CRPGAddict

[octavius]

That's just nitpicking.

Prefering PoR is a valid choice. My favorite GB game is DQK, but I acknowledge that in many respects PoR is the best designed one. After all it was designed by some of TSR's own designers.

I'm doing my own chronological play list myself, except I don't play all the crap. But 1990-91 was the definite low in quality vs quantity (95-96 was also low in quantity), which the results of the Codex Top 70 indicate:

 

[Grauken]

I get where he is coming from and you as well, its just that the normal experience for people playing games is not to play all the games in a year, but a selected few, and for them, if they've played only some of the best ones (or only the best RPGs and played other genres as well, not uncommon among some people), 1991 was just a damn good year

 

[Werdna's Revenge]

I get where he is coming from and you as well, its just that the normal experience for people playing games is not to play all the games in a year, but a selected few, and for them, if they've played only some of the best ones (or only the best RPGs and played other genres as well, not uncommon among some people), 1991 was just a damn good year

I think the problem here is that you're comparing 1991 to some of the truely awful years that follow rather than looking at it compared to the years around it. It sort of exists as the pause before plunging into the golden age of early 90's RPGs but also follows up on 89. Those were better years than 91, but it was in no way a bad year for RPGs if you compare it the mid 00's and even the "renaissance" we're in now. Granted now that Disciples of Steel is getting more and more popular as a rediscovered lost gem, 91 might beat its reputation as a year of good, but not revolutionary sequels.

 

[octavius]

To me one of the problems of 1991 is that many of the CRPGs were a decline compared to earlier games in the series, like Gateway to the Savage Frontier (the blandest of all GB games), MM3 (pimped up and dumbed down) and Ultima 7 (horrible combat and I dislike the whole UI). Also the Eye of the Beholder games were a decline compared to Dungeon Master and CSB.

Objectively is was not such a bad year, but on my own list of GOTYs I voted Civilization as GOTY 1991. Should I consider only CRPGs it would be Disciples of Steel.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how CRPG Addict sums up 1992 in a couple of years, and how it compares with 1991.

 

[Grauken]

Can't argue with Civilization, I lost months to that game

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Civilization, Another World, Lemmings, and Populous II were all released in 1991. What a year for non-RPGs!

 

[Werdna's Revenge]

Hmm this is a good illustration on how the Addict's great strength is also his great weakness. How much better would those years in review be if he wasn't so hyper focused on CRPGs? Maybe just a quick look at what else was going on (the heights of shareware, the reasons for the impending dominance of DOS, the things JRPGs were doing on the consoles.) Even just a glance at the other things happening would give a more clear picture of why certain things came to be in CRPGs.

 

[V_K]

How much better longer would those years in review be if he wasn't so hyper focused on CRPGs?

FTFY. He'd still be around 1988 if he did that.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Even with RPGs he might need backup copy of himself and like The Moon movie - replace dead copy to continue the work.
Other genres? By one man? Don't be ridiculous.

 

[Eggs is eggs]

M&M 2 and 3 are pretty close. I mean all the M&M games are essentially the same but with better graphics/sound and QOL improvements. It's pretty neat that much like the classic Ultimas, he kept the formula the same for every game in the series.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

What about his refusing to declared Dungeon Master GOTY 1987?

To be honest I wouldn't do that either.

The reason is much more practical than me hating on a great game, though.

The reason is because Dungeon Master was released roughly a week before Christmas in 1987, and then only in the US. It had approximately fuck-all of an effect on gaming in 1987, and therefore shouldn't be considered for GOTY of 1987.

Now GOTY 1988, on the other hand...

I define the gaming year as ending on Nov 30th and starting on Dec 1st to compensate for games being released "just in time for the Holidays"-syndrome. This means that in my books Doom is ineligible for GOTY 1993, but is almost a shoe-in for GOTY 1994. (The problem with that year in particular, is that Doom 2 was also released in 1994...)

 

[octavius]

By using that system Wizardry IV would be GOTY 1987.
And in 1998 DM would compete with Pool of Radiance, Ultima V, MM2 and Wasteland.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

And in 1998 DM would compete with Pool of Radiance, Ultima V, MM2 and Wasteland.

And win.

I'll admit that there's a counter-factor to this; the impact a game may have upon the gaming industry before it's even released. Dungeon Master did have some pre-release impact, so while it's something to consider, it's very hard to quantify it.

 

[Dorateen]

M&M 2 and 3 are pretty close.

Might & Magic II did not have portraits or enemies visible in the 3D world that can be approached and assaulted with ranged weapons. Might & Magic III did not have row formations and combat was not as tactical as its predecessors. The presentaion of the game was much different. The itemization was completely overhauled. Isles of Terra is a great cRPG, but not as hardcore as the first two titles in the series. There is a clear deliniating line between II and III.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Do you agree that I should leave the music on if it will literally make me hate the game? Because that's what it will do.

I don't care if it was composed by Beethoven. I don't like to listen to music while I'm playing a game. Under any circumstances. Ever.

It seems the CRPG Addict is not only color-blind but also tone-deaf. Which perhaps explains his failure to appreciate Faery Tale Adventure.

 

[octavius]

I partially agree with him. In single character games with FPP I think music breaks the immersion, and I always turn it off. It makes a game more cinematic and less simulationist.
For other games I tend to tire of the music after a while. But not FTA which has some of the best music ever, though.

 

[V_K]

Do you agree that I should leave the music on if it will literally make me hate the game? Because that's what it will do.

I don't care if it was composed by Beethoven. I don't like to listen to music while I'm playing a game. Under any circumstances. Ever.

It seems the CRPG Addict is not only color-blind but also tone-deaf. Which perhaps explains his failure to appreciate Faery Tale Adventure.

I hate music in games too, even though I love it in other circumstances (even worked as a music critic for a while).

 

[Sceptic]

He's hugely enjoying Ultima Underworld

The last writeup is pretty good. He's also explained why he has music off, and while I can't imagine playing UW without music my reaction to his explanation is more "fair enough, to each his own" (he just doesn't like background music, at all, when doing anything, not just in games).

He's still relatively early in the game so we're in for a few weeks of great entries I think.

 

[aweigh]

this music thing is a red flag.

also who the fuck enjoys games like shadow of mordor for 100 hours

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

this music thing is a red flag.

also who the fuck enjoys games like shadow of mordor for 100 hours

Someone who embraces dull, repetitive, prolonged gameplay even when complaining about it (e.g. Fate: Gates of Dawn), and who outright enjoys game mechanics in Decline RPGs like Baldur's Gate and Skyrim.

 

[Ventidius]

His blog post on finishing Ultima Underworld is up. While I don't always agree with his analyses, I'm glad to see him showing appreciation for the engine interactivity in UU.

 

[Grauken]

The one thing he will never be able to really get or get into is how it felt playing these games when they came out. I remember reading the magazines that talked about them, I remember scrounging together what little money was available or pirating outright, playing these games and getting stuck on something pre-internet days, talking it over with friends in school and how far you got. I'm aware it's not even in his mission statement, but a lot of the enjoyment of these games was playing them at the right time and place. I'm not usually big on nostalgia, but for some of the games I missed when they came out, I wish I could play them as the teenager I was when they came out

Not to say I don't value games and analyzing their historic place in gaming and what influenced them and their various elements and how good they were compared to all those other games. But what sometimes gets lost is the genuine fun of discovering these games at their time when they genuinely could blow your mind. I'm happy to say I could experience this with UU1 and UU2, but damn there were some games I missed

That said, yeah, some non-RPGs blew my mind, even more, the day I discovered Doom, holy shit

 

[:Flash:]

The one thing he will never be able to really get or get into is how it felt playing these games when they came out. I remember reading the magazines that talked about them, I remember scrounging together what little money was available or pirating outright, playing these games and getting stuck on something pre-internet days, talking it over with friends in school and how far you got. I'm aware it's not even in his mission statement, but a lot of the enjoyment of these games was playing them at the right time and place. I'm not usually big on nostalgia, but for some of the games I missed when they came out, I wish I could play them as the teenager I was when they came out

Not to say I don't value games and analyzing their historic place in gaming and what influenced them and their various elements and how good they were compared to all those other games. But what sometimes gets lost is the genuine fun of discovering these games at their time when they genuinely could blow your mind. I'm happy to say I could experience this with UU1 and UU2, but damn there were some games I missed

That said, yeah, some non-RPGs blew my mind, even more, the day I discovered Doom, holy shit

He is old enough to know what you are talking about. He does make reference to it with some games he played back then.

That will never come back. The time between 1980 and 2000 was very unique in the history in that regard. Kids nowadays grow up with computers, it's just so normal for them. It's like my grandma telling me how it blew her mind when she saw a car for the first time. Only we also got to drive the cars and our parents had no idea.

 

[Max Stats]

It's like my grandma telling me how it blew her mind when she saw a car for the first time

Or TV. It kinda blew my mind when my grandparents said it didn't even exist when they were kids, and my mom talking about remembering the first TV when her dad brought one home.

I remember when my dad said we were going to get a computer in 1980 or so. I expected he meant something like one of those little Mattel Electronic Football handheld LED's, for some reason. Instead it was a TRS80 model 1.

 

[CryptRat]

I must say that ending up chatting with guys who made a couple of sharewares 30 years ago is a very cool part of what he's doing.