Slashdot Mirror

Thanks to TotalGames.net for reprinting a GamesTM article remembering the genius of id Software's seminal PC FPS, Doom. The article starts with the question: "How many of the lodestones of modern gaming do we owe to Doom?", and continues by arguing: "Without Doom conceiving the multiplayer deathmatch, it could be radically touted that the PC today would be an abandoned platform insofar as gaming is concerned." The piece finishes with comments on Doom 3: "While tradition alone will endear Doom 3 to many, the long-anticipated game may yet fail to make the evolving grade it was fundamental in establishing. Let it be said that the gaming world is nothing if not perverse."

Thanks to TotalGames for reprinting a GamesTM piece discussing hardware and software that opens up videogaming to blind, deaf or physically impaired people. The piece notes "an increasing number of games created for the accessible market, and 'high-street' games [that] can be adapted to meet individual needs", although programmer Nick Adamson comments: "Currently the accessible games market is purely based on the PC... as for game consoles, they are pointless to blind gamers."

Thanks to TotalGames.net for its article discussing the oddest retro videogame plots of all-time. Among the highlighted titles are Sega's Genesis title, Greendog ("All you hafta do is find the six pieces of the Surfboard of the Ancients. They were hidden long ago by the Aztecs somewhere in the Caribbean"), along with Konami's N64 version of Mystical Ninja ("A giant UFO shaped like a peach has suddenly appeared in peaceful Oedo Town! The evil musical corps, The Peach Mountain Shoguns, have come to steal the Great Stage Plan.") What classic game made the least sense to you?

Thanks to TotalGames.net for its GamesTM-reprinted feature on the alleged fall of the British game developer. The piece argues: "It all used to be so different in the Eighties. Ignoring any rose-tinted arguments about whether games back then were better, worse or more peanut butter-flavoured, the inarguable statement can be made that they were certainly more British." But now, even though "the most popular game of this new decade - Grand Theft Auto - is British, despite all of Rockstar's attempts to hide the fact", the piece laments the lack of distinctive UK games with Python-esque worldwide impact: "Of course, it doesn't cost £5 million to pick up a pen and start writing a sketch about parrots, but surely the odd very obviously British game could be smuggled through?"

Thanks to TotalGames.net for its feature exploring the history of '80s-era UK game developer Superior Software, noting that the Europe-centric "BBC Micro and Acorn Electron were often overlooked by many of the larger software publishers", but Superior, "responsible for hits such as Citadel, Exile and, of course, Repton", is still worth remembering. An interview with Richard Hansom of the still-in-existence Superior Interactive discusses new versions of the Boulderdash-like (although devised independently) Repton, and also notes that an update of the seminal Exile is a "possibility for the future". We've previously mentioned chess players' Repton addiction on Slashdot Games.

Thanks to TotalGames.net for their gamesTM-reprinted piece discussing whether games are actually dumbing down in the industry's rush to produce mature titles. The editorial is concerned that "adding a spot of claret and some unguarded language to your game doesn't require any special artistic skill on the part of a developer." The writer then worries that "...those developers whose bread and butter has traditionally been more abstract titles where the gameplay is the hook and the graphical stylings are aimed at younger gamers, or at least at a general audience, are starting to find their games harder to sell." But original Grand Theft Auto creator Dave Jones thinks that "it's not violence that's selling but simplicity", even for his own series, arguing: "GTA has a very simplistic game mechanic - it is Pac-Man. The people are the dots you eat (run over) and the police the ghosts who chase you", although admitting: "What was different was the level of interaction within the city."

Thanks to TotalGames.net for their gamesTM-reprinted piece discussing whether games are actually dumbing down in the industry's rush to produce mature titles. The editorial is concerned that "adding a spot of claret and some unguarded language to your game doesn't require any special artistic skill on the part of a developer." The writer then worries that "...those developers whose bread and butter has traditionally been more abstract titles where the gameplay is the hook and the graphical stylings are aimed at younger gamers, or at least at a general audience, are starting to find their games harder to sell." But original Grand Theft Auto creator Dave Jones thinks that "it's not violence that's selling but simplicity", even for his own series, arguing: "GTA has a very simplistic game mechanic - it is Pac-Man. The people are the dots you eat (run over) and the police the ghosts who chase you", although admitting: "What was different was the level of interaction within the city."

Thanks to TotalGames.net for their feature discussing what makes a videogame character popular. They point out that "almost every character-led game will see a significant chunk of development time spent honing, adjusting and, in some cases, scrapping characters", and discuss Link's famous make-over for Zelda: The Wind Waker, saying "...the outcry that greeted this graphical overhaul underlines just how important game characters are to players." However, the piece concludes: "But for every ignored genius, there are hundreds of mediocre and downright irritating game icons lurking on the shelves", citing Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and the Poochy-like Bitmap Kid as examples of the bad in character design.

Thanks to TotalGames.net for their article discussing the history of Star Wars-based videogames, in which they air the fan-voiced complaint that "LucasArts used to be a seal of quality on a game, but it's become totally devalued by so many third-rate titles." However, the article notes the upsurge in buzz over expansive titles like Knights Of The Old Republic, commenting: "Rather than divide their fanbase into original trilogy and prequel fans, LucasArts seem to want to bring them together", before suggesting some unlikely license uses along the lines of Super Bombad Racing: "Jedi Set Radio and Dance Dance Rebellion, anyone? Maybe Grand Theft Jawa?"

Thanks to TotalGames.net for their article discussing whether videogames should use traditional animation or motion capture to capture the movements of in-game characters. The piece points out: "One of the major problems with motion capture is the way that moves can sometimes appear disjointed and separated, as a character goes from one set of moves to another", but an advocate for motion capture comments that the process is "..a lot faster, as long as you can retain the subtleties from the point of motion capture to the raw data to the point where it reaches the engine." Can you tell the difference?