3 ms·

It's hard to understate how groundbreaking Elite was when it came out, let alone on the kind of processor and processor speed it came out on. Dave Braben is a

It's hard to understate how groundbreaking Elite was when it came out, let alone on the kind of processor and processor speed it came out on. Dave Braben is a god on the same level as Carmack. He created a new game generation for decades, which we're still living in.

japanman425 4y ago
[dead]
jacquesm 4y ago
> Dave Braben is a god on the same level as Carmack. I don't think they're at the same level. The restrictions that Braben & Bell were working under were orders of magnitude more limiting than what was available by the time 'Doom' rolled around. Doom was definitely also a game changer but the quantum leap between Elite and what came before it was in my opinion of a different magnitude. That does not diminish Carmack in any way, what he did was amazing. But what Braben & Bell did was considered absolutely impossible from a cycles budget perspective. And Doom never struck me as 'impossible' on the hardware that it was run on. Doom got you a great game, Elite got you a career. That said: it is next to impossible really qualitatively compare people born at different points in time. Given the same limitations who knows what Carmack would have some up with and if Braben & Bell were born a few decades later it may well have been the reverse. One thing I know for sure: creativity thrives under constraints.
- prox 4y ago
  I agree. One of the problems I hear sometimes as an Elite Dangerous player is that the game is a “mile wide” , yet an inch deep. The game relies a lot on text (from the galnet news to the station boards) to convey what is happening. While that keeps things manageable from a time and money angle, the problem is that in this day and age it’s better/expected to show and let the players experience it. It also doesn’t trust the players with a lot of agency beyond visiting places and shooting/trading things. I think the game relies a lot on its legacy rather than new bold moves that elevate to the same status as its forbear. That said, there is nothing like E:D out there right now, and it’s still a great achievement.
  - weard_beard 4y ago
    X axis: elite dangerous. Y axis: dwarf fortress.
    - prox 4y ago
      That’s a deep y-axis! But yeah, essentially!
- gjvc 4y ago
  > One thing I know for sure: creativity thrives under constraints. Yes, this statement is above opinion.

japanman425 4y ago

[dead]

jacquesm 4y ago

> Dave Braben is a god on the same level as Carmack. I don't think they're at the same level. The restrictions that Braben & Bell were working under were orders of magnitude more limiting than what was available by the time 'Doom' rolled around. Doom was definitely also a game changer but the quantum leap between Elite and what came before it was in my opinion of a different magnitude. That does not diminish Carmack in any way, what he did was amazing. But what Braben & Bell did was considered absolutely impossible from a cycles budget perspective. And Doom never struck me as 'impossible' on the hardware that it was run on. Doom got you a great game, Elite got you a career. That said: it is next to impossible really qualitatively compare people born at different points in time. Given the same limitations who knows what Carmack would have some up with and if Braben & Bell were born a few decades later it may well have been the reverse. One thing I know for sure: creativity thrives under constraints.

prox 4y ago
I agree. One of the problems I hear sometimes as an Elite Dangerous player is that the game is a “mile wide” , yet an inch deep. The game relies a lot on text (from the galnet news to the station boards) to convey what is happening. While that keeps things manageable from a time and money angle, the problem is that in this day and age it’s better/expected to show and let the players experience it. It also doesn’t trust the players with a lot of agency beyond visiting places and shooting/trading things. I think the game relies a lot on its legacy rather than new bold moves that elevate to the same status as its forbear. That said, there is nothing like E:D out there right now, and it’s still a great achievement.
- weard_beard 4y ago
  X axis: elite dangerous. Y axis: dwarf fortress.
  - prox 4y ago
    That’s a deep y-axis! But yeah, essentially!
gjvc 4y ago
> One thing I know for sure: creativity thrives under constraints. Yes, this statement is above opinion.