Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

Ow if you are not one of those bashers of games with any graphics that only like text based games then we are on one line.
I don't consider Diablo an RPG (you can call me a diablo basher). An RPG needs somewhat of a decent story. Story Driven RPG: I like fall out 3 better than fall out 1.. I like planescape torment best for it's story, BG is good too.

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

There were a whole wad of factors affecting the area. E:B4D wasn't being developed in-house, so EA and Westwood had a lot of say-so over the UI because it had to 'remain true to the C&C series'. The tabs for unit/building construction were (I think) our innovation (I joined after the in-battle UI was finalised), but I got the impression that generally there were a lot of restrictions on ideas we had put forward.

It's understandable that they'd worry about a third party working on their prized (and highly lucrative) IP, but maybe they were over-cautious.

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

And now WW is gone, and EA is doing their usual thing of making decent-good games and refusing to support them. :(

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

Over Cautious I think is the watchword for the day when it comes to Gaming. Its become such a big investment that companies are loathe to try new things.

Its all derivative and formulaic to the extreme.

EA basically owns much of the gaming industry now...buying out companies then totally shutting them down. Its very sad.


Also, Ive heard good things about Dreamfall: The longest Journey. How puzzle intensive is it?

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

Lol, wanna laugh? Possibly one of the most... well... "role playing" CRPGs :p I've played is one that is not even an RPG: the game of Blade Runner (by Westwood IIRC). More like an adventure, it's AWESOME game: it had a lot of ways to behave (playing your role ;) ) that made you really feel how you were changing the story - of course there were fixed events or the amazing plot wouldn't have evolved, but you could make lots of choices to get to one of the 10-or-so possible endings... and also some randomization (i.e. several characters could be humans or replicants) for further replayability. Added value for recalling a lot, with the locations, the camera movements and the atmosphere, the outstanding movie.

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

Westwood was one of the best studios ever. It's frustrating, as they're my only favorite game designers that I have had little luck tracking down, as to what projects they are involved with now. One game in particular that I never hear mentioned, Mars Saga, was revolutionary at the time, with turn based combat where you script your party, and then the combat round plays out in "real time". It did this with AOE/cone effect weapons and semi-realistic explosions - on the Commodore 64.


Not very, it's nothing like Myst or anything like that, that's for sure. There was one somewhat frustrating sequence involving some pylons spread out in a small maze, with this freaky troll thing that would kill you in one strike. Outwitting the beasty was much more a puzzle than the other part. ;) And there was one very minor puzzle I had to look up a walkthrough for, only to find it involved an aural cue, and I had my sound very very low while playing at night. :re: The story is amazing though, and much of the dialogue is pure genius. Seriously, if you like a good fantasy story, it's hard to go wrong with it. Just, be prepared to feel like crying at the end. :o

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

Westwood had many great games under their belt, but towards the end the wheels were falling off their wagon. Possibly because...

According to Wikipedia, many of the staff at Westwood were very unhappy with the EA takeover, left, and created Petroglyph Games. So check them up.

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

That happens with takeovers. When DMA Design were bought up to become Rockstar North, a lot of staff left too.

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

Agreed. I think many of the big publishers buy studios for the intellectual property, not for the talent of its workers. It suggests their interest is in leveraging the "brand" and being able to knock out cheap, inferior sequels to make money, rather than nurturing talent. It's certainly telling when groups as incredibly successful as Westwood were can find they don't have creative freedom anymore.

Re: Off topic: How are games failing you?
 

That's funny, because they did Empire at War, which had some really cool concepts (and ALMOST sated my desire for a remake of Rebellion), but ultimately got very repetitive, very fast.

Oddly, I met a number of gaming industry people in my time in WoW, including a couple who claimed to be working on that title. According to them, it was an offshoot of Westwood - but they were pretty tight lipped about most things. They also stated that they were not part of the "old guard", and apparently their co-workers (for SOME reason) didn't talk much about the glory days.

Their new project is Mytheon which is a free/micropayment MMO. Quite a departure from the old days.....