Slashdot Mirror

Jon is the legendary programmer of such classic PC games as Wolfenstein, Doom, Duke nukem 3d, Quake 1, 2, and 3, unreal, and the upcoming doom3.

Jon Carmack had nothing to do with Unreal or Duke Nukem. Those programming teams were lead by Tim Sweeney and Todd Replogle.

And such, he far from single handedly created teh world's violent computer games. There are even more violent computer games out there.

Jon is the legendary programmer of such classic PC games as Wolfenstein, Doom, Duke nukem 3d, Quake 1, 2, and 3, unreal, and the upcoming doom3.

Jon Carmack had nothing to do with Unreal or Duke Nukem. Those programming teams were lead by Tim Sweeney and Todd Replogle.

And such, he far from single handedly created teh world's violent computer games. There are even more violent computer games out there.

Jon is the legendary programmer of such classic PC games as Wolfenstein, Doom, Duke nukem 3d, Quake 1, 2, and 3, unreal, and the upcoming doom3.

Jon Carmack had nothing to do with Unreal or Duke Nukem. Those programming teams were lead by Tim Sweeney and Todd Replogle.

And such, he far from single handedly created teh world's violent computer games. There are even more violent computer games out there.

Jon is the legendary programmer of such classic PC games as Wolfenstein, Doom, Duke nukem 3d, Quake 1, 2, and 3, unreal, and the upcoming doom3.

Jon Carmack had nothing to do with Unreal or Duke Nukem. Those programming teams were lead by Tim Sweeney and Todd Replogle.

And such, he far from single handedly created teh world's violent computer games. There are even more violent computer games out there.

Let me try that again:

Myth
Myth II
Myth II alt (real nice)

Let me try that again:

Myth
Myth II
Myth II alt (real nice)

Let me try that again:

Myth
Myth II
Myth II alt (real nice)

What, no Myth covers?

Also, not even 1 leisure suit larry cover.

C'mon!

What, no Myth covers?

Also, not even 1 leisure suit larry cover.

C'mon!

Too right. The Wasteland cover was utterly badass. I really wish EA would let someone pick up the license for this. Fallout--even though one of my favorites of all time--had a very different feel.

Dammit! I tested the link, but it seems MobyGames discovered the hotlinking and made a change. Try this one for a small sample.

I just loved the minimalist cover of Ultima VII: The Black Gate.

I don't know, I think MobyGames.com taking credit for Ultima VII is a bit tacky.

Of course, the cover of Spellcasting 301: Spring Break is not to be missed either.

Of course, the cover of Spellcasting 301: Spring Break is not to be missed either.

Mobygames already does something like this. Check it out!

If it would only be that... try to find Madou Monogatari or any of the less well known games anywhere.

"Oh, and by the way Midway guy, 95% of the games your company has put out are trash."

"95%"?

What, are you on Midway's payroll or something?.....

One for you, nineteen for me ~~ maybe for the taxman, but Midway's penchant for execrable games is far more proportionally dominant than that.

http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/o,100/j,74/

(Note that I am not referring to the legacy of masterful arcade games from the original Midway: Defender, Robotron: 2084 (!), SpyHunter, and Marble Madness are timeless pioneering classics that, if anything, only make the eyecandy-dependent poorly-balanced twitchfests represented by their `90s-present catalogue all the more vapid and forgettable.)

You guys are jackasses. Face it, the "who cares" troll is the weakest and lamest there ever was.

Besides, the Fallout games FREAKING ROCK. Check out this screen shot and tell me Fallout Tactics ain't cool!

also known as "mars saga". http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/p,2/gameId,124 2/

Anyone ever play the CRPG game Mines of Titan. 1989 by westwood studios. A little blurb

That game kicked ass.

The best part was learning how to use computers so you could hack yourself free tickets, clean up your criminal record and stuff.

Anyone else beat it besides me?

I can't count the hours I spent tweaking, compiling, and testing robots. Great fun.

Even wrote myself a disassembler, to see how other robots worked.

Does a paintball FPS exist [...] ?

If not, maybe it should.

There are worse things than violent FPSs.

Much, much worse.

Ikari Warriors?

Certain Japanese videogames...

"I would be so bold as to say that PoP is the spiritual ancestor of the modern "stealth" genre."

You'd very REAL damn bold to say that, since there was nothing stealthy about PoP. You're conveniently ignoring *actual* stealthy titles from around that time, like Covert Action and The Great Escape.

Prince of Persia was a great game for its time, but it was not stealth in any way.

"I would be so bold as to say that PoP is the spiritual ancestor of the modern "stealth" genre."

You'd very REAL damn bold to say that, since there was nothing stealthy about PoP. You're conveniently ignoring *actual* stealthy titles from around that time, like Covert Action and The Great Escape.

Prince of Persia was a great game for its time, but it was not stealth in any way.

...is Cartel$ and Cutthroat$ by Danni Bunten. Published back in 1985, it was such an entertaining and yet informative business simulation that it's still being used in schools, almost 20 years later. I wish somebody has remade that title...

Another great game in that style was 'Marble Drop' . It might not appeal to your typical video gamer (Gamespot gave it a mediocre score), but I loved it...

I'm guessing it could have a comeback, if Maxis would release it with a level-maker, and a way to share levels online.

These days, software seems to be 'games' or 'educational', without that middle ground that we used to have. (When's the last time you saw a Broderbund product on the shelf that wasn't something like 'math for 4th graders' or similar.)

And that's not to say that you have to be non-violent for educational games -- the little hunting bit from Oregon Trail had more action than most games out in its day.

Any sequals?

This game is all my childhood, i played it for month, and if there's someone around here that knows the carribean sea better than me, he'll taste my sword for sure. But for /. readers it's perhaps out of sight, i played it on the C=64 last century, then on the amiga, and got it on the PC for a birthday. Anyway, i hope the "remake" will keep the promises of the first game.

Other games i like: "Soul reaver", "Black & White", "Trick Style", Tibia, Nomad Soul, and of course all the Lucas Art Series..

> Insane logic would be to coat the switch with peanut butter then hold out a ferral squirrel with tongs so the rabid rodent flips the switch.

--Hey, I bought that game for my roomie, back in the day! :)
Gobliins 2

--I don't think he ever finished it... ;-)

After 173 sequels, maybe people are tired of playing the same game.
But then again, may be they aren't...

Show people a game with a moral dilemma, or a moment of real drama, or a game that might make someone cry.
I would honestly suggest you check out Kana - Little Sister. While on the surface it appears to be a hentai game about incest, it actually has the best story I ever saw in a game. It has moral dillema (a couple of them), it has a moment of real drama (a few of them too) and it made a lot of people cry (including myself). Check it out, you won't regret it.

The funny thing is, LucasArts didn't develop KOTOR or any of the JK games beyond Dark Forces II:Jedi Knight. If you look at the list of games LucasArts has developed in-house, you'll notice that there hasn't been any great games coming out of them for a while. Mostly, cashcow prequel tie-ins.

Here's the MobyGames summary on Jeff Minter:

MobyGames Auto-Generated Summary *:

Jeff Minter was credited on a game as early as 1983 and as recently as 1997. His/Her career probably spans more years than those displayed since these dates are based on the credits documented in MobyGames (which are incomplete). Jeff Minter has been credited with the roles Programming, Sound, Graphics, Design and Other. Jeff Minter has been credited on games developed by the following companies: Llamasoft, Atari Corporation, High Voltage Software and Atari. This does not imply employment by these companies.

Games Credited

Defender 2000 (1996), Atari Corporation
Tempest X3 (1996), Interplay
Tempest 2000 (1994), Atari Corporation
Ancipital (1984), Llamasoft
Attack of the Mutant Camels (1983), Llamasoft

Check it out here: http://mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/develope rId=12816

If the summary is any indication, the guy is pretty behind the times when it comes to video games. Or at least developing them.

If you've ever played ZPC you'll know what I mean without me even explaining it. This game features a pretty grim future where a fascist government runs everything... their soldiers resemble Nazi soldiers and their voices match the image as well. The environment of many levels features distant looming corporate buildings, ominous and faceless... In a few levels there are posters on the walls like "ASPIRE TO EXPIRE" and "we want YOU dead" (like the Uncle Sam "We want YOU" posters) or something along those lines... In these levels there are loudspeakers blaring distorted propaganda (which hugely resembles Hitler's voice if you ask me) increasing the political significance even further.

The game was made in 1996 and was based on the Marathon 2 engine, so it's a bit old. It's still interesting to play though (and fun, I like the whole atmosphere of it)...

Screenshots can be seen here and here. Here is a hi-res image of the box... Notice the really contrasty logo and imagery - it adds to the dark atmosphere of the game.

All the art is done by KMFDM album-cover-artist Aidan Hughes, who has a pretty recognizable style that compliments the style of the game really well.

Hell, to further the corporate-fascist bleak-future atmosphere, there's music created by Paul and Roland Barker (uh, although I've never heard of "Roland" Barker anywhere other than this game so I'm pretty skeptical about that), members of Ministry and The Revolting Cocks. Coolness.

What, like SEGA GaGa. Although it's a management sim not an RPG. Released at about the same time SEGA dropped out of the console making business as well.

Probably the only safe exception to the general rule that games based on movies suck is the classic PC game Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure. They kepted very close to the movie yet were creative enough so that it was challenging even if you'd seen the movie.

Good job listing the upgrade points. It's worth noting, however, that the article is actually wrong regarding the obligatory nature of upgrades. Neither Half-Life 2, nor Doom 3 (nor Stalker, FarCry Painkiller or any other game due in 2004) would require DX9 capable videocard.

But in general most upgrades were gradual. CD-Rom drives were an exception, because there is such a huge gap between 1.44 Mb and 600 Mb (though you could play a CD-rip). Soundcards were optional in many games (for a few years PC speaker was supported - Wolf3D, Civ, etc.). VGA cards were optional too. Colour monitors are optional even today (I first saw Doom on a 386 with grayscale monitor). Joysticks were and are still optional.

Here is an example from 1990: Prince of Persia by Brøderbund
Minimum CPU Class Required: 8088 / 8086
Video Modes Supported: CGA, EGA, Hercules, MCGA, Tandy / PCjr, VGA
Sound Devices Supported: Adlib, PC Speaker, Sound Blaster, Tandy DAC (TL/SL), Tandy / PCjr
Input Devices Supported: Joystick (Analog), Keyboard
Source: MobyGames

Doesn't look like an obligatory upgrade, does it? You could play it on an XT with a CGA monitor and a beeper using your keyboard, or on a 30MHz 386DX in glorious 256 color VGA, with Adlib (or SB) music and sound effects with an analog gamepad. The same is true with Doom 3.

Why is it so (and will continue to be so)? Simple - it's rather cheap to adapt the game for a 3 year old machine and you can sell more than enough copies to people with such PCs to recoup the costs.

His magnum crapus Daikatana is bargain bin, but he worked on some of the more legendary games out there as well so he is forgiven esp since he cut his hair and made all of us balding geeks less jealous.

In case anyone is worried about the a company other than Bioware working on it, Feargus Urquhart and Chris Avellone at Obsidian have a good reputation. To put it mildly.

In case anyone is worried about the a company other than Bioware working on it, Feargus Urquhart and Chris Avellone at Obsidian have a good reputation. To put it mildly.

I'm surpised nobody's mentionned this yet, but we have a legend of zelda movie, it's name is Legend and it stars Tom Cruise.

I'm not joking around, or being a troll, I'm being honest here... just watch it. Granted that it doesn't include some of the latest 'themes' of the series. Tom doesn't have an Ocarina or anything like that, but it's still a guy in green tights VS a big bad monster using a magical sword. In fact, Miyamoto admits to being inspired by this movie.

• HERE is the link

to Bug! and Bug Too!.

So I guess this is impressive, especially if it's taken more as a contribution to the demoscene than to gaming. But what I think is far more impressive is that a game like Starflight which included hundreds of planets, dozens and dozens of hours of gameplay, an equal number of conversations and text and hundreds of objects, all fit into 2 5 1/4 disks (360K x 2). In 1986. And while exceptional, Starflight is merely representative of the amount of efficient coding that had to go into early game creation. Kkrieger, and more so older classics like Starflight, should serve as examples to modern developers who seem to be bloating their code.

Of course, there's more to the Road Warrior than just driving around, but that should be a large part of it. Done right, it could be pretty cool :)

Unless my memory is failing me, isn't it Namco's [1] [2] Ridge Racer (or it's sequent title Revolution) which boasts a game of Galaxian while the game loads? And as a little bonus, killing all the invaders before the timer runs out gives the player a choice of nine cars, instead of four, when comes the vehicule selection. Ah, the old times -- you couldn't even save your game, I think. That was truely an arcade game.

I think that what was a pretty good idea back then could even be welcome nowadays; after all, in most games we are presented with a boring and frustrating loading screen which simply presents the player with a loading progress bar. Instead of this, game developers could get the main game to load a small, light mini-game which could serve as an intermediate screen to avoid a sudden break from interactivity (for example, in a football game, one could imagine a Pong-like mini-game to avoid long pauses during the loading times which just bore the player, long loading times which are recurrent in the FIFA series which comes to mind). The subsequent problem is, such mini-games would be a good way to occupy the player in out-of-game loading screens, but what about in-game transitions? A good method which avoids in-game loading times -- and perhaps also laterally reduces out-of-game loading times -- is to load the upcoming in-game elements, such as maps and FMVs, during the more inactive in-game moments. This has several advantages, first of all being that the player does not notice a slowdown in play since the loading should take place when the game is more inactive. Then, the said elements already loaded into memory appear instantly and there is no break in in-game playing whatsoever. And I shall also develop what I have minimally said, about the out-of-game loading times being shorter since the loading is done in-game. I am not a game developer (being only 14 that would be a mean feat) so I do not know if this could be accomplished but perhaps the "inactivity loading" concept could be taken even further, with the in-game content being loaded while the player goes through the starting menus, or even when the introducing FMV is being played.

Yeah, you are a bit out of touch ;^)

Check out the results of a quick search on MobyGames for a list of Metroid games Nintendo has produced. If you're looking to try a recent one, I higly recommend Metroid: Zero Mission, though IMHO the best one is Super Metroid (which you can try on an emulator if you can't get the cartridge / don't have a SNES.

What, you don't remember the infamous Chex Quest? It used the Doom engine, but really looked like something Wolfenstein would be ashamed of. It even had two sequels.

I guess it is weird enough to escape a "worst of all time" label. But it should garner a "best of so-bad-it's-good." Sometimes you can find them online.

What, you don't remember the infamous Chex Quest? It used the Doom engine, but really looked like something Wolfenstein would be ashamed of. It even had two sequels.

I guess it is weird enough to escape a "worst of all time" label. But it should garner a "best of so-bad-it's-good." Sometimes you can find them online.