Loki
Educated
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2010
- Messages
- 846
Remake DARK SUN: SHATTERED LANDS.
How did this game get so neglected, so poorly nourished? No game from my childhood fills me with as much nostalgia and respect as DS:SL, yet, there is not other game that I know of that has sullied my joy quite like this game, because THE DAMN THING WASN'T PROPERLY PATCHED.
REMAKE THIS FUCKING GAME Do not game developers/publishers realize how successful this game would be if given another chance?
You start off in the slave pens. You build up your strength fighting in the arenas, and through careful investigation and strategy, you can escape undetected into the sewers. How classic is that? What rpg do I know of that has such a compelling start? You flee into the sewers, where your path forks in many possible directions, opening up into a harsh, arid land. Unlike the inferior Baldur's Gate, the game is full of inventory based puzzle solving. The dry, arid land is littered with beautiful oasis' and fantastic colors.
The phenomena of remaking games hasn't been around for too long. I'm not nearly as well versed in the industry as many of you, so pardon me if I fail to mentioned something significant, but the first instance of a remake that I can recall was Super Mario All-stars on the SNES. 4 games on one cartridge, redone with a beautiful new paint job was an excellent idea. The game play mechanics were preserved perfectly, with the only difference being the graphics, which were a fantastic improvement.
Final Fantasy 3 (DS), Metroid Zero Mission, Resident Evil for Game Cube, Prince of Persia Classic(360), Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, Star Fox 64 - all of these games were remakes of graphically outdated classics, and I'm sure they were all profitable.
So why not remake our favorite games more often? If you pick the right game, remakes are arguably more profitable. You don't have to invest in nearly as large of designer staff, all you need are your graphic artists and a staff to reprogram. Designing the game isn't as hard, it's pretty much already done for you.
RPG's are a huge market. I thought that with Baldur's Gate 1 we would finally see a proper reincarnation of Dark Sun: Shattered Lands. I thought BG1 would be an improvement in every way. But the only thing better about it were the graphics and combat. It was missing a soul. No investory based puzzle solving, and horrible interaction with environment. BG2 was only a slight improvement, not enough to redeem itself completely.
There was just something so addicting and delightful about DS:SL, and I just can't recall cRPG's ever getting the magic back that we had with that game.
Fallout comes very close, in fact, it's right up there, but when it comes to a fantasy setting with magic, swords, wyverns and mages, nothing has reach the level of DS:SL.
It needs to be remade, perhaps with an engine similar to DA:O, or perhaps preserve the perspective of the original. I don't know how I want the graphics to look, but I just know we had something really special with that game, and it got neglected and never properly finished. A damn shame.
How did this game get so neglected, so poorly nourished? No game from my childhood fills me with as much nostalgia and respect as DS:SL, yet, there is not other game that I know of that has sullied my joy quite like this game, because THE DAMN THING WASN'T PROPERLY PATCHED.
REMAKE THIS FUCKING GAME Do not game developers/publishers realize how successful this game would be if given another chance?
You start off in the slave pens. You build up your strength fighting in the arenas, and through careful investigation and strategy, you can escape undetected into the sewers. How classic is that? What rpg do I know of that has such a compelling start? You flee into the sewers, where your path forks in many possible directions, opening up into a harsh, arid land. Unlike the inferior Baldur's Gate, the game is full of inventory based puzzle solving. The dry, arid land is littered with beautiful oasis' and fantastic colors.
The phenomena of remaking games hasn't been around for too long. I'm not nearly as well versed in the industry as many of you, so pardon me if I fail to mentioned something significant, but the first instance of a remake that I can recall was Super Mario All-stars on the SNES. 4 games on one cartridge, redone with a beautiful new paint job was an excellent idea. The game play mechanics were preserved perfectly, with the only difference being the graphics, which were a fantastic improvement.
Final Fantasy 3 (DS), Metroid Zero Mission, Resident Evil for Game Cube, Prince of Persia Classic(360), Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, Star Fox 64 - all of these games were remakes of graphically outdated classics, and I'm sure they were all profitable.
So why not remake our favorite games more often? If you pick the right game, remakes are arguably more profitable. You don't have to invest in nearly as large of designer staff, all you need are your graphic artists and a staff to reprogram. Designing the game isn't as hard, it's pretty much already done for you.
RPG's are a huge market. I thought that with Baldur's Gate 1 we would finally see a proper reincarnation of Dark Sun: Shattered Lands. I thought BG1 would be an improvement in every way. But the only thing better about it were the graphics and combat. It was missing a soul. No investory based puzzle solving, and horrible interaction with environment. BG2 was only a slight improvement, not enough to redeem itself completely.
There was just something so addicting and delightful about DS:SL, and I just can't recall cRPG's ever getting the magic back that we had with that game.
Fallout comes very close, in fact, it's right up there, but when it comes to a fantasy setting with magic, swords, wyverns and mages, nothing has reach the level of DS:SL.
It needs to be remade, perhaps with an engine similar to DA:O, or perhaps preserve the perspective of the original. I don't know how I want the graphics to look, but I just know we had something really special with that game, and it got neglected and never properly finished. A damn shame.
