly, there are two types of games that are important enough to remember years (or decades) later: those that are ground-breaking, and those that are good. O

by lmkg 16y ago

Broadly, there are two types of games that are important enough to remember years (or decades) later: those that are ground-breaking, and those that are good. Ones that are only breakthroughs can stay remembered for their historical significance, even though new iterations improve upon their formulas and eventually surpass them. Games that are good for reasons beyond being a technical breakthrough are the ones more likely to describe as "timeless" or "classic." Ultima VI sounds like an example of the first: quite a breakthrough in terms of mechanics, interaction, and storytelling at the time, but surpassed by later innovations. Starcraft (the first) would probably be the iconic example of the second: everything about that game already existed (in fact, it was somewhat obsolete on launch for still being 2D), and there has been tons of innovation in RTSes since then, but it was simply executed so well that it was not only remembered but actively played for over a decade. In practice, many games are both. For example, the original Half-Life was a breakthrough for FPS games in tightly integrating an engaging story into the experience. Integrating the story in such a way has become standard fare by modern FPS standards, but Half-Life remains playable and enjoyable today. The graphics are dated (and a little painful), but the gameplay is rock-solid, and the story is still significantly better than 95% of what's on the market, both in terms of what the story is and how it's told. Deus Ex also ages well. It's gameplay innovation of putting RPG elements in an FPS game is now quite standard in FPSes, but the plot makes the game fun to play. Its gameplay innovation isn't really obsolete yet because there isn't something significantly better, but it is exceedingly common, and yet Deus Ex remains a better game than most other games that use it. I strongly suspect Portal will fall into this category as well--portals are cool, but when I think of Portal I think of GLaDOS and the Weighted Companion Cube. As a game, it is held up by way more than just a technical gimmick. Unrelated: My personal favorite timeless classic is X-COM: UFO Defense (known as UFO: Enemy Unknown on the other side of the pond), which is apparently available now on steam, 17 years after its release.

wazoox 16y ago
> My personal favorite timeless classic is X-COM: UFO Defense My, this game is so great. It's actually much better now, because you don't need to wait for 20 minutes at each turn in the later levels (yes, up to 20 minutes back when I played it on a 386SX 16Mhz with 2MB RAM).
- ajuc 16y ago
  It's a great game, but I've noticed that after a while I've been bored with battles - I prefered allocating resources, waiting for new discoveries, battles felt a little too long, especially killing the last few aliens on each map. I wonder if others feel the same?
- Natsu 16y ago
  In that vein, you might like the game UFO:Alien Invasion. It's a rather playable open source clone of X-COM. Granted, they have a long way to go before they match up to the original and there are quite a few bugs if you get far enough along to disassemble UFOs, but I've been having fun playing it.
  - wazoox 16y ago
    Interesting, I had given it a try a few years ago but it was really too unplayable. I'll have a look, thank you.
    - Natsu 16y ago
      It has improved a lot with the most recent version. Like I said, most of the rough edges are a ways into the game. Oh, and I strongly recommend using the alternate HUB in options, so you can keep track of your soldiers' health more easily. It looks like there's code for a lot of cool stuff, but they have yet to enable most of it in the release version (there are a ton of other alien ships not yet enabled, for example). Some of their problems may be art-related. But none of that should stop you from having a bit of fun. And I hope that some talented folks from here, especially artists, might become contributors. Because I want to play a polished version of UFO:AI someday.
acabal 16y ago
I'd say the big thing that defines a timeless game is the story and atmosphere. Chrono Trigger, for example: fairly mundane RPG gameplay, 16-bit graphics, but the fantastic story has made me replay it several times over the years. Or one of my personal all-time favorite games, Elder Scrolls: Morrowind. It's a deeply flawed game both in terms of gameplay mechanics and technical details (it's shockingly buggy) but the deep, intricate story and well-realized atmosphere make it, in my opinion, much more fun to play than its newer and much more beautiful sibling, Oblivion. I was thinking of re-playing it just yesterday, in fact. Half-Life is another example. System Shock 2 has a deep, creepy atmosphere and engaging story despite looking worse than Half-Life, and it's one of my favorites. Mass Effect is a more recent example--while it's still near the top of the heap graphics-wise, I thought the gameplay was pretty flawed. Despite that the amazing story and characters pretty much guarantee that I'll come back to it in 5 year's time. For me, it's all about the story.

by lmkg 16y ago

wazoox 16y ago

> My personal favorite timeless classic is X-COM: UFO Defense My, this game is so great. It's actually much better now, because you don't need to wait for 20 minutes at each turn in the later levels (yes, up to 20 minutes back when I played it on a 386SX 16Mhz with 2MB RAM).

ajuc 16y ago
It's a great game, but I've noticed that after a while I've been bored with battles - I prefered allocating resources, waiting for new discoveries, battles felt a little too long, especially killing the last few aliens on each map. I wonder if others feel the same?
Natsu 16y ago
In that vein, you might like the game UFO:Alien Invasion. It's a rather playable open source clone of X-COM. Granted, they have a long way to go before they match up to the original and there are quite a few bugs if you get far enough along to disassemble UFOs, but I've been having fun playing it.
- wazoox 16y ago
  Interesting, I had given it a try a few years ago but it was really too unplayable. I'll have a look, thank you.
  - Natsu 16y ago
    It has improved a lot with the most recent version. Like I said, most of the rough edges are a ways into the game. Oh, and I strongly recommend using the alternate HUB in options, so you can keep track of your soldiers' health more easily. It looks like there's code for a lot of cool stuff, but they have yet to enable most of it in the release version (there are a ton of other alien ships not yet enabled, for example). Some of their problems may be art-related. But none of that should stop you from having a bit of fun. And I hope that some talented folks from here, especially artists, might become contributors. Because I want to play a polished version of UFO:AI someday.

acabal 16y ago

I'd say the big thing that defines a timeless game is the story and atmosphere. Chrono Trigger, for example: fairly mundane RPG gameplay, 16-bit graphics, but the fantastic story has made me replay it several times over the years. Or one of my personal all-time favorite games, Elder Scrolls: Morrowind. It's a deeply flawed game both in terms of gameplay mechanics and technical details (it's shockingly buggy) but the deep, intricate story and well-realized atmosphere make it, in my opinion, much more fun to play than its newer and much more beautiful sibling, Oblivion. I was thinking of re-playing it just yesterday, in fact. Half-Life is another example. System Shock 2 has a deep, creepy atmosphere and engaging story despite looking worse than Half-Life, and it's one of my favorites. Mass Effect is a more recent example--while it's still near the top of the heap graphics-wise, I thought the gameplay was pretty flawed. Despite that the amazing story and characters pretty much guarantee that I'll come back to it in 5 year's time. For me, it's all about the story.