The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Speed. The main reason we are here today. The main reason that we’re interacting with people living thousand of miles away - with messages reaching them within half a second of pressing the Enter button. The reason that we’re able to come online and discuss games, films, football. The reason that diseases can be fought, technology expanded beyond our imagination and food can be bought from the local shops.
If you went back to the time of Jesus and put your great-great-great (x10) granddad in the 16th Century, then would he be surprised at the change? Probably not, he’d probably just be bewildered. But, if you took someone from the 18th century and put them in today’s world, they’d probably have a heart attack at the advance in technology. It’s just how far we’ve come in such a short time and thanks partly to the industrial revolution, how much we now rely on technology.
The same goes with consoles. From those games which we played at the arcade, the games that we mock now, but at the time resembled life. They were perfect, miraculous and astonishing – but only 10 years later and you’d probably be embarrassed to have one. People on these forums who are around 20 years old, will have seen it all really. They’d have been growing up at the right time to see consoles become something in which no longer you’re classified as a nerd to play on, but the cool dude to have the latest console. In just a few months, Microsoft’s Xbox is coming out, Nintendo’s GameCube is to be released and already you can see people’s attitude towards them. But, do they realise just what an accomplishment this really is?
It all really got started in the home around the time of the Atari VCS. Simple graphics, simple blips for sound and simply perfect gameplay with games like Pong, Tanks and, yes, even licences like the Smurfs and the impossible to finish ET. It heralded a new age which went on to spawn the Mastersystem from a company called Sega and the NES from Nintendo, both producing an instant leap in graphics, sound and entertainment. Kids and adults alike would finally be able to play some of the arcade classics at home and discover a whole new world of gaming.
From 16BIT to 128BIT in how many years? Just over 6. So, think where we’ll be in another 6 years if things carry on the way they do. All the time, technology is increasing offering us something that new that couldn’t before. Of course, sometimes it is wrong, but mainly it’s their to make our lives convenient. So, why do you think that consoles have become so wildly popular? Is it because of the amplify in technology, the way in which you envy your neighbour, the way in which we are always wanting more and need to keep up? Or, is it something far more simple, the fact that even from a young age to an old man, we enjoy the satisfaction of beating an old woman to death with a baseball bat. Or, playing that famous world cup match when Geoff Hurst scored. An escape of reality, or entertainment?
Getting back to all this speed malarkey. It seems that since we’ve come further into the 21 century, something has been left behind. To begin with, the mass competition is something that might change the world of gaming forever. With Microsoft having the ability to bring out add-on after add-on in order to make their console more successful and Nintendo fighting back with everything they’ve got. It’s not just about the kids anymore either. You’ve got the games magazines with professional writers sitting around playing games all month before telling you about them. You’ve got 18 certificates employing that games are not just for kids and you’ve got complex storylines, Zombies and other creatures trying to eat into you.
The good ol’ days in which you’d happily sit in front of your television to entertain yourself for hours controlling either a hedgehog of Mario have been replaced with state-of-the-art graphics and amazing sound, which, perhaps, may have replaced the gameplay in the most important aspect of entertainment. I ain’t one to complain, because in the end you do get some brilliant games from all this new technology. It’s just, it seems that graphics are what makes the game stand out now, whether that was the original intention or not.
Graphical improvements though are all part of the rise in the speed of processors and the power that goes with it. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo are classics. They’re inspiring. Metal Gear Solid with it’s superb storyline, immense graphics and addictive gameplay. Resident Evil, the same. They were both original, both remarkable. As processors get faster, both the main ones and those dedicated to graphics, the polygon count gets higher and programmers are able to do more tricks with the graphics. If they mix this with great gameplay then it can create a stunning game that sucks you in, and all the time these games are gaining more and more polygons, more and more detail and becoming more and more exciting.
So, will we be awestruck by the speed of technology in another 40 years? At the rate it moves now, yes, we probably will. Rest assured though that us humans will go on and on to strive for faster and better technology, creating better and better consoles. As long as the gameplay is still there, then we have a lot to look forward to.
If you went back to the time of Jesus and put your great-great-great (x10) granddad in the 16th Century, then would he be surprised at the change? Probably not, he’d probably just be bewildered. But, if you took someone from the 18th century and put them in today’s world, they’d probably have a heart attack at the advance in technology. It’s just how far we’ve come in such a short time and thanks partly to the industrial revolution, how much we now rely on technology.
The same goes with consoles. From those games which we played at the arcade, the games that we mock now, but at the time resembled life. They were perfect, miraculous and astonishing – but only 10 years later and you’d probably be embarrassed to have one. People on these forums who are around 20 years old, will have seen it all really. They’d have been growing up at the right time to see consoles become something in which no longer you’re classified as a nerd to play on, but the cool dude to have the latest console. In just a few months, Microsoft’s Xbox is coming out, Nintendo’s GameCube is to be released and already you can see people’s attitude towards them. But, do they realise just what an accomplishment this really is?
It all really got started in the home around the time of the Atari VCS. Simple graphics, simple blips for sound and simply perfect gameplay with games like Pong, Tanks and, yes, even licences like the Smurfs and the impossible to finish ET. It heralded a new age which went on to spawn the Mastersystem from a company called Sega and the NES from Nintendo, both producing an instant leap in graphics, sound and entertainment. Kids and adults alike would finally be able to play some of the arcade classics at home and discover a whole new world of gaming.
From 16BIT to 128BIT in how many years? Just over 6. So, think where we’ll be in another 6 years if things carry on the way they do. All the time, technology is increasing offering us something that new that couldn’t before. Of course, sometimes it is wrong, but mainly it’s their to make our lives convenient. So, why do you think that consoles have become so wildly popular? Is it because of the amplify in technology, the way in which you envy your neighbour, the way in which we are always wanting more and need to keep up? Or, is it something far more simple, the fact that even from a young age to an old man, we enjoy the satisfaction of beating an old woman to death with a baseball bat. Or, playing that famous world cup match when Geoff Hurst scored. An escape of reality, or entertainment?
Getting back to all this speed malarkey. It seems that since we’ve come further into the 21 century, something has been left behind. To begin with, the mass competition is something that might change the world of gaming forever. With Microsoft having the ability to bring out add-on after add-on in order to make their console more successful and Nintendo fighting back with everything they’ve got. It’s not just about the kids anymore either. You’ve got the games magazines with professional writers sitting around playing games all month before telling you about them. You’ve got 18 certificates employing that games are not just for kids and you’ve got complex storylines, Zombies and other creatures trying to eat into you.
The good ol’ days in which you’d happily sit in front of your television to entertain yourself for hours controlling either a hedgehog of Mario have been replaced with state-of-the-art graphics and amazing sound, which, perhaps, may have replaced the gameplay in the most important aspect of entertainment. I ain’t one to complain, because in the end you do get some brilliant games from all this new technology. It’s just, it seems that graphics are what makes the game stand out now, whether that was the original intention or not.
Graphical improvements though are all part of the rise in the speed of processors and the power that goes with it. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo are classics. They’re inspiring. Metal Gear Solid with it’s superb storyline, immense graphics and addictive gameplay. Resident Evil, the same. They were both original, both remarkable. As processors get faster, both the main ones and those dedicated to graphics, the polygon count gets higher and programmers are able to do more tricks with the graphics. If they mix this with great gameplay then it can create a stunning game that sucks you in, and all the time these games are gaining more and more polygons, more and more detail and becoming more and more exciting.
So, will we be awestruck by the speed of technology in another 40 years? At the rate it moves now, yes, we probably will. Rest assured though that us humans will go on and on to strive for faster and better technology, creating better and better consoles. As long as the gameplay is still there, then we have a lot to look forward to.
===SONICRAV---> wrote:
But more generally, the persuite of technology by any civilisation is exponential. It took hundreds of years to go from horse power to stream engine. It took far
less to go onto electricity, and even less to then master the power of atom splitting in Nuclear reactors... it's a runnaway effect.
It's all just happened so fast, yet we all take it for granted. Try and imagine what things will be like in 2,000 years. I bet, no film has yet even come close to what will be possible - although most futurist films nowadays seem like a dream.
But more generally, the persuite of technology by any civilisation is exponential. It took hundreds of years to go from horse power to stream engine. It took far
less to go onto electricity, and even less to then master the power of atom splitting in Nuclear reactors... it's a runnaway effect.
It's all just happened so fast, yet we all take it for granted. Try and imagine what things will be like in 2,000 years. I bet, no film has yet even come close to what will be possible - although most futurist films nowadays seem like a dream.
Speed makes a difference to everything, just look at the internet!
Well, Moore's Law says that processor power doubles every 18 months...
But more generally, the persuite of technology by any civilisation is exponential. It took hundreds of years to go from horse power to stream engine. It took far less to go onto electricity, and even less to then master the power of atom splitting in Nuclear reactors... it's a runnaway effect.
Sonic
But more generally, the persuite of technology by any civilisation is exponential. It took hundreds of years to go from horse power to stream engine. It took far less to go onto electricity, and even less to then master the power of atom splitting in Nuclear reactors... it's a runnaway effect.
Sonic
I totally agree. Even sound is improved by the power and speed advances of processors, maybe not just in quality but also by the way it is used.
Is it the programmers that push the technology or the technology that pushes the progammers though?
Is it the programmers that push the technology or the technology that pushes the progammers though?
Speed. The main reason we are here today. The main reason that we’re interacting with people living thousand of miles away - with messages reaching them within half a second of pressing the Enter button. The reason that we’re able to come online and discuss games, films, football. The reason that diseases can be fought, technology expanded beyond our imagination and food can be bought from the local shops.
If you went back to the time of Jesus and put your great-great-great (x10) granddad in the 16th Century, then would he be surprised at the change? Probably not, he’d probably just be bewildered. But, if you took someone from the 18th century and put them in today’s world, they’d probably have a heart attack at the advance in technology. It’s just how far we’ve come in such a short time and thanks partly to the industrial revolution, how much we now rely on technology.
The same goes with consoles. From those games which we played at the arcade, the games that we mock now, but at the time resembled life. They were perfect, miraculous and astonishing – but only 10 years later and you’d probably be embarrassed to have one. People on these forums who are around 20 years old, will have seen it all really. They’d have been growing up at the right time to see consoles become something in which no longer you’re classified as a nerd to play on, but the cool dude to have the latest console. In just a few months, Microsoft’s Xbox is coming out, Nintendo’s GameCube is to be released and already you can see people’s attitude towards them. But, do they realise just what an accomplishment this really is?
It all really got started in the home around the time of the Atari VCS. Simple graphics, simple blips for sound and simply perfect gameplay with games like Pong, Tanks and, yes, even licences like the Smurfs and the impossible to finish ET. It heralded a new age which went on to spawn the Mastersystem from a company called Sega and the NES from Nintendo, both producing an instant leap in graphics, sound and entertainment. Kids and adults alike would finally be able to play some of the arcade classics at home and discover a whole new world of gaming.
From 16BIT to 128BIT in how many years? Just over 6. So, think where we’ll be in another 6 years if things carry on the way they do. All the time, technology is increasing offering us something that new that couldn’t before. Of course, sometimes it is wrong, but mainly it’s their to make our lives convenient. So, why do you think that consoles have become so wildly popular? Is it because of the amplify in technology, the way in which you envy your neighbour, the way in which we are always wanting more and need to keep up? Or, is it something far more simple, the fact that even from a young age to an old man, we enjoy the satisfaction of beating an old woman to death with a baseball bat. Or, playing that famous world cup match when Geoff Hurst scored. An escape of reality, or entertainment?
Getting back to all this speed malarkey. It seems that since we’ve come further into the 21 century, something has been left behind. To begin with, the mass competition is something that might change the world of gaming forever. With Microsoft having the ability to bring out add-on after add-on in order to make their console more successful and Nintendo fighting back with everything they’ve got. It’s not just about the kids anymore either. You’ve got the games magazines with professional writers sitting around playing games all month before telling you about them. You’ve got 18 certificates employing that games are not just for kids and you’ve got complex storylines, Zombies and other creatures trying to eat into you.
The good ol’ days in which you’d happily sit in front of your television to entertain yourself for hours controlling either a hedgehog of Mario have been replaced with state-of-the-art graphics and amazing sound, which, perhaps, may have replaced the gameplay in the most important aspect of entertainment. I ain’t one to complain, because in the end you do get some brilliant games from all this new technology. It’s just, it seems that graphics are what makes the game stand out now, whether that was the original intention or not.
Graphical improvements though are all part of the rise in the speed of processors and the power that goes with it. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo are classics. They’re inspiring. Metal Gear Solid with it’s superb storyline, immense graphics and addictive gameplay. Resident Evil, the same. They were both original, both remarkable. As processors get faster, both the main ones and those dedicated to graphics, the polygon count gets higher and programmers are able to do more tricks with the graphics. If they mix this with great gameplay then it can create a stunning game that sucks you in, and all the time these games are gaining more and more polygons, more and more detail and becoming more and more exciting.
So, will we be awestruck by the speed of technology in another 40 years? At the rate it moves now, yes, we probably will. Rest assured though that us humans will go on and on to strive for faster and better technology, creating better and better consoles. As long as the gameplay is still there, then we have a lot to look forward to.
If you went back to the time of Jesus and put your great-great-great (x10) granddad in the 16th Century, then would he be surprised at the change? Probably not, he’d probably just be bewildered. But, if you took someone from the 18th century and put them in today’s world, they’d probably have a heart attack at the advance in technology. It’s just how far we’ve come in such a short time and thanks partly to the industrial revolution, how much we now rely on technology.
The same goes with consoles. From those games which we played at the arcade, the games that we mock now, but at the time resembled life. They were perfect, miraculous and astonishing – but only 10 years later and you’d probably be embarrassed to have one. People on these forums who are around 20 years old, will have seen it all really. They’d have been growing up at the right time to see consoles become something in which no longer you’re classified as a nerd to play on, but the cool dude to have the latest console. In just a few months, Microsoft’s Xbox is coming out, Nintendo’s GameCube is to be released and already you can see people’s attitude towards them. But, do they realise just what an accomplishment this really is?
It all really got started in the home around the time of the Atari VCS. Simple graphics, simple blips for sound and simply perfect gameplay with games like Pong, Tanks and, yes, even licences like the Smurfs and the impossible to finish ET. It heralded a new age which went on to spawn the Mastersystem from a company called Sega and the NES from Nintendo, both producing an instant leap in graphics, sound and entertainment. Kids and adults alike would finally be able to play some of the arcade classics at home and discover a whole new world of gaming.
From 16BIT to 128BIT in how many years? Just over 6. So, think where we’ll be in another 6 years if things carry on the way they do. All the time, technology is increasing offering us something that new that couldn’t before. Of course, sometimes it is wrong, but mainly it’s their to make our lives convenient. So, why do you think that consoles have become so wildly popular? Is it because of the amplify in technology, the way in which you envy your neighbour, the way in which we are always wanting more and need to keep up? Or, is it something far more simple, the fact that even from a young age to an old man, we enjoy the satisfaction of beating an old woman to death with a baseball bat. Or, playing that famous world cup match when Geoff Hurst scored. An escape of reality, or entertainment?
Getting back to all this speed malarkey. It seems that since we’ve come further into the 21 century, something has been left behind. To begin with, the mass competition is something that might change the world of gaming forever. With Microsoft having the ability to bring out add-on after add-on in order to make their console more successful and Nintendo fighting back with everything they’ve got. It’s not just about the kids anymore either. You’ve got the games magazines with professional writers sitting around playing games all month before telling you about them. You’ve got 18 certificates employing that games are not just for kids and you’ve got complex storylines, Zombies and other creatures trying to eat into you.
The good ol’ days in which you’d happily sit in front of your television to entertain yourself for hours controlling either a hedgehog of Mario have been replaced with state-of-the-art graphics and amazing sound, which, perhaps, may have replaced the gameplay in the most important aspect of entertainment. I ain’t one to complain, because in the end you do get some brilliant games from all this new technology. It’s just, it seems that graphics are what makes the game stand out now, whether that was the original intention or not.
Graphical improvements though are all part of the rise in the speed of processors and the power that goes with it. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo are classics. They’re inspiring. Metal Gear Solid with it’s superb storyline, immense graphics and addictive gameplay. Resident Evil, the same. They were both original, both remarkable. As processors get faster, both the main ones and those dedicated to graphics, the polygon count gets higher and programmers are able to do more tricks with the graphics. If they mix this with great gameplay then it can create a stunning game that sucks you in, and all the time these games are gaining more and more polygons, more and more detail and becoming more and more exciting.
So, will we be awestruck by the speed of technology in another 40 years? At the rate it moves now, yes, we probably will. Rest assured though that us humans will go on and on to strive for faster and better technology, creating better and better consoles. As long as the gameplay is still there, then we have a lot to look forward to.