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When games first started, as everyone knows, they were very basic and were mostly monochrome. Then came sound and colour. Still the games were only basic shapes, often only three or four sprites and a background if you were lucky. Pong and Space Invaders ruled and Pacman became a gaming icon in his world of mazes and ghosts.
Then new technology meant that a world of more believable characters and interactive backgrounds appeared, giving us a glimpse of the classic years of gaming, with Gauntlet providing speech (and who can forget phrases like 'red valkyrie is dead') and Rastan showing us the hack and slash moves that were obviously borrowed from the Barbarian movies. Suddenly the future was bright and 2 player multicolour extravaganzas exploded with action and thrilling music. Acades began to sound like a pretty violent wrestling match, or something far more illegal and cabinets tempted you with all kinds of graphical effects in order to get you to slot some money in them.
Games like Starwars appeared and wowed audience with their wireframe 3D effects, while 2d games like Metal Slug got smarter and contained a whole host of surprizes. Then came the 'true' 3D arcade games.
Suddenly, things changed and a whole host of 3D racing, fighting and even flying titles appeared on the scene. Tekken, Daytona, Soul Edge and many others dripped quality and the graphics were to die for. Older 2D games, such as the side scrolling efforts, got shoved to the back of the dusty arcade and shiny new 3D cabinets moved into their spaces. The age of the Polygon had truly arrived.
Did this revolutionise gaming? Well it certainly had a knock on effect with Sony and their new Playstation console. Customers had been knocked out by the 3D games and wanted a chance to play them at home, the Megadrive and SNES just couldn't cope with the demands of these new games and the Playstation and Saturn came in just in time to ride the wave of polygon popularity. This was truly an influencial leap in gaming, whether people liked it or not, and most seemed to lap it up.
Nowadays the legacy of these 3D titles has taken over and we are seeing more and more detail in the characters and scenery of our games, both in the arcades and at home. Until there is another radical change in graphics or gameplay though, we will not see another leap as big as this for a long time to come.
Whether you like them or lothe them, 3D games are here to stay and gaming would be lost without them.
Then new technology meant that a world of more believable characters and interactive backgrounds appeared, giving us a glimpse of the classic years of gaming, with Gauntlet providing speech (and who can forget phrases like 'red valkyrie is dead') and Rastan showing us the hack and slash moves that were obviously borrowed from the Barbarian movies. Suddenly the future was bright and 2 player multicolour extravaganzas exploded with action and thrilling music. Acades began to sound like a pretty violent wrestling match, or something far more illegal and cabinets tempted you with all kinds of graphical effects in order to get you to slot some money in them.
Games like Starwars appeared and wowed audience with their wireframe 3D effects, while 2d games like Metal Slug got smarter and contained a whole host of surprizes. Then came the 'true' 3D arcade games.
Suddenly, things changed and a whole host of 3D racing, fighting and even flying titles appeared on the scene. Tekken, Daytona, Soul Edge and many others dripped quality and the graphics were to die for. Older 2D games, such as the side scrolling efforts, got shoved to the back of the dusty arcade and shiny new 3D cabinets moved into their spaces. The age of the Polygon had truly arrived.
Did this revolutionise gaming? Well it certainly had a knock on effect with Sony and their new Playstation console. Customers had been knocked out by the 3D games and wanted a chance to play them at home, the Megadrive and SNES just couldn't cope with the demands of these new games and the Playstation and Saturn came in just in time to ride the wave of polygon popularity. This was truly an influencial leap in gaming, whether people liked it or not, and most seemed to lap it up.
Nowadays the legacy of these 3D titles has taken over and we are seeing more and more detail in the characters and scenery of our games, both in the arcades and at home. Until there is another radical change in graphics or gameplay though, we will not see another leap as big as this for a long time to come.
Whether you like them or lothe them, 3D games are here to stay and gaming would be lost without them.
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When games first started, as everyone knows, they were very basic and were mostly monochrome. Then came sound and colour. Still the games were only basic shapes, often only three or four sprites and a background if you were lucky. Pong and Space Invaders ruled and Pacman became a gaming icon in his world of mazes and ghosts.
Then new technology meant that a world of more believable characters and interactive backgrounds appeared, giving us a glimpse of the classic years of gaming, with Gauntlet providing speech (and who can forget phrases like 'red valkyrie is dead') and Rastan showing us the hack and slash moves that were obviously borrowed from the Barbarian movies. Suddenly the future was bright and 2 player multicolour extravaganzas exploded with action and thrilling music. Acades began to sound like a pretty violent wrestling match, or something far more illegal and cabinets tempted you with all kinds of graphical effects in order to get you to slot some money in them.
Games like Starwars appeared and wowed audience with their wireframe 3D effects, while 2d games like Metal Slug got smarter and contained a whole host of surprizes. Then came the 'true' 3D arcade games.
Suddenly, things changed and a whole host of 3D racing, fighting and even flying titles appeared on the scene. Tekken, Daytona, Soul Edge and many others dripped quality and the graphics were to die for. Older 2D games, such as the side scrolling efforts, got shoved to the back of the dusty arcade and shiny new 3D cabinets moved into their spaces. The age of the Polygon had truly arrived.
Did this revolutionise gaming? Well it certainly had a knock on effect with Sony and their new Playstation console. Customers had been knocked out by the 3D games and wanted a chance to play them at home, the Megadrive and SNES just couldn't cope with the demands of these new games and the Playstation and Saturn came in just in time to ride the wave of polygon popularity. This was truly an influencial leap in gaming, whether people liked it or not, and most seemed to lap it up.
Nowadays the legacy of these 3D titles has taken over and we are seeing more and more detail in the characters and scenery of our games, both in the arcades and at home. Until there is another radical change in graphics or gameplay though, we will not see another leap as big as this for a long time to come.
Whether you like them or lothe them, 3D games are here to stay and gaming would be lost without them.
Then new technology meant that a world of more believable characters and interactive backgrounds appeared, giving us a glimpse of the classic years of gaming, with Gauntlet providing speech (and who can forget phrases like 'red valkyrie is dead') and Rastan showing us the hack and slash moves that were obviously borrowed from the Barbarian movies. Suddenly the future was bright and 2 player multicolour extravaganzas exploded with action and thrilling music. Acades began to sound like a pretty violent wrestling match, or something far more illegal and cabinets tempted you with all kinds of graphical effects in order to get you to slot some money in them.
Games like Starwars appeared and wowed audience with their wireframe 3D effects, while 2d games like Metal Slug got smarter and contained a whole host of surprizes. Then came the 'true' 3D arcade games.
Suddenly, things changed and a whole host of 3D racing, fighting and even flying titles appeared on the scene. Tekken, Daytona, Soul Edge and many others dripped quality and the graphics were to die for. Older 2D games, such as the side scrolling efforts, got shoved to the back of the dusty arcade and shiny new 3D cabinets moved into their spaces. The age of the Polygon had truly arrived.
Did this revolutionise gaming? Well it certainly had a knock on effect with Sony and their new Playstation console. Customers had been knocked out by the 3D games and wanted a chance to play them at home, the Megadrive and SNES just couldn't cope with the demands of these new games and the Playstation and Saturn came in just in time to ride the wave of polygon popularity. This was truly an influencial leap in gaming, whether people liked it or not, and most seemed to lap it up.
Nowadays the legacy of these 3D titles has taken over and we are seeing more and more detail in the characters and scenery of our games, both in the arcades and at home. Until there is another radical change in graphics or gameplay though, we will not see another leap as big as this for a long time to come.
Whether you like them or lothe them, 3D games are here to stay and gaming would be lost without them.
This is hardly a topic man, it's more of your point of view on a well common fact, not bad though.
"Red Valkyrie is dead", damn that takes me back. What an excellent game that was. Things were better back then.
>jd reminisces about old games then runs upstaires to fish out copy of gauntlet on Master System<
Yep I still have it. Wow.
>jd reminisces about old games then runs upstaires to fish out copy of gauntlet on Master System<
Yep I still have it. Wow.
Ö=ResŒvilfan=Ö wrote:
This is hardly a topic man, it's more of your point of view on a well common fact, not bad though.
*********************
Whatever it is, it's a very good read and a dam sight better than what you've posted!
This is hardly a topic man, it's more of your point of view on a well common fact, not bad though.
*********************
Whatever it is, it's a very good read and a dam sight better than what you've posted!
Yes forget the techinical crap in machines.
The things that you really have to think about is: Are the games still as fun as they used be. I mean, the Megadrive and SNES had limitations, and these limitations kept them from producing realistic games, and instead, we got really fun and addictive games.
Mario Kart would be a good example. There is absolutely no realism there is there, but to compensate for this, the games is good fun and really addictive. What about the Sonic games, all of the Mario games, and most other Megadrive and SNES games. Nearly all of them had no realism, basically because of the limitations of the hardware.
Sega and Nintendo have always been known for producing fun and original games. So can these two make use of "this leap in gaming" and carry on producing those fun and original games. I hope so.
The main problem now is, developers are putting a lot more effort into how the game looks and how realistic it can be, instead of putting more emphasis on making the games fun to play.
So, I ask you, is this "giant leap of gaming" a good thing for all gamers? Answer. Not really. For gamers that are looking for a truly realistic experience with their games, then this leap in gaming is a treat. For those of you who want their games to be more about fun than it doesn't look so good. The games are getting more and more realistic every day, and while they may still be fun, they will not be as fun as the were in the 16-bit days of the Megadrive and the SNES.
Mario Kart would be a good example. There is absolutely no realism there is there, but to compensate for this, the games is good fun and really addictive. What about the Sonic games, all of the Mario games, and most other Megadrive and SNES games. Nearly all of them had no realism, basically because of the limitations of the hardware.
Sega and Nintendo have always been known for producing fun and original games. So can these two make use of "this leap in gaming" and carry on producing those fun and original games. I hope so.
The main problem now is, developers are putting a lot more effort into how the game looks and how realistic it can be, instead of putting more emphasis on making the games fun to play.
So, I ask you, is this "giant leap of gaming" a good thing for all gamers? Answer. Not really. For gamers that are looking for a truly realistic experience with their games, then this leap in gaming is a treat. For those of you who want their games to be more about fun than it doesn't look so good. The games are getting more and more realistic every day, and while they may still be fun, they will not be as fun as the were in the 16-bit days of the Megadrive and the SNES.
The quality and originality are still there in titles released today. Look at games like Chu Chu Rocket - DC and GBA, Mr Driller - loads of platforms, Kuru Kuru Kurin - GBA, Space Channel 5 - DC, Samba De Amigo - DC. There are more i could mention and many more will be released with the advent of the 'Cube.
All of the games listed above are original. Has there ever been a game before where you have to guide rotatin sticks around a course? Or where you have to dance to persuade in a spaceshipe overrun with aliens? Or shake some maraccas in time with the music? No.
Some of these games use 3D grpahics, some are almost as basic as SNES and megadrive titles grpahically, but there are on a lot more powerful systems.
Mr Driller is a perfect example. In the review in PC Zone, it got 80% and the PCZone award for excellence. That may not sound much, but PCZone has a tough reviewing policy, only 8 games have got 90% or above in the last 16 months.
Mr Driller got the same score as the new Alone In The Dark game, and a higher score than Tropico and the new Star Trek game as well as others. This shows that originality can shine through, that a game doesn't have to have an amazing 3D graphics engine to sell well.
I ask every PC owner who reads this to buy Mr Driller, it's only £9.99. Show that consumers don't just care about graphics and blood. Buy this game to show that originality is whats needed, and the market can handle it.
All of the games listed above are original. Has there ever been a game before where you have to guide rotatin sticks around a course? Or where you have to dance to persuade in a spaceshipe overrun with aliens? Or shake some maraccas in time with the music? No.
Some of these games use 3D grpahics, some are almost as basic as SNES and megadrive titles grpahically, but there are on a lot more powerful systems.
Mr Driller is a perfect example. In the review in PC Zone, it got 80% and the PCZone award for excellence. That may not sound much, but PCZone has a tough reviewing policy, only 8 games have got 90% or above in the last 16 months.
Mr Driller got the same score as the new Alone In The Dark game, and a higher score than Tropico and the new Star Trek game as well as others. This shows that originality can shine through, that a game doesn't have to have an amazing 3D graphics engine to sell well.
I ask every PC owner who reads this to buy Mr Driller, it's only £9.99. Show that consumers don't just care about graphics and blood. Buy this game to show that originality is whats needed, and the market can handle it.
the game? wrote
Whatever it is, it's a very good
> read and a dam sight better than what you've posted!
Least i don't sign off every post with game like it's a well known posse and I've never seen anything of yours worth reading to the end.
Whatever it is, it's a very good
> read and a dam sight better than what you've posted!
Least i don't sign off every post with game like it's a well known posse and I've never seen anything of yours worth reading to the end.
I think the next true leap in gaming will be when it is physically possibe to have VR in people's homes, I'm not expecting full immersion into an environment here, although some will have you believe that you can walk up stairs which aren't there, but that can truely be the next step. The next step may also be one which is in terms of AI, a console which actually thinks about it's next move in an RTS, not just sticking to a set patter. Admittedly AI at the moment is very good, but playing the computer is no where near as rewarding as playing another person, so to play a computer which is actually thinking, may also be the next step!!
I saw a TV programme which was actually about improving pilot response times when flying combat missions etc., one of the devices they had was being used to play Quake on line.
This kid had a peg/clip on his finger, which was apparently similar to the machines they use in hospitals to check your blood oxygen content. It does this by picking up on the small electrical changes in your skin with the change in oxygen content, against a calibrated norm for a person.
You can see where this is going, the premise of the technology had been adapted to respond to the electrical impulses transmitted through your skin when you look at something and think about, well shooting it. Sort of Firefox thing going on there me thinks. But it worked, the boy ruled at Quake, as everybody else had to complete the brain to hand type action where as he only had to think about it and the rest is down to the speed of electronics, which as we all know is very fast indeed.
You think F-Zero is fast now? Think how fast it could be if they didn't have to account for that extra second or so for you to hit the right button.
Don't know if it will ever filter down to the game players level, would be fun if it did though.
This kid had a peg/clip on his finger, which was apparently similar to the machines they use in hospitals to check your blood oxygen content. It does this by picking up on the small electrical changes in your skin with the change in oxygen content, against a calibrated norm for a person.
You can see where this is going, the premise of the technology had been adapted to respond to the electrical impulses transmitted through your skin when you look at something and think about, well shooting it. Sort of Firefox thing going on there me thinks. But it worked, the boy ruled at Quake, as everybody else had to complete the brain to hand type action where as he only had to think about it and the rest is down to the speed of electronics, which as we all know is very fast indeed.
You think F-Zero is fast now? Think how fast it could be if they didn't have to account for that extra second or so for you to hit the right button.
Don't know if it will ever filter down to the game players level, would be fun if it did though.
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