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Back in the days of old, when the old SR MD still had a decent head of hair, The Mega-Drive and SNES brought to us some of the finest games seen or played to-date. But as well as bringing us the next-generation of Sonic and Mario titles and a plethora of superb other games the 16-Bit era was the last era to have predominantly 2D games!
Yes... gone were the days of multiple scrolling backgrounds and characters limited to 3 animations each We were subsequentially introduced to full 3D gaming! Which, besides being harder to code... was a real git to get the hang of!
For years i'd been used to going right... you know... at the start of almost every Mario level, you'd go right... same for Sonic... even Aladdin and Jurassic Park games bore this attribute! I was quite happy with it... I mean, as long as Nintendo kept churning out Mario games, I was laughing! Sonic was just as good, and there were quite a few third party titles that brought some serious competition to the fray!
But then came this mainstram console... a Sega Saturn thingy... which, although turned out to be a flop, also turned heads when it was first released... I thought Sonic Racing was good... was I the only one? Oh... well, anyway... I suppose the PlayStation bought 3D gaming to the masses... Wipeout and Tekken were great, for what they were, but still... it was no longer a case of holding left (or right, up or down) and holding down the 'A' button... to complete the level... you had to do all this weird stuff, like change gear in cars, and move in 3 on 3 axis in fighing games, not just 2!
Now, take everything i've just said... all that basic stuff, and apply it to the indusrty as a whole... gaming is getting harder... it isn't just about being able to go in 360 degrees instead of 8, it's everything... the fact that you can move in any direction you want is truly amazing... and clearing a goal , winning a match, or completing a level has never bee harder!
I suppose harder games were only to be expected with the transformation from 2D to 3D, but regardless, you now have to turn around, to see what's where, and 3D scenes limit the camera to which part of a puzzle you can see.
These are all a few examples of many things that have made gaming harder. We can still determine the difficulty of games, by comparing and contrasting, but being a child who wants to get into gaming now, is much more trying than it was in the good old days... there are loads more factors in making a game, and despite the fancy graphics and cool sound, it's the gameplay that counts, and if games are that much harder to pick up and play now compared to then, we might see the gaming industry slow down just a bit...
It isn't likely to, but still... the lack of 2D all genre games could very well mean we see the average age of gamers increase quite a bit!
Just a thought....
Game
Yes... gone were the days of multiple scrolling backgrounds and characters limited to 3 animations each We were subsequentially introduced to full 3D gaming! Which, besides being harder to code... was a real git to get the hang of!
For years i'd been used to going right... you know... at the start of almost every Mario level, you'd go right... same for Sonic... even Aladdin and Jurassic Park games bore this attribute! I was quite happy with it... I mean, as long as Nintendo kept churning out Mario games, I was laughing! Sonic was just as good, and there were quite a few third party titles that brought some serious competition to the fray!
But then came this mainstram console... a Sega Saturn thingy... which, although turned out to be a flop, also turned heads when it was first released... I thought Sonic Racing was good... was I the only one? Oh... well, anyway... I suppose the PlayStation bought 3D gaming to the masses... Wipeout and Tekken were great, for what they were, but still... it was no longer a case of holding left (or right, up or down) and holding down the 'A' button... to complete the level... you had to do all this weird stuff, like change gear in cars, and move in 3 on 3 axis in fighing games, not just 2!
Now, take everything i've just said... all that basic stuff, and apply it to the indusrty as a whole... gaming is getting harder... it isn't just about being able to go in 360 degrees instead of 8, it's everything... the fact that you can move in any direction you want is truly amazing... and clearing a goal , winning a match, or completing a level has never bee harder!
I suppose harder games were only to be expected with the transformation from 2D to 3D, but regardless, you now have to turn around, to see what's where, and 3D scenes limit the camera to which part of a puzzle you can see.
These are all a few examples of many things that have made gaming harder. We can still determine the difficulty of games, by comparing and contrasting, but being a child who wants to get into gaming now, is much more trying than it was in the good old days... there are loads more factors in making a game, and despite the fancy graphics and cool sound, it's the gameplay that counts, and if games are that much harder to pick up and play now compared to then, we might see the gaming industry slow down just a bit...
It isn't likely to, but still... the lack of 2D all genre games could very well mean we see the average age of gamers increase quite a bit!
Just a thought....
Game
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I don't think games difficulty have changed because I think there has always been a big range of difficulty in gaming. 3D technology has created whole new genres, maybe they are harder/easier just because they are totally different.
But I do think that games are getting short, and therefore seeming easier. Gaming technology is quickly advancing. Games developers can't afford to spend too much time developing a long brillient game becuase by the time they release it, it might be out of date.
This is most obvious with Adventure games. Only a few years ago we were spoilt for choose for quality adventure games. But now what do we have? Escape from Monkey Island is about it. And that, even with it's fantastic 3D environment, was far too short. It only took me a couple of days to do it. Whereas the first two in the series took me AGES! Maybe I'm a better adventure gamer, but I seriously doubt it. The only good 3D adventure game has been Discworld Noir and that wasn't even a fully 3D Game!
I like a nice long, intresting, game that takes at least a few months to complete. And now computer games are more expensive I can't afford pay out £50 every couple of weeks for the new Playstation 2 game.
But maybe I'm missing out on all the good games. "Great Games you know, Great Games you don't" so I might be talking out of my bottom?
If anyone out there knows any good 3D adventure games (a proper adventure game, not any of this mixed genre rubbish) please correct me!
Keep on Gaming!
But I do think that games are getting short, and therefore seeming easier. Gaming technology is quickly advancing. Games developers can't afford to spend too much time developing a long brillient game becuase by the time they release it, it might be out of date.
This is most obvious with Adventure games. Only a few years ago we were spoilt for choose for quality adventure games. But now what do we have? Escape from Monkey Island is about it. And that, even with it's fantastic 3D environment, was far too short. It only took me a couple of days to do it. Whereas the first two in the series took me AGES! Maybe I'm a better adventure gamer, but I seriously doubt it. The only good 3D adventure game has been Discworld Noir and that wasn't even a fully 3D Game!
I like a nice long, intresting, game that takes at least a few months to complete. And now computer games are more expensive I can't afford pay out £50 every couple of weeks for the new Playstation 2 game.
But maybe I'm missing out on all the good games. "Great Games you know, Great Games you don't" so I might be talking out of my bottom?
If anyone out there knows any good 3D adventure games (a proper adventure game, not any of this mixed genre rubbish) please correct me!
Keep on Gaming!
Depends on what part of the game you look at. Yes the programming of the games is getting harder, but as time goes on that will get easier and simpler as a new method is developed. Then it is likely to get harder again.
I think that some of the older games are harder to complete, because they had harder puzzles. There where loads of games where you knew what you had to do, it was just figuring out how to do it that was the problem.
Where as now a game known as a puzzler, to me doesn’t have the same meaning it used to have. Instead of solving a puzzle now, you just have to wonder around and find where you have to go next. That isn’t really a puzzle, anyone could do it with enough time.
In games such as Zelda there are little puzzles, but they still aren’t real puzzles. How can knowing to pull a level next to a door be a puzzle when it is the only thing in the room.
A lot of the time the things that make today’s games hard, is spotting things like ledges, because you can look in any direction and they can be hidden behind things. The other thing that makes games hard is the controls. Gone are the days were you only need two buttons to do everything. Instead now you have to use endless button combinations just to get a weapon out.
In a way games are getting harder, but its not really the puzzles that are getting harder. You don’t need a lot of brainpower to complete most games. Instead it is things like hard/more enemies, and more directions to move in.
I think that some of the older games are harder to complete, because they had harder puzzles. There where loads of games where you knew what you had to do, it was just figuring out how to do it that was the problem.
Where as now a game known as a puzzler, to me doesn’t have the same meaning it used to have. Instead of solving a puzzle now, you just have to wonder around and find where you have to go next. That isn’t really a puzzle, anyone could do it with enough time.
In games such as Zelda there are little puzzles, but they still aren’t real puzzles. How can knowing to pull a level next to a door be a puzzle when it is the only thing in the room.
A lot of the time the things that make today’s games hard, is spotting things like ledges, because you can look in any direction and they can be hidden behind things. The other thing that makes games hard is the controls. Gone are the days were you only need two buttons to do everything. Instead now you have to use endless button combinations just to get a weapon out.
In a way games are getting harder, but its not really the puzzles that are getting harder. You don’t need a lot of brainpower to complete most games. Instead it is things like hard/more enemies, and more directions to move in.
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