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I'm shocked, shocked to find that game not mentioned here! This is the 1981 classic that started them all. You can't look at a tactical battle menu or a party status display or even the screen layout of almost any CRPG without seeing the legacy of Wizardry. Even Dragon Warrior's trademark slimes have precedent here. Wizardry combat

"WARNING: Acceptable in-game behavior may result in getting A KNEE SLAMMED INTO YOUR CROTCH in Real Life"

You mean there are no games were a guy can get kneed in the crotch? Bogus! I want my money back.

"WARNING: If you try this in Real Life you will LOSE LIMBS, ENTER A VEGATIVE STATE or DIE PAINFULLLY."

Emergency Room 3

there really is no reason why screenshots shouldn't play a more prominent role in gamebox art.

there really is no reason why screenshots shouldn't play a more prominent role in gamebox art.

I want this game!

There've been games about exchanging nukes before, but none of them were as popular as Defcon, and most of them didn't concentrate solely on nuclear exchange. I can't say if they were worse or better, since, not being a huge fan of Introversion's games, I never played Defcon.

Take Superpower for example. Besides conventional warfare, you could also enter nuclear mode in the game, and exchange some nukes with the nastier of your neighbors. If I recall correctly, the game also had a MAD-meter, which would be used to determine when you destroyed the world enough to end the game. Here's a screenshot. (link might not work if you send referers)

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "classic" but I find the fact that Gametap will never have any of the games from id, or most of the popular FPS games, or heck even Mortal Kombat a downside. Moby Games has a list of M rated games which must have one or two gems on there that I know at least I would like to play.

I'm not saying that not having M rated games is the only downside. As I said, playing a consol game in a PC isn't ideal. There were simply a lot of games on there I found boring or difficult to play on a PC and there were also a lot of games that sucked when they were in the arcade to start with or simply weren't for my demographic (tons edutainment games for example).

I did some searches. I found one reference to Racter, remember that one?? It said that it was a follow on from earlier work done with Eliza and Freud. Here's a couple links,
1st: screenshots of Racter in operation (strolling down memory lane to ~1984)
2nd: Eliza (supposed to pre-date Racter
3rd: Racter Wikipedia page
4th: Racter FAQ (read controversy on wiki first)
5th: Example conversations with Racter, Eliza, and Perry (All diff AIs of their time)

I did some searches. I found one reference to Racter, remember that one?? It said that it was a follow on from earlier work done with Eliza and Freud. Here's a couple links,
1st: screenshots of Racter in operation (strolling down memory lane to ~1984)
2nd: Eliza (supposed to pre-date Racter
3rd: Racter Wikipedia page
4th: Racter FAQ (read controversy on wiki first)
5th: Example conversations with Racter, Eliza, and Perry (All diff AIs of their time)

Even if we can, Pepsi can't. I just saw a Pepsi ad in the free paper today which contained dictionary definitions of "zero" and "max", in order to remind us that Pepsi Max is ULTIMATE EXTREME SNOWBOARDING-TYPE COOL or somesuch. Anyway, there was a Pepsi Challenge game which was actually just a re-branded so-so Pacman knock-off. If Pepsi made a game, it would just be a box that pops up asking "Is Coca-Cola stupid and Pepsi cool?" and you have to click Yes.

What about it doesn't make sense? Starflight and Star Control II are different games. One draws a lot of ideas from the other but they're not the same game.

Your assertion that Star Control II is basically a remake of Starflight with updated graphics, plus new races and maps, is a load of crap. I have played and finished both games, so I do know what I'm talking about in gameplay terms

I don't really know how to respond to this, other than that you must be either misremembering or you're just being polemical. This isn't some controversial theory, it was widely known and acknowledged at the time and the web is littered with reviews like http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/star-control -ii/reviews/reviewerId,67734/

Compare, say, the ship data screens. Or the starmap navigation. Or the outer planetary system navigation screen, or the inner system navigation screen. Or the planetary exploration (which is simplified in SC2 but similar, it's clearly the most different of the bunch). Or the spaceport screen.

Indeed, for just about every interface screen in starflight, you can go look at the _same_ screen in SC2--which you can do because the latter's a remake of the former. And when you do, it looks like a graphically updated version of the same thing, because it is.

I don't know of any quotes from any of the developers at all, let alone related to this, but I'd be pretty shocked if they didn't say freely that it's a remake. I'd also be surprised if anyone had bothered to ask something so obvious (you don't see interviewers asking "So, is this new 'Doom II' game at all related to 'Doom'?).

Don't forget also by Bungie Myth: The Fallen Lords. It also has a great storyline, but unlike Marathon its gameplay is very different from any other game ever made, there is really nothing else like it.

By the way you can still play Myth II online.

No way man! Altered Beast is where it's at! I remember weekly trips to the arcade to play that sucker. ;-) Nothing beats morphing into a wolfman beast.

Oh, altered beast. And here I was, looking forward to a life&deathish plastic surgeon game with the wii controller.

Depreciation is an advantage of PCs. Halo 2 will look the same in 2 years as it did when you bought it for your 360, but you can buy yesterday's superstar video card for peanuts and breathe new life into your whole game library.

Plus, I played Phantasmagoria on the Vista RC1 beta this weekend. I also played Jones int he Fast Lane with 3xAdvMAME filters to make it appear smooth an rounded at 1280x1024. How many 10-year old games can you play on a modern console? Without buying them yet again, I mean. How much better do they look?

Console is a one trick pony. PC is an engine that can be applied to millions of tasks, and can be augmented and improved in millions of ways.

Go play with your toy. I'll have saved, quit, checked my email and ordered a pizza in the time it took you to run around looking for a save point.

Depreciation is an advantage of PCs. Halo 2 will look the same in 2 years as it did when you bought it for your 360, but you can buy yesterday's superstar video card for peanuts and breathe new life into your whole game library.

Plus, I played Phantasmagoria on the Vista RC1 beta this weekend. I also played Jones int he Fast Lane with 3xAdvMAME filters to make it appear smooth an rounded at 1280x1024. How many 10-year old games can you play on a modern console? Without buying them yet again, I mean. How much better do they look?

Console is a one trick pony. PC is an engine that can be applied to millions of tasks, and can be augmented and improved in millions of ways.

Go play with your toy. I'll have saved, quit, checked my email and ordered a pizza in the time it took you to run around looking for a save point.

What's wrong with the mobygames category listing?

But at the same time, one needs to be wary of public opinion, and not give in to their every whim.

Let this be a horiffic reminder of the dangers of giving the public what they want.

(I know this post is entirely-OT and ignoring the parent's inflammatory and to some degree uninformed comments. Sue me.)

I remember hanging out at ASCII Express's place during the BBS days. I ran a local BBS and so did he. AE had a special place in his heart for Barney and came up with a great door game that can be run as a standalone game in DOS as well. Anyone remember playing BarneySplat!?

Someone should put that in a VMware image so everyone today can enjoy it.

From what I heard, try Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising.

My mom really loved Ladybug on my ColecoVision. She could easily whup me at it. Of course, she had all day to practice while I had this thing called 'school'...

http://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/shadowrun

The Genesis version of Shadowrun was made by a developer called BlueSky and was published by SEGA, so it should be feasible to re-publish unless Microsoft has control over titles produced before they acquired the rights to the franchise.

At any rate, it would be make-or-break for me for any Genesis collection.

Oh well, at least it has Phantasy Star 4, which they didn't manage to port to the GBA to go with the first 3 for some reason (they could have at least released it on its own cart).

Have people forgotten about Harvester? That game was seriously fucked up, and caused great controversy. I played it when I was 13 or something.

High brow game: Continuum http://www.mobygames.com/game/continuum/release-in fo

This game was actually based on psychology. The different areas of the game were designed to inspire different moods based on the colors, music, etc. While there was a goal, it was really secondary to the game itself.

Layne

Obvious contenders such as Civilization and SimCity aside, one "high brow" game in the most traditional sense is Eidolon's Millennium Auction from 1994.

MA is an auction game featuring many classic objets d'art like the Mona Lisa, contemporary (a la 90's) knick knacks like Bill Clinton's saxiphone, and fictional pieces from the 'future' like sculptures from the far-off 2004. You assume the persona of one of several hoity toity up-and-ups and bid against your peers for the most valuable collection at the end of the day. You can speak with the others for gossip and tips, watch or read the news, and even chat with the unassuming janitor whose eye for detail may save your billionaire bacon with insightful observations.

I have no idea why but I found this game to be REALLY fun. It is pretentious through and through in style, but the game is aware of how seriously it takes itself and fleshes out every little detail in creative and informative prose, animation, dialogue, and twice-baked voice acting. Even the interface is expertly crafted as there is always a secondary quick action to zip to the desired area or screen or skip cool but lengthy animations.

The graphics are dated by today's standards but are not ugly. The surrealism of the whole truly multimedia experience melds the sights, sounds, and text into one cohesive experience that makes anyone feel like a tycoon of tomorrow with too many buckazoids to burn. Single player mode is challenging and multiplayer is a real treat. Either way, you are rewarded for taking your time, gossiping with your peers, researching news, and staying on the ball.

I think this is the kind of game that can be enjoyed by white, blue, and no collars alike. It's a little like the Monopoly of tomorrow where culturally significant baubles are collectables to be traded indescriminately like pogs. This woefully forgotten underdog would be a real hit at presidential tupperware parties if it were to be rereleased. Fortunately it's still kicking around on eBay (ironically?) and other online retailers for pennies.

Haven't played them so I can't really comment. I remember it being pretty easy to tell what was 3D and what was 2D in the PS1 Resi games.

It's a good point rhough - Resident Evil games (pre Resi 4) are basically adventure games with extra zombies. The genre seems less dead the more you think about it.

Haven't played them so I can't really comment. I remember it being pretty easy to tell what was 3D and what was 2D in the PS1 Resi games.

It's a good point rhough - Resident Evil games (pre Resi 4) are basically adventure games with extra zombies. The genre seems less dead the more you think about it.

Haven't played them so I can't really comment. I remember it being pretty easy to tell what was 3D and what was 2D in the PS1 Resi games.

It's a good point rhough - Resident Evil games (pre Resi 4) are basically adventure games with extra zombies. The genre seems less dead the more you think about it.

Haven't played them so I can't really comment. I remember it being pretty easy to tell what was 3D and what was 2D in the PS1 Resi games.

It's a good point rhough - Resident Evil games (pre Resi 4) are basically adventure games with extra zombies. The genre seems less dead the more you think about it.

Haven't played them so I can't really comment. I remember it being pretty easy to tell what was 3D and what was 2D in the PS1 Resi games.

It's a good point rhough - Resident Evil games (pre Resi 4) are basically adventure games with extra zombies. The genre seems less dead the more you think about it.

John Romero: The Escapist Interview

by Russ Pitts

Romero.

Perhaps it's something about the name itself that brings to mind great things. Some combination of etymological triggers, perhaps; a heady mental mixture that's part romance, part Camaro - sex in a Z28.

The man himself evokes a similarly visceral response. Meeting him, speaking with him and tracking his movements across nearly three decades of life in the game game, one can hardly imagine John Romero as anything other than a smashing success. Which is why, perhaps, so many take such pleasure in pointing out his one great failure.

Romero has developed, or been involved in developing nearly 100 games, at least half a dozen of which have sold more than 100,000 copies. Having cut his teeth in the game industry coding games for the Apple II, Romero worked for Origin and Softdisk (founding a few of his own companies along the way) before co-founding id Software in 1991 with John Carmack, Adrian Carmack (no relation) and Tom Hall.

In the five years he worked with id Software, John Romero contributed heavily to developing a number of innovative PC games, including id's breakout hit Wolfenstein 3D and one of the most widely recognized and controversial games of all time, Doom; the game that has been accused of inspiring the Columbine High School shootings, made its designers multi-millionaires and ushered in the era of the "rockstar game developer." Yet inside the game industry, Romero is even better known for the one that got away.

In 1996, following a widely-publicized feud with John Carmack - centered around the belief among key id staffers that Romero talked too much to the press and worked too little on the games - Romero founded his own company, Ion Storm, with fellow designers Tom Hall and Todd Porter and artist Jerry O'Flaherty. The men leased the penthouse of a prestigious Dallas, Texas office building, deep in the heart of oil country, for the company's headquarters. A monument to excess, the Ion Storm offices featured a movie screening room (complete with leather furniture), arcade machines, a bank of computers devoted to Doom and Quake "deathmatches," 60-foot glass ceilings (which prompted the company's programmers to erect felt tents over their workspaces to reduce the glare of the daytime sun), oak furniture, steel cubicles, and a pool table. It was an office fit for the man who had once referred to himself as "God," and it would be within this 54th floor glass cage that John Romero's Icarian flight would come (at least temporarily) to an end.

Ion Storm, backed by publisher Eidos, planned initially to ship three games, each designed by one of the company's three co-founders. Romero's long-time friend (and Softdisk and id Software colleague), Tom Hall, planned to develop a science-fiction roleplaying game called Anachronox , which was eventually released in 2001 to poor reviews and lackluster sales. Todd Porter, former ministry student, exotic dancer and Origin employee, was to develop a game called Doppleganger, which was eventually cancelled. Romero's game was Daikatana . It was intended to be larger and grander in scale than any videogame ever made, and was heavily advertised as the game that would make you, the player, John Romero's "bitch."

That Daikatana eventually sold 200,000 copies - a smashing success by some standards - is irrelevant. Cost

John Romero: The Escapist Interview

by Russ Pitts

Romero.

Perhaps it's something about the name itself that brings to mind great things. Some combination of etymological triggers, perhaps; a heady mental mixture that's part romance, part Camaro - sex in a Z28.

The man himself evokes a similarly visceral response. Meeting him, speaking with him and tracking his movements across nearly three decades of life in the game game, one can hardly imagine John Romero as anything other than a smashing success. Which is why, perhaps, so many take such pleasure in pointing out his one great failure.

Romero has developed, or been involved in developing nearly 100 games, at least half a dozen of which have sold more than 100,000 copies. Having cut his teeth in the game industry coding games for the Apple II, Romero worked for Origin and Softdisk (founding a few of his own companies along the way) before co-founding id Software in 1991 with John Carmack, Adrian Carmack (no relation) and Tom Hall.

In the five years he worked with id Software, John Romero contributed heavily to developing a number of innovative PC games, including id's breakout hit Wolfenstein 3D and one of the most widely recognized and controversial games of all time, Doom; the game that has been accused of inspiring the Columbine High School shootings, made its designers multi-millionaires and ushered in the era of the "rockstar game developer." Yet inside the game industry, Romero is even better known for the one that got away.

In 1996, following a widely-publicized feud with John Carmack - centered around the belief among key id staffers that Romero talked too much to the press and worked too little on the games - Romero founded his own company, Ion Storm, with fellow designers Tom Hall and Todd Porter and artist Jerry O'Flaherty. The men leased the penthouse of a prestigious Dallas, Texas office building, deep in the heart of oil country, for the company's headquarters. A monument to excess, the Ion Storm offices featured a movie screening room (complete with leather furniture), arcade machines, a bank of computers devoted to Doom and Quake "deathmatches," 60-foot glass ceilings (which prompted the company's programmers to erect felt tents over their workspaces to reduce the glare of the daytime sun), oak furniture, steel cubicles, and a pool table. It was an office fit for the man who had once referred to himself as "God," and it would be within this 54th floor glass cage that John Romero's Icarian flight would come (at least temporarily) to an end.

Ion Storm, backed by publisher Eidos, planned initially to ship three games, each designed by one of the company's three co-founders. Romero's long-time friend (and Softdisk and id Software colleague), Tom Hall, planned to develop a science-fiction roleplaying game called Anachronox , which was eventually released in 2001 to poor reviews and lackluster sales. Todd Porter, former ministry student, exotic dancer and Origin employee, was to develop a game called Doppleganger, which was eventually cancelled. Romero's game was Daikatana . It was intended to be larger and grander in scale than any videogame ever made, and was heavily advertised as the game that would make you, the player, John Romero's "bitch."

That Daikatana eventually sold 200,000 copies - a smashing success by some standards - is irrelevant. Cost

John Romero: The Escapist Interview

by Russ Pitts

Romero.

Perhaps it's something about the name itself that brings to mind great things. Some combination of etymological triggers, perhaps; a heady mental mixture that's part romance, part Camaro - sex in a Z28.

The man himself evokes a similarly visceral response. Meeting him, speaking with him and tracking his movements across nearly three decades of life in the game game, one can hardly imagine John Romero as anything other than a smashing success. Which is why, perhaps, so many take such pleasure in pointing out his one great failure.

Romero has developed, or been involved in developing nearly 100 games, at least half a dozen of which have sold more than 100,000 copies. Having cut his teeth in the game industry coding games for the Apple II, Romero worked for Origin and Softdisk (founding a few of his own companies along the way) before co-founding id Software in 1991 with John Carmack, Adrian Carmack (no relation) and Tom Hall.

In the five years he worked with id Software, John Romero contributed heavily to developing a number of innovative PC games, including id's breakout hit Wolfenstein 3D and one of the most widely recognized and controversial games of all time, Doom; the game that has been accused of inspiring the Columbine High School shootings, made its designers multi-millionaires and ushered in the era of the "rockstar game developer." Yet inside the game industry, Romero is even better known for the one that got away.

In 1996, following a widely-publicized feud with John Carmack - centered around the belief among key id staffers that Romero talked too much to the press and worked too little on the games - Romero founded his own company, Ion Storm, with fellow designers Tom Hall and Todd Porter and artist Jerry O'Flaherty. The men leased the penthouse of a prestigious Dallas, Texas office building, deep in the heart of oil country, for the company's headquarters. A monument to excess, the Ion Storm offices featured a movie screening room (complete with leather furniture), arcade machines, a bank of computers devoted to Doom and Quake "deathmatches," 60-foot glass ceilings (which prompted the company's programmers to erect felt tents over their workspaces to reduce the glare of the daytime sun), oak furniture, steel cubicles, and a pool table. It was an office fit for the man who had once referred to himself as "God," and it would be within this 54th floor glass cage that John Romero's Icarian flight would come (at least temporarily) to an end.

Ion Storm, backed by publisher Eidos, planned initially to ship three games, each designed by one of the company's three co-founders. Romero's long-time friend (and Softdisk and id Software colleague), Tom Hall, planned to develop a science-fiction roleplaying game called Anachronox , which was eventually released in 2001 to poor reviews and lackluster sales. Todd Porter, former ministry student, exotic dancer and Origin employee, was to develop a game called Doppleganger, which was eventually cancelled. Romero's game was Daikatana . It was intended to be larger and grander in scale than any videogame ever made, and was heavily advertised as the game that would make you, the player, John Romero's "bitch."

That Daikatana eventually sold 200,000 copies - a smashing success by some standards - is irrelevant. Cost

John Romero: The Escapist Interview

by Russ Pitts

Romero.

Perhaps it's something about the name itself that brings to mind great things. Some combination of etymological triggers, perhaps; a heady mental mixture that's part romance, part Camaro - sex in a Z28.

The man himself evokes a similarly visceral response. Meeting him, speaking with him and tracking his movements across nearly three decades of life in the game game, one can hardly imagine John Romero as anything other than a smashing success. Which is why, perhaps, so many take such pleasure in pointing out his one great failure.

Romero has developed, or been involved in developing nearly 100 games, at least half a dozen of which have sold more than 100,000 copies. Having cut his teeth in the game industry coding games for the Apple II, Romero worked for Origin and Softdisk (founding a few of his own companies along the way) before co-founding id Software in 1991 with John Carmack, Adrian Carmack (no relation) and Tom Hall.

In the five years he worked with id Software, John Romero contributed heavily to developing a number of innovative PC games, including id's breakout hit Wolfenstein 3D and one of the most widely recognized and controversial games of all time, Doom; the game that has been accused of inspiring the Columbine High School shootings, made its designers multi-millionaires and ushered in the era of the "rockstar game developer." Yet inside the game industry, Romero is even better known for the one that got away.

In 1996, following a widely-publicized feud with John Carmack - centered around the belief among key id staffers that Romero talked too much to the press and worked too little on the games - Romero founded his own company, Ion Storm, with fellow designers Tom Hall and Todd Porter and artist Jerry O'Flaherty. The men leased the penthouse of a prestigious Dallas, Texas office building, deep in the heart of oil country, for the company's headquarters. A monument to excess, the Ion Storm offices featured a movie screening room (complete with leather furniture), arcade machines, a bank of computers devoted to Doom and Quake "deathmatches," 60-foot glass ceilings (which prompted the company's programmers to erect felt tents over their workspaces to reduce the glare of the daytime sun), oak furniture, steel cubicles, and a pool table. It was an office fit for the man who had once referred to himself as "God," and it would be within this 54th floor glass cage that John Romero's Icarian flight would come (at least temporarily) to an end.

Ion Storm, backed by publisher Eidos, planned initially to ship three games, each designed by one of the company's three co-founders. Romero's long-time friend (and Softdisk and id Software colleague), Tom Hall, planned to develop a science-fiction roleplaying game called Anachronox , which was eventually released in 2001 to poor reviews and lackluster sales. Todd Porter, former ministry student, exotic dancer and Origin employee, was to develop a game called Doppleganger, which was eventually cancelled. Romero's game was Daikatana . It was intended to be larger and grander in scale than any videogame ever made, and was heavily advertised as the game that would make you, the player, John Romero's "bitch."

That Daikatana eventually sold 200,000 copies - a smashing success by some standards - is irrelevant. Cost

John Romero: The Escapist Interview

by Russ Pitts

Romero.

Perhaps it's something about the name itself that brings to mind great things. Some combination of etymological triggers, perhaps; a heady mental mixture that's part romance, part Camaro - sex in a Z28.

The man himself evokes a similarly visceral response. Meeting him, speaking with him and tracking his movements across nearly three decades of life in the game game, one can hardly imagine John Romero as anything other than a smashing success. Which is why, perhaps, so many take such pleasure in pointing out his one great failure.

Romero has developed, or been involved in developing nearly 100 games, at least half a dozen of which have sold more than 100,000 copies. Having cut his teeth in the game industry coding games for the Apple II, Romero worked for Origin and Softdisk (founding a few of his own companies along the way) before co-founding id Software in 1991 with John Carmack, Adrian Carmack (no relation) and Tom Hall.

In the five years he worked with id Software, John Romero contributed heavily to developing a number of innovative PC games, including id's breakout hit Wolfenstein 3D and one of the most widely recognized and controversial games of all time, Doom; the game that has been accused of inspiring the Columbine High School shootings, made its designers multi-millionaires and ushered in the era of the "rockstar game developer." Yet inside the game industry, Romero is even better known for the one that got away.

In 1996, following a widely-publicized feud with John Carmack - centered around the belief among key id staffers that Romero talked too much to the press and worked too little on the games - Romero founded his own company, Ion Storm, with fellow designers Tom Hall and Todd Porter and artist Jerry O'Flaherty. The men leased the penthouse of a prestigious Dallas, Texas office building, deep in the heart of oil country, for the company's headquarters. A monument to excess, the Ion Storm offices featured a movie screening room (complete with leather furniture), arcade machines, a bank of computers devoted to Doom and Quake "deathmatches," 60-foot glass ceilings (which prompted the company's programmers to erect felt tents over their workspaces to reduce the glare of the daytime sun), oak furniture, steel cubicles, and a pool table. It was an office fit for the man who had once referred to himself as "God," and it would be within this 54th floor glass cage that John Romero's Icarian flight would come (at least temporarily) to an end.

Ion Storm, backed by publisher Eidos, planned initially to ship three games, each designed by one of the company's three co-founders. Romero's long-time friend (and Softdisk and id Software colleague), Tom Hall, planned to develop a science-fiction roleplaying game called Anachronox , which was eventually released in 2001 to poor reviews and lackluster sales. Todd Porter, former ministry student, exotic dancer and Origin employee, was to develop a game called Doppleganger, which was eventually cancelled. Romero's game was Daikatana . It was intended to be larger and grander in scale than any videogame ever made, and was heavily advertised as the game that would make you, the player, John Romero's "bitch."

That Daikatana eventually sold 200,000 copies - a smashing success by some standards - is irrelevant. Cost

I believe you are looking for the "Krynn" series from SSI. Loved those games on my Commodore 64 ...

http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGrou pId,209/

Double Dribble for NES was made by Konami.

I think it might dooo fine so long as nobody digs up the meaning of scat.

MobyGames has been doing this with a custom interface specifically designed for game credits for over 7 years. Other sites like freshmeat.net have this covered for the OSS community. I don't really see the point of starting something like this... maybe half a decade ago, but not today.

Wild Woody huh... Could've been worse, they could have had a sequel. "Wild Woody meets Mad Pussy" or something

Grappling Hook: Bionic Commando, 1988. The article is referencing some sort of later version of the game, because the NES certainly didn't have graphics like that, and the main character was not called Radd Spencer. In fact, I don't remember what he was called, but it was not Radd Spencer.

Assuming they ever do get around to making a follow up, I don't expect it to be very good. Why?

Take a look at the original Starcraft team, here. You can follow the names and see where many of them are now. For the most part though, many of the top designers and programmers from the original Starcraft are gone. Where did they go? Guild Wars, or more specifically, they founded ArenaNet.

And if there is something I have learned about games. If the original team behind a game is gone and a new team tries to pick up the game, the results arn't typically very pretty. So don't expect much. I'm not.

No no... Elite, not l33t.

Dragon's Lair was interesting back in the day, but god, I think there's been a remake for almost every new generation of gaming technology that's come out. Commodore 64, NES, SNES, Amiga, 3DO, PC, Gameboy, CD-i, AtariST, Sega CD, Jaguar, Gamecube, XBOX, PC, and some more. http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGrou pId,427/ I don't think any game's been remade as much as this one.

There are many reasons why you don't see "game gods" being loudly proclaimed anymore. The article does hit some of them, but they seem to have forgotten a few:

1. Burnout ruins many careers.

Will Wright wasn't always a high-flying game designer selling millions. He worked on a shooter-type game back in the day, and the development of that lead him to explore some concepts which lead to the development of the classic SimCity.

Now consider what would happen if Will were a programmer in today's environment. What if he had to sacrifice personal and family life to work 80 hours per week minimum at EA on a sequel of a sequel with no input in the game? Would he have burned out in that environment, left the industry, and turned his creativity full-time to robotics instead?

One of my colleagues described the industry's behavior as "eating their young" and I think that's very accurate. Many of the potential "gaming gods" likely burn out before they get a chance to shine, and many slink into relative obscurity making smaller games that are fun but a lot less headline-grabbing.

2. Expectations are much, much higher.

The article talks about this a bit, in that we have large teams creating these games instead of individuals or small teams. However, the article fails to consider why we have large teams: because expectations are higher.

Now, part of this is the fault of game developers and publishers who have been pushing technical advancement as "innovation" over the past few years. The "next generation" of games have to look pretty in order to prove that they're worth the wait and the cost. Some genres were/are defined almost entirely by technical advancements, such as FPSes, so small teams need not bother competing with the big boys with any hope for success. But, the point remains that the large developers and publishers have invested a lot in the concept that "pretty = quality" for gamers.

Of course, the market is still the one buying the pretty games in preference to the other games, even if it is at the bidding of the marketing of the larger companies. As I've ranted many times before, if the audience were more willing to buy indie games it would change the industry in a radical way and support true innovation. But, people are ignoring potentially great games by great designers because the graphics aren't cutting-edge. This means those great designers don't get the chance to be shown as "game gods" as referenced in the article.

3. Less risk means less notoriety.

With multiple millions of dollars on the line, publishers aren't willing to take risks. Look at what the article dubs the older "game gods", and you'll see they've made games that defined whole genres. Miyamoto's Mario games, Wright's Sim games, Molyneux's god games, etc. They may not have been the first person in the respective genre, but they made a game that shaped how many people think of that category of games.

You don't get that today. Even Will Wright, master game designer, had trouble convincing the EA managers to let him do The Sims and had to work on it covertly within the company. Even a grandmaster like Miyamoto has had his missteps in the past, making games that have went largely unnoticed by the North American market. Publishers are wary about trusting a large budget to the masters, let alone someone up-and-coming that hasn't been proven.

In the end, we get fairly modest games that will make an expected return on investment. We don't see the games that define (or re-define) a genre, because that's too risky. So, we don't really see any games that truly inspire us to label the new creators as "game gods".

4. Games are hit driven.

How many talented bands do you know of that had a smash first CD then followed up with something rather mediocre? Those bands often sink below notice and don

Same reaction here. Apparently you win by collecting all 32 treasures. If only we had known about this map!

This news is rather mind-blowing, I could have sworn that all Atari games went on forever and had no point.

Same reaction here. Apparently you win by collecting all 32 treasures. If only we had known about this map!

This news is rather mind-blowing, I could have sworn that all Atari games went on forever and had no point.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/star-fox-/scree nshots/gameShotId,164499/
Starfox used textured polygons, as one of the screenshots on the page you linked to proves nicely.
Epic was awesome, though. Amiga 4-evar!

I only played Star Fox in stores, but looking at the screenshots it doesn't look like there's anything in there that couldn't be done by shading tricks:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/star-fox-/scree nshots

Here's a PC game from 1991 that used a similar quality of flat-shaded polygon graphics:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/epic/screenshots

I only played Star Fox in stores, but looking at the screenshots it doesn't look like there's anything in there that couldn't be done by shading tricks:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/star-fox-/scree nshots

Here's a PC game from 1991 that used a similar quality of flat-shaded polygon graphics:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/epic/screenshots

The shareware version of Descent came out in December 94, but a couple of weeks after the PlayStation.

The Sega Saturn came out a couple of weeks before the PS, but I don't know if it had any 'proper' 3D titles on launch.